Lumping his stoutish bag, Kev, a seventeen year old boy intrudes an elevator -- engulfed with subtle hues of rust leeching from within it's crack. Sluggishly pumping his finger on the elevator's 'up' arrow, he awaits an inevitable 'ding!'
When will life become fun, brother? Pondered Kev's mind. Lingering his body within the elevator, his eyes lay subservient to the musk window's of the almost bare elevator. He had light green eyes, and a ponderous light sliver hair that lay flat on-top of his head, as if a mop. Finally grasping the light from the end of the tunnel, Kev steps outside of the elevator, staring down at the dusk, pumpkin-lit horizon.
To his right were several doors, each with a printed number next to them. Folded in a thin sheet of lamination, and boxed-in with a steel, rectangular outline was a number, wedged next to an oak-wooden door, with a hazy, blurred-out window. This number read "116".
As if it were the teeth of the paintbrush that Bob Ross wielded, Kev felt a subtle brushing sensation across his elbow, as he poked his key within the keyhole, right beneath the thin, light silver handle of his door.
Peering down his shoulder, he felt as if a miniscule spider had trinkled past his arm, as, in front of him was a girl. Though Kev could tell they were around the same age, her height said otherwise. But this wasn't what latched Kev's curiosity. It was her light beige hair that trinkled neatly down towards her waist, lingering at the end - a tsunami of curls. Her hair lingered above her eyes, and she wore a pitch-black mask. Both these things engulfed her face, practically making her 'faceless.'
Hey... wait... Isn't that my school uniform? how come I've never noticed her before if we live on the same floor? She must've taken the stairs too, after-all I didn't see her in the elevator. Thought Kev. His eyes bewildered by the sight in front of him. Not only did she live on the same floor as him... But also she was his neighbor?!
And what were with those bangs? How can she see? And that mask... Is she ill? Her quirky, oddly shy, yet strict gait seemed to say otherwise. All these thoughts Kev decided to brush away, instead hoping he would simply bump into her tomorrow, and perhaps start-up a conversation.
Is this where the adventure starts, brother?
Lingering over the stone, concrete slab wall was Kev's brisk face. Hoping to bump into the same girl from yesterday, yet, his tenacious escapade was cut short, after sighting the same girl wandering outside of the apartment complex they lived in.
Ehh? I've been waiting for so long here... Did she take the stairs again? oh well.
As he flicked his pen, that was desperate to shake of some ink, yet was dryer than a desert - Kev noticed a shimmer of light at the corner of his eye. It was the girl.
She's in my math class? Since when? Is she a transfer? But I haven't heard anything about a new transfer... This was it. Kev now lectured the sanguine part of his mind, and set it straight forward, into a direction that would finally find out who this enigmatic person truly was.
After trailing back towards his home after another day of the industrious cycle of school, he, on purpose took the long route back. His plans had succeeded. He caught another whiff of her resplendent hair. As she seemed to trail to the left of him, he had managed to stop her, before initiating a horrible excuse of a conversation.
"H-hey! my names Kev. I've noticed you live next door to me... Thought I should say hi."
"My name is Suzuki." She responded. That was all. She barged past Kev, her demanding, and yet straight forward strut said it all. She didn't want anything to do with Kev.
He didn't give up though.
This time he waited outside the gate of there school. His mind now evaporating an expostulation towards this situation, yet his eager temptation begged not to give up.
She was small. Perhaps that would be why Kev never saw her. But, now that her root had been entangled within the ever-growing seed that is Kev's mind, he managed to latch onto her isolated presence.
Hey! Over there!
As she walked past the school's gate, Kev managed to catch up to her, even through the graveyard of students. As the rambunctious crowd made a serendipitous turn towards a different direction towards the local bus stop, it only left Kev, Suzuki and a few other students remaining, as if droplets trinkling down a window.
Not wanting to grab a random girls arm, he attempted to slide towards her left.
"Hey! It's uhh... Me Kev from the other day." No response was granted, all she did was stare blankly towards the hard concrete pavement.
This didn't stop Kev though. He persisted, his tenacious attempts at a conversation seemed distant towards Suzuki. He began to ramble on about his day, as she sluggishly followed behind him, more quiet than a single strand of hay. Soon enough they passed the local park that was plastered next to there apartment complex.
Kev noticed Suzuki stop amongst her tracks.
"Why bother talking to me?" She whispered underneath her thin, black mask that mumbled her almost silent voice.
"I've got nothing better to do, y'know?" Replied Kev, before twisting his entire body to glance at Suzuki, who's grasping her bag tightly.
"How is it you're only talking to me now?"
"Uhh... umm.. I-I..." She couldn't fathom a response...
"I don't actually care." Said Kev.
"But what I do care about is the fact that you decided to take the long route with me, instead of the shorter route."
"So I can at least tell you were somewhat invested in what I had to say. Just wish you'd speak up, y'know?"
Now Suzuki really couldn't come up with an excuse.
Had I really been distracted by him?
"It hurts when someone hides who they truly are. The more you lie about the truth, or the more you hide from it, the less you you truly become. Just a mindless husk leaking out it's false identity." Said Kev, extremely... Like extremely out of pocket?
Kev decided to wander off, expecting zero response, but a slight smirk conjured within his face...
"You're wrong." She zapped towards Kev.
"Oh? How so?"
"You say you don't like hiding from the truth, yet this entire time you didn't once talk about the fact you aren't from Japan. You speak it well, but I can tell there is a subtle accent..."
Kev couldn't resist but to chuckle. His nebulous emerald eyes peered deeply within Suzuki, as he crouched in front of her.
"I see then... Not only have you noticed my 'secret', and not only were you listening to everything I was saying on the way here... BUT you also managed to speak up. Wasn't that hard was it."
Suzuki was galvanized. Kev tricked her into blurting out words of confidence, as if he lingered words right into her mouth like a ventriloquist. She stood there. Although her entire face was engulfed, Kev could see her ear blushed with a subtle hue of peach.
"But why? Why do you want me to speak? No one has ever tried, or at least never succeeded."
"Simple answer. It's what my brother would have done."
"Now, c'mon."
This time Suzuki seemed to take the elevator instead of the stairs.
What am I doing? Is this boy just tricking me... There is no way he actually wants to talk with me...
As they lingered over there doors, exactly parallel to each-other Kev said:
"See you tomorrow, yeah?" No response. But all Kev could do is listen to the emanating voice inside his head, that comforted his mind, telling him that she'll be waiting for him right outside his door tomorrow.
She's just one knock away...