Mixed Emotions, With a Side of Confusion
"Thanks and have a nice day!" Yolei said for about the two hundredth time that day, mustering up what cheeriness she could find left inside of her. She sat back on her stool behind the register, checking the clock on the counter nearby. It read 10:30 AM.
"Man, still 2 and a half more hours of this." She complained to nobody in particular. The store was finally empty for a moment, so she leaned forward on her elbows, holding her face in her hands.
'Watching this store ranks right up there with watching grass grow. It's just not interesting at all.' She thought to herself. 'I wish just one summer would go by where I wasn't cooped up in here all the time. But no, every year it's been the same stupid thing. I get to watch the store during the day, and I'm so exhausted by the time I'm done that I can't even lift a finger to go out and do anything. At least I convinced dad to cover for me last night.'
The mere mention of last night sent the images of her date with TK through her mind yet again. She looked to the top of the cash register, where the plush turtle he'd won for her sat.
'Why can't I get over what happened last night? I can't deny that it was fun; in fact that was the most fun I've had in a long, long time. And that's not to mention…'
Yolei let her mind wander as she remembered the goodnight kiss she had shared with TK. She closed her eyes for a moment, and for an instant it felt like she was still kissing him.
'I wonder if he knows that was my first kiss? Well, duh Yolei! You told him it was your first date, after all. Was it his, too? Oh why did I have to go through with that part of the date last night? And why can't I shake it off for that matter?'
Yolei opened her eyes slowly and sighed, eventually looking down to see a young man standing in front of the counter patiently, his short brown hair evenly combed and his facial features neutral. Yolei almost jumped out of her skin. Cody had that effect on people, especially when he snuck up on them like that.
"What, are you doing ninja training now Cody? You about gave me a heart attack!" Yolei said, calming down.
"I've been standing here for the last couple of minutes, Yolei, and no to the ninja training." Cody replied with a snicker. "Grandpa sent me down to pick up his monthly supply of prune juice."
"Right. It's in the back. Mind waiting while I go get it?"
"Not at all. I'll just browse around."
Yolei nodded and headed towards the back whole Cody looked around the store. As he did, TK entered the store, looking left and right as if he were searching for someone.
"Hey TK!" Cody called to him. TK smiled and walked over to his friend, giving him a high five as he met him. "How's summer vacation treating you?"
"Not bad, not bad. You?" TK said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Daily training is the pits, but I get some time to go out. How's the writing?"
"Oh you know, it comes and goes."
Just then there was a crashing sound from the back and a yelp of pain. TK rushed past Cody, stepping around the counter and making his way towards the back. Yolei sat against the wall, a case of prune juice sitting on her lap as she rubbed her head a bit.
"Owie…stupid thing is so heavy…" she said, somewhat dazed.
"Yolei, are you okay?" TK asked as he looked at her head for a moment. There was a large red spot where the case had clocked her.
"TK? I'm fine…I just lost control of the stupid case."
Yolei pushed the case off of her and tried to stand up, only to fall back on her behind, her head woozy and spinning.
"You stay here for a sec." TK told her. He took hold of the case of prune juice, hefting it up easily and carrying it out to Cody. "Here Cody, can you take it from here?"
"No problem. Is everything okay back there?"
"Yeah, I'll take care of it. I'll catch up with you later, we'll go game center hopping or something."
"Gotcha. Later!"
TK headed back to the back where Yolei had managed to pull herself back to her feet, though she was clutching onto a stock shelf for balance.
"Hey, I got back up…" she said, managing a smile. She tried to take another step but quickly lost her balance and began to fall again. TK stepped up quickly, catching her.
"Whoa! Take it easy! You took a bad bump on the head!" he told her.
"I've got to watch the store though…"
"Like hell! Come on, let's find a place for you to sit down and I'll fix you an ice pack."
Yolei tried to insist on going back to work, but TK heard nothing of it. A few minutes later she was sitting in a comfortable chair in her family's living room.
"I think I'll just take a little nap for a bit…" she said, feeling sleepy.
"STAY AWAKE!" TK shouted.
"Aagh! Okay! What?" Yolei jolted back to consciousness.
"You've probably got a minor concussion. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep."
"Right, right. Sorry."
TK sighed in relief and continued to crush some ice cubes up. He dumped them into a plastic baggie and took it over to Yolei, placing it on the bruise on her head. Yolei took hold of the bag from him, keeping it in place. TK stood across from her.
"Keep that bag on your head for a while, it'll help with the swelling."
"Thanks TK. Is this gonna hurt a lot later?"
"Maybe a little. I've had a concussion or two before. You might have a little headache or some ringing in your ears, but you'll be okay. That case wasn't too heavy."
"Too heavy for me."
"Well you just relax here. I'll watch the store for you."
"Huh? TK, have you ever worked a cash register before?"
"No, but it can't be that difficult can it?"
"I'm coming with you."
"No way. You need to chill out."
"I can just sit on the stool behind you. I promise I won't do anything else."
"Alright then, but take it slowly."
Yolei nodded and followed TK back down to the store where she took a seat on her stool while TK inspected the register.
"This doesn't look that difficult. Just use the scanner, right?"
"It's only easy because I make it look easy. Just wait for the lunch rush."
"Is it really that bad?"
"You'll see. Hey, why are you here anyway?"
"I was on my way to my usual bench in the park to do some writing and decided to grab a drink."
"Oh go on already. I don't want to tie up your free time."
"I said I was going to help you out and I meant it. You're in no condition to be working right now."
"You should mind your elders, you know." Yolei said, pouting a little.
"You're not that much older than me, and I never listen to Matt for that matter and he's my brother." TK said with a smirk on his face.
"Well, heads up. You've got a customer. Let's see how you do."
Yolei bit her lip, hoping that things wouldn't end up going too haywire. It would be a long 2 and a half hours.
_ _ _ _ _
"Yo, TK! You here?" Matt called out, entering TK's apartment. He looked around for a bit and didn't find any sign of his younger brother. "Well great. Sora won't let me hear the end of it if I come back empty handed."
Matt poked around TK's room for a minute. He idly wondered how TK could be his brother when his room was as neat and clean as it was. Matt's own room was something of a war zone. His eyes looked around the room, finally spotting what he was looking for. He walked over to TK's desk and picked up the composition book that sat there.
"Sorry, TK, but this is for your own good." He said, looking the notebook over. "I've seen what you've wrote about Kari in the past, and it's just what she needs to know how you really feel."
As Matt left the apartment and locked it, he flipped to the back half of the book to see where he should begin and got a bit of a surprise.
"That's weird. I thought he had this thing practically filled? The back of this book is empty. Well, it'll do nonetheless." He said to himself. He took off at a jogging pace towards Sora's apartment to share his finding with her.
_ _ _ _ _
1:00 PM finally rolled around and Yolei's mother showed up to relieve her. She saw her sitting behind the counter with a red bump on her head talking to TK and quickly moved over to her daughter.
"Yolei, what happened?" she asked worriedly.
"Oh, hi mom. It's just a bump, no worries." Yolei said. "TK here helped me out."
"That was very considerate of you, TK. Thank you very much." Yolei's mother bowed to TK a couple of times politely.
"No problem. I was happy to help out." TK said, scratching the back of his head and bowing as well. "Yolei, are you going to take it easy now?"
"Yeah, I'll be okay. My shift is over anyway."
"Well, I'll be off then. I'll talk to you more later, 'kay?"
"Okay."
"Dear, since your shift is over why don't you go with TK? You could probably stand some fresh air after all." Yolei's mother suggested to her.
"Oh, I don't want to get in TK's way any more than I already have mom."
"You wouldn't be in the way, Yolei. All I'm going to do is sit in the park and write."
"Well…if you say so."
Yolei hopped off of her stool and followed TK out of the store, taking her time as she walked as she was still a bit off-center. They reached the park and TK took a seat on his usual park bench. Yolei sat down next to him and took in the scenery for a moment. There were several trees all around and a simple fountain off a little ways. It was a sunny day, but the trees provided a good deal of shade. A warm breeze played by them, and almost instantly helped her relax a bit.
"This is a nice place. I can see why you come here all the time." She said with a smile.
"Yeah, it's a good place for inspiration. I much prefer it to just hanging around home." TK said, looking around as he pulled his composition book out of his backpack.
"Can I ask you a question, TK?"
"Sure, fire away."
"Why do you write so much?"
"Well, it's a release for me." TK said, looking up through the trees. "I've never been really great at speaking how I feel, you know? I find I can really express my feelings better on paper, where I can think of the right words and phrasing for how I'm feeling. It helps me deal with what I'm feeling, too. Other kids our age area always suffering from some amount of angst or depression, and I'm no different. But I find that if I write out how I'm feeling, I can come to terms with my feelings a bit better."
"I wish I had a release like that. All I'm apparently good with, though, are machines, computers and cash registers."
"It doesn't take special talent to write, Yolei. Anyone can do it."
"Not me. I'm no good with flowery words and stuff like that."
"I'll bet you could be, and you just don't know it because you've never tried."
"Maybe, but I don't think I want to try today. My head has taken enough punishment for one day." Yolei joked, touching the bruise on her head gently. She winced a bit at the contact. It was very sensitive.
"Well just take it easy. In the meantime, I'll just open up here and…huh?"
TK looked over his composition book to find it was mostly filled with his other writings. He flipped towards the back, finding one blank page left.
"Oh rats! I accidentally grabbed my old composition book. I'll bet I left the new one I got the other day on my desk at home."
"I'm sorry, TK." Yolei said sympathetically.
"No big deal, I'll make do with what I have." TK said, taking his pen in hand. He began to scribble things down intermittently, taking time to look around him and occasionally glancing over at Yolei as well. She caught a couple of his glances eventually and quietly leaned over to try and see what he was writing.
"Um, what're you doing?" TK asked a bit nervously as he caught her trying to read his work.
"Isn't a girl allowed to be a little curious?" she asked impishly.
"Well yeah, but…"
"Then let's have a look!"
Yolei managed to pull the book away from TK amidst his protests and looked over what he had written so far.
~/ It was another warm summer's day in the park. Birds were singing, people were walking about in couples enjoying each other's company, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Satoshi would have just written it off as just another day were it not for the lady who was seated next to him on the park bench that day. She was tall and slender, though her figure was unmistakably feminine, curved in all the right places, which her outfit, although simple, could not hide. She looked over at him and smiled, further brightening his day. Her eyes were a most curious shade of indigo, which gave her an exotic charm that Satoshi found undeniable. The day was certainly anything but ordinary. Indeed, if anything, it was extraordinary. /~
"That's…very good writing." Yolei said, handing TK back his book. She was blushing heavily, as it didn't take a genius to do a little name substitution in the short story snippet.
"Thanks." TK said quietly, his face also red. "Unfortunately, that's the last of the space I have left in this book. I'll need my other book to continue."
"Are you going to go get it?" Yolei asked, starting to get up.
"Nah, I think I just want to relax for now." TK reclined on the bench after putting his composition book back in his backpack.
A few minutes of silence passed between the two as they sat on the bench, neither knowing how to strike up the conversation that each wanted to have. Finally, Yolei spoke up.
"TK, can I talk to you about something?" she asked.
"What about?"
"Last night."
"Oh. Did I get you in trouble for coming back too late?"
"No, no we were early if anything. I was just wondering…"
Yolei fished for words to talk to TK about the kiss and everything, but she couldn't form the words. Finally, she went with the first thing in her mind.
"When do you want to go out again?" she asked.
"Well, do you have time maybe this weekend?"
"Yeah, Saturday is my usual day off."
"Then let's do something on Saturday. Any ideas? I picked last time."
"We should go somewhere public again, maybe where Kari might be and where she could see us. How about the amusement park?"
"Man, it's been a while since I've been there. Matt and Sora always talk about taking me there, but we never get around to it."
"Well, that's what we'll do Saturday then. My treat this time, though. I'm the one with cash flow after all."
"Okay, but just remember that it'll be my turn next."
Yolei nodded as she stretched a bit on the park bench. She rolled her head back, looking up into the trees as TK had just done, content with just relaxing.
'Wait a sec, I never asked him about the kiss! Stupid Yolei! Now how do I ask him about it?'
"Um, there's something that was bugging me late last night." TK said, his voice sounding hesitant.
"Oh? What was it?" Yolei asked, sitting back up.
"Well, last night…that was my first kiss after all, and I was wondering if it was yours too."
"Actually, yeah. It was."
Both of them focused their eyes on the pavement in front of them, both completely embarrassed by the topic.
'Well, that answers that.' Both of them thought.
"You shouldn't have wasted it on me, TK." Yolei said after a moment.
"I didn't think it was a waste. It surprised me was all, I mean I thought you'd want Ken to be your first kiss."
'Yeah, me too.' Yolei thought.
"Well, let's just consider it practice for when we get to the real thing. After all, we don't want to turn out to be bad kissers now do we?" she said a moment later.
"That works, I guess." TK said, nodding in agreement. "Well, I guess I should get back to my place and find my other book."
"Okay. I can get back to the shop on my own so go on ahead." Yolei said, standing up slowly.
"Are you sure? That bump still looks pretty bad."
"I'll be just fine. I'm not nearly so bad as I was earlier on. The fresh air did help."
"Okay. Well, I'll see you on Saturday then. What time?"
"Let's head out early and make a day of it. Stop by around nine or so."
"Gotcha. Take care, Yolei." TK waved to her as he headed off for home. Yolei sighed in relief once he was gone and started on her way back home.
'An amusement park will be good. Lots of fun, and it'll keep our minds occupied. Maybe I can shake off whatever it is that's been bugging me about that first date.' She thought as she walked home. 'At the very least, things can't get any more mixed up than they already are, can they?'
_ _ _ _ _
TK unlocked the door to his home and entered to find Sora and Matt sitting in the living room, apparently waiting for him.
"Hey guys! To what do I owe the visit?" TK asked as he left his shoes at the genkan.
"TK, I think we need to talk." Matt said, looking over at his younger brother. He held up the composition book that he'd found earlier on. TK quickly moved over and snatched it from Matt's hand, looking through it. Sure enough, it was the one he'd intended to take earlier on. The only writing in it was the poem he'd written late last night.
"I'd prefer if you asked me before looking through my stuff." TK said, a bit perturbed.
"That's another issue. What's the deal with Yolei?" Matt asked directly.
"We went on a date. So what?"
"So what? Is that all you can say? Do you have any idea what you did to Kari the other day?"
TK set the book down and folded his arms, looking over at Matt with a somewhat concerned expression.
'Yolei was right! This did affect Kari somehow. But I have to play it up to find out just how…'
"Why should she care? She's never even shown any interest in me when I'm around." He said rather matter-of-factly. Matt grunted and stood up, almost getting into TK's face.
"Look, I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing with her, TK, but it really hurt her and I think you owe her an explanation." He said.
"I don't know why you're all up in arms about this. It was one date, Matt! It's not like I'm falling in love with Yolei after all."
"Then explain the poem." Sora said, finally getting into the discussion.
"The poem?" TK repeated.
"We read it, TK. Why did you write that?" Sora continued.
'Damn it! Why did they have to go and read that! For that matter, why did I write that? I honestly don't know…'
"Like I said, TK, I do think you owe Kari an explanation." Matt said, calming down a bit.
"I owe her an explanation?" TK responded, suddenly sounding a bit aggravated. "How about her? Don't I deserve an explanation too?"
"TK, don't change the subject." Matt told him.
"This is not changing the subject!" TK shot back. "If I owe her an explanation then she owes me one too. About why this is such a big deal to her, and if it really is a big deal to her, then why all of a sudden? I thought she was happy with Davis! She sure didn't go out of her way before to show me that she felt anything for me other than purely platonic friendship, so what's the deal?"
"Okay, just calm down little bro." Matt said, shifting his tone to one to try and calm TK down. TK continued to rant, though.
"And for that matter, you two owe me an explanation too! About why you think you can just barge into my home and pry into my life like it's your business what I do and who I do it with! I've never minded sharing my writings with any of you but I do mind if you decide to just go ahead and help yourselves to the private portions of my life!"
"We're just trying to help things out, TK." Sora pleaded.
"Yeah, well you can help right now by leaving. Suddenly I don't want to talk to either of you." TK said as he took his composition book to his room. He slammed the door behind him and flopped down on his bed.
"TK, open up. We're not done with this yet!" he heard Matt say through the door.
"GO AWAY!" TK yelled. He turned over on his bed, facing away from the door.
Matt snarled and reached for the doorknob to TK's room only to feel Sora's hand on his arm, stopping him.
"Leave him alone, Matt. Let's go for now." She told him quietly.
"But Sora…"
"But nothing, Matt. Pushing him right now isn't going to do any good."
Sora leaned past Matt to the door.
"TK, we'll catch up with you another time. But you should really talk to Kari sometime soon. I think you two have a lot to work out." She said through the door. She and Matt left shortly after that.
In his room, TK quickly calmed down as the question lingered in his mind, with the answer completely escaping him at every turn.
'Why did I write that…?'
_ _ _ _ _
Friday night was Internet night for Yolei, and she sat in front of her machine happily chatting away with her "soul mate" half a world away.
Wingzoluv: So how go things on the Joe front?
SincerelyPink: Oh you know, it's off and on.
Wingzoluv: Really?
SincerelyPink: Yeah, whenever he's off school I'm on him like bees to honey. ;)
Wingzoluv: LOL, I'll bet he tries to get away from school often then!
SincerelyPink: Very true. And how go things for my young ward, eh? Finally gotten that Ichijouji to take notice of you?
Wingzoluv: Actually, I did have a date recently…
SincerelyPink: Details please!
Wingzoluv: It wasn't Ken, though.
SincerelyPink: Oh? Who, then?
Wingzoluv: TK.
SincerelyPink: As in Takaishi? As in Matt's little brother TK?
Wingzoluv: There aren't any other TK's around here, Mimi…
SincerelyPink: Just double-checking, that's all. Well I'm happy to see you finally going out! Now that I think about it, you two must be pretty cute together!
Wingzoluv: Whatever you say, Mimi.
SincerelyPink: So, give me the details already!
Wingzoluv: What details? We had dinner and saw a movie.
SincerelyPink: You know what I want to know, Yolei.
Wingzoluv: Can't blame me for trying to get that past you.
SincerelyPink: ^_^
Yolei wasn't at all comfortable with chatting openly about the matter, but knew Mimi would pester her about it all night if she didn't talk about it. Sighing, she went back to typing.
Wingzoluv: Yeah, he kissed me.
SincerelyPink: My little Yolei's first kiss…how sweet! How was it?
Wingzoluv: Nice. It was very nice. I really got into it for a bit there. So did he I guess.
SincerelyPink: That's a sign, hon.
Wingzoluv: A sign of what?
SincerelyPink: That you really like him. He must like you too if he got into it too, like you say.
Wingzoluv: I don't know about that, Mimi. TK's always had a thing for Kari after all, and how can I compare to her?
SincerelyPink: We're not going to have this talk again, are we?
Wingzoluv: She's pretty, popular, well liked and outgoing…she's everything I'm not.
SincerelyPink: When are you going to stop comparing yourself to other girls, Yolei? You have your own charm, whether you believe it or not.
Wingzoluv: Yeah, for anyone who likes a nerdy, tech-obsessed, plain looking recluse who spends all day behind a cash register.
SincerelyPink: You're also a passionate, intelligent, kind-hearted young woman. Don't sell yourself short.
Wingzoluv: Well anyhow, we're going out again tomorrow. This time it's the amusement park.
SincerelyPink: Sounds like fun. Try the Tunnel of Love, it works every time. ;)
Wingzoluv: Thanks but no, not exactly my speed.
SincerelyPink: If you say so, but it's kinda hard to kiss a guy when you're racing along at 60 mph.
Yolei was sorely tempted to confess the whole plan to Mimi, but knew that she talked to Sora and Kari as well, and if there was one thing Mimi was bad at it was keeping a secret. She had to play it up.
Wingzoluv: Well, I'll have an update for you next time. Take it easy Mims.
SincerelyPink: You too. Have fun, and give my regards to TK!
Yolei powered her computer down and slipped into her bed. She lay awake for a bit, thinking about what tomorrow might bring, and more about TK.
'What am I freaking out about? Tomorrow will be totally different, without a doubt. We'll get past all of this, TK will end up with Kari, and maybe I'll get Ken to finally notice me enough to go out with me too. Everything will work out like it's meant to, and everyone will end up happy. It'll work, it just has to!' she thought to herself. She rolled over and started to close her eyes.
'So why am I still trying to convince myself of all of this? I mean, the plan was my idea after all. I'll bet TK isn't even thinking about all of this. Why would he? Kari is the center of his universe, she always has been.'
Yolei felt herself drifting off to sleep but continued to think to herself until she fell asleep.
'Get real, Yolei…you wouldn't…even stand…a chance…'
"Thanks and have a nice day!" Yolei said for about the two hundredth time that day, mustering up what cheeriness she could find left inside of her. She sat back on her stool behind the register, checking the clock on the counter nearby. It read 10:30 AM.
"Man, still 2 and a half more hours of this." She complained to nobody in particular. The store was finally empty for a moment, so she leaned forward on her elbows, holding her face in her hands.
'Watching this store ranks right up there with watching grass grow. It's just not interesting at all.' She thought to herself. 'I wish just one summer would go by where I wasn't cooped up in here all the time. But no, every year it's been the same stupid thing. I get to watch the store during the day, and I'm so exhausted by the time I'm done that I can't even lift a finger to go out and do anything. At least I convinced dad to cover for me last night.'
The mere mention of last night sent the images of her date with TK through her mind yet again. She looked to the top of the cash register, where the plush turtle he'd won for her sat.
'Why can't I get over what happened last night? I can't deny that it was fun; in fact that was the most fun I've had in a long, long time. And that's not to mention…'
Yolei let her mind wander as she remembered the goodnight kiss she had shared with TK. She closed her eyes for a moment, and for an instant it felt like she was still kissing him.
'I wonder if he knows that was my first kiss? Well, duh Yolei! You told him it was your first date, after all. Was it his, too? Oh why did I have to go through with that part of the date last night? And why can't I shake it off for that matter?'
Yolei opened her eyes slowly and sighed, eventually looking down to see a young man standing in front of the counter patiently, his short brown hair evenly combed and his facial features neutral. Yolei almost jumped out of her skin. Cody had that effect on people, especially when he snuck up on them like that.
"What, are you doing ninja training now Cody? You about gave me a heart attack!" Yolei said, calming down.
"I've been standing here for the last couple of minutes, Yolei, and no to the ninja training." Cody replied with a snicker. "Grandpa sent me down to pick up his monthly supply of prune juice."
"Right. It's in the back. Mind waiting while I go get it?"
"Not at all. I'll just browse around."
Yolei nodded and headed towards the back whole Cody looked around the store. As he did, TK entered the store, looking left and right as if he were searching for someone.
"Hey TK!" Cody called to him. TK smiled and walked over to his friend, giving him a high five as he met him. "How's summer vacation treating you?"
"Not bad, not bad. You?" TK said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Daily training is the pits, but I get some time to go out. How's the writing?"
"Oh you know, it comes and goes."
Just then there was a crashing sound from the back and a yelp of pain. TK rushed past Cody, stepping around the counter and making his way towards the back. Yolei sat against the wall, a case of prune juice sitting on her lap as she rubbed her head a bit.
"Owie…stupid thing is so heavy…" she said, somewhat dazed.
"Yolei, are you okay?" TK asked as he looked at her head for a moment. There was a large red spot where the case had clocked her.
"TK? I'm fine…I just lost control of the stupid case."
Yolei pushed the case off of her and tried to stand up, only to fall back on her behind, her head woozy and spinning.
"You stay here for a sec." TK told her. He took hold of the case of prune juice, hefting it up easily and carrying it out to Cody. "Here Cody, can you take it from here?"
"No problem. Is everything okay back there?"
"Yeah, I'll take care of it. I'll catch up with you later, we'll go game center hopping or something."
"Gotcha. Later!"
TK headed back to the back where Yolei had managed to pull herself back to her feet, though she was clutching onto a stock shelf for balance.
"Hey, I got back up…" she said, managing a smile. She tried to take another step but quickly lost her balance and began to fall again. TK stepped up quickly, catching her.
"Whoa! Take it easy! You took a bad bump on the head!" he told her.
"I've got to watch the store though…"
"Like hell! Come on, let's find a place for you to sit down and I'll fix you an ice pack."
Yolei tried to insist on going back to work, but TK heard nothing of it. A few minutes later she was sitting in a comfortable chair in her family's living room.
"I think I'll just take a little nap for a bit…" she said, feeling sleepy.
"STAY AWAKE!" TK shouted.
"Aagh! Okay! What?" Yolei jolted back to consciousness.
"You've probably got a minor concussion. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep."
"Right, right. Sorry."
TK sighed in relief and continued to crush some ice cubes up. He dumped them into a plastic baggie and took it over to Yolei, placing it on the bruise on her head. Yolei took hold of the bag from him, keeping it in place. TK stood across from her.
"Keep that bag on your head for a while, it'll help with the swelling."
"Thanks TK. Is this gonna hurt a lot later?"
"Maybe a little. I've had a concussion or two before. You might have a little headache or some ringing in your ears, but you'll be okay. That case wasn't too heavy."
"Too heavy for me."
"Well you just relax here. I'll watch the store for you."
"Huh? TK, have you ever worked a cash register before?"
"No, but it can't be that difficult can it?"
"I'm coming with you."
"No way. You need to chill out."
"I can just sit on the stool behind you. I promise I won't do anything else."
"Alright then, but take it slowly."
Yolei nodded and followed TK back down to the store where she took a seat on her stool while TK inspected the register.
"This doesn't look that difficult. Just use the scanner, right?"
"It's only easy because I make it look easy. Just wait for the lunch rush."
"Is it really that bad?"
"You'll see. Hey, why are you here anyway?"
"I was on my way to my usual bench in the park to do some writing and decided to grab a drink."
"Oh go on already. I don't want to tie up your free time."
"I said I was going to help you out and I meant it. You're in no condition to be working right now."
"You should mind your elders, you know." Yolei said, pouting a little.
"You're not that much older than me, and I never listen to Matt for that matter and he's my brother." TK said with a smirk on his face.
"Well, heads up. You've got a customer. Let's see how you do."
Yolei bit her lip, hoping that things wouldn't end up going too haywire. It would be a long 2 and a half hours.
_ _ _ _ _
"Yo, TK! You here?" Matt called out, entering TK's apartment. He looked around for a bit and didn't find any sign of his younger brother. "Well great. Sora won't let me hear the end of it if I come back empty handed."
Matt poked around TK's room for a minute. He idly wondered how TK could be his brother when his room was as neat and clean as it was. Matt's own room was something of a war zone. His eyes looked around the room, finally spotting what he was looking for. He walked over to TK's desk and picked up the composition book that sat there.
"Sorry, TK, but this is for your own good." He said, looking the notebook over. "I've seen what you've wrote about Kari in the past, and it's just what she needs to know how you really feel."
As Matt left the apartment and locked it, he flipped to the back half of the book to see where he should begin and got a bit of a surprise.
"That's weird. I thought he had this thing practically filled? The back of this book is empty. Well, it'll do nonetheless." He said to himself. He took off at a jogging pace towards Sora's apartment to share his finding with her.
_ _ _ _ _
1:00 PM finally rolled around and Yolei's mother showed up to relieve her. She saw her sitting behind the counter with a red bump on her head talking to TK and quickly moved over to her daughter.
"Yolei, what happened?" she asked worriedly.
"Oh, hi mom. It's just a bump, no worries." Yolei said. "TK here helped me out."
"That was very considerate of you, TK. Thank you very much." Yolei's mother bowed to TK a couple of times politely.
"No problem. I was happy to help out." TK said, scratching the back of his head and bowing as well. "Yolei, are you going to take it easy now?"
"Yeah, I'll be okay. My shift is over anyway."
"Well, I'll be off then. I'll talk to you more later, 'kay?"
"Okay."
"Dear, since your shift is over why don't you go with TK? You could probably stand some fresh air after all." Yolei's mother suggested to her.
"Oh, I don't want to get in TK's way any more than I already have mom."
"You wouldn't be in the way, Yolei. All I'm going to do is sit in the park and write."
"Well…if you say so."
Yolei hopped off of her stool and followed TK out of the store, taking her time as she walked as she was still a bit off-center. They reached the park and TK took a seat on his usual park bench. Yolei sat down next to him and took in the scenery for a moment. There were several trees all around and a simple fountain off a little ways. It was a sunny day, but the trees provided a good deal of shade. A warm breeze played by them, and almost instantly helped her relax a bit.
"This is a nice place. I can see why you come here all the time." She said with a smile.
"Yeah, it's a good place for inspiration. I much prefer it to just hanging around home." TK said, looking around as he pulled his composition book out of his backpack.
"Can I ask you a question, TK?"
"Sure, fire away."
"Why do you write so much?"
"Well, it's a release for me." TK said, looking up through the trees. "I've never been really great at speaking how I feel, you know? I find I can really express my feelings better on paper, where I can think of the right words and phrasing for how I'm feeling. It helps me deal with what I'm feeling, too. Other kids our age area always suffering from some amount of angst or depression, and I'm no different. But I find that if I write out how I'm feeling, I can come to terms with my feelings a bit better."
"I wish I had a release like that. All I'm apparently good with, though, are machines, computers and cash registers."
"It doesn't take special talent to write, Yolei. Anyone can do it."
"Not me. I'm no good with flowery words and stuff like that."
"I'll bet you could be, and you just don't know it because you've never tried."
"Maybe, but I don't think I want to try today. My head has taken enough punishment for one day." Yolei joked, touching the bruise on her head gently. She winced a bit at the contact. It was very sensitive.
"Well just take it easy. In the meantime, I'll just open up here and…huh?"
TK looked over his composition book to find it was mostly filled with his other writings. He flipped towards the back, finding one blank page left.
"Oh rats! I accidentally grabbed my old composition book. I'll bet I left the new one I got the other day on my desk at home."
"I'm sorry, TK." Yolei said sympathetically.
"No big deal, I'll make do with what I have." TK said, taking his pen in hand. He began to scribble things down intermittently, taking time to look around him and occasionally glancing over at Yolei as well. She caught a couple of his glances eventually and quietly leaned over to try and see what he was writing.
"Um, what're you doing?" TK asked a bit nervously as he caught her trying to read his work.
"Isn't a girl allowed to be a little curious?" she asked impishly.
"Well yeah, but…"
"Then let's have a look!"
Yolei managed to pull the book away from TK amidst his protests and looked over what he had written so far.
~/ It was another warm summer's day in the park. Birds were singing, people were walking about in couples enjoying each other's company, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Satoshi would have just written it off as just another day were it not for the lady who was seated next to him on the park bench that day. She was tall and slender, though her figure was unmistakably feminine, curved in all the right places, which her outfit, although simple, could not hide. She looked over at him and smiled, further brightening his day. Her eyes were a most curious shade of indigo, which gave her an exotic charm that Satoshi found undeniable. The day was certainly anything but ordinary. Indeed, if anything, it was extraordinary. /~
"That's…very good writing." Yolei said, handing TK back his book. She was blushing heavily, as it didn't take a genius to do a little name substitution in the short story snippet.
"Thanks." TK said quietly, his face also red. "Unfortunately, that's the last of the space I have left in this book. I'll need my other book to continue."
"Are you going to go get it?" Yolei asked, starting to get up.
"Nah, I think I just want to relax for now." TK reclined on the bench after putting his composition book back in his backpack.
A few minutes of silence passed between the two as they sat on the bench, neither knowing how to strike up the conversation that each wanted to have. Finally, Yolei spoke up.
"TK, can I talk to you about something?" she asked.
"What about?"
"Last night."
"Oh. Did I get you in trouble for coming back too late?"
"No, no we were early if anything. I was just wondering…"
Yolei fished for words to talk to TK about the kiss and everything, but she couldn't form the words. Finally, she went with the first thing in her mind.
"When do you want to go out again?" she asked.
"Well, do you have time maybe this weekend?"
"Yeah, Saturday is my usual day off."
"Then let's do something on Saturday. Any ideas? I picked last time."
"We should go somewhere public again, maybe where Kari might be and where she could see us. How about the amusement park?"
"Man, it's been a while since I've been there. Matt and Sora always talk about taking me there, but we never get around to it."
"Well, that's what we'll do Saturday then. My treat this time, though. I'm the one with cash flow after all."
"Okay, but just remember that it'll be my turn next."
Yolei nodded as she stretched a bit on the park bench. She rolled her head back, looking up into the trees as TK had just done, content with just relaxing.
'Wait a sec, I never asked him about the kiss! Stupid Yolei! Now how do I ask him about it?'
"Um, there's something that was bugging me late last night." TK said, his voice sounding hesitant.
"Oh? What was it?" Yolei asked, sitting back up.
"Well, last night…that was my first kiss after all, and I was wondering if it was yours too."
"Actually, yeah. It was."
Both of them focused their eyes on the pavement in front of them, both completely embarrassed by the topic.
'Well, that answers that.' Both of them thought.
"You shouldn't have wasted it on me, TK." Yolei said after a moment.
"I didn't think it was a waste. It surprised me was all, I mean I thought you'd want Ken to be your first kiss."
'Yeah, me too.' Yolei thought.
"Well, let's just consider it practice for when we get to the real thing. After all, we don't want to turn out to be bad kissers now do we?" she said a moment later.
"That works, I guess." TK said, nodding in agreement. "Well, I guess I should get back to my place and find my other book."
"Okay. I can get back to the shop on my own so go on ahead." Yolei said, standing up slowly.
"Are you sure? That bump still looks pretty bad."
"I'll be just fine. I'm not nearly so bad as I was earlier on. The fresh air did help."
"Okay. Well, I'll see you on Saturday then. What time?"
"Let's head out early and make a day of it. Stop by around nine or so."
"Gotcha. Take care, Yolei." TK waved to her as he headed off for home. Yolei sighed in relief once he was gone and started on her way back home.
'An amusement park will be good. Lots of fun, and it'll keep our minds occupied. Maybe I can shake off whatever it is that's been bugging me about that first date.' She thought as she walked home. 'At the very least, things can't get any more mixed up than they already are, can they?'
_ _ _ _ _
TK unlocked the door to his home and entered to find Sora and Matt sitting in the living room, apparently waiting for him.
"Hey guys! To what do I owe the visit?" TK asked as he left his shoes at the genkan.
"TK, I think we need to talk." Matt said, looking over at his younger brother. He held up the composition book that he'd found earlier on. TK quickly moved over and snatched it from Matt's hand, looking through it. Sure enough, it was the one he'd intended to take earlier on. The only writing in it was the poem he'd written late last night.
"I'd prefer if you asked me before looking through my stuff." TK said, a bit perturbed.
"That's another issue. What's the deal with Yolei?" Matt asked directly.
"We went on a date. So what?"
"So what? Is that all you can say? Do you have any idea what you did to Kari the other day?"
TK set the book down and folded his arms, looking over at Matt with a somewhat concerned expression.
'Yolei was right! This did affect Kari somehow. But I have to play it up to find out just how…'
"Why should she care? She's never even shown any interest in me when I'm around." He said rather matter-of-factly. Matt grunted and stood up, almost getting into TK's face.
"Look, I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing with her, TK, but it really hurt her and I think you owe her an explanation." He said.
"I don't know why you're all up in arms about this. It was one date, Matt! It's not like I'm falling in love with Yolei after all."
"Then explain the poem." Sora said, finally getting into the discussion.
"The poem?" TK repeated.
"We read it, TK. Why did you write that?" Sora continued.
'Damn it! Why did they have to go and read that! For that matter, why did I write that? I honestly don't know…'
"Like I said, TK, I do think you owe Kari an explanation." Matt said, calming down a bit.
"I owe her an explanation?" TK responded, suddenly sounding a bit aggravated. "How about her? Don't I deserve an explanation too?"
"TK, don't change the subject." Matt told him.
"This is not changing the subject!" TK shot back. "If I owe her an explanation then she owes me one too. About why this is such a big deal to her, and if it really is a big deal to her, then why all of a sudden? I thought she was happy with Davis! She sure didn't go out of her way before to show me that she felt anything for me other than purely platonic friendship, so what's the deal?"
"Okay, just calm down little bro." Matt said, shifting his tone to one to try and calm TK down. TK continued to rant, though.
"And for that matter, you two owe me an explanation too! About why you think you can just barge into my home and pry into my life like it's your business what I do and who I do it with! I've never minded sharing my writings with any of you but I do mind if you decide to just go ahead and help yourselves to the private portions of my life!"
"We're just trying to help things out, TK." Sora pleaded.
"Yeah, well you can help right now by leaving. Suddenly I don't want to talk to either of you." TK said as he took his composition book to his room. He slammed the door behind him and flopped down on his bed.
"TK, open up. We're not done with this yet!" he heard Matt say through the door.
"GO AWAY!" TK yelled. He turned over on his bed, facing away from the door.
Matt snarled and reached for the doorknob to TK's room only to feel Sora's hand on his arm, stopping him.
"Leave him alone, Matt. Let's go for now." She told him quietly.
"But Sora…"
"But nothing, Matt. Pushing him right now isn't going to do any good."
Sora leaned past Matt to the door.
"TK, we'll catch up with you another time. But you should really talk to Kari sometime soon. I think you two have a lot to work out." She said through the door. She and Matt left shortly after that.
In his room, TK quickly calmed down as the question lingered in his mind, with the answer completely escaping him at every turn.
'Why did I write that…?'
_ _ _ _ _
Friday night was Internet night for Yolei, and she sat in front of her machine happily chatting away with her "soul mate" half a world away.
Wingzoluv: So how go things on the Joe front?
SincerelyPink: Oh you know, it's off and on.
Wingzoluv: Really?
SincerelyPink: Yeah, whenever he's off school I'm on him like bees to honey. ;)
Wingzoluv: LOL, I'll bet he tries to get away from school often then!
SincerelyPink: Very true. And how go things for my young ward, eh? Finally gotten that Ichijouji to take notice of you?
Wingzoluv: Actually, I did have a date recently…
SincerelyPink: Details please!
Wingzoluv: It wasn't Ken, though.
SincerelyPink: Oh? Who, then?
Wingzoluv: TK.
SincerelyPink: As in Takaishi? As in Matt's little brother TK?
Wingzoluv: There aren't any other TK's around here, Mimi…
SincerelyPink: Just double-checking, that's all. Well I'm happy to see you finally going out! Now that I think about it, you two must be pretty cute together!
Wingzoluv: Whatever you say, Mimi.
SincerelyPink: So, give me the details already!
Wingzoluv: What details? We had dinner and saw a movie.
SincerelyPink: You know what I want to know, Yolei.
Wingzoluv: Can't blame me for trying to get that past you.
SincerelyPink: ^_^
Yolei wasn't at all comfortable with chatting openly about the matter, but knew Mimi would pester her about it all night if she didn't talk about it. Sighing, she went back to typing.
Wingzoluv: Yeah, he kissed me.
SincerelyPink: My little Yolei's first kiss…how sweet! How was it?
Wingzoluv: Nice. It was very nice. I really got into it for a bit there. So did he I guess.
SincerelyPink: That's a sign, hon.
Wingzoluv: A sign of what?
SincerelyPink: That you really like him. He must like you too if he got into it too, like you say.
Wingzoluv: I don't know about that, Mimi. TK's always had a thing for Kari after all, and how can I compare to her?
SincerelyPink: We're not going to have this talk again, are we?
Wingzoluv: She's pretty, popular, well liked and outgoing…she's everything I'm not.
SincerelyPink: When are you going to stop comparing yourself to other girls, Yolei? You have your own charm, whether you believe it or not.
Wingzoluv: Yeah, for anyone who likes a nerdy, tech-obsessed, plain looking recluse who spends all day behind a cash register.
SincerelyPink: You're also a passionate, intelligent, kind-hearted young woman. Don't sell yourself short.
Wingzoluv: Well anyhow, we're going out again tomorrow. This time it's the amusement park.
SincerelyPink: Sounds like fun. Try the Tunnel of Love, it works every time. ;)
Wingzoluv: Thanks but no, not exactly my speed.
SincerelyPink: If you say so, but it's kinda hard to kiss a guy when you're racing along at 60 mph.
Yolei was sorely tempted to confess the whole plan to Mimi, but knew that she talked to Sora and Kari as well, and if there was one thing Mimi was bad at it was keeping a secret. She had to play it up.
Wingzoluv: Well, I'll have an update for you next time. Take it easy Mims.
SincerelyPink: You too. Have fun, and give my regards to TK!
Yolei powered her computer down and slipped into her bed. She lay awake for a bit, thinking about what tomorrow might bring, and more about TK.
'What am I freaking out about? Tomorrow will be totally different, without a doubt. We'll get past all of this, TK will end up with Kari, and maybe I'll get Ken to finally notice me enough to go out with me too. Everything will work out like it's meant to, and everyone will end up happy. It'll work, it just has to!' she thought to herself. She rolled over and started to close her eyes.
'So why am I still trying to convince myself of all of this? I mean, the plan was my idea after all. I'll bet TK isn't even thinking about all of this. Why would he? Kari is the center of his universe, she always has been.'
Yolei felt herself drifting off to sleep but continued to think to herself until she fell asleep.
'Get real, Yolei…you wouldn't…even stand…a chance…'