Reaching for the Stars

Part I Chapter 2

The Tainaka Household [ S ]

"We're home…" Ritsu called as we entered our house.

"Welcome home." My mother greeted, acknowledging our return. She wore a sweet smile as always, but I saw hints of worry on her face. I was soon about to find out why.

Mother then turned to me and whispered, "Your father's in the living room Satoshi-kun… he's pretty upset."

"What did I do this time?" I asked irritated, "Is it because I went to Suzuki's without his permission?"

"That's part of it…" Ritsu said grimly, "I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't let it go."

"And on top of that," my mother added in the same tone, "we just got your grades from the school… they weren't very pleasing to him either."

"Argh!" I gasped in shock, "My grades!"

Still wearing my shoes, I ran straight for the living room to see my father holding an opened brown envelope and a white sheet of paper marked with my fate. It was my report card.

"Satoshi-kun," my father said without looking at me, "sit down with me for a minute."

Though I couldn't see his face behind the wall of paper, I knew he was doing his best to suppress his anger. Taking a seat on a sofa, my heart thumped heavily as I waited for divine punishment. Ritsu and mom seemed nervous too; their heads poking out of the living room doorway with concerned looks on their faces.

"I'm disappointed Satoshi-kun," he said plainly, with the wall of paper erected between us, "and I think you know why."

"I'm sorry I went to Suzuki's house… okay?" I apologized to the man behind the wall, but they did nothing to appease him. It was as if my words bounced off the paper... they never reached his ears.

"Not only that…" he continued, his voice slowly evolving to a growl. The wall of paper, the only thing separating me from his fury, finally collapsed. Behind it was my father's face etched with utmost anger. Eyes of fire stared knives into mine and my heart thumped even faster. "Your average this school year is a borderline C! Do you know what that means!?"

A faint crumpling sound then slowly became audible as the papers started wrinkling. Here it was; the divine punishment I had expected. The anxiety paralyzed my tongue and chilled me to the bone.

"YOU NEARLY FAILED!" Father shouted violently, throwing the crumpled report card to the floor, "Tell me Satoshi, what have you been doing up to now? TELL ME!"

I tried to explain to him how I ended up with such a mark. I wanted to argue that our lessons were hard and that some of the teachers this year spoke too fast and many other things, but my father's frightening voice had rendered me speechless. The spectators behind the doorway wanted to intervene, but they knew it wouldn't help.

"You're smug enough to hang out with your friends even though you have grades like THIS!" He cried pointing to the crumpled paper, "You disappoint me Satoshi-kun... you really do..."

"I… I…" stammered my scared self, barely able to put together a response, "I... tried my best."

"Well," father said, not satisfied with my answer, "your best isn't good enough."

I didn't have the heart to say any more.

"You know, there's only two kinds of people in this world Satoshi-kun," father said menacingly, "those who succeed, and those who don't. And it seems you're one of those who don't… Look at your sister; she's a success! She's got good grades… though she could do better, they're much better than yours! And with her band, she's definitely on the road to success! You on the other hand have NOTHING."

As he said this, tears welled up in my eyes, but I did my best to fight them back.

"Your grades are going down the pipes," father continued, "and you just sit there doing nothing. Your life is headed nowhere!"

Just then, sobs echoed from behind the doorway. They were my mother's. The sobs distracted my father, turning his attention from me to the doorway. I couldn't take any more of this, nor could I hold back the tears that have been threatening to overflow from my soul. While he was distracted, I jumped off my chair and rushed out of the room.

"WAIT, YOU…" Father roared as I slipped past the doorway

"DAD!" Ritsu cried angrily, "That's enough! You're being too rough on Satoshi! And look… Mom's crying too!"

"Bah," father sighed, "useless little runt…"

Ritsu helped my mom up to the kitchen and brought her some water to compose herself. She then marched into the room to confront our father; sharp words flying back and forth in an argument that never seemed to stop. As this was happening, I had barricaded myself in my room. The lights were closed and I had blocked the door with everything I could move. In a dark corner of the room, I sat alone, hearing only the muffled arguments of Ritsu and my dad. Sitting in that corner, my sleeves were drenched with the tears I could no longer control. So this is how bad my life has become… It made me feel pathetic.

A few minutes later, the arguments from downstairs finally ceased, but my tears have yet to do so. Soon enough, the sound of footsteps in the hallway grew louder and louder, a set of feet scuffling towards my room. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"GO AWAY DAD!" I cried, still unable to suppress my sobs. I didn't want to see my father... not after what he told me. Thankfully, it wasn't him.

"It's Ritsu." The knocker replied, "Do you mind if I come in?"

Without waiting for a response, Ritsu turned the doorknob and opened the door with ease. The light from the hallway poured into the dark room, surprising me. The barricade had failed.

"Satoshi-kun," Ritsu said in a lighter tone, "if you want to make a barricade, be sure the door swings INTO your room and not out of the doorway."

I guess I didn't think making the barricade out too well...

"Darn it sis…" I said smiling underneath the sobs, "fine… come in, but lock the door."

Ritsu shimmied through the ill-built barricade and closed the door behind her, pushing back the light that had intruded my room. With a loud click, she locked the door and made her way to my corner.

"Dad can be an ass sometimes, huh?" Ritsu said jokingly, sitting down beside me. She was trying to cheer me up, and despite how badly I felt, it seemed to be working.

"Yeah…" I nodded, finally having control over the tears, "he is an ass… Thanks sis."

"No problem bud." She said ruffling my hair, "I talked to him already, so you don't have to worry about him coming here to beat you. But…"

"But what?" I asked

"Dad did ask me to tell you something Satoshi-kun." Ritsu added getting down to business, "He told me that he had a talk with your principal over the phone earlier. There were a lot of others who got really low this term, the principal said, but dad was still like 'low grades are unacceptable!' and all that."

"… Why'd he want to tell me that?"

"He wanted to say that the school was going to have a remake exam next Saturday for all of those who want to try increasing their grades." Ritsu explained, "He just wanted to tell you to study hard, but his emotions got the best of him. You know how dad is!"

"Is that so…" I said, counting the days with my fingers, "Thursday… Friday… Saturday… I have a whole week to prepare!"

"That's the spirit bud." Ritsu said happily now, "I'm sure you could do it!"

"Yeah," I said hopefully, "I'll just study with Kouji and Francis, and… wait…"

Just then, a sharp discreet pain swept over me, making my skin shiver. I was almost about to forget about it, and in truth, I really wanted to forget about it. It was something I wished didn't have to happen… however; my sister brought me back to the harsh reality.

"Aren't Haruta-kun and Suzuki-kun leaving on Friday?"

"Oh yeah…" I said, feeling my spirits diminish before the scathing truth.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Ritsu said hopefully, "You guys can still study before they leave."

"But…"

"Trust me Satoshi-kun." Ritsu assured, "You know, Yui had academic problems herself last year."

Knowing that Yui-senpai was an airhead, that wasn't surprising.

"It reached a point that Yui might have been kicked out of the school." Ritsu continued, "Since she was our lead guitarist and vocalist, losing her would mean the end of our band."

"So what happened?"

"The entire band came rushing to her aid, of course!" Ritsu exclaimed, "Though I was usually kicked out of the room for disturbing them... ahehe."

"Sounds like something they would do," I said with a faint smile

"Anyways," Ritsu said, smiling as well, "what I'm saying is that your friends would always be there for you. As Yui's friends, we stayed by her side in her times of need, and I'm sure Haruta-kun and Suzuki-kun would do the same for you."

Pointing to herself confidently, Ritsu added,

"And you have this pretty and intelligent girl as your big sister, you have nothing to fear!"

"Ahaha…" I laughed, starting to understand what she meant, "maybe you're right. Of course, I'm still doubtful about that second statement..."

"Grr," Ritsu said hitting me lightly on the head, "you little..."

"I'm sorry, i'm sorry!" I apologized laughing

"I know, I know," she said embracing me with her left arm, "So cheer up okay? Remember; 'there's always a blue sky waiting tomorrow.'"

"Those sound like lyrics for a song." I chuckled, "It's 'Blue Sky' by Hale* isn't it?."

"Yup." she said standing up from our corner, "If you work hard, and keep believing… then I'm sure everything will be alright. And if you're worried about dad, I'll always be there for you. I promise.

"Thanks sis." I said standing up as well. "I promise I'll do well… I'll show dad what I'm made of."

"Before that though," Ritsu said turning on the lights, "clean up your room… this barricade of yours is a bit of an eyesore."

"I'll get on to it…" I said, trotting towards the barricade (which seemed really easy to disassemble, considering how quickly I put it up)

"Good luck." Ritsu said as she pranced out of the room.

"W… wait." I called, but she was long gone. "Darn it."

Looking at the huge mess I made, I realized something. If I want to be happy, I guess I have to work towards it with my own two hands. Ritsu and my friends would be there, but I must be willing to take the first step. Grabbing the barricade's scattered pieces, I started to pull it apart. One by one, I returned the pieces to where they belonged and went to bed, hoping to see the blue sky that awaited me.

To Be Continued

'Blue Sky' by Hale* - Hale is a band from the Philippines, and Blue Sky is one of its more popular songs.