My name is Keenan Glass, and I am moving with my mom to Japan from America. My uncle Zoro owned a chain of hobby shops, one of which was in a place called Beigoma City, and when he moved to Spain, he told us we were welcome to stay there and keep it running. On the way there, I looked at my phone and saw a photo that I took with my friend Thomas back in America a day before I moved. I was worried because he was one of my only friends. I didn't know a soul in Japan and I was constantly bullied back home because of how shy I was.
"Keenan, I know you're nervous", Mom started. "Moving is a big step, but soon you'll see it was the right decision", she assured me.
I just hope she's right.
A few hours later, while we were moving in, a woman holding a basket of various types of bread approached us, followed by three kids. The oldest of the three had teal, spiky hair, wore a red shirt under a blue and white vest, and a big smile on his face. The other two
"Hello, we're the Aoi family. We run the bakery across the way", she said. "I saw the moving truck and wanted to make a little something to welcome you to the neighborhood."
"How nice," Mom said, smiling. "We're the Glass family. I'm Eleanor, and this is my son, Keenan." I waved with a lopsided smile, but said nothing.
"I'm Chiharu Aoi, and these are my kids, Toko, Nika, and Valt." I assumed Valt was the oldest while Toko and Nika seemed like they were twins. Not identical twins, obviously, but they looked about the same age.
"Are you going to Beigoma Academy? Maybe we have the same class!" Valt gasped with realization. "Are you a blader?! You should join the Bey Club!"
Valt seemed like a good person, but I was still apprehensive because of him coming on too strong. Thankfully, the twins decided to chime in.
"C'mon, Valt! You're scaring him!" Toko chided.
"At least let them move in!" Nika added.
"Now kids, there's nothing wrong with being enthusiastic, especially when meeting new friends" Mrs. Aoi said.
"Although, to answer Valt's question, Keenan has indeed been enrolled in Beigoma Academy," Mom informed them.
She, then, turned to me before continuing. "I've also signed him up for an afterschool beyblade program called 'Young 5.'"
Oh yeah. That. Not that it wasn't obvious, but I'm pretty shy. Don't get me wrong, I love Beyblade! I'm just don't perform well with people watching me. Plus, I'm not that good at it anyway, so I'm not exactly looking forward to being around a group of people who were probably gonna leave me in the dust on the first day.
"Oh yeah! I heard of Y5!", Valt chimed in. "I thought about joining that, but I decided a Bey Club was better 'cause we could set our own training schedule." He had a point.
"Well, we can see your still unpacking, so we'll get out of your way.", Valt's mom said, guiding the kids away.
"Bye, Keenan! Bye, Keenan's mom!", the twins yelled.
"See you at school!", Valt shouted. I smiled politely, but was still unsure of calling myself his friend.
Soon we finished packing and were in the kitchen eating the bread that Mrs. Aoi gave us. It was amazing! I had to remember to tell Valt that his mom's and amazing cook.
"So, that Aoi family seemed nice.", Mom said, making conversation. "I guess…", I half-said, half-mumbled. Mom noticed my apprehension and reached over the table to hold my hand.
"Keenan", her voice seemed to plead for me to look her in the eyes, so I did. "We agreed that this move would be a new start for both of us."
I remembered how things were back in America. The pressure, the sleepless nights I spent training, the cold look he gave me everytime I lost. Leaving was the best thing that could've happened to me. To both of us.
"I know you feel like that Valt boy came on a little strong, but that's because he's so excited to meet you. Please make an effort with him."
I looked at my mom, and smiled. "Okay, mom."
I went to my room and sat on my bed, a black box facing me from my desk. I was on the phone with my friend Thomas, back in America.
"How ya settlin' in?", he asked.
"Okay, I guess.", I replied.
"Did you open the box yet?", he asked. Before I left, he gave me a black box and told me not to open it until I arrived at my new house.
"Not yet. Actually, I'm about to open it right now.", I admitted. I put my phone on speaker and opened the box. My eyes widened when I saw what was inside.
It was a brand new bey! Complete with launcher, beypointer, and holster!
"Whoa…" was all I could say as I gazed at the bey.
"Too stunned to speak, huh?" Thomas asked, amusement in his voice. "You don't need to thank me. I'm just the messenger. Trip and Mr. O'Hare put it together." he explained. Trip was another friend from America, and and Mr. O'Hare was the custodian at my old school. Both of them were geniuses, so making a bey was probably as difficult as taking a nap for them.
"Either way, it's amazing." I said sincerely, punctuating my sentence with a yawn. "Sorry. I gotta go." I apologized.
"Yeah, I get it. First day of your new school tomorrow right?" he inquired.
"Yeah. Say 'hi' to Trip and Mr. O'Hare for me." I requested.
"I will. Night." he said.
"Good night." I replied before hanging up.
With my full attention on the bey parts, I examined each one as I put the bey together and saw that they were all parts I've never seen before. The driver was orange. It had a wide conical tip. Upon further inspection, I discovered that the tip could rotate independently from the rest of the driver. Immediately, I knew this bey was going to be a stamina type. The disc had a balanced weight with one square protrusion on each side. I didn't think much of it, other than it could give my bey extra balance. The layer was the most interesting part of the bey. That was the case for all beys, but this layer was different. It was a fiery orange disc with nine blades, each blade white at the tip. What really stood out was the canine face i saw etched into it. As I stared at it, it seemed to stare back at me and somehow I felt that it was examining me, just as I was examining it. I was brought out of my musing by a long yawn. I decided to learn more about my new bey tomorrow. Little did I know, I wouldn't have to wait that long.
