I wasn't sure what I was getting into, but it's not like I could stop myself. Plus, I didn't want to. Standing in the parking lot of that hell-born strip mall, Ash's arms around me, the world felt perfect just then. My horrible relationship with my sisters didn't matter, Hatsu's ridiculous nicknames didn't bother me, and for the first time in my life, I felt beautiful.
My hazy thoughts were interrupted by a cold feeling just below my belt line, on the backside of my jeans. What in the world could that be? It was the middle of the summer, there was no explanation for a cold butt. Oh…the ice cream.
"Ash?" I turn my head around as far as I can.
"What is it?"
"The ice cream," I reply, not trying to sound too disgusted at the fact that I had melted mint cream on my behind.
"Huh?" Ash lets go of me and looks down at his pants, and then at mine. "Ah! I'm so sorry!"
"Let's just go inside and get those napkins," I say.
"Uh, yeah…,"
We cross the rest of the parking lot and into the KawaiiYuki. Hatsu wasn't in the front, so I grabbed a whole bunch of napkins out of the dispenser on the counter. I hand half of them to Ash, and use the remaining to try and clean the seat of my pants.
The back door swings open and Hatsu comes out with a mop. The second he sees me, he bursts out laughing.
"What happened here?" Hatsu chuckled. "My mind is just racing with ideas. Good and bad."
"Ice cream accident," I clarify.
"Explain to me how you managed to spill it on your ass," Hatsu says.
"Aren't you supposed to be mopping? And you need to refill the napkin dispense," I glare at him.
Hatsu sighs. "Before you leave, are you working tomorrow?"
"Yes, why?"
"There's a new employee coming in," Hatsu replies. "He needs training."
"How hard can it be to put ice cream in a cone?" Ask asks.
"For the cash register," Hatsu adds.
I sigh heavily. "Wakatta. He's not some junior high kid, is he?"
"Don't think so…," Hatsu ponders.
"Have you ever trained a new employee?" I ask Ash.
"One," Ash replies. "Kanako."
Hatsu snickers. "She's kinda hot."
"She thinks you're a weirdo," Ash points at Hatsu.
Hatsu didn't appear crushed, but his voice was softer than usual. "That's depressing."
"I'll just deal with it tomorrow," I say.
Ash and I finish wiping most of the melted Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream off of our pants and exit KawaiiYuki. This definitely has been a strange day. The problem was that it was only six-thirty or so. What was I going to do the rest of the day? And now…I have Ash to spent it with. However, I'm new to this relationship thing. I don't know how to be a girlfriend, really. I could feel myself blushing slightly. I don't know how to kiss! Heh, I guess it's not like I'd need to know that right away. I haven't been a girlfriend for twenty minutes.
"Do you need to go home right away, Misty?" Ash asks.
"I don't think so," I reply. "Did you want to do something?'
"Sure," Ash says. "Like what? Are you hungry?"
"A little," I nod my head. "You must be since your snack ended up in your lap."
Ash laughs. "You guessed it. In the mood for some free food?"
"Why not?" I reply.
"Well, to be honest, I really want to get away from this strip mall," Ash holds open the door to the MizuNezumi for me. "We'll order out."
"Sounds good to me."
The girl behind the counter perks up at the sight of customers. "Ketchum-sempai."
"Which manga am I interrupting, Kanako-chan?" Ash asks.
"Mansion of Water," Kanako holds it up. "Not a shoujo."
"I've actually read that one," I say. "It was good."
"You read mangas?" Ash sounded surprised.
"Rarely," I reply.
"Better not tell me how it ends," Kanako sticks out her tongue.
"Wouldn't think of it. However, it does leave you thinking,"
Ash walks up to the counter and I follow a few steps behind.
"Oy, Tiko!" Ash calls.
A short, rather cubby man comes out of the kitchen. His face had a lot of stubble from not shaving in a few days. His head had a baseball cap that was too small on backwards. The apron he wore was stained with soy sauce and held a few dried up pieces of bean curd. So this was Tiko.
"You can't leave an old man alone, can you?" Tiko wipes his hands off on his pants.
"I was just going to ask if you could cook up two dinners quick. To go," Ash says.
"Don't see why not," Tiko sighs. "Not a soul has stepped in here since three. What'll you have?"
"Kani tama soba for me," Ash looks down at me, cueing me to order.
"Maabo tofu, kudasai,"
"It'll be out in five," Tiko goes back into the kitchen.
When Ash and I were waiting for our food in the lobby, I couldn't help but notice Kanako looking up from her manga ever few seconds. It made me wonder why. I never had someone look at me like that before. I'm used to dirty looks from Lily, obscene looks from Violet, and pitiful looks from Daisy. Kanako's stare was different. Her deep, night blue eyes held a certain light. I knew it was nothing to worry about, but it still made me wonder.
After the order was up, we left the restaurant and stood in the parking lot again. This was becoming a habit.
"Want to eat it over at my house?" Ash asks. "You could follow my car."
"Um, all right," I agree.
"Or would you rather go to your place?"
"It doesn't matter," I say. If we went over to my place, we'd have to deal with my sisters. That's the only reason I was hesitating with an answer.
Ash sighs upward, fluffing his bangs. "My place is a pigsty. I do have to clean it soon, though, because my mother is finally coming home this weekend."
"You're living alone?"
"For about a year now," Ash says. "My mom has been out in Aomori at this law firm. Sometimes I swear she's lying to me about that because lawyer doesn't suit her at all."
"You don't say,"
"What does your mom…uh, opps,…never mind," Ash stutters.
I sigh a little under my breath. "She owned a cafe. It was sold after her death. The Suzushii Mame."
"I think I know that place," Ash says.
"The bench is still open," I tilt my head over in its direction.
"Okay, good idea," Ash agrees.
Ash and I sat on that bench about an hour more after finishing our dinners. We talked about nonsense, important things, dreams, careers, siblings and parents. It was amazing how comfortable I felt around him. I felt like I could say anything that was on my mind, no matter how asinine. He told me things too. Things I wouldn't even have guessed about him. It made me want to be around him more.
*****
The next morning I woke up at around nine o'clock. I had to be at work at ten to meet this new employee. Something deep down told me that this day would be longer than usual, and a huge pain in the behind. I wasn't a huge people person, but I suppose I could make an exception for a new worker. I just couldn't help but wonder if he was going to be a little kid trapped in a big kid's body or not. And Lord be with me if he's worse than Hatsu.
My uniform pants felt a little more snug than usual. I treated myself pretty good yesterday with the ice cream and the Chinese food. No wonder I may have put on a pound. Eh, I'd lose it today anyway. I have a high metabolism. I think I'll need the energy for today.
I comb out my hair and put it in a pony tail for once before heading downstairs for a quick bite. To my surprise, Daisy was already up and in the kitchen. The frying pan was hissing as she played with the egg inside with a chopstick. I don't think Daisy has ever been up this early before. She's the one you have to flip the mattress over just to hear her say 'five more minutes'.
"Ohayou," Daisy says.
"Ohayou," I reply as well. "You're up early."
"Oh, I thought I'd get up once in my lifetime to make my baby sister breakfast," Daisy smiles.
"What's the catch?" I ask. "Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?"
"It's just an omelet, it's not like a five course meal," Daisy spits back.
Daisy flips the skillet over onto a plate and lets the egg fall out. She adds cheese and a few vegetables over the top and hand it to me with some chopsticks. I sit down at the table and start to eat, even though it was still mighty hot in the center. I hear a Daisy searching for something in the drawer behind me and turn around in my hair.
"What are you looking for?"
"I have a manicure at nine-thirty," Daisy replies, finding the car keys.
With that she was gone. I guess she wasn't waking up early just for me.
I leave the house at quarter to ten and make it to the strip mall in no time. The traffic is never bad in the morning hours. It usually picks up around noon. Then at about one o'clock is when KawaiiYuki gets most of its customers due to lunch breaks at the local companies. They stop by MizuNezumi for some quality Ramen and to KawaiiYuki for a snow cone and a muffin for later.
I find a premium parking spot right in front of the store. I unlock the front door and flip the closed sign to open. All there was left to do was turn on the cash register. Hatsu had done all of the cleaning the night before. He's such a dear. I wouldn't see him, however, until four in the afternoon when my shift was over and he'd take over. Too bad the new guy's shift ends then too. Hatsu might have wanted to meet him himself. Hatsu loves to tease the new people.
Oh, the kids cones needed to be restocked! I go into the back room to retrieve some out of the closet. The minute I walk back into the front, a person was standing in the lobby wearing the KawaiiYuki uniform. He stood quite still, looking around the place. He had dusty blonde hair that had a natural curl to it. He was tall! My guess would be about six feet, three inches. At least that was tall to me, a mere five feet four inches. He finally looks at me and I felt cornered by the dark green eyes.
I clear my throat. "You must be the new employee."
He nods.
"Why don't you come back here and I'll show you around quickly," I set down the cones and lift up the part of the counter on hinges.
He follows me into the backroom.
"You can just put your stuff on the table," I say. "That's what Hatsu and I usually do. The manager doesn't care if we don't use the lockers. You're free to use them if you want though. I think they're all open."
"Uh, thanks," He says.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Touru," He replies. "Touru Kurasa."
"Nice to meet you!" I hold out my hand. "Mine is Misty."
Touru shakes it. "It's a pleasure."
He had such a dry tone to his voice. But he made it bright when he wanted to, it seemed.
"Am I just going to be working the cash register today?" He asks.
"Yes, that's your job for today," I reply. "I'll be filling the orders."
"Okay,"
Touru takes his car keys out of his pocket and sets them on the table. "I know how to work a cash register. You don't need to show me."
"Are you sure? Not even a review?" I ask.
"Nope, that's okay. Thanks anyways," Touru goes back into the front and takes his place, looking rather bored.
I follow him. "So, how old are you?"
"Sixteen," Touru answers.
Hmm, a few months older than myself. "That's cool."
"What about you?"
"I'll be sixteen in September," I reply. I look down at his right arm and notice a long scar creeping up about five inches from his wrist. "What happened to your arm?"
Touru actually smiles and bends his elbow up so I could see it better. "My sister stabbed me."
My eyes grow big. "Your sister?"
"Yup, about two years ago now," Touru says.
"Why would she do a thing like that?" I ask.
"I put one of her plastic dolls in the microwave," Touru explains. "It was a big puddle by the time I was done. She's only six, you see. She knows where my mom keeps the good knifes though."
I didn't know what to say to that.
Touru starts to laugh a little. "I was just kidding. I went on a trip to Kyoto to go mountain biking. I was on my way down when I hit a rock and the bike flipped. I rolled the rest of the way down. A stick somehow got wedged in my arm on the way."
I didn't know what to say to that either.
Touru points to his head. "Helmets save lives."
"I guess you're right about that," I agree.
"But I wasn't lying about having a sister," Touru says.
"You really fooled me," I admit. "I really thought she had stabbed you."
Touru shudders. "But my sister is a little devil, though."
"My sisters don't like me much either," I say. "I'm the baby."
Touru shrugs. "I'm the middle kid. One more brother who's older than me."
"That's nice," I smile.
The bell above the door rings and the sound of footsteps on the tile issues. I look to see who came in and find Ash standing in front of the counter already.
"Ohayou," He says.
"Ohayou," I smile back. "What brings you here?"
He points to his shirt, which had the MizuNezumi name and logo embroidered on the left. "Work at eleven. But there is no way I'm having Chinese for breakfast."
"And ice cream is better?" I ask.
Ash points to the bakery window. "Can I put a muffin on my tab?"
"You can just have one," I walk around the back of the counter to the bakery window. "What kind would you like?"
"Apple streusel, please," Ash taps on the glass.
I take one of the muffins out and put it in a bag. "Douzo."
"Thanks," Ash says. "How long do you have to work today?"
"Until four," I reply. "How about you?"
"Six," He rolls his eyes. "I'll have to see you later then, okay?"
"Okay," I smile and wave as he leaves.
"Free muffins?" Touru's voice comes in.
"It's not going to hurt," I reply.
"You must know the guy," Touru says.
I blush faintly. "He's my boyfriend." It felt so weird, using those words in the same sentence.
"Ah, Sou ka," Touru nods. "How long?"
"Since yesterday…,"
"Newbies, huh?" Touru says.
"I'm the newbie," I reply. "I met him because he was going out with my older sister…"
Touru stays silent for a while. "Haven't heard that one yet."
Touru and I don't talk for a while. Once eleven hit, a few customers started coming in. Mothers with their children, hoping that ice cream would shut them up for at least a half an hour. Construction builders looking for something cool to eat while on their break from the hot sun. The forlorn teenager with nothing to do on a beautiful summer day. Ah, iina…I wish I could be out there right now instead of being cooped up in KawaiiYuki.
"Kore wa hanpuku-desu…" Touru mumbles.
"Get used to it," I reply.
"What do you guys do around here when things get slow?" Touru asks.
I look at him with a straight, serious face. "Paddleball."
Touru laughs.
"I'm serious," I say. "That's all Hatsu does when there are no customers."
Touru takes a paper cone-holder and unfolds it. Twisting the pen so the tip comes out, he starts to write a message on one side. He creases it in the center and then does a number of interesting folds to make it into a paper airplane. What in the world could he be doing? The airplane gets thrown at me and I catch it, surprisingly. I look up at him and then back at the note.
Unfolding it, the message read: Anata wo misa semashita.
I just shake my head, but can't help but laugh a little. This was going to be a long day at work.
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Here, as requested, are the Japanese Romanji Translations! (in order of appearance)
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Wakatta - I get it/ I understand
Oy - Hey
Kusadai - Please
Ohayou - Good Morning (sunshine ^^)
Douzo - Here you are
Sou ka - I see
Iina - I'm jealous
Kore wa hanpuku-desu - This is repetitive
Anata wo misa semashita - Made you look