Does it still hurt?" The little boy asked the little girl who scraped her knee on a pointed rock in the playground.
"Yes." The girl answered as she try to peek on the boy's face.
"But you're amazing you know? You didn't cry. I would have done so if i were you." The boy said as he stood up and wiped the dirt off his knees.
"Cry? What's a cry?" She asked. She also heard that word from his father days ago. They were at some clinic and Doctors are running some test on her. When the test was done and the doctor is talking to her parents,she saw her mother's face with droplets of liquid falling down and when she asked his father about it, he said her mother was crying.
She looked at the boy who was now staring at her..She couldn't see his face clearly because of his cap. The boy was about to open his mouth when a lady suddenly called his name.
"Akira." The lady waved her hands. "Let's go home."
The boy looked at her. "You're a weird one. My mother is calling for me, i must go home." He said. The girl just stared blankly at him and nodded.
"Where's your Mom?" The boy asked, roaming his eyes around. Reluctant to leave a girl alone. "Akira,come on. Father is waiting for us." His mother called again. He looked at the girl and then his mother and back to the girl. The girl remained silent, her gaze now fixated onto his mother.
"Listen." He said and the girl's attention was once again onto him.
"What's your name?" He asked the girl
"Konan." The girl answered. He nodded."If it still hurts just sing this song."
"Pain,pain go away
Naughty Konan don't want you to stay
Don't come back stay away
Pain pain go away."
The boy then turned his back and ran to his mother after saying that. The girl just watched his back. She might not have seen his face but she remembered his unique orange hair.
________
Ring! Ring!
The continous ringing of her phone pulled Konan out of her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes and reached the phone in the lamp table near her bed and turned the alarm off.
She glumly sat in her bed for a few minutes before walking to her bathroom. She stared at the mirror and saw her sleepy reflection staring back to her. She turned the faucet on and splashed cold water onto her face. When she looked at the mirror,her face looked a refreshed with water dripping from it. She reached for the towel and gently dried her face with it. She then proceeded to fix her intense bed hair. Since her hair is long,it gets tangled when she tosses in her bed.
"Konan, come down and eat breakfast. You don't want to be late for school right?" She heard her mother's voice downstairs. With one last stroke of her hair, she put the hairbrush down and went out of the bathroom. She glanced at her messy bed and the clock above her. 7:30. Her class starts at 8:15.
She still got enough time to tidy up her bed. She already readied her things for school last night after all.
"Good morning my daughter." Her dad smiled and sipped his black coffee carefully as not to spill and stain his white polo.
"Good morning Dad, Mom." She said and sat down her chair. Her mom gave her a quick glance and smiled before returning her attention to the bento she's making.
"Thank you for the food." She muttered before picking up her chopsticks and started eating.
"Is Aoi still asleep?" Her mom asked from behind the kitchen aisle. Konan just silently ate her food.
"Please wake him up after you finished eating Konan dear." Her mother said as she put her bento on the table. Konan chewed and swallowed her food before answering. " Okay, mother."
"Aoi, Aoi. Wake up." She gently shaked her little brother's shoulder to wake him up. The little boy's eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Big sis,good morning." Her brother groggily jumped out of bed and went out of his room. Konan followed him shortly after folding his duvet and arranging his pillows.
Konan took a good look at herself in the mirror. Her long black hair is reaching her waist with her bangs reached past through her eyebrows. Her lashes were long and black. Her orbs is also black. Her soft white skin and pink supple lips. Her face void of any expression. She looks dull. Her school uniform compliments her white complexion. A black long sleeves with red necktie and black skirt not reaching her knee. Her knee socks are also black as well as her school shoes. Her palette is basically just black and white. With one last look in the mirror,she grabbed her school bag and exited her room.
"Don't forget your lunch." Her mother said when they met halfway down the stairs. She nodded. After grabbing the bento box in the table she jogged towards the door and opened it.
"I'll be going now."
"Okay." Her mother yelled from his brother's room.
"Have fun." Said her father. She nodded her head and gently closed the door. When she walked past their gate she met their friendly elderly neighbor Mrs.Hajime who greeted her a good morning. She returned the greeting and continue walking to her school. They have a car bur she prefers walking since her school is not that far.
The pathway to her school is lined up with wisteria and since its in full bloom today,she couldn't help but to stop and looked at the purple flower gently swaying in the morning breeze. The fragrance of the flower is also pleasant to smell as she took a deep breath and let the air fill her lungs. She likes wisteria.
She continued walking towards the gate along with other students. The chattering resonated in the open air. Boys talking about their winter adventures and girls,well about girly things.
"Hey, did you know? A student is transferring here in our school today."
"Yes, i heard it's a boy. And handsome too."
The whispers reached Konan's ears as she put her shoes in the locker. Not that she cares about the transferee. She closed her locker door accidentally loud which startled the girls. They looked at her and immediately apologize then hurriedly walked away. She wasn't surprised by the reaction since she's used to it. She's dubbed as the Heartless Queen and even freshmen are afraid of her. She just proceeded to her classroom.
Time had passed since she sat on her chair and the homeroom teacher is not around yet. Some of her classmates formed clusters and gossip about things and she just sit in her chair and listen to them. That's how she spent every morning whenever the teacher isn't around. But not today, for the memory of her early dream this morning flashed back in her mind. It was a childhood memory and she seldom dreams but whenever she do, it's the only thing she dreams about
"I wonder why I had that dream again." She asked herself at the back of her mind. Suddenly the door opened and the homeroom teacher stepped inside. All of them stood up,those who went talking to their friends hurried back to their own seats.
"Good morning Mr. Tanaka." They greeted their teacher altogether and bowed.
"Good morning." The teacher returned their greetings. "Take your seats."
Shoving the questions about her dream out of her mind, Konan straightened her back and diverted her full attention to the teacher.
"I have someone to introduce to you today." He said and walked towards the door. "Please come on in." He said to someone outside the door and went back to the front. He picked a chalk and started writing on the board. Just then a tall guy walked in.
"His name is Nakajima Rui. Starting today, he'll be your classmate." Whispers once again filled the classroom. Mostly from the girls. The teacher turned to the guy. "Introduce yourself." He said.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Nakajima Rui. I transferred here from Tokyo. I hope to get along with you all." He introduced himself. Konan just stared at him as he speak. He roamed his gaze around and it caught Konan's. She immediately averted her eyes since her Mother said someone might think its rude if they caught her staring at them.
"Okay. You can sit next to Ms. Fujioka." She heard the teacher mentioned her family name. She didn't bother to look and just decided to sketch at the back of her notebook. She felt someone sit at the empty desk beside her moments later.
"Hi. I'm Nakajima Rui." The guy said and Konan had no choice but to look at him. She studied his features. His got black hair like hers but his eyes are brown. His nose is pointed and he's got white teeth since he is smiling at her and his teeth shows. He was offering his hand at her. Konan stared at the hand briefly before accepting it.
"Konan." She said as they handshaked.