Chapter 1: Kayla
The sun beat down hard, the hazy June weather taking its toll. I anxiously fiddled with the rose-colored ribbon braided into my long black hair, a habit I'd had for years.
He straightened his cap ever so slightly, despite the fact that it was at least two sizes too big for him, his bright green eyes barely peeking out from underneath the brim.
I wiped my brow with the back of my hand. It was blazing hot today, but I remained in my place beside the school's large stone wall, watching and waiting.
After pausing a few seconds, he started walking forwards, slowly climbing the hill to the gate.
I cautiously peeked out from behind the gate with one eye, searching for that tousled chocolate hair and those icy blue eyes.
Then I saw my target. A tall, muscular figure in a disheveled school uniform was casually walking towards the gate, a bright orange backpack in hand. Now was my chance. As he approached the gate, I counted backwards in my head, giving myself courage with every number. I could hear his footsteps approaching.
Step. Five...
Step. Four... I took a deep breath.
Step. Three... He was getting closer...
Step. Two... Get ready...
Step. One...
I agilely jumped out from behind the gate and flashed a giant grin. "Oh! Hello, Derek! What a coincidence!" I smiled exaggeratedly. Little did he know that I had been waiting here at this spot for almost half an hour.
"Hey," he grinned charmingly at me and straightened his glasses, causing the me to stutter a bit. I loved it when he did that.
I felt my cheeks getting red, causing me to talk even faster than I already was. "Uh, Derek," I stammered, " I was wondering if maybe we could-"
"Who's that?" he asked suddenly, nodding towards something behind me.
I whirled around and saw a boy standing behind me, waiting patiently for the us to finish our conversation. He looked to be about the same age as me, although a bit shorter than I was. He was wearing a rather large white cap on his head and a baggy-looking all-white uniform from some unidentifiable school hung loosely off his slender frame. I could barely see his bright green eyes, which were almost entirely covered by long blonde bangs hanging over his forehead. To me, he looked almost like an abandoned old cat, worn out and a bit sad.
"Oh," Derek said with realization on his face as he looked at the boy, "is this your boyfriend, Kayla?"
"What?" I sputtered, shocked. "Um..." my voice trailed off. I was rendered speechless by this mysterious boy. I couldn't remember ever seeing him before in my life. He must've had me confused with some other girl.
"Well," Derek shrugged, fidgeting with his glasses. "I guess I'll leave you two alone, then," he said before leaving, walking down the hill away from the school.
"Wait..." I started, but I stopped when I'd realized that he had left. I missed it. I'd lost my chance. And it was all because of the wordless idiot behind me.
"Um, you're Kayla Bryant, right?" the boy behind me asked in a shy, quiet voice.
"Yeah," I said gruffly, glaring at him. "Who are you?"
The boy looked shocked. "You... you don't remember me?" he asked, slightly surprised.
"No." I scrutinized his face, seeing if I recognized it. I didn't. "Am I supposed to remember you?"
"Well... I thought you would," he admitted, casting his eyes downward towards his whiter-than-white sneakers.
"All right, then," I said with much sarcasm as I started to walk away.
"Wait!" he called after me and started to follow. "Even if you don't remember me, I remember you!"
I stopped and turned around, slightly taken aback. Why was this guy following me? "What are you, some kind of stalker?"
"No," the boy said softly. "You really don't remember me?"
I shook my head. "Not really." Who the heck was this kid?
"Well, then," the boy said, bowing in a chivalrous manner, "please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jeremy Stryder, and I'm here to grant your wish." He looked up at me and smiled a boyish grin.
"My wish?" I asked in disbelief. So now he was some kind of genie or something?
"Yes!" Jeremy exclaimed excitedly. "I can't leave until you tell me your wish."
"All right, then," I said, feeling an idea forming my head. "I wish you would get out of my sight." That should take care of it.
"Is... Is that really what you want?" he asked, looking hurt. "Because if it is, I suppose I could just leave right now, then..."
"Fine, then. Goodbye." I started to walk away again, this time faster than before. The sooner I got away from this brat, the better.
"It's just that I wanted to help you," he said softly, his voice barely coming out in a whisper. "Since you did so much for me."
That caught my attention. I suddenly stopped walking and spun around to face him. "What was that?" But he didn't hear me. Now he was walking away in the opposite direction. Very fast. Now it was my turn to chase after Jeremy. "Hey, wait!" I called, a little out of breath. He sure could move quickly.
I finally caught up with him at a nearby park. He was sitting alone at a bench, his eyes downcast. He smiled when he saw me walking towards him. "Have you come to tell me your wish?" he asked excitedly, his face lighting up again.
"What did... you mean... about me... doing something... for you?" I wheezed as I plopped down next to him on the bench, panting like a dog.
"A few years ago, I was in the hospital," he explained. "You were there to visit someone, and you talked with me for a while." He smiled at the memory. "You really cheered me up."
It did sound a bit familiar to me now...
"I was in a wheelchair, and I had a cat on my lap," he continued. "You still don't remember me?"
I remembered now. I was there to visit my mother, who had gotten sick at the time. I saw him sitting in a wheelchair in the courtyard, stroking a golden-colored cat. I was bored, and he looked lonely, so I decided to talk with him that day, that's all.
I nodded, the memory returning. "No, I remember you. But I didn't really do all that much. All I did was talk to you for a bit."
"But it really meant a lot to me," he said, his eyes pleading. "It may not be anything special to you, but you really helped me."
"What did I say that helped you so much?" I asked, a bit confused.
He paused for a moment, his eyes distant. "I don't really remember," he admitted after a while, "but it really made my day." He smiled at me with a boyish grin.
I sighed in frustration. This kid didn't seem completely right in the head.
"But anyway," he continued, " I came back here so I could repay you for that."
"Okay, then," I shrugged, leaning back against the bench. "Why don't you just buy me a soda or something?"
"That's all you want?" he asked, looking puzzled.
"I didn't do anything special for you, so you don't have to do anything special for me," I replied. After the soda, I'd be free from this guy. Simple as that.
"I don't think you really understand," he explained, his tone pleading. "I can grant you a wish. I can give you anything you want, anything at all!" His eyes were desperate.
"You're not making any sense," I said. Why was he freaking out about this so much? "What, do you have a magic lamp or something?"
"It's not a lamp," he shook his head. "but he said that it had the power to grant any wish..."
"Who's 'he'?" I asked.
Jeremy's face looked strained as he struggled to recall. "I... I can't remember..." he trailed off.
Ugh. I slapped my forehead. This kid didn't seem to have the strongest memory.
"Well, no offense," I said as I started to get up, "but I don't believe in that kind of stuff."
"But..." Jeremy started to say something, but I was already walking away.
"Look," I said, "I'm glad that you're all better, and it's nice that you came here to see me, but I don't believe in any of that 'magic and wishes' stuff. See ya."
I didn't bother to look back. That guy creeped me out anyway.
Well... Maybe I did look back.
When I turned around, I saw him pull a small pouch out of his pocket and stare at it before placing it over his heart and looking up at the clouds. He just sat like that for a bit before walking away with his shoulders sulking.
What on earth could that pouch be?
Addressing my Only Reviewer
Thanks for reading this story! Since you reviewed anonymously, I can't talk to you through PM message, so I thought I'd leave you a message here. This story is from the Clannad series, in Season 2. The characters are all in the series, but they were simply given English names here. The characters are as followed: Kayla was originally called Misae, Jeremy was originally named Shima, and Derek was originally Igarashi. Sorry if there was any confusion.