oxyMORON
Chapter 1
jumbo SHRIMP
Lol. Another one guys, Hitsuxoc in case you don't know. I worked hard on this chapter so be nice. I love reviews by the way, they are awesome. The main character is Masako Yamagata. A 13 year old runner who is self absorbed at times and can make you feel bad by accident. And sometimes she might not even notice. Sounds a little bit like yours truly. Well Enjoy!
It's October again,
Leaves coming down,
One more year's come and gone,
And nothings changed at all,
Masako hugged her knees close to her chest and heavily sighed. Tears crusted her cheeks and made her face feel heavy. Tree branches scraped her window, shadows created by the moonlight decorated the carpet of her room. The sound of chatter was heard from downstairs, her parents eating and talking happily while she lay in her room, her mind filled with thoughts of the day's events.
Her ears were filled with the noise of claws scraping skin, a tearing sound, and then a thump. And all the while, the girl was screaming, for anyone to save her, to help, and yet, no one came.
Masako smiled at the window, the colorful leaves were scattered around her lawn, colors of red, yellow, and orange in view. She could hardly see the green of the grass anymore. Not only because it was Autumn, but because it was 4:50 in the morning, the usual time she wakes up.
She walked into the bathroom, her feet sticking to the floor from the remainder of summer heat. Masako jumped into the shower and let the warm water spray down her back and revel down her legs into the drain. She wasn't entirely awake, still in dream mode, so she walked out of the shower with no towel, and stood in front of the mirror. Her eyes were drooping and she could have probably slept on the tile.
She splashed cold water on her face and looked into the mirror, watching the water dripping down her milkmaid pale face. Masako grabbed a towel and dried her face, blotches of red appearing where she rubbed too hard.
"Damn" she muttered to herself. Bags were under her eyes and her lips were slim and light, hardly noticeable. Masako were not one for make-up, but this was ridiculous. She didn't even feel sick, and yet she looked like she was.
"It's probably from not eating regularly" She thought. But it wasn't for a bad reason, there was a track competition coming up and she had to be light on her feet.
Masako grabbed some concealer and lip gloss from her bureau and headed back into the bathroom. She applied some concealer under her eyes with her fingertips, and using a lip brush, applied some pink lip gloss on her lips. Masako brushed her short red hair and outlined her moss green eyes with black eyeliner. She traced her freckles, which were just sprinkled on her nose and upper cheek bones and smiled.
Having a mom that was a make-up artist taught her a lot of things. For one, make-up was everything to a woman. In her mother's words-
"Make-up is deception. Make-up is intellectual. Make-up is probably one of my favorite things in its ability to communicate all the archetypes of a woman."
Her mom, Aya, was ambitious and serious when it came to her job. Unlike her father, Kei, who was laidback and not as outgoing when it came to his job, which was being the owner of a business corporation in America. He was hardly ever home, and when he was, business was put aside completely.
Masako gripped her school uniform under her arm from way it laid on the "clean clothes bin" and walked out of the bathroom.
Masako was in 8th grade, and the uniform consisted of a short skirt and white button down shirt. A gray blazer on top of that was optional. Because of her short stature, and overall "tomboy-ness", Masako wore a pair of gray cargo pants that were tight on her skin, easy to run in, and reached her knees and a white button down shirt to school. It was much more comfortable than worrying if a guy was looking your skirt if you weren't sitting right.
She walked down the stairs of her house, her tennis shoes in one hand and book bag in the other, which contained her school uniform. She was currently wearing her gym uniform, a t-shirt and shorts. A granola bar was already waiting for her on the kitchen table.
"Morning'' Masako yelled to no one in particular. She heard replies in grunts and smiled.
"I guess I'm early, huh?" She was an early riser, so she could run more before going to school. It was her daily routine and the family still didn't seem used to it. She was an only child, but probably more hassle than a family with five.
"I'm leaving guys, see ya" She yelled running out the door. Her granola bar was safe in her bag, where she would eat it after the run. If she ate it now, she would just burn it off and digest it faster, which Masako didn't want to do.
She stopped after five blocks in front of a white house. A girl with long brown hair that was tied in a pony tail and her gym uniform was leaving the house, her usual grin plastered on her face.
"Hey Sako-chan" Masako nodded in greeting and ran ahead, ignoring the shouts from her friend, Shinju.
Shinju soon caught up, her forehead shining with perspiration. Masako sped up her pace, earning a whine from Shinju.
"Would you slow down, this isn't a race" Shinju shouted between pants. Masako stopped and waited for her friend, who was sprawled on the floor, rummaging her bag for a water bottle. Masako barely worked up a sweat, but faked a few pants for her friend and sat beside her.
"I know it's not a race, but I will be in one soon and I have to be in tip-top shape" She smacked her arm and grabbed her absent flab. This was the only way to convince Shinju to run more, even if it seemed ridiculous.
"This has to come off" Masako explained to a wide eyed Shinju.
"ARE YOU CRAZY" Shinju screamed. Masako quirked a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her, fake confusion evident on her face. A few people shouted from their window and a woman in her twenties with long strawberry blonde hair and crystal blue eyes glared at us from her doorstep.
"Some people need their beauty sleep" The woman said behind gritted teeth. Masako saw a boy with white hair and in blue striped pajamas stand behind her, rubbing his eyes, his mouth set in a snarl. He was kind of short, reminding her of a shrimp. Cute she thought.
"She is the one who thinks she has an ounce of fat on her" Shinju was standing up, her arms out dramatically. Masako stood up, grabbed her bag and began to walk away, but the woman stepped in her path. She frowned at the woman who was looking down at her, tired eyes surveying up and down her body. Masako was not nervous, she changed naked in the locker room, and at least now she had her clothes on.
"You think you're fa—" The woman began.
"This is none of our business Matsumoto, get inside" The boy said with a sense of authority. The woman, who Masako assumed was Matsumoto, unless the boy had an imaginary friend, pouted at him.
"Demo Taicho" Masako and Shinju looked at the two weirdly, the same thoughts running through their head. Taicho? Who the hell calls a little boy captain? Shinju sweat dropped and awkwardly shifted her feet, nearing to Masako. Masako noticed and sighed at Shinju's stupidity in bringing other people into their affairs. She just couldn't keep her big mouth shut. Masako winked at Shinju, who grimaced.
"Lets go" The boy headed inside the house and Matsumoto followed obediently. When the door clicked shut, Masako began to giggle uncontrollably. Shinju looked at her with anger in her eyes.
"Sako-chan, you were just joking weren't you? You don't think you're fat?" She grabbed Masako's arm, who just looked at her and laughed more, tears spilling down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes and sighed.
"Hai Taicho" Shinju stifled a giggle and instead ran ahead of Masako while she was retrieving her bag. Masako grinned and followed, catching up to her easily.
They sat in the school yard, eating their breakfast which consisted of granola bars, water, and an orange. Healthy and filling is what Masako called it.
The pair were always the earliest to school, even before the teachers. It gave them time to change into the uniform, do the homework they missed, and sometimes take a nap. But because of today's hold-up, the janitor was there earlier and let them into the school after they finished eating.
Masako and Shinju ran in the halls yelling, hearing the echoes vibrate through the walls of the school. Their laughter's reverberated and filled their ears, causing both of them to have migraines.
Shinju sat on the tile floor and smiled at Masako who was standing, watching the rooms starting to fill. "It would be a great day" Masako thought.
Shinju sat in the middle of the second row and Masako sat in the middle of the third row. Masako was closest to the window and was often grateful that she was able to gaze at the outside world and lose herself to the beauty of it. Masako was often called a "dreamer" where as Shinju lived in the present. She couldn't help it, her mind would wonder to another place and the whole world would just seem to disappear. It got her in trouble at times, teachers would think that she was slacking off and they would threaten to take away her privilege to participate in extra curricular activities, which meant "no more track". But she didn't worry about it much; the school would never win the track competitions without her.
"Alright kids, we have a new student in our class, please welcome him" Masako looked up at Chiro-sensei weirdly. She seemed very nervous. As Masako looked around the room, almost everyone was. She caught Shinju's gaze who also seemed to notice that.
Masako's P.O.V.
Everyone was acting weird. I heard the door open and saw the kid from this morning, the one with the woman. What was her name again…Matsu…something. He particularly looked bored, his hands were stuffed in his pockets and he was dressed in the school uniform. But the strange thing was, even though he looked bored to death, he stood straight, which seemed like an odd combination. I gazed at the seat next to me and grimaced, it was empty. Please don't sit next to me; you and that lady are creepy.
"Yamagata-san come to the front and introduce yourself to your new classmate" I got up from my seat and trudged to the front of the room. I saw Shinju staring at me and winked at her, she knew what I was planning.
I stood in front of the boy, bowed and said.
"Konichiwa Taicho." I smirked inwardly. "Me llamo Yamagata Masako. Et toi?" I took two foreign language courses extra in hopes of going to a college in America. It was a little joke I liked to play on new students. I loved to see their confused face. But this kid just looked at me uninterestingly and said.
"Hitsugaya Toushirou" And then just walked passed me to the seat next to mine. I was left in the front of the room looking like an idiot, completely dumbfounded. I could hear the class's laughter and I felt my face turn hot. Humiliation spread through my body so quickly, the only thing I could do was go to my seat, avoid everyone's stare and loose myself in my dream world.
My eyes were focused on the school yard the entire time. I heard shifting of seats and realized that school was over. Shinju was standing by my desk with a worried expression.
"Daijobou?" I nodded absently and gathered my things, walking out the door not bothering to wait. That stupid kid. I felt the urge to stab him with my pencil. He probably thinks he's so cool, telling off a popular student in school, I'll show him.
End P.O.V
Masako exited the school with her head down and arms balled into fists at her sides. She was walking in a fast pace, Shinju trailing behind her in a panic. It was just like her to block out any one that was trying to help and understand her.
The sun was beginning to set, and yet Masako was still fuming with Shinju finally beside her.
"Come on Sako-chan, we have to go home before its late" Masako stared on ahead, ignoring her friend.
"Sako-chan I'm going home" Masako finally looked at Shinju with heated eyes. Her face was flushed with anger and her hair was sticking onto her face, it was then that Shinju realized that there were tears streaming down her face.
"DON'T YOU REALIZE HOW HE HUMILIATED ME? HE MADE ME LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE" Masako grabbed Shinju's shoulders and shook her hard; until she heard the girl's teeth chatter. Shinju felt tears brim her eyes.
Shinju was silent, not having anything to say. It wasn't going to make Masako feel better, so why bother try. Masako was just too hard headed.
Masako stared at Shinju long and hard before storming off, throwing her book bag over her shoulder. Shinju walked a few yards behind her; they always took the same route home.
It was dark and Masako began to slow down and eventually stopped at the park. She knew that Shinju was behind her the whole time, and she began to feel bad, it wasn't her fault.
"Shinju, I'm sorry" Masako turned around and saw no one. A cold wind rippled through her clothes and a shiver ran down her spine.
"Where did you go?" Masako scram while her eyes darted around the park. She dropped her bad beside the swings and wandered through the park, looking for any trace of her. It was late, and not safe, but Masako couldn't have cared less, her friend was missing. She folded her arms across her chest and bit her lip. It was a nervous habit of hers. All the anger from this afternoon was long gone and was replaced with worry. How could I be so mean?
Masako's P.O.V.
The moment I heard the piercing scream, I knew it was Shinju. It vibrated through the wind and echoed. I ran to the source as fast as my little legs could take me.
I didn't see her anywhere, but I heard the screams and I felt my whole body shake. My palms were sweaty and my brain pounded as I stood in the middle of the park, looking for her.
She needed help, and I didn't know where she was. That's when it began.
There was a loud tearing sound, and I felt like I was going to vomit. I couldn't speak, I couldn't even scream for help. I wanted to, so badly, but it wouldn't come out.
The tearing continued, like she was being ripped apart limb by limb. The screaming had stopped, and it was quiet.
I was huddled into myself, clinging to myself for dear life. Tears streamed down my face, but I didn't know why. I mean, Shinju could still be alive, she might not be dead. I'm a kid, what do I know.
I lifted my head after what seemed like hours and looked straight into turquoise eyes. I was about to scream, but everything turned black.
And now here I was. Sitting in my dark room, my tears dried out. Shinju was dead, I didn't need to call her parents to ask if she was home, I didn't need to walk to her house and wait for her to come out, all of that was over.
My throat swelled and a new wave of tears came over me. By tomorrow, everyone would know and suspicion would lurk the school halls.
I wanted to die. To stop all of this from happening. Or, if I could have a superpower, I would have to power to control time, so I could stop myself from being mean to Shinju.
I laughed weakly at my stupidity. Superpowers. What kind of idiot have I turned out to be?
I wish Shinju was here in my bedroom, sitting on bed and flipping through one of my magazines. She was smarter than me, and brought reality to all of my ranting. She won every fight…well…except for todays, unfortunately.
I flipped off my bed and headed to the bathroom. My face looked like crap and my make-up was smudged. I sighed and cleaned my face, I didn't feel one bit better.
I slipped into my pajamas and laid down on my bed. It smelled like lilacs, my favorite flower.
I inhaled deeply and cried some more. Where did she go? I heard her, I felt like I was right next to her, and yet, I didn't see her. And how did I end up home. Even though it was just a few hours ago, it felt like all a blur. Like none of it really happened and that tomorrow, I would see Shinju with her long brown hair and loose gym clothes and go for a run.
I was tired. My body was overwhelmed with the need to sleep, but my brain felt like it was on caffeine. The screams were in my head, and they would never stop.
But the scary thing is, the screaming isn't what petrified me. It was when they stopped, that I began to freak out. Because when she was screaming, I knew she was alive, but when it stopped, what was I supposed to assume.
I climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. I swallowed two sleeping pills and laid back down, waiting for sleep to meet me.
It was that moment, I remembered the eyes, the turquoise eyes that stared at me.
That's the end of chapter one. By the way, there is a link to a picture of Masako if you want to see it. Tell me what you think, I would like to hear it.
Ishhhyness is out!