So Far

Leena Yukimura

Memory

"How many other of my dreams do you want to wreck? Haven't you done enough damage?"

I half consciously watch a "Me" from two years ago, tear tracks running across dirt covered cheeks. A slight tear of the grass and an indentation of the earth signifies the remains of a garden, messily covered by the hand of a stoic-faced adult.

"Shut up. If you'd put as much effort into your school work as you did with this mess" gesturing to the freshly turned earth. "I might've considered leaving it."

"But, this is one of the things I've set my heart on-"

SLAP.

Teetering backwards from the force of the slap, my 11-year-old self-yelps in protest as the adult walks away. I burst out the worst thing that i could say at the time.

"I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU NEVER EXISTED!"

"What did you say? You would rather go to a foster home. That's great! You should have suggested this earlier!"

His voice full of spite, my biological father turns to me, sneers and gestures wildly. At that point, I wanted to go anywhere but that house. I never wanted to see it again-.

"Lee-chan? Are you okay? You were crying in your sleep- bad dream?"

"Yeah, nothing to worry about though, just some random impression about some things…"

By my tone, I don't think Seiichi is convinced. He looks warily at my puffed out eyes and then sais:

"Talk to me if you need to, I'm here. Mean while, let's try and get you learning some more Japanese, I don't think we got into introducing your self yet."

"Sure."

Smiling openly, I barely manage to whisper out: "Thank you."

.

.

.

.

Brown skirt. Brown lace-trimmed jacket. Indoor slippers?

Scrunching my nose, I throw them into my already "artfully" stained school bag, not caring about if they wrinkled or not.

"Ne, Lee-chan, what are you doing?" Seiichi knocks the door of my room and enters, seemingly not acknowledging the mess (paint tubes, brushes, a hunk of Hawaiian pink salt that I don't know why that was there in the first place...) that had been made before I'd stayed in Japan for even 24 hours.

"Packing for school tomorrow, what else?"

My nee-san (I think its brother) laughs and enters, taking a seat on the chair beside an easel.

"Were currently in break before a new term in Kanagawa begins, there are still two days left!"

"Derp."

"Pardon?"

"It's an expression, sort of like: Oh joy."

"Then you're cheering?"

"NO, wait, yes. I mean… OH never mind."

Seiichi fakes scratching his head before inquiring again.

"Ok, I never really got to ask what school you were going to; so, where are you going?"

I pull out the registration and struggle at pronouncing the name.

"Hyo-, Hoto? Wait, Hyoitea?"

Shoving the paper into my brother's hands, I fall back onto my bead, arms spread eagle wise.

"Oh."

Face grim and lips pressed into a thin line, he sais something in Japanese that I can sort-of make out as:

"Oh, my little sister is going to Hyoutei. Wonderful, I will make Atobe suffer in the pits of hell."

"Problem?"

"No, its just that your going to a different school than I am, its located in Tokyo so your end of term break just started 3 days ago, you still have a week and five days until you have to go back to school."

"YES!"

I make an enthusiastic fist pump before Seiichi motions for me to go closer to him, whispering in my ear, his words let loose a appreciative peal of laughter from me.

"Have fun, the 'King' of Hyoutei has a large ego, I think you'll find it easy to freak him out- you being you of course."

"Yes mentally scarring person for life is what I live for! Finally something to do! Wait, was the former and insult?"

Smiling with a sadistic glint in his eye, Seiichi continues- evidently with no regard to what I just asked..

"I can allow you to scar people for life earlier than you think, my team mates on the Rikkaidai tennis team will be coming over tomorrow to discuss strategies, would you care to ridicule them?"

"Definitely."

"They'll be having fun."