"We're going out with them again tonight?"
"What?" I asked.
"They called."
"And?"
"They asked."
"That's not what I mean."
Ai sat across from me, looking perplexed.
"Well what is is you mean? Lately you make no sense."
I took a deep breathe, trying to keep my anger in check.
The only thing that doesn't make sense
The only thing that is wrong
The only thing that is complicated
is you
I figured it was best to let that comment slide.
"Just because they invited us doesn't mean we have to go. Why don't we go to the movies or something."
I suggested, but my heart wasn't in it.
My heart was off somewhere, living in memories of a better time.
She puffed out a quick breath of air making a "huh" sound while simultaneously shrugging her shoulders.
"Yeah, turn them down, that's a great idea."
"Speaking of great ideas, you doing drugs is pretty high on the list."
She squinted for a second, her suprise completely visible. I myself was shocked that I had said it. It was a sudden outburst that escaped before I could even know I was thinking it. Saying something that bitting, regardless of truth was uncharecteristic for me. The look on her face nearly made me regret saying it. She almost had me appologizing.
The
"I'm sorry." was half way out before I held it back and replaced it with an
"It's true."
She was about to launch her rebuttal when the phone rang. She shook her head at me somewhat disbelievingly and stood up reaching in her pocket for her phone. I sat there, sulking, waiting for her to finnish her conversation. She hung up, walked back over, picked up her jacket and looked at me for a moment.
"You coming?"
"Yeah."
As I sit here in this alleyway, handcuffed and wet, yes I know I've mentioned this before, I can't help but picture how ridiculous that last bit was. But hey, that's how it happened. I would love to be able to rewrite it. To make up my own little happy ending and say, "Yes, that's how it happened." But it isn't. Hell I'd even like creative freedom to make me sound like I actually had something of a spine, but alas, I guess I don't.
I guess I don't...?I wonder what Masae or Asami would say if I said that, if I asked them right now. I don't have to wonder. I know the answer.
Yossie and Non were in the kitchen.
That girl's presence made me extremely uneasy. I surveyed the area and started contemplating a location to stand as far away as I could without making it blatantly obvious that I was choosing to stand as far away as I could while still being in the same room. Yossie gave a casual greeting. Actually she just looked up and nodded as if to show she acknowledged our existance. Ai walked right over to the kitchen table were Yossie and Non were sitting across from each other. She leaned over the table to look at what Yossie was examining.
"Ohhh, prrettyy." She said.
Curiosity got the better of me and I walked over. I stood a little behind Ai and looked over her shoulder.
Non was drawing...something.
The memory of that picture has grown hazy recently. I can not describe what was drawn in any sort of detail. I have the picture in my minds eye. I'm sure some of the things have been lost in the short period of time since that day, but the majority of it is intact. Still I am grasping for words. What I don't have trouble remembering is what I felt when I saw it. I distinctly remember being creeped out and thinking it was some sort of satanic picture that you hear people preaching about. You know those types that constantly say the devil is among us and using pop culture and music to get inside the youth of today? Yes, those types.
I'm stuck between creepy and terrifying. It just looked scary. Throughout the picture,which was drawn in charcoal and pen, there were vibrant splashes of red. Such a shade of red that immediately it imediately grabbed your attention and refused to let go.
I stood up straight and shifted my gaze to the wall. It was then that I started to hear a muffled conversation. Gradually it became louder and I could start picking out words. I looked around the rest of the kitchen and caught sight of Striking girl and Yaguchi entering from the one hallway.
"If we do it now we could take the rest of last months profits and distribute it amongst the accounts." The small blonde haired girl said. " I suppose we could trial run it. Split forty-five and fifty-five."
"Okay. Do that." I noticed that Striking girl was staring at me and attempted to act casual.
I was saved from my lackluster performance of 'casual' when Masae entered the kitchen from the backdoor.
" 'ey" She said getting a "hey" from Yaguchi and nods from everyone else.
She moved over to Striking girl. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" The pair left the room. With them gone I returned my attention to Non. Yossie and Ai were still sitting at the table watching her every move, completely engrossed.
"Red..." Non mumbled. I was wondering if she every brought her voice above wishper level.
"Huh?" Yossie asked.
"I'm out of red."
The three girls seemed to be frozen. The didn't speak or look at one another. After a few seconds, Non's hand reached for a razor blade that was on the kitchen table. She removed the carboard covering slightly letting the light in the kitchen hit part of the blade and spun it around with her fingers.
Yossie chuckled looking down at Non's hand.
"Well, that'd sure be an interesting conversation piece."
Ai and Yossie laughed.
I didn't.
I had no idea what that ment. I'd like to remind you of just the kind of bubble I lived in. It was stronger than a 'normal' teenagers. Most kids pick up a bunch of stuff at school, from movies, and online, but not me. I didn't know anything. It never even crossed my mind that Non was going to cut herself. Never. Seening how quick the other girls picked up on this, and even made a joke about it, just solidified my standing as the 'other one'.
Just then a girl in a school uniform entered from the same door Masae did moments ago. She had black hair that went past her shoulders a bit and was ridiculously thin. Weight was a common thread between a lot of the girls that I wouldn't pick up on until much later. My brain just didn't operate like that.
She threw her bag on a chair and then threw her body into one at the end of the table, and started to tap her hands off of the table top. Masae had returned. Striking girl did not.
"Oi, Masae!" She yelled with an accent. "Give me like five of the usual. And make it fuckin' pure."
Masae smiled.
"You can't afford five let alone five fuckin' pure."
The girl stopped taping and brought her clenched fist up. She moved her thumb causing a rather lage wad of bills to appear behind her fingers.
"What was that?" She asked mockingly.
"Where did you get that?" Masae asked with a bit of suprise in her voice.
"Daddy." She answered playfully.
Masae looked away from her and shook her head, seemingly unimpressed.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Of course not Masi." At this point I thought Masae was going to walk over to her and kill her with her bare hands, but suprisingly she remained where she was. "You know me, I wouldn't joke about ridiculously large sums of money."
The girls accent was making it hard for me to decipher bits and peices of what she was saying, but I managed to follow.
"You're such a joke."
"Harsh. If your daddy owned two wards you'd hit him up for money and you know it."
"I'd earn it on my own like I always have and you still wouldn't understand." Masae paused and looked her in the eye. "You know if you didn't keep fucking up you'd be able to have your own money. You're gonna mess up and have no options. There won't be anyone there to bail your dumbass out one day and you're going to wish you listened to me."
"True. So let's change that. Did you listen to me and talk to them about it?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I am not wasting anyone else's time with your stupid fucking half baked idea. It's bad enough I had to listen to it." By this time Masae had moved over to the girl. She put her one hand on the table and the other on the back of her chair, leaning over her and looking her in the eye. I wasn't in the chair but I was uncomfortable enough for everyone in the room. I didn't particularly like confrontations and ones that involved swearing were even worse.
"What the hell? You tell me to start making something of myself and then you shoot down whatever I come up with? This is bullshit."
It happened so quickly I wasn't even sure it really had until I heard the loud clap and saw the girl's face turned to one side.
When Masae spoke her tone was something I had never heard before. I had never heard such a combination of anger and control in one place. Her voice was low.
"You'll listen to what I say and keep your place."
Everyone in the kitchen was looking at them except Non. She continued looking at her drawing.
"What does she want to do?"
Everyone except Non turned to were the voice came from. Striking girl was leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed, her face expressionless.
"She wants to start pushing yaba."
Striking girl tilted her head to one side. There was a slight pause.
"The hallucinations would be to strong. You're talking about highschool and university, do speed instead and push it during exam season."
It didn't matter what she was saying to me, it was how she was saying it. Her voice had a unique quality to it.
The girl bowed her head deeply and said "Yes."
"We'll talk later Tanaka" Masae said." Are you ready?" She asked Striking girl, who nodded. "Well then, let's go."
Hearing those words, I felt my stomach drop.
----
not happy with it but it'll need to do.
Topic: break (Read 9315 times)