Chapter Fifteen
Halloween was finally over and with that the decorations came down and were put back into boxes. Children were excited from the amount of candies and chocolates they accumulated, and adults were a little hungover from partying too hard. The best part of it all? The chocolates that didn't sell were marked down to at least half price. Now that was exciting.
Hana had ventured down to the street to the little grocery store and bought a box of mixed mini chocolate bars. The box contained all her favourites and it was big enough that it would most likely last her quite a while. The spooky holiday may not be her favourite, but the stuff that comes after was worth it.
The moment she had come back from the store, she had taken out her laptop and started watching one of the TV shows. It was a comedy TV show she had recently started and it already had its hooks in her. She was only about halfway into the third episode when her cellphone began to vibrate and the familiar tune chimed a second later.
"Hello?" Hana answered while sitting up from her lazy position on the couch. The action caused the chocolate wrappers on top of her chest to fall down to her lap.
"Hey. What're you up to?" Evan's familiar voice chirped on the other end.
Hana paused a moment and looked down to see the state she was in. There were chocolate wrappers littered around and on her and she was still in her pyjamas. Reaching down, she picked a stray crumb off her shirt. "Um, just hanging at home and realizing how much of a slob I am."
Evan made a noise of amusement and she could practically hear his eyebrow raising. "Oh?"
"So I went out in the morning to buy some half-off Halloween chocolate, big deal. I'm still a responsible adult that does responsible things." Hana defended lamely, a smile on her lips.
"Like eating mini chocolate bars and watching TV shows?" He hit the nail on that one and she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of her.
"Exactly."
"I'm guessing it's your day off then?" He asked. There was a noise of agreement from her so he continued on, "Wanna grab lunch with me?"
The moment he mentioned lunch, her stomach growled in approval as if she hadn't just eaten about a dozen chocolatey treats. It growled a second time, telling her that she needed actual food instead of snacks. Couldn't argue with that.
"Sure. At noon?"
"It's almost noon."
Surprise shot through her body and she checked the time on her laptop. True enough, it was fifteen minutes before noon. She could've sworn it had been ten o'clock five minutes ago. Just how long had she been watching the show?
"Too long."
"Huh?"
"You just asked how long you've been watching your show." Evan explained, amusement colouring his tone. In turn, the blood rushed to Hana's cheeks and she cupped her forehead in embarrassment with her free hand. "Judging by your question, I'm guessing you aren't ready yet."
"Not at all." She drags the last syllable with misery and flops backwards against the couch. Evan, the little shit, just laughs at her response.
"How about we meet up in an hour then? I'll come by where you live and pick you up."
"'kay, I'll text you the address in a bit." As soon as they ended their call, Hana sent him a text with her address before she gathered up the chocolate wrappers to throw out. An hour was plenty of time to get ready. Not wanting to waste any time, she rushed to the bathroom and jumped in the shower.
At the half hour mark, she was done her shower, had applied on her skin products for a nice dewy look, and her eye makeup was on point – which was a miracle in itself. It wasn't much though, just some eyeliner with a bit of a wing at the end, mascara, and some white eyeshadow in the inner corners of her eyes for highlight.
Just as she was finishing up with drying her hair, her phone chimed to indicate that she had just received a text message. Thinking it was Evan, panic shot through her body and she reached over to her phone. Had it been an hour already? Was he here?
'Hey, girl! I know this is out of the blue, but I'm going to the big city to visit! Was wondering if I could crash with you.'
It was one of her best friends from her hometown. They hadn't talked during the week due to their busy schedules, but this was such a surprise. A total delightful surprise. A grin split on her face and she quickly shot her a reply text.
'Omg Jenny! Of course you can stay! When're u coming?'
'Next weekend. I know I know, short notice, but u know me xP'
'That's plenty of time!'
'It'll be like the good ol' times!'
For a few minutes, they texted excitedly about what they would do next weekend and what the San Fransokyo life was like. Hana was floating on the clouds by the end of their conversation; when was the last time she had met up with her friends? A lot of them had gone their separate ways, going off to different colleges in different states or just staying for the local college or taking time off, like her. They'd kept somewhat in contact, but their busy schedules gradually got in the way. But talking to Jenny again, one of her best friends, really brought back the memories of her time back home. It would really be great to see her again; she really did miss her hometown sometimes.
It was almost time to meet with Evan and Hana realized that she had momentarily forgotten about it. Quickly, she hurried to her closet and went through her clothes. It was a little chilly today so she grabbed a lightweight sweater. She slipped on her burgundy skater skirt and then pulled her cream coloured sweater over her head. To top off her outfit, she pulled on some black knee high socks.
When she checked herself out in the mirror, she whistled low. "Damn, I look pretty good today." Indeed, she did. It was definitely a change from baggy sweats and t-shirts. Dressing up like this made her feel like a human again, especially since long work days wore her out.
Her phone chimed again for what seemed to be the hundredth time that afternoon.
'Here. I'm in the red car.'
One last look in the mirror and she was out of her room with her purse, slipping on her ankle boots on. After she locked the door, she had to jiggle it a little to make sure it was fully locked because if she didn't she was going to forget. It was one of her techniques to remembering if she locked her front door.
"Hey!" Hana greeted as soon as she opened the passenger door and slipped in. "Thanks for picking me up."
"Don't mention it." The brunet smiled then took notice of her outfit. "You look nice today. Like the embodiment of autumn."
"Awww, thanks, Evan." Hana cooed. "Autumn's my favourite season and today felt like a cute sweater day."
"Can't argue with that." He was also wearing a sweater in navy blue and a plaid button up underneath judging by the collar. He backed out of the space, his hand behind her headrest as he looked over his shoulder to do a check before he was on the road. "How do burgers and fries sound?"
"At this point, I'll eat just about anything."
"Woah there, Hannibal, this is as fast as I can drive."
"Give me foooood."
The both of them shared a good laugh before launching into a conversation. She asked him about his car and he replied that he didn't use it often due to gas prices. But sometimes he had to drive because his cello was way too big to lug around on transit sometimes. She completely understood; cellos were extremely expensive and it was important to be delicate with them. Even with a case, they needed to be cared for with the utmost caution. Thank goodness she only took piano, she didn't have to worry about lugging around a huge instrument.
Luckily, the drive wasn't that long and they made it in about fifteen minutes. The burger joint was nestled in a quieter neighbourhood and it was small, but rather cozy. The lunch time rush was over and only a few customers lingered for their late meal. Evan, being the gentleman he is, pulled out the chair for Hana.
"Oh my, you're such a gentleman."
"I try." Evan smiled teasingly, sitting down in his own seat before holding up the small menu. It didn't take them long to choose what they wanted to eat – Evan with his loaded burger and her with a swiss and mushroom burger – and she remembered the events prior to his arrival.
"Oh! I got a text this morning from one of my best friends back in my hometown."
"Really? What'd they say?"
"She said she was coming to San Fransokyo for a small trip and wanted to visit me. She's crashing over at my place." The excitement in her voice was barely contained and she was practically wiggling in her spot.
The exuberance radiated towards him and his lips automatically lifted up into a smile. To be honest, it was hard not to be excited with her; she had that sort of ability.
"Sounds like you two are gonna have a blast. Are you gonna show her around?"
Hana took a sip of her chocolate milkshake before nodding. "Mhm. I mean, I haven't been here long, but I'll show her what I can." Because face it, she was as much of a foreigner in this city as her friend was. Though Hana liked to believe she knew a bit of her way around now, after three months.
"When you have time and I'm done classes, I can take you guys around too."
"Aww, thanks. That's really nice of you." It'd definitely be awesome if her best friend met the new friends she made in the big city. It was also a way to show Jenny that she was doing fine and that there was nothing to worry about. A new wave of eagerness washed over and the prospect of this made her giddy; she really hoped her friends would get along.
A few days had passed since her lunch with Evan and it was finally the day Jenny was supposed to arrive. Hana had cleaned up her whole apartment the day before, dusting all her furniture, vacuuming thoroughly, and scrubbing down her whole bathroom to the point she could see her reflection on the side of her tub. All in all, she was ready.
She'd also gotten a few days off of work. Cass had been excited for her and more than happy to give her that time off. She was an incredibly understanding and kind woman so there had been no reason for her to be afraid of asking. Plus, it was the first time she asked for some time off.
The moment the buzzer rang, Hana squeaked in excitement and shot up from her spot on the couch. She grabbed her set of keys and locked the front door up before rushing down the stairs as fast as she could without tripping. Rolling down the stairs, though a fast way, and breaking her bones was not how she wanted to spend her time.
"Jenny!" Hana threw open the entrance door and reached out to squeeze her friend into a tight hug. The blonde dropped her purse and wheezed out a laugh, hugging Hana back just as tightly.
"Hana! I missed you so much! Let me look at you!" Jenny leaned back and looked Hana up and down before crushing her in another hug. "You look well!"
"So do you." Hana laughed happily. Peering over the taller girl's shoulder, she saw Jenny's dad bring up a small suitcase. "Hi, Mr. Atkinson! It's been so long."
The jolly man grinned at Hana and took his turn crushing her in a hug. Jenny and Hana practically grew up together so Mr. Atkinson was like another father to her. "Too long. I hope the city's treating you well."
"It has! I'm still getting used to everything, but I really love it here."
"Looks like our small town girl's transformed into a city girl." Jenny teased.
"Hardly. I do miss the wilderness and trees that our town is surrounded by."
Mr. Atkinson chuckled and ruffled Hana's hair much like he did when she was growing up. "You're not missing much, kiddo." He looked down at his watch before looking back up. "I have to run now, business calls. You two have fun, okay? Stay out of trouble."
Jenny grinned – the splitting image of her father – and wrapped an arm around Hana's shoulders. "Trouble? Us? Never."
"Ah ha." His eyebrows raised and there was an amused twinkle in his eyes. "Knowing you two, something's bound to happen."
"So little faith in us." Jenny sighed dramatically and placed the back of her hand on her forehead for emphasis. "You're going to be late, dad."
"Right, right! Call me if you need anything." He kissed Jenny on the head and patted Hana's before dashing off to his car. They waved until he was out of sight and headed upstairs to her apartment.
When they entered her home, Jenny whistled lowly in appreciation and shifted her eyes around to take it all in. "Damn, nice place. It's really cozy."
"Thanks. I don't have much furniture, but I make do with what I have. Thankfully, the previous owners left their coffee table and couch." Hana said while leading her best friend to where her room was. The bed was a double so there was enough room for them to share. It wasn't like they moved around a lot in their sleep either so it wouldn't be uncomfortable.
Jenny wheeled in her suitcase and pushed it into the corner before falling down backwards on the bed. She spread out her arms and let out a happy sigh. "This is nice. It'll be like our old sleepovers."
"Staying up late talking about stuff, you getting hungry so we try to sneak some cookies, and me falling asleep before you in the middle of our strange 3AM conversations." Hana mused, giggling at the memories.
"Mhm. Just like old times." Jenny sat up and grinned again, her pearly whites showing. "Can we go to the café you work at? I'm a little hungry and very interested in seeing it."
"Yeah, of course. It takes about fifteen minutes by bus." Hana glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. "We should make it just in time for the lunch rush to be done."
"What're we waiting for? Let's goooo!" Jenny jumped up and linked her arm with Hana's, laughing all the way out of the room.
The two young women made it to the café in fifteen minutes and just as Hana predicted, the lunch time rush was over and there was a sense of peacefulness in the café. It wasn't Angela that was working at the front, but one of her other coworkers, who greeted her with a cheerful wave. Cass must've been in the kitchen to bake up some more treats to put out, and her thoughts were confirmed when the faint smell of baking muffins wafted out from the kitchen.
Jenny looked around in awe, admiring the decorations and the nice atmosphere. It was no wonder Hana loved her job so much. "This place is so cute."
"Isn't it? It's the best café in this area. Kid you not."
Then, Tadashi appeared out from the back with a tray of cleaned plates and his lips drew up into a smile when he saw Hana. "Hey, Hana."
"Ah! Tadashi, hey. I guess you're helping out during my time off." She felt a little bad, but remembered that even still, he was also an employee. A good one at that.
"Yeah. I offered to help Aunt Cass." He smiled so sweetly at her and finally noticed the blonde girl next to her. "Is this your friend?"
"Yeah, this is –"
"Jenny! Jenny Atkinson." The blonde interjected, stepping forward towards Tadashi.
"I'm Tadashi Hamada. It's nice to meet you, Hana's said a lot of good things about you." Tadashi smiled brilliantly at Jenny and stretched out his hand to her. Jenny took it and shook his hand, her gaze never leaving his face. A blush formed on her cheeks at the contact and her eyes were filled with daze.
Oh.
Hana knew that look.
Unexpectedly, an uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of Hana's stomach and an invisible hand gripped her heart painfully.
Oh no.
Oh my god. I don't even know what to say. I'm sorry that it took so long, I really underestimated my classes this semester and they've been kicking my ass. Somehow, I managed to squeeze this out. Just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving!
Ahhh, a wild Jenny has appeared! Things are about to get interesting. I won't get into details, but the plot is definitely moving along.
Thank you everyone who favourited, followed, and reviewed! You guys mean the world to me; thank you for sticking with me! And happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!
~Mari