Chapter 10: Someday

"Hey, Doser, where's Lyric?" Totakeke asked, readjusting his backpack over his shoulders.
"She's not with you?" Doser asked quizzically, blinking at him in confusion.
"That's so weird…she always meets us at our lockers in the mornings…"

The two friends leaned against their lockers, looking back and forth along the hallways for a sign of their third musketeer.

"She's been weird lately," Doser murmured, "She doesn't even wanna walk to school with us anymore."
"I know, right? And she comes home a lot later than she used to."
"Should we ask?"
"If we see her, yeah."

After a few minutes, they were risking being late to homeroom. Heaving synchronized sighs, the two friends waved goodbye and parted ways to their respective classrooms. Unfortunately, Lyric ran on a different schedule compared to them, so they didn't sync up on any classes. Totakeke wouldn't have a chance to see her until she made her way home. He sat in homeroom wondering why she suddenly went AWOL on him and Doser. Had he made her mad? She never seemed mad, but he knew how girls could be sometimes, and he started going through every memory from the past few weeks trying to figure out what he did.

But he couldn't come up with anything. Their time together had been perfectly fine, full of deep and meaningful conversations and silly moments before her sudden disappearance. So what was wrong? He kept asking that question during every class change, every bell, and every crack in the sidewalk as he walked home with Doser.

"Let's wait on her porch," Doser suggested when they got home.
"Yeah, sure," Totakeke agreed.

The boys parked themselves on Lyric's porch. Totakeke leaned against the railing and doodled in one of his notebooks while Doser played a video game. Her mother's car wasn't in the driveway, so after a half hour passed, Doser went home for his football and they tossed it in Lyric's driveway while they waited.

"Where is she?" Totakeke groaned after another hour passed, "She's really really late…"
"Beats me, man. Wanna just go home?"
"Just twenty more minutes…"

Doser heaved a deep sigh and tossed him the ball again. As their time drew to its end, Totakeke saw headlights turning into the driveway, and the driver honked the horn.

"Her mom," Totakeke said as he caught Doser's throw, "Move it."

The two boys moved to the lawn and Lyric's mother pulled into the driveway. She emerged and gazed at them both in mild confusion.

"Not that it bothers me in the slightest, but why are you two tossing that in my driveway?" she asked with a light chuckle.
"We've been waiting for Lyric to get home," Totakeke answered, juggling the football in his hands, "Know when she'll be back?"
"Aww, boys, I'm sorry, but my sweety's over at a friend's tonight. She's staying over. She'll be home after school tomorrow, though, after soccer! Come see her then."

She cruised into her house, and Totakeke and Doser traded amused glances.

"Soccer?" they repeated in unison.

xxx

"It makes sense if she's playing a sport now," Doser said the next morning, pulling books out of his locker, "She's probably gone totally crazy over practicing. You know how she gets, being little Miss Perfect and all…"
"I just don't get why she wouldn't say anything," Totakeke replied whimsically, gazing at the ceiling, "Lyric would be gloating like crazy if she was a soccer star. She'd be in our ears about it and making us watch her practice."
"Maybe she kinda sucks and she's embarrassed," Doser joked.
"Nah. Lyric would find a way to look awesome anyway," Totakeke chuckled.

They waited for a few more moments, hoping that she might pop up to see them this morning. Doser rolled his eyes and turned on the spot.

"She ain't comin' man," he grumbled, "Come on, class is gonna sta-"

He ceased on the spot, and Totakeke followed his line of sight to two happy laughing people, arm in arm, walking down the hallway and past them. Doser slowly turned to face Totakeke, eyes wide, mouth agape.

"Was that Lyric…?" he murmured.
"…with the star soccer player." Totakeke finished in a low grumble.

He went completely silent, slung his backpack onto his shoulders, and stormed off in a huff, leaving Doser to simply watch him before glancing back in the direction Lyric and her new friend had walked off in.

The image didn't leave Totakeke's mind throughout the entire day. It wasn't fair. He knew her first. She was his friend. She should be with him, not some jock. He didn't pay much mind to school all day, preferring to twiddle his pencil between his fingers and chew on the eraser. He stared into space, wondering what this guy had that he didn't, why she found him more fascinating to hang out with, why he'd been left wondering and alone.

Sure, he had Doser, but Doser wasn't Lyric.

Lyric was…special…

After school, he returned to Lyric's porch and waited, not even bothering to occupy himself this time. He simply stared, waiting, every thought and explanation flowing through his mind. Doser would have been with him, but his mother dragged him off to see his grandmother, and he wouldn't be back until after dinner, at least.

But he didn't need his company, because he finally saw Lyric walking up the sidewalk towards home, hanging on the soccer star's arm. They didn't even notice Totakeke until they reached the step and realized something was blocking their way.

"Oh, hey Tota," Lyric said, a slight blush infesting her cheeks, "What brings you here?"
"Oh. I just wanted to talk to you," Totakeke replied curtly, "but it seems you have prior engagements."
"Hey, no, we can talk," Lyric said hurriedly, "You haven't even met Landon yet."

Totakeke looked indifferently at this Landon guy. He was a large bulldog, dressed in a team hoodie and a cap. He held a large paw out to him, who begrudgingly shook it.

"Totakeke, this is Landon," Lyric said, trying to sound cheerful despite the obvious awkward feeling, "Landon, this is Totakeke. He's been my best friend for as long as I can remember."
"So you're that guy she keeps mentioning," Landon laughed, clapping him hard on the shoulder and almost sending him into the porch, "Darn good to finally meetcha man."
"Good to meet you, too," Totakeke said before murmuring, "Can't say I've heard of you…"

Landon didn't seem to hear his afterthought, but Lyric noticeably flinched. She handed her house key to the soccer player and sent him inside alone, then stood with her arms crossed before Totakeke.

"What's wrong with you?" she grumbled when Landon was out of earshot, "Landon's my friend. You could at least act happy to meet him."
"I would be totally happy if he wasn't the reason you've been a complete stranger for all this time," Totakeke growled, glaring at her, "You haven't been to see me or Doser, and you haven't even offered us an explanation."
"I've been busy, Tota!" Lyric hissed irritably, flailing her arms at him, "Landon has tons of soccer practices, and they looked cool, so I've been going to watch him! And then I've been doing choir and newspaper and I've had some tutoring sessions…"
"And in between all this time you could never bother to pick up a phone or knock on a door?" Totakeke snarled, struggling to hold his temper back, "We would've understood if you'd just tell us, but it's not fair to completely leave us out!"
"I knew you'd react like this," Lyric sighed under her breath.

Totakeke went rigid.

"What did you say?"
"I said I knew you'd react like this!"

She was the angry one now. Totakeke recoiled, eyes wide.

"Every time I've shown any interest in a guy, you and Doser are always so quick to judge and keep me away!" she shouted, and Totakeke could hear the birds escaping their branches overhead, "I'm not just your friend, Totakeke! I have other people I want to be with. And Landon's really nice and actually really smart if you'd bother to get to know him! I really like him!"

Totakeke was silent for a moment, her words sinking in.

"You…like him?" he asked slowly.
"Yes. We hit it off. I really like him," Lyric answered loudly.

Totakeke felt weights crashing down upon his heart. He gazed at her, saw the pain in her eyes, rethought her words about a hundred times before she could even blink once. Every bit of argument disappeared from his being, and he moved aside.

"…Then you should go be with him," he said softly, eyes cast to the ground, "…I'm sorry. I'll stay out of your way."

She climbed the stairs and he descended, not looking at her. She stopped and gazed back, watching him walk away, his hands in his pockets.

"Wait…" she said, just loud enough for the wind to carry her whisper to his ears. He stopped and glanced back. "I should…at least give you this."

She walked to him and handed him an envelope. He glanced at it for a moment before looking back at her.

"I was gonna slip this in your mailbox later," she murmured, unable to look him in the eye, "It's an invitation to my birthday at the end of the month. I'd like you to come. Doser's getting one, too…"
"Oh…alright. Yeah I could come," Totakeke mumbled, shifting awkwardly.
"And um…I guess maybe I've been a bit wrapped up in all this," Lyric continued softly, "Just…Tota…"
"It's fine. You like a guy. It was bound to happen…"
"Y-yeah…"

She forced a smile.

"Maybe…I can come for dinner this weekend?" she asked, gazing at him with her little puppy dog eyes, "and maybe we can play some basketball or something? Climb the tree again? Like old times…?"

Totakeke shrugged.

"Yeah…sure…"

Lyric's gaze fell, and she nodded stiffly and turned back towards her house.

"Well…see you, then," she murmured with a last glance.
"Yeah, see you," Totakeke replied in a murmur before turning towards his own.

As the two friends parted, Totakeke kicked a rock on the sidewalk as hard as he could and watched it crash into the street.

Why wasn't it him?

xxx

He awoke at the usual time and sauntered over to Brewster, trying to chase the memories out of his mind. He sipped his coffee in silence, managing to burn his tongue a few times out of carelessness. The old pigeon eyed him with mild concern.

"…You're off," he observed stoically.
"It's nothing. I just think maybe I'm overstaying my welcome," Totakeke sighed, draining his cup.
"…Doubtful…"

If he hadn't been feeling so cruddy, he'd take that as a flattering compliment, but he was in no mood right now.

"I think my journey has been at a pause for too long," he said with a note of finality, "Sorry, but…I think this will be my last cup of coffee."
"…If that is what you want."

He could sense a twinge of sadness in Brewster's words. Regardless, he couldn't allow himself to care right now. It would just tether him, draw him back, and that wasn't what he needed right now. He stood and laid a few thousand Bells on the table.

"This town was very generous…" he murmured, "So give everyone a free cup on me today, okay?"
"…Will do…"

He nodded and walked off, reaching for the door.

"…Totakeke…"

The musician glanced back at him, and the lenses lit up somberly.

"…I will remember your order…for next time…"

He felt a pang in his heart, and could only manage a grateful nod at the old gentleman before leaving. He emerged into town and returned to the inn, packing everything. He re-read Lyric's final words, thumbed through his notebook, and finally slung the guitar case over his shoulder and left.

When he passed by the town hall, he considered going inside, having a final chat with Tortimer, and saying his goodbyes. He thought of visiting his number one fan's home and thanking her for all of her support. He thought of doing many, many things.

But his final thought was to abandon those things and head for the station, because he knew that if he did those things, he would live in this cozy little forest for the rest of his life.

And he couldn't do that just yet. There were still things he had to do, things that didn't involve settling.

So he boarded the train and watched the cute little village disappear in a blur. He murmured a silent goodbye to the good Mayor Tortimer, to the cute girl with no voice, to the kind old Brewster.

Part of him was sure he would never return to this place.

But just in case, within his guitar case, a ticket stub lay secured with Lyric's card, the words "Piccolo Valley" printed on it. On its opposite side, in black marker, Totakeke had written a permanent note:

The place I'll return to someday.