Chapter Eight: Downward

Mr. Hiwatari doesn't answer, so I head back home. Midway through my run back, I stop at the park to take a breather, sweating profusely. I sit down on a bench, kicking myself that I didn't stop for a drink.

"Ya know, eventually people are gonna start asking questions."

I lift my heavy head up, eyeing the confused and kind of amused man to my right. Along with holding armfuls of groceries, he's wearing glasses. Well that's new, but because of the low lighting I can't completely make them out. They're either slim rectangular or half-moon shaped frames. Not thick at all. They look plastic but they could be made of metal. They're a gorgeous gradation of deep ocean blue and black, I think. In his shirt pocket though, I see two other pairs, one I'm sure is a metallic lavender color and the other a metallic emerald green.

"Like who needs three pairs of glasses?" I jab, reflecting his smirk hello.

Mr. Hiwatari laughs as he sits down next to me. "Someone who keeps losing them."

"You're weird."

"And what does that say about you?" He pokes, enjoying this back and forth kind of game.

"Why are you out this late at night? You have school in the morning, and I have to get home before my milk sours."

In a blur my mouth runs faster than my brain, and I've summed my year in a single breath, "I'm adopted, I think. I don't know, maybe I'm an orphan. I'm not related to anyone I know really. We don't share the same last name, and I've known this my whole life. It's fine, but now that I'm old enough and asking again, about my parents, he won't tell me. I should probably state that I asked when I was six, he got mad at me then too. But I tried again tonight and we didn't argue but the tension was still there. And you said you'd listen, so I, I snuck out and ran to you. But you didn't answer so I left, stopped here for a breather."

"Mm." The man hums out as he looks away from me, seeming unhappy.

"Uh, yeah, he says it's none of my business what he and my uncle talk about, but if it's about me then it is my business, right?"

"That's a tough one, yes and no really."

"Ok?" I don't like where this is going.

"Asking about your background is one thing but being nosy is something else entirely. From what I can gather, they were talking about you, not to you."

"That's such a 'dad' answer, oh my God!" I say, laughing, the weight on my heart lifting.

"I just wanna know who I am. What happened to me, did my real parents love me, or not?" I understand that he doesn't know the whole story and that he's just trying to be diplomatic, but still, I need some guidance here. I'm lost on what to do.

"Gou..."

There's a pause, but I find something else even more strange. He's calling me by my first name. He hasn't done that since the first class. After taking a deep breath in and out through his nose, Mr. Hiwatari looks at me.

After a moment more of anxious quiet, he says, "You best head home, it's well past curfew."

In his eyes I see something along the lines of tears but he shifts to his feet before I can really get a good glance.

With one final glance, he utters, "Go."

When he walks off, I replay it in my head. Now I'm certain of it. He's crying, and no one cries for no reason, so why is he?

By the morning hours, things are worse for wear between us. We're at each other's throats because he caught me sneaking back inside. And after another intense argument, I'm praying dad didn't hear me curse him out.

"What did you just say?!" He screams up the stairs.

Ok, never mind, he did. I brace myself for the next verbal onslaught, but it doesn't come.

Instead, in time, papa walks up to where I stand at the top of the stairs, and he just hugs me. But, still mad at him for not listening to me, I don't hug him back.

I get ready for school without his input and take my bike there. I'm late by thirty minutes, but I don't pay it any mind. As I run in, sweating bullets, I'm intercepted by two cops just outside my first period class. With them is Agatha Fernandez and she looks like she's playing the victim. Annoyed, but still curious, I walk by them and am shocked to hear that she's talking about Mr. Hiwatari. Wait, what about the sleazy slimy janitor?

At the other end of the hallway I duck around the corner by the stairs and listen. Before my brain can reconnect with my body, I'm running all the way to the Ethics room, but I soon learn that I'm too late. Another set of cops, two as well, are already there and talking to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Hiwatari. We'll be in touch."

I watch the male cop walk away with the desk drawer full of the cards, notes, and letters that our new teacher has been getting thus far throughout the year, and I can't help but marvel at the simplistic genius of it all.

Then I notice the female cop has other plans. I watch in shock as she handcuffs him, stating with authority that she's taking him in for questioning anyway. They turn to leave and it takes all I have not to chase them down.

Come Friday, I'm walking the halls, mentally preparing for another substitute teacher in Ethics. Mr. Hiwatari is on paid leave until the case is settled, and yet Agatha is still somehow allowed to attend? Yeah, that makes a whole fuckload of sense, not! The rumors surrounding the arrest on Wednesday are relentless and many are starting to hate the man. The higher-ups are keeping a lid on this case as far as the media is concerned. I'm not sure of the real reason why though, but, like anyone else with a brain, I have my three guesses. When asked my opinion on the matter, I simply give it and then coldly proceed to throw Agatha Cuntnandez (yeah, I said it. Don't lie, I know you're all thinking she's one too) under the bus. I say what I saw actually happen, which she doesn't like. Great, a new bully and more rumors. What else is new, honestly? Things at home aren't any better but you probably guessed that already.

While going to first period, I get the idea to just not show up, so I don't. If the kissy-faced couple, meaning Makoto and Lin, can skip classes once and not get busted, so can I.

I sneak out the back with the crowd heading toward the portables, where the Health classes are held and happily hop the fence.

The first place I head to is Mr. Hiwatari's home, my mind no longer caring to think about the possible consequences. I just want to make sure he's doing okay.

It's coming up the third week of October now, and it's freezing outside. A frosted window greets me as I awake to my alarm and papa turning it off still. I sit up, tired from the strenuous week, and upon doing so I can't help but feel a little sad. My old man is acting strange, yet he's trying to go about the usual routine as if nothing's wrong. A smaller smile seems to paint his pale, sparsely freckled face, but beyond that he's hard to read.

"... Papa?" I try, now completely dressed and sitting down to tie my shoes, which sit with his on the roomy rubber mat by the front door. I stand back up, once more getting silence for an answer.

"Are you okay?" I finally ask it. We hardly talk anymore, and beyond basic courtesies, we're mute, but I still care for him. We're trying to make amends, but our relationship is clearly strained and we're both stretched thin, to the point of breaking I'd say. He hasn't figured out yet that I skip school on a constant basis and that my grades are drastically slipping, and I plan to keep it that way. On most days I visit Mr. Hiwatari who is still on leave, and I think he suspects something's up, but he hasn't said anything, yet.

Papa shuffles around some more, gets his shoes on, and then motions with his right hand for me to follow him.

"I'm fine." He says softly, a sweet smile and his eyes outwardly expressing that he heard me. I nod in response, a tsunami of relief crashing over me.

As I follow him out to the car, I spot a pastel cake sticker on the calendar. It has a red circle around it, and the square it's in is today's date.

Ok, now I feel like I'm forgetting something but I can't pin down what.

Strolling out to the car, I'm tossed a set of new keys. My shoulder is then tapped and upon looking beside the car I see a brand new, navy blue BMW parked in the normally empty space. I officially got my license last weekend so this is a much welcomed surprise.

I turn to papa and he just smiles, looking much older than he usually does. "I know we haven't been on the best of terms lately but I just want you to know that I still love you as though you were my own. Happy birthday."

I grin and hug him back, hoping he doesn't smell the Whiskey I had for breakfast this morning or feel the marijuana I have stuffed in my pockets. What, I don't smoke it, I trade the weed for booze. Despite the issues between us, I'm sincerely thankful. Papa lets me drive myself to school, saying he's got some errands to run. I say that I understand and drive off, momentarily lost in my own thoughts. That's right, it's my birthday today, and I turn sixteen-years-old. If I'm being frank, I can't tell if that's a good or bad thing anymore.