Aiko stepped through the door quietly. She was still floating in the air, but she knew her father would soon bring her back down to earth. If only she could avoid him for as long as possible. A thought that was quickly removed as the sound of footsteps resonated from the stairwell.
"Where have you been?" her father asked. His voice was level as always, but there was a distinct lining of anger mixed in with it.
"I went to study group," she said, keeping her voice level and as calm as possible.
"You left the study group, Aiko. Do not lie to me?"
"No, daddy. I'm not lying. I went to the study group, but then I felt sick. So I left."
"And went where?"
"I was trying to make my way home, but I got lost. I should have remembered that I'm not too familiar with the streets."
Aiko's father kept his gaze on hers, his eyes slightly narrowed as she explained her journey to the city centre. She described where she had stopped shortly to eat after a dizzy spell overtook her, and then after some more wandering, finally met up with an elderly couple who were also travelling to this area and told her to ride the same bus as them.
"Hmm," he groaned when she had finished her story. "I have never permitted you to leave your study group. You could have gotten very lost and met up with dangerous people. I have spoken about the gang members who roam the streets at night."
"I wouldn't get lost if you allowed me to go out more."
"You wouldn't get lost if you stay in the places that you are supposed to be."
"But I started feeling sick."
"The next time you feel unwell you will ask the tutor to call for the driver," he said, his voice rising slightly.
That was Aiko's cue to exit the conversation. Her dad never shouted. Both his angry and happy seemed pretty much the same, except for two small differences – that slight change in tone coupled with an even colder exterior until he felt you had learned your lesson.
"Yes, daddy. Okay."
Aiko turned to the coat rack and hung her jacket and schoolbag, hoping her dad would quickly leave so she wouldn't have to pass him on the stairs. Lucky for her, he wasn't the kind to wait around. Once business was done, he was gone.
Aiko's stomach growled. She still hadn't eaten and was starting to feel the results, but after her lie, it would look suspicious if she went to the kitchen to get anything to eat, so she made her way up the stairs. She was sure she had some crackers or crisps hidden in her room somewhere. So, after preparing for bed, she retrieved her snacks and lay on her bed, nibbling as she watched the stars on her starlight ceiling.
Her ceiling had initially been a present from her mother's brother when her mother had gotten ill. He said watching the stars always helped him through his troubles, but as she couldn't sleep outside, he'd have to find a way to put the stars inside.
Her star lights were also her last memory of her mother and how they'd lay together on her bed staring at them while they talked. Life after her mother changed drastically. She not only lost her mother, but also half of her family. There had always been some friction between her father and her mother's family, so any hopes that she had of continuing to stay with them after her mother died were quickly squashed. Her father had been working in a London office at the time and, doing what he believed was expected of him, he took her back in.
She'd never understood why he took her in. He treated her more like a burden than a daughter, but he was too proud to be known as a father who had neglected his daughter. He would never accept that he actually neglected her just as much while she lived in his household as he would have if she were out of his household.
Even before her mother's death, life had never been much fun living under him; it was full of regime and keeping up with appearances. Her mother had somehow loved her father at some point, and her constant glow of happiness and positivity had kept Aiko stable. But the unyielding pressure to uphold the family's name and the blatant lack of any affection from Aiko's father eventually became too much for her mother, as it had for Aiko and was the cause for the end of their marriage. Now, with her mother gone Aiko, again, felt like she was drowning, especially at night when she lay in her bed in complete darkness.
She had cried every night after she moved back in with her father; she also slept only a little and she ate even less. That was the first and last time she saw her father's heart move. He had even touched her, stroking her hair as he comforted her one night. She'd told him of her star lights then and to her amazement he promised to have them installed into her new bedroom, and again, when they left for Japan, he ensured they were shipped over and reinstalled into the new room.
"Oh, mom," she let out after what seemed like hours of staring at the stars but seeing nothing but street lights as they blurred by. "I wish you were here. You would definitely think he's cute."
* * *
Aiko closed her eyes and tipped her head back as she skipped along the school's front yard. If only the wind would blow, she wished. School was going to be a major bore that day and possibly for the next few weeks, if not months.
"Hey," Yui called from the school entrance.
Aiko stopped dead in her tracks, smoothed her hair back down and walked over to where Yui and Ichika stood.
"What are you doing?" Yui said in a half-laugh.
"Just imagining what it would be like to be on the back of a motorbike," Aiko replied.
"A motorbike? You are so weird, Aiko. Glad to see you're feeling better, though."
Oh yes, she thought, remembering her big acting debut the night before.
"Yes, I rested quite well last night."
"How did you even get home?" Ichika asked.
Aiko's mouth dropped slightly, but she didn't answer. Ichika had that usual know-it-all tone in her voice. "What do you mean?" Aiko asked.
"Your driver turned up two hours after you left."
"Ohh, yes, I know. I got a little lost, so I was late home."
Ichika made a low hmm sound and then fixed her bag on her shoulder. "Well, we're going to be late for class if we stand around here talking."
Aiko nodded and suppressed a laugh as Yui made an exaggerated eye roll behind Ichika. "So, let's go," she said, and led the way into the school.
* * *
A week passed and, despite her internal conflicts, Aiko remained obedient to her schedule of school, study group, and home, except on Wednesdays when they went to the library. Today was one of those days.
"Yui. No cracks," she called as she hopped over a crack on the ground.
Yui hopped over to her, giggling.
"Race you to the crossing," Aiko said. "3, 2, go."
And the two of them hopped away, leaving Daichi and Ichika to walk behind. Aiko won, as she usually did, and made a small celebration dance which she abruptly stopped on noticing two boys leaning against a wall where their bicycles rested.
Aiko froze with her mouth slightly agape. No way, she thought and raised her hand to give a small wave. Baji gave a half-smile and nodded his head while Chifuyu waved back. Both boys wore their school uniforms, although Baji's tie was merely hanging around his neck.
"How do you know those boys?" Yui asked.
"Er," Aiko started, but quickly paused as both Ichika and Daichi caught up with them.
Daichi immediately drew his gaze to where Aiko had been looking while Ichika snapped her own gaze between both Aiko and Yui. "Aiko, stop being such a bad influence. You always have Yui bouncing around like a little child."
"Having fun is not behaving like a child," Aiko defended.
"You can have fun without parading yourself."
More interested in Baji and Chifuyu Aiko didn't bother to argue back, but, probably deterred by Daichi and Ichika's arrival, both boys mounted their bicycles and rode away.
Aiko let out a soft sigh, but in her distress, she also felt relief. If they had made the effort to come down that day, maybe they would come again.
And they did.
The next Wednesday, Aiko saw them in that same spot, but just as the week before it was simply a nod, wave and goodbye. Aiko made plans for the following week, to leave school a little earlier than Yui and the others so she'd have time to talk to them quickly. But that week they didn't appear.
Aiko slumped over the library desk. They'd been studying for over an hour and were taking a short 15-minute break. They would usually walk to a nearby kiosk for a snack and drink, but Aiko wasn't in the mood to eat, so she remained in the library.
She lifted her head at the sound of the chair next to her being pulled out. "Sorry, people are sitting here."
He put his book on the table and sat down in the chair. "They're not here right now," his deep voice rolled.
Aiko jumped up in her seat and looked into the boy's eyes. A huge smile crawled onto her face as she inhaled a deep breath. He looked very different to what she was accustomed to - with his hair tied back and wearing a pair glasses. She muffled a giggle.
"What's so funny?" Baji said, his frown hidden behind the frame of his glasses.
Aiko pressed her index finger and thumb together to form a circle and held it over one of her eyes.
A soft chuckle came from across the table as Chifuyu pulled out a chair and sat down.
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, glancing back to the entrance quickly.
Baji picked up Aiko's English dictionary and opened a random page. "Studying."
"Ah, I see," she said, watching Baji's face as he 'read' through the dictionary.
"Yeah. We've really got to ace our midterm," Chifuyu said with a chuckle and picked up a geography book.
"Look," Aiko said, quickly turning back to Baji. "I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you the last few days. I wanted to but, I mean you didn't give me much of a chance anyway, but it's difficult with my friends ..."
"What kind of dictionary is this?" Baji said, cutting her off. "There are no Japanese explanations of the words." He took a quick glance at Aiko and then back to the book.
Right, she thought as she glanced around the table. If they had been bothered at all, they wouldn't have come back.
"So, what have you guys been up to?"
"The usual," Chifuyu answered.
"Ah," Aiko said, nodding to herself. "What's the usual?"
Baji flashed a quick shot at Chifuyu, who smiled and ignored the question. "What about you? What have you been up to?"
"The usual," she said.
Baji let out a low chuckle but kept his eyes on the book.
Aiko smiled, feeling satisfied she'd gotten a laugh out of Baji. He did have an awkward edge about him, but at the same time he seemed completely at ease sitting with her pretending to read her book. Chifuyu always looked at ease, relaxed and with a smile on his face. Along with the occasional frown like the one he was wearing at that moment as he studied a world map on a back page spread of her geography book.
"Have you travelled much?" he asked her.
"No. Only to England."
"What's it like?"
"it's very different from here. It's nice."
Baji lowered the book and looked up at Aiko. "You don't like it here?"
"No. That's not what I meant. It's just ... I had family there, and friends. Even though I wasn't allowed to see them much in the end. My family came around as much as they could though." Aiko let out a deep puff of air. "I don't have anyone here."
"What about those three you're always with?"
"Well, they're okay. They're the only people my dad will allow me to talk to."
Baji nodded. "I see. What about that boy you were with when we met?"
"Urgh," she said, mimicking a gagging reflex. "He's one of the worst. He deserved that hit you gave him. So badly."
A smile spread across Baji's face, revealing his teeth.
"I get the feeling you like hitting people," Aiko said.
"When they deserve it," he said before breaking into a small laugh and adding. "And, yeah, a lot of the time when they don't."
Chifuyu laughed too, nodding his head as Baji spoke.
"What else do you like that doesn't involve beating people up?" she asked. Baji didn't reply except with a blank stare, so she turned to look at Chifuyu who gave a small shrug before answering.
"I like cats."
"Cats," she repeated. That wasn't what she was expecting. "I'm not very keen on cats, but yeah, they can be cute."
"Cute?" Baji asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "I heard you thought I was cute."
Aiko's mouth dropped as she looked back and forth from Baji to Chifuyu, who wore an apologetic smile. "Yeah, I guess you are kind of cute."
Baji leaned in closer to her and pulled his glasses lower so he could peer over the rim. "Cats are cute. Babies are cute. Maybe someone like Chifuyu can be called cute. But I'm not cute. Okay?"
Aiko stared into his golden eyes as he frowned menacingly at her. If only he knew how cute he looked in those glasses, she thought as she bit the inside of her lip to suppress her laughter. "I don't find you scary, Baji."
Baji let out a groan and straightened himself up in his seat. He glanced around the library for a moment before stretching his arms up into the air above him and then, in the next swoop, lowered his hand, reached over to Aiko and flicked her in the ear.
"What was that for?" she asked, staring wide-eyed at him.
"I told you. I like to hit people when they annoy me."
Aiko continued to stare in disbelief before her mouth curved into a wistful smile, her look melting into adoration.
Baji's frown became one more from bemusement than annoyance. "You weren't supposed to enjoy it."
"My mom used to do that when I annoyed her," she said, not leaving his gaze.
Baji's face softened as he looked back at her, and a noticeable redness filled his cheeks. His silent gaze remained fixed on hers for a short moment before he fixed his glasses and picked the book back up.
Aiko continued looking at him as he contently looked through the same dictionary until her attention was drawn to Chifuyu, who made a faint sound as he cleared his throat. "Why are these places circled?" he asked, pointing to a few places on the map.
"Places I'd like to travel to," she answered before leaning forward and pointing at Trinidad. "This is my mom's country. I want to go there one day."
"Your mom's from the Caribbean?"
Aiko nodded.
"Yes," he chanted. "I knew it." He raised his hand and leaned across the table, leading Baji to press a high five on it.
"I guess I owe you a Yakisoba," Baji said.
"Yes," Chifuyu celebrated again.
"I'm sorry," Aiko interrupted, unsure what the celebration was about.
"Er," Chifuyu began with a small chuckle. "We just noticed you had a different look about you and were wondering what you were mixed with."
"Oh," she said flatly, as a mix of emotions ran through her.
"Not for any reason," Chifuyu added, waving his hands in front of him. "It's .. er .."
"Unusual things are nice," Baji said plainly when Chifuyu failed to complete his sentence. Now it was Aiko's turn to feel a flush in her cheeks.
Aiko tucked her chin into her chest and looked down at the table at the sound of Yui's voice. Why did they have to return right now? she thought, taking deep breaths to calm her internal eruptions.
"Well, we'd better go," Baji said on noticing the three approaching the table.
Aiko nodded and mumbled a goodbye, still keeping her eyes fixed on the table, she couldn't look back up at him now if her friends were nearby. Baji stood with a small chuckle and again flicked her ear before walking away.
Aiko pressed her lips tightly while biting on the inside of her mouth. The smile that was threatening to emerge. What just happened? she wondered as Baji's voice still rang in her ears 'Unusual things are nice.' Does he think I'm nice? What does that even mean?
"Those are those boys from yesterday, aren't they?" Yui asked.
"I think so," Aiko said, trying to sound calm.
"What did they want?" Daichi asked.
"I guess they wanted to study, but I told them the seats were taken."
"Really? It looked a little bit more than that." Ichika noted.
But Aiko was no longer paying attention. She had no choice now, she had to find a way to meet them again. She wanted to choose her own friends and, while Daichi and Yui were nice, she chose Baji.