Chapter 4: Mr. Blue.
"This is your real home for the next year. What do you think, Rianna? Do you like it?" Uncle Willy, also known like Bill or Dave, asked when he walked inside his house and turned the first light on. Sure, the house has a more homey feeling since it has spacious hallways and a descent size kitchen with cabinets that are not falling apart; however, it still looks like a war zone. Earlier on the week, uncle told me he had moved from Hamazaki's garage all his inventions. Now, huge metal pieces were blocking most of the first floor's windows and staining the living's room wooden floor with dark, oil puddles. If this were not enough, all around the place, I caught a glimpse of various tools and blue prints; in fact, some needle nose pliers and screwdrivers had fallen in the kitchen's sink and were starting to rust.
"I know I need to clean a bit, but that can be done later. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be back."
Uncle throws to the floor his sports bag and nearly drops several boxes that were labeled as "fragile;" however, before I could suggest him to be more careful, he was already delving deeper into the house. I remained near the entrance door, letting the new scene sink in my thoughts. Right now, with all this dead machinery and tools around me, is a bit hard to imagine myself living a whole year here. Oddly enough, even with the chaos, I felt a strange sense of relief; after all, it was good to know I wouldn't be sleeping in the living room because truth o be told, I could use a little bit more of privacy to rest after today's long trip. Yesterday, when we left Osaka, I wasn't expecting to arrive to Bunkyō at five a.m., so I didn't sleep at all while we were on the bus. It didn't help that the seats were stiff and the person in front of me insisted on moving his seat all the way back, crushing my knees, but that's beside the point. By the time we walked down, my eyes felt as heavy as a pair of rocks and the pain that roamed all through my body was simply too much to bear, especially when it lingered longer in my arms and legs.
I put my bags down on the floor and began making my way towards the living room, where, after moving away some bags full of screws, I found an old couch to sit. Tired, I let my body fall right on the couch's pillows, even if a faint, musty scent was exuding from them.
"Rianna!" Uncle walked back into the living room, emerging from the dark hallway. "Here, this is for you." He said and gave me two bags and a pamphlet. I put the pamphlet on my lap before opening the first bag and taking out a new set of new blankets and a matching pillow.
"Ah, thank you, Uncle. I will put them on my bed as soon as I know where I am sleeping."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you! I sleep on a futon, you know, that flat mattress you on the floor. I thought you would be into experiencing everything about the Japanese culture, so I bought you one too. Though, if you feel uncomfortable, I promise you I will get a bed as soon as I can."
Perhaps, my fatigue had already conquered my brain because instead of imagining insects creeping to my lips while I sleep on the floor, all I did was to nod and agree with my uncle's plans; after all, I am not very sensitive anyway.
"Wait, there's something else inside that bag. Take it out. It needs fresh air."
Fresh air? Quickly, I sat straight up in couch, making the pamphlet fall from my lap. What could my uncle possibly put inside the bag that would need fresh air? Trembling, I put my hand inside the plastic bag and immediately I felt something soft caressing my skin. It felt as if I was touching a towel, a very fluffy towel.
Slowly, I took the object out and, indeed, it was a towel with something inside it…
"The surprise is wrapped in there" Uncle pointed out. Carefully, I began unfolding whatever was inside the towel until a pair of button-like eyes met with mine.
"A teddy bear? I asked, looking at the little bear, which light brown plush—although soft—seemed to have a couple of darker stains. When I leaned to look closer at his eyes, I notice a couple of scratches too. Call it a "hunch" but I suspect my uncle got the teddy bear from a thrift store; however, before I could even ask about it, he rushed to my side and took a seat next to me.
"His name is…uh…" my uncle took the teddy bear (gently) from my hands and looked around the room, stopping when he saw a blue ink spot on the coffee table's surface. "Mr. Blue! And he is all yours." he said triumphantly, rising the bear to the ceiling, almost as if it was some sort of trophy.
"Uh, but Uncle, I am sixteen' I don't play with—"
"You will need it, Riana." uncle said confidently. "You know, your mom used to say that the reason why girls like to keep stuff animals is because they need someone that would keep their secrets safe. Of course, she said this when she was around nine years old, but I thought to myself, hey! Maybe Rianna would need one of this; after all, you are about to start a whole new chapter in your life."
Mr. Blue's eyes looked very big in comparison to his nose, which seemed to have been pushed downward, making him look like a crossing between a bear and a bulldog. Still, there was something charming about it. Maybe, it was Mr. Blue's size— he was no bigger than the palm of my hand, and that made him kinda cute. At that point, all I could do was smile. For some reason, I wasn't able to speak; in fact, all I could hear was the sound of the living room blinds hit each other whenever the air decided to changed its direction.
"Here, I will put Mr. Blue in the coffee table, next to the spot that inspired his name," uncle finally said, setting us free from our short-lived silence's spell. "Now, I want you to look at this."
He picked the pamphlet from the floor and handed it back to me. The first thing that caught my attention was the expensive the choice of paper. During the Super Bowl season, my dad had the brilliant idea of hiring a printing company to do coupons for his restaurant. Purposely, he chose an economical, glossy paper since he thought some people would ended up throwing them away anyway; however, whoever designed these pamphlets didn't think about that. They were printed in a matte paper that prevented light from reflecting on the surface, which made the breathtaking picture on the front stand out even more. Behind a perfectly cut front lawn, I saw a tall building that looked just like a medieval castle. When I flipped the pamphlet open, I found more pictures of that same building; in addition to some others that were showing people wearing light blue jackets and Victorian-style dresses.
"Is this an amusement park?" I asked while looking a picture where a group of girls was having a tea party in what appeared to be a huge rose garden.
"Uh? No!" Uncle laughed, "That, my child, is your new school: the Ouran Academy."
"WHAAAAAT?" I stood abruptly from the coach, making the second plastic bag (the one I have not open) fall to the ground, exposing the sleeve of a yellow dress, just like the one the girls in the pamphlet were wearing.
"Oh, careful there, Rianna. You don't want to stain your uniform."
"Uniform?" I repeated, trying to stop my lips from trembling. "That thing is a uniform?" Uncle knelt down and quickly picked the dress.
"Well, yeah…and—"
"And uncle, I don't know much about expenses but look at the pamphlet. I don't like all the zeros that are under to the tuition costs section. OhGoshOhGoshOhGoshOhGosh!" I said rapidly, almost losing my breath as I passed back and forward. moving my right hand up and down in a rhythmic motion. As I did this, I began to wonder how it was possible for my uncle to pay for something like that when we didn't have any real food to eat while we were staying at home Hamazaki's house. I mean, even if my parents are sending him money every month to help him with my expenses, I don't know if we can afford something so ludicrous and so big!
"Hey!" uncle grabbed me by shoulders, stopping me before I could hit my right knee with one of the coffee table's corners. "Calm down, Rianna. Here, talk to Mr. Blue."
He took Mr. Blue from the table and gave it to me along with the uniform, which, by the way, was heavier than what I thought.
"Once you are done talking to Mr. Blue, you can take a shower and get ready. School starts soon and you have orientation to attend. Also, I have an appointment with the chancellor, so chop-chop. Let's get moving."
Uncle Willy pushed me to the hallway before turning around and walking to the kitchen. Great! This is just great! Can you believe it, Mr. Blue? Not only does Uncle make me get lost in Osaka, but he also forgets to tell me that a) I am attending this Ouran place and b) I am going to orientation today! Someone should teach him how to do a schedule because he doesn't know how to plan a day; plus, how the heck am I supposed to get ready? He hasn't tell me which room is mine. Heck, he hasn't even shown me the way to the bathroom.
I sigh.
This is not the best way to kick-start the day.