The whistle echoed through the pitch just as the ball slipped smoothly through the hoop making a swoosh noise with the net. The ball bounced once before Rose Arkwright caught the ball again with a cheerful grin. "Harlequins over here!" she yelled gathering her team mates together. "Three cheers for St. Roses. Hip, hip, hurray! Hip, hip, hurray! Hip, hip, hurray! And two extra cheers for a challenging game! Hip, hip, hurray! Hip, hip, hurray!"
The opposite team, St. Roses repeated the procedure with less enthusiasm due to the fact that they lost by five goals. The girls from both teams shook each other's hands for a great game and they all helped collect the balls in. Afterwards, everyone headed to where tea and snacks were being hosted by St. Roses Academy. On the journey back, Rose couldn't keep her fatigue at bay. The night before, she hadn't had much sleep due to horrid cramps in her leg causing so much discomfort it took her three hours to get back to sleep.
Her dream on the coach was odd to say the least. She dreamt that she was standing at the top of a building gazing at Tokyo Tower. Flower petals were falling all around her and the beautiful scent filled her senses. She turned to her left and she noticed something peculiar. There was something floating beside her. That something somewhat resembled a stuffed toy animal. She couldn't work out what it was due to its unique shape. Mostly it looked like a golden teddy bear with tiny white wings on its back. Cards twice the length of normal playing cards flew around her like leaves from a tree and just as the toy turned to stare at her, she woke up.
"Did you not get much sleep last night or something? You don't normally fall asleep on the coach ride back." Ciara commented as she held her brown fringe from her face as the wind swept past.
"Argh, I got cramps in my leg last night so I couldn't sleep very well." Rose shook her head as she yawned.
"Again? Good thing it didn't affect the match." Maisie grinned.
"So am I." Ciara agreed.
"Hey, there's a party on tonight, do you want to join us?" Maisie suggested.
"Sorry guys, as much as I want to, I can't. Apparently there's something urgent that my dad needs to tell me. I'm not quite sure what it's all about but since it's rare that he wants me home as soon as possible, I guess that it'll be really important." Rose sighed.
"He says that it's urgent? Wow, that really is rare." Ciara frowned.
"Well, whatever it is, I'll know soon." Rose shrugged.
When they got arrived at school, Rose hastily gathered her things from her boarding house and hurried home on her skateboard. Although Harlequin High School was a boarding school, Rose was a day pupil, meaning that she commuted to and from school each day rather than staying in school during the week. It was a logical thing to do because she lived ten minutes away. However, because her school was so big, it usually took at least twenty minutes to walk and fifteen on her skateboard.
"I'm home!" Rose hollered cheerfully as soon as she opened the door.
"We're in the kitchen!" her father, Andrew, called out.
'We?' Rose thought in confusion. Her expression contorted into a frown for a brief moment but she walked into the kitchen with a cheerful smile on her face because she could smell the baking of a cake. Rose froze for a moment at the door but then a beaming smile spread across her face. "Uncle Kim! Sara!" she squealed and instantly hugged her uncle and cousin tightly. "What are you two doing here? When did you get here? Why didn't you say anything?"
"It is good to see you Rozu-chan." Sara smiled in greeting and spoke in Japanese because it was more natural than trying to translate into English. Sara was Rose's half Chinese, half Japanese cousin who lived in Japan. "You've grown again, haven't you? We must go shopping!"
"Again, Sara?" Rose laughed and her brow twitched nervously.
"Of course, you promised me that each time you grew, we'd go shopping when I next saw you." Sara reminded her younger cousin.
"Sara, you're going to bankrupt the family one of these days."
"Uncle Kim, that's not possible and you know it." Sara retorted.
"Rose, why don't you go get changed? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Andrew suggested. Rose couldn't help but notice how her father seemed somewhat troubled and worried. He might have been trying to hide it well, but she could tell that something was bothering her father.
"Okay, I'll be down really soon." I nodded uncertainly and rushed upstairs to my room. I pulled out a long thigh length tank top from my drawers, an off shoulder long sleeved crop top and a pair of leggings. I slipped my feet into a pair of slippers and slid down the banister to go downstairs. "So, when did you two get here? Did anyone else come along? Or is it just you two?"
"It's just us two. We'll get onto why we're here after dinner." Kim stated in such a dead panned way that there was no way for Rose to protest. Instead, she simply took out plates and bowls from the cupboards and set the table. Dinner was a smooth ordeal with a gentle flowing conversation. However, despite the flowing conversation, there was still the underlying tension in the room because Rose had absolutely no idea what was going on and she was dying to find out.
At the end of dinner, just as Rose was carrying an empty plate to the sink, her uncle chose that precise moment to cut to the chase and tell her why they were visiting at such short notice. "You have to come back to Japan." Kim stated.
Rose dropped the plate in a moment of pure shock and it shattered in the same way that her normal life was about to be shattered. Andrew gave a heavy sigh and shot Kim a glare. "You knew that would happen, did you have to tell her while she was carrying something?" he chastised his brother-in-law.
"I will pay for a new one." Kim said bluntly.
"That is beside the point." Andrew retorted.
"I'm sorry, could you say that again?" Rose asked dumbly with a shocked expression.
"You have to come back to Japan." Kim repeated with a serious tone.
"What do you mean I have to go back? I already visit every summer don't I? I don't understand." Rose shook her head frantically.
"Let's go to the other room to talk." Sara suggested with a concerned tone. "I think that it would be best if Rozu-chan was sitting for this conversation."
"Kim, clean up the broken plate while I make us all some tea." Andrew ordered with a firm tone and the younger man couldn't disobey. It was his fault that the plate had dropped after all. Even he had to admit that it was poor tactics on his behalf. He shouldn't have blurted it out while she was carrying something. He was glad that his niece hadn't injured herself.
"Rozu-chan, let's go into the other room and wait for a little bit so that you can mentally prepare yourself." Sara recommended and gently took the 16 year-old by the hand to lead her out of the kitchen.
"Sara… is what Uncle Kim just said true? Why do I have to go back all of a sudden? It doesn't make any sense." Rose stammered.
"Rozu-chan, great grandma has a letter that she needed to you have."
"Great grandma? You mean on Grandma's side?"
"Yes." Sara nodded and held out a small envelop. Rose carefully opened it and began to read the contents.
Rose frowned as she read through the letter written in her great grandmother's handwriting. When she finished reading the whole letter, she gave a long sigh and stared up at Sara with worried eyes. "This is really important, isn't it?"
"I think so." Sara smiled softly.
"Did grandfather tell you what he saw?"
"Even he's not so clear of it. All he knows is, you were wearing a Japanese uniform and there was someone that you met. He couldn't see clearly who it was that you met, but he does know that it's important." Sara explained.
"And that's why you need to go back to Japan." Kim stated.
"How long do I have left at school?" Rose asked worriedly.
"How long will you need for the transfer details to be complete?" Kim replied. "Everything has already been set up in Japan; all there's left is for you to transfer."
"Everything's already been set up? Don't you think that that's a little bit presumptuous?" Rose narrowed her eyes at her relatives.
"We all know that if Dad saw something, there's no avoiding it." Kim sighed.
"You can always choose your own fate." Rose glared. "But, if great grandma think that I should follow through with it, then I guess that there's no other choice."
"I have already called your school today to let them know about your transfer. All there's left is to say goodbye to your friends." Andrew told his daughter.
"Then I'm going to spend the entire day tomorrow with them." Rose stated bluntly.
"That's rude, Rose. Kim and Sara have come to visit -"
"They didn't come to visit. They came as reinforcements because they knew that if you were by yourself, you wouldn't be able to convince me to go back to Japan." Rose retorted.
"It's alright, we understand." Sara smiled sweetly. "Besides, we'll have plenty of time to see you when you come back to Japan."
"If it's alright with you three, I'm going to excuse myself and call my friends." Rose excused herself as she stood up and took the letter with her.
"Rose." Andrew called out to her.
"Yes, Papa?"
"We're leaving the day after tomorrow."
"That soon?"
"Yes."
Rose's expression twisted to an anguished expression and she ran out of the room. She dashed up into her bedroom and changed her slippers in to a pair of trainers. She neatly refolded her letter and placed it into a small bag along with her phone and iPod. She dashed out of her room and poked her head into the living room where the other three were chatting. "I'm going to head out for a little bit." Rose told them simply before grabbing her skateboard and running out of the house.
She desperately wanted some fresh air to clear her confused mind. There had been times when her grandfather's dreams had affected her choices in life, but there was never anything this major. They had never requested for her to leave behind a life before and this concerned her. What could it be that it was so important? She simply skated around for half an hour to clear her mind and she read over the contents of the letter again to try and make some sense of it but she couldn't think of anything.
Eventually Rose gave up and decided to go home instead. She gave all her friends a text saying that she needed to see them tomorrow, that it was something urgent. When she got home, she avoided her dad and relatives and headed straight for her room so that she could begin packing.
Because she was so troubled by the sudden turn of events, Roes couldn't sleep until the early hours of the morning. When she did manage to fall asleep however, she was surprised by the dream that she saw.
She saw a girl, identical to her standing right in front of her. Rose couldn't ignore the fact that her look alike was also wearing extremely bizarre clothes. It was practically impossible to describe. The girl had a soft encouraging smile on her face.
"You'll be okay. Everything will be okay," the girl told her in Japanese. "Everything will be just fine."
"Uh…" Rose stuttered and blinked profusely. She backed away a step when the girl seemed to hold something out to her.
"Here, you will need this," the girl smiled sweetly and opened the palm of her hand to reveal a strange key. Rose leaned forward to inspect the key and she was surprised to feel some sort of draw to it. On the head of the key was a star within a circle and on the two sides of the circle there were a pair of tiny little wings.
"Are you sure I should take it?" Rose asked uncertainly and looked at the girl. The other girl simply held the key out towards her further and Rose took the key from her palm hesitantly. As soon as the key was in her hands, the other girl instantly disappeared.
The shrill of an alarm woke her instantly and Rose woke with a startle, falling out of her bed. "Ow…" she groaned and rubbed her sore back. She jumped when she heard something drop and she looked to her side. She screamed when she saw the key that was given to her in her dream. A few moments later, there was a panicked knock on her door.
"Rose? Are you alright in there?" Andrew called worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm alright Papa, just fell off the bed, that's all." Rose called back and listened as his footsteps faded away. "How on earth is this possible?" she mumbled as she stared at the key in total shock.
"Rose, breakfast is ready!"
"I'll be down in a few minutes!" she hollered and scrambled around to get changed. In her haste, she tripped and fell over, causing a thump to be heard throughout the entire house. She got changed out of her pyjamas into some casual clothes. She changed into a pair of grey shorts, a blue tank top, a white long sleeved off shoulder top and a pair of black over knee socks. She glanced at the key on her desk and gave a sigh before deciding to put it in her pocket. After putting on her slippers she headed downstairs for breakfast and greeted everyone with a cheerful smile. "Good morning."
"Morning Rozu-chan. How are you feeling? I heard the thump." Sara frowned with concern.
"It's alright Sara, it happens to her almost every morning." Andrew shook his head. "Honestly, I don't understand how you can wake up like that every morning."
"I don't mean to. It just happens." Rose pouted and sat down at the table. "So, what time are we leaving tomorrow?"
"We're leaving the house at eleven in the morning. Do you think that you can pack all the stuff that you want to take back to Japan into boxes? A van will arrive tomorrow morning at nine to pick everything up."
"Okay, I'll make sure the bigger stuff will be pack and ready by then," she nodded. "I'll be out until five today."
"Be safe, I know how you can sometimes get up to some reckless stuff." Andrew warned. "I don't want you going back to Japan covered in cuts and bruises because you fell all over the place."
"I'll try. But if we go to the courts, I can't promise anything."
"The courts?" Kim frowned.
"Street basketball and football." Rose explained. "A lot of people get together for that kind of thing and it's really fun."
"Street? Do you usually get hurt?" Sara gasped.
"Not really. It's all friendly, and if I get hurt, it'll be minor. It's like playing sport at school, but with people who don't go to your school." Rose shook her head.
Rose quickly finished her breakfast before dashing upstairs to get her small bag ready which had her phone, her iPod, a small notebook, some pens and her keys. She placed a hat on her head before putting her converse boots on.
"See you later Papa!" she called as she ran out of the door, letting it slam shut behind her. Instead of taking her skateboard with her, she simply ran for ten minutes into town.
"Rose! What was that text all about? You said that it was something urgent." Ciara asked straight away as soon as she saw the copper haired girl.
"Yeah, it is urgent." Rose nodded. "I'm moving back to Japan."
There was a stunned silence amongst her group of friends for a moment. "You what?" they all screamed.
"I have to go back to Japan." Rose repeated.
"Why? Did something happen?" Maisie frowned.
"No, but something might so I have to go." Rose shook her head.
"What might happen? You're being awfully cryptic about all of this."
"I'm being cryptic because I don't actually know either. The only thing that I do know, is that my grandfather might kill me unless I go back." Rose sighed.
"But it's too sudden. When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? That far too much of a short notice!"
"The worst thing is, they decided everything before I even agreed to go back. Apparently everything has been taken care of now. Flight and everything, even the schools."
"You're joking, no way!"
"So you're saying that this is the last day we get to see you before you leave? We can't see you off tomorrow because of school."
"That dad of yours is far too cunning."
"Actually, I don't think it was Papa's idea to leave on Monday, it was probably my uncle Kim's." Rose sighed.
For the rest of the day, the five girls spent their time in the nearby park to talk and say their goodbyes. Rose was certainly reluctant to leave and head home, but even she knew that it had to be done. As promised, when she got back home, she started to pack some of the larger things away that she wanted to have back in Japan like her masses of stuffed toys, her books, more clothes and other various things that she'd managed to collect over the years.
6