My eyes opened and the first thing thought was that I am alive. I saw up in bed and saw Ina, Okuni, Toshiie, Keiji, Sakon, and Kiyomasa. They were all sleeping on the couches. I looked at Toshiie. Wow, I never thought he would get involved in my life. I thought we were never gonna talk or anything. I couldn't help but feel a bit happy deep inside. They all came to my rescue and I don't think I could have asked for anything better. I couldn't believe I worried Okuni and Ina again, even though I told them I wasn't gonna make them worry anymore.
It was already morning, around seven. I took a stretch and then remembered my parents. Where were they anyways? I hope they're alright. Maybe they are in a different room. I'll just go ask one of the nurse's. I got out of bed quietly, making sure to not wake anyone up. I began walking carefully and then I fell down because my leg wasn't healed. I forced myself back up and began walking towards the door again.
I was right at the door when someone grabbed my shoulders, scaring me and I flinched so hard that I lost balance and began falling until they grabbed my wrist and pulled me back and I landed in their arms. I looked up and it was Toshiie. Oh my gosh, I'm in Toshiie's arms!
"Trying to run away again while you're still healing?" Toshiie asked and I shook my head. He moved me away from his arms.
"I'm just gonna go see if my parents are okay," I told him truthfully. He let go of my shoulder. "Do you wanna help me find their room?"
"No, I don't peek from room to room in hospitals," Toshiie said, "If you wanna go, you can go ahead," I nodded my head. Well, he's back to his old cold self. Oh well, I guess I can expect something like that from him. I'll just look for it myself.
"Okay, I'll be back in a bit," I told him, opening the door quietly and I went out. I began walking a few steps and then I fell down. I forced myself to stand back up and continued walking. I fell down a lot during the process…
Toshiie wasn't gonna help her but then he saw how she kept falling down but she kept getting up and walking no matter what. He thought she really was so stubborn. He couldn't stand seeing her walking and falling and thinking about how she was really hurt already. Toshiie shook his head and began walking to her. He grabbed her left arm and put it around his neck. He held her right side of her waist and helped her walk. She turned to him, surprised.
"I thought you didn't want to help me," Naotora told him.
"You are such a pain, Naotora. You've caused a lot of problems for me, all in less than a month," he told her, helping her. He already knew what room her parents were in. He took her to the second floor and into the sixth room. He opened the door and they went inside.
"I didn't know you knew where they were," she told him. He got her a chair and she sat down. "Thanks for taking me here." He nodded his head. He thought she might want privacy so he went out of the room and closed the door. He stood by the side for her to finish. He was looking down when he heard her talking to them…
My parents were covered in scars and bruises. It really saddened me to see them like that. It really hurts to see someone I care about get hurt. Tears formed in my eyes and dropped down my cheeks. Everything was my fault. If I didn't talk to Toshiie, this never would have happened to my parents. I don't blame him though. I can only blame myself for the pain I caused my parents.
"Mom, dad, I am so sorry," I began, starting to cry. I tried not to but I couldn't help it. "It's all my fault. I put your lives at risk and you guys got hurt because of me. I love you guys so much. Please, wake up." I knew they couldn't hear me though. "Do you remember when you told me that you will always be with me?" I took my mom and dad's hand and held it. "I still need you in my life, I'm still just a kid. I'm only in sixth grade. What will I ever do if you don't wake up? If you love me as much as you say, then you will be okay."
The door opened and in came a nurse. She turned to me and smiled.
"Hi, you must be their daughter, Naotora, right?" she questioned me. I wiped my tears away and nodded my head. "Don't be sad. They're gonna be just fine. As for you though, you're gonna take longer to heal. Why don't you go back into your room and rest? I need to take some blood samples from them."
"Okay," I replied to her. She helped me to the door. She opened the door and there Toshiie was. I thought he had left already. I guess he probably waited for me…
Toshiie heard everything Naotora said to her parents. It was sad to hear but he didn't show any emotions towards it. The door opened and he turned. Naotora saw him and seemed surprised he was still there.
"You were waiting for her, right?" the nurse asked him.
"No, I was just leaving," Toshiie replied to her and she laughed.
"Oh don't be silly, help a girl out, will ya?" the nurse said and Naotora smiled. He thought she is so bothersome.
"It's okay, I remember the way back. I can take care of myself," Naotora told the nurse, smiling. She then began walking off. She took five steps and almost fell down but she held on to the seats. The nurse told her to be careful and she laughed.
"You both have a very cute love," she told Toshiie and went inside the room. Toshiie thought he might feel sorry for her and everything but nothing's changed between them. He turned to Naotora and she was gone! He looked around for her and saw her climbing on the stairs. He began walking to the stairs but when he was halfway, she fell and began falling down the stairs, scaring him a lot…
I fell down and began to fall down. I'm gonna fall down the stairs! Oh no, what to do? I shut my eyes because I didn't wanna see when I felt pain. Just then, someone wraps their hand around my waist and I fell on top of that person. I opened my eyes turned around. Toshiie was the one who saved me. Wow, if feels like he's been saving me so much.
"Gosh, don't you ever know how to be careful, Naotora? You cause a lot of trouble," Toshiie told me. Why is he saying that? It's not like I tell him to save me or anything. Oh well, at least he saved me, that's all that matters.
"Well, I can't help that I'm injured and there's no one around to help me," I told him, getting off him. He got up and helped me stand up. "Sorry I keep causing trouble for you, Toshiie, but thank you for helping me." He helped me get back up to my room and the rest were awake.
"Naotora! Thank goodness! I was so worried when you weren't here when I woke up. I thought Toshiie kidnapped you or something," Ina told me, rushing over to hug me. I hugged her back and smiled.
"See, Ina? I told you Toshiie didn't do anything," Sakon told her.
"Will you stop thinking that I kidnapped her? I'm not a kidnapper!" Toshiie told Ina. I began laughing because he said that. He turned to me. "What's so funny?" I snickered some more and shook my head. It's so funny how Ina says that he kidnaps me. Okuni came over to me to give me a hug too. I hugged her back.
"Naotora, how are you feeling? Are you hungry or anything?" she asked me and I nodded my head. I was feeling pretty hungry.
"I feel pretty hungry. I don't even know when was the last time I ate," I told them and they laughed. I laughed along with them. Ina and Okuni helped me onto the bed but I was sitting up in bed.
"Well, I should head back home and shower," Keiji said to us. The guys agreed so they were gonna go home too.
"Okay, thanks for coming to my rescue, I'll make sure to repay you guys," I told them and they left. When Toshiie left, I felt a bit sad. I looked down and sucked in my bottom lips. Ina and Okuni turned to me and saw.
"It's okay, Naotora. You see him every day at school. It's not the last time you're gonna see him," Ina told me and I nodded my head and smiled.
"Well, I'll go get us something to eat. Do you want some Gyoza?" Okuni asked us and we nodded our heads. She smiled and then left to go buy some food.
A week later, the hospital finally discharged me so now I can go back to school. I would have been behind but my friends always brought over the homework and we worked on it together. When I was still in the hospital, my teacher Mrs. Nohime also came to see me too. I told her everything that happened too. I was a bit disappointed when I didn't see Toshiie at all while in the hospital but it didn't really matter.
My mom dropped me off at my school, where I saw Ina and Okuni waiting for me. I gave my mom a hug before I left.
"Bye, mom. I love you," I told her and she hugged me back. She told me she loved me too. I got out of the car and she drove off. I then began walking to my friends. I wasn't completely healed yet, but I was well enough to walk. Ina and Okuni waved hi to me and I did the same. They walked over to me too. We group hugged with each other.
"Hi, Naotora," they said at the same time. I said it to them too. The three of us went to go sit down and I saw Toshiie playing his guitar while hanging with his friends. He is so good at playing guitar. Wait, I should be working on not liking him anymore so no more compliments for him.
"You just barely came back and the first person you think of is Toshiie?" Ina told me and laughed. I laughed and shook my head. "Oh come on, Naotora. It's so obvious." I just smiled and looked down.
"I'm gonna try to not like him anymore," I told them and they grew shocked. Their mouths dropped open and they gasped.
"What? Why? You've liked him for eight years! What made you decide to stop liking him?" Okuni asked me. I sighed before speaking.
"I'm accepting reality, we're never gonna be together so I'm just gonna stop liking him, or at least try to. You'd feel the same way if you liked a guy but he doesn't like you back. It's like why continue to like him?" I told them. I looked at them. "You guys would help me, right?" They nodded their heads.
"Yeah we would, but are you sure this is what you want? I don't want you to regret later on in life. What if he falls in love with you but you don't like him anymore?" Ina asked me. I groaned and layed back on the bench. Why is love so complicated?
"I dunno… But for now, I should just stop liking him. Anyways, why would he like a girl like me? I always cause trouble for him. There's nothing to like about that," I told them and they kinda understood what I was trying to say. "I just want you guys to help me not look at him anymore. I don't want to be bothersome to him so I should ask Mrs. Nohime to switch my seat with someone else."
"Well, okay but anytime you want us to stop, just tell us, okay?" Okuni told me and I smiled and nodded my head…
Toshiie saw Naotora at school again. It's been a week since he last saw her. He expected to see her with clutches or in a wheelchair but she was on her own two feet walking normally. He thought that Naotora healed pretty fast for someone that was beat and bleeding out badly. Nevertheless, it was kinda great seeing her back in school.
It was time for core class, which was Mrs. Nohime's class. Toshiie went inside the classroom, only to find Zhang Bao sitting in Naotora's seat. It was weird because they didn't have a seat change. He didn't say anything about it though. When Naotora came into class, she sat down on Zhang Bao's old seat. He figured she was probably trying to not like him. She probably was trying to not look at him anymore.
"Okay, class. As you all know, we only have three weeks left of school. Are you all excited?" Mrs. Nohime said and everyone was shouted out "yes" to her. She was smiling and went to grab some papers. "But for the remaining three weeks, you will need to study very hard for the upcoming tests." Everyone groaned out loud. She laughed. "Come on, it's not so bad. I'm sure you will all do great. Okay, so right now I'm going to be passing out practice worksheets. The questions on there are similar to the ones on the test." She passed the papers out to everyone. "Now, you guys can work on this together in a group or individually." Everyone began to pair up and get into groups. His friends were already by him so he had nothing to worry about…
My friends and I got together in a group. Yoshitsune moved over to where Ma Dai sat. Okuni took Yoshitsune's seat and Sakon took Okuni's seat.Okuni and I flipped the seats to where we would be able to make eye contact with Ina. Why must they sit right where we are at? I'm trying to not look at Toshiie anymore. I found myself begin to turn to him. I quickly looked down before I had the chance to look at him. Whew, that was close. I almost looked at him. Good thing I didn't.
"Okay, so do you guys wanna work on it for a while and then share answers?" Ina suggested and we agreed on it. We began working on it quietly and to my surprise, the worksheet was super easy! I thought it would be challenging but it wasn't, at least not for me.
In about 10 minutes, I finished and I saw that Ina and Okuni were still working on theirs. I put my pencil down and it rolled away and fell down on the side. I bent down and picked it up. When I was coming back up, someone was standing there! It scared me.
"Oh my goodness you scared me!" I said aloud, looking at who it was. Oh no, why does it have to be Toshiie? Of all the people in my class, it just had to be him. "Oh, Toshiie." Ina and Okuni looked up and saw him in front of the side of my desk.
"Watch it, stupid. You almost hit me with your head," he told me and went past me.
"He is so rude!" Ina said with a mad face. Okuni nodded her head. I shrugged my shoulders and took out a piece of paper.
"Oh well, at least I'm gonna get over him," I told them both and they laughed. They continued to work on the worksheets while I doodled on the paper. I was smiling as I drew a quick sketch of the three of us…
Toshiie went to go throw a piece of paper away and headed back to his seat. He began going past Naotora and she was drawing what looked to be her, Ina, and Okuni. He stopped walking and watched her draw. She was smiling while drawing. He concluded she must be really great friends with them. He then continued walking to his seat. He and Keiji them were already done with their work so now they were just talking.
"I think Ina is hella pretty," Sakon said, smiling. They turned to her working on the paper. They laughed. Keiji then turned to Toshiie.
"So, Toshiie, tell me, do you have a thing for that Naotora chick? Is there something on between you two?" Keiji asked, as the other guys got curious. Toshiie turned to Naotora and she finished drawing the picture.
"Naotora? If you mean being bothersome, then yeah. Bad stuff has been happening to me because of her. If you guys think I like her, slap yourself. I don't even like her that way," Toshiie told them. They just laughed it off…
At lunch time, we were eating some dumplings and sushi that my mom brought for lunch. She brought it at her own will and that was what I love so much about her. She always made yummy food and brings it for my friends and I to share. She brought us a lot. We knew we weren't gonna finish it so we decided to go and share it with our favorite teacher, Mrs. Nohime.
We walked inside her class and she was sitting down, eating some plain salad. She turned to us when the door opened. She smiled and greeted us kindly.
"Hello, girls. Did you guys come here just to chill or because you guys needed help or just wanted to talk?" she told us and we went to sit down. She brought her food over to a seat and sat with us.
"Naotora's mom made some dumplings and sushi and we wanted to share it with you because you're our favorite teacher," Ina told her and she smiled.
"Oh, did she? That is really sweet of you three but I'm on a diet," she replied to Ina.
"Mrs. Nohime, you're perfect the way you are, no need for a diet. Besides, you can cheat for just today," I told her and she laughed. She then closed her plastic salad bowl.
"Aww, Naotora, you're too sweet. I guess it won't hurt to skip today," she told me and I smiled. I gave them chopsticks and we began eating it. When I put a dumpling in my mouth, it was still warm. It was so yummy and delicious. I then realized we didn't have any drinks.
"I'll go get us some drinks. It's all on me. Which kind would you like?" I asked them, putting on my shoulder bag.
"I'll get Mountain Dew," Ina said to me.
"I think I'm craving for some apple juice," Okuni told me.
"It's okay, Naotora," Mrs. Nohime told me and I insisted on buying her one. "Oh, alright. I'll get some water. Thank you." I just smiled. Ina and Okuni thanked me too. I went out to where they sold snacks and drinks. I bought a mountain dew, apple juice, water, and root beer. I decided to buy some snacks too. I bought four brownies too. I carried the stuff in my bag. I took out the root beer and opened it. I began drinking it and then a basketball hit my head and fell down, only except I fell on someone and my root beer spilled on them…
Naotora fell on top of Toshiie and her root beer spilled all over his shirt. She gasped and looked up. Toshiie was so angry at her.
"What the hell, Naotora?" Toshiie yelled at her and she quickly got off him, only to step on his index finger. He quickly pulled away. "Ow! You stepped on my finger, stupid!"
"I am so sorry, Toshiie. Here, let me help you," she said, taking his hand and began pulling him up. He smacked her hand way from his and a mountain dew came out of her bag and conked his head before falling on him softly. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" She grabbed the mountain dew and accidentally scratched his arm.
"Ow, Naotora!" yelled Toshiie as she flinched and a brownie came out of her bag and hit his head too. He was pissed off to the max at her. She took the brownie and put it back in her bag. She took out something from her bag. He stood up as she was only up to his shoulder.
"Here, use this to take the root beer stain off your shirt," she told him. She tried giving him one of the "tide to go's" where he just erases the stain off. He took it meanly away from her.
"I don't want your stupid tide to go's!" he shouted, throwing it off hard as it hit a pole and bounced back and hit his head. He was angrier than before now. "Stop coming close to me! Gosh, ever since you first spoke to me, I've had nothing but bad luck in my life! You stupid girl!"
"Well it's not like I do it on purpose! I'm trying to not be close to you anymore. We just happen to always be close by each other," she told him and he saw a pair of scissors flying to her. It was gonna hit the back of her head.
"Look out!" he said, moving her as they both fell and he was on top of her. The scissor plunged into the building wall very hard and he knew it must have been a guy who threw it because there was no way a girl could throw it that hard. He got off her and pulled her up. He exhaled hard and turned to her. She was looking down. He didn't even wanna yell at her anymore because she just almost died for the third time already.
"Sorry, Toshiie," she told him. She took a deep breath and began walking off and turned left, being out of view. He was about to walk off but he saw three guys from the corner of his eyes. They had a bag with them.
"Okay, I'll be the one to grab her and you stuff her in the bag," one of the guy said and they began walking the direction where Naotora went. He had a feeling that they were gonna get her. He shook his head.
"That Naotora…," he said and began heading that direction too. He went past those guys, who were close to Naotora. He grabbed her wrist and began running.
"Toshiie, what are you…," began Naotora as he told her to shut up. She did so and they both began running off…
"Hey!" a guy shouted from behind us as we were running.I turned and three guys were chasing us. What on earth is going on? Who are those guys?
"Who are those guys?" I asked Toshiie, as we were running.
"The same guy who threw the scissor at you, I bet," he replied, running too. Boy, he sure was tempted to get away from those guys, but my legs began to get tired of running after a while of running really fast.
"I'm getting tired of running," I told Toshiie but he didn't care. He continued forcing me to run for literally 10 minutes, even though my leg was still in the process of healing. "I really can't run anymore, my leg hurts too much." He still paid me no attention and we continued running. It was then that I fell down because my leg hurt too much. If only this school was smaller, we would have been able to hide. Toshiie helped me back up.
"Keep running!" he told me, grabbing my wrist and beginning to run again. I fell down again and shook my head.
"I really can't," I told him and he lifted me back up and made me run again. I was just being dragged on the wrist when we were running. He turned the corner and went to a dark spot, putting me against the wall. "What are you…"
"Shh!" Toshiie told me and I stopped talking. We saw the guys running past us and they went off. I still wonder why they were chasing us. Once we caught our breaths, he gave me a knucklehead.
"Ow, what was that for?" I asked him.
"For causing so much trouble for me," he told me and I thought about what just happened before the chase. Thinking about it makes me wanna laugh. I can't believe I didn't laugh when it happened. I began to form a smile. Toshiie turned to me. "What are you smiling about?" I shook my head.
"Nothing important," I replied to him and began snickering. I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh in front of him. "Well anyways, I got to go back to Ina and Okuni them. I was supposed to go eat some of my mom's food."
"Whatever, just stop being so bothersome," he said and I went off, back into Mrs. Nohime's room. Ina and Okuni weren't there anymore. Mrs. Nohime turned to me and smiled.
"Where did you go, Naotora? Ina and Okuni were worried," she told me. I told her that I got caught up with business so I was a bit late. "Well, we saved you some of the food your mom made. It was very good." I smiled and nodded.
"Oh, here's your water," I told her, handing the water bottle to her. She took it and thanked me. I went over to the food and began eating again…
Toshiie was walking to his friends when someone turned him around. He turned and it was Ina and Okuni. Ina had a very mad face.
"Where did you kidnap Naotora this time?" she said madly. Toshiie was so sick and tired of Ina accusing him of kidnapping their friend. He shook his head. "Well?"
"Would you just stop saying that I kidnapped her already? Sheesh, I didn't even do anything to her!" Toshiie replied to her as she looked at him suspiciously. Okuni began laughing and nudged Ina's shoulders.
"Cut him some slack, Ina. You know he wouldn't do anything like that to Naotora," Okuni said. Ina crossed her arms and turned to him.
"Well, regardless. I got my eyes on you. If you ever even think about it," Ina began as Toshiie interrupted her.
"I would never think about kidnapping her! She's bad luck to me. I wouldn't dare go close to her," he replied to them and walked off madly and turned the corner as someone bumped into him…
I quickly finished eating and went to go look for Ina and Okuni. I was just jogging and I turned the corner when I bumped into someone and I fell down on top of whoever it was. I bumped into Toshiie again.
"Would you just stop bumping into me? Gosh, Naotora! You seriously should stay a few inches away from me," he told me. I don't get it. Sometimes, it seems like he's nice but then the moment you begin thinking he is nice, he gets mean.
"Sorry," I told him. I got off him and he began walking off, only to slip on one of the brownies that came out of my bag. He fell down on his butt and I accidentally laughed out loud. "Are you okay, Toshiie?" Ina and Okuni were laughing so hard.
"Naotora, why you! You're lucky you're a girl," Toshiie said madly. I knew he was so angry at me.
"Here, let me help you up," I told him but he already got up himself. He looked at me with such hatred in his eyes and then walked past me. I watched him leave and Ina and Okuni came to me. I sighed. "Well, he really hates me."
"Oh well, he doesn't know what he's missing out on. He'll learn that you have so much more to offer," Okuni said and I smiled. I nodded my head and we headed off back into Mrs. Nohime's class.
When I came home after school, my parents wanted to have a talk with me. We were in the living room and we were sitting on the couches.
"Naotora, we're afraid you'll get hurt again and we don't want that for you. As a parent, we have to do what's best for their kid to be safe," my dad began. I wonder what he's trying to say. I understand that a parent must do whatever mean necessary to protect their child, but why is he making it seem like it's not safe for me to be here anymore? I nodded my head, understanding what he was telling me. "While you were still in the hospital, I began searching for a new job and I found one."
"That's great, where is your new job?" I said, feeling happy for him that he found a new job. My dad looked down. My smile then faded. Did he find a job out of the city? Are we gonna have to move? "It's not in the city, is it?"
"I'm afraid not, Naotora. It's very far from here, not in this state," he told me and I was very disappointed. We really are gonna move. I don't want that. I don't want to leave my friends behind. "I know you don't want to move, and I don't either, but it's for the best. I can't watch you hurt again." I understood that he didn't wanna see me hurt again. I was really sad. Tears came out of my eyes and down my cheeks.
"When do we have to move?" I asked, wiping my tears away.
"We're moving in the summer, so you still have three weeks to be with your friends," my mom replied to me. If I only have three weeks, I have to use it wisely, but how am I gonna tell them? They are gonna be so sad. Will we come back or will we stay there?
"How long are we staying there?" I questioned again. They told me that they didn't know and that they plan to stay there and settle down. I guess I'm not gonna see my friends anymore. I won't be seeing Toshiie anymore either.
After that conversation, I went into my room and cried for a while. I really didn't wanna move but my parents are looking out for me too, not to mention that they could still get hurt too. Maybe it is better for us to move and begin a new life there. If we never come back, then that is destiny. I was sitting on my bed, hugging my legs.
"How am I gonna tell Ina and Okuni?" I asked myself, being sad. I know that if I tell them now, they won't be able to focus on the exams and I don't want that for them. Maybe I'll just wait until the tests are no more and then I'll tell them. About Toshiie though, it didn't really matter because he was an eighth grader and he's gonna be going to high school so either way I won't be seeing him. I then lay on my bed. "Why is life so complicated and hard?" I then decided to go to sleep.
The next day came and I was so tired. Why did I stay up so late? I got on campus and headed to my locker to get my book for core class. I went to locker number seventy nine and opened it. I saw a toad in there and it really scared me! I screamed and began running off as I bumped into Toshiie and fell on top of him…
Toshiie was just walking to his friends when he heard someone scream and he turned, only to see Naotora run and bump into him. They both fell down on the cement with her on top of him. She held on to his shirt really tight.
"Toad! There's a toad in my locker! Get it out, get it out!" she screamed in his ear. Her eyes were shut tight.
"Naotora!" Toshiie yelled, covering his right ear. He could feel her heart beating so he knew she must be really afraid of them. He got up and helped her up too. "It's just a freaken toad! What's so scary about them?" She hid behind him, holding his shirt and peeking.
"They're scary!" Naotora exclaimed and Toshiie thought there was nothing scary about them. He walked to her locker and looked at the toad. It was such a small toad and he couldn't believe she was afraid of it. He turned to her.
"Really? You crashed into me over a small toad like this? Gosh, Naotora, why are you so bothersome?" he told her, giving her a knucklehead. She was really scared. The toad croaked once and jumped out of her locker and she screamed. "Would you just shut up? You're so annoying!" She stopped screaming.
"Why aren't you afraid of them?" she asked, her eyes sparkling from the sunlight. He looked at her heterochromia eyes. Her right eye was brown and her left eye was a beautiful water blue color. He was starting to think about how pretty she was but then he quickly turned away, thinking he was never gonna fall in love with her.
"Because only stupid girls like you are afraid of them," he told her and walked off, wondering why he started to think about her. The image of her with her sparkling eyes in the sunlight kept playing in his head. He went into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. He looked into the mirror and all he saw was her with sparkling eyes! "Ugh, stop playing in my head! I don't like her, I don't like her, I like her." He gasped when he said he liked her. "No way, I don't like her. I will never fall in love with Naotora." The image finally disappeared and he took a very deep breath, calming himself. Then he came out of the bathroom and walked to his friends…
I persuaded my friends to go Karaoke today after school, especially because it was Friday. We were walking to the "Live it up" Karaoke place. It's the only place that allows middle school students and high school students' in. We got a booth together and our room was number six. We went inside and it was very nice. It was baby blue and pink inside there.
"We are gonna have so much fun here!" Ina exclaimed happily. Okuni and I agreed. We turned it on and there were so many songs to choose from. There were all races of songs. Okuni put on the song "Stay with me" by Sam Smith.
"Guess it's true I'm not good at a one night stand but I still need love cause I'm just a man. These nights don't seem to go to plan. I don't want you to leave. Will you hold my hand? Won't you stay with me cause you're all I need. This ain't love, it's clear to see but darling stay with me," sang Okuni. She was very good at singing. Ina and I cheered her on. When she was finished, Ina put on "Listen to your Heart" by Kelly Clarkson.
I know there's something in the wake in your smile. I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah. You've built a love, but that love falls apart. Your little piece of heaven turns to dark. Listen to your heart when he's calling for you. Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going and I don't know why but listen to your heart before he tells you goodbye," Ina sang and she was very good too. Okuni and I cheered for her. It was my turn to sing now. I decided to sing the song "Problem" by Becky G. I played it and got ready to sing.
"I'm one of a kind, got everybody in love and I don't have to try, I just do what I died. Don't have to tell me, I already know. They all want me. Yo, I run this, I smash it like my bass real hard boom bastic. Speed race baby, I'm a lot faster. Cause trouble, never listen to my master. New Benz all black from Malaysia. Can't drive but my mama don't care, yup. To the top, imma take it to the ceiling. I'm on the moon but I feel the sun beaming. I'm so dope like ooh la la. So so fly like a helicopter. Sup to the hood and the homies on the block, doin' it big, ya you know, what's up. Some come and try to say I'm a problem. So crazy gotta put em' in an asylum. Some come and try to say I'm a problem. Ha, solve it," I sang. It was more of a rap song though.
"You are really good!" Ina and Okuni said in unison. I thanked them and we continued singing a bunch of other songs. Finally, we decided to sing "Touch my body" by the Korean girl group Sistar. We were gonna do the dance too. We moved the seats aside so we would be able to do the dance. Ina pressed play and came back. We got in position and the song began playing.
"Touch my body, body. Touch my body, body. Touch my body, body. Touch my body," Okuni sang, as we were all dancing. We were having so much fun.
"I know you want it, neon nae gyeoteuro wa. Naega junbuhan wine dalkomhan chocolate chocolate. Jom budeureopgo ttaeron tteugeowojineun neomanuel wihan my pool," I sang, smiling while dancing.
"Ppalgaejineun neoui de nune bichin nae moseup, unjeoneun niga hae geujeo nae du soneun haneurwiro. Baby dancing with me you're my star," Ina sang.
"Touch my body," Okuni sang. We were still dancing.
"Urin jogeumssik ppareuge," I sang.
"Oh everybody," Ina sang.
"Pureun haneul boda nopi," I sang.
"Jigeum I rideumi joha tteugeon taeyangarae neowana," Okuni sang, as we were pretending so slap each other's butt for fun and then the door swung open and we quickly stopped and turned to see who opened it…
Toshiie and his friends decided to go sing at the "Live it up" for fun because it was a nice Friday and they weren't doing anything. They got their room, which was room seven. While they were walking to the room, they can hear some girls singing the Korean song "Touch my body" and Keiji opened the door to see who it was that was singing because they were really good and to their surprise, it was Naotora and her friends. When Toshiie saw that Naotora was in there, his heart pounded and he wasn't sure if it was through excitement or through fear. It looked like they were dancing too.
"Well, didn't expect it to be you guys," Keiji told them and they stopped singing and dancing. Ina then turned and saw Toshiie. She put her hands on her hips.
"Well, if you are thinking of kidnapping…," Ina began to Toshiie.
"I'm not gonna kidnap her! God, Ina, how many times do I have to keep telling you so you'll get it through your thick skull?" Toshiie yelled at her and everyone began laughing, including Naotora. She was using her hands to cover her mouth though and he thought she looked so cute doing that. Toshiie wondered why he was thinking that, because he doesn't even like her that way.
"Hey Ina," Sakon told Ina. Ina just smiled at him.
"Well anyway, we'll let you guys continue singing," Keiji said to the girls, "I just wanted to see who was singing because they were really good." Keiji closed the door and they went into their room. Toshiie was getting confused. He really hopes he isn't liking Naotora or anything. She always makes bad things happen to him.
"What are you thinking about?" Kiyomasa asked him, sitting down next to him while Sakon and Keiji were setting a song up for them. Toshiie shook his head.
"Nothing, why?" he replied, seeming serious. He was so good at acting that Kiyomasa didn't suspect and thought he was serious.
"I dunno, it just kinda seemed like you were thinking about something," Kiyomasa told him and Toshiie shook his head. They then began singing and having fun too…
Ina, Okuni, and I left the "Live it up" around six and went to go eat out. We went to an Asian restaurant. I ordered some sweet bulgogi with lots of rice, Ina ordered some orange chicken and egg rolls, and Okuni ordered some pot stickers and sushi. We were gonna share it together. While we were waiting for the food, we were talking with each other.
"It's so funny how you always say that Toshiie kidnaps me when I'm not around for a while," I told Ina and we all laughed so much.
"Yeah, I don't know why but whenever you don't come back for a while, I picture him grabbing you and putting you in a bag and taking you off somewhere. I know he would never do it but I just like to say it anyways to get his reaction," Ina told us and we laughed some more.
"Well, it seems like he cares one moment and then before you know it, he is all mean again," Okuni added in. She then began laughing so much and Ina and I looked at each other, wondering why she was laughing. "Remember at school when Toshiie slipped on one of the brownies you bought?" Ina and I began laughing again. I nodded my head.
"Yeah, I remember. Speaking of that day, I pissed him off so much but it was unintentionally. You see, when I went to but the stuff, I opened my drink and then I was drinking it and a ball hit my head so I fell down on him. My soda spilled on him. I tried to help him up but he smacked my hand away as your mountain dew fell out of my bag and hit his head," I told them. We were having so much fun laughing.
"Wow, really? I wish I was there to see," Ina said, laughing.
"And then I grabbed the mountain dew and accidentally scratched him and he yelled really loud, which scared me so I flinched and a brownie came out of my bag and hit him on the head too. He got up and I gave him one of my tide to go's but instead he threw it away but it hit a pole and bounced back and hit his head too," I continued, laughing.
"Don't worry about it. I can guarantee that if you keep doing that, he's going to hate it but once you stop, he's gonna miss it," Okuni told me. Would he really miss all those things? I wonder if he will miss it when I move.
"The food's ready," I told them, seeing the waitress bring our stuff we ordered. We were so happy that we were gonna get to eat the yummy food…
On Wednesday, it was time for our Math exam. Everyone just had to stay in their core class. We were all in Mrs. Nohime's class. We were all nervous about the test. It was morning after the bell rang. We sat down on out seats and Mrs. Nohime took out the exams.
"Okay, I hope you all studied very hard because today is the test. There are four sections each and you will have an hour and thirty minutes to finish each section. Stop after the first section. Once I pass out all of the exams, you may get started. I want to wish you guys all good luck on this test," Mrs. Nohime said, passing out our exams to us. Each exam has our own name on it. Once we all had our own exams, we began working on it. The test was a bit challenging but I managed to pull it off. I finished the exam in exactly thirty minutes and there were thirty questions. Since I was finished really early, I double checked my answers until the time was up. I took my precious time redoing every problem, just to make sure I didn't make any mistakes and so far I haven't. Mrs. Nohime told us to close the exam because it's time for a ten minute break.
"Whoo hoo! I was beginning to get tired of sitting down," Keiji said, getting up happily and we all went outside. The breeze really was kicking in and it felt really nice. I smiled and took a nice stretch.
"Isn't the breeze wonderful?" I asked Ina and Okuni, stretching out my hands as I accidentally punched someone. I gasped and turned. I expectedly it to be Toshiie but it was Yoshitsune. "I am so sorry Yoshitsune, I didn't see you." He smiled.
"It's alright. That was some punch, Naotora. You're pretty strong for a girl," he replied to me. Wow, he is so much nicer than Toshiie. I wonder why I didn't like him or something. Maybe it's because of I saw Toshiie first. I smiled and backed up, stepping on someone's foot by accident. That person pulled their feet away really fast…
Naotora stepped on Toshiie's foot by accident. He pulled his foot away quickly.
"Ow, Naotora! Would you just stop being near me already? You have caused so much trouble for me!" Toshiie yelled at Naotora. She turned around to him, her hair slapping his left eye as he covered. "Ow, stupid!"
"I am so sorry, Toshiie. I didn't see you," she told him, as he began walking off. He decided that he wasn't even gonna say anything to her because every time he does, something bad always happens…
Toshiie began walking away and I saw that he dropped his wallet on the ground. I picked it up and went after him.
"Wait, Toshiie, you forgot your wallet," I told him, jogging to catch up. Right when I reached him, I stepped on a rock as I lost balance and fell down. I fell on Toshiie's back and we and he fell down.
"Tsk, Naotora. Get off me right now, what the hell are you doing? Didn't I just tell you to stay away from me?" Toshiie said, as I got off him. He stood up too. I reached out his wallet for him and he saw it.
"I was just gonna return your wallet to you. It was on the ground," I explained to him. He exhaled and shook his head. He took it and I looked down. "Sorry, Toshiie." I turned around and walked off to Ina and Okuni…
Toshiie felt kinda bad for yelling at her now. It was time to go back to the class and they began section two of the exam. It was easy for him but he wasn't really focused anymore. He kept thinking about Naotora and it was scaring him because he has a slight feeling he may have fallen for her. He would work a few problems and then stop and look at Naotora working on the exam too. He shrugged it off and told himself he isn't gonna fall in love with her. There was just no way they would be together.
"Okay, class please close your books and have a ten minute break again. This time, you each can get a snack," Mrs. Nohime said, getting a box and placing it on a table by the door. Everyone got up to check what kind of snack there was.
"Oh boy, apple juice and pop tarts!" Keiji shouted, grabbing one of each. Everyone got their own apple juice and pop tart. He turned and saw Naotora with her friends, eating her pop tart and laughing with her friends. His cousin and friends were up ahead from them. He then wondered why they are always by Naotora and her friends. He began walking to his friends. He was just about to pass Naotora when she spluttered out the juice from her mouth and it got on Toshiie's face as he shut his eyes closed. He heard her gasp. He got so angry at her again. He wiped his face and turned to her.
"What the hell, Naotora?" he yelled at her.
"I'm sorry, it was an accident," she explained as he gave her a knucklehead.
"I can never have peace with you around, you stupid troublesome kid," he told her and went off to wash his face…
I watched Toshiie leave and sighed. I turned to my friends.
"Why does this always happen? I'm not even trying to get him hurt or anything," I confessed to them. They told me that it was okay. He is right. So much bad luck has been happening since I first spoke to him. It's okay though because he won't be seeing me anymore. I'm gonna be moving pretty soon.
"Hey, Naotora, you alright? It's time to go back to class," Ina told me, and I snapped out of thinking. I nodded my head and we went back inside the classroom.
After the third section, it was lunch time. My dad brought some teriyaki chicken on a stick for us to share. We were sitting down and for some reason, we were right by Toshiie them. I opened the bag and there was a lot. I loved how my parents always made more than enough and brought it over for my friends and I to share. There was about thirty pieces of them. We each grabbed one.
"Naotora, I love your parents so much! They always bring us some food. Tell them I said thanks, okay?" Ina told me and I smiled. I nodded my head and we began eating them. It was so yummy and delicious. The chicken wasn't too hard.
"Ey, Naotora, can I have some?" Keiji asked me and I nodded my head.
"Sure, why not?" I replied and handed him three of them. I turned to the rest. "Do you guys want some too?"
"Sure," they replied, as I gave them each three too. Toshiie was the only one who didn't take any.
"Toshiie, you don't want any?" I asked, as he shook his head, not looking at me. Why doesn't he want any? Maybe he's just trying to be polite. I should just give him some anyways. I took three of them and put it on a napkin carefully. "Well, if you decided you want some, it'll be right by you, okay?" I set it down right next to his hand. The sharp point of the stick poked his hand and he flinched.
"Ow, Naotora! You made it poke my hand!" he yelled at me.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to make it poke you hand! Here's a napkin," I told him, giving him a napkin as he slapped my hand away and his hand scanned the sticks but he got a splinter.
"Ow! Naotora, just go back to your friends!" he yelled.
"No, I wanna help you," I replied to him. He took the splinter out and he was bleeding a bit. "Oh, no you're bleeding! I'll go get you a band aid, okay?" I gave the food to Okuni and I ran off to get a band aid for Toshiie…
"Damn, that shawty's a keeper. I don't see why you don't like her, Toshiie. If you don't get her, I'm taking her home to mama," Kiyomasa joked as Toshiie suddenly felt kind of jealous that Kiyomasa said that.
"Go after her, man. Don't let her do all the work," Sakon told him, forcing Toshiie up and pushed him lightly to give him a boost.
"I don't even like her that way! Besides, I didn't even ask her to do it. She's doing it at her own will," Toshiie told them.
"And that's exactly why she's a keeper. Dude, just go after her before I do and I begin hitting on her as you regret later on in life," Kiyomasa told him. Toshiie rolled his eyes and began walking to the nurse's office.
"Jog, dude!" Keiji told him and Toshiie shook his head. He thought to himself that Naotora is causing him one too many trouble and he can't wait to graduate so he won't see her for two years. It'll give him time to find a girlfriend and then she'll have to stop liking him for good.
Toshiie was jogging to the nurse's office when he saw her sitting down. He stopped and observed what she was doing. He watched her stand up and wipe her lip. He saw blood on her lip and got worried. He walked to her and she turned to him. Blood dripped from her mouth down to her chin. She quickly turned when she saw him, trying to hide it but he already saw. He turned her to him. She looked at him in the eye, her eyes extra sparkly because she had tears in her eyes.
"What happened to you?" he asked in a calm voice. She shook her head and wiped the tear away. She was trying not to cry.
"I dunno, I was just running when someone pushed me and I fell and then they punched me," Naotora told him. He felt really angry that someone would do this to her.
"Do you know who did it?" he asked as she shook her head.
"No, it was a guy though. I've never seen him before," Naotora said, as he wiped the blood away from her chin. She seemed surprised when he did that because she gasped silently. Her eyes widened a bit too.
"Let's go to the nurse's office," he told her and she nodded her head. They walked inside and Mrs. Zhu Rong cleaned up her wound.
"Who did this to you? Definitely not a girl, right?" the nurse asked her and she shook her head. Naotora told the nurse that a guy she doesn't know punched her. She then shook her head. "A guy? Shame on him! That's no way to treat a lady. He almost broke your jaw."
"My jaw?" she asked and Mrs. Zhu Rong nodded her head. Naotora looked down in disappointment. The nurse gave her an ice pack to put on her jaw to help alleviate the pain. Toshiie was wondering why a guy would punch her hard to the point where she could have broken her jaw. They thanked Mrs. Zhu Rong and headed back to their friends…
Toshiie and I began walking back to our friends. He was to my left and I began having thoughts. Wow, so this is how it would kind of feel like if a miracle ever happened between us. Why am I even thinking this? It's not gonna happen, even though I really want it to. I'm moving and there's a very small chance that I would come back.
"You are so careless, Naotora. Not only that but…," Toshiie began and I interrupted him. I nodded my head.
"Yes, I know. I'm bothersome, troublesome, annoying, and stupid. You've told me that all the time," I replied to him.
"Well I'm glad you know. You cause nothing but trouble for me and you really should stop coming close to me," Toshiie told me, getting all cold again. There he goes again being mean just when I was beginning to think he was becoming nice. He is right too about me bringing nothing but trouble to him. I try not to be close to him but for some reason we keep on ending up close by each other.
"Naotora! Thank goodness, I thought Toshiie kidnapped you," Ina shouted, running to me and hugging me tight. Then she noticed the ice pack in my hands. "What happened?"
"A guy punched me on my jaw," I replied to her as she gasped and turned to Toshiie. I laughed but felt a bit of pain in my jaw. "No, Ina. It wasn't Toshiie."
"Of course it wasn't. I wouldn't hit her because if I did, she would become the most stupidest girl," he told Ina and walked off to his friends up ahead. Ina's mouth dropped open and she scoffed.
"What a jerk! Don't listen to him, Naotora. You're a smart, pretty, talented girl. He's too stupid to even give you a chance and because of that, it already makes you better than him. Besides, it's not your fault he keeps coming to you," Ina told me and I just smiled it off. We went back to sit down on the bench by Toshiie them. I tried to eat the food again but chewing hurts my jaw. I stopped eating.
"What's wrong, Naotora? Are you feeling sick?" Okuni asked me and I shook my head.
"No, I'm okay. it's just that my jaw hurts too much to chew. I think I'll have to skip eating this," I replied to her. Ina and Okuni felt bad for me and gave me a hug. I hugged them back and smiled.
"I don't understand. Why are people targeting you all of a sudden? That Toshiie better not be ordering people to do this to you," Ina said, turning to Toshiie. I think he must have heard Ina because he turned to us.
"Did you not hear what I just told you earlier? Naotora is already stupid so there's really no need to order people to hit her because then she'll only get more stupid," Toshiie told Ina. She told him that he is so cruel and that he isn't even a human but rather an animal. What Toshiie said to Ina did hurt my feelings but I'm trying to not like him anymore so I shouldn't care about what he says. I'll get over him soon and move on.
"Hey Naotora, if you aren't eating anymore, can we have yours?" Keiji asked and I nodded my head, smiling as he was really happy. I handed my teriyaki chicken to Keiji. He gave one to Sakon and Kiyomasa. "Thank you. I don't see why my uncle Toshiie doesn't like you. He's really missing out. Also, whatever mean stuff he says, don't take it seriously, okay?"
"You're welcome and I won't," I said cheerfully and the bell rang so we had to go back to Mrs. Nohime's class and take the fourth section, which has fifty questions on it.
After all the exams and hard work, we were finally on our last week of school. During the exam weeks, things always stirred up between Toshiie and me so he really hates me. It was a Wednesday and Friday is our official last day of school and my last day in the city. My parents and I already packed up our stuff.
We all went into core class and everyone was so happy it was almost the last day of school. Mrs. Nohime was really happy too.
"Everyone, settle down please," Mrs. Nohime began, as we became quiet and shifted out attention to her, "I am glad it is about to be summer time. Before that though, I wanted to talk to you guys about something. So I was thinking that we can have a small party at lunch on Friday?" Everyone grew wild and loud, especially Keiji.
"Yes we should have a party! We deserve it!" boomed Keiji with his loud voice. Everyone agreed with Keiji.
"Okay then, a party it is but what kind of party?" asked Mrs. Nohime.
"How about a potluck style party? Everyone brings a dish," Sakon said and everyone agreed too.
"Alright then, I'll provide drinks and plates and spoons and forks," Mrs. Nohime said. I thought about what to bring on Friday. It really saddened me that I was gonna have to move but at least I have no regrets.
For the meantime, we could chill and talk because there was no work for us to anymore. My friends and I were talking about what we should bring on Friday.
"I'm thinking of bringing some egg rolls," Ina told us. We thought it was a great idea for her to bring it. Everyone loves egg rolls so she should definitely bring some.
"I'm thinking about bringing some fried rice," Okuni added in. then she turned to me. "Naotora, what are you gonna bring?"
"I think I'll bring some bulgogi and dubukimchi or galbi or maybe all three. I haven't decided yet," I replied to her. We were all just talking for fun now. I smiled and looked at my two best friends in the entire world. What am I gonna do without you guys? Ina, you're feisty, but you will stand up for me no matter what. Okuni, you're always so calm and relaxed. You are always there to listen to my problems and help me figure out a way to get through. Guys, I'm gonna miss you so much. I looked down, feeling like crying already. We've been friends since preschool up to our sixth grade year.
"Wow, I can't believe this year is already ending. It's coming by too soon. Before we know it, we're gonna be freshmen's," Ina told us and we agreed. The year came by especially fast since I first spoke to Toshiie. I was about to turn to him when I remembered I was trying to not look at him anymore.
Just then, the door opened and in came a student. He was carrying a Yearbook. I got the feeling that it was for me, because I ordered one too and I haven't got it yet. Everyone turned to see who it was.
"Hi, I have this yearbook for Naotora Ii," he said and everyone turned to me. I smiled and got up. I walked to the student and he gave it to me. I thanked him and then he left the class. I was so happy I finally received it. Everyone went back to talking to each other. I began walking back to my desk…
Toshiie was in his seat when all of a sudden, he felt like something stabbed the back of his head and it really hurt him. He turned to see who did it. The corner of Naotora's yearbook stabbed his head.
"Ow, Naotora! You made you stupid yearbook stab my head!" he said meanly. She then turned to face him and this time, the corner of her yearbook hit scratched his forehead. He made an angry face. "Ow, stupid!"
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Toshiie!" said Naotora, flinching as she accidentally dropped the yearbook. It fell and scratched his arm once before hitting his foot.
"Ow! Stop apologizing! Gosh, every time you apologize, something bad always happens to me!" yelled Toshiie to Naotora. He bent down to pick up her yearbook as she did the same. Their heads collided together hard and they both backed up.
"Ow!" they both said in unison. Their friends began laughing at them. Naotora bent down and picked up the yearbook.
"You're seriously bad luck, Naotora. I can't wait be in high school so I won't see you anymore," Toshiie told her and she just smiled and nodded her head. He wasn't expecting reaction from her. He thought she was gonna suck in her bottom lip and look down, like she always does but this time she didn't. It made him wonder if she really doesn't care about him anymore.
"Maybe you're the bad luck in Naotora's life, Toshiie. I bet it's because you think about kidnapping her," Ina told him and he rolled his eyes.
"Stop freaken thinking I would kidnap her already! I don't have time to be a low life like that," Toshiie replied to her and Okuni was laughing a lot. She laughed the most out of them. "Shut up, Okuni. It's not even funny."
"Oh, Toshiie. I'm not laughing at that. I'm just laughing because in two years, you'll be seeing her again and people can change within two years. I'm sure she's gonna get really beautiful and you might fall deep for her. Don't say anything you'll regret later on in life," Okuni told him and he shook his head. He wondered why she would think he'll regret or anything. It's not like he even liked Naotora a lot. He turned to her and she was just drawing while smiling. He thought she would never change and in two years when he sees her again, she's still gonna be the same. There's just no way she'll change.
"I would never regret what I say," Toshiie told her as Okuni just laughed it off. The bell then rang for next period class. We all got our stuff and headed to our next class…
Friday came by really quick. I ended up cooking all three of the food I said I would make. I decided to make all of them because it was my last day in school and last day in the city. I can't believe it's my official last day here already. I seriously gotta make it last. It was gonna be lunch time and I got let out early from my class so I can drop off the food. As I was walking, I accidentally made the foil paper scratch someone. I couldn't see who it was.
"Ow, Naotora! Why are you always where I'm at? You need to stay away from me!" Toshiie said.
"Sorry, I didn't see you," I replied, turning to the side and I saw him. He was wearing a red shirt with cool graffiti on it. He looks like he's headed to Mrs. Nohime's class. "Are you going to Mrs. Nohime's class?"
"What do you think?" he asked meanly and I nodded my head. I wonder if he will help me bring one tray of the food. I looked down and then I turned to him.
"Can you help me bring one tray of food, since you're headed there too, please?" I asked him and he began walking off, not caring.
"Do it yourself, I'm not your slave," he said. He was right. I shouldn't make him carry the food. I just smiled.
"Okay, her class it just close by anyways," I replied to him and began walking too. While walking, I stepped on a cement crack and almost tripped. "Whoa." I was about to fall when someone in front of me helps me back up. "Whew, thank you."
"You're so careless. You troubled little stupid girl," Toshiie tells me. Did he save me from falling? Yeah it must be because it's always him the one who helps me out, even though he says he isn't. He takes two of my trays and begins walking on ahead. He probably is a nice guy but he seems rude to others because of how he acts towards people. It just probably takes time to see the good in him. I smiled and jogged to catch up to him, accidentally scratching his other arm with the foil paper. "Ow, Naotora!"
"Oops, sorry, Toshiie," I told him and he shook his head. He continued walking and I suddenly felt like I had butterflies in my stomach. Why am I feeling this way towards him again? I shouldn't be. We both walked into Mrs. Nohime's class and when he opened the door, the bell rang and I saw Ina and Okuni with Keiji them in the class already.
"Naotora! I was beginning to think…," Ina began and Okuni laughed.
"It's the last day of school, Ina. Let's all be nice to one another," Okuni said and Ina agreed with it. I just smiled and I went to go put the food down. Toshiie put my food down too. Our classmates began coming in and pretty soon, everyone was there.
We were all eating and having a wonderful time together one last time before we don't see each other for a while. As for me, it was the last time I was gonna see them. I'm gonna miss everyone and the city. Thinking about it brought tears to my eyes…
Toshiie was just looking around when he spotted Naotora having tears in her eyes. It made him wonder why she would be tearing up while they're having a great celebration. He concluded that she was tearing up because she wasn't gonna be seeing him anymore for two years. Suddenly, she stood on top of a chair.
"Hey, everyone, can I just say something really quick?" she said aloud and everyone turned to her. She took a deep breath. "Okay, first of all, I wanna congratulate all you eighth graders for your graduation. Second, I just wanna say I had a really great year being in this class with you guys. It was really fun and I don't think I'm ever gonna forget this year. And last of all, I wanna tell my friends a few things. Ina, you're a really great friend of mines and I'm really gonna miss you. Thanks for always sticking by my side no matter what. Okuni, thanks for being there for me when I needed a shoulder to lean on. And Mrs. Nohime, thank you for being more than a teacher to me. Thank you for being a great and wonderful big sister I wish I had." He wondered why she was speaking that way about her friends. He wondered why she didn't wait to say it when they were seniors. "You're all my friends and I wanna let you know no matter what you chose to do in the near future, know that I'll be supporting you, even if I'm not there. The reason why I'm saying this now is because today might be the last day of school for us, but it's also the last day I'm gonna be seeing you guys. I'm gonna be moving out of state and I don't know if I'll ever be coming again." Tears formed in her eyes when she spoke. He felt himself have a heavy heart when she said she was moving and she won't be coming anymore, which means in two years, he really won't be seeing her in his high school. She looked down and got down from the chair. Everyone was quiet and the air felt sad now.
"What? Naotora, you're moving? Why didn't you tell us?" Ina said, tears coming out of her eyes. Okuni had tears in her eyes too. Naotora shook her head.
"I knew that if I told you sooner, you wouldn't be able to concentrate on the exams and I don't want that for you guys," Naotora explained to Ina and Okuni. She was really sad. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you guys."
"But we were supposed to do so much stuff together. We all even promised each other," Okuni said, as them three hugged and tears began coming down their faces.
"I'm sorry," she told them. They cried softly and everyone was sad. Mrs. Nohime began crying to herself. She was sad that she wasn't gonna see one of her favorite students anymore. Naotora then wiped away her tears and smiled.
"Don't be sad. I just want everyone to have a great time. It's a potluck party. They're meant for people to be happy, okay?" she told everyone and they decided to just have a good time.
"Damn, Toshiie. You should've given her a chance. Now it's too late and she's moving on, leaving you behind. You wouldn't accept what god offered you so now he's giving it to someone else," Kiyomasa told him, laughing. Sakon was hella laughing about what Kiyomasa said.
"Hey, she's leaving, but if she were to come back, it was meant to be," Sakon added in and they laughed so much, especially Keiji.
"At least Toshiie won't be getting to plan to kidnap you anymore, Naotora," Ina told Naotora and they laughed. Toshiie shook his head. Everyone was listening to their conversations.
"When will you ever learn? I would never think about kidnapping her because she's nothing more than bad luck to me. Good thing she's moving, because she's just a stupid girl," Toshiie said, not meaning it. He only said that because he didn't want anyone to suspect he felt a bit sad that he won't be seeing her anymore.
"Me stupid? Then why is that every time I'm in some kind of trouble or need help, you're always the one coming? Who was the one who helped take me to my parent's room in the hospital? Who was the one who wiped my blood away when I got punched? Who was the one who came and helped me when the guys were running after us? Who was the one who saved me from the pair of flying scissors? Oh yeah, it was all you. Who's the stupid one now?" Naotora replied to him and everyone began laughing so much.
"Ooh! Damn, Toshiie, you got burned!" the guys' in the class were saying. He felt a bit of embarrassment. She was just laughing and then Toshiie got up. He grabbed her wrist and took her out of the classroom…
Toshiie took me to an area where no one was at. He put me against the wall and placed his hands on the wall by my shoulders. I looked down, not knowing what to do. Uh oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Nah, it's not like we're gonna see each other anymore and I was just expressing what I thought. He came down and eye leveled with me. It made me feel uncomfortable.
"What are you doing? Why'd you take me out of the class?" I asked him, trying to leave back but he pulled me back against the wall. I looked at him.
"What made you say that to everyone?" he asked me.
"Well, it's the last day I'm gonna see you and you're always calling me stupid and everything so I just decided to get back at you," I replied to him and he laughed a bit.
"So strong willed towards me now. Does that mean you've gotten over me? You no longer feel anything towards me anymore?" he questioned and I nodded my head.
"Mm hmm, I have. I have accepted reality and so I no longer like you that way," he told him, not meaning it but I sounded serious. He then half smiled at me. Gosh, he makes me so nervous when he smiles like that. Why do I feel so shaky again? Why am I feeling butterflies in my tummy again? I can feel his breathing because he was close to me.
"You sure about that, Naotora?" he asked me and I nodded my head. Unexpectedly, he came close and pressed his lips against mines! My eyes widened in shock and I gasped internally. Toshiie's kissing me! I never thought he would ever do this! What should I do? He pulls me close to him but he is still pressing his lips onto mines and hugs my back. The bell soon rang and he finally stopped. I blinked a few times, wondering if this was actually happening. "Didn't think so. Eight years Naotora. It's gonna take much longer to get over me." I was feeling an overwhelming sense of shyness. Why did he kiss me? I thought he hated me! Feeling shy of Toshiie now, I ran back to class…
Toshiie kissed her because he did kinda like her now but he wasn't gonna see her anymore. Now he doesn't have any regrets. He smiled a bit once Naotora got so shy of him and ran back to class. He knew she still liked him. He then walked back into class too…
I was running to class and once I was by the door, I stopped running. I touched my lips, still very surprised by his sudden movement. I couldn't help but kinda smile and laugh to myself. How am I gonna tell Ina and Okuni? The door swung open and out came Ina and Okuni. They turned to me.
"Oh, you're here. I was beginning to think Toshiie kidnapped you," Ina said and I began laughing. Okuni and Ina joined me in laughing too. I turned and saw Toshiie coming. I began feeling shy all over again. I looked down and sucked in my bottom lip. I can't even look at him right now. He walked past us and went inside the classroom. I tried to not think about it, but it kept playing in my head over and over again, making me smile and laugh to myself. Ina and Okuni were just looking at me.
"What's got you smiling and laughing to yourself, Naotora? Is there something we should know?" Okuni asked me, smiling. Ina and Okuni then took me off to the bathroom.
"Tell us where he took you," Ina said. There was no one in the bathroom but us.
"Well he took me to a dark area and was asking me if I no longer felt anything towards him and stuff and I said I didn't and then…," I began, trailing off.
"And then what happened?" they both asked me.
"He… Kissed me," I told them, smiling and they both gasped and smiled.
"He did?" they asked again and I smiled and nodded my head.
"You can't tell anyone about it, okay?" I told them and they nodded their heads. They promised to not tell. They were really happy for me but it's too bad I was moving too. "It sucks that I'm moving too."
"I know! You two probably had a chance together. Naotora, you have to come back here soon!" Ina exclaimed and I nodded my head. We hugged each other again and the bell rang for the next period class. We came out of the bathroom and went to get our stuff from Mrs. Nohime's class.
After school, my friends and I hung out for the last time before I officially moved. We went to bowling, eat out, and just hung out until it was eleven at night. My parents and I are leaving at three in the morning. Our parents came to pick us up and we said our final goodbyes before departing.