For this chapter I took a quotes from a certain website off the Internet (won't tell you where though). Some funny lines I thought of them myself. Enjoy!
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Chapter Five
"What on earth did you do today?" I chastised, remembering him going out in the afternoon after our short talk.
"Played basketball," Ru said through gritted teeth, as I helped him onto his bed.
"Where?"
Ru mumbled something so the boogeyman couldn't get to hear if he was far enough.
"In Atsugi? Your real place? That court? Good heavens, Ru, you were playing in an open court while it was raining as if the Rain God had refused to answer the call of nature for, like, fifteen years?" I screeched.
What was I going to do with this boy?
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"I know you have the same aversion to doctors as you do with teachers so I've decided to nurse you till you're better," I decided, all big sisterly. Ru was running the temperature of the year and I could not leave him to some doctor.
"You?" he muttered incredulously, almost getting up from his bed had I not pushed him back down.
"Why not," I retorted. "I used to be a student medical officer at my old school."
"You?" he reiterated in that disbelieving tone. I nodded proudly.
"When?"
"In London."
"You were just a kid then, right?" his eyes opened so sarcastically wide that I thought his lashes were going to kiss his eyebrows.
"Ah, shut up," I shoved a thermometer into his mouth, causing him to scowl at me.
I smugly shook a finger at him. "No takoyaki until you're better."
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"You know, I used to do this for my brother when he had a fever," I watched the facecloth soaking up the water before lifting it out of the basin and wringing it.
Sponging his forehead, I continued, "Of course, he would giggle and talk to me as I did it. You just… lie there and stare."
Ru averted his bloodshot gaze from the wall to me. "There's nothing to giggle or talk about," he whispered before blushing, not meaning to sound so helpless.
(Maybe I made a mistake. Ru doesn't ever blush. Okay maybe he was so hot that his face was flushed a peachy shade. Yeah, maybe that was it.)
I put the cloth aside and then placed the back of my hand on his burning cheek.
"You're still hot," I muttered irritably, swiping the thermometer with a baby wipe and putting it into Ru's mouth again.
"Do you have a headache?" I suddenly asked, remembering my brother's bouts of head-banging against the wall whenever he started to have a fever.
Ru just nodded with his eyes shut.
"Try to sleep," I coaxed.
The thermometer started beeping and I removed it from under his tongue.
"40 degrees Celsius, congratulations," I smiled, taking out the baby wipes again.
His eyes opened.
"Sleep," I commanded. He normally had no problem with sleeping, but that night, it was particularly impossible.
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"Hi Sendoh," I placed the phone between by shoulder and my ear.
I heard a loud, long yawn.
"Yes, good evening to you too," I filled up a metal pot with water and shoved the frozen chicken into the microwave to defrost.
"It's 2 am in the morning, Tokita," grumbled Sendoh.
"Ah. I just need to tell you I won't be in school tomorrow so you can sit behind Sayaka."
I could almost hear that joyous peal of the (wedding…?) bells that were going off in Sendoh's head.
"Reeeeeeaaaaally?"
Boy, he sounded awake. And somewhat suspicious.
"Yes, really."
"I always thought you were prejudiced against me for wooing her because you think I'm beneath her," Sendoh stated smugly, obviously remembering the time I had said no to helping him match-make himself with Sayaka.
"I am free of all prejudices," I replied calmly, taking the chicken out of the microwave.
"You're not," taunted Sendoh.
"I hate everyone equally."
"…And why are you not going to school tomorrow?" I heard him sigh.
I chuckled at Sendoh's great comeback. "I need to nurse someone."
"Who?" I heard Sendoh's voice take a turn for the inquisitive while I brought out a knife to slice off the flesh and get to the bone.
"They say that curiosity killed the cat, Sendoh. If you ask anymore it wouldn't be merely curiosity that killed you," I said in mock seriousness.
"You sound scary," Sendoh mumbled.
"I'm sharpening a knife," I told him simply.
"…I'm glad we're merely on the phone."
I made the first cut into the chicken, laughing.
"I'm glad too, Sendoh. Good night."
"Wait."
"What's up, Cat?"
"Thanks. For telling me I can sit behind Sayaka," he gave a soft chuckle. "Night."
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I've always been someone who values friendship because I couldn't get love from my parents. At least, I couldn't feel it. I could always feel it from my friends.
My best friends were all in London, a group of crazy girls who had weird minds (during the Mad Cow Disease scare in the U.K. a few years back Karin ate sponge cake while hanging upside down on the monkey bars because she wanted to make herself have a sponge-like brain, which was a symptom of the disease, and hence not be well enough go to school). But in Japan, none of the girls I met could go crazy like them. The only person who cared to have real fun with me was Sendoh, and even that was once in awhile.
Maybe it's me, I sighed inwardly. Maybe I'm the one who has the problem. Maybe I'm the one distancing myself away from other peo-
"Toki…" I heard a voice behind me, breaking my train of thought.
…Ah, that boy!
"Why aren't you asleep?" I asked, going up to him and pushing him towards the room. Of course, being Ru, he resisted.
"Can't sleep," he scowled, disgruntled. "I've got a headache."
"The aspirin's in the drawer," I pointed. "Pop one or two and go to bed."
"What are you doing?" he asked when he saw the pot of boiling water and chicken bone.
"Making soup for you," I responded as nicely as I could, my irritation and anxiety increasing by the second. He needed to rest. He was burning up, for crying out loud.
"You don't have to," he said flatly.
"I want to. You're sick."
He was quiet for a moment before turning and leaving the kitchen.
Weird, I thought. For once, his compliance came easy.
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I covered the pot and let it the soup cook itself. Padding softly to the room, I saw Ru toss to face the top bunk and settle down, his chest moving up and down rhythmically.
Good. He's sleeping.
Then, he opened his eyes for a brief moment and quickly shut them when he saw I was looking.
…At least he tries.
Sighing inwardly, I switched off the light to let him sleep better and entered The Back. It was cluttered with magazines, drawing guides, manga (mostly free from the other authors at Kouei) and the awards that our works had won were mounted on the wall.
My eyes fell on the Young Artist Award. It was a simple bronze plaque which had the following words in bold: Proudly presented by the Japanese Art Society to Tokita Kaede – Second Runner-up, National Young Artist Award.
The Art Society was rather reluctant to return my painting of my brother to me, but after much begging and a hefty (forced) donation by my father, they finally condescended and let me keep it.
Of course, I placed it alongside my award plaque.
It was at that moment, when I was gazing fondly at the only substantial, tangible memory of my brother in that room, that I realized I missed painting. I missed it a lot. I had not painted for three years, ever since I entered Kouei.
As if something possessed me, I rushed to the back of the room and scrabbled around for my easel, which I found behind a roll of paper. Like a maniac I combed the room for that piece of canvas I had bought on a whim one evening on my way home from Kouei and finally located it under the stock of inks which we constantly had to use to replenish our pens for drawing manga.
I went to my cupboard (Ru had his own) and pulled out my drawing case, which contained my palette, my oils, brushes and all the whatnot that I had thrown in. I quickly erected the easel, pinned my canvas on and prepared my paints.
It was then I realized I had no concept at all for a painting.
I calmed myself down, ran my fingers through my hair and closed my eyes. I cleared my mind and told myself when I said the word 'think' in my head, the first thing that appeared would be what I would draw.
Think.
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"Ru," I shook him gently and whispered, "drink some soup and take your aspirin."
He stirred and allowed me to help him sit up.
"I need to take your temperature first," I remembered.
There was silence as he groggily allowed me to shove the thermometer in his mouth. I glanced at the clock.
3:09 AM.
"Okay," I cheered as the thermometer beeped. "Let's hear the verdict – 39 degrees Celsius."
Ru raised his eyebrows.
"Take your aspirin and soup and you'll be fine in no time."
He just nodded curtly and lifted the bowl to his lips and in a matter of seconds it was gone. I handed him the pills and a glass of water but he just took the pills and swallowed them dry.
Guys.
"That was a nice display of your manliness," I politely complimented. "Do go to sleep."
"…What about you?"
"I'm fine. I'm busy, even. Holler if you must; I'll be in The Back."
And with that, I left the room with the bowl, the glass of water and my heart rejoicing at being able to get back to my oils.
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I woke up to my phone buzzing noisily on the table. Groggily I flipped it open and through a crack in my right eye I tried to navigate to the text menu. The sunlight was blasting through the windows at me, forcing me to open both my eyes (reluctantly enough).
SENDOH AKIRA 09:12 AM
Something big has happened at school. What a pity you aren't here to witness it. Muahahaha.
I groaned and thought, What on earth? You wake me up just to gloat about something big and you don't tell me what it is?
Flipping the cell shut, I remembered that I had a bed and stood up to drag myself to my bedroom. Then the thought of having to climb a ladder to just to reach my bed made me sit down again.
The moment I sat down, I received another text.
FUJII SAYAKA 09:23 AM
You'd never, never guess what is happening in school RIGHT NOW. Why aren't you here? This is JUST THE SORT OF THING you'd do in junior high.
If Sayaka was texting me, that something must be really something.
(unknown) 09:24 AM
Want a bust enhancement or eyelash extensions? Simply go to our website
I deleted that without even looking past the next word. My phone seemed to be buzzing like crazy. I read the next name – 'Honda Takafumi'. My junior in the Art Club.
HONDA TAKAFUMI 09:24 AM
OI SENPAI! Did you hear about the Eco-Love uproar at the principal's announcement already?
The Eco-Love Club? They were one of the gentlest people around school. They wouldn't even eat onions on certain days because they would check the methane index regularly and determine that it will not be beneficial to the environment if they let out excess gas if the day's methane content was too high.
Another two juniors, Hiromi and Chiyoko, sent me the same message.
Well, it figures, they were both from the same junior high as I was, I thought.
KOSHINO 09:24 AM
Tokita-san, the principal announced this morning at assembly that we are going to install air-conditioning in all our classrooms and the Eco-Love Club went berserk an hour later! They had secret meetings in toilets in that hour before congregating in front of the principal's office and destroying the air vents in there. Can you imagine? I tried to stop one girl and she BIT me! It really hurts.
FUJII SAYAKA 09:25 AM
The Eco-Love people totally destroyed the air-conditioning in the library as well. It's just like the time you led the protest for your art campaign!
Oh yeah. Back in junior high I was the weird kid. Art was really important to me and I found the art education in Japan too stringent. Art was supposed to be a free-form expression. Together with three other brave Art Club members I stormed the principal's office spraying paint on his walls.
The protest didn't work. In fact, it failed miserably.
Needless to say, it got me suspended for a week. I didn't get expelled because of the award I was winning at that time (the school bathed in the glory a little bit) but my poor comrades were. (They joined an art college after that.)
I really pitied the Eco-Love Club, thinking of the kind of feeling they'll experience when their effort all comes to naught.
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So the arrangement was this – the Principal closed down the school for half a day because all the places in the school that had air vents were totally wrecked and the teachers were helping to see to the administration work. The students who were not involved were sent home, and those who were involved were contained in a classroom.
How upsetting.
It was when my phone stopped buzzing that I realized I was very very very tired. I shut my eyes and my head was about to crash onto the table before – surprise, surprise – the phone buzzed again. I decided to ignore it.
Buzz buzz.
I ignored it still.
Buzz buzz.
…This time it was a call.
"Hello?"
"Sorry, Tokita-san. Did I disturb you?"
My eyes shot open in surprise
"Ah, Tad- I mean, Kawasaki-kun! Why are you calling me?"
"Hello," he said in that gentle voice of his. "Remember I invited you to my home?"
No.
"Yes," I started to panic, realizing I had forgotten.
"Since school has let out early, can I meet you in your classroom?"
"Um, Kawasaki-kun, actually I'm not in school."
"Oh?"
"I overslept and missed school," I lamented.
He laughed, "All right, I'll go pick you up at your place."
A shocked "Huh?" escaped my lips.
"I'll get your address from the office. See you!"
With a beep the call was disconnected.
…Oh, shucks.
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Tadashi is not what he seems to be, people. Trust me. Thanks for waiting for this installment, exams just ended 2 days ago and this chapter has been sitting in my computer for over a month. I'm really excited to write the next chapter – I'm gonna start on it now!
Thanks to all for the support. Do keep reviewing so I will know what can be improved in this fic. Thank you!
