Last major time jump of the story, promise.
You Know Nothing
Chapter 12
Twelve Years Later
"Have a good day at school Kai." Haruka bid farewell to her daughter after giving her money for lunch.
"Have fun playing with cars." The teenager shot back as she ran out the door to catch the bus.
Haruka glanced at the clock on the wall and cursed herself. She had to be at the garage earlier than usual for a mandatory meeting. She was a little worried about it. The last meeting was to inform everybody that the owner had passed away and that Setsuna was taking over. That was over two years ago. It was a heart breaking day for everybody.
She shook her head clear of her thoughts, grabbed her duffel bag and left the house. She climbed into her yellow sports car and sped off toward the garage.
"Good morning Haruka." Setsuna met her at the back door to let him in.
"It's too early to be here." She took her duffel bag into the small locker room before going into the meeting room. "Where's everybody else?" She frowned as she sat in one of the chairs.
"They're not coming in. I wanted to talk to you alone." The older woman sat beside her friend.
Haruka was worried. "Why, are you firing me?"
Setsuna laughed. "I'd be stupid to do that. No, it's just...you know we've been trying to get a contract through the National Racing Association, right?" Haruka nodded. "We got one."
"That's wonderful, but why are you telling me?"
"We have to move to Tokyo."
The color fell from her face as she stared blankly at the green haired woman. "What do you mean 'have to'?"
"Anybody who doesn't come...will lose their job. There no way I can keep this garage open while living in Tokyo." She rested her hand on Haruka's shoulder. "This is why I wanted to talk alone."
'I don't know if I can. When's the move?" She looked down at her lap.
"The end of next month. Housing is already lined up for everybody. Everybody else is coming."
"I...I have to think about it. I've got to talk with Kaida too. I don't know if I could leave if she doesn't want to. I'm not going to force her into new things."
"This is also why I'm giving you the day off, so you can think about it and so you know what you want to say to Kaida. Whatever you decide, I'll understand."
"Yea...thanks. I'll call you later with what we decide." She stood up and left the room.
"Mom, you're home early." Kaida pulled her head phones off and powered down her music player. She kicked off her shows and looked at the older blonde woman who sat on the sofa rummaging through an old box. "What's wrong?"
"I need to talk to you." She looked up from an old photo in her hand.
"About what?" The teenager sat down beside her mother and leaned closer to look at the picture. "Who's that?"
"That's me. I was 16 in this picture." Haruka smiled, though it was a sad smile. "This other person with me is Makoto. Her and I had grown up together."
"What about this one?" Kaida pulled an aged photo from the box.
"That's your grandfather. He passed away when I was 8. I wish you could have met him, he was amazing." Haruka felt tears in her eyes when she looked at the picture. "He originally wanted to name me Kaida, that's why you're named that."
"Why are you showing this to me?"
"Well, you know I had that meeting this morning, right?" Kaida nodded. "How would you like to see Tokyo?"
Kaida's eyes grew wide. "I've always wanted to visit Tokyo!"
"We wouldn't be visiting. The company got a contract at the Tokyo Speedway. I told Setsuna that I'd have to talk to you."
"Moving to Tokyo?" The teen looked at her mother. "But what about my friends?"
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. I'm not going to make you move if you don't want to. Mom used to do things like that to me all the time growing up."
"What about your job if we don't go?"
"Setsuna won't be able to keep the garage open while she's in Tokyo. I'd have to find another job." Haruka spoke solemnly.
"Let's go then."
"What?" Haruka was in shock.
"Why not? I've always wanted to visit there...why not live there. There will be so much more for me to do."
"Maybe I could finally get you into that art class you've wanted for so long." Haruka gave her daughter a tight hug. "I have to call Setsuna to let her know we're coming."
"Can I call her? I haven't talked to her in a few days."
"Go ahead, she'll like to hear from you." Haruka watched the teen run into her room. She disappeared into her own room. She wasn't sure if she was ready to return to Tokyo. She knew the odds were slim in seeing any one of four particular people in a city of 13 billion. "If our friendships are meant to be then we'll cross paths somewhere down the road." She spoke the words of her own letter to herself in an attempt to calm her nerves.
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