Saturday.
Easily the best day for any student or adult that doesn't work weekends.
Everyone loved it, you basically get to sleep in and not do any work that day unless you were saving things for Sunday.
For many, it was a relaxation day…
...but for me, it was a day I've been preparing and saving my money for.
A day where I'd go way out into abandoned country sides and put up a couple of tag styles to see which fit best.
My parents usually work on Saturdays but not for long, since it was an overtime type of day where they could come in at any time and leave at anytime.
For some Saturdays, they'd go in early afternoon and usually would come back with a bucket of fried chicken (and sometimes pizza) in the evening.
This Saturday was different because of me and Bitch.
While I haven't really told my dad what had happened between me and step-douche, he and my mom came home early that day since they wanted to keep an eye on me to make sure I didn't do anything too rash.
Since they left early yesterday, they were gonna stay in the office from early afternoon up to late evening, extending their work by 2-3 hours.
I set up my silent alarm to go off about hour after my parents leave to try and make it to the spot that I've always been going to for the past year.
While it isn't too smart for someone to keep going back to the same spot for the past year for graffiti, for me it's the only spot I know that I can lose people easily in since the spot is in a old industrial plant that used to produce flour.
Since I'm still starting out (even though it's already been a year since I started), I would usually buy some random can of black spray paint and call it a day, but after several attempts of using a budget spray can and seeing it's horrible quality I've moved into the imported spray cans shipped from Taiwan where not only the paint is good quality, but the nozzle is as well.
It may have costed a pretty penny just for one can, but depending in how well I can spray today, it might as well be considered as an investment for future uses.
As I woke up filled with motivation and no sleep fatigue, which is really rare, I got up from my bed and stepped out of my room to check my parents room.
I opened the door slowly and took a peek inside, no one was sleeping there and they seemed to have left. Nice!
I then closed the door silently and headed towards the bathroom where I'd prepare to get ready for the day.
When I headed back into my room to change, I looked out the window where Hideki's car would usually be at, and to my surprise, it was gone.
I left my room, opened his door, and peeked inside. He wasn't there.
So far, I was the only one at the house. Could this day get any better?
I soon took my sweet time preparing everything I needed for the trip:
-Quality Spray Can, Check.
-Messanger bag filled with notebooks, markers, and storage for my spray can, Check.
-Spare money for light foods I could bring when I'm away, Check.
-Fully charged phone and earbuds, Check.
-Face mask hiding my identity and just in case Shit hits the fan, Check.
-Non-suspicious clothes and gloves, Check.
-"Hello my name is _" stickers to slap on small stuff, check.
I already checked the weather last night, and there doesn't seem to be a chance of rain coming today, so no umbrella or hoodie is needed.
I already made myself a larger breakfast than normal since a couple of bags of chips, 2 water bottles, and a light snack would probably satisfy me for the next 3-4 hours of me spraying or writing down new styles.
I then breathed in to try and get rid of the obvious excitement rushing throughout my body, and with that I opened the front door and headed out.
It was a nice-ish day out, just about 58 degrees F, majority of people would probably want to go out and smell the fresh blooming Roses and Sakura blossoms, but people like me see a good day to do some Graffiti that isn't freezing cold…
As I stood outside, I couldn't help but really feel like wearing some sunglasses. Not only to dim down the bright afternoon sun, but also as part of my identity protection to fit with my face mask.
I ran back inside quickly and rushed to my room to bring out my good pair of Sunglasses, and headed back outside while locking the front door.
I put on my sunglasses and made my way towards the local railway that would've made my trip over to the abandoned factory much easier…
"Oh! Hey Jun! Where're you going?" Sayori called out to me
I froze in place...and already got caught not even 10 feet away from my house…
I turn my head and saw Sayori all smiley and brighter than the sun itself in casual wear, looking to go somewhere with Monika, of all people, standing right next to her house looking the same way towards me.
"Hey…." I said blankly
Sometime I really feel like bad luck is really out to get me….
"Jun...you look awfully suspicious with that bag with you. I would also like to know where you're going…" Monika said with a slightly menacing tone…
Part of me just wanted to run, while another really wished I left half an hour earlier…
"You...probably don't want to know…" I said cautiously while looking around for any bystanders
Sayori's eyes lit up for a moment and instantly knew what I was about to do, "Oh! You're going out to do some graf-mmfphm!" I Covered Sayori's mouth before she could finish her sentence while looking around much more frantically checking for bystanders.
When the coast seemed to be clear, I uncovered my hand from her mouth and spoke slightly softly, "Yes, I am. But don't say out in public! If there was a person nearby, they would have ruined my day before it even started!"
She blushed slightly from embarrassment while giving a sheepish smile, "Sorry, sort of forgot…"
Of course she did…
Monika started to have a smug look on her face when she stood right next to Sayori, "Ah, you're right. It would be bad if someone like the School Principal's daughter heard everything you said."
What is this menacing feeling...
I sighed to myself with no choice but to give in, "What do you want…" I dreadingly said as I dropped my shoulders.
"Oh what ever do you mean, Jun?" Monika said in a fake clueless voice, "What are you implying?"
"I know you want something from me for keeping this kind of stuff quiet, and since it's...this, you want something pretty big…." I said wanting Monika to stop dragging things out...
"Hmm…Maybe..." Monika said as she stood there with the smirk, until her face lit up...
"Ah!" She had an idea, "How about this: 1. You come with us to help with our shopping, 2. You buy our lunch, and 3…."
She lingered on 3 for a while before until she came up to me face to face.
"...show us how you do your Graffiti…" She said as she walked past me and looked back.
"Then I'll forget everything I saw today. Do we have a deal?" She asked, her eyes her sharp and menacing….
I sucked up my pride and answered her, "Yeah, we do."
Is Monika a sadist? Does she like seeing me uncomfortable as hell?
Sayori looked half apologetic and half excited as she walked ahead of me to Monika.
And so my day already got ruined, as said before, NOT EVEN 10 FT AWAY FROM MY HOUSE.
I forced myself to walk behind the two of them completely lifeless and not Motivated…
"So Jun…" Monika spoke up, "Why do you do Graffiti?"
"Now you're gonna interrogate me?" I tried to joke, but Monika's gaze told me otherwise…
I sighed to myself before telling her, "So far it's the only thing that can give me a spark of motivation. Nothing feels worthwhile if I do a painting or drawing, but so far Graffiti is the only thing keeping me from becoming a total deadbeat…"
"Hmm, is that so…" Monika mumbled to herself.
"Now you tell me, why are you just now interested?" I asked
"I'm not, just felt like having some small talk." Monika replied.
"Sure…" I didn't believe her whatsoever, but she has some mind of interest in it. No point of wanting to join me if she wasn't interested.
Sayori who was silent in all this finally spoke up, "B-boy, we should probably hurry up, don't wanna miss the train to the mall...right?" She awkwardly said to try and bring up the mood.
...it didn't work…
By the time we got to the nearest station, it was somewhat empty with only majority of people nearby in either casual or sports gear….and I was the only one who stood out because of my bag.
When the train came by, man...It didn't even need to come up to us to tell that it was packed…
Remember when I said that most people usually take this day for some relaxation? Yeah, scratch that, I guess most people would rather go somewhere else this day and make the trains crowded.
Now the train that we were in wasn't so crowded that we were getting crushed to death, but it was crowded enough to the point where literally 90% of the people riding this train was standing up, while the lucky 10% of people were able to get a seat or were already seated before the three of us got in.
Was I one of those lucky few, no not really…
...but Sayori and Monika who were somehow able to houdini themselves to a pair of seats that were nearby one of the doors.
If I didn't get caught by these two, I would've been able to take the train after this that would've been almost empty for me to relax in and take it easy…
...but no, I got caught, I'm now being forced to help with their shopping, and the train is literally getting uncomfortably hot not just because of the weather, but because half of fucking population of Tokyo decided to get onto this one tiny tiny train that's gonna take us to the station to probably go into another train!
I'm not sure If I'm bitching too much or not, but my mood is getting really sour…
Monika looked over to where I was standing, "My My, Jun. You looked a little heated, would you like to take a seat to cool down?" she asked
I breathed in deeply and silently. I really wanted to make a witty remark, but decided to keep it to myself until after we get of this 90 degree train ride…
For the next 20-30 minutes I tried to distract myself by doing anything to make the ride go faster: Browsed reddit/4chan, listen to some music, wrote down and slapped a couple of tags on stickers that I secretly placed on the door, literally anything…
By the time we got out, it almost felt like stepping right in front of an A/C unit, like holy shit it was boiling in that train…
To my surprise, we didn't need to head into another train that'll probably smell and feel like hot ass, instead of heading into a popular mall that'll have a lot of people and places to go to, we (and by We, I mean the girls) decided to go into a smaller mall that doesn't have as much people but has just as much stores inside than any other ones in the more populated areas of Japan.
As we entered the mall, it looked a bit empty…
I looked around and didn't find as much people wandering around the mall than I expected.
Monika and Sayori, however, weren't surprised to see less people in this mall and just grabbed my wrist rushing me towards the west side of the mall, and after taking a look at the store they're going to some stuff was starting to make sense.
"Store Shutting Down! Deals from 30-80%! All things must go!" A yellow banner read across a clothes stores, and there was the mob of people I expected back in the entrance…
Now...in times like these, there a very specific reason why I don't like going to malls that are packed to shit, especially if there's a store going out of business…
You got people mauling the fuck out of each other for some 60% off jeans and shirts that they'll only use once.
You got kids doing fucking Fortnite dances and emotes all around because FoRtNiTe DaNcEs ArE cOoL, while making loud shrieks and shouts. At that point I would've left, like hell I'm gonna let them shatter my hearing.
And to top it all off, depending on how much Monika and Sayori buy today, I can either A) try to paint with arms that are in pain or B) skip the paint today and go home empty handed with nothing accomplished.
I sighed to myself as I looked at the mob of people trying to get what they want.
No matter how hard I think and hope, I can guarantee that we're gonna spend at least an hour or 2 here…
Monika and Sayori stood right next to me and locked their arms with mine as they drug me deeper and deeper into the extremely fresh hell of the store that they wanted to go in.
Oh god, someone please help me...
3 hours later…
It's been 3 days since I've entered the store.
These creatures that are humans are losing their sanity even more. Some even tried communicating with me in a tongue unknown to me, but it seems that Sayori is able to understand them and speak their language.
My motivation and will to go on is fading slowly and I've run out of food and water.
I've laid down some slaps around areas that I've been to just incase I got lost in the unknown, but was almost caught by one of those 'things' that hangs around trying to communicate with me.
I don't know how long I'll last or if I'll be able to get out of this cursed land, but I know one thing for sure…
...when I get out, there will be hell to pay!
"Hey Jun, what do you think of this shirt?" Sayori said as she brought out the same shirt that she put down for the third time….
"...great" I said monotonically while holding onto 20 different pieces of clothing Monika and Sayori brought making my arms hurt.
HELL WILL BE PAID!
"You know, I think these'll look better on you Sayori, what do you think?" Monika spoke up after bringing in another stack of shirts, sweaters, and dress'.
"Oh! These look nice too! And they're 40% off!" Sayori gleefully said as she looked through the stack of clothing that Monika brought her.
"Oh, that reminds me, I found this for you Monika. It looks like something you'd like." Sayori said as she handed her a light blue button up shirt.
"Oh man, I love this." Monika said as she looked at the shirt price.
"I think the shoes and boots are on the other side of the store, if we hurry there should still be some left." Monika said before dragging Sayori with her.
I hobbled myself to the direction Monika and Sayori went to slowly.
I looked around the store and sort of saw the same situation when it came to couples; The girl was looking at some kind of shirt or dress with a massive grin and glow in their eyes while the boy as standing there just as lifeless as I was while holding onto to a stack of clothes.
I felt bad for the guys in question not only because they were forced to come with their girlfriend, but because of the fact that this was not gonna be a one and done situation like me.
I felt empathy for them since this is isn't gonna be the last time something like this was gonna happen to them.
As I walked slowly and begrudgingly towards the Shoe's section where Monika and Sayori were at, I was distracted at the sight of what looks like Bitch and her small gang of little bitches.
While I did try to sneak away as fast and quietly as possible, Sayori with the best timing possible called out to me and walked over.
I looked over to where Bitch was and as soon as she made eye contact with me, she immediately looks away and tried to drag her friends away from me to another section of the store.
Strange...I didn't think she'd be that passive and try to get away from me.
"Hey Jun, where were you? You didn't get lost around here did you?" Sayori asked.
I chose to ignore what just happened and just act like it never happened "No I didn't get lost, It's just me hating this store and wanting to leave." I replied
"Oh, Well don't worry, Monika says that she wants to get something to eat as soon as she picks out a pair of heels for her." Sayori reassured me as I started to actually get hope.
She then started to walk with me towards Monika who was sitting down near one of the chairs with a shoe box.
"I think we're done here, lets go to the check out with these." Monika said as she place the shoe box on top of the clothes that I was holding onto.
Never again, and I fucking repeat, Never again will I go shopping with Monika and Sayori.
I'd rather get caught doing graffiti by the cops and pay a fine than go with these two…
Oh, by the way, do you know what else I really fucking hate going to stores that are packed to shit?
The long ass check out line.
All three of us were almost halfway across the store in a line waiting to pay for these clothes and shoes.
And judging by the looks of it, the pace of the line couldn't be any slower than what it is right now.
As we waited for the line to progress and wait for our turn, my eyes caught the sight of some cheap sunglasses right next to what looks like some facemasks/scarfs sort of similar to what I have.
I gave the pile of clothes to Sayori, "Here hold onto this for a moment…" I told her.
She sort of struggled to carry the clothes until Monika gave her a hand. The two of them looked at with with a weird expression.
I came back with 2 of those cheap looking sunglasses and the face masks that I found.
I then came back and piled them over the clothes that Monika and Sayori chose for the day.
I grab the clothes off Sayori and Monika, they asked me what the deal was with the sunglasses and masks.
"It's Insurance in a way, you'll see soon." I told them, since the glasses and masks were dirt cheap, I used the money that I would've saved for the food to pay for them and put them in my messenger bag.
Of course, the cashier gave me a strange look as I paid for the masks and glasses. Don't worry Cashier-chan, I won't be coming back later at midnight to get a refund the illegal way.
Surprisingly, Monika and Sayori took and held onto their own respective bags as we headed towards the food court.
"So..what are those for?" Sayori asked, I looked side to side seeing if anyone was nearby before telling them.
"To hide your identities when we go out." I said, "If you guys are going with me to the spot, I'm not gonna risk your identities getting exposed if we have to get out quickly."
Both of them looked a bit cautious as I told them.
Part of me wonders if I phrased it right since what I do still is illegal, but as long as they feel uneasy or cautious then they get the message.
"Also another thing," I added in, "The spot I'm going to is the opposite direction of the station near me and Sayori's House, so you're going to leave the bags in Sayori's house."
I pointed at the bags that both of them had. While Sayori had a bag in each hand, Monika had 2 bags on her left hand, and a single bag on her right.
"W-well, you did say that where you go is far enough where the cops won't care to check or go there. So is that really necessary?" Sayori cautiously asked
"Just because it's far enough where people won't care to check doesn't mean people will never go there. Other taggers might be there, and more often than not they will be older than me, so that's another reason to keep a low profile." I responded.
If this was a normal day where it was just me alone going to the spot, I wouldn't be overthinking this as much as I was right now, but since Sayori and Monika are coming along I can't really take it as easy as I would like to.
"Okay, I understand that." Monika said seriously.
Monika, for some reason, has giving me weird vibes ever since she "persuaded" me to show her how I make the tags.
She isn't being as cautious as Sayori or as a "diligent student" like she would be acting around students but something similar to dangerous curiosity…
...if worse comes to worse, this might not be her only time doing something illegal…
I know the kind of rush of doing illegal things gives you, it's almost addicting as smoking in a stressful situation and hard to shake off like a guilty pleasure but with the stakes being risen a lot higher than most.
We got to the food court and ordered food for each our own, Monika getting a slight vegan meal, Sayori with a normal burger and fries (and she tells me that she's working on a diet…), and me getting a light lunch from not having enough money to get something more fulfilling.
When they looked at my tray, they offered money to help me get something, but I refused since this was good enough for me.
As Monika and Sayori ate their food in somewhat peace of mind, I was thinking about the spot where we'd be going to while thinking of any possible escape routes we could take just in case.
No, no, no. I need to stop this.
Can't overthink this.
This is Monika we're talking about, she's no gonna waste being a model student and having straight A's in school just for some painted words.
She won't risk her entire future for something stupid, I may not know her at all but I know she won't throw it all away.
I sighed to myself before starting to eat my now cold food with a clear-ish mind.
Sayori asked me if everything was okay.
"Yeah, it's all good. Just needed to stop overthinking some things…" I replied.
It didn't take long for me to finish my food and throw away the trash.
We soon left the mall where we would head to Sayori's house to drop off the things they bought before heading back to the station.
We then took the train that would take the three of us to the spot where I'd spray down my tag.
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Yes, I am late for this upload but at least I wasn't a week late.
There isn't gonna be a chapter next time I upload because finals are coming up.
so….ye…