Shotaro sat with his head buried between his knees sitting up against his closed bedroom door. Certain memories surging through his head that he wished he could forget. The sound of her piano playing, her laugh, they way she shined. He wished it all could be erased. It haunted him like a curse with no remorse. Just hearing any music or seeing an instrument had about an eighty percent chance sending him into a mental frenzy. After a few deep breaths he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He knew Mia was still out there probably still cooking him breakfast even after what he said to her. She knows about his episodes and what triggers him into them. He knows he should go out there and apologize to her, but he also knows there’s no courage left inside him to do that. If he could just get her to stop coming over, he’d be saving her a lot of trouble for having to put up with him.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7Q79ASn4Q
He opened the door and slowly crept into the kitchen where he found Mia sitting at the table with her back to him digging into food. She was wearing her giant headphones and humming again. Sho sat directly across from her and started eating. “It’s good.” He said idiotically.
“If that’s your way of saying thank you it sucks.” She snarled. Her usual cheerful attitude seemed to be on the back burner at the moment. She was attacking her food like a bunch of vultures picking at a dead animal. She became angry and started to shout, “This part of the songs sucks ass! I was hoping this new album was going to be banger after banger but it seems like they sold out!” She scraped her plated across the table as if both her arms were separate animals fighting over it. “This is usually where there would be a solo but instead there’s just a guy whining about being lonely.” She stood up and sat back down really quick and let out a huff.
“If it sucks why are you listening to it and humming it nonstop?” Sho was chewing with his mouth open like a cow.
“Because its special to me.” With her foot she kicked Sho under the table as hard as she could. Sho fell backwards out of his chair the second it felt like his shin was splitting.
“Mia what the hell?! What Is going on with you? Was that your ultimate move or something? I think you broke my leg.” Sho laid on the ground still chewing food and rubbing his shin. He got back into his chair and continued eating. “Look if you’re acting like a brat because you think I forgot your birthday, I didn’t. here.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of duct tape and handed it to her. Coincidentally, the pants he had put on that was from a few days ago was the same pair of pants he was wearing when he went out to buy her a present. So conveniently the present was still in the pocket.
While taking the gift from him she asked in surprise, “You, left your apartment? Like you actually went out that door with nobody pushing you through it? You left and it was to get me a present? Someone who isn’t your friend?” She stood up so quick her chair flew backwards, and she pointed her fingers on both hands at him like a gun and shouted, “All right mister what have you done with Taro? I’ll give you to the count of three to tell me what’s going on or ill judo chop you into next month!” Shotaro continued to chew with his mouth open but this time food was casually falling out of it and back onto the plate and he’d scoop it back up and eat it. Mia sat back down. “Okay, maybe it is you but seriously you left? That’s a big step for you. And my birthday isn’t for another three days but its sweet you tried to remember.” She said that with a big shit eating grin on her face as she tore through the mound of duct tape. When she got to the present it was a small key chain with a small little ferret attached to it. Her eyes lit up like hearts and she awed over it. “OH, MY LORD I LOVE IT!” she jumped back onto her feet and did spin holding it high like she was a video game character pulling something out of a treasure chest. “I can’t believe you remember I like ferrets.” She continued spinning and acting like a small child over it.
“I honestly don’t think you ever told me that. I just saw it and thought of you, so I bought it. I was no good at wrapping presents so I had duct tape and taped it up. I actually thought it’d be more of a struggle to open but you tore it up pretty fast.” When Mia looked up at him, he was now standing in the kitchen in front of the stove eating right out of the pan she cooked the food in and dropping food from his mouth back into it. He then asked, “Why the hell are you kicking me and what not if it’s not your birthday?”
“She looked back at him this time with an evil stare.” She mumbled from a third person perspective as if she had lost her mind. She then smiled and said, “I cut my hair and you didn’t even notice you bastard.” She held up her keychain and continued spinning about. In shock Sho stood there for a minute and looked at her real good. He thought to himself, how am I now just noticing she cut at least eight inches of her hair off to shoulder length.
“All hair really happens to be is a bunch of protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. It’s nothing to do a back flip over.” He continued eating from the foods source.
“That’s it! You’ve left me no choice.” Mia turned towards Sho and stared doing things with her hands that could only be interpreted as gang signs. Her hands began to move at what seemed like an incredible speed. Sho was actually pretty entertained and almost wanted to smile as he kept eating the rest of the food off of her plate. He knew her ultimate move was coming. Last time she threw the hair dryer at him, and the time before that she chanted some crazy spell and then burned him with a match, so he knew this time it had to be good. Before he knew it, she surprisingly kicked the table over in one swift roundhouse kick. Causing the rest of the food to fall on the floor.
“You know, this is the third time I’ve lived through your ultimate move.”
“Yeah well your food didn’t make it this time.”
Sho looked down at the floor and saw the rest of her plate that he was eating from was resting on his feet. All he could manage to say was, “Your hair looks nice.”
“Thank you! And now all of a sudden I have to use the lady’s room.” She made a mad dash for the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. It didn’t bother Sho that she pretty much acted like she lived with him. What bothered him was how kind she was. For years Shotaro pondered why she was there. He didn’t even help her move in when she rented the apartment next door. She just showed up that night with a bunch of snacks and dvds and wearing huge headphones and shouted, “Konichiwa! My name is Mia Hada! I come in peace and I am bearing snacks and movies as a peace offering.” She then pushed her way through into his apartment and started cleaning a spot to sit and watch movies and eat her snacks. Sho didn’t protest or stop her. And ever since then she just came over daily as if they were always best friends.
While cleaning up the food off the ground and straightening up the table he heard a loud meow come from behind him. “What in the hell.” To his surprise Sho turned around to find a big fat orange cat laying on the floor reaching its paws out to him. “Mia? What the hell is this monster in the living room?”
Through the bathroom door Mia shouted, “That’s Rupert! He’s so effing cute and friendly! He’s been hanging around your door for days, so I let him in. Don’t worry about him when he gets hungry you just let him out and then after a while he comes back. He’s an outside cat!”
“That’s not exactly how that works,” Sho sighed and knelt down close to the cat. He checked it for a collar or any type of identification but the only thing the cat had was a big bandana tired around his neck that read: Rupert. “Where did you come from little guy? Is someone looking for you right now?” Sho stood up and looked out the window. It was starting to rain heavily. Suddenly Sho’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and flipped it open. He had a text from Mia. “Why the hell are you texting me from in the bathroom?” his phone vibrated again. She had sent the same text again which read:
Can I stay over tonight and watch movies? I don’t wanna go home tonight…
“Do you really even need to ask? Regardless what I say you’re just going to do it anyways.” Again, his phone vibrated. The text read:
I’m asking if you will watch them with me and not be mean to me :^)
Sho decided to play her game and texted her back:
Sure.
He heard a delighted squeal come from the bathroom. He knew why she didn’t want to go home. Three days before her tenth birthday her father lost his life in the line of duty. He was a well-respected detective and died from being shot on a stake out. And knowing that her birthday is in three days, after realizing it wasn’t today, he knows that’s what haunting her. “Can we please watch something other than Back to the Future, Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings? Those used to be my favorite movies but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep watching them before I resent them.
In a muffled squeak Sho heard Mia squeal, “Then hitchhikers guide it is then.”
“Oh god that’s the one I should have said first.” He thought to himself, since that movie doesn’t have sequels, she’s going to want to watch it three times in a row… Last time she wanted to watch that she ended up reading to me all the books instead and took almost two days because she couldn’t stop talking about them in between reading them.
“Well we can watch that or the Harry potter movies if you like those better.” Sho’s heart sank into the deepest part of his stomach and then started its way into the small intestines.
“That’s ok. Hitchhikers guide it is.” Good thing it’s still morning He thought to himself. Most likely will be able to sneak away and fall asleep and just sleep through it at some point. A faint knocking could be heard through the wall. Sho listened intently and could keep hearing it. He knew no one was knocking on his door cause the crazy woman was already in his bathroom but as he moved toward his door it got louder. He opened up his front door and looked outside. Next door the landlord was pounding on Mia’s door. She kept just banging away even though no one was going to answer.
“Can I help you Ms Fukimari?” Sho asked.
“Oh Mr. Okazaki. It’s nice to see you. What’s it been? Like a year or two years? I believe your rent is paid up for the next four or so years if I remember correctly so my business isn’t with you today.” She turned back and started beating on Mia’s door again.
“So, you have business with Mia then I take it?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. But it’s none of your business so good day to you.”
Sho shut his door and started walking to his room. “But it’s none of your business so good day to you!” Sho mocked the landlord in an old lady voice as he went into his room. He opened one of his drawers, in it was a gun and a small safe. He pulled out the small safe and took out two large stacks of one hundred dollars bills. “Stupid pompous bitch. Talking like some old scrooge hag.” Sho went back to his front door and opened it to find the landlord still banging on Mia’s door. “So, what’s she owe you?”
“Look Mr.Okazaki, unless your hiding her in your apartment like some illegal alien then this is none of your concern.” The tone in her voice was becoming sterner as she grew more annoyed.
“Look here, you old skank. I know I’m not the only one getting pissed off with you banging on her door this early in the morning. We both know she’s not in there so you can tell me how much she owes you and we can get this over with.”
“You are by far the foulest person I have ever met you little shit. If you didn’t pay me so many years in advance, I have your ass thrown out on the streets for talking to a woman such as myself the way you just did. I don’t owe your father or mother any favors.” She turned back towards Mia’s door to beat on it some more but stopped. She sighed and said, “Her rent is eight hundred and sixty dollars a month and she’s three months behind.”
“Here.” Sho handed her two large stacks of money still wrapped in bank paper. She looked down at it and her face almost looked as if she had become frightened.
“Mr. Okazaki you can’t be serious. This is twenty thousand dollars. If I accept this her rent will be paid up for almost two years.”
“Does that mean I won’t have to see you again for two years.”
“No skank is worth that amount of money!” Whose leg are you trying to pull?” As she kept shouting Sho slammed his door in her face. Through the door he could hear her still shouting, “I’m going to mark every single bill and if so much as one bill is fake I’m coming back with the police!” He could hear her storm of into the rain.
“Holy shit I forgot just how lovely that woman was. How was that bitch my dad’s friend growing up?” Sho turned around to find Mia standing directly behind him covering her mouth with tears rolling out of her eyes. She could barely find the words to speak,
“Wha..what..in the world..” she sniffled and wiped a bunch of runny snot from her nose, “made you do that for m.. m.. me… when .. we.. we… weeeeeee….Aren’t’ even frieeeeeeeeennnnds?” She began bawling her eyes out and buried her face into Sho’s shirt getting snot all over it.
“Is that why you didn’t want to go home tonight?”
“No! I totally forgot about that vile witch until I could hear her knocking, so I hid in the bathroom. She was supposed to have the leak in my ceiling fixed but never did. So, I wasn’t going to pay her. But you…you…you paid so much of my rent!” Again, she continued to bawl her eyes out.
“Look, I really despise that woman. She’s one of the few people who knew my parents and it absolutely disgusts me. It brings me more pleasure to throw my useless money in her face. I mean shit she took one look at that money and called you a skank like no man’s ever spent any money on her. Out of all people she called you a Skank. You. She’s just jealous because you’re still young and beautiful and she can tell once you’re her age you’ll still look young and beautiful. I mean…” Sho stopped himself before he could finish. He thought to himself, what in the hell am I saying? He looked down at Mia who was now hugging him tighter and tighter.
“Taro, I could squeeze you to death right now if you’d let me!” she continued to squeeze Sho without the intentions of letting go.
“I think I might die if you don’t stop soon!”
“It’s okay, I’d bring you back somehow if you did,” she squealed delightfully as she squeezed him even harder and buried her snotty face into his chest.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
