Woooo, Sunshine is writing crappy stories again! I've had cheerleading and dance, and I am busy. It's been stressing me out so I came home sick today. I'll try to be more consistent in my updates. I got this story idea from "While You Were Sleeping," so yeah. Okay, enjoy!
Okay, there are two things I remember about my childhood. First, I remember being with my dad. He would get these far off looks in his eye and say "Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan." I just wish I realized at the time he was talking about my life. But that never stopped us from taking our adventures together. He would pack up our sometimes-working-car and he would tell me amazing stories about strange and exotic lands as we headed off to exciting destinations like . . . Tokyo. It's amazing how exciting Japan isn't. But my favorite memories were the stories he would tell me about my mom. He would take me to the church were they got married, and I'd beg him to tell me more about the ceremony and his crazy uncle who fell asleep in the macaroni and cheese, and I asked my dad when he knew he truly loved my mom, and he said "Hikari, your mother gave me a special gift. She gave me the world." Actually it was a globe with a light in it, but for the romantic daddy was, it might as well been the world.
Well the first time I saw "him," he didn't exactly give me the world, it was a $1.50 subway token. But I looked forward to it, every single day. He started coming to my booth between 8:01 and 8:15 every morning, Monday through Friday and he was just . . . perfect. My prince charming. We've never actually spoken, but I know someday we will. I know it, and I just know that someday I'll introduce myself and it will be . . . perfect.
"Ugh, $45 for a Christmas tree and they don't deliver?! You order $10 worth of Chow Mein from Mr. Won's, and they bring it to your door" I yell. My cat just sits there and stares at me with wide eyes.
"Ugh" I grunt again as I pull on the rope with the Christmas tree on the other end.
"Ooh, I should've gotten the Blue Spruce, they're lighter" I say. I take two steps back and suddenly slip on a cord. I lose the grip of the rope and two seconds later hear a sound ok glass breaking.
"Hikari" my male neighbor shouts.
"Nature of claim, Christmas tree through window" my neighbor states with an accent. He is middle aged with bushy, grey hair, a mustache, and glasses. He is wearing a button down shirt with a grey sweater. "How am I gonna put that on my insurance? They're still pissed about the fire we had when Joe Jr. barbecued on the stairwell."
"I missed that one" I say. I turn to look at the window. It looks horrible.
"Oh, great sausage" my neighbor says sarcastically.
"Look, I'll pay for this" I offer.
"That's okay Hikari, my brother Taisuke is in the glass business," then he chuckles.
"Oh I almost forgot," I pull out a gift from my pale blue sweater sleeve. "Merry Christmas" I say as I hand the gift to Joe.
"Oh, Hikari," he stands up and looks at me. "You didn't have to do that."
"Well I wanted to" I say.
"I haven't even gotten to my shopping yet."
"Hey Pops" someone says. It startled me. Then an overweight man walks into the room wearing a tight fitting white T-shirt that's way too small and baggy jeans. He has a gold chain with a "J" on it. "Can I get that bottle of wine you got from cousin what's-his face for the probation officer?"
"Don't you see we have company?" Joe tells his rude son. "Say hello."
"Hello Kari"He says. Kari? Nobody calls me my nickname. I just nod my head and try not to laugh at how stupid he looks. "That's a nice, uhhh . . . " I look at him and try to figure out what he's trying to say. "Sweater" he eventually says.
I nod and say "Thank you" with a fake smile.
"Over There" Joe Jr's father points. Joe Jr. walks over to the cabinet in a way to impress me. He looks ridiculous.
"You're a nice girl Hikari. You know Joe Jr's still single" Joe says.
I look at Joe Jr, and he was squatting, with part of his butt crack showing.
"Yeah, it's a shocker" I reply.
I watch the hot dog man grab my hot dog with his little clippers and put it in a bun. "What will you have?" he asked.
"Oh, the usual" I say, and start reading my newspaper again.
"What's that?" he asked. Obviously he didn't remember me from yesterday.
"You know, mustard, coke." I go back to reading my paper.
"Hikari, Hikari, Hikari" my boss chants. He wears his favorite grey coat with his read and green plaid scarf.
"Jerry!" I say. He had to be the best boss I've ever had.
"I'm glad to find you here" he says as he pulls something out of his coat.
"I was hoping you'd find me in Bermuda."
"Ah Bermuda, that's good. Hey, I am recommending you for employee of the month!" he says to me. My eyes widen. "The usual" Jerry told the hot dog guy. He nodded.
"Really? I didn't know there was an employee of the month"
"Ooh well" Jerry took out his letter, and his glasses. "Supervisor Wallace Jerry nominated Yagami Hikari for employee of the month. Hikari is never tardy and always works holidays even if she's worked the previous holiday. Just because she worked Thanksgiving, she's willing to work . . . " his voice softened. "Christmas too?"
"Jerry, I'm not workin' Christmas" I say. Then I start walking toward the street.
"But you get a nice plaque with the mayor's stamp on it" he argued while following me.
"I didn't vote" I stated flatly.
"You get to ride on a float on the next holiday!"
"I hate parades."
"Did I mention extra holiday pay?"
"I hate you."
"Hikari?!" he begs. He stopped me by blocking my way to the street. I started listening.
"Look, Naomi's sick and Celeste can't switch because she's got some big family thing, and I promised my kids I'd be there for them this year."
"This sucks, Jerry."
"I know it isn't fair, and I can't make you do it, but you're the only one."
"The only one without family?"
So I'm here on another Christmas, watching happy families board the subways. I wish I had my dad. But then out of the corner of my eye, there's my prince charming. All of the sudden, I think it's going to be a Merry Christmas after all.
"Hi" he says while giving me his token. "Merry Christmas."
"I, uh" I stumble, but it's too late. He's gone. I start hitting my head because now, I am officially an idiot.
"Nice coat, Merry Christmas to you too, you're beautiful, will you marry me? I love you . . . " Then I slam my head on my counter.
I see him on the platform, and I see three guys dressed in black talking to him. Curious to figure out what was going on, I watch closely. They flip his scarf around his neck, then take it away from him. Then they push him off the platform.
I run as fast as I could to him.
"Could somebody help me, please?" I yell. No one was in sight or earshot. I kneeled on the platform. "Sir? Sir? Sir are you okay?" He isn't okay. This was not good. I jump onto the tracks, and check his pulse rate and breathing. "Oh, you smell nice" I rant.
"Please wake up, please" I beg as I stroke his hair. Then I hear a horn.
The train was coming, I could see the two large headlights.
Okay, there are two things I remember about my childhood. First, I remember being with my dad. He would get these far off looks in his eye and say "Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan." I just wish I realized at the time he was talking about my life. But that never stopped us from taking our adventures together. He would pack up our sometimes-working-car and he would tell me amazing stories about strange and exotic lands as we headed off to exciting destinations like . . . Tokyo. It's amazing how exciting Japan isn't. But my favorite memories were the stories he would tell me about my mom. He would take me to the church were they got married, and I'd beg him to tell me more about the ceremony and his crazy uncle who fell asleep in the macaroni and cheese, and I asked my dad when he knew he truly loved my mom, and he said "Hikari, your mother gave me a special gift. She gave me the world." Actually it was a globe with a light in it, but for the romantic daddy was, it might as well been the world.
Well the first time I saw "him," he didn't exactly give me the world, it was a $1.50 subway token. But I looked forward to it, every single day. He started coming to my booth between 8:01 and 8:15 every morning, Monday through Friday and he was just . . . perfect. My prince charming. We've never actually spoken, but I know someday we will. I know it, and I just know that someday I'll introduce myself and it will be . . . perfect.
"Ugh, $45 for a Christmas tree and they don't deliver?! You order $10 worth of Chow Mein from Mr. Won's, and they bring it to your door" I yell. My cat just sits there and stares at me with wide eyes.
"Ugh" I grunt again as I pull on the rope with the Christmas tree on the other end.
"Ooh, I should've gotten the Blue Spruce, they're lighter" I say. I take two steps back and suddenly slip on a cord. I lose the grip of the rope and two seconds later hear a sound ok glass breaking.
"Hikari" my male neighbor shouts.
"Nature of claim, Christmas tree through window" my neighbor states with an accent. He is middle aged with bushy, grey hair, a mustache, and glasses. He is wearing a button down shirt with a grey sweater. "How am I gonna put that on my insurance? They're still pissed about the fire we had when Joe Jr. barbecued on the stairwell."
"I missed that one" I say. I turn to look at the window. It looks horrible.
"Oh, great sausage" my neighbor says sarcastically.
"Look, I'll pay for this" I offer.
"That's okay Hikari, my brother Taisuke is in the glass business," then he chuckles.
"Oh I almost forgot," I pull out a gift from my pale blue sweater sleeve. "Merry Christmas" I say as I hand the gift to Joe.
"Oh, Hikari," he stands up and looks at me. "You didn't have to do that."
"Well I wanted to" I say.
"I haven't even gotten to my shopping yet."
"Hey Pops" someone says. It startled me. Then an overweight man walks into the room wearing a tight fitting white T-shirt that's way too small and baggy jeans. He has a gold chain with a "J" on it. "Can I get that bottle of wine you got from cousin what's-his face for the probation officer?"
"Don't you see we have company?" Joe tells his rude son. "Say hello."
"Hello Kari"He says. Kari? Nobody calls me my nickname. I just nod my head and try not to laugh at how stupid he looks. "That's a nice, uhhh . . . " I look at him and try to figure out what he's trying to say. "Sweater" he eventually says.
I nod and say "Thank you" with a fake smile.
"Over There" Joe Jr's father points. Joe Jr. walks over to the cabinet in a way to impress me. He looks ridiculous.
"You're a nice girl Hikari. You know Joe Jr's still single" Joe says.
I look at Joe Jr, and he was squatting, with part of his butt crack showing.
"Yeah, it's a shocker" I reply.
I watch the hot dog man grab my hot dog with his little clippers and put it in a bun. "What will you have?" he asked.
"Oh, the usual" I say, and start reading my newspaper again.
"What's that?" he asked. Obviously he didn't remember me from yesterday.
"You know, mustard, coke." I go back to reading my paper.
"Hikari, Hikari, Hikari" my boss chants. He wears his favorite grey coat with his read and green plaid scarf.
"Jerry!" I say. He had to be the best boss I've ever had.
"I'm glad to find you here" he says as he pulls something out of his coat.
"I was hoping you'd find me in Bermuda."
"Ah Bermuda, that's good. Hey, I am recommending you for employee of the month!" he says to me. My eyes widen. "The usual" Jerry told the hot dog guy. He nodded.
"Really? I didn't know there was an employee of the month"
"Ooh well" Jerry took out his letter, and his glasses. "Supervisor Wallace Jerry nominated Yagami Hikari for employee of the month. Hikari is never tardy and always works holidays even if she's worked the previous holiday. Just because she worked Thanksgiving, she's willing to work . . . " his voice softened. "Christmas too?"
"Jerry, I'm not workin' Christmas" I say. Then I start walking toward the street.
"But you get a nice plaque with the mayor's stamp on it" he argued while following me.
"I didn't vote" I stated flatly.
"You get to ride on a float on the next holiday!"
"I hate parades."
"Did I mention extra holiday pay?"
"I hate you."
"Hikari?!" he begs. He stopped me by blocking my way to the street. I started listening.
"Look, Naomi's sick and Celeste can't switch because she's got some big family thing, and I promised my kids I'd be there for them this year."
"This sucks, Jerry."
"I know it isn't fair, and I can't make you do it, but you're the only one."
"The only one without family?"
So I'm here on another Christmas, watching happy families board the subways. I wish I had my dad. But then out of the corner of my eye, there's my prince charming. All of the sudden, I think it's going to be a Merry Christmas after all.
"Hi" he says while giving me his token. "Merry Christmas."
"I, uh" I stumble, but it's too late. He's gone. I start hitting my head because now, I am officially an idiot.
"Nice coat, Merry Christmas to you too, you're beautiful, will you marry me? I love you . . . " Then I slam my head on my counter.
I see him on the platform, and I see three guys dressed in black talking to him. Curious to figure out what was going on, I watch closely. They flip his scarf around his neck, then take it away from him. Then they push him off the platform.
I run as fast as I could to him.
"Could somebody help me, please?" I yell. No one was in sight or earshot. I kneeled on the platform. "Sir? Sir? Sir are you okay?" He isn't okay. This was not good. I jump onto the tracks, and check his pulse rate and breathing. "Oh, you smell nice" I rant.
"Please wake up, please" I beg as I stroke his hair. Then I hear a horn.
The train was coming, I could see the two large headlights.