Chapter Eight
Rin, Len, and I all lay sprawled across the yellow carpet in Len's room. In front of Rin is a pink and lilac fashion magazine. She flips a page with her cheek leaning against her fist. Len and I are sharing a beanbag while playing Portal 2 on his PS3. He pauses the game and checks his watch.
"Madoka-san, your mom said you should go home at five. It's already four-fifteen," Len reminds me. I exhale as Rin looks up from her magazine.
"You should probably take her on the road roller now, like we planned," Rin says quietly. Len looks up at her.
"Huh?" he asks. Rin tilts her head pointedly.
"The road roller," she repeats. Len nods his head.
"Right!" he says, pushing himself off the beanbag. I look up at him. "Madoka, would you like to go on the road roller with me?" Len asks, with a grin on his face.
"Are you sure this is really safe?" I ask him, standing up as well. Rin only chuckles.
"No," she snorts, smirking. I ignore her.
"Of course. Well, only when I'm driving. When Rin is behind the wheel, nobody knows what's going to happen," Len warns me. Even Rin laughs at this.
"That's probably true, now that I think about it," she confesses. I shake my head at Rin's silliness. She's a lot different at home than she is at school around Len. At school they're so… distant. I wonder if this is because of Neru.
As soon as we get to their second garage (specifically for the road roller, as Rin informed me), I hop from one foot to the other in anticipation. Len reaches inside his shirt for a necklace with a pair of keys hanging from it. Realizing that Len has them, Rin's eyes widen into saucers and she glares at him.
"You've had the keys the whole time!" yells Rin, clenching her tiny fists tightly. Len, in realization of his mistake, stutters before Rin comes running at him. She jumps right on him and tackles him to the ground in anger. Now on top of his stomach, Rin starts tickling Len furiously. Len starts laughing so hard that he can't move. I just grit my teeth and consider my current options. Suddenly, Rin kicks Len in his leg and snatches the keys from his hands. "They're mine now!" she cackles.
"Rin!" Len yells, still laughing. He jumps up off the ground in one swift motion and grabs her arms, trying to snatch them back. I laugh and lean against the yellow road roller.
"I'm sorry," I say, shaking my head, "What is it that we're fighting over?" Both Rin and Len stop fighting and turn their heads toward me. Suddenly, Len grabs the keys back from Rin and hops into the road roller.
"Hah! I win!" he says, laughing. He evens his crazy hair back to normal. Rin hops in the back while I get in the passenger seat. Len pushes the keys into the road roller and the engine starts. He laughs again. Suddenly, I'm not feeling so safe with Len driving.
Len speedily rams the road roller out into the backyard grass. I scream and clutch the sides of my seat in fear. Rin seems used to this, however. He turns onto the street and starts running red lights. Something about this makes me believe Len doesn't yet have his driver's license. "Len!" I yell, "I thought you had like- some kind of closed course for this! This is a real street! With innocent cars!"
Rin almost falls out of her seat laughing. "Don't be silly," she says. Len only has his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrates on the road. I think he looks totally adorable like that and all, but right now, I'm too busy screaming in alarm as he nearly crashes into a school bus to pay any more attention.
Suddenly, Len swerves back around in the middle of the road as a police siren wails adjacent from us. My jaw drops and so do my hopes for survival. "Len!" I shout as the yellow road roller shoots into a public park.
Next thing I know, we're all covered in mud and the road roller is on its side. My head is spinning like I just got off of a rollercoaster. Again, I'm pretty sure Len's leg isn't supposed to be twisted in that position. I can hear Rin's distorted laughing over my own blurry thoughts. As soon as my vision clears up, I realize the awkward position Len and I are in. I am laying sprawled under him as he tries to push himself off of me. Our eyes lock onto each other's shocked expressions, but I guess Len is too startled to move. Instead, like a spider, I crawl out from under him as his gaze follows me. However, a strand of my long brown hair is stuck under his palm.
"Ouch," I say, as we both quickly scramble to get up. I grasp my scalp in discomfort. Len's face quickly snaps back from its tangled state and is replaced with one of concern.
"Are you okay?" he asks, helping me up. His eyes dart to anything but mine.
"Yeah, I-I'm fine," I say. Rin nearly jumps on Len, but he dodges just in time. Instead, she comes crashing into the underside of the road roller.
"That was awesome!" she yells, despite her crash, which looked like it seriously hurt.
"Are you okay, Rin?" asks Len, trying desperately to forget about him falling over me. Rin nods her head furiously.
"That was the best! Wasn't it, Madoka?" she laughs, her blue eyes wide and staring at me with excitement. I raise an eyebrow, but smile anyway.
Len's cheeks just turn really red. Almost as if it's contagious, mine start to do the same. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly and stares at the ground. I look at the clear sky and bite my bottom lip uneasily. Rin is too busy picking the mud and filth out of her hair to notice.
"Um, Len," I say quietly. I know he heard me, but he still doesn't want to look directly at me. I don't blame him. "It's four-forty-five. We should be heading home," I suggest. Len finally looks up at me, but none of our blushes are going away. Rin seems to finally notice too, and her eyes narrow at being the third wheel.
"Yeah, Len," she says pointedly, "I think it's time for Madoka-san to leave." I bite my lip again uncomfortably and shift my weight.
"Rin makes a good point," I admit, though I feel like she hates me now. Len just stares down at the ground. Great, now I've got two people who aren't willing to look at me.