Chapter 2: Moving Day Part 2
"Last box guys! Bring it in." My dad calls out to Kin-chan and the rest of the guys from inside the house. Satomi Jinko and I set down the boxes we held onto the floor of the front foyer before moving back outside to make room for the boys.
There was a faint whistling sound in my ears that had been going on for some time now, I originally thought I was hearing thing, but the noise seemed, strangely, a bit louder. An arm grabs me around the shoulders jolting me out of my thoughts. I lose my balance, stumbling, almost taking him down with m. "Hey, Kin-chan, what was that for?" I scowl at the boy beside me.
"Come on, Kotoko, it's time to celebrate! Your new house is finally finished." Kin-chan cheers. I shrug his arm off my shoulders. Any hands but Irie-kun's feel weird nowadays.
That annoying whistling sound is louder and growing higher in pitch. I shake my head trying to rid my head of the noise. Just then, dad comes out from the house.
Kotoko, is something wrong?" He asks concerned.
I shake my head again, "do you guys hear that whistling sound?" I question.
Dad silence envelops the group as everyone strains their ears, listening for something. Shakes of heads surround me. "You're sure you're not hearing anything?" Satomi asks.
The sound seems to be above me now. I look up. A sparkle flies by my head and crashes through the ceiling of the house. For a moment, we all stare at the house, a hole, nearly 20cm in diameter, glares mockingly back at us. Then, the house shudders. The walls moan, groan and creak, before collapsing on themselves; a cloud of dust bursts into the air obstructing our view.
When the dust clears, my jaw drops open. What remains of our house outlines the basic structure of the house with little content. My father drops to his knees in disbelief as the neighbours around us come out of their houses to witness the damage. Soon, a fire truck and a police car race around the corner, screeching to a stop in front of the house.
The next few hours are a blur as reporters and the police swarm my father for the story and my friends and I help the firemen dig out of belongings from the rubble. As night falls, dad and I end up back at his restaurant. All my friends had left after helping us move the boxes into the restaurant, calling out positive encouragements to my dad. Poor dad, he looks devastated, drinking the sake he kept for customers. "Aren't you glad dad?" I pipe up after several minutes of silence.
He glances over at me before returning his attention to his drink. "Glad for what? The house is destroyed and I spent most of the savings building the house, I don't have time to take off from work to build another one even if we did have the resources." He grumbles.
I sat down next to him, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Think about it. At least nobody was inside the house when it collapsed. With all the people helping us move, I would have thought somebody would have been admiring the inside after we had finished unpacking the boxes. Instead, we all come out of the accident alive and uninjured. Besides, the chance of getting hit by a shooting star in the middle of the day is one in ten billion." Dad turns to look at me; a small smile appears on his face.
"You are so much like your mother, optimistic about everything."
I blush. I can't remember my mother since she passed away when I was three, but hearing how much like her always warms my heart.
Suddenly, two phones go off. The restaurant's harsh ringing and my cell phone's melodic ringtone, the one I have for Irie-kun. I smile at my dad, before he gets up to answer the phone. I step outside to answer my call.
"Hi Irie-kun," I start.
"Kotoko," he interrupts, "where are you? Are you and your dad alright?" I can't help but smile. My almost expressionless boyfriend's voice has the most emotion I've ever heard from him.
"I'm fine Irie-kun. We're at dad's restaurant with all our stuff, until we can find a temporary place to stay." I explain staring up and down the street.
"That's good. Well, try not to freak out in an hour or so for me will you?" he asks.
I pull the phone away to stare at it. "Don't freak out about what?" I ask confused.
Irie-kun chuckles, "you'll see. See you later, Kotoko." He says before hanging up on me.
I pull my phone from my ears, glaring at the screen which reads call ends. Curse Irie-kun for keeping secrets from me.
Turns out the phone call in the restaurant was dad's high school friend who invited us to stay with them until we found another house. As we pull into the driveway of their house, I gasp at the size. It was twice the size our collapsed house was. I was going to stay here temporarily?
"Nice house isn't it?" Dad comments, "Iri-chan is the president of his own company. He's very successful. He and his wife have two kids, both boys. I think one's about your age."
Two boys? Oh dear, Irie-kun wasn't going to like the living arrangements.
Hey guys, thank you for the comments on the first chapter. I'm really excited about how the story's turning out and I have lots of ideas. Let me know if you have any suggestions or advice to help my writing style. All comments are welcome.