Chapter 4
Confrontation
After what happened in the lunchroom, I tried my hardest to remain calm while trying to land a plane in the middle of the ocean. I slightly communicated with Haku afterwards, but not as much as I'd have liked to. I never admitted it, but I did like him after what had happened. Not only did Haku keep me from getting a concussion, but he also stood up for me, which only one other person has done for me in the past.
Another thing, Haku seemed to be stalking me wherever I went. Even in the streets, he seemed to know exactly where I was, or so I thought. Was my imagination playing tricks on me, or was I becoming a psychopath? One time I spotted him sneaking around in the mall and I heard Japanese music playing over the intercom. As appropriate as it was, I was freaked out by it.
"Haku, why are you following me?" I asked him. Haku only chuckled under his breath.
"I'm still worried about you. After what happened, I wanted to make sure that guy didn't try to harass you again," Haku answered simply. I rolled my eyes and kept on walking, Haku right behind me. For some reason, I wanted to use the time to try to get to know him better. However, I didn't know what to say, so we continued to walk in utter silence. Haku stopped short in front of a store I never knew existed; some place called the Japanese herb salon.
"I need to pick something up for my mother in here. Would you like to accompany me?" Haku asked his hand outstretched. I hesitated at first, but when I saw a group of rough looking boys heading our way, I grabbed his hand without even thinking about what I was doing.
The shop was a very strange place, not because of the weird things on sale (like worm salt), but the fact that no one was even at the store except for the manager. The woman had long brown hair and a face that seemed elongated to me. The rest of the store had a blood red colored wall with random things on the shelves.
"Ah, Haku, back already? What do you need this time?" the woman asked with a bored look on her face.
"Lin, I need some ginger tack and a quart of gorgon's blood," Haku replied calmly while I almost gagged. Lin went to the back of the store while I did my best to hold back my lunch.
"Haku, is your mother crazy?!" I half shrieked before Haku hushed me. Haku sighed as if he knew this would happen.
"Kind of, but she does scare the neighbors at times with her yelling at others to leave the house. The worst part is, no one is ever at the house except for me," Haku explained. Yep, she's crazy, I thought to myself. Lin walked back to the counter and set down the stuff in bags, which I liked a lot.
"Here, Haku, and be careful when you leave, some men have been watching you since you arrived." Lin handed the stuff to Haku, then went over to the wall and dozed off. I forced myself to look at Haku, for fear of who was watching us from the store's entrance. Haku looked at me and nodded, encouraging me to stay calm in the midst of the dire situation.
When we left the store, I talked with Haku in as casual a tone as possible, my mind buzzing like the inside of a wasp's nest. Somehow, having Haku next to me calmed me down. The men outside, four in all, were boys from the senior class, who now hated Haku with a burning passion for 'picking' on another senior. The boys walked up next to us and blocked our way into the walkway.
"This way, you two," the tallest boy spoke, his voice as sharp as a bed of nails. I squeezed Haku's hand in fear, but he just stood firm in front of the boys. If I wasn't scared that I would be pummeled, I would've laughed at the comparison in height between the boys and Haku; Haku was shorter than all the other boys by about five inches.
"Why not talk out here? What is it that you want with us?" Haku asked in a calm fashion, a serious undertone hidden deep inside the questions. The boys only smirked.
"You know the rules; no sophomore is allowed to touch a senior, no matter what they do," the second tallest guy barked at Haku. I did my best not to wince and freeze in fear. These boys were older and stronger than both of us and no one else was around to help us out.
"You do realize that if I hadn't have interfered, Anna would've gotten a concussion, which would've gone around that rule. I could've sued that boy if Anna had gotten hurt during that incident," Haku replied back as if he himself was a political leader trained in the law. The boys backed up an inch, then pressed in around us again, Haku in front of me.
"What do you think you can do against us, shrimp?" the boys asked in a mocking way. They continued to corner us until there was hardly any room to stand.
"Stay back," Haku whispered to me. I only nodded, waiting to see what would happen next. The smallest of the boys tried to punch Haku, but I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch.
I heard the crunch of a bone, and when I opened my eyes, I discovered that all the boys were on the ground, clutching their arms and whimpering. Haku stood tall, not a scratch could be found on him.
"Now get lost," Haku yelled. The boys crawled away from Haku and ran for their lives after they got a foot away from him. Haku turned to me, concern crossing his face.
"Are you alright?" Haku asked me. I couldn't find the words to speak, so I just nodded. As soon as that happened, the ambulance arrived and took the men away from the mall. Before I left with the ambulance, I looked behind me to thank Haku, but when I looked, he was gone.