Big Hero 6: The Art Theives
Chapter 4: Make Some New Friends
The next morning, I spend most my time looking longingly out my bay window. After a while, my mother pops into my room.
"You know," she says, making her way over to me, "you could try making a few new friends to hang out with."
I sigh. My mother always seems to know what's on my mind before I even say it. "Maybe, Mama," I say, "but...I miss my friends at home. I don't want to try and make new ones."
She finishes crossing the room and wraps her arms around me in a snug embrace. "I know," she says, as I return the hug, "but it won't hurt to try. You're already friends with Tadashi and Hiro at the cafe, so why not try to make even more?"
I nod, still somewhat upset, and my mother heads back downstairs. Once I get dressed and finish my daily morning routine, I'm off to the cafe.
...
"Hey, Sakura!" Aunt Cass calls warmly as I step into the building, the door's bell making my presence known. "The boys are getting ready for school at the moment," Aunt Cass continues, "but you're welcome to wait down here for them."
"Thank you!" I say with a nod, sitting down at the nearest table.
I don't have to wait very long. Tadashi heads down the stairs, a backpack strapped to his back. "Oh, hey, Sakura!" he says when he sees me, and he heads over to my table.
"Hey, Tadashi," I say, smiling. "Are you heading to your lab?"
Tadashi nods. "Yeah," he says. "Hey, I was wondering, since you're already here, do you want to go with me and meet some of my friends from over there? I'm sure they'd love to meet you."
I smile. "Sure," I say, "but your moped only has two seats." I nod to Hiro, who's just coming down the stairs, overhearing our conversation. "We can't all fit in it."
"I can take the cable car," Hiro says, shrugging, "and you two can take the moped, since I know you want to ride together."
Tadashi blushes, but hides it by glaring at his little brother. Hiro shrugs carelessly.
"Okay," says Tadashi, "come on, Sakura, let's go."
He opens the cafe door for me, and we head outside. Hiro winks at me knowingly, and heat rushes to my face. I jump onto Tadashi's moped, as does Tadashi, and we race off to the lab before Hiro can say another word.
...
It takes us barely ten minutes to reach Tadashi's lab, and as soon as we do, we hop off, hang up our helmets, and head inside.
We step through another door, into a large room full of different science experiments – a table covered in different chemistry elements, half-constructed robots, and odd-looking motor vehicles.
Someone walks over to us. She has dark black hair with purple tips, and she wears an outfit befitting a motor biker. "Welcome to the Nerd Lab," she says, and she blows a bubble with pink gum and pops it between her teeth.
"Nice to meet you," I say, offering her a nervous smile.
Tadashi chuckles and settles his hand on my shoulder as the girl walks away. "Don't worry about her," he says, "that's just Go Go. She's like that with everyone."
I nod in acknowledgement, and Tadashi leads me across the room and into a smaller section in the lab.
"Whoa, watch your step there!" someone shouts at me suddenly, and a boy wearing green points his finger at my foot. It's only now that I notice I've crossed over a yellow and black striped safety line.
"Hey, Tadashi!" says the boy, smiling at me once I back away from the safety line. "Who's this?"
"This is Sakura," says Tadashi. "She just moved here, so I'm showing her around. Sakura, this is Wasabi."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Sakura!" says the boy, Wasabi, I now realize.
"It's nice to meet you too," I say with a smile.
The next person we meet has lots of straight blonde hair and wears pink-rimmed glasses. She greets Tadashi first with a bright smile and cheery voice. "Tadashi!" she sings happily. "It's great to see you! And who's your friend?"
"This is Sakura," says Tadashi.
The girl straightens her glasses and grins. "I'm Honey Lemon," she says, extending her hand to shake mine. She looks over my outfit one more time, and her smile grows. "You're a Tadashi look-alike!" she says, and laughs.
Tadashi and I blush.
"HOWDY!"
I jump and shriek when I feel someone's hand on my shoulder from behind, and I whirl around. A young man in a dragon mascot suit looks back at me, grinning so widely it's almost unnatural.
"I'm Fred!" he says grandly and loudly, as if trying to let the whole world hear. "I am mascot by day, and dragon trainer by night. So, I guess you're new here! Welcome!"
"Um...yeah," I say, smiling. "Thanks. I'm Sakura."
...
We gather at one of the tables in the lab and talk for a while. I explain that I'd moved there only recently and that Tadashi had been showing me around the city.
"So, Sakura," says Honey Lemon, "are you going to school here?"
"Yep," I say, nodding. "I'm going to San Fransokyo Arts Institute, but I haven't picked my classes yet."
"Well, what kind of classes do you want to take?" Tadashi asks.
"I don't know yet," I say, shrugging. "I guess I'll find out at the open house next week."
We hang out for another while, and before I even know it, the sun has already began to set. "Whoa," I say, getting to my feet after taking a look out the window, "it's that late already? I've got to get home before dark."
"Looks like the little copy-cat needs to go home," Go Go says, sounding bored, and I shoot her a warning look.
"Yes," I say, pretending not to be annoyed or offended, "I do need to go home. It's been nice meeting you all." I bow, turn, and begin heading out to the parking lot.
I don't notice Tadashi following me until we get outside. "Did you have a nice time meeting my friends?" he asks, as we buckle on our helmets and hop onto his moped.
I nod, and we speed off down the street, back to my house. "It's right here," I say to Tadashi, pointing, and Tadashi pulls his moped to a stop, directly in front of my house.
"Well, here we are," Tadashi says, and we hang up our helmets. He rubs the back of his neck with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about Go Go," he says. "She's just...she's just like that."
I laugh. "It's okay," I say. "She was nice...in her own way."
I hug Tadashi, tell him goodnight, and head inside my house.
As soon as the front door shuts behind me, I slide against the wall to the floor, my face the color of cherries. I put my hands over my face, trying to calm down.
"Get ahold of yourself, girl," I tell myself. "It was just a hug."
Meanwhile, outside, Tadashi sat on the sidewalk, shocked, also blushing red. He's still blushing when he gets home and heads upstairs into his room, where his little brother Hiro is playing Nintendo 3D DS.
Hiro grins widely at Tadashi's bright red face. "So it is true," he says. "You have a Major League crush, bro."
Tadashi fakes a groan and flops backwards onto his bed. "No, Hiro," he says flatly. "She's just really nice, that's all. It was just a friendly hug."
Hiro starts cackling, and Tadashi covers his ears to try and block out the laughter. It's not helping matters. He covers his face with his hat and tries to fight off the blush, but can't.
Tadashi waits until Hiro goes to bed to get ready for bed himself, just to avoid seeing Hiro's smug face. After that, he climbs into bed and pulls the covers over himself, thinking.
"Is Hiro right?" Tadashi whispers to himself, pondering. "No...he can't be. I don't have a crush."
He rolls over, shuts his eyes, and falls asleep.
Unbeknowst to Tadashi, Hiro isn't sleeping, and he laughs softly, having heard the words uttered by his older sibling.
"Sorry, bro," says Hiro, "but you walked into this crush all by yourself."
He falls asleep smiling smugly, thinking of all the different ways he could tease his big brother.