Hello again, Mina Here is Chapter 2. Once again for everyone's benefit I do not own or hold any rights to use this. I am just creating something of my own. I hope you all like this part of the story.
Christmas Past, Christmas Present Chpt. 2
The girls had decided to meet up at the Crown Arcade after school. As usual Usagi was running late due to detention. Haruna Sensei had not been understanding when Usagi had come in late. Of course Usagi tripping and sending her books flying all over had not helped either. The whole class had laughed except for Ami who sat with a sweat drop on her head. Usagi quickly darted in through the sliding doors her ponytails swinging as usual.
She spotted the girls in their usual booth and slid in. They were already laughing. "We heard what happened this morning another klutz attack huh Usagi." Rei waited knowing her baiting would cause a reaction. Usagi just blushed and stuck out her tongue.
Motoki wandered over and smiled. "Hi Usagi, your usual?" She nodded and looked around the place to see who all was there. As usual "The Jerk", sat at the counter. She could not call him Mamoru that might mean that secretly somewhere inside her, she liked him. He always called her Odongo Amata, and he was forever teasing her about running into him.
At that moment a chill out of nowhere slid up her spine and her mind wandered for a moment, back to the night before. Not putting two and two together she focused on the girls. They had begun discussing the night before. Usagi waited for a pause in the conversation and then asked. "Did any of you see anything strange last night?" With "No's and Uh-uh's" all around she let the subject drop. No one seemed curious to ask why.
Her attention once more wandered over to "The Jerk". He was sitting at the counter with his usual cup of coffee. She watched as Motoki spoke to him quietly while preparing her strawberry shake. She noticed that today he looked even more bleak than usual. With Christmas coming quickly she wondered how anyone could be bleak.
"Well he probably is so mean no wants to buy him any presents", she thought to herself. But her heart whispered another story. "That may not be true, maybe there is no one to buy him anything." "Knock it off!" Without realizing it she had said this aloud. All of the girls turned and looked at her in unison. She felt a blush as her face began to turn red with embarrassment. "Oh I was just joking. Don't mind me." A giant sweat drop formed on her head.
Of course at that very moment The Jerk had to walk up and overhear everything. "Well hello mina, Odango are you talking to yourself again?" He smiled seeing her get even more uncomfortable. Rei seemed to have a laughing bout that wouldn't stop until Usagi kicked her shin under the table. "Have a nice day guys." He headed out the doors as Motoki wandered over with Usagi's milkshake.
Seeing Usagi on the verge of tears Motoki's heart went out to her. He smiled softly, "Usagi is he giving you grief again?" Under the attention of her old flame she blossomed. "No Motoki nothing that Jerk could do would bring me down." She smiled, "Not since Christmas is almost here." She had already moved on from being upset and was thinking of the joy of Christmas shopping. The girls made plans for the very next day to do their Christmas shopping. Shortly after that they all realized how late it had gotten and each went their separate ways.
Mamoru hardly noticed the temperature change as he headed through the doors. Wandering up the block he was still chuckling over seeing Odango embarrassed. He thought it was really cute when she turned red and sputtered in anger. He liked Usagi a lot but didn't know how to let her know. Noticing for the first time how close Christmas was he was suddenly bummed. This time of year was his least favorite. He had no one to share anything with and it had been that way for many years. His apartment stayed bare because he had no reason to decorate or have a tree. What sadness to have a tree with no gifts under it. Shaking himself mentally he stopped that train of thought. This time of year always brought the memories but this was not the time to deal with them. Heading back to his apartment he put it all from his mind and focused on all the work he had to do. Letting himself in, he fixed himself a quick dinner and sat down to study. Not realizing how tired he was soon his head was on his arms in slumber.
The dream started as usual. He was maybe three or four years old looking out the window. He remembered they were heading to his grandparent's on Christmas Eve. He could hear his mom and dad in front quietly talking. He was so excited. He knew Santa was going to bring the new bike he wanted badly this year. It was snowing outside and he knew they would be able to go sledding. He squirmed with excitement hardly able to sit patiently until they arrived.
Suddenly there were bright lights, lighting up the car. He heard the squeal of tires and the crunch of metal before the car became weightless. He could hear his mother scream in terror and that scared him more than the falling sensation. That was all he could remember other than wandering through the woods looking for someone; anyone. Then the dream changed. He was standing on the side of the road and a girl with funny hair walked up and looked at him. "You are not alone." Then the girl was gone and he was once again alone. Whimpering in fear he was suddenly jolted awake by the ringing of the phone.
Shaking off the terror of the dream he jumped up to answer the phone. "Moshimoshi?"…… He waited but there was only silence on the other end. After a few seconds he heard a quiet click as someone hung up. Hanging up the receiver he decided he'd had to much coffee in the arcade. The nightmare always came at this time of year but this time it had changed. He had recognized the girl in his dream but now he was unable to place her. In fact that part of the dream was already muddled up and melting away like wisps of fog. The rest of the night passed slowly as he could only toss and turn fearing the return of his nightmare.
The following day the five girls met up at the mall. They were in the food court having lunch after a serious bout of shopping. "I can't believe I found it on sale." Minako smiled as she continued. "You are going to love it, Usagi." "I bet it is an "Idiot's Guide to Studying" Rei added with an evil grin. Usagi threw a French fry at Rei bouncing if off her head. Rei tried to throw a pickle back at Usagi but missed and landed it on a near by table. "Actually that's what I,…" Ami blushed. "Ano….. never mind." Ami thought she had better take back the book and exchange it. At the time she had thought it might be a good idea for Usagi, to help her study harder.
They were all done shopping and ready to head home except Usagi who still had one or two more purchases to make. "Well we are going to Rei's place so if you want to come by we should still be there. Makoto smiled at Usagi and continued, "and I might make some snacks." Usagi's face lit up at the thought. Makoto was her very favorite cook. "Okay I will be there when I am done", Usagi smiled and nodded as she left.
Usagi had not yet found a gift for her father so she headed to the Men's department in the cool new store. Walking through she looked at all the stuff and thought about her Dad. It had gotten cold lately so when she came to the outer wear and saw the scarves she paused in thought. "It would keep him warm on the way to work." She smiled and picked out a navy blue one to match his coat. As she was digging it out from behind some other ones she spotted a black one. For some reason she imagined it wrapped around Mamoru's neck. Digging in her purse she realized she had just enough for both and stood there pondering the idea. He might really not have anyone to give him a gift. She had never heard anyone speak of his family.
Finally reaching the right decision she took both scarves up to the counter and asked that they be wrapped. Softly humming to herself she had to wonder if she had gone round the bend. "I cannot believe I just bought "The Jerk" a Christmas present. "What would all the girls think?" "I know that Motoki would approve for he likes Mamoru." The beat of her heart accelerated at the thought of giving Mamoru a Christmas present. "Now why would that be?", she wondered. After waiting for a few minutes the scarves were prettily wrapped and she tucked them in among her other gifts. Heading out of the mall she was lost in thoughts of Christmas Presents and daydreaming of a simple smile.