Chapter 6
Things were not improving for the Kamiya household. Tai had to drop out of school and get a job. It was difficult finding a job for someone who hadn't even graduated high school.
Tai luckily was able to find one at a small drug store towards the left side of town. It didn't pay much, about 200 a month but it was their only option. Their Mom never went to work anymore, she just spent her time either drinking or watching TV.
Tai had to work overtime in hopes of getting more money so he wouldn't be able to see Kari much.
Speaking of Kari, she didn't seem to be getting better. During the days Kari would take countless naps. But no matter how many she took, she always felt so exhausted.
She also seemed to have dropped her awareness like a bad habbit. Her Mom would scream and yell for her to get her beer, and when she didn't her mom would come up and slap her and order her but Kari didn't seem to notice.
That's when the beatings began. They weren't regular beatings, oh no. Sometimes Mrs Kamiya would would slam Kari against the wall until her anger faded away comepletely, then would just lock her in a closet.
Sometimes she would force Kari into the bathroom, and throw her in the tub, turning the water on and making sure it was as hot as possible while locking the door. Crawling out of the shower was easy, however the steam and heat in the room would be too much and she would pass out.
Kari could feel that rage she felt before returning. She was more then willing to defend herself, to strike back and runaway, to Tai or T.K. But she felt so weak from the drugs, she couldn't express her anger in any way. It was just bottled up inside.
Kari wished she still had that gun, she wished that the drugs would wear off so she could stab her mother to death. Oh that would be letting her off to easy. Kari got all kinds of ideas, like nailing her mom to the floor, gagging her by sticking nails through her mouth, and using some tweezers so she could slowly and painfully pull her eyes out.
That was only one of the many things Kari wanted to do but she could barely walk, much less find the strength to drive even one nail.
"Damn it, this stupid body of mine better recover quick"she thought in rage. ***************************************************
"Davis, watch it!"growled Yolie as she was pinning a heart on the wall.
"What's with the hearts Yolie, this is a school dance, not Valentines day"said Davis.
"Oh Davis, don't you see? Dances are more then loud music and dancing, it's about finding that one special love in your life, the one you're destined to be with"said Yolie melo dramaticly.
"The only love she would ever find is from a stuffed animal"mumbled Davis.
"What was that!"
"What? I didn't say anything"said Davis.
"Well then go make sure the Dj's stand is in working condition. Your job isn't to stand here insulting my taste"said Yolie.
"Yes sir"muttered Davis.
"I heared that!"
"Why did I sign up for this thing?"thought Davis as he walked up to the DJ stand. He put a CD in the player and played it. It played clearly and loudly, at least enough for a school dance.
Davis turned the microphone on.
"Testing, 1, 2, 3. Hey everybody, your number #1 man Davis is-
"It's working fine Davis!"said Yolie.
"Geeze, just trying to have a little fun"said Davis stepping down.
"You'll have plunty time for that at the actual dance"said Yolie.
"Who's the DJ anyway?"asked Davis.
"No one I've heared of"said Yolie. *****************************************************
"Hello, Kamiya resi-
"What the Hell do you want!"
"Um, can I speak to Kari please?"
"NO!"
The phone was slammed down hard.
"Man, what's her problem?"asked T.K walking out of the phone booth.
T.K had tired to talk to Kari for days but with no sucsess. Something didn't feel right to him but he didn't know what.
"Man, I hope she's okay"said T.K. ****************************************************
Kari woke up, still inside the steaming bathroom. She felt some of her strength had come back to her.
"Finally I'm starting to recover"thought Kari.
She pushed herself up to her feet, she was a little wobbly at first but regained her balance. Kari unlocked the door and stumbled out.
Her mother sitll layed on the couch, guzziling the beer down and turned to look at Kari.
"I hope you're happy with yourself, thanks to you I had to walk all the way to that damn fridge to get a beer because you're too damn stupid to do it yourself"said her mother.
Kari didn't hear a thing she said as she stumbled towards the door and opened it, unaware of where she was going. The sunlight blinded her, not having seen it for so long.
She bumped into the railing and fell over. Out of instinct her arms reached out and grabbed the railing.
"Damn it, I don't have all my strength back, I don't know how long I can hold on"thought Kari.
"Kari!"
Kari could barely hear the voice as it dashed up the flights of stairs.
"T.K, where are you going?"
Kari felt someone grab her arm and hull her over the railing.
"Who's there?"asked Kari keeping her eyes closed.
"It's me, T.K. You can open your eyes now"he said.
Kari opened her eyes and then closed them as the brightness was too much.
"Hey T.K, what are you doing?"asked Davis.
Davis ran closer to get a better look.
"Is that Kari Kamiya?"asked Davis.
"Yeah, she's allright"said T.K.
"That's a good thing? Kari's the one who threatened to shoot up the school"said Davis.
"She's changed Davis, she isn't like that anymore Davis"said T.K.
"How do you know she isn't decieving you now? She probaly has a gun in her back pocket"said Davis.
"Give me a break Davis, she can't even open her eyes to see right now"said T.K.
"Hey you hoolagins! Get out of here!"yelled Mrs Kamiya from the living room.
"Hoolagins? It's me, T.K"said T.K.
"Damn it, don't make me come out there!"
"Don't T.K, you gotta help me please. I can't take another minute with her. You have no idea what she's like now, she's not the same person she used to be"said Kari.
"Damn it Kari, shut the hell up! You boy, bring her in here!"demanded Mrs Kamiya.
"Who are calling a hooligan you old bat!"demanded Davis.
"Why you disrespectful little punk! I'll come out their and ring all your necks if this keeps up! Kari, come in now and your beating won't be so bad"
"Whoa, did she say beating!"gasped Davis.
"We gotta get out of here! Hold my hand Kari"said T.K standing her up.
Kari did so and led Kari down through the stairways.
"Hey Davis, you coming?"asked T.K.
"Uh, sure"said Davis not wanting to stay anywhere near the "old bat"
"Hey wait up, will ya?"asked Davis trying to catch up.
T.K didn't respond and didn't seem to slow down much at all.
"Where are we going anyway? Hel-
"Park, there we can rest for a bit"said T.K.
It didn't take them long to get there. T.K led Kari to the bench and sat her down.
Try looking now"said T.K.
Kari opened her eyes and rubbed them.
"Nice, I can see again"thought Kari.
"Thanks for waiting"said Davis angrily.
"Sorry about that"said T.K.
"Davis?"asked Kari.
"Um, at your service?"said Davis.
Kari giggled.
Kari's giggles stopped when she looked around and saw people giving her glances.
"Kari, Kari what's wrong?"asked T.K.
Kari didn't hear him and continued to notice people glancing at her.
T.K looked in the directions Kari was looking and also noticed the glances.
"Back off damn you!"yelled T.K.
The couple looking at him bowed their heads and walked off, obviously embaresed.
"Man, it's not often I've heared you use that word"said Davis.
"I know, but sometimes too much is too much"said T.K.
"I had no idea T.K felt so strongly about this girl. How do I feel? Do I trust her? That giggle, it looked so, so innocent. Could I have been wrong about Kari? Could we all have?"thought Davis.
"Hey Davis, you coming?"asked T.K.
Davis shook his head and snapped back outside his thoughts.
"Where?"asked Davis.
"Kari said Tai works at a drug store, we should find him"said T.K.
"Oh, coming!"
However Davis heared a siren coming their way.
"Hey, I wonder what's up?"asked Davis.
"Aw! My mom, she must've called the police! She reported me as a runaway!"gasped Kari.
"How do you-
"We can't take chances Davis! We better run!"said T.K.
TBC *****************************************************
REVIEW!
Things were not improving for the Kamiya household. Tai had to drop out of school and get a job. It was difficult finding a job for someone who hadn't even graduated high school.
Tai luckily was able to find one at a small drug store towards the left side of town. It didn't pay much, about 200 a month but it was their only option. Their Mom never went to work anymore, she just spent her time either drinking or watching TV.
Tai had to work overtime in hopes of getting more money so he wouldn't be able to see Kari much.
Speaking of Kari, she didn't seem to be getting better. During the days Kari would take countless naps. But no matter how many she took, she always felt so exhausted.
She also seemed to have dropped her awareness like a bad habbit. Her Mom would scream and yell for her to get her beer, and when she didn't her mom would come up and slap her and order her but Kari didn't seem to notice.
That's when the beatings began. They weren't regular beatings, oh no. Sometimes Mrs Kamiya would would slam Kari against the wall until her anger faded away comepletely, then would just lock her in a closet.
Sometimes she would force Kari into the bathroom, and throw her in the tub, turning the water on and making sure it was as hot as possible while locking the door. Crawling out of the shower was easy, however the steam and heat in the room would be too much and she would pass out.
Kari could feel that rage she felt before returning. She was more then willing to defend herself, to strike back and runaway, to Tai or T.K. But she felt so weak from the drugs, she couldn't express her anger in any way. It was just bottled up inside.
Kari wished she still had that gun, she wished that the drugs would wear off so she could stab her mother to death. Oh that would be letting her off to easy. Kari got all kinds of ideas, like nailing her mom to the floor, gagging her by sticking nails through her mouth, and using some tweezers so she could slowly and painfully pull her eyes out.
That was only one of the many things Kari wanted to do but she could barely walk, much less find the strength to drive even one nail.
"Damn it, this stupid body of mine better recover quick"she thought in rage. ***************************************************
"Davis, watch it!"growled Yolie as she was pinning a heart on the wall.
"What's with the hearts Yolie, this is a school dance, not Valentines day"said Davis.
"Oh Davis, don't you see? Dances are more then loud music and dancing, it's about finding that one special love in your life, the one you're destined to be with"said Yolie melo dramaticly.
"The only love she would ever find is from a stuffed animal"mumbled Davis.
"What was that!"
"What? I didn't say anything"said Davis.
"Well then go make sure the Dj's stand is in working condition. Your job isn't to stand here insulting my taste"said Yolie.
"Yes sir"muttered Davis.
"I heared that!"
"Why did I sign up for this thing?"thought Davis as he walked up to the DJ stand. He put a CD in the player and played it. It played clearly and loudly, at least enough for a school dance.
Davis turned the microphone on.
"Testing, 1, 2, 3. Hey everybody, your number #1 man Davis is-
"It's working fine Davis!"said Yolie.
"Geeze, just trying to have a little fun"said Davis stepping down.
"You'll have plunty time for that at the actual dance"said Yolie.
"Who's the DJ anyway?"asked Davis.
"No one I've heared of"said Yolie. *****************************************************
"Hello, Kamiya resi-
"What the Hell do you want!"
"Um, can I speak to Kari please?"
"NO!"
The phone was slammed down hard.
"Man, what's her problem?"asked T.K walking out of the phone booth.
T.K had tired to talk to Kari for days but with no sucsess. Something didn't feel right to him but he didn't know what.
"Man, I hope she's okay"said T.K. ****************************************************
Kari woke up, still inside the steaming bathroom. She felt some of her strength had come back to her.
"Finally I'm starting to recover"thought Kari.
She pushed herself up to her feet, she was a little wobbly at first but regained her balance. Kari unlocked the door and stumbled out.
Her mother sitll layed on the couch, guzziling the beer down and turned to look at Kari.
"I hope you're happy with yourself, thanks to you I had to walk all the way to that damn fridge to get a beer because you're too damn stupid to do it yourself"said her mother.
Kari didn't hear a thing she said as she stumbled towards the door and opened it, unaware of where she was going. The sunlight blinded her, not having seen it for so long.
She bumped into the railing and fell over. Out of instinct her arms reached out and grabbed the railing.
"Damn it, I don't have all my strength back, I don't know how long I can hold on"thought Kari.
"Kari!"
Kari could barely hear the voice as it dashed up the flights of stairs.
"T.K, where are you going?"
Kari felt someone grab her arm and hull her over the railing.
"Who's there?"asked Kari keeping her eyes closed.
"It's me, T.K. You can open your eyes now"he said.
Kari opened her eyes and then closed them as the brightness was too much.
"Hey T.K, what are you doing?"asked Davis.
Davis ran closer to get a better look.
"Is that Kari Kamiya?"asked Davis.
"Yeah, she's allright"said T.K.
"That's a good thing? Kari's the one who threatened to shoot up the school"said Davis.
"She's changed Davis, she isn't like that anymore Davis"said T.K.
"How do you know she isn't decieving you now? She probaly has a gun in her back pocket"said Davis.
"Give me a break Davis, she can't even open her eyes to see right now"said T.K.
"Hey you hoolagins! Get out of here!"yelled Mrs Kamiya from the living room.
"Hoolagins? It's me, T.K"said T.K.
"Damn it, don't make me come out there!"
"Don't T.K, you gotta help me please. I can't take another minute with her. You have no idea what she's like now, she's not the same person she used to be"said Kari.
"Damn it Kari, shut the hell up! You boy, bring her in here!"demanded Mrs Kamiya.
"Who are calling a hooligan you old bat!"demanded Davis.
"Why you disrespectful little punk! I'll come out their and ring all your necks if this keeps up! Kari, come in now and your beating won't be so bad"
"Whoa, did she say beating!"gasped Davis.
"We gotta get out of here! Hold my hand Kari"said T.K standing her up.
Kari did so and led Kari down through the stairways.
"Hey Davis, you coming?"asked T.K.
"Uh, sure"said Davis not wanting to stay anywhere near the "old bat"
"Hey wait up, will ya?"asked Davis trying to catch up.
T.K didn't respond and didn't seem to slow down much at all.
"Where are we going anyway? Hel-
"Park, there we can rest for a bit"said T.K.
It didn't take them long to get there. T.K led Kari to the bench and sat her down.
Try looking now"said T.K.
Kari opened her eyes and rubbed them.
"Nice, I can see again"thought Kari.
"Thanks for waiting"said Davis angrily.
"Sorry about that"said T.K.
"Davis?"asked Kari.
"Um, at your service?"said Davis.
Kari giggled.
Kari's giggles stopped when she looked around and saw people giving her glances.
"Kari, Kari what's wrong?"asked T.K.
Kari didn't hear him and continued to notice people glancing at her.
T.K looked in the directions Kari was looking and also noticed the glances.
"Back off damn you!"yelled T.K.
The couple looking at him bowed their heads and walked off, obviously embaresed.
"Man, it's not often I've heared you use that word"said Davis.
"I know, but sometimes too much is too much"said T.K.
"I had no idea T.K felt so strongly about this girl. How do I feel? Do I trust her? That giggle, it looked so, so innocent. Could I have been wrong about Kari? Could we all have?"thought Davis.
"Hey Davis, you coming?"asked T.K.
Davis shook his head and snapped back outside his thoughts.
"Where?"asked Davis.
"Kari said Tai works at a drug store, we should find him"said T.K.
"Oh, coming!"
However Davis heared a siren coming their way.
"Hey, I wonder what's up?"asked Davis.
"Aw! My mom, she must've called the police! She reported me as a runaway!"gasped Kari.
"How do you-
"We can't take chances Davis! We better run!"said T.K.
TBC *****************************************************
REVIEW!