Of course, it didn't work out that way. Kawaii managed to catch every red light and got stopped by a very large train laden with lumber. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel waiting for the train to pass so the gates would open and she could be on her way. A quick glance at the glowing blue clock on the radio told her she was already five minutes late. It was going to take her at least another ten to reach her destination.
Bored, Kawaii checked her mirrors and saw a car barreling toward her from behind. The pink and black vehicle was definitely speeding and showed no sign of slowing.
They are gonna stop, right? thought Kawaii nervously.
The short answer was no. After all, an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an external force. And said external force just so happened to be her car. The impact was minimal as far as car crashes go, but was enough to make her shaky.
Kawaii rested her forehead against the steering wheel and sighed. So much for making it to work on time. Something seemed to be holding her back for some reason. But what on earth could be a good enough reason to cause a car crash? She could have been badly hurt!
"Why today?" Kawaii asked of no one in particular. The glowing clock radio had no forthcoming answer.
A gentle knock on the window next to her made her lift her head. Seeing the man's worried expression, she rolled down her window.
"I am so sorry!" was the frantic apology that met her ears. "I don't know what happened. All of a sudden, my brakes jammed! Are you hurt?"
To Kawaii's surprise, she recognized him. The wide receiver was still in his Toronto Tits uniform, the jersey matching his now dented car.
"Legedu Naanee?" Kawaii asked in need of verification to what her eyes were telling her. Perhaps the collision had done more to her than she previously thought.
"Just call me Naanee, everyone else does. You didn't answer my question. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," Kawaii told him, exiting her car to survey the damage.
The train continued rolling by, unaware of the inconvenience it was causing her. While inspecting the damage, she found that it was superficial. Since it was merely cosmetic, the repair would have to wait. She was low on funds right now having spent a rather substantial amount of her recent paychecks on merchandise from someone she enjoyed listening to online: a charming fellow who could easily worm his way into the hearts of his adoring audience simply by being himself. Kawaii sported some of this jewelry now, a ladybug ring and a necklace with two words written in blue block letters separated by a pink heart. It read ' Not Sweetie' and was an act of rebellion, disregarding the rules, teasingly of course.
"Still drivable. No great tragedy," she declared.
Naanee still looked upset. "I am so, so sorry. How can I make it up to you?" he asked.
"By not apologizing anymore. It's okay, really. Insurance will take care of it. I'm glad you and your car are alright as well," Kawaii said. The damage to his car was about the same as hers.
Naanee opened his mouth to apologize again, replayed her words in his mind, then silently swapped the required information with her.
"You're being very calm about this. Most people would've bitten my head off by now."
"I'm not most people," Kawaii said simply. Naanee's eyes locked with hers for the second time that day, only this time Kawaii knew they were focused on her.
"No, you certainly are not," Naanee agreed.
Kawaii felt herself blushing."Umm... it was nice meeting you. I'd love to share our life's story with each other, but I really must be going. I'm late for work." The train was gone and the gates were lifted allowing cars to cross the tracks.
"Perhaps some other time then," said Naanee.
"Perhaps," Kawaii agreed without conviction. It was highly unlikely their paths were to ever cross again. He was a football player that was constantly traveling to city after city, and she was home most of the time after her job at the local fast food place. When would they ever get to see each other again outside of the stadium?
Kawaii got in her car that was considerably more crushed than when she entered it fifty minutes ago, and waved at Naanee as she pulled away, maintaining an increased vigilance of the vehicles around her.
Once at work, she explained what had happened to her boss who was thankfully understanding. Of course, Kawaii had her damaged car as proof which she was sure helped.
She spent her shift making change and dealing with bothersome patrons who seemed to lack basic human politeness.
"I distinctly said no tomatoes. What is ketchup doing on my hamburger?" one complained.
"You call this a milkshake? I can't drink it through a straw," another said rudely and in a volume that bothered the customers that were just trying to quietly enjoy their meal.
"Do you realize how much that pothole outside has grown in the past two weeks? I nearly blew out a tire!" Like that was her department. Why did so many people come to her with problems that she had no authority over?
A woman came in dressed all in black and was the epitome of tired. She was a welcome distraction.
"Hi, Empress! I can't tell you how glad I am to see you. I heard form a very reliable source that you were given a certain someone's phone number the other day. A certain burly quarterback that has a rather large fan base. Have you gone on a date yet?" Kawaii asked teasingly.
"I don't want to talk about it." Empress muttered.
Kawaii took this to mean yes. She smiled and giggled.
"So, how did it go?" she asked curiously, drawing out the sentence."Were there sparks?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Empress reiterated.
"Okay, okay," said Kawaii, knowing what that meant. She took Empress' order, skillfully plucked the change from the register, and let the subject drop. For now.
Once her shift ended, Kawaii made a note on her phone. This gave her an idea for the story she was in the process of writing.
Swinging by the grocery store, she parked several aisles away from the more densely crowded parking spots, not noticing what car was already sitting just on the other side of a red pick-up truck...