It was the same dream again. Usagi rose from her bed and walked toward the window. She pressed her cheek against the cold glass. She was warm and the heat from her face made a cloud on the pane. She felt heavy, like she just came out of a pool and whatever it was, was still clinging to her body. The night was welcoming as if it waited for her to awaken. Every night was the same. Ever since she was a little girl, she never slept through the entire night. It was the same dream. She opened the windows and a gush of cold air met her body. The sky was as beautiful as it always was. She felt the moon pulsating like an orb, beckoning out to her. She wondered why it had always been this way. Far away she thought she heard a flute, and when she finally figured where the sound was coming from, the wind blew hard as if to erase the heavenly calls of the night. Then everything became still once more. Usagi closed the window.
"Honey, are you ok? You look like you didn't sleep a wink last night." Usagi's mother laid down a plate of waffles in front of Usagi. "I made your favorite, blueberry! Eat up dear, you are going to be late for school."
"Oh yeah! Sorry I have to ruin breakfast, Mom, but I have to go, I was supposed to pick up Rei at her house five minutes ago!" She shoved the waffles in a plastic bag and drenched them in syrup. Taking one more waffle and shoving it in her mouth she kissed her mom goodbye. "Lub yew mum."
Usagi and Rei walk to school…
"We're late Usagi, we'll be lucky if we make it before class actually starts—hey are you ok? What's wrong? You look pooped. Hey is it that dream again? The one where you—Oww! Hey!"
"Something reeks! I think I smell two ugly girls!"
"Check under your arms, brat!"
"Rei he's just a little boy, he doesn't know any better."
"Hey, he just hit me with a piece of gum… Ewww! It's in my hair! Usagi, help me, it won't come off!"
"Hold on Rei." Usagi took out a pair of scissors from her backpack and snipped a lock of Rei's hair. "There."
"There?! That doesn't make it better! Now it's uneven! Am I supposed to tilt my head all day to make it look better?!"
"That was a dumb solution! I wonder what's more dumb, her or your funny looking hair!" The little boy giggled as Usagi held a handful of Rei's hair in her hand.
"You shut up! You're mom should have pushed you back in when she knew you were coming!" Rei was ready to smack the little boy, when Usagi held her back.
"C'mon Rei, we're already fifteen minutes late!"
At school… Usagi and Rei pat the erasers for the chalkboard…
Rei stroked the part of her hair that was cut. Her eyes turned watery. "Oh I hate that little brat! I wish he were a--a cat." Rei smiled at the thought. "Yes a cat-- a cat on a highway--and then I would be a car going 80 mph and then I would—"
"He's just spoiled, that's all. I heard he's an only child."
"But even though. There's an adult part about him that I don't like. He talks older than most normal seven year olds."
"You mean it seems like he talks older than how most of the guys you date talk like?"
Rei threw an eraser at Usagi, hitting her point blank on the face. It left a chalky imprint. "Hey, just because Chad stutters a little! I mean… Chad and I aren't dating. Umm… Anyways, I think you and that little brat deserve each other. You always defend him. Robbing the cradle are we Usagi?"
"Hey, this eraser is just as dirty as your mouth." Usagi picked up an eraser and threw it at Rei, but it missed her by a mile and hit Ms. Haruna that had just walked into the classroom.
"Rei, you can go. Usagi, thirty more minutes." Rei stuck her tongue out at Usagi and she and Ms. Haruna walked out of the room.
Twenty-five minutes later…
Usagi held her face in her hands as she gazed out the window. The sun was just beginning to set and everything below her looked desolate. The school looked like a ghost town. A cluster of clouds devoured the sun, making everything dim. A breeze blew, tickling Usagi's cheek.
'This is like my dream.'
A faint sound caught Usagi's ear. The melody was familiar. The flute that she had heard the night before found her once again. She listened to it more intently and she realized that it was a song that she had heard not just last night, but long before that. Her thoughts brought her back to her recurring dream. Every night the reverie seemed to grow more real. The creak of a door startled Usagi.
"You can go now Ms. Tuskino."
Usagi looked out of the window once more, but the flute had stopped playing. The wind was no longer blowing; all was still.
Usagi walked home…
'I remember that song... It was in my dream.'
The wind blew again and she thought she heard it whisper her name.
'Who's there?' Usagi thought she felt a tap on her shoulder, but she spun around and found only a whirlwind of dust behind her.
"Sorry."
Usagi's heart skipped a beat. She spun around again and found no one.
"Up here." The little voice came from a leafy willow tree.
Usagi looked up and found the little boy that had teased her and Rei since the beginning of the year, hidden in a thicket of branches.
"Do you need help getting down?"
"No, I don't need help from a girl. I can do perfectly fine by myself." The boy clumsily climbed down the tree. "I have a present for you."
"That's nice, but why would you wanna go and do something nice like that?"
"I guess you can say this is in compensation for your friend. Somehow this morning my gum fell out of my mouth and hit your friend in the head. I know every morning it seems that I come off as being rude, but it's just that I have a very difficult time meeting kids my own age and I …well let's just say that this is a truce…no more teasing." He took a wrapped box out of his small pocket.
"That's very kind of you. You know, you should have just said that you wanted to be friends from the beginning. I mean Rei and I tease each other all the time, but that's because we both know that we are just joking around."
The little boy just stared at the ground. Usagi could not see his face. He stayed awkwardly silent.
"But now that we are friends, I guess no hard feelings. You don't have to give me a present."
"Friends give each other presents right? Well, then here." The little boy threw the box to Usagi and she caught it.
"Open it."
Usagi carefully tore the wrapping paper. "This is wrapped very nice. Did you do it yourself?"
"Yes, yes… c'mon and open it, it's getting dark and my mom is cooking hot dogs tonight!"
Usagi ripped the paper off and scratched the tape from the cardboard. She lifted the lid and found that the box was full of spiders. They crawled all over her hands and she screamed. The little boy was rolling on the grass laughing.
"You little brat I'm going to--" before Usagi could finish her sentence she was cut off by a familiar woman's voice.
"Ms. Tuskino! How dare you talk to my son like that!" The little boy stood up from the grass and quickly ran over to his mother, hiding behind her dress.
"Ms. Haruna?! Oh I'm sorry! That thing, I mean that kid is yours?" Usagi turned bright red. "I didn't mean to--"
"First you throw an eraser at my face and now this? I was about to let that incident slide, but now I think I am going to call your mother!"
"But your son gave me a box of--"
The little boy burst into tears and started sobbing. "I just wanted to show her my bug collection and then—and then she yelled at me and said 'I don't want to look at your stupid collection you dumb kid, go find friends your own age'." Usagi glared at the little boy who was wiping away his crocodile tears.
"Don't look at my son that way! I am calling your mother right now! Go home Usagi and expect a talk with your parents!" With that, Ms. Haruna grabbed her son's hand. "Let's go Mamoru." They walked toward the apartment building, the mother still leading her son by the hand. The little boy looked back at Usagi. He flashed her a devious smile, and when his mother wasn't looking, he tauntingly gave her a wave goodbye.
'Arghh!!! Rei was right, he is a brat!'
At home…
Usagi's mother laid Usagi's head in her lap and lovingly stroked her daughter's head. "Usagi, what happened to you? Your father and I noticed a change in you. You look extremely tired in the mornings, you always wake up late and in a rush, and you have deep bags under your eyes. Your teacher, Ms. Haruna called reporting the violence you caused in school today and she said that you also acted inappropriately with her son. Your father and I are really worried… Usagi, are you on drugs? Is it that Rei friend of yours? Is she the –- what do you kids call it these days—is she the supplier that's been dealing you the bootie?"
"Mom I am not on--"
"It's ok Usa." Usagi felt fat wet drops falling on her face. She realized that her mother was crying and crying hard. "We still love you. Did you like the waffles that I made for you today?"
Usagi raised her head from her mother's lap. "Yes Mom, they were great, but Mom I am not on--"
"Usa, no more drugs ok?" Her mother held Usagi by the
shoulders and shook her hard. "Promise me no more drugs!"
"Mom…"
Usagi's mother hugged Usa really tight, so tight that it seemed like her mother was trying to squeeze all the drugs out of her daughter.
"I promise, Mom. I love you and I will never do anything to let you or Dad down. What can I do to regain yours and Dad's trust?" Usagi cringed at her own words. 'I can't believe this is happening. What is going on here!'
"I am so glad to hear that Usagi!" Her mother wiped her tears. "I am so glad to hear that because Ms. Haruna and I were talking and we agreed that the best rehabilitation is for you to baby-sit her son-- you know that seven or eight year old of hers? She said that instead of hanging out with those bad friends of yours, you could come over to her apartment after school and take care of her son. She said that she would forget everything that ever happened if you would just give it a try. I think this is a very good opportunity. Would you please just give it a try Usa?" The tears were still visible in her mother's eyes.
"Ummm… Can't I just go to a clinic or something?"
"Usa!"
"Ok, ok…"
"I mean how bad can a little boy can be?"
'Bad.'
After school the next day…
Usagi pressed the intercom button beside Ms. Haruna's apartment number. 'I wonder where that little brat was this morning? He probably knew about the whole arrangement. Now he has all day to torture me.'
"Who is this?!"
"Umm… Is this the Haruna's residence? It is Tuskino Usagi."
"Ahh, the bad lady that made a little innocent boy cry? Oh yes I suppose I do remember you. Right this way please."
The gate opened.
At the Haruna's residence…
"So, Ms. Haruna what do I do now?"
"What do you mean what do you do? Spend time with my son that's what you do. Your mother talked all about your drug problem yesterday. How could you do something like that to your mother? Isn't she already stressed out enough as it is cleaning up after you and your brother? Well anyways, we agreed that this would help you get better. Taking care of my son will teach you how to be responsible. Sometimes I get late coming home from work because of insolent individuals, such as yourself. This arrangement will benefit the both of us. I'm going to the store now, don't do anything that I will make you regret." Ms. Haruna grabbed her purse and left.
Mamoru giggled. "I love when Mom scares the hell out of kids."
"Hey who taught you that kind of language? And who are you calling a kid?"