All righty then. This chapter is dedicated to Froggerton. Is this long enough? –hoping-
I used this for Hitomi's box. www. 8tiger. com / items / 138926 / item1389268tiger .html
And this is the ring www. flickr. com/ photos / alphabettispaghetti /2431032686/
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Chapter 20
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I walked into my house, dragging my feet behind me. Before I could even begin to think about what an eventful day it had been I was bombarded with questions.
"WherewereyouIvebeenhereforhoursIwassoworrieddoyouknowwhattimeitis??" Aunt Sayomi looked on the verge of tears and Koji was far past that. I groaned.
"Not now..."
"Don't tell me 'not now'! I was so worried! What were you doing?"
"I was at a friend's house!" I yelled. She was going to give me a brain aneurysm.
"ohmygoodnessyouresellingyourbodyarentyou?!"
"Someone shoot me!!" I screamed. Between Koji's blubbering and Aunt Sayomi's screaming my nerves were shot. "My dad sent me here to get me away from stress and now I'm more stressed out than ever! I could deal with mom being the way she is. It's this fucking school and this fucking house that's going to kill me!"
That shut up both Aunt Sayomi and Koji; they had identical wide-eyed expressions of surprise. I stomped up to my room. There were more presents. I knocked a few of them out of their neat little piles and flopped belly up on my bed.
I felt burning tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. Crying always made me angry. It was stupid for me to cry, I had a good life and you shouldn't cry when you have a good life. I laid there, stewing in my own anger, until there was a knock at my door.
"Hitomi?"
I put my pillow over my head, hoping that maybe I could block her out and she would just go away. Predictably she didn't go away. She came in and sat on my bed. I pressed down on the pillow harder. I was beginning to feel like a flower pressed between the pages of a heavy book. Aunt Sayomi gently took the pillow from me.
"Stop trying to smother yourself, it isn't helping."
I rolled onto my side; I didn't want her to see me like that. I managed to suppress the tears.
"Do you want to talk?"
I shook my head and she sighed.
"Baby, I'm sure you must be feeling frustrated since you moved... I know how you feel..."
Like a soda bottle that got shook a little too hard, I exploded.
"Your mother isn't brain dead! You can't even begin to understand how I feel!!"
"Hitomi, she isn't brain dead..."
"She might as well be!"
"The doctors say she might get better."
Get better. She talked about my mother like she had a cold. She hadn't been alive for two years. And people don't come back from the dead.
"She's a zombie..."
I started to cry again. Aunt Sayomi pulled me into her warm arms and let me cry on her. Her leopard print jacket was soft against my face. She rubbed my back with her French-manicured nails, it was quite comforting.
It's almost like having mom back.
That thought prompted a whole new bout of crying.
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I was curled up in my bed, a washcloth over my eyes.
Mom...
I took the washcloth off and threw it against the wall. It hit with a wet squelch and fell to the floor. I opened the drawer of my nightstand, digging through the layers of papers and books. I pulled an elaborate lacquer ware box out of the very bottom. I took a deep breath. I was trembling slightly, I was about to unearth all the memories I wanted to put away. I opened the box. It was a simple motion, but it was incredibly hard.
I pulled the first thing out, a picture of my mother and I. She was the only person in our family with naturally wavy hair; it was quite flattering on her. Last time I saw my mom all her pretty red hair had been sheared off. I shuddered. She was so beautifully exotic compared to me. I placed the photo on the nightstand and pulled out the next relic. It was the last birthday card my mother had given me. I couldn't bear to look at that one. She had written in beautiful script once, now she couldn't even move her arms. I placed it on top of the photo.
The last thing in the box was the most precious, to her and I. It was her peridot engagement ring. I slipped it on, it fit like a glove. Tears began to leak from my eyes. My intercom buzzed. I wiped away my tears and pressed the button.
"Yes Svetlana?"
"Dinner is ready."
"I'll be down in a moment"
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Dinner had been going pretty well. Svetlana, my maid, was standing in the corner.
"Miss Kobayashi?" she asked.
"Yes Svetlana?"
"I've been noticing that you've been neglecting your garden."
I gasped. I had been neglecting it. I stood up and scarfed down the rest of my food.
"See you, Svetlana!"
I ran out to tend my garden, not really minding that it was the early morning
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.Mori lounged on the largest sofa in the Third Music Room after club. It had been a horrible day. Hunny had been incredibly distant and grumpy, he had stubbed his big toe three times and worst of all Hitomi had not shown up for school. He held the paper rose bouquet, his intended gift. He placed it on the couch and sighed. He had worked for hours and through many headaches to make his gift and it was all in vain. He closed his eyes, the beginning of a headache forming near his left temple.
"Mori-sempai?"
Mori's eyes snapped open. It was Haruhi.
"Mori-sempai? Who are those roses for?"
Mori just blushed. Haruhi smiled kindly at him.
"It's like my dad says..."
Mori looked at her, desperate to get advice. Haruhi put her finger up.
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
Mori looked away, defeated.
She has no idea what she's talking about...
Haruhi grabbed her bag and left, thinking about what to make for dinner.
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Heehee
Mori's roses: http/ / www. paperblooms. com /web -content/ PrincessRose .html