8

Hearing keys turning in the lock, her head snapped towards the door.

"Mom?" Zumi replied, snacking on a bag of chips. She froze.

Instantly on high alert.

"Yeh, whew." Closing the door behind her.

Ms. Yakujushi's uniform from the factory was in disarray. She turned to latch the 5 locks on the door, and then snapped the foot bolt.

Alert gone.

Zumi instantly dropped the whole bag of chips onto the island in the run-down kitchen, and sprinted over to her, enveloping her in the warmest hug.

"Oh Zumi! You have no idea how much I've missed this!" She held her so incredibly tight. "I'm home tonight because they actually ran out of jobs for me to do."

She was crying into her mother's sweat-laced uniform, her black pants needed a stitching, the hem was coming undone.

"Mom!" She wailed into her chest. "I... I haven't seen you in almost a month!"

"Shh, I know hunny. I know." Her over-worked hands stroked her hair. Kissing the top of her head. "It's okay. I know."

"This opposite shift stuff..." She sniffled. "It sucks."

"I know it does. You're letters always get me through."

Zumi looked up at her as her mom wiped a tear out from under her eye, and across her high-cheek bones.

"I hope so." Zumi weakly mulled at her. "I write you one every morning before I leave for school at 6:15, because I know that you get back at 8, and you'll read it."

"That's right. Every time. I go to work at 10 pm, and when I get off at 7, then take the bus... as soon as I walk in at about 8, I swear I read it as soon as I get back." She kissed Zumi on the head again, her mother, taller than her, not by a lot, but enough, just enough to give her kisses still, the way she's always done.

Soon she knew, Zumi would out grow her.

"What are you still doing up anyway?"

"Oh, nah." Zumi let-go from the hug, going back to the kitchen. "I just woke up earlier than normal."

Her mom, sat her purse down on the floor and came into the kitchen getting a bottle of water out of the large plastic bag full of them on the counter. "Any food around here?"

Zumi smirked.

Oh mom.

Overnights never left her time to shop for groceries in stores, they didn't have much money, so they couldn't purchase much anyway, except to buy water, because drinking from the tap was a bad idea on the poor side, but somehow chips, and snack food still on occasion made it in the house.

Of course, whatever Zumi got handed at work, Boss Man let her have in styro-foam container.

Every night, she brought home whatever meals she could from work, so her mom could actually have something.

She'd eat half and then she'd leave half, and sometimes snag a few extra things and throw it in the sack.

Zumi started smiling widely.

"Today, I got a sandwich from the restaurant."

"Oh yeh?" Her mom took her jacket off. "God it's getting cold out there."

Zumi crunched in the side of her mouth.

I wish I could get you a new jacket right now.

She'd secretly been saving all month.

Her mom began to strip down and put on her pj pants in the corner of the room that had been tossed over a chair. All the curtains were drawn, it was finally light outside, but it was concealed.

Her and her mom changed in front of each other all the time. If only they had time together, but not.

No need for formalities. They were both working women.

"How American of your boss." She stated, stretching her back. "Uh... my back is killing me." She sat on the counter, swinging her legs.

Zumi smirked.

'Teraska has been complaining about his back.' Isogai had said. She could hear that sweet, kind voice of the boy in her head.

"Here's your sandwich and chips." She scooted it to the left.

"Ah, thanks for putting it on a plate for me. Those potatoes and beef he let you have last night, that was really good."

Her mom acted so much younger than what she actually was. She had had Zumi when she was quite young... an accident. At 14.

To Zumi, she had seen her struggle through so much, and they had struggled so much together, that her mom was more than her mom, only 14 years older, she was like her older sister. Her best friend.

She had told Zumi that she was an accident, but Zumi was made to understand by her mom, that that concept she had held at Zumi's birth, quickly fizzled.

Zumi held respect for her mom. For the fact that she came through and told her the truth.

Looked up to her for working so hard. They were equals.

Even just as a teenager, Ms. Yakujushi looked up to her daughter, and at an early age, allowed her to make the big choices in life.

Most of the time they seen eye to eye, so much, that in a way, they easily could be mistaken for sisters. They even acted similarly. Zumi was rougher around the edges than her mom, but Zumi and her mom, when together were practically inseparable.

Ms. Yakujushi opened her mouth to munch down on the end of rye bread of the hoagie, and through chews she spoke, crumbs getting everywhere.

It was making Zumi not snicker... giggle.

Giggle like... an actual girl.

"So what's this E Class like? I capture from your notes to me that it sucks."

"Ha, well. It does in some ways."

"Most ways it seems."

She hopped up on the counter with her mom.

"Yeh. Most ways."

Both their legs were swinging off the counter.

Zumi hadn't been this happy in awhile.

"Who's that block head your talking about?"

"Oh. That's Terasaka. I might of broke his nose."

She took a bite of a sandwich again, chewing, her brown eyes searching Zumi's face.

"Oh no no! It's not that bad." She waved her hands in a way that portrayed innocence, even though, she wasn't exactly... innocent. "It happened in P.E."

"Oh? It's not something I'd have to show up to school for is it?"

She knew what she was getting at. Her mom was wondering if it would take away a day from her at work.

They simply couldn't afford it.

"No. It was an accident." She felt guilty. Deeply guilty. She knew her mom knew she practiced martial arts upstairs in her room, and used the open room upstairs for it too, so she very well knew that Zumi could hurt someone if she tried.

But... it wasn't an accident, it had been on purpose. What she valued more was her mom knowing that it wouldn't cost them money loss.

"Okay... if you say so." Ms. Yakujushi said. She knew something probably happened, but she knew Zumi could handle it on her own. She could tell when Zumi was lying anyway, all in all she was her mother. The only reason she'd lie to her was because it was not to cause her worry, and also, Zumi would never lie about anything too too serious. She trusted her in that.

Breaking a person's nose was serious, but... if Zumi had it covered. Zumi had it covered.

"Yeh, Terasaka is the loud, dumb oaf-y type."

Her mom laughed, her light brown hair, similar to her daughter's, got smashed behind her ear.

"Ohhh... one of those. Is he cute though?"

"Uhh. I don't know."

She laughed again. "I take that as a no!"

"He's got this wacky looking dye job on his hair."

She coughed, taking a swig of water from the bottle. "That bad?"

"You. Have. No. Idea."

"Mmm, anyone else that's interesting?"

Zumi's mind floated around, trying to avoid thinking of a certain dumb, yellow-y eyed trouble maker.

"There's this other guy." Her mouth just kind of blurted, before she could even stop it. Her eyes sort of popped open in response like they were going to fall out of her head.

"Yeh... ?" Her mom poked her in the sides.

Zumi giggled.

"And what's this one like?"

"Well, I've been keeping track of him the most in my journals."

"Oh." Zumi's mom's tone instantly got flat. "Trouble?"

"I don't know yet."

"I hope not. We don't need trouble."

Zumi grabbed her journal from the counter. She actually had had it out and was reading through it before she left for school. She opened a page where Karma's dumb mouth showed that smirk. She had drawn a few other sketches of him so far, one of him in particular was the best representation of him, where she'd seen him standing against a wall outside, and to her, it kind of reminded her of a model photo, so she drew it.

Even though the guy's personality and wits drove her insane, he still did have a nice face.

"Does he have red hair?"

"Yeh. Kind of. It's dyed a weird salmon-y red color. Really saturated too."

"I don't think I've ever seen that... at least not on a boy."

"Me neither."

She showed her mom the other sketch. The one of him leaning against a wall.

"Mmm nice." That was her only comment, she was kind of taken by her growling stomach right now. Chomping down on the sandwich.

"He sits by me in class. Assigned seating, as always. On my right. And whenever we are in groups doing things, or outside, he always stalks around to the back, and I always catch him out leaning against the wall when everyone's doing other stuff."

"So in a way, he's kind of a black sheep?"

Well put.

"Yeh, I guess that's a good explanation."

"Well, watch out for that one."

"I have been."

She'd been watching, but somehow. He still gets in...

Under my skin.