Teacher RuRu- Part 6.1.1 (3rd part)
8:00 PM, Meadow Valley Hospital, Thursday
Rukawa stared at the big and familiar halls and white-walls of the hospital. Donning simply a pair of jeans, a shirt, his red light-jacket and a pair of white sneakers he waited as the elevator doors opened, people alighted. Obviously, even in the evenings—the hospital is unlike any institution, its always brimming with patients and people from all sorts of roots. He yawned as he entered the elevator, feeling slightly the shivers from the seemingly full-blasted air-conditioned halls.
The elevator seemed to stop per floor and Rukawa refrained from clacking his tongue as people started filling up the space, urging him to back little by little until he's literally behind and leaning on the corner most. Good thing, he's got height. He kept his eyes mostly at the back of the female operator and kept his periphery vision blinded; but he can see people wearing scrubs and white coats coming in and out of the elevator, per floor. Rukawa leaned his head on the corner, eyes not wandering around.
"Sixth please."
"Seventh."
"Ninth."
"Tenth, please."
Murmurs, chatters… silence. The elevator trudged slowly upwards; and with each floor, one by one, people alighted. Rukawa waited—eyes getting a tad bit heavy, his narcoleptic behavior kicking in as always. He tried to mute his surrounding as he awaits to be in the tenth floor.
"Tenth floor." The female operator stated. Rukawa pushed himself off and nodded his thanks and stood upon two divided hallways. It was stupid of him to actually not asked Ayako which room! Rukawa inwardly socked himself on the face. He just asked which floor but he didn't know which room. Rukawa scratched his head irritatingly as he chose to head right. He walked into the while-tiled floors and light brown rooms with brass-plated numbers on them. He is actually looking for the nurse station but he cant see one.
Guess, I should have taken the left hall. Rukawa twitched his lips and turned around when a random door opened. Out came a nurse, two doctors—a male and a female. Rukawa blinked his eyes in surprised. He found himself gaping a bit. Not knowing what to do, he paused in his step. Even with his back on him, Rukawa can never mistaken the taller frame of his colleague. He was about ten-twelve steps away but the familiarity of Sendoh Akira is hard to miss.
Rukawa stared. He seemed to be talking to the nurse, another female doctor beside him. He cannot hear what they're talking about but he seemed to be giving orders, head bowed down while looking and writing something on the chart; the nurse nodding and the other doctor simply looking and listening. Rukawa, for some reason felt a bit panicky—and he wondered… he wondered very much.
What the heck-! Its just him… right? I mean, asked him the goddamn room of Takato! Rukawa thought he felt his chest skipped a bit and that he had to backed a few steps away. Clutching his pocket, he tried fishing for his phone and acted as if he's busy browsing; standing on one corner of a random room, he kept his eyes subtlety looking from his phone to his left. Rukawa abruptly averted his gaze on his phone when he thought Sendoh and the others would turn around but he didn't.
He saw him hand over the chart to the nurse and the two doctors marched. Rukawa stared at the back of his former college colleague as he walked further away. Only then Rukawa pushed himself off the corner to walk towards the other hallway. He dumped a sigh and feeling his hand clutched harder on his phone, he took a turn to approached the left hallway. Only then he caught sight of the nurse's station. He sighed to his relief and approached the busy desk.
The nurses were busy talking on the phone, writing endlessly, typing on the computer, communicating, while some patients and doctors stood on the side. Rukawa reluctantly approached the station a bit, unsure of what to do; he was torn between asking and just looking for the room with the name of Sendoh Akira as the doctor on the doors. But it'll be just a waste of time. And so, when he saw an opportunity, Rukawa unwillingly approached the seemingly busy station—with people and white coats standing here and there.
Rukawa stared at one female nurse. He cleared his throat but she paid no heed as she wrote fast on a chart then went inside the room. His eyes darted to one nurse who seemed to be talking on the phone, but it seemed futile as well. Rukawa shook his head. "Anou, excuse me…" He started.
"Excuse me, nurse, is the doctor making his rounds tonight?"
"Uh yeah… maam? Oh, yes, please wait for him."
"Excuse me, we're from room 11, our microwave is not working?"
"Please dial the maintenance on your directory… yes, doc?"
"Do you have the results of the pancreatic enzymes?"
"Yes Doc, I got it here…"
"Excuse me, where's the hot water?"
"At the corner, maam!"
"Hi, just want to asked about my billing…"
"I think they include the cotton balls in their charges…"
"Oh, I thought its for free…"
"Our air-con wont work, miss… excuse me…"
Rukawa stared at the busy scene before him and decided to let off another minute. He was simply standing on one corner of the station—there were several of them actually, its like watching the nurses stand and walk and run and make a call while they all wait to be accommodated. Rukawa found himself staring at a pile of papers and charts atop the table, the computer screens and everything in-between that he barely has the time to notice his surroundings.
Great going genius, you should've just asked your colleague awhile ago! He might have even walked you straight into Takato's room! Rukawa snorted, amused at his own train of thoughts. Just then, Rukawa's eyes widened a bit when he saw Sendoh, yet again, exited a room. It was then he decided, he'd ask him instead. Gathering up the courage to do so he backed away from the nurse's station and started to follow his taller colleague—just a few steps behind him.
Rukawa took notice how Sendoh seemed busy—like his eyes seemed to be just focused on the tablet and chart on his hands while talking to the doctor awhile ago with him and the nurse who seemed to be trying to digest all the information Sendoh has been telling them. He stared for awhile. He saw Sendoh dumped a sigh, his usual smile, missing from his lips—his hair, partly disheveled, and his eyes, tired as hell. He saw Sendoh placed a hand on his hip as he listened to the two nurses talking/ trying to explain in front of him.
XXX
"Maybe we need to repair again the valve, doctor?" Silence. "Or maybe we can do a bypass on the left…" Dr. Maeda kept talking while reading and signing charts as well. Sendoh paid no heed as he wrote something on the chart, leaning onto the nurse station, he barely heard what his resident told him.
His mind is bombarded with eight patients all under his care. He's been doing surgical and rounds since seven in the morning and he hasn't eaten his dinner yet. Truth is, his patience has long left him and he's just trying his best not to pull off a bastard attitude. But boy, is he tired and severely famished. Sendoh handed over the chart to the nurse. "I need the results in thirty minutes. Think you can do that?" He muttered. The nurse nodded. "I'll asked the lab, doc." She smiled. Sendoh nodded. He dumped a sigh and massaged his temples.
"…so?" Dr. Maeda asked. Sendoh stared to his left. "Sorry doctor, you were saying?" He muttered. Dr. Maeda leaned on the station, handling another chart to one nurse. "Doc, I really think we should have that coffee—let's take a break, shall we?" She grinned. Sendoh stared at his resident for awhile. Tall, brown-haired, quite a looker as well, competent, but can be quite pushy. Sendoh thought for awhile, and for some reason, his thoughts landing upon something Fukuda said to him sometime ago.
Maybe you should go out, you know. Meet someone…
Sendoh tapped his pen atop a chart—averting his gaze from the resident who has been bugging him sometime now for some coffee. It wasn't really a big deal. He'd be happy to obliged… its just that. Sendoh paused, not knowing what's been preventing him to be indebted so. Its just coffee. His mind told him. He snorted and lift the corner of his lips upward. Dr. Maeda leaned closer. "Is that a yes, doctor?" She muttered, her tone, hopeful. Sendoh lifted his gaze upward and dumped a sigh. Their eyes locked. His blue orbs against her brown ones. And in that moment, Sendoh wondered how long has it been since he thought he has stared at someone like this for awhile. Sendoh swallowed involuntarily, tapping his pen, his mind tired and seemingly blank, he was about to nod…
"Sendoh."
Sendoh slowly turned, and right then and there, he was reminded how people would often say that eyes are captivatingly beautiful on their own, not because of the color but because of the words they hold within them —but unlike before, its different. For some reason, it suddenly feels different. Like how come a person seemed to have beautiful eyes- the kind in which you could easily get lost in.
"Uh, hey there, father of Cole…"
Sendoh raised his brows. Rukawa gape a bit and cleared his throat. "Uh, pardon, I mean… Dr. Sendoh." He heard Sendoh snickered, amused that Rukawa emphasized his title. Rukawa absent mindedly scratched his head. "I was wondering if you know…Takato Riki." He muttered finally, mustering enough courage to approached his colleague from the back.
Twelve hours. Straight duties, doing rounds and two surgeries but right then, Sendoh found himself smiling his usual. "Rukawa-sensei…"
Rukawa simply snorted softly as they stood there—in front of the station, their eyes holding each other's. Sendoh smiled a bit and straightened a bit. "Came to visit, huh?" Rukawa simply twitched his lips. Sendoh grinned and pointed at one room not far from the station.
XXX
9:10 PM, Meadow Valley, Thursday
Rukawa bowed his thanks, waving his goodbye as he clutched Ayako's folder at his right hand. He closed the door to Takato's room. He took note of the now empty and quiet halls of the floor. Visiting hours are now over and the station seemed to have finally taken in the peace and quiet they deserve. The nurses bowed at the leaving visitors with him being one of them. Rukawa leaned on the corner as the elevator took him down to the lower ground.
Alighting the elevator and casting one final glance at the expanse of the lounge area, Rukawa exited the building of Meadow Valley. He walked towards the pay-parking space and halted when he saw the familiar figure of Sendoh leaning on his car, head bowed down, busy on his phone.
Sendoh, still donned under his white coat, lifted his gaze up and pocketed his phone, clutching his bag on the left hand. Rukawa furrowed his brows, not quite liking the 'sense' he's been getting. He cleared his throat and pretended not to notice him.
"Rukawa-sensei." Sendoh started. Rukawa kept his silence and went around the driver's seat, pressing the door. Sendoh drummed his hand on top of Rukawa's car, grinning when Rukawa shot him a glare. Silence.
Usually, the stillness calms Rukawa, but not tonight. If there's one thing, the calmness, bothers him. Sendoh stood on the other side, looking and smiling at him. "I have a favor to ask." He grinned. Rukawa exasperatedly stared. Seriously? Do I look like someone who dishes out favor that easily?
"What? I haven't even said anything yet?" Sendoh stated, chuckling.
"Hn. Do I look like someone who likes giving favors?" Rukawa stated, opening the door to his vehicle and leaning an arm atop. Sendoh smiled. "Please?" Rukawa snorted, hating the fact that the smile that went with please is too hard not to obliged. He clenched his right hand and shrugged. Sendoh chuckled. "I don't have a ride."
"Excuse me?" Rukawa stated, partly surprised. Sendoh chuckled, feeling a tad bit embarrassed, he ran a hand on his unruly hair and scratched his nape. "Well, yeah… I didn't bring my car with me so… could you just dropped me off five blocks from here, you'll passed by it so no worries of being out of way. I'll take the cab from there." A grin. "Please?"
Rukawa didn't know. Maybe its Sendoh's familiarity—or the calmness that surrounds him whenever he's with him—or maybe its his eyes, that stole all his words away.
XXX
It wasn't really that far as Sendoh said it—but, fate seemed to have other plans. Like… traffic. Traffic. For Pete's sake. Japan is a first-world country, or at least that is what everyone thought of it—still. To be stuck suddenly in an unmoving traffic for the past fifteen minutes is something probably one wouldn't expect from a 'first-world'. Rukawa knew he'd probably be having a stiff neck since he hasn't moved an inch since they left the premises of the hospital.
And Sendoh? Well, Sendoh seemed to have been yawning for the past few minutes—Rukawa lost count. He honestly thought that the doctor is dead tired to his bones. He barely had the time to remove his white coat. He can see Sendoh wiping his eyes with his hands as the taller leaned on one side. A yawn again. And the fact that he had been quiet since getting in. Yep, this jerk is tired as fuck. For some reason, Rukawa thought it tugged a part of him—seeing his colleague up close and this tired. He ransacked his brain for any topic he should be saying.
Dammit. Should I talk to him? Asked him how his day was? Goddammit, its obvious he's dying any minute now. Maybe asked him about Takato-san? His other patients maybe? His… professional fee? Okay, maybe not the professional fee, I might evaporate in embarrassment to hear him say he's earning six digits a month.
Rukawa wanted no more but to bang his head on the steering wheel, here he was—just a teacher, sitting in front of his car, thinking of a cardiothoracic surgeon, sitting beside him, wanting to ask him something akin to…
Rukawa inwardly socked himself; it seemed like a cringy line from some Hollywood movie. Rukawa pulled on the hand break; he momentarily looked to his right—Sendoh is not moving. He blinked his eyes. Uh—is he dead? Rukawa stupidly wondered.
Just then, Sendoh stirred for a bit, lifting his head up and staring in front of him. He groaned, sensing that they're still stuck in the same place for the past minutes. He fidgeted in his seat and yawned. Rukawa dumped a sigh.
"Uh." He started. Sendoh partly looked at him. Rukawa suddenly didn't know what to say. He cleared his throat. "Traffic." He stated monotonously. Sendoh simply scoffed and placed his palms atop his face. "Man-made stupidity." He muttered. Rukawa tugged his lips upward a bit as he shook his head.
What to say. What to say. Think. Think. Think! Rukawa rattled his mind. The silence is deafening and surprisingly, he's more comfortable if Sendoh is talkative but tonight is different and he can see why. He fidgeted on his seat.
"You looked really—tired." Rukawa stated. I'm a fucking genius. Pfft. He heard Sendoh chuckled. "Oh?" The doctor answered. Rukawa simply scoffed. Sendoh grinned and leaned back his head on the window glass. Silence. Rukawa hoped Sendoh would pull on a snide remark or maybe some stupid sentences but he didn't.
The traffic moved quite a bit, as he slowly stepped on the gas only to stopped again. Rukawa, too, groaned, feeling the stiffness of his back. He placed his left elbow on the right window and leaned his face there. He discreetly moved his eyes to his right; seeing Sendoh awake and just staring right in front. Jerk. What the heck happened to your tongue?!
"Uh, so I got your note, by the way." Rukawa muttered. Annoyed that he's trying to start a conversation, the part of himself he considered to be as his weakest. Sendoh furrowed his brows a bit. "Note?" Rukawa scoffed. "The note? Remember that… stupid post-it with the medicine." Rukawa ratted, quite annoyed. Sendoh nodded, remembering now. Its been a week or so since they last saw each other and quite frankly, work has pummeled the both of them.
"Sure." Sendoh smiled. Rukawa snorted. "Did you drink the medicine?" Sendoh finally asked. Rukawa nodded. "Do you need more?" Sendoh jokingly asked. Rukawa stared incredulously but said nothing. Silence again.
Rukawa's mind wandered further—like, to what Sendoh actually wrote on the post-it but feeling the blood creeping on his ears, he tried to burn the thoughts away.
"Jeesh, I'm sorry." Sendoh suddenly stated. Rukawa looked to his right, surprised. Sendoh shrugged. "Had I known that tonight's going to be this busted, I wouldn't have asked you to drop me off. Damn, should have booked Uber instead."
Rukawa blinked—surprised at Sendoh's statement. He shook his head. "Uh… no, its okay really." Sendoh stared at his companion, quite amused at Rukawa's answer. Sensing Sendoh's piercing stare, Rukawa shrugged. "I mean, I'm going this way, too, right?" Sendoh simply smiled and nodded.
The silence was unnerving, and only the soft music from the radio playing in the background is keeping them company. It was a random station and Rukawa paid no heed—some song called Free Falling- Tom Petty or whoever was streaming on his car radio screen.
"Its amazing…" A pause. "… what you do." Rukawa didn't know he had the guts to say something. Sendoh slowly turned to his left, wondering his former college teammate's words. Rukawa dumped a sigh and shrugged, placing both of his hands on his thighs.
"I mean… you're saving lives." Rukawa stated with a period. He heard Sendoh scoffed; he was made to his right. Sendoh, simply smiling looking upfront then turning to look at him. "Are you feeling sick, sensei?" Sendoh playfully held up his left hand on Rukawa's forehead to Rukawa's horror.
"What the heck-?!" Rukawa muttered, batting Sendoh's away. Sendoh laughed and even if a bit annoyed, Rukawa thought, with Sendoh's sudden mischievous nature kicking in—it helped doused the unwelcomed silence between them.
"Well, its not like, its allowed to kill." Sendoh stated, grinning. "So, I saved lives instead." He added with a shrugged. Rukawa simply snorted but he felt his lips tugged upwards a bit. "That's why its… amazing." Sendoh simply smiled, eyes gazing to his left. "Amazing, in what way?"
Rukawa shrugged. "People…entrusting their lives on you." He muttered softly. Sendoh listened carefully, its amusing, how Rukawa stated how he's astounded on his job. Nodding a bit while smiling, Sendoh turned to his companion.
"Would you—entrust your life on me then, hm?" Sendoh suddenly queried. Rukawa was shocked, blinking, gaping a bit, not knowing what to say; it was just a simple question—a hypothetical question really but he seemed to be adding colors onto it. "So?" Sendoh prodded.
"Ch, doaho." Rukawa stated.
"Because… I wouldn't."
"Huh?"
"I mean… God forbid but… I don't think I could operate on you." Sendoh stated, eyes upfront. Rukawa was surprise. Not expecting Sendoh's answer. Sendoh smiled a bit wistfully. "Not easy when you know the person laying on the table." Rukawa said nothing but he understood.
"Its… a big responsibility. As a surgeon, you need to operate with your hand and not with your… heart." Sendoh started. Rukawa nodded, he knew, of course what Sendoh meant, but he cant keep his other fluttering thoughts away—like it almost meant something; Sendoh's words.
"Its just that—you know everything, a person's lungs, their hearts, you know the parts, which vein or whatever flows into and onto." Rukawa muttered rather plainly.
"A surgeon may know all the parts of the heart, but he does not know his patient's emotions." Sendoh stated, smiling. His eyes piercing suddenly right onto Rukawa's surprised ones. "Whatever." Rukawa said.
Sendoh simply scoffed and smiled. "All I know is that, the moment I stepped right into the theatre, I have one mission—and that is to keep someone's heart beating until the end."
"Theatre?" Rukawa asked, partly confused.
"Oh, we call the operating room 'theatre' sometimes—you know, everyone watches while a surgeon sews and cut people up." He grinned. Rukawa nodded and shrugged, understanding a bit now the moniker behind.
"I envy you, actually."
"Huh?"
Sendoh grinned. "You get to teach kids. You have the power to inspire hope and ignite their imagination." Rukawa blinked, surprised at Sendoh's words.
"In a way, I envy you—because you get to see Cole everyday and how he's doing and his progress… what he likes and doesn't, while I…" Sendoh trailed off then paused. "While I spent most of my time in the four walls of Meadow Valley." Sendoh snorted and smiled wistfully.
Rukawa swallowed involuntarily, surprised at Sendoh's lose tongue. It is the 'father' side of Sendoh that seems to be talking to him. The doctor seems to be hanging his own heart in his sleeves. "Sorry." Sendoh muttered, turning and smiling at him.
Rukawa dumped a sigh, nodding. "You really shouldn't be… saying that." A pause. "Give yourself a break, if anything, you should be proud- you've actually…raised him well." Silence. Sendoh simply listened, blinking his eyes in surprise. Rukawa kept his eyes upfront. "Plus, I think you're a good father and provider."
"You think so?" A smile. Rukawa simply scoffed and rolled his eyes. Sendoh blinked his eyes—then smiled. "Thanks, teach." A pause. "It takes a big heart to shape little minds, you know." Sendoh added with a smile.
Rukawa felt blood creeping at the back of his ears, good thing it was dark so he simply snorted and said nothing. Sendoh chuckled. "Did I… touched you with my speech, Rukawa-sensei- ooff!" Sendoh laughed when Rukawa playfully jabbed him on his side.
Rukawa simply found himself gnawing the insides of his mouth. "Still, the world needs tons of doctors." Sendoh's eyes crinkled, chuckling as he answered back. "Hey, in case you seem to forget, teaching is the one profession that creates other professions—I wouldn't be a doctor if it weren't for my teachers." A grin.
Rukawa stared—caught in Sendoh's blue orbs as he simply tugged his lips up a bit, feeling all too flustered from the words but not wanting to get carried away. "Ch, fine, I'm more important than you are, aho." Rukawa found himself randomly muttering instead.
"You are." Sendoh answered—a smile. Rukawa's felt more than glad that the traffic started moving—kept him from having to stare right back at his companion.
XXX
Rukawa pulled over a two-story contemporary looking house in Nishitama and stared. So, this is where he lives. He mused to himself. He saw Sendoh unhinged the seatbelt and paused. "Wow, I don't know what to say, I just told you to dropped me off but this is first-class service." He grinned.
"Your destination is on the right, sir." Rukawa muttered back. Sendoh laughed. "I'll give you 5 stars for that." Rukawa nodded again, a smirk on his face. Silence. In the end, he decided to dropped off Sendoh to his house. The doctor refused at first, but with a few nags, he happily obliged. Rukawa knew Sendoh is tired, and maybe, just maybe—more than the feelings of the heart, he felt indebted to do so because first and foremost—they're also friends.
Rukawa found himself glancing at the clock in his car. It read 10:30 pm. Quite the heavy traffic they had to rake through. "Hey, wanna come inside? Dinner on me?" Sendoh suddenly invited, it's the least he can do, although he can also sense that Rukawa must be dead beat from the traffic, he hoped he would agree.
"Come on, I think Cole is still awake. He'd be surprised to see you." Sendoh grinned. Rukawa contemplated, he was torn between saying yes and no. But the latter won. "Thanks, but…" Rukawa jabbed his finger behind. "I actually bought dinner awhile ago."
Sendoh blinked his eyes and looked behind. It was a packed KFC meal. Sendoh rolled his eyes and playfully punched the glove compartment. "What the heck sensei, all this time you got this yummy chicken meal behind and I'm like so dying from starvation here." Rukawa simply snorted. "Its for us, mere mortals. I bet you don't eat anything fast food."
"Excuse me?" Sendoh's eyes widened. Rukawa snickered to himself.
"I lived all my life eating McDonalds, KFCs, whatever fast food there is during my residency days." Sendoh stated, chuckling as he did so.
"Someone earning six-figures, once said." Rukawa rolled his eyes. Sendoh opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, shaking his head, chuckling a bit. "Six figures my ass…" He mouthed. Rukawa simply scoffed. Silence ensued.
"Arent you going out, yet?" Rukawa muttered monotonously; wondering why he thought he felt a bit hesitant saying it. Sendoh grinned and opened the door to his right, stepping his leg out only to pause a bit.
"I thought…you missed me." A grin. Rukawa's eyes widened a bit. "Says who, idiot?" Sendoh playfully pointed at him. "Says this face." Rukawa felt his ears burned but again, thanking its quite dark. "Get out, you… jerk." Sendoh found himself laughing when he was pushed outside the teacher's red sedan. He pushed the door close and leaned down to an annoyed-looking Rukawa.
Rukawa pushed down the hand-brake and readied to leave. "Hey." Sendoh called on. Rukawa simply stared. "What?"
"Call me when you get home." A smile. Rukawa felt his hand gripped the steering wheel tighter as he mustered enough efforts to stare back at those eyes that seemed to haunt his thoughts lately. "Ch." Rukawa scoffed. "Hey." Sendoh called again. "You heard me, right?" Rukawa knew better than to say no and so he simply snorted but nodded a bit. "Yeah, whatever, doc."
"Akira."
Rukawa slowly turned his head to the right, his brows furrowing—not knowing if he heard it right. But the sprinting of his chest is telling him that anything that gets your heart racing is probably worth doing.
"W-what?" He almost stupidly asked, his voice almost shaking but lucid enough. "W-what did you say?" Rukawa muttered like a deranged patient. He heard Sendoh scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Just call me when you get home, alright?" A smile. And with one final wave, Rukawa started stepping on the gas and soon enough his eyes found themselves glancing on the standing figure in his rear mirror, still outside his house, seeing him until no more…
And as he drove on the now light and moving freeway in that evening, he wondered why his mind kept one thought at bay. Crazy… my heart was pounding.
XXX
11:30 pm, Friday
Cole was busy typing onto his computer while writing notes on a pad paper—his headphone and camera both on.
"Culture?"
"Hai."
"Alright, I'll try to research on that area."
A nod. "Since it's a tropical country, I was thinking originally of designing like… a beach?"
"Sounds like a good idea." A grin. Cole paused when he heard a knock on his door. Naomi blinked on the other side of the computer and simply stared. "Uh well… I'll just send in the list of ideas with the other groups." Cole nodded. "Ja ne, Sendoh-kun." Disconnected.
His door opened; Sendoh came in walking slowly, closing the door behind him and leaning on the wall. "Dad! You're a bit late." Cole muttered, lowering down his mic, smiling. Sendoh nodded. "You've eaten already?" Cole nodded. "Food delivery. Charged to you." He grinned. Sendoh snorted. "Hah."
Sendoh stared at the computer and playfully smirked. "Zoom, huh. Who're you chatting with?" Cole scoffed. "A classmate, dad." He grinned.
Sendoh sat on the edge of the bed. "A girl. Thought I told you can't marry until you're forty." Cole chuckled a bit and shook his head. "Dad, she's a classmate, our class president—a friend also. We're doing some research. Don't tell me, I can't chat until I'm thirty?" Cole laughed. "Well, thirty-one." Sendoh added. Cole snickered. Sendoh simply nodded. Cole grinned. "By the way dad, thought you'd be home by eight?"
Sendoh dumped a sigh. "Yeah, apparently the traffic was relentless. There's been a multiple vehicular collision on exit 41." A pause. "Hey, you packed already? We're leaving early tomorrow." Cole nodded. It is the start of their weekend getaway. Sendoh decided they'd leave for Kanagawa (Sendoh's hometown) to come and visit his parents. And since, its been years as well since Cole has seen his grandparents.
"Yup. Totally packed, Dad. Uh, how about you?"
"Not yet."
"Seriously?!"
Sendoh simply grinned. "I got a few more clothes there so, no need to worry."
"Uh, how'd you get home by the way. You didn't take the car." Cole muttered, packing his headset and other computer accessories. Sendoh pondered for a while, but he decided to answer. "Well, I asked Rukawa-sensei to drop me off."
Cole's eyes widened. "D-Daad?! Seriously! You even troubled him?!" The student stood up, as if being flamed from the back. Sendoh chuckled. "Hey, chill. It's just a small favor." Cole pfft and sat back down. Silence. "Heh, you should have asked him to come inside, Dad."
"I did. But, he said he 's busy." Sendoh stated, wondering if his words were true. Cole was spinning his chair slowly, eyes soft on his carpeted room. "You're really friends with him." Sendoh simply sat, eyeing his son. "What, you want us to become enemies instead?" Cole laughed, Sendoh smirked a bit.
"Haha, no Dad…" A pause.
"Then what?"
Cole grinned. "Dad, you seemed happier when you're with Rukawa-sensei." It was Sendoh's turn to be a tad bit surprised, not quite expecting his son's statement. He blinked his eyes—then smirked. "Happier?" Cole nodded. "Yeah… I mean, you seemed…pretty much yourself." The younger stated in his soft voice. A small wave of stillness passed by them.
Cole wished he could explain further but his tongue got the best of him as he simply said what he had in mind. For its quite true; his father seemed to be a tad bit… happier and relaxed. Must be because his teacher and his father used to be college teammates. Cole kept his eyes on the carpeted floor, not noticing his father getting up. He lifted his head up and saw Sendoh approaching him, a hand suddenly on his head.
"Go to bed, Cole. Its late." A smile. Cole blinked, wondering—he honestly thought his father would say something else but maybe… his assumptions were wrong. He simply smiled a bit and nodded. "Yeah, good night, Dad." Sendoh nodded and soon exited the room.
XXX
1:00 am, Friday
Sendoh laid down on his bed, one arm on his forehead, the comforter hovered above his chest. Its been thirty minutes since he tried sleep to come by and rock him, but to no avail. He dumped a sigh and hoisted himself up on the bed, eyes, tired, but his mind very much awake. He found himself reaching for his phone and checking for any mail or texts—there's been one; from the nurse in the hospital, a small update from one of his patients. Nothing big really, but he opened the mail and acknowledged the results that they texted him.
But that was all. No more other mails—more like, probably the mail/ message he's not quite expecting. Sendoh browsed lazily on his phone, at his social media and stopped on one photo he came across. It was a photo uploaded by Sunnybrook's principal (whom he's friends with in social media). Several people were tagged. Sendoh randomly clicked on the group photo—it seemed like a birthday party of the principal and he particularly found himself staring at his patient, Takato Riki and then to the one person who dropped him off awhile ago. The caption read; Thank you for coming, Sunnybrook faculty- Watanabe, JP
He hovered on Rukawa's name and clicked it. If Sendoh was Cole's age, he would have added him up, but Sendoh simply contented himself by randomly 'stalking' Rukawa's semi-empty page and chuckled to himself. Like him, his colleague doesn't seem to mind the hullaballoos of social media. He decided to amuse himself by clicking like on the photo before deciding to exit.
Sendoh tossed his celphone and curled up on his bed, closed his eyes and tried to sleep—but to no avail. Clacking his tongue in slight irritability, he sat back up on his bed and stared at his phone; contemplating…
Dammit. A few minutes more, he found himself staring at the familiar name of the person he's decided to call—Answer, dammit. He inwardly mused to himself, not knowing why he wanted the other to pick up, knowing it's in the wee hours of the morning.
But maybe, just maybe… sleeping is hard when you cant stop thinking. Sendoh's eyes widened when the phone was picked up. He immediately found himself placing the mobile on his ear.
"Nghell…o." Groggy. Sleepy. Sleeping. Sendoh found himself snorting softly and chuckling a bit.
"Hello..." The voice, raspy and low, sleep- evident.
"Hey..." Sendoh started. The voice on the other line went silent, as if finally realizing who called him. And as he leaned back on his bed, staring at nothing in particular, Sendoh knew that there is an invisible distance he had crossed to be in the place he is right now…
"Hn." A snort. "Wh…what?" The teacher mumbled on the other line.
"Nothing really. I cant sleep."
"Hn…d'aho. Not… my… pr…oblem."
Sendoh chuckled. Yeah, mine actually. "Well, you didn't call—just want to know if you arrived safe."
Silence.
"Go back to sleep, sorry for calling." A pause.
"Ch…" Dial tone. Sendoh blinked, staring at his phone for awhile. And as he was about to shut his eyes, he felt his phone vibrate causing for him to check it out.
Arrived safe. Thanks. Tired. Sleepy. Count sheep—or count your money. Kidding. Night. -Rukawa K.
Sendoh snorted, shaking his head as he chuckled at the seemingly-lazy one liner-messages. Tossing his phone on his side, he leaned back and once again, placed an arm atop his forehead. Goodnight, Kaede.
…and most of the time, the universe speaks to us very quietly, in pockets of silence, in coincidences, in nature, or in those memories of the yesteryears, in the shape of the clouds or in the pouring of rain, or in the stillness of the night, in moments of solitude—these and many others, that often tugs at our hearts.
TBC
XXX
Note: Gaahh! Took awhile (again) thought I'm gonna finish everything in a zap. But, oh well. Here's the final part of chapter 6. Hope you liked it! No chapter 7 yet. Thank you, Guests (up and below, hahaha!) Star7, Akiraismylover, AddictedtoSD, and Rokudaime. :D I have a one-shot fic actually, bwahahaha! I'm about to post it, too! LoL! But of course, not sure if its going to be appreciated by readers so I'm still thinking… :D
AddictedtoSD: Her one-shots usually meant "3shots". Ch!
LexannH: Hahaha! *kicks steph in the face*
Starry: Wow, you seem to have time!
LexannH: More like, delusional time. LoL! :D
Rokudaime: LOL, I honestly have no idea what's been making you feel 'giddy' from the first part, hahaha. I thought the first part was blandly written. No flavor. Meh. But, thank you.