After all those years, Sakki still did not know why she was friends with Midori Hiroko. They were polar opposites; one the queen bee, the other an outcast; one positive, the other negative; one unique and quirky, the other a shapeshifter forgetting her own face. They were different but similar in so many ways.
The class was going to start soon. Still a few more minutes. Sakki looked out the windows and watched as the daily 8. 20 train zipped past the cityscape. However, the sound of muffled footsteps approaching deterred her from appreciating the quiet homeliness of Yokosuka city.
It was Hiroko. Funny how people just show up the moment you start thinking of them.
‘Sakki-chan, can I borrow your Science homework?’ she pleaded. Sakki groaned, fishing her bag for the book and slapping it onto Hiroko’s hands. Hiroko scurried towards her seat and started jotting down the answers, twirling a strand of hair absentmindedly while doing so.
At the end of class, Matsuda-sensei handed back the books - most of them covered in red writing - and sighed.
‘Well, I must say I’m very disappointed in this class. However… ’ He pushed up his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Some of the class shrugged and grinned sheepishly, while some looked as if they would burst into tears at any moment. ‘Chiruka-chan, Souma-kun, Midori-chan! Please stand up!’
‘You got busted,’ giggled Hiroko.
‘You’re the one who copied from me,’ Sakki pointed out. Hiroko looked as if she got hit by a ton of bricks, and for some reason, Sakki felt oddly satisfied by that expression. She then mentally slapped herself for being such a cruel person.
‘Chiruka-chan, Souma-kun, Midori-chan, congratulations for getting all the questions correct! With a bit more practice, I’m sure you three will be good enough to enter the national Science quiz.’ Matsuda-sensei beamed up at them.
‘Thank you, sensei! We’ll do our best!’ The trio chimed in unison, bowing to their teacher. The whole class erupted in loud claps, cheering them on, or, at least, one of them in particular.
‘Go, go, go, Hiroko-chan!’
‘Hiroko-chan can definitely beat those snobby Tokyo delinquents!’
‘Hiroko-chan is so smart!’
‘Beauty and brains, Hiroko-chan!’
Hiroko blushed and tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear. She licked her lips, secretly enjoying all the attention she was receiving, though she acted like she hated being looked at. ‘Really, guys… I’m not that smart.’
‘That’s not true! Hiroko-chan is that smart!’
‘Hiroko-chan is so modest!’
‘Tell her, Arashi-kun! Isn’t Hiroko-chan so smart?’
Souma Arashi, one of the trio, glanced up from his notebook with his usual deadpan expression. Hiroko flushed even redder, and tried to cover her face in her hands, only to be given a questioning look by Sakki. Everyone had, by now, discovered Hiroko’s crush on Arashi. Everyone, including Arashi.
Hiroko awaited Arashi’s praise and compliments, looking at him eagerly.
‘So what if she got all her homework right? Sakki did, too, but I don’t see anyone gushing over Sakki. Or is it just because the average intelligence in this room has declined because of Midori?’ Arashi demolished Hiroko’s dreams of getting married to him, right there and then.
The entire class turned to look at Sakki, who held up a ‘peace’ sign, still not smiling. Hiroko huffed, not making eye contact with anyone. Glaring at Sakki’s silhouette, she hissed, ‘Whatever. It’s just stupid homework anyway.’
.
After school, Sakki leaned against the geta bako while watching the latest episode of her favourite war documentary series. She stared intensely at the tiny phone screen as the narrator explained how the Italian Resistance fought off the Fascist government at the time.
Sakki’s ears perked up when she heard someone’s shoes clopping their way towards her. She looked up, only to be doused with water. She pried her eyes open from the stinging water and saw Hiroko trembling, gripping a red bucket.
‘Hiroko - why?’ She whispered, attempting to wipe the dirty water off her face, twisting and squeezing her uniform to get the water out.
‘You dirty, backstabbing man-stealer. You knew I liked him.’ Hiroko was shaking all over. Her knees buckled and she fell on the floor, sobbing hysterically. ‘All I wanted was for someone to love me. Is that so wrong?’
In the distance, Sakki heard excited murmurs. A group of girls came running towards the two of them, rushing to Hiroko’s side. One of them shouted, ‘Hiroko-chan! Oh my gosh, what happened?’
Even in a situation like this, Sakki rolled her eyes. Of course. Ignore the one who is dripping wet and bruised, and go to the one who is crying, holding a bucket.
Hiroko pointed to Sakki, whimpering, ‘Sh-she knew I loved him, b-but she s-stole him me. He… is the only person I’ll ever love…’
One by one, the girls turned towards Sakki, their expressions livid. The shortest one, Fujioka, walked up to her and slapped her straight across the cheek. Sakki winced, the burning sensation making her feel dizzy and swollen cheek throbbing uncontrollably.
‘How dare you hurt such a kind-hearted person! An alien like you probably doesn’t understand what love feels like, but don’t ruin it for others! Arashi and Hiroko deserve each other!’
She shoved Sakki onto the floor and stomped on Sakki’s hands. Sakki screamed in agony and used her elbow to jab Fujioka under the knee. Fujioka lost her balance and Sakki took this opportunity to lunge for her phone and school bag, sprinting towards the school gates.
.
After crossing the sixth street, Sakki slowed down to a jog. They probably were gone by now. She hid her sullied hands within the pocket of her blazer, watching as little children held hands surrounding a boy, singing their silly song. She thought back to simpler times, when her peers weren’t so manipulative.
To simpler times, when nobody was obsessed with reputation. When nobody bothered to catch the attention of the opposite gender, when no one lied to get their way. She thought of what Hiroko and Fujioka said to her.
It seemed like everyone liked to self-victimise. At this point, Sakki wasn’t even sure if she were just self-victimising to gain sympathy, or if she really had a rough time. Was she that selfish? She didn’t know the answer to that. She knew the world better than she knew herself.
Sakki stopped, she sighed, then she continued walking on. She grabbed the keys from her bag and opened the rusting gate to her house. There was a yellow sticky-note stuck to the door.
Sakki:
I need to take the night shift again. There’s ramen in the kitchen.
I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise this time.
Sakki sighed. She took off her shoes before entering, pouring the boiling hot water in the kettle into a cup labelled ‘Instant Ramen Noodles’, which had become her usual dinner. She stirred lazily with her chopsticks, poking a string of noodles as she waited for it to cook.
Just like almost every day of her life, she ate all alone.
…
Glossary
‘-chan’ is a suffix for girls’ names.
‘-kun’ is a suffix for boys’ names.
‘-sensei’ is a suffix for teachers, but can be used by itself.
‘Geta bako’ is a shoe rack where Japanese students put their home shoes and change to their school shoes, which in modern times has also been used as an informal locker.
…
Author’s Note
Yo. The first chapter - not so happy. Don’t worry though, this is all necessary for growth and development of the main character. I noticed that other people are putting aliases as well. It seems that everyone wants to keep their identity hidden, and people want to know why. Rest assured, I have a perfectly good explanation as to why I’m keeping my identity secret. (I’ll tell you why in the later chapters.) For now, just sit back and watch my characters struggle. Bye~
- Nakashima Chiaki
No comments:
Post a Comment