Chapter Two: Dilemma
"What's going on?" I asked my brother as we walked up the steps of my apartment building. "Is mom ill?"
"No." He replied almost annoyed. He opened the door to my apartment to reveal a very shocking sight.
"Mom? Dad?" I asked the two adults sitting at the kitchen table. Dad closed his eyes and took a drag of coffee where my as my mother smiled at the two of us.
"I see you found him alright." She said to Matt as we commenced to take off our shoes.
"Yeah." He answered her annoyed. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. I looked up at Matt with a raised eyebrow.
"That's no way to speak to your mother Matt." Dad stated. Matt didn't say anything. I looked between him and my parents.
"Um... So, what brings you here Dad?" I asked nervous.
The only times our parents were together was when it had something involving Matt or I. Matt was present and other from looking peeved he seemed in perfect health. There wasn't anything wrong with me, and we didn't have any other close relatives that both parents shared to be concerned about, so I couldn't fathom why they were here together in mom's kitchen.
"You should sit down T.K., you too Matt." Mom replied gesturing to the other two chairs at the kitchen table. I walked over to the table and sat down feeling rather awkward. Matt stayed in his spot with his arms crossed observing us.
"Yamato." Dad said to Matt sternly. The older teenager looked at him plainly. Dad sighed and took another sip of his coffee.
"I already don't have a say in the matter so why does it matter if I'm here or not?" Matt asked suddenly.
"Matt, please..." Mom pleaded with the eldest son running a hand through her hair in frustration.
"What's going on?" I asked trying to avoid conflict. I was so uncomfortable. Tension rippled within the house and weighed heavily on my shoulders. The pit of my stomach was in knots, I was afraid a fight would start up if the stress between my family members grew any more then what it already was. The two adults looked at each other for a moment and silence rung through the house.
"We want to discuss moving, Takeru." Dad finally spoke up shifting his eye contact to me. I blinked at him.
"M-moving?" I asked surprised. "Where to?"
"To New York, America with your father and Matt." Mom continued where dad left off. I stared at her in disbelief and she put a comforting hand on my knee. "It'd only be for a year, honey. Besides," She shifted her eye contact to my father, "it'd be a good way to bound with your father."
"And where will you be?" I asked still shocked at the purposal.
"T.K., I haven't been home as often as I should and you shouldn't be home alone all the time. This will only increase for the next few months because Grandma's ill and I have so many deadlines for news reports that I need to travel for... This seemed like the best solution." She explained.
"Then why America? Why move there?" I asked. It wasn't that I disliked America, on the contrary I thought it was a great place. I had a lot of fun when Kari and I went to visit Mimi there a few years ago, well before the whole confrontation with Willis and Cocomon.
"I've had a job transfer to a t.v. station in New York." Dad stated. "It should be a good experience for us." He added. I slouched back into the chair, my head spinning.
"When would we be moving?" I asked having the school year just starting up again.
"Probably in two weeks, a little more perhaps." Dad replied.
"Two weeks..." I murmured. Two weeks was not enough time for me to get the nerve to even ask Kari out, never mind start a relationship with her. One word rang around my head: Why? Why now?
Dad stood up and picked up his emptied coffee cup. "We'll give you a few days to think it over." He patted my shoulder before walking over to the door and putting his shoes on. "Why don't you come home with me tonight Matt? Give T.K. some time to think." He opened the door and nodded good-bye to my mother before exiting.
I looked after him as he walked out into the hallway, leaving Matt here. Matt sighed and put his shoes back on looking up to my sitting figure. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He told me and then nodded, like dad, good-bye to mom before exiting and closing the door behind him.
I sighed and put my head in hands with closed eyes. Mom came up behind me and squeezed my shoulders. "I know it's hard, but will you at least considerate it?" I lifted my head and turned around to look at her.
"What do you mean 'considerate it'? I have a choice?"
"In a sense you do." She replied after a moment. "I won't be home often which could be filed as child neglect, or you'd have to travel with me on extensively long projects, meaning you'd be missing a lot of school, but yes you could stay with me. I think going with Matt and your dad is best for you though."
I sighed again. "I need to think about this." She gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze before letting go.
"I'm going to start dinner, why don't you start on your home work?" I muttered an okay before grabbing my bag from the door entry and retreating to my room.
I flopped down on my mattress in despair. What was I going to do? I finally had the chance to be with Hikari, but now... I don't think I could really live so far apart from my brother. Sure, we haven't really lived around each other our entire lives, but when I needed him he was always there. If I stayed here he'd be so far away, how could he help me then? And mom, she's already been so busy with her work. Now she'll have to travel to France frequently to visit Grandma, travel more frequently to reach her deadlines for work...
I rolled over and faced the wall, troubling thoughts still ringing in my head. If I stayed with mom she'd be so stressed out and I don't want to push her to her limits... But what about Kari? What about my friends? How could I just leave them? I'd be moving to a foreign place where I knew no one except for Matt and Dad... I rolled back over now frustrated and defeated. I had to move. I couldn't put mom through all the stress she'd go through if I stayed here. I couldn't just let Matt go to America by himself. He's leaving his friends behind too after all.
"Besides, it's only a year..." I told myself. Sluggishly, I rolled out of bed and got my books out to at least attempt my home work even though I knew it was futile with this dilemma on hand.
~*~
The next day I sat at the picnic table close to the soccer field, furiously scribbling answers to my unfinished home work. I had fallen asleep last night and woke up this morning with my open math book across my chest. On top of that I was late getting up and didn't have time to grab breakfast or say bye to mom. She was probably sleeping anyway.
"Hey Takeru! Wanna join in a game of soccer?" Came Daisuke's voice.
"Sorry, I can't." I replied while trying to solve x =150 cubed + 18n. I felt his presence behind me.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Didn't finish my home work." I replied and on to the next equation. I didn't have to see it to believe he was staring at me open mouthed.
"Nani!? Isn't it usually me who doesn't finish Kuragura-senpai's assignments?"
"I know, I know. I had a lot on my mind last night." I replied skipping over a few hard questions.
"Morning Takeru, Daisuke." Came Kari's voice. "Why aren't you out on the soccer field?"
"T.K. didn't finish his math." Davis replied.
"Motomiya!! Are you coming or what?!" Came some voice on the soccer field. "You could at least give us back our ball if you're not gonna play!"
"I'll be there in a sec!" Davis yelled back to his team mates. "Well we don't have Kuragura-senpai till last block so you should be able to finish your work by then."
"I hope so." I muttered losing my concentration.
"Motomiya!!" Came some whines.
"I'm coming!!" Davis yelled. "I gotta go, they're getting restless. See you in home room." With that Davis ran back to the soccer field, Kari giggled before taking the seat across from me at the picnic table.
"How come you didn't finish your work? That's not like you."
"I had a lot on my mind last night." I replied giving up on the last seven problems. They were just too hard to figure out within the next ten minutes.
"Oh yeah that's right, you left with your brother yesterday. What happened?" She asked concerned.
I sighed not really wanting to bring the subject up right now. I decided I was going to move with Matt and dad, but sitting there looking into her eyes... I wasn't so sure I could now. I thought about what Davis said yesterday, how he said he'd been falling in and out of his crush on Hikari. He gave me permission to ask her out with no hard feelings, but he didn't say he was completely over her... What if because of my moving he took the opportunity to seize his chance with her? I slapped myself mentally almost ashamed of thinking a thought like that. Motomiya Daisuke would /never/ do something like that to me. To anyone for that matter. I should know that...
"T.K.?"
"Huh? Oh...right." I replied coming out of my thoughts. "Well, truthfully I'd rather not talk about it." She got a worried look so I quickly added, "Until everyone is present."
"...Okay." She replied uncertain rather she should press the subject further. I forced a smile and assured her it wasn't anything to be worried about.
The school bell rang, signaling the start of school. I sighed and put my text book and unfinished home work in my back pack. Kari got up and swung her bag over her shoulder, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. As we walked down the path into the school building I was troubled with how to break the news to my friends. How could I tell them I was moving to a foreign country for a whole year?
How could I leave them?