The school bell didn't serve Tai any justice for his stomach was his alarm clock when lunch was occurring. Extending his arms as he yawned, he left out of his Chemistry class and ventured his way to the food cart, which neighbored the school grounds. Tai beelined through his students, rushing so he could get fresh, hot twice-pulled pork sandwich. Mouth watering for the happy-go-lucky kid as he smelled the delectable dish once he stepped out into the open. He looked as he saw his best friends Sora and Matt staring at him from the window. They waved at each other before he kept walking to his destination. He was upset that they didn't have any classes together. In fact, he didn't have any classes with his friends/Digidestined colleagues. With Mimi living in New York and Joe going to a different school, things were weird for him. He put those thoughts aside as he made his way to the lunch cart.
The elderly woman greeted him as he made his way to the cart. Without a second to spare, the woman handed him his pork sandwich. He could hear the sizzle lingering from the meat; the grease blending onto the wrapper. He licked his lips as he knew he was going to have a good lunch. He bowed before the woman, leaving her with her usual tip. He bid her a farewell before returning to the campus.
He checked his watch. He had about thirty minutes to peruse the campus. With his friends, he was a sit and laid back person, lying in the sun, and enjoying the company of his friends. However, he walked the campus, observing everyone and everything around it. He kept close to his sandwich, savoring its contents before finding the proper trash can to discard it. Their discipline committee representative was a huge stickler. It was unfortunate that it was his sister, Kari who filled the slot.
No longer hungry, he, instead, decided to put in his locker for the end of the day. It wouldn't hurt to have an afternoon snack before practice, he thought to himself. He hummed the tune to his favorite mecha anime as he dwindled down to the lockers. When he put his stuff in the locker, he heard from snickering from the corner. Normally overlooking any childish antics, he turned to investigate. He saw a group of upperclassmen standing by the water fountain. They had their cell phones in their hand. They kept commenting about a girl who was "too easy" or "willing to give it up." Tai never enjoyed when women were degraded in such manner. He had friends that were women, his mother, and overall, his sister. He decided to overlook them, bypassing before one of the upperclassmen halted him in his tracks.
"Oi! Kamiya," said the upperclassman. His smile was wider than his hairline. Judging by the greasiness of his hair and the dryness of his skin, Tai knew he was dealing with a yankee. Keeping his calm, he turned to his direction.
"I am Kamiya. What's up," asked Tai with a guard of defense.
The boy smiled. "Nothing. Just wanted to see if what they say is true about something?"
He raised his eyebrow. "Something? Something what?"
The boy smiled, jolting his elbow at him. "You know, you know. How it is at home?"
"What are you talking about?"
The bell chimed. According to the intercom, lunch was concluded and those students were to report back to class. The upperclassmen put away their phones and left Tai alone. Snickering and laughter were the receipt of Tai's confusion. He concluded that summer break was upon them and a few weeks off would do them and himself some good. He shrugged his shoulders and hummed a tune before returning to class.
Tai turned the key to unlock the door. He took many short breaths before stepping inside of his apartment. He looked at the area where his family kept their shoes. A huge surge of relief came when he saw the missing shoes of his mother and his father. He dropped to the floor. If he could, he would cry out to the angels about his borrowed time. He knew he had about eight hours or so before their end of the shift. However, they wouldn't be home until they were asleep. He sat at the base where he took off his shoes. He rubbed his soles for the tension of his stress. He winced when he felt a sharp pain from his big toe.
He lamented that toe was partly involved in the fight. He looked to the ceiling as he tried to put the pieces together.
Take that shit back, motherfucker.
Fuck you, Kamiya!
No, fuck you when I put this shoe up your narrow ass.
Tai, stop it. He isn't worth it.
Stay out of this, Matt! I am going to ice this son of a bitch. Keep my fucking name out of your mouth.
I will, but you never said anything about your sister though.
You must want to die. Your family will be holding your ashes tomorrow and crying for you.
A loud ring came from his ears. He covered his eyes. Wetness was coming from his nose. He lightly touched it and saw it was blood. He stood up. He walked into the kitchen in search of a towel to clean the blood. As he was passing through the kitchen, someone called his name.
"Tai."
He stopped. His eyes darted when seeing that it was his sister. She was sitting at the foot of the dining room table. She was wearing an oversized red UCLA sweatshirt. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans. She was barefooted, which didn't surprised Tai. She was holding a coffee cup in her hand. She took another sip before paying attention to her brother.
"Kari," said Tai. He was hesitant, but remained calm. Both stared at each other for a few moments, as if both parties want to say something, express something, but neither had the gall to speak. He put his things down on the kitchen counter. He could smell the coffee brewing.
"Don't worry," she said. "I made enough for us as well."
Tai knew when she mentioned the both of them, he knew that she wanted to talk. Kari wasn't a coffee drinker. She only drank coffee when she was dealing with stress.
"Your nose," she cried. "What happened?"
"It was a nosebleed," he said. "Just out of nowhere."
Kari got from the counter and reached over to the kitchen sink. She pulled a towel and rinsed it with water. She then came to his direction and applied it to his nose. "You got to be careful, or else you can fall ill."
He half-heartedly smiled. "Look at you being the overprotective type. Feels like yesterday when I was the one taking care of you when you were down."
She continued applying the towel until she didn't see any more blood. She scanned both sides before putting the towel in the sink. "It isn't like yesterday anymore. I can take care of myself, I think."
"Yeah," answered Tai. He went into the cabinet to reach for a cup. Unlike Kari, he enjoyed the taste of coffee. He put two scoops of sugar and cream into the cup before applying the coffee. He grabbed a saucer and put the cup on it. Wasn't really hungry, he grabbed a snack cake and sat across from Kari.
It was an awkward, yet comfortable silence. Both stared at each other. Kari motioned to Tai if she could have a piece. He insisted. As she took a bite, Tai grunted. She returned his looks. He looked away, trying to figure out what to say about today. Still afraid to discuss how his suspension from school related to her.
He took a bite of his snack cake before Kari grabbed his hand. He dropped the fork, her eyes began watering. She began to shiver. Tai kept his demeanor.
"Kari, before you say anything. Nothing of this incident reflects upon you," he said before sighing. "No matter what you hear or I hear, that isn't who you are. Don't care what others have to think or say about you because I am going to defend you to the end."
She sniffled, looking down at the coffee cup. "Even what they say is true?"
He sighed. "Even what they say is true. You will always be my little sister." He took a sip of his coffee. "They won't be home for a few hours. I know they didn't get any side of the story." He slid the rest of his snack cake to Kari. "Now, I must know what happened so I can feel what I did was justified." He stared into her eyes, trying his best to keep his composure. He balled his hand into a fist. The next words he wanted to say was in a way, heart-wrenching. "You need to tell me everything that went down prior to today. I must know."
She shook her head in agreement.
"Remember, I won't be here to judge you. You are my sister, no matter what!"
She took him by her hand. "You don't know how lucky I am to have you as a brother." She sniffled, rubbing his hand on her cheeks.
"Ok, tell me what happened at Yolei's party last week?"
