Subaru in America
Chapter 4
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Again, I am not racist, etc.
WARNING: No warning this time. Everything's clean, more or less. Anyway, enjoy!
Subaru began to walk home alone. Biology had turned out to be the most miserable 55 minutes of his life. After Seishiro had told everyone that bit of false information, the class would not stop pestering him. Plus, the moment he went out of the classroom, his classmates began telling other students, and those students told other students, and so on. By the time Subaru had exited the school, everyone knew, laughing at him as he passed.
Someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.
"What now?" He turned to find none other than Hokuto.
"Somebody's rude," she teased, giving a look of mock offense. Seeing that Subaru was not in the mood for joking, she put her arm around him and led him towards their house, which was only a few blocks away.
"I'm sorry," Subaru said apologetically, "I'm just having a rough day."
She nodded. "I know. The whole thing about you saying…"
"Hokuto! You know I didn't!"
Laughing, Hokuto said, "Oh, Subaru, don't be so humorless. By tomorrow, you'll probably be the only one who remembers that."
Subaru looked down at his shiny, black shoes getting scuffed up by the dirt sidewalk. "I hope you're right."
Soon, they arrived home, slipping off their shoes as they entered. Hokuto plopped her backpack down on the sofa and treated herself equally. Subaru merely walked steadily upstairs, claiming to have a lot of homework. In reality, he just wanted to be alone so he could contemplate about what he was going to say (or do) to Seishiro when he came home. He lay down on the bed, covering his face with his gloved hands. All he wanted to do break down and cry, pouring out the emotions he kept inside of him all day. The first day in a new school, in a new country, for that matter, and he blew it. He was the talk of the school in a very negative way and, if he knew teenagers, they would have aggravated the situation even more. He was ruined.
Through all his thoughts about his social life, his professional life peeked through. He should not be worrying about how kids laugh at him, or how no one would ever befriend him after that situation, but what demons and spirits lurked amongst them. His grandmother told him there were many restless spirits active in this area. But he hadn't sensed a single specter around, and his sense was very acute. Did his grandmother send him to the US for no reason? That couldn't be the case.
There was a gentle rapping at his door. He quickly sat up and instructed the person to enter. The knob turned slowly, then the door opened just a crack. Seishiro peeked in from the other side.
"Can I come in?" he asked, smiling. Subaru folded his arms over his chest and looked away. He grumbled, "When did you get home?"
Not waiting for his invitation, Seishiro flung the door open and entered. He walked nonchalantly to the bed and sat at its foot. He placed a hand on Subaru's leg and winked. Subaru scooted his leg away quickly, pulling his knees to his chest. Burying his mouth into his knees, he muttered, "What do you want?"
Seishiro shrugged, looking at the wall. "Just wanted to ask you how your first day of school went."
Subaru clenched sheets on his bed. "How could you ask that?" Subaru managed, trying to hold back the tears building up in his eyes. "You know how it went."
Seishiro turned his head toward the window. Outside, in the street, three small children were playing hockey as orange, yellow, and red leaves whisked across the pavement, similarly to sakura flowing through the wind during springtime in Japan. Fall was a lovely season in Seishiro's mind. It was a time when living things were on the eve of death, ready and knowing that when the Reaper came to call, they would pass to the afterlife in such grace and color known as autumn.
His attention returned to Subaru, who obviously knew that Seishiro was not paying attention to him.
"Well?" Subaru said, impatiently.
"Well what?" Seishiro questioned in simulated confusion.
Subaru sprang out of bed and landed on the floor. "You're impossible!" he cried as he grabbed his jacket and shoes before storming out of the room. "Sometimes I hate you, Seishiro!" he called after him. "By the way you treat me, I'd say you are the sakurazukamori!"
There was no response from the other.
Subaru found himself in a small café in town. As he walked in, aromas of sweet, ambrosial coffee filled his nose and tickled his senses. This was quite delightful, calming his rage. He had left the house in a huff, Hokuto latching onto his heels, begging him to tell her what happened. After shaking her off, he ran to the center of town, seeking some sort of distraction and refuge. The coffee shop seemed to be both, just by the smell and the warmth inside.
He stood in front of the counter, reading the menu behind the service lady with some difficulty.
"What can I get you?" the woman asked, kindly.
"I will have," he managed to say, his accent thicker than ever, "a mocha latte and one of those." He pointed a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie inside a glass case."
The woman stated the cost, Subaru gave her a ten and told her to keep the change (he didn't understand what figure she told him), and he sat down at one of the small tables, where a newspaper sat. The title of the paper was "The New England Paranormal". Subaru picked it up, figuring it was one of those fake papers that mystic-wannabes read, but he began to read it anyway. He flipped through the pages (most of the articles were about werewolves) then stopped when he found a small article titled "The Middletown Ghost". It read:
"In this sleepy New England town, a restless spirit haunts the night. It travels inconspicuously through the town, mainly around a run-down historical home, every night at midnight, temporarily possessing anything it can find: from cats to trees to people. Many locals have seen this specter, though none can prove its existence. 'I know it exists,' says local Mary Smith, 'and all I want is for this thing to go away so that we humble folk can live in peace.'"
Subaru's face brightened. He could really distract himself from his social troubles by taking on this job, even if there was no money involved and it was probably a hoax. Plus, he'd be helping his town and maybe, just maybe, some one at school would find out that he saved his town from on evil spirit. But how could he get one of his classmates to see him exorcise the ghost? The answer walked right through the café's door.
Maria, the extremely obese girl from his English as a second language class, waddled in the café, followed by two other Hispanic girls and one African-American girl. (Subaru had never seen so much racial diversity in his life.) They chatted lightheartedly, before ordering four low-fat cappuccinos and then sitting down two tables over from Subaru. Subaru swallowed a bit of his cookie and thought. He could ask Maria to take him to the run-down historical house, or at least ask her where it was. Deciding that was a good idea, he stood and walked over the their table. They continued to converse, taking no notice to Subaru's presence until he cleared his throat.
They turned to him in unison, and Maria said, "What do you want?"
Subaru fidgeted a little, then said, "You are Maria, right?"
She nodded. Her friends stared at him curiously, their gold hoop earrings glistening under the light. The African-American girl gave him a friendly smile while the others looked at him suspiciously. The African- American girl was quite pretty, with pitch-black hair in tight curls, a light coat of makeup on her nicely proportioned face, and a trim body.
"Um, hello," Subaru said to Maria and her friends.
"Hi," the three Hispanic girls gave half-heartedly. The other girl pronounced a more pleasant "Hello."
Subaru asked after a long pause, "Do you know where the…the" (his accent seemed thicker than ever) "the abandoned historical house is in this town?"
All of the girls looked equally suspicious.
"Why?" Maria inquired, frowning.
"I," he started, but couldn't think of anything to say but "to find ghosts", which sounded really pathetic. He continued, "I was just wondering."
The girls broke out into fits of giggles as Maria said something in Spanish. The African-American, however, give a tiny giggle, then said, "Do you mean the old Johnson place? I know where it is."
"Really?" Subaru said, with some hope in his voice. "Can you tell me?"
"Actually," she said, "I can take you there. My grandfather lives right across the street. I'm on my way over there right now. All I have to do is give this package to him" (she held up a small box wrapped in brown paper) "and then we can go over there."
Subaru smiled as Maria said, "Alicia, what are you doing? This is the kid we were talking about."
"I know," Alicia stated. "I don't care what he did, I just think that I should help someone who's new to this country by showing him our historical landmarks." She pointed at Maria. "You should know that part of being a good citizen is showing others how to be a good citizen."
Maria sighed. "Fine, but remember…" (she said something in Spanish).
Alicia rolled her eyes before turning to Subaru. "Come on, let's go." She strolled out the door, Subaru right behind her.
"Thank you for helping me," Subaru said meekly.
She walked next to him, smiling warmly. "It's no problem." She paused. "My name is Alicia Roberts. What's yours?"
"Subaru Sumeragi," he said with more confidence. She seemed very friendly.
"Sumeragi?" Alicia murmured.
"Have you heard of my name?" he questioned.
A slight look of panic struck her face. She collected herself again and said, "Oh, no. I just think that's a cool name."
"Cool? Cold?"
She threw her head back and laughed, ringlets of hair bouncing up and down like springs. "Not cool as in temperature. It's a slang word meaning good."
"Oh." He felt so out of it socially.
Placing her hand on his shoulder, she laughed again. "You'll get to know all of those words eventually. Don't worry."
They walked down a side street surrounded by trees with multi-colored foliage. The road curved down hill, causing a pleasant walk as they chatted about each other; Subaru telling her about Tokyo and its contrast to Middletown, Alicia telling him about Middletown and its contrast to Tokyo. It turned out that Alicia, who had visited Tokyo and loved it, was a fan of anime and manga.
When they arrived at her grandfather's house, it was already five o'clock and the sun was setting. It seemed darker out, though, considering the trees blocked the sun's rays. Her grandfather's house was a small, one- story house that was common in 1950's America. The yard wasn't well kept: leaves blanketed the lawn, hiding any sign of green grass and there was hardly any landscaping. When Alicia opened the front door, Subaru noticed that the shades over the window were drawn, causing the foyer to look dark and drab.
"Grandpa!" Alicia called after instructing Subaru to come in.
"What?" a tired voice cried from another room.
"I brought that package you wanted," she informed him. "I'll just put it near the door."
There was no answer.
She leaned over and placed the parcel on the floor just beside the doorway. She stood up straight and waited for a few seconds before saying, with less volume than before, "Bye, Grandpa, I love you."
Chapter 4
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Again, I am not racist, etc.
WARNING: No warning this time. Everything's clean, more or less. Anyway, enjoy!
Subaru began to walk home alone. Biology had turned out to be the most miserable 55 minutes of his life. After Seishiro had told everyone that bit of false information, the class would not stop pestering him. Plus, the moment he went out of the classroom, his classmates began telling other students, and those students told other students, and so on. By the time Subaru had exited the school, everyone knew, laughing at him as he passed.
Someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.
"What now?" He turned to find none other than Hokuto.
"Somebody's rude," she teased, giving a look of mock offense. Seeing that Subaru was not in the mood for joking, she put her arm around him and led him towards their house, which was only a few blocks away.
"I'm sorry," Subaru said apologetically, "I'm just having a rough day."
She nodded. "I know. The whole thing about you saying…"
"Hokuto! You know I didn't!"
Laughing, Hokuto said, "Oh, Subaru, don't be so humorless. By tomorrow, you'll probably be the only one who remembers that."
Subaru looked down at his shiny, black shoes getting scuffed up by the dirt sidewalk. "I hope you're right."
Soon, they arrived home, slipping off their shoes as they entered. Hokuto plopped her backpack down on the sofa and treated herself equally. Subaru merely walked steadily upstairs, claiming to have a lot of homework. In reality, he just wanted to be alone so he could contemplate about what he was going to say (or do) to Seishiro when he came home. He lay down on the bed, covering his face with his gloved hands. All he wanted to do break down and cry, pouring out the emotions he kept inside of him all day. The first day in a new school, in a new country, for that matter, and he blew it. He was the talk of the school in a very negative way and, if he knew teenagers, they would have aggravated the situation even more. He was ruined.
Through all his thoughts about his social life, his professional life peeked through. He should not be worrying about how kids laugh at him, or how no one would ever befriend him after that situation, but what demons and spirits lurked amongst them. His grandmother told him there were many restless spirits active in this area. But he hadn't sensed a single specter around, and his sense was very acute. Did his grandmother send him to the US for no reason? That couldn't be the case.
There was a gentle rapping at his door. He quickly sat up and instructed the person to enter. The knob turned slowly, then the door opened just a crack. Seishiro peeked in from the other side.
"Can I come in?" he asked, smiling. Subaru folded his arms over his chest and looked away. He grumbled, "When did you get home?"
Not waiting for his invitation, Seishiro flung the door open and entered. He walked nonchalantly to the bed and sat at its foot. He placed a hand on Subaru's leg and winked. Subaru scooted his leg away quickly, pulling his knees to his chest. Burying his mouth into his knees, he muttered, "What do you want?"
Seishiro shrugged, looking at the wall. "Just wanted to ask you how your first day of school went."
Subaru clenched sheets on his bed. "How could you ask that?" Subaru managed, trying to hold back the tears building up in his eyes. "You know how it went."
Seishiro turned his head toward the window. Outside, in the street, three small children were playing hockey as orange, yellow, and red leaves whisked across the pavement, similarly to sakura flowing through the wind during springtime in Japan. Fall was a lovely season in Seishiro's mind. It was a time when living things were on the eve of death, ready and knowing that when the Reaper came to call, they would pass to the afterlife in such grace and color known as autumn.
His attention returned to Subaru, who obviously knew that Seishiro was not paying attention to him.
"Well?" Subaru said, impatiently.
"Well what?" Seishiro questioned in simulated confusion.
Subaru sprang out of bed and landed on the floor. "You're impossible!" he cried as he grabbed his jacket and shoes before storming out of the room. "Sometimes I hate you, Seishiro!" he called after him. "By the way you treat me, I'd say you are the sakurazukamori!"
There was no response from the other.
Subaru found himself in a small café in town. As he walked in, aromas of sweet, ambrosial coffee filled his nose and tickled his senses. This was quite delightful, calming his rage. He had left the house in a huff, Hokuto latching onto his heels, begging him to tell her what happened. After shaking her off, he ran to the center of town, seeking some sort of distraction and refuge. The coffee shop seemed to be both, just by the smell and the warmth inside.
He stood in front of the counter, reading the menu behind the service lady with some difficulty.
"What can I get you?" the woman asked, kindly.
"I will have," he managed to say, his accent thicker than ever, "a mocha latte and one of those." He pointed a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie inside a glass case."
The woman stated the cost, Subaru gave her a ten and told her to keep the change (he didn't understand what figure she told him), and he sat down at one of the small tables, where a newspaper sat. The title of the paper was "The New England Paranormal". Subaru picked it up, figuring it was one of those fake papers that mystic-wannabes read, but he began to read it anyway. He flipped through the pages (most of the articles were about werewolves) then stopped when he found a small article titled "The Middletown Ghost". It read:
"In this sleepy New England town, a restless spirit haunts the night. It travels inconspicuously through the town, mainly around a run-down historical home, every night at midnight, temporarily possessing anything it can find: from cats to trees to people. Many locals have seen this specter, though none can prove its existence. 'I know it exists,' says local Mary Smith, 'and all I want is for this thing to go away so that we humble folk can live in peace.'"
Subaru's face brightened. He could really distract himself from his social troubles by taking on this job, even if there was no money involved and it was probably a hoax. Plus, he'd be helping his town and maybe, just maybe, some one at school would find out that he saved his town from on evil spirit. But how could he get one of his classmates to see him exorcise the ghost? The answer walked right through the café's door.
Maria, the extremely obese girl from his English as a second language class, waddled in the café, followed by two other Hispanic girls and one African-American girl. (Subaru had never seen so much racial diversity in his life.) They chatted lightheartedly, before ordering four low-fat cappuccinos and then sitting down two tables over from Subaru. Subaru swallowed a bit of his cookie and thought. He could ask Maria to take him to the run-down historical house, or at least ask her where it was. Deciding that was a good idea, he stood and walked over the their table. They continued to converse, taking no notice to Subaru's presence until he cleared his throat.
They turned to him in unison, and Maria said, "What do you want?"
Subaru fidgeted a little, then said, "You are Maria, right?"
She nodded. Her friends stared at him curiously, their gold hoop earrings glistening under the light. The African-American girl gave him a friendly smile while the others looked at him suspiciously. The African- American girl was quite pretty, with pitch-black hair in tight curls, a light coat of makeup on her nicely proportioned face, and a trim body.
"Um, hello," Subaru said to Maria and her friends.
"Hi," the three Hispanic girls gave half-heartedly. The other girl pronounced a more pleasant "Hello."
Subaru asked after a long pause, "Do you know where the…the" (his accent seemed thicker than ever) "the abandoned historical house is in this town?"
All of the girls looked equally suspicious.
"Why?" Maria inquired, frowning.
"I," he started, but couldn't think of anything to say but "to find ghosts", which sounded really pathetic. He continued, "I was just wondering."
The girls broke out into fits of giggles as Maria said something in Spanish. The African-American, however, give a tiny giggle, then said, "Do you mean the old Johnson place? I know where it is."
"Really?" Subaru said, with some hope in his voice. "Can you tell me?"
"Actually," she said, "I can take you there. My grandfather lives right across the street. I'm on my way over there right now. All I have to do is give this package to him" (she held up a small box wrapped in brown paper) "and then we can go over there."
Subaru smiled as Maria said, "Alicia, what are you doing? This is the kid we were talking about."
"I know," Alicia stated. "I don't care what he did, I just think that I should help someone who's new to this country by showing him our historical landmarks." She pointed at Maria. "You should know that part of being a good citizen is showing others how to be a good citizen."
Maria sighed. "Fine, but remember…" (she said something in Spanish).
Alicia rolled her eyes before turning to Subaru. "Come on, let's go." She strolled out the door, Subaru right behind her.
"Thank you for helping me," Subaru said meekly.
She walked next to him, smiling warmly. "It's no problem." She paused. "My name is Alicia Roberts. What's yours?"
"Subaru Sumeragi," he said with more confidence. She seemed very friendly.
"Sumeragi?" Alicia murmured.
"Have you heard of my name?" he questioned.
A slight look of panic struck her face. She collected herself again and said, "Oh, no. I just think that's a cool name."
"Cool? Cold?"
She threw her head back and laughed, ringlets of hair bouncing up and down like springs. "Not cool as in temperature. It's a slang word meaning good."
"Oh." He felt so out of it socially.
Placing her hand on his shoulder, she laughed again. "You'll get to know all of those words eventually. Don't worry."
They walked down a side street surrounded by trees with multi-colored foliage. The road curved down hill, causing a pleasant walk as they chatted about each other; Subaru telling her about Tokyo and its contrast to Middletown, Alicia telling him about Middletown and its contrast to Tokyo. It turned out that Alicia, who had visited Tokyo and loved it, was a fan of anime and manga.
When they arrived at her grandfather's house, it was already five o'clock and the sun was setting. It seemed darker out, though, considering the trees blocked the sun's rays. Her grandfather's house was a small, one- story house that was common in 1950's America. The yard wasn't well kept: leaves blanketed the lawn, hiding any sign of green grass and there was hardly any landscaping. When Alicia opened the front door, Subaru noticed that the shades over the window were drawn, causing the foyer to look dark and drab.
"Grandpa!" Alicia called after instructing Subaru to come in.
"What?" a tired voice cried from another room.
"I brought that package you wanted," she informed him. "I'll just put it near the door."
There was no answer.
She leaned over and placed the parcel on the floor just beside the doorway. She stood up straight and waited for a few seconds before saying, with less volume than before, "Bye, Grandpa, I love you."