In the midst of the hot conditions in the van, I was reading my comic book. Despite the fact that the windows could not be lowered, I sat in the back seat with the door open. My father was about an hour ago, when I last waited for him. He wanted me to be present when he introduced me to this individual. It seemed at first like some sort of "bring your child to work" day.
From the airport, there is a beeping sound as the door opens and closes. In the area, I could hear people walking around, entering and leaving, people cheering, and cars cruising.
"How was your flight?"
"It was alright, sir. Thanks for asking."
Upon walking up to the car, I could hear dad conversing with the individual. I glanced over my book and observed him talking with a young boy. A moderately built, well-mannered, brown-haired boy. I noticed that the guy's face lit up with a massive smile when Dad pointed to me. When he saw me, he dropped his luggage and ran towards the car.
"Kiya, you look totally different..." he blurts out as my father pulls on his shirt to silence him.
As soon as I see him approaching, my face turns red. "What the hell?" I thought to myself.
"Shu," my dad replied, and gave him a strange look. "Kiya is a reserved individual who values her space."
He quickly returned to picking up his suitcase after becoming embarrassed. He then glares at me sternly, as if he did something foolish.
I looked at him sideways and squinted. "Do I know you?" I asked. I watched Shu look down at his suitcase and follow my dad to the back of the van with his suitcase. When Dad opened the truck, Shu helped him place the suitcase in the back of the vehicle. The back trunk door slams shut, shaking the van. Shu sat in the passenger seat as I watched Dad enter the driver's seat. In response, Dad turned to me and stated that I may not remember him because it has been so long. After turning around, he started the van. For a moment, I stared at the boy before closing the door.
The strange boy glanced at me occasionally as we were returning home. As I reached for the comic book, I resumed reading where I left off. Then I remembered a time when I was playing musical chairs and one of the students pushed me out of the way. Scratched out was a cloudy image of a boy's face. He reached out his hand to assist me, but I smacked it away. As humiliated as I was, I ran out of the classroom. What was behind me didn't matter.
There was a bulb that lit up. I slumped a little in my seat and sighed, but not disrespectfully. "Shu Halls, you were a transfer student in elementary school and spent one or two years there before moving away again." Nothing but one sentence came out of his mouth. It's my nickname, Shu, but let's keep it that way." He turns back to face the front with a smile.
Once we arrived at the house, my mother immediately said hello to Shu, as if she already knew him. This did catch me off guard because I never knew his name or why he was so close to my parents. Trying to come up with names that fit his face, I make up random names in my head.
His smile remained on his face as he gathered his suitcase.