Chapter 2
When I woke up the next morning, my head hurt, as well as my neck. And I had a bruise on my arm from where the man from the yellow scarves grabbed me. "Ugh. I wanna go home!" Coward, I thought to myself. You've been here one night, and you already want to go home? Yes, I do. But I won't. I'm here to prove something, and I will. I still don't know what I have to prove, but I'm going to prove it anyway!
I looked around at my new apartment. It definitely could use some work. I sighed and stood up. I guess I'll start unpacking. I had only brought one bag with me, filled completely with some clothes, pictures, bed sheets, toiletries, and, don't laugh, my teddy bear. I had had it since I was six. My mother got it for me, because it had a little, unnoticeable zipper in the back that, when unzipped, had a place to hide things. She got it because my father was addicted to all sorts of drugs, and stole everyone's money (including mine) to get them. My mother wanted me to be able to save my money, which was only birthday money at the time, from family, but it was still enough for me to need to save it. When I turned eighteen, I put it all in a bank account that my father couldn't get into, but I still put some of my money in it.
But anyway, it was hard to get my suitcase to close. I had to have Natsumi stand on it while I zipped it up. So when I unzipped it, it all but exploded. "Dang it!" I picked up my clothes and walked to the dresser that was only three feet away in this tiny apartment. I tried to use one hand to open a drawer, but it wouldn't budge, so I put the clothes on top of the dresser, gripped the handle to the top drawer and pulled.
It flung out of the dresser and hit me straight in the forehead. I counted to ten, took a deep breath and put the drawer back in the dresser. "Calm," I whispered to myself. I took another breath and started to arrange my clothes in the drawer. Then I put the pictures on top of the dresser, put the sheets on the futon, and spent as much time as I could draw out trying to find the perfect place on the couch for my teddy bear. All of this was done in about twenty minutes. I looked at my clock. 10:45am. "What am I supposed to do now?" My stomach growled, as if to answer me. "No, no, no! I don't have food!" I looked out the window. I started to notice how many people where wearing yellow. "I am not going out there!"
I tried to ignore my stomach, but after an hour, I couldn't take it anymore. I growled to myself and grabbed my sweater. Walking out of my apartment building, I remembered that I hadn't even showered yet today. Whatever. No one here knows me, so why should I care. As I was walking through Ikebukuro, I saw several restaurants, including one called Russia Sushi. Natsumi had told me about that place. As well as the large, black, Russian man who stood out front. She had said, "He's a little scary at first, but he's probably the sweetest person in Ikebukuro. As I walked by him, I could hear him saying, "Get Russia sushi! Is cheap! Is good!" I wanted to try it, but I didn't want to have to leave my apartment again anytime soon, so I went to a grocery store instead.
When I walked in, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to get some money out of my teddy bear. I frantically searched my pockets for my wallet. Thankfully it was there and had some money in it. Not much, but enough to buy a bad of rice, some dish soap, and a sponge. There were already some pots in my kitchen, but I wanted to thoroughly clean them before I used them.
I bought my items and left. Thankfully, I made it home okay. When I walked into my apartment, I set my bag on the counter and took off my sweater. I took one of the pans out of the cabinet, got out my soap and sponge, and started scrubbing. After I cleaned it, I filled it with water and put it on the stove. I put it on a low temperature, so that while it was heating up, I could take a quick shower.
When I got out of the shower, and into some clean clothes, I felt much better. I actually started to feel a little happy. I cooked some rice, sat down on my couch, and just ate out of the pot, while staring into space. How much longer could I stand living here? I mean, the apartment isn't too bad. And I'm sure I'll find some friendly people somewhere. I'm sure I'll be fine. As long as I don't run into Izaya again. I really don't like him. And who was that other person I'm supposed to stay away from? Oh, right. Shizuo. Natsumi, said he has light blonde hair, smokes a lot, and wears sunglasses and a bartenders uniform.
"Izaya is a dick," Natsumi had said, "but Shizuo is terrifying! I saw him throw a vending machine! He just picked it up and threw it! And he's constantly ripping street signs out of the ground and hitting people with them! If you ever see him, run! Don't stare. If he catches you looking at him, he'll get mad! I've never actually seen him hit a girl before, but still be careful!"
I really hope I don't run into him. But with my luck, who knows what will happen? I went to the sink to clean out the pot, and my elbow hit the bag of rice…that I hadn't shut. The rice went flying all over the floor. "No!" So much for not going out again. I looked out the window. I'll go when the streets are more crowded, that way, I'm less likely to be noticed. As I clean up the rice, I start thinking about Natsumi. I already miss her like crazy. I wonder when I'll get to see her again, if at all.