Dreams
Chapter 2: The Cab Driver
Rin flipped through a magazine and stopped right after she saw a pretty model in one of the pages. The young model had long straight light pink hair and she had a curvy body which any girl would die for. Not only those, she had a total of five piercings on both ears and a piercing at the bottom of her lower lip. The model gave off a contemporary feel with her fashion wear and style. This cool model was none other than the famous Luka Megurine.
"Yo, Rin!"
Rin looked up and saw Meiko standing outside the lecture hall while waving to her frantically. Rin kept the magazine into her bag and joined her outside.
"Hi! What's up?" Rin greeted with a weak smile.
Meiko grabbed onto her shoulders and asked in a soft voice, "Rin, are you all right?"
"Of course. Why?"
"Thank goodness. You suddenly left Miku and me in the bar last night. We thought your parents were the reason why you left," Meiko explained and let out a long sigh. "So, did you return home? Did your parents scold you?"
Rin laughed and replied, "I did return home last night and my parents scolded me as usual. Furthermore, they confiscated the packets of cigarettes which I hid inside my drawer."
"Seriously, Rin, I think you should cut your act."
Rin looked at Meiko and frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean, Rin. You are actually not smoking. You are just acting so that you can be expelled. I'm sure you know that smoking is bad for your health."
Rin rolled her eyes and retorted, "Well, aren't drinking alcohols bad for your health too?"
The two girls glared at each other and then broke into laughter after a few seconds. Rin adjusted her bag and walked ahead while Meiko just shook her head and followed behind her. As they walked along the concourse area, they remained quiet.
Rin clutched onto her bag and slowly shifted her gaze to Meiko, then muttered a little loud enough for her to hear her meek voice, "I... wasn't acting."
Meiko returned her a stare and tilted her head with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Ever since Miku suggested to me to try smoking last week, I am hooked onto it. So... I was thinking if I smoked in the campus, I might be expelled for real," Rin continued.
"But in the end, it didn't work."
Rin clenched her fists and growled, "That's because of my parents. They must have used money to bribe the principal to let me continue my studies here. How low could they get?"
Meiko laughed and shook her head again. She placed her arm on Rin's shoulder and patted her head gently.
"Hey, how about we hang out together with Miku after our tutorial sessions? This will break your worries and stress away."
Rin grinned and said, "Sure. Thanks, Meiko."
-:-:-:-
Rin stared at the large poster which was hung next to a clothes shop. The model, Luka Megurine, was printed on the poster which advertised gaudy blouses for this Autumn season. Rin admired her awesome figure for a long time until someone broke her stance.
"Oh my gosh, Rin! Oh my gosh!" Miku squealed loudly as she ran along the pavement and hugged Rin from behind.
"What is it?" Rin turned around and stared at her blankly.
Miku took out a magazine and shoved it in front of her face.
"It's Luka Megurine, for heaven's sake!" she exclaimed.
Rin let out a chuckle and pointed at the poster. Miku turned to look at it and gasped.
"Oh my goodness... Luka Megurine is so cool," Miku muttered and touched her own ears. "I want to go for five ear piercings!"
"You're crazy," Rin interjected with a scowl.
"But Luka is my idol!" Miku whined.
Rin could only sigh in defeat. She grabbed Miku's collar and dragged her away because Miku had seemed to have attract a lot of attention from the passers-by.
Miku shrugged her hand off her collar and queried, "Where are we going?"
"We are going to where Meiko is."
"Where is she then?"
"At the bar."
-:-:-:-
"I will laugh my head off if you strip naked in front of the bartender," Meiko said and laughed loudly. "Imagine if Rin and Miku see that, they will give you a 'what the hell' look and... and..."
"Shut up. You're too high today."
"Come on, Kaito. Don't be shy," she whispered into the man's ear and pinched his reddened cheek. "Let's continue the game of strip poker. Now that you've lost to me and Gakupo, we demand you to take off your shirt!"
"Gakupo, save me!" he shouted.
The other man with a long ponytail flashed a toothy grin at him and answered playfully, "No."
"Strip! Strip! Kaito, strip!" Meiko waved her bottle of sake in the air ecstatically as she danced around the poor man.
He groaned irritably and unbuttoned his shirt. How he wished he could force the mouth of the glass bottle into her mouth and shut her up for once or maybe twice if God was kind to him.
"Hey guys, what's up?"
Everyone turned around and saw Miku and Rin heading towards their direction. Meiko stopped dancing and waved her bottle to them with a huge grin. Gakupo smiled and waved too while Kaito immediately buttoned up his shirt and smiled sheepishly at them.
"Kaito Shion," Meiko bellowed and pulled his shirt. "Why did you stop? Strip now!"
"Miku, help me! Meiko is drunk and crazy!" Kaito screamed.
Miku blushed, then she started to pull his shirt too and said excitedly, "I want to see Kaito's bare chest!"
"You girls are just crazy!" he yelled.
Shaking her head, Rin took a seat next to Gakupo and ordered a glass of plain water. Gakupo shuffled the cards and handed a random card to her.
"No, thanks. I don't play Poker," Rin immediately rejected the offer upon seeing Kaito's shirt being removed forcefully from his body by Miku. "Oh yes, I have something for you."
"What is it?"
Rin took out the magazine from her bag and tore out a page from it before placing the paper in front of him. Gakupo looked at the paper and suddenly screamed in delight.
"It's Luka! Oh my gosh! She looks so cute in long dresses."
"For you, my friend. I purposely kept this picture for you before Miku goes crazy for it," Rin said with a smirk.
"Thanks!" Gakupo patted Rin's back and slotted the paper into his folder. "Speaking of Luka, I heard that your plan to be expelled failed tremendously. So, what are you going to do now?"
Rin shrugged and mumbled, "I don't know."
"Are you going to give up now?"
"I... don't know too."
Gakupo narrowed his eyes at her and asked again, "Are you going to throw away your dreams just like this?"
"Listen, Kamui. I have had enough of it. No matter how hard I tried, that freaking university just won't expel me for some unknown reasons," Rin snarled and clenched her fists tightly. "No, wait... It is not just some unknown reasons, but money. It is obviously the money that prevents me from being expelled."
"Kagamine..."
Rin hit her head against the table and closed her eyes as she controlled her tears from falling down. She knew that she had no chance to pursue her dreams. She knew it from the start. She knew it since the day she was allowed to step out of the house to attend the university like the others. She knew that everything she would be doing would be useless and fruitless. And it truly was.
"Kagamine! Please save me!" Kaito shouted.
Rin sighed and looked up a little. She saw her two crazy friends trying to pull poor Kaito's pants down while he was trying to push them away from him. At the mean time, he was blushing and begging Rin for help with his eyes. Nevertheless, it was still amusing to see the two girls overpowering him.
After giving Kaito an innocent grin, she rested her head back on the table and chuckled to herself.
"Oh my goodness, Kagamine! Don't ignore me!"
-:-:-:-
"Geez! Meiko and Miku are crazy. I am so glad that they are drunk and asleep right now or else, I wouldn't have a break," Kaito grunted as he craned his neck and stood next to Rin outside the bar.
Rin laughed and mused softly, "What do you expect? The two of them are always like that."
He looked at her with an eyebrow raised as Rin had finally laughed outwardly. He rubbed his forehead and smiled at her.
"Kagamine," he spoke and slowly pointed at his bicycle which was leaning against the wall. "Would you like... to have... a ride with me?"
Rin's cheeks reddened and immediately asked, "What about Kamui?"
"Gakupo said that he will look after the girls for tonight."
Rin bit her lips and then let out an awkward laugh, startling Kaito.
"No, thanks. I can go home myself. If my parents caught me hanging out with you guys again, I will be grounded and home-schooled," Rin reasoned out.
Kaito looked upset for a moment but immediately replaced it with a cheery grin and replied, "It's okay then. Let's have a ride together next time. I can guarantee you that you will like it."
"Su... Sure. Thanks," Rin stammered and waved to him as he got onto his bicycle and cycled off.
Rin walked towards the cab stand and waited for a cab. It was so late again. She wondered if her parents would be screaming and shouting at her for returning home late. But she did not care about that. Since they were the ones who let her out of the house, they should give her the freedom to socialize with others.
When a cab pulled over to the stand, Rin got in and stated her destination to the driver. Initially, the driver kept staring at her image on the mirror but soon, he drove off. Because of that, Rin began to feel uncomfortable. She took out a cigarette from her bag and lit it up.
"Excuse me. What are you doing?" the startled driver asked.
Rin frowned and answered harshly, "Can't you tell, Sir? I want to smoke."
"You can't smoke, Miss. Please hand me the cigarette now."
"No way, Sir. I've not smoked for a day."
"It's common sense that you cannot smoke in the cab because it will affect the driver's business."
"One puff will do, Sir," Rin bargained.
There was silence. Before Rin could put the tip of the cigarette on her lips, the driver stopped his vehicle at the side of the road and turned around. Rin was nearly enamoured by his bright dark eyes, although it was quite dark inside the cab.
"Hand me that stinky cigarette now. Like I said, no smoking in the cab," he bellowed and put his hand in front of her. "And I hate the smell of smoke."
Rin ignored him and withdrew her hand with the cigarette away from his outstretched arm. When she did that, he extended his arm further and shot her a frightening glare. She gulped and finally gave in. He took the cigarette and pressed the glowing tip on a metal tray.
"That tray... you smoke too," Rin grunted and pouted angrily.
"This tray is for people like you," he immediately replied as he rewound the windows for fresh air. "I mean, those who have no common sense."
Rin frowned and retorted, "Nobody told me that smoking is not allowed in the cab. You did not tell me either!"
Ignoring her comment, the driver started the engine and drove again. Of course, Rin felt insulted by this attitude and thus, she looked at his name card at the side of door.
She squinted and read out the words, "Len... Kagamine... second year of experience as a cab driver..."
"What?" The driver shot her a glare through the rear mirror reflection.
Rin stuck out her tongue at him and taunted, "None of your business, loser. I am going to report against your lousy service to your superiors."
"Fine, I dare you to do it. I swear that I have done nothing wrong to you."
Rin stuck out her tongue again and looked out of the window. The journey was quiet after that which she supposed was a good thing though. Very soon, she arrived at the destination. As usual, she took out a bunch of notes from her wallet and handed it to the driver. However, he refused to accept her money.
"Now, what is your problem?" Rin chided.
"If I am not wrong, you were the one who gave me too much money yesterday and called me to keep the change," he said and pushed her hand away. "Let's just say that today's ride was the payback for the extra notes."
Upon hearing that, Rin's jaw dropped and stared at him, stunned. How coincidence could it be? How small could this world be? And how could she not realised that? Maybe she was drunk the night before and failed to notice how sexy and familiar his voice was sounding a few minutes ago when she was definitely sober. She blushed and quickly kept the notes into her bag. Without saying a word of thanks or goodbye, she stepped out of the cab and scurried into the alley just like the night before.
The driver could only stare at her diminishing silhouette in puzzlement.
Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 2.
Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 1. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D
Here are the reviewers:
- MizuneMinamiki
- Happiness Sunshine and Gum
- Kuro Karasu Onna
- 44Anifreak44
Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. I am so touched! :'D
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