The next morning, the sun is shining through the window, but it's still freezing. I curl up under the blanket even more and my ribs scream at me. In response, a dry squeak escapes from my lips. Just as my eyes are about to creak closed my bag starts ringing, vibrating and flashing. 'Oh, my phone.'
My body stays glued to the mat, but I can snake my good hand into the little pocket on my backpack. Squinting at my bright screen, I hold my breath because it's a blocked number. A million thoughts flash through my mind in that split second transition from looking at the caller I*D to actually answering the phone.
"Hello," I say, trying not to sound groggy.
"Hello, is this Georgie Sanchez?" An unfamiliar voice is on the other end of the line; it's a man.
"Speaking," I say nervously. My breathing gets shaky and the room starts to spin. I haven't even heard what this man has to say yet, but I'm already starting to have a panic attack.
"I'm officer Hiroshi with the sector C police station, calling in regards to Jin Okozawa."
"Yes?"
"A nurse at the Ottori Hospital branch filed a police report yesterday, and your uncle has been taken into custody." I release that breath that I was holding in. Is it a bad thing that I'm so relieved? "There's just one problem." Scratch that.
"What's wrong?" My grip tightens around the phone as I brace myself for impact.
"Mr. Okozowa left the hospital before we could arrest him. The hospital staff was able to look into some files and find his address and other information easily because he was Matilda Okozowa's in case of emergency contact. We were able to track him down at his apartment where we successfully took him into custody. But..."
"But?"
"He completely vandalized the apartment. It was mostly your belongings and personal items that he destroyed." Why am I not surprised?
"It's okay, all of that stuff can be replaced. I just need to know..." I pause and take a deep breath. "You're not going to let him out, right?"
"Don't worry, that man is going away for quite awhile. But just to be sure, we'd like to have you come down to the station and let us take some pictures of the damage he's done. It'll help us while we file the report so we have evidence to back up your case and put him in prison for as long as we possibly can." Whatever it takes to put him away.
"Sure, I can do that. When should I come?"
"Can you come in a couple of hours? Maybe 8:30?"
"I can make that work. What's the address?"
"Alright, grab a pen and paper," he says kind of friendly-like. You can tell that he's trying to be sympathetic, he probably knows about Matty too.
I scramble to grab a pencil and my sketchbook out of my backpack. At least it's not my dominant hand that's burnt. So I flip my journal to a clean page. "Alright, go ahead, I'm ready."
"You need to come into the west side of town. The building is on the intersection of 34th Ave. and Chestnut road. You need too look for building 3608 and ask the receptionist to see me." I scribble it down the best I can but it's a little awkward with one hand.
"Intersection of 34th Ave and Chestnut Road, building 3608," I say as I write. "I'll be there at 8:30 sharp. See you then." I hang up, stuff my pencil behind my ear and sigh deeply. I look at the time and it's not even six. I might as well get up and make breakfast before I head out.
I get up at a glacial pace, but I get up. I pad my way to the kitchen and raid the fridge for breakfast ingredients. after grabbing milk, carrots celery, onions, a chunk of beef and chrysanthemums, I get to work. I season the beef and let it sit for a few minutes while I cut the vegetables with one hand (which isn't exactly a picnic, but it works well enough). I make sure to slice the onions extra small, so then nobody will actually chomp into them but they'll taste the flavor. Then I throw them into a pot of milk so they'll cook nicely while I slice the meat, then I throw that in too. After putting a lid on the pot, I let the stew cook and turn my attention to the pantry.
There's a big bag of rice with a measuring cup and so I dump some into the rice cooker. Now that everything is all set, I rinse off the cutting board and knife with one hand. Then I put the leftover veggies back where I had found them.
But I described this whole process in a nutshell, I've actually killed an hour trying to get breakfast ready with the use of only one hand. It's already 7:00, but the stew can simmer for a couple of hours. I'll set the table really quick and be on my way.
As I'm searching the cupboards for bowls, I hear a door upstairs slide open. Footsteps descend down the stairs and Shigure appears. "Good morning," I say with a smile. And he gives me a confused look.
"Georgie, it's seven in the morning. What are you doing out of bed?"
"I could ask you the same thing," I say nonchalantly as I open the cupboard door.
"I came downstairs to check on you." He crosses his arms over his chest, then he gives me a look.
"What?" I groan. "I'm earning my keep. That was our deal, I cook in exchange for a place to stay." Then I pull three bowls down and shut the cupboard with my shoulder.
He walks towards me with an amused smile and takes the bowls from my hands. "I meant when you healed. Go back to sleep."
"I'm actually feeling pretty good considering...everything. And I have to head out soon; so if you can take the stew off the stove in an hour and a half, I'd really appreciate it."
"And where do you think you're going?" He does that sarcastic laughter, so he's not going to let me off easy.
"Jin got arrested, so I'm going to file a report with the police station. And I really need to do some shopping, so yeah," I say without making much eye contact.
"Wait, wait, what? Hold on, you're making a police report?"
"Well yeah, but I don't mind. It just means that he really will be put away, so he can't hurt anyone else." His eyes soften slightly. "So will you please take the stew off the stove at 8:30?"
"Not a chance."
"Shigure, it'll burn if you don't-"
"Kyo can do it, because he's already up. I'm coming with you."
"That's really sweet of you, but-"
"No buts, give me five minutes to get dressed and then we'll take the train." Before I can react, he disappears up the stairs.
"What just happened," I say to myself. I try to wrap my hair into a knot and use the pencil behind my ear to hold it in place. I look at myself in the reflection of the cupboard and my face looks pretty gnarly. I knew to expect the black eye but I don't remember when Jin clipped my bottom lip. People are going to stare. I pull my bangs to the side so they'll at least cover my eye.
Shigure eventually comes down the stairs in a nice suit. "Well aren't you looking swanky?"
"Why thank you. But don't you want to change?"
"The thing is, I only have my work uniform and my school clothes. According to the officer, Jin trashed all of my stuff. So this is my only set of normal clothes,"I say, gesturing to my sweater and jeans. He's a little shocked to say the least. "But I have some emergency cash so I can probably get another outfit, some sturdy boots and a coat."
"In the mean time, you can't go running around the city in that thin little sweater. You can borrow one of my old jackets." He leads me to a coat closet. He grabs his coat first and then hands me an older one, but it's kind of cool looking. It's a dark brown sports jacket with light brown patches on the elbows. I try it on and it's a little big, but it beats not having a coat at all. "You look good in my jacket, Georgie," he says with a wicked smile. Not knowing how to react, I just nod at him and hope to God that my cheeks aren't as red as I think they are.
After stuffing the inside pocket with my money, we leave.
-(TIME LAPSE)-
We're standing on the train and a stale feeling is hanging in the air. "So, what are you going to tell the police?"
"The truth," I shrug. "I think that the nurse pretty much told them the extent of what happened. The officer said that they need to take some pictures of the physical damage for evidence."
"That makes enough sense," he replies.
"I'm hoping that we can get in and out as fast as possible." I shiver at the thought of actually going to the police station.
"I thought that you were feeling confident about this," he says inquisitively.
"Don't get me wrong, he does need to be put away. But once I file this report, I have to acknowledge all of the abuse. I can't just brush it off anymore, it's going to become real. And I won't be able to pretend that it never happened. And I won't be able to pretend that I didn't get uprooted from another home, or that another family walked out of my life." I stare out the window, and all the buildings whizzing by. "It's almost like there's no time to grieve. Everything's been happening so fast, and I have to keep on moving forward or else the world might go on spinning without me."
"What do you mean, 'the world will go on spinning without you'?"
"I've seen what happens when people get caught up in their despair. When my mom died, my dad spiraled into depression. For months, he was stuck in September 11th. But that didn't stop the world from turning. Before he knew it, I turned four and he hadn't been mentally present to acknowledge that. He had been completely unaware that time had passed until he went into the war. And I can't afford to get caught up in my grief because I have too much going on right now."
In the background a couple of women are whispering. "Look at that guy."
"He's pretty good looking, huh?"
"Do you think that girl with the frizzy hair is his girlfriend?" Frizzy?
"No way. Someone that scruffy couldn't possibly be dating a guy like that." I am not scruffy!
"Should we go talk to him?"
"Yeah! let's go," the other one says excitedly. Suddenly, we hit a big bump on the track, which nearly knocks me over. But a strong hand catches me.
"You have to be more careful dear," He feigns concern. "You had better hold onto me the rest of the way, just to be safe." Then he wraps an arm around my waist and shoots me with a devilish wink. My face gets extremely red, I can feel it.
I crane my neck and I see the ladies walk to the back of the train with heads hung low.
"You owe me big, hunny," I say with a sour tone.
"Just pretend until we get off the train, it might be kind of fun," he whispers down to me.
"Just until we get off the train," I say shooting a fake smile at those girls, who are obviously still staring at us. I rest my head in that nook between his arm and his chest because he's a good head taller than me, so I can't quite reach his shoulder.
He kind of gets this dreamy look on his face, then it hits me. "This is you're first time hugging a girl, isn't it?" Then he sort of pauses.
"I suppose that it is," he chuckles.
"That means I don't get to see what you turn into. So what's your animal?"
"I have a feeling that you can guess," he says with a sly smile.
"Well, I know that Kyo is the cat. So I can rule out that option. Are you the tiger?"
"I'm flattered, but I'm not the tiger."
"Mmm...what about the ox?"
"The ox?"
"Well, you have a strong personality. So the ox seemed like a possibility."
"Just wait until you meet the actual ox, his mannerisms are far more severe," his voice sings.
"Oh wait, I know," I brighten up. "You're the dog, right?"
"Wow, you guessed a lot faster than I thought. How'd you know?"
"How do I put this? Dogs are kind of happy animals, and you seem like a generally happy person. And when dogs know that they're doing something wrong, they act all cute to get out of being punished and I feel like that's something that you might do." The man jut bursts into violent laughter, and he kind of vibrates. "What?"
"You're so blatantly honest," he says, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Is that a bad thing?" Damn it, me and my big mouth!
"No, it's refreshing." Then the train screeches to a halt. "This is our stop." He smiles and we step off the train.
-(TIME LAPSE)-
We walk up to the receptionists' desk and my stomach is in knots. "May I help you," a bespectacled old lady asks.
"I'm here to see Officer Hiroshi."
"Right this way," she says stepping away from the desk and she gestures for me to follow her.
The woman takes us to a small office in the back of the station. There are stacks of paperwork reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Even the desk is completely covered. And I almost overlooked the man behind the stack of manila folders. "Miss Sanchez, I presume?" I nod in response."Sit down, dear, we have lot to discuss."
-(TIME LAPSE)-
"So all of this abuse has been going on for almost a month?" He says, as he lights up a cigar.
"Yes sir," I say quietly.
"I'm sorry, Miss Sanchez. But the best I can do is put him in prison for a year, force him to take some anger management courses, and get you to sign a restraining order against him. Beyond that, there's not much else I can do to help."
"Now hold on just a minute," Shigure says from the back of the office. "This young lady has endured weeks of harsh, physical abuse and you mean to tell me that the best you can do is put this man behind bars for a year? That's-"
"Okay." Then both of their heads snap back at me. "If he learns to control his temper and I don't have to be near him again, then I'm fine with that." They both look a little shocked to say the least. I will myself not to cough at the smoke wafting from the cigar in the officers' mouth, so I change the subject. "You said something about taking photos for evidence over the phone. Do we still need to do that?"
-(TIME LAPSE)-
"Alright, hold still," the lady behind the camera says. And then a bright flash nearly blinds me. "Turn to the side." I turn to the side. Flash. "Let me see your back." I turn around. Flash. And for almost twenty minutes, she has me spread out my arms, remove my gauze, and I have to let her get all up in my personal space so she can get close ups of my face and neck. "I think that we have enough pictures now. Go ahead and put your shirt back on and then you can wait for your brother at the front desk."
"Oh, he's not my brother," I say slipping the sweater back on.
"What's your relationship with him," she says inquisitively.
"He's a good friend," I improvise. "And we've loosely discussed the idea of him becoming my foster parent.
"Well that's nice of him."
++++++++(While Georgie was taking pictures in the evidence locker)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Mr. Sohma, what are your intentions regarding the girl at this point?" The officer puffs on his cigar and blows the smoke in Shigure's face.
"I would like to become the child's foster parent," he says cooly. The officer sighs.
"Look Shigure, raising a kid isn't easy. And it's even harder when they're teenagers. Right now, Georgie's emotionally unstable and more likely to be a flight risk."
"Flight risk?"
"You know," he puffs. "A lot of kids don't like the foster care system, so they try to run away from the foster home. Teenagers are usually more prone to leaving."
"Officer, I sincerely believe that I can provide a safe environment for the girl. I have a stable source of income, there's plenty of room for her and this isn't my first time raising a young adult. I'm already the legal guardian for two other boys about her age, so I know what I'm doing."
"I guess I can't argue with that, and you seem to have already made up your mind. So I'll give you a temporary certification until a social worker can come inspect the home."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++(TIME LAPSE)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shigure meets me back at the reception area. "So what did Hiroshi have to say?"
"We were just getting some formalities out of the way. The important thing is that I got a temporary certification to be your guardian," he smiles.
"That's great," I laugh. Wow, genuine laughter. I'm actually pretty happy considering everything that's happened. "Thank you so much!"
"And you're all done with the woman in the evidence locker, correct?"
"Uh yeah. I think that we're free to leave now." So we walk out the door and walk onto the freezing street. There's barely three inches of snow on the ground, which is surprising because last nights storm was pretty gnarly. But that's just how some blizzards work. You don't need a lot of powder to get a dangerous storm as long as there's enough wind.
"So where are we off to now?" Shigure stuffs his hands into his pockets and looks at me expectantly.
"You can go home, if you want. But like I said, I need to do some shopping. So can I meet you back at the house in a few hours?"
"I'd feel better if you would let me come with you," he smiles.
"Are you sure? Shopping isn't exactly the most fun past time on the planet," I shrug. Guys NEVER enjoy following girls around stores and carrying their bags. Trust me, I know. I had three big brothers and they ALL complained about taking their girlfriends to the mall.
"Why, of course I'm sure. There's a shopping center a couple of blocks away."
-(TIME LAPSE)-
"So, which one do you want to go in," he asks me. And my mouth sort of hangs open. This mall is ridiculously huge! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Um, is there a second-hand store or something else that's reasonably priced?" My saucer-sized eyes scan the shop windows, and all of the clothes on display look really expensive. And I feel an ache in the pit of my wallet.
"Not exactly."
"Of course not," I huff. "Alright, maybe we can try to look through that one?" Then I point to a shop that doesn't have so many frilly things in the display.
We walk in and I make my way straight to the back of the store. "Georgie," Shigure calls after me. I stop and turn towards him. "Where are you going?"
"The clearance racks are always in the back of the store." I thought that this was common knowledge until I saw the look on his face. "I'm cheap, okay? I like my clothes warm, and I like them on sale." He stifles a chuckle and I roll my eyes in response. I turn my attention back to the rack.
There are a couple of button-up shirts and a few tees. There are some thermals folded up next to all the pants. I take a couple of each and a couple of pullovers from the next rack over. Everything costs less than the equivalent of five American dollars, so I know that I can afford it. I won't lie, the pile is mostly full of grey and muted tones. But that's okay. I don't really like to wear bright, flashy clothes. I honestly wanna upchuck at the sight of sequence and anything bedazzled. So I'm pretty pleased with my stack.
I head towards the cash register and Shigure pops out from a random rack with his hands behind his back. "Um, Shigure?"
"What would you think about wearing something like this?" He has a goofy grin on his face and he holds a puffy piece of fabric out to me.
"What is it? a circus tent?"
"It's a dress, you silly girl," He says with a little too much glee. Is it just me, or has his personality changed since we left the police station? He was totally serious this morning, professional even. But now he's kind of a girl crazy creeper. This is why he wanted to go to the store with me, he just wants to check out the girls that are my age!
"I realize that it's a dress, but it's a little showy for my taste." The skirt of it is poofy and dripping in lace,it's a spaghetti strap with a plunging neck-line, AND IT'S PINK FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! I can't wear this!
"It's important for a young lady your age to actually dress like a young lady. So I think that you should try on the dress." He's trying to be persuasive, but I'm not falling for that crap.
"Haha, nice try!" I laugh a little too loudly. "I'll tell you what. I'll wear a dress if something really important comes up. But until something really important comes up, I'm sticking to jeans and sneakers, Bub."
"Georgie, you're no fun," he pouts.
"It's almost winter, and I wouldn't have anywhere to wear it," I argue.
"What if a nice boy wants to take you to a movie or dinner," he retorts. I can't stop a horrible snort and the uncontrollable laughter that follows. "It could happen!"
"On that extremely off chance that someone asks me out on a date, I'll come back and get a skirt or something AFTER I get my paycheck. Let's just focus on getting the necessities today, okay?"
-(TIME LAPSE)-
After the girl at the register rings me up, we leave and head towards a shoe shop. It takes me exactly two minutes to find a decent pair of black combat boots that'll keep the water out of my socks. Besides shampoo and some other basic toiletries, I only have one other thing to get.
As we're walking, I yank Shigure's sleeve and he looks down at me. "What's the matter?"
"You should go home without me. I promise to meet you there in two hours, but you really need to head out." I get all fidgety and avoid eye contact.
"Georgie, tell me what's wrong." He says with concern. He really doesn't have to worry. This isn't a big deal. I just need to do it on my own.
"I just need to do something." I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks.
"Georgie, you're scaring me," he says. "You need to tell me what's wrong right now."
"It's not a big deal. Just trust me." I chew my bottom lip (the side of it that isn't scraped up).
"No, I'm not going to 'just trust you'. It's my responsibility to make sure that you won't get in trouble or hurt again-"
"I'm not going to do anything that reckless. There's just something that I have to do on my own and it's really important."
He clamps onto my wrist and looks down on me with a hard expression. "You're going to tell me what's going on right now, or else I'll sling you over my shoulder and drag you back to the house!"
"I have to buy underwear, okay?!" My face feels like it lit up like a stop light, and his mouth kind of hangs open. It takes a second for him to strike the proper reaction, and his face turns beet red too.
"Oh," is his response. "I see."
"Yeah," my voice cracks. "When the police said Jin destroyed all of my stuff, they meant ALL of my stuff."
"I understand, but I can't just leave you here. I'll go to the food court while you buy... what you need. Just meet me there when you finish," He says, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Will do." I look at my shoes and he gives me an awkward thumbs up before he practically sprints in the other direction.
-(TIME LAPSE)-
Figuring out sizes was a little confusing, but I think I got what I needed. After paying, I leave the store and look around. I just can't find the stupid food court!
I guess that I have to do the girl thing and ask for directions. I stop a group of guys in front of a cell phone vendor and try not to choke on my words. "Uh hi," I awkwardly wave at them. They look at me with sour expressions, but I ignore them. "So uh, can you guys tell me where the food court is. I'm a little lost." They continue to give me the 'are you seriously talking to us right now?' face.
Then one guy's expression changes completely. He has chestnut hair and dark eyes that light up a little when he recognizes me. "Oh wait, you're the new girl!"
"Come again?"
"You just transferred to Kaibarra High. We're in class 1A too," he gestures to the other three boys. "God Sanchez, what happened to you?"
"Oh," I say touching my fat lip. "I was walking home from the grocery store in that blizzard and I couldn't see very well. So I sort of wound up falling in a ditch and I messed up my hand pretty bad...and my face...and like two different ribs. But the doctor did a good job patching me up, so I feel okay." I don't like lying, but everything is too complicated. So I'll tell part of the truth and improvise.
"Damn," he almost shouts. "How are you up and moving around already?"
"I got some crazy powerful pain meds," I shrug. "So, the food court?"
"Oh yeah," he snaps back to reality. "I can show you where to go." He waves off his friends and we walk away from the vendor. As we're trying to find the food court, he's friendly and tries to make some small talk. "So what brings you to the mall today?" He smiles nicely with pretty, pearly whites.
"I lost some stuff in the move and I finally got the chance to do some shopping," I lie.
"That's unfortunate," he frowns. "You didn't lose anything important, did you?"
"Not really, just some clothes. So I think that I got what I needed." I hold up the bags so he can see, and I try to smile like he did.
"Good," he smiles back.
"So," I say looking down at my shoes.
"So," his voice fades.
"Is there breakfast at the food court right now? I'm starving," I say exaggeratedly.
"There's a really good crepe vendor around the corner," he chuckles.
"Wow, I've never had crepes before," I smile. "Is it that cart?" I point to the booth with a man and a big, smooth stove. He nods yes and we walk towards the guy. There is a list of flavors painted nicely on the front of the cart, and this guy doesn't waste any time.
"Two please," he says holding up two fingers. "Banana for me and whatever the lady wants on the other one." Then he shoots me a wink.
"Oh uh, strawberry please." Then he pays the cook before I can even reach for my wallet. The vendor man pours the mixture into a big rotating stove. At first, it looks like he's just making some fruity pancakes. But then he pulls out some massive spatulas and folds them all fancy.
After wrapping them all nicely the man says,"Thank you, have a nice day." This guy takes both of the crepes and hands the strawberry one to me.
I kind of smirk and accept the treat before saying," I hope you know that I'm paying you back."
"No need, I really don't mind." He smiles again.
"I can't let you buy me food, we just met. I don't even know your name," I huff. What is it with people lately? First Yuki shows up at school early to give me a tour, Kyo gets me out of the blizzard, Hatori gives me free medical treatment, Shigure volunteers to be my guardian and now this guy is buying me breakfast. It's almost too good to be true.
"Fine, I'm Hajime Ida. You're Georgie Sanchez. And I'm happy to buy you a crepe."
"That's really nice of you, but it wouldn't feel right unless I payed you back," I chuckle nervously. I take a bite out of the pretty pastry and it's so delicious! "Mmm, this is so good!" It's really soft and really crunchy at the same time.
"I'm glad that you like it so much," he laughs. He takes a healthy bite out of his, but he doesn't have the same reaction as me. Don't get me wrong, he's enjoying it. But he's just not as enthused, probably because he's had crepes before.
I reach into my coat so I can pay him back, but he stops me. "Alright Sanchez, I'll let you pay me back on one condition."
"What kind of condition," I say before taking another bite.
"You have to give me your phone number," he says cooly.
"Deal," I say taking about three hundred yen out of my pocket.
"And." He says holding up one finger to stop me.
"And?"
"You can't get mad if I don't wait twenty four hours to call and ask you out on a date," he says with a smirk.
"Oh." I feel my eyes pop out of my skull and my cheeks turn a thousand shades of red. "I-"
I see Shigure across the food court and he's waving his hands over his head yelling," Georgie, we're going to miss the train! Hurry up!"
"I really have to go," I say handing him the money. "I'm sorry. I'll see you at school, Ida." And then I rush off to meet Shigure.