I woke up on Monday at 5 am with a bang. The alarm was brutally loud. I had set it the night before. I didn't want to be late for school and what's worse, I had to take the bus.
While I still lived with my parents they would drive me to and fro from school every day. Well, that is in the past now. They didn't have any rights over me anymore.
I gave a loud sigh as I placed my feet on the floor. Then I stared at the ceiling. Trying to find my purpose in life.
How do I explain I wanted to go to school and not still want to go to school? Life is too complicated for teenagers. Honestly.
I heard a knock on my door. "Come in," I said absentmindedly. In came a casually dressed Ryan "You're not dressed up" he asked.
"My classes don't start till 8 am so I still got a lot of time," I replied.
He walked up to my bed and sat down beside me "I have classes by 6 am so I have to leave now. You're so lucky." he said.
I wondered what was so lucky about me. I was squatting in his apartment and he still called me lucky? This is absurd.
"You can have cereal for breakfast" he continued "They're in the cupboards. For your lunch, I packed a bento for you, and when you get back you can microwave yesterday's dinner or get something on your way back from the convenience store"
Now I was motivated to go to school "Thank you so much. Let me get ready" I said as I jumped on my feet.
He gave a loud chuckle. "I'll be off now" and he left.
I decided to text Mia that I'd be coming to school. I'm sure she already knew about my mess. She didn't text me back. I knew I'd meet her at school so it didn't bother me much.
Afterward, I got out of my pajamas. That took me over three minutes. Then I had a long bath. Twenty minutes long. I wasn't to blame. The water was just too therapeutic. Each drop that collided against my skin seemed to lessen the burden in my heart.
I got out and toweled me dry. Then I proceeded to do my makeup. I didn't want to appear too fancy. So I just applied some powder and lipgloss. "That's atta girl" I complimented myself cause why not.
The same went for my clothes. I wanted to give others the "I'm plain" kind of vibes. So, I opened my pants drawer and got out a pair of black cargo pants. Then I also took out a big gray shirt. Lest I forget to say, my school is a public school so we don't have a uniform.
For my shoes, I went with a pair of kicks. Best to be comfortable and all.
When I decided I was done dressing up, I strutted out of my room for breakfast. He had Rice grains available. My favorite. I opened the fridge and got out a keg of milk.
I also took out the Tupperware full of strawberries. Cereals were never perfect without fruits. Very important.
Breakfast is done. I grabbed my school bag I had packed the same night before and said my goodbyes to the empty house.
On the way to the train station, I passed by the convenience store "Good morning" Mrs. Enley said and I waved at her. She sure came to work early. She sure did.
From the train station, I found myself walking through the school entrance. It was just as I had remembered it. I gave a deep sigh and hit myself across the cheeks. "Ready or not, here I come," I said in a bit to encourage myself.
I entered my classroom and sat at my desk. Nothing had changed. Everyone was being their normal selves. Bet they hadn't had tragic occurrences like me?
"Girlfriend" Mia screamed as she placed her hands on my desk "I am extremely sorry I couldn't text you back. Dad said you're a bad girl," she said.
"Do you believe that," I asked partly for some validation from her.
"Even if you're a bad girl we'll stay together for life" she taunted reassuring me of our friendship.
What would I have done without Mia in my life? I had no friends. Immediately after school, I'd rush out because my dad or mom would be waiting at the car park for me. Now, all that has come to an end. And was never going back.
Our homeroom teacher came in. She is a very young lady. She is also very outgoing and unifying. She informed us of the midterms we had coming up.
I turned over to Mia to see the expression on her face. She had turned black with fear. I almost pitied her but then remembered she spent almost all her time chatting, talking to guys older than her, and managing a relationship advice website on the Internet. If she didn't ask me I wouldn't help her.
Immediately after homeroom, a tear-stained-eyed Mia crept to my desk "If I am to have remedial classes this term. I'm going to have all my devices confiscated" she wailed.
"You just have to settle down and read," I said.
"I do read it's just that sometimes… No, most of the time the words slip through my brain" she complained.
I had no choice now. I have to help her. "Fine but it's gotta be home study ok," I told her.
She nodded vigorously "By the way I wanted to ask, where do you live now?" she asked.
"Remember the blond-haired college student from the mixer, I live with him," I said.
Her eyes brightened in excitement. It was obvious she had a lot of questions to ask me. "Can we do the study session at his place then" she finally said. Ehh. What was she thinking? What was she planning? This was not part of my plans. I stared at her and gave her a bleak smile "I'll ask him first then inform you later" I said. She was hyper for the rest of the school day.
During the lunch break, I took out the bento Ryan had prepared for me. As soon as I opened it Mia lurked around me. I gave her a piece of octopus-shaped hot dogs and some rice. Ryan is such a homely boy I thought. I ate alone.
Classes resumed immediately after and they were mostly revisions of what had been taught earlier in the term. And that's how the school day finished.
I took the bus to the convenience store and got into the workers' changing room. Got changed and immediately went to work. The customers were nice and friendly and Mrs. Entley complimented everything I did.
Ryan came in later to pick me up. He asked about my classes and how I was coping. He was just too caring.
He also agreed that Mia could come over to study. "What year in college are you?" I asked.
"First year," he replied."I'm a Medical student too at Kyoto University".
Kyoto University is one of the best universities in Japan and they rarely admit students. "I'm going to join you in a few years," I said with confidence "Wait for me".
He gave a loud laugh. "I'll be waiting but don't make me wait for long. I can get impatient,".
From his tone, he thought I was joking. If only he knew I was being very serious right now. We got home and ate microwaved dinner. His cooking was splendid as usual.
That night I studied a great deal. And I planned to do so on a routine basis. Ryan had become my educational role model. If only he knew how much he's affected my life now for the better.
I remembered my older sister, Akayuki during my study session and called her. Her phone rang and she answered "Ah, Yuki what's wrong?" she asked over the phone.
I explained my situation to her and at a point, she started crying. We had always been close as children and the bond only tightened as we grew older.
I told her about what our parents were doing and her tone became one full of disgust and spite. We spoke for over two hours.
She told me about how she recently acquired a boyfriend. He was a restaurant owner. I told her all about Ryan and she advised me to be very careful. I told her Ryan was a gentleman and he would do no such thing to me.
All the same, she kept advising me to be energy-conscious. As things may not always seem as they appear. How I wish I could see her. I missed my sister.
At exactly forty-five minutes past one, I dozed off at my reading table. It hadn't been there that morning, I have an inkling Ryan had placed it there but he had been at school the whole time. Confusing.
By the time I had woken up my whole body ached over. Despite that, I got ready for school. Kyoto University was the goal now and I was more than determined to achieve it.
I wanted to be closer to Ryan at all costs.