maikeatoot: Once again, thank you very much. ^.^
Estrea: Dang. I have a habit of writing stuff that relates very closely to people in a bad way
But you'll get most of your questions answered in this chapter.
Risa_ai: *Holds out box of band-aids* I'm sorry T.T
I like this one
On with the chapter!
Chapter 5“I’m gay, dad.” Yossy blurts out, and I break my neck trying to see in the kitchen. She didn’t…
“Pardon, Yossy. I didn’t hear you.” Dad says, chuckling while he pokes a finger experimentally into his ear. He’s reading the paper, sipping on some orange juice, oblivious to his daughter’s deathly afraid expression.
Yossy quietly slips a tomato slice in her mouth, working up courage to repeat herself. I give her a thumbs-up from the living room and her lips curve into a small smile. It’s barely noticeable, but I know it’s there.
“I’m gay, dad.” She says, more calmly and coolly than the first time.
Good job, Yossy! Now we can-
The smile on my face melts in a worried expression.
The paper in dad’s hands is laid down on the table. His fingers, thick and large, barely stay contained in the gold wedding band on his left hand. They bounce up and down, tapping a slow rhythm against wood.
Yossy stares at her cleats, still dressed in her football uniform, as she waits for him to say something.
“Rika-chan, isn’t it?” he says, looking my direction, but looking through, not at.
Yossy’s head sinks down further.
The air is thick with tension. It’s suffocating me and I’m not sure how long I can hold my breath.
“What about you?”
I jump up in surprise, staring like a deer caught in the headlights.
Run.
I’m having flash backs of all the bullies I faced through my life. I’ve always ran, haven’t I?
Run.It’s hard to breathe. I’m panicking, standing in an unlit living room, all in the dark.
“Answer him, Squirt.” Yossy says quietly, cutting through my thoughts.
I don’t know what to say. Am I gay? I’m not sure.
There is that girl in math…
It’s just admiration.
No it’s not! You like her and you know it!
Do not!
RUN.Do too!
Shut up!
You shut up!
“
Gaki.”
“I don’t know…” I mumble, staring at the carpet, as my cheeks begin burning.
Without a word, Dad gets up, pushes his chair in, and leaves the house. His car starts up, then it’s gone.
Neither of us move until we can’t hear the car anymore. Even then, I can’t move.
My heart’s beating too fast. I’m going to faint if I don’t start breathing, but I’m…afraid.
Unacceptance. Again.
Geeki, little geeki, such a weakling…
My momma and poppa didn’t want me...
The floor is…spinning and opening up a hole into darkness.
And I’m falling now.
“GAKI!”
--------------
“..on.”
Clap
ClapI groan, feeling the dizzying pain of a headache coming on as I stir.
“Come on. Get up.”
“Yossy?” I mumble, disoriented and unable to open my eyes. I feel her hand slap my chubby cheeks again. She goes in again, but my hand snatches out and grabs her hand.
“Good reflexes, but get up. We need to get ready.” Yossy says, disappearing from the side of my bed.
“What time is it?” I yawn, rubbing my temples as I try to guess the time from the light shining through the blinds.
“Too late for school.” Is the simple reply given to me.
I shake my head, dispelling some of the effects of the headache crashing through me, “Dad’s gonna be mad.”
“Dad never came home. You wouldn’t know though, you passed out last night as soon as he left. What happened?” Yossy asks, tossing a couple pills at me as I brush past her.
“I panicked.” I say, frowning, because it was much more than that. It was painful really.
“So, you don’t know if you’re straight, bi, or what?”
I cringe and swallow the pills dry. “I’m positive I am that way.. I just.. don’t like labels.” I mutter, grabbing a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt to change into.
I’m sure it was just how Dad reacted to everything. I was afraid, not to mention heartbroken, of losing the only father figure in my life.
“I wonder if I’m to blame for that.” Yossy grins, tossing one of her t-shirts at me.
I dodge it and shake my fist at her. “
One of these days, Yossy. One of these days!” I shout in my best English.
“
Pow! Right in the kisser!” She shouts back, lunging at me, as I run out of the room.
----------------
I carefully lay my letter and sharpie on the desk, straightening up everything else before I leave. I’m satisfied with how simple it is and decide to head out now before Yossy finds me in here, but something catches my eye.
A picture of Yossy and I at Christmas time.
This was almost two years ago…
I remember that day. I was so unhappy when Yossy picked me up from class, but that all changed when she showed me the sled. There’s a big hill across the street from our house, so we climbed up to the top of it and Yossy, Rika, and I sled down it. I don’t even know how many times we went down, but at some point, dad came outside and took a picture.
I look around, find a near duplicate of the picture and replace it for the one in the frame. Hopefully, Dad will understand why I took this one. It was back when things were much simpler.
More happy.
Sighing at all the memories I have here, I walk out and head to the garage to meet Yossy.
-------------
“Rika isn’t going to school?” I ask, when I notice her leaning against a tree, as we pull into the park parking lot.
“I asked her to meet us here, for a final,” she pauses for a long time and chooses not to continue. I’m fine with that; I don’t want to hear it either.
We both get out, opening and shutting our doors at the same time. I sit on the hood of her car and just watch.
Rika looks up, starts to tear at the sight of Yossy, and takes off at a sprint into her arms.
I smile at the scene and watch a bird in the distance sitting in a nest. I don’t want to be rude and stare. There’s some sniffles, a couple ‘I missed you’s, and lots of patting on the back. I’m sure they’re kissing over there, but I don’t want to see. It’s too early for me to be scarred.
Oh,
wait. Too late for that one.
I lost my innocence when I walked in on Yossy making out with her pillow. I cringe at that memory.
“R-Rika… There’s another reason I asked you to come here.” Yossy stutters, which is oddly uncharacteristic of her. I wonder what’s going on—
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I can’t help but grin at the sound of one shocked Charmy staring at my awesome older sister, currently on one knee with a gold ring in her hands.
I’m so happy right now! I think my cheeks are going to burst!
“Will you marry m-me—er, well, wait for me to get a better place to live for me, you, and the kid, and then get married?” Yossy asks. I smirk.
“Come on, Yossy! You know she’s going to say yes!” I shout, grinning smugly at their blushing expressions. They must have forgotten I was back here; that’ll teach them.
“Of course; the answer is yes a million times. I hope this didn’t cost you much—it’s gorgeous!”
“It was mother’s.” Yossy whispers, slipping the band around her soon-to-be bride.
Rika beams a smile brighter than the sun, pulling Yossy up into a back breaking hug, and then, she does the oddest thing. She
slaps Yossy.
“ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” I shout before I can stop myself. Dang my reaction queen instincts.
“Yeah, what the Squirt said!” Yossy says, rubbing her reddening cheek with a sour expression.
“That’s for calling me Easter Island when we met when we were children!” Rika exclaims, punching Yossy in her arm again. “Oh, you’re asking for it, you better run!” Yossy warns, bending down to retie her shoes and give Rika a head start.
“KYAHHHHH~! You wouldn’t hurt your wife!” Rika screams, as her form becomes smaller and smaller in the park.
“Umm.. Yossy, you better get going. She’s kinda fast.” I advise, and with an exasperated nod, Yossy is sprinting after her.
Ahhhhh. 16 and engaged. That’s amazing isn’t it? To have already found your partner for life and started to make it a permanent bond.
There I go again with my poetic-ness.
Wait a minute, why am I still sitting here? I wanna run!
“WAIT UP YOSSY!”
----------------
I stir quietly, attempt to stretch, only to run into the floor mats. My head lolls over onto my left shoulder, and I blink in an effort to remove the cloudiness of sleep from my brain. My throat contracts painfully from thirst and I hiss in pain when a rather bright highway light flashes as we drive by.
“Hey, sleeping beauty.” Yossy greats, not taking her eyes off the road, as I finally decide to sit up.
I don’t say anything, staring blankly at the dial on the radio.
“You got a little drool on your cheek, sis.” She continues from my sleepy silence, and I reach up and rub my sleeve against the wet spot. Once I’m sure I got it all,
I rub my face up and down in an attempt to make myself more alert.
“Here, have some water.”
I snatch the bottle from her hand; it’s probably my fastest reaction since I woke. Greedily, I guzzle down the cool liquid, rubbing at my throat in hopes my throat will go back to normal.
“How long have I been asleep?” I cringe at how groggy my voice sounds and clear my throat.
“Since…noon maybe.” Yossy replies, flicking on the turn signal.
“Twelve hours? I’ve been out for twelve HOURS?” I ask, jaw dropping at the thought.
“Not twelve straight hours. You woke up earlier telling me how you’ve never P.I.T.S, but you managed to do it today, because ‘it was just the right time’.” Yossy chuckles, slapping the wheel comically, while I sit with the utmost confusion etched on my face.
“P.I.T.S?” I ask in disbelief. What is P.I.T.S?
“Peeing in the shower. Haha, I know! That was my face too when you started talking! It was hilarious!”
I blush and find an interesting building to stare at outside my window. No one was supposed to know…
“Don’t be ashamed. Everyone does it—think about it, you’re saving water and helping the planet!” Yossy jokes, reaching over to give me a painful slap on the back.
“Ha. Ha. Ha. You’re hilarious.” I say sarcastically, but I’m smiling regardless. We both relax, more than happy to be in each other’s company. I start poking at the handle on the door.
I’m really happy to have Yossy in my life. Rika too. And daddy as well…
Rika was my first friend, not counting Yossy. She always talked to me; made sure I was well and often gave me acting advice. Of course, I couldn’t help but get in a few chin jokes over the last two years; now that was a sight to see—an angry ‘Charmy’ chasing Yossy and I all over the town.
With that incident of course, came the close call of Rika’s mother being at the same mall we were after we got Rika to calm down. I ended up being the hero of the moment using old military…
I tense up a little at the opening of the wounds that never healed the right way.
Am I ready to relive that?
No. Not yet.
I let out a strangled sigh, placing my face into my hands.
“Does it have to do with what I think it is?”
I nod, “How’d you know?”
“It’s written all over your face. What’s the worst part?” Yossy asks, and I feel a lot better since I don’t have to actually tell it. She already knows the story.
“Him.” I answer simply, glaring at my reflection. Go away.
“Put it into the back of your mi-“
“It’s hard not to when I look in the mirror! This isn’t my face, it’s his!” I shout, rudely cutting my sister off, but I’m in a ‘screw everything’ mood.
“Gaki, that’s your face. It’s not your biological dad’s.” Yossy replies, perfectly calm at the wheel; a face covered by a expressionless mask, save for a quirked eyebrow. I admire that about her.
“I can’t help the way I feel, Yossy…” I trail off, feeling miserable with myself. I wish I could run right now. Running helps me so much. It clears my head.
My legs begin bouncing up and down, taking turns supporting each other, then finally stomping beats into the floor. I probably have a small case of ADHD, or maybe it’s dwelling on the past that does this to me, but it’s awful when it happens. Some part of me has to be moving, whether it’s my eyes or my toes.
“That is the one thing I can’t get over about you.” Yossy chuckles, glancing over at me for a moment.
“What?” I ask flatly, sitting on my hands.
“You go from a kid that’s upset, or even mad at the world, into some happy, hyper active teenager in less than five minutes!”
“Well…” I think for a minute for a comeback, “Well, you go from some cool football player to a sucker for long hair, brown eyes, a cute nose, and a HUMONGUS chin!”
“Oh my god…” Yossy whispers, shocked expression turning into a grin. We share a moment’s gaze into each other’s eyes and burst into uncontrollable laughter. After so much laughing, it grows painful, and with every breath I take, I can feel my bladder screaming in agony.
Eventually, my loud cackles turn into me rolling around my seat with no sound coming out, but my mouth moving like crazy. I don’t know why that’s so funny, but I start to cry. I have no idea how Yossy is holding up, but I do hear a couple snorts.
Finally, I regain my composure, taking deep breaths and fanning my eyes to calm myself. Yossy sighs and grins, switching her left hand out for her right hand on the steering wheel.
“But you know, I dig that about her. It’s sexy.” Yossy says, the utmost seriousness etched on her face.
I give her a ‘Are you serious?’ look and she grins.
“Pfffft…”
“
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
The poor people who were driving next to us… Never underestimate how loud two sisters can be when they’re laughing.
-----------------
The world is upside down, then normal, then back to upside down. I let it stay there for a while.
“Man, I really regret give you any of that Mountain Dew.” Yossy says, watching me do another cartwheel into a hand stand.
“Whatever~.” I sing, staring at the people rushing to the bathroom at the rest stop. We had to stop not too long after I woke up, because I was getting a little too antsy.
So, Yossy “unleashed the beast” in me and let me mess around in the grassy areas.
I wonder, can I do a back flip? How do you do that anyways? Isn’t it like—
BoomOw. Not like that. Most
definitely not like that.
“Bakaaaaa.” Yossy says, slapping my forehead, as I lay (painfully I might add) on my back.
I lurch upright, rubbing my spine, and swipe at Yossy’s hand. She slips away with ease and takes a safer position from a distance. I shrug, not worth the effort, and go back to cartwheeling.
“Where are we going?” I ask, kicking my legs all over the place as I jump out of my cartwheel.
“Tokyo.”
“Tokyo? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” I shout in disbelief, waving my arms frantically. How are we going to survive there? Yossy doesn’t even have a job!
“Well,” Yossy fumbles in her jacket pocket for a neatly folded piece of paper, unfolds it, and holds it out for me to read.
“G-Gatas B-Bril…brilhantes playing contract? As in…
THE Gatas Brilhantes soccer team that's forming in Tokyo?”
“Looks like I’m getting back into soccer after all.” Yossy says, smirking at my shocked expression.
Eventually, it wears off and I grin at the thought of Yossy stealing the ball from some unsuspecting opponent.
“Does that mean we’re going to have a nice place to live already? What about Rika?” I rattle off my questions in rapid fire succession, staring in the direction I think home is. I miss that Easter Island statue already… I can only imagine how Yossy feels, that’s her fiancé.
“I guess I wasn’t thinking about all that earlier. They might have a place for us to stay, if not, I’m sure we’ll find something. As for Rika… she’ll come when she’s ready to come.” Yossy adds, folding her hands into each other, as she leans against the hood of her car.
I watch a couple of semi’s passing by and wave at a few of them.
“How does it feel to be in love?”
“Ne, it seems like you asked me that just yesterday.” Yossy chuckles, as I plop beside her and copy her hands.
“I’ve asked you that before?” I yawn, passing a hand through my hair. It’s grown a little too long for my liking.
“You don’t remember? It was the day Rika kissed me.”
“No. I don’t remember that at all.” I sigh, massaging the area between my eyebrows. I feel another headache coming on.
“To answer your question, some people get different feelings when they’re in love. For me, it makes me feel…” her eyes flutter shut and her cheeks puff out, “I forget all the bullying I go through. I feel like I could run forever, which I swear you can do. Anyways, it gives me the motivation I need to make something out of myself. I have to make Rika happy and proud of me as well. When I’m with Rika, I forget all the pain and suffering I went through and… yeah.”
“Lucky…” I mumble unintentionally, and before I can blink, Yossy punches me in the arm, knocking me halfway across the parking lot. Okay, little exaggerated there, but still! That was a pretty dang painful punch!
“BAKA! Do you realize how incredibly lucky you are? You act incredibly well, you sing like an angel, and I swear you have wings for feet! Don’t even get me started on how you write either!”
I blush at her compliments, but my eyes bug out of my head at her last comment, “YOU READ MY ENGLISH ASSIGNMENTS!? ARE YOU SER-“ before I can finish my sentence, Yossy slaps a hand over my mouth.
“You and your mouth, kid.” She mutters, and I voice my opinion from behind her hand, making sure to coat it in an extra trail of slobber.
“Gross!” Yossy shouts, yanking her hand away with a noticeable trail of saliva following.
I stick my tongue out and let out an evil cackle, "Payback!"
----------------
I was so sure I was looking at an angel right now. The clouds parted and a golden light was shining through. I hear harps and holy bells ringing; I swear I’m not making this up.
“Hi there, my name’s Aya. Are you excited to be here?” the older girl introduced herself, squatting down to my level so she could see into my eyes. She must be related to someone on the team somehow.
I can’t help but give a goofy grin and nod many times. She sounds so sweet and nice~.
“That’s good to hear. What’s your name?” Aya asks, tilting her head to the side, making light brown locks cascade onto her bare shoulder.
“Gaki.” I sigh, still grinning like no tomorrow. Oh, if only Yossy saw me now. It’s too bad she left me to practice with her new teammates a little while ago. However, God seemed to like me enough, and now I’m with Aya~.
“Brat? That’s your real name?” Aya asks again (probably taking the literal translation), scooting onto the bleachers beside me.
“Risa. My last name’s Niigaki.” I explain, watching Yossy make an extremely good pass. I’ll have to compliment her on that one later.
“How cute! Some people gave me the nickname Ayaya a while back. Ah, but enough of me, you're Yossy’s little sister aren’t you?”
I nod and yawn. I feel like running again.
“That’s so cute! Are you living here from now on, just you and Yossy?” Aya questions, turning to watch the Gatas running up and down the field again. Lucky dogs…
“Mhm. I don’t know where we’re staying though.” I scratch my head and allow myself a fleeting moment of worrying. Where are going to stay? Yossy did say we might end up staying here. This is all new to me, sort of anyways, and I've never been heading somewhere with no idea of how I'm going to survive. Then there's school. I'll be in 9th, and it's safe to say Yossy isn't going to make me finish up what little school I have left by enrolling me in junior high.
“You could always stay with Mikitty and I! Well, it’s more me than anyone else. Miki is always at practice, and I’m sure Yossy will be too. So, it can be just us two!” Aya exclaims, holding her hand out for high five, and I respond a little too enthusiastically.
YES! I get to stay with Aya! Wait, that’s if Yossy allows…SHE BETTER ALLOW IT.
“Ano, who’s Mikitty?” I ask, putting a finger to my lips in thought as I scan the field.
“Mikitty is—“
“Surprise!”
I jump as a last minute reaction and dive under the bleachers in surprise, as a girl dressed in a Gatas jersey slips her hand under Aya’s skirt. I blink in disbelief and watch this mystery girl let out a high pitched cackle, withdraw her hand, then disappear back onto the field as fast she appeared.
Is that girl… a ninja?
I glance over at Aya’s blushing face and watch it change from shock, anger, a little happiness, and then exasperation. I think… she
is a ninja.
“Mikitty is a grope monster.” Aya mumbles, pulling frantically at the hem of her skirt.
My face freezes in the utmost horror as I poke my head over the bleachers to watch said girl latch onto my sister. I give Aya a pleading look. She
can't be her. Why does she even have the nickname of a cut animal!?
“Remind me to never leave you alone with her. It isn’t safe.” Aya continues, still caught in a blushing daze.
I nod as best I can from my position on the ground, “Please don’t.”