Mom,
Ryoshi stares at the blank piece of notebook paper in front of him. That one line, 'Mom', is all he's come up with in the thirty minutes since he's been home from school. Every opening sounds wrong. A small mountain of wadded-up balls of paper is piled high into his waste basket. Ryoshi taps his black-ink pen on the side of his desk.
Mom,
If you check my room now, I won't be there
He frowns and scratches through it. No. I don't want her freaking out by the first line…
Mom,
He crumples up the page and chucks it over his left shoulder mindlessly.
Mom,
I've been trying to tell you how much I miss Otogibana
Ryoshi sighs and throws that out. Bad structure. It sounds kinda whiney. Who knew writing was so hard! How am I supposed to do this right?!
Ryoshi knows that he has to get this perfect. If it's not, his mother will never understand and he'll never get to be with Ryoko. He just doesn't know how to do it—there's too much that has to be said. I need to reassure her, but explain why I'm leaving at the same time. I don't want her to hate me… or stop me… But how do I make her understand?
Ryoshi suddenly remembers something Neko said to him, the day of his man-to-man fight with Hitsujikai. You've to remember your reason...
His reason? Ryoko, of course. But he doubted his mother would want to read about how much he loved some girl she didn't know or care about. She would just be angry. And she would probably feel abandoned. Ryoshi's father was away most of the time; his job was well-paid but demanding, and Ryoshi knew his mother got lonely without him around. He suspected that was the reason she had decided to pull him from the Academy.
She had sent him, though, because she cared. Ryoshi recalled their conversation that weekend before school started months ago.
"I love you very much Ryoshi, but you need to be around people, not just this empty house and your grandfather and I. You're a young man. You should have the opportunity to have a life and make friends. I have raised you, I think, very well. You have a strong, good heart. I want you to go to this school, and become the kind of man I know you will be."
Ryoshi blinked. That was it!
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It's probably a good idea for me to stay out of my room during break. Morino-sama will have a hard time busting me for something if I'm in front of her face 24/7. I throw myself out of bed, and remove my maid uniform. There's still forty-five minutes left in break, so I think I'll go for a walk. Walks are good for thinking, right?
Despite the blizzard of last night, the day has recovered quickly. It's not warm at all, but it's way better than before. I glance out my window. It's a little overcast, but faint rays of sunlight peek defiantly from behind the clouds. Yep, a walk sounds good.
I leave my room, the halls, and the house. I'm not sad to see them go. If I stay in there anymore I'm gonna have a heart attack. I think back to the conversation between Ryoshi's mother and me.
You've been warned, Capulet-san.
Except, what the hell did that mean? Warned? What was this, a Scooby-Doo cartoon? I hadn't done anything to her. So why? And why was she so threatened by me? I'm used to people thinking I'm intimidating, obviously—but clearly not anymore. I'm just this cute, polite 'Capulet-san', as far as she knows…
Or am I?
You remind me of someone…
My stomach flips in panic. "Take deep breaths, Ryoko," I mutter to myself. "This is… This is not a big deal."
If she wanted me out, I'd be out. It's that simple. But I'm still here.
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The break is over way too soon, and one glance at my watch tells me I'm five minutes late.
"Aw, crap!" I whine, and turn towards the direction of the house. I run as fast as I can, my shoes crunching against the gray gravel. My lungs are burning by the time I land on the household grounds.
Right away, I notice something's up, because all the servants are lined up outside the house. From behind Morino-sama, facing me, Carol-san's violet gaze locks onto mine. She widens her eyes and discreetly nods to the side of the house. I duck behind Morino-sama's back silently as a ghost, darting behind the bushes on the side of the brick wall. I'm about to run inside the back entrance when I hear a voice from the porch that does not belong to Morino-sama or any of my fellow maids.
"Charmed," gushes an unfamiliar high-pitched voice.
I spin around and crouch behind a bush, peering through the frosty leaves at the short figure, bright pink hair in a high, flowing pony-tail. Morino-sama stands next to her, facing the servants.
"Everyone, I would like you to welcome Koi Amaterasu-san. She is Koi-san's daughter." she turns to the girl.
"It's delightful to meet you all," says Amaterasu cheerfully, clutching a strawberry-colored handbag.
"You may call me Tera. I do hate my name; it's far too long."
"She's going to be staying with us for a few days until Koi-san returns from the States, and I want all of you to serve her as if she were a member of the Morino family. Is that understood?" she asks firmly, like an impatient mother scolding her rowdy kids.
"Yes, ma'am!" my co-workers chorus obediently, bowing simultaneously, in Amaterasu's direction. She giggles, and flashes a grin that seems particularly directed at the boys.
"This is going to be so much fun!"
Ugh. I hate her already. She's too… Argh, I don't even know, it's just gross, whatever it is. She's annoying.
"Where's Ryoshi?" she asks loudly. "I haven't gotten to see him since we were little! I've missed him." Morino-sama grins.
"I'm sure he's missed you too. He's around somewhere. You know how good he is at hiding," she chuckles.
"You both used to be so close..." I'm not listening anymore. The sound of their girly shoes on the grass comes nearer to me… I jump up from behind the bushes, and run into the house.
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"Guess who's here?!" Ryoshi jumps in his seat as his mother exclaims those three words from his now open doorway.
Ryoshi turns and stands up, just as a bright pink blur dashes into his arms, and tackles him.
"Ryoshi-kun!" The soprano squeal almost shatters his eardrums.
"Uhhhhh!" He exclaims under the weight of her body. "Who—?!"
"Don't ya remember me?!"
From Ryoshi's position on the floor, a familiar girl is sitting on top of him. Literally. She has him pinned on the ground, her big blue eyes staring down into his, a grin spread across her pretty face. Her long, rosy hair brushes his face. Ryoshi flinches.
"Ah ah ah PLEASE STOP STARING!"
"Oh-my-gosh, I'm sorry!" she cries, and slides off his lap.
"I forgot all about your phobia thing. I'm sorry. It's been a while."
Ryoshi peers out at her from behind his hands. Suddenly his memory comes back to him.
"Amaterasu?"
"Oh, you do remember!" she sings.
"Yeah, we were… friends?" He says, trying to dance around the subject. Amaterasu doesn't take the hint.
"Not really. I mean, yeah, but I had a huge crush on you. We used to go to the playground together when my mom would come and visit yours, remember?" she giggles.
"You were a cutie. Still are, as a matter of fact." This girl doesn't know what the word 'awkward' means, does she, Ryoshi wonders.
"Uh huh," he says. "So… how long is she staying here?" he asks his mother. She's still leaning against the door frame, smiling. She's up to something…
"Until her mother gets back from vacation; I thought it would be nice if you two could get… reacquainted."
Ryoshi frowns. He gets it now. She's trying to get me a girlfriend or something? Well, it won't happen. Ryoko is the only one for me!
"Okay," he says tightly. "Can I be excused for a minute? I have to, uh, go to the bathroom."