"Summer Vacation"
"Chapter Three"
"Tell Dad I'm going to the library!" His sister slammed the door behind her leaving him alone to think for the first time in days.
"Hn."
Only a month had passed of his three-month vacation. He was sitting in his orange-tinted kitchen, drinking a mug of hot cocoa in the brimming heat. Yes, he was unorthodox like that. After the thrill of returning home and catching up with everyone wore off, boredom set in. Mikan's phone number, cursive written on a buy-one-get-one free Howalon coupon, laid in his pocket. He couldn't bring himself to call or ride the two buses it took to see her. He had his own reasons for avoiding her though Ruka called them insecurities. Ruka wasn't holding his tongue since their return home. His best friend called him a coward, selfish, and stupid for not calling! He would have to put bunny boy in check one of these days.
He gulped down the last of his drink, not wanting to make the home noisy with his swallowing. He stared at a digital dragon clock in front of him. It was an expensive novelty his father had bought. Something that he had not seen as a child, realizing many changes in this home were made without him.
Home strangely hadn't felt like home or at least the home he once remembered. His family did try to make his stay comfortable by pampering him: They had bought him a new bed (not as nice as the academy's), a new smartphone (not the new version that only the Academy store had), and a varsity jacket (albeit with cheaper fabric compared to the academy's) from Aoi's school or his old one. Since when did his father have money to splurge on him with a gardener's salary? None of the gifts amounted to much except the cellphone. Cellphone—A device useful for communicating with others like his friends. Friends who were all separated.
His avoiding Mikan was on purpose but avoiding his friends was not. When the class readied themselves for vacations, he didn't make any effort to link up with them. As long as he knew where Mikan and Ruka were he was fine. The rest of his friends were all somewhere in Japan which was enough for him. When Anna and Nonoko made a huge deal of crying and promising to visit each other during the break, his eyes rolled more than once. In two months, they would all be together in the choking confines of Alice Academy. Why bother meeting anyone early?
If his Polka were here, she would nag him that his anti-socialness was rearing its head. He touched the paper in his pocket for comfort. He hated it; the fact, he missed her. Maybe he would leave her a short, untraceable voice message.
He checked his old phone for messages. The phone booted and he swiped away the lock-screen. His homescreen was their graduation photo. Mikan had made it so without his knowledge. He hadn't changed it, and he secretly didn't think he ever would. In the photo, his ridiculous blonde teacher's finger was in the camera lens, leaving Koko with a manicured thumb for a face. How fitting. Mikan was next to him beaming, Sumire made goo-goo eyes from behind Yuu, sandwiched between Anna and Mochu, and Yoichi (who should have been in the elementary school photo) sat atop Ruka's shoulders; Kitsuneme made bunny ears on top of Koko's head, Nonoko crouched down in the picture, wanting to stand out, and the rest of the students held a sign saying, "Happy Graduation!" If he hadn't known what a hell hole Alice Academy was, he might have been eager to return next year.
There were no messages and his battery was dying.
He heard a door open.
"Hey, kiddo! Where's Aoi?" It was his father back from working at his flower shop, Hyuuga Florist. Natsume would have rather been Narumi's son then take over the family business.
"Library."
"Aw, don't tell me you're back to giving one word replies?"
"Per-haps..."
"Syllables don't count, Mister." His father pulled a work smock off and washed his hands in the kitchen sink. He pointed at the dragon clock. "Hey, Mr. Ryuu here, says it's time for dinner! Ryuu wants to know if plantains sound good to you?"
Natsume gave a curt nod. He didn't want to encourage it. It was almost disturbing to see a grown man hold a full conversation with an inanimate object, while frying plantains.
"You using the new phone I bought you?"
"Have to... My old one died from low battery. It's so dumb."
"Ah, you teenagers always complaining about something. Back in my day, we never complained! We were grateful! If we had more than enough, we shared. If an old man needed clothes, we would give the ones off our backs. The older generation is something to emulate, Natsume."
"Don't forget dear Papa, about that mid-life crisis you had years ago. I hadn't heard you complain so much about your dysfunctions. Hair dysfunction, bowel dysfunction, and what was the other one? I think it was—"
"Shut up and eat, boy." Mr. Hyuuga narrowed his eyes, throwing the plate of plantains across the table. Natsume moved his empty cup of cocoa and popped a plantain in his mouth.
Natsume smiled. "Will do, sir."
/+/+/+/
"Aye, what's up, brat?" Tono greeted him from behind the register.
The new Alice Academy graduate was working hard to take over the Tonochi clothing business. So far, he worked as a simple cashier, and Tsubasa took every chance to annoy him. The customer was always right of course!
"Dang, Tono I thought you would at least show me some respect outside the academy. I graduate next year you know."
"Would you rather I call you by your pet name, Shadow Freak?"
Tsubasa ignored him. "I can't believe I'll get this punishment mark off my cheek one day. I have had it so long it feels like it's a part of me. It might be weird but after it's taken off, I'll replace it with a star tattoo or redo it with a sharpie."
"I know what you mean. Even after leaving the Academy, I can't get out of the way I used to do things there. Maybe I never will. We are still under the academy's thumb with the missions we do." Tono stretched his arms before ringing up Tsubasa's clothes, which one of them was surprisingly a tuxedo. "You gonna pop the question to Misaki? If you do, don't be lame like your confession to her last time. 'OH MISAKI, IF I COME BACK SAFE WILL YO-"
"Sheesh! Shut up!" Tsubasa's hands covered Tono's mouth. The store was full for crying out loud! "You want everyone to hear? Yes, I am going to marry her! She's the love of my life. The shameful thing is she knows it. I'm just waiting on the right day to propose to her. I want her to live a happy life away from the academy."
"I know, lover boy. Everyone knows," Tono wrapped the suits in a clear, protective bag before flicking Tsubasa's forehead. "You two take care of yourselves. If you settle down here, I can help you guys out."
"I don't want to be a pessimistic, but I just feel like something's going to go wrong. Listen, I left my car back at the academy because my mom drove me back home. Can you drive me over there tonight?"
"Yeah, sure anything for my old kohai." He handed him the bags. When Tsubasa looked into them, he noticed no receipt.
"Hey, you forgot to charge me for the suits. Don't become a forgetful, old man!"
"I didn't forget." His once-senpai and now dear friend smiled at him.
Oh!
"Thanks again, man!"
:D Yay! Another chapter out! This one's shorter than the others. For the last three days, I have written the first three chapters you see now. Hope you guys have liked them.
Can you tell Natsume's starting to miss the academy? He's also missing Mikan, but has to keep avoiding her. Wonder why? :p
I really like writing banter between Natty-boy and his dad and Tsubasa and Tono!
Thanks for reading and/or reviewing! Have a lovely life!
