Three

Leia and Takeru have a conversation about their childhood that opens Leia's mind.

 I couldn't keep my memories from flooding back to me, he'd been there all along trying to reach out to me but I'd always kept my distance. Once there was a time when I'd had to go to the nurse's office and he asked the teacher if he should walk me down but I'd reassured them that I was alright. Then there was the time when Aiko was absent and he offered to sit with me, but I'd been too much of a dweeb to even consider saying yes. It was just this really mean glare and then I ignored him to poke at my pureed nothingness. So in reality, he'd been there all along but I hadn't taken the time to actually acknowledge his existence.

  I looked at Takeru, who was now rationing the yakisoba, and saw him as the small child he was back when we were too small to see over counter tops. Now he was older, full of wisdom and he had a really good heart; he's grown into quite the person and I was happy for him. He seemed to have a life that wasn't bland like mine, he had a whole group of friends and he could smile at anything-at anyone. Takeru knew what he wanted to do with his life through his love for music and he had a great mindset. I watched as he lifted the bowls and slid them onto the table, and then he gestured for me to come over. 

  I took my apron off and hung it on the hook that was drilled into the wall. When I turned around I noticed he was waiting for me to come to the table so that we'd eat together. A memory of us sitting and laughing at a small, plastic picnic table came back to me when I looked at him-I really looked at him. My heart sped up a little faster; should I ask him if these memories were in line or should I keep it to myself? But I had no reason to keep it to myself, right? I mean, what if he wanted me to remember him in the first place. There was nothing wrong with mistaking someone for a different person, he'd understand. Yes, he'd definitely understand if I happened to be wrong about these childhood memories. 

  I walked to the table and slid into my seat, it was rude to keep guests waiting especially when it came to serving a meal. But then there was the ultra-rude rule when that guest helped you cook and prepare the meal when you never even asked. 

  "Thank you very much" I said and bowed my head. He bowed back and proceeded to pick up his chopsticks to eat the dish we created together. I picked up my chopsticks and tried some myself--my it was the best I'd ever had. It was almost like when we dined out but it had its own personal taste to it, and it was a taste that I knew I loved. I'd been eating for few minutes before I decided that it was entirely too quiet for my liking, it was time I started conversation.

  "So Takeru?" I started, looking up from my bowl I saw that he'd been waiting for the silence to disappear as well. 

  "Yes?" he responded, he had a look on his face that I couldn't quite read but it did look like a good expression.

  "This may sound really out of the blue but-do I know you from when we were really small children? Were we perhaps really close friends?" I asked. It felt right that I did ask, I owed it to him to remember if that's what he were hoping for me to do. He sighed and smiled to himself, then he collected his bowl from the table. 

  "Are you finished eating?" he asked, I nodded and he took my bowl as well to dump them into the sink. Did he just ignore my question? Was I wrong about him understanding the mistaken identity? 

  "Where's your living room at? We can sit there and talk" he said in a neutral tone. I nodded and led him into our family room area, there was a sofa, a bookshelf and a mini flat screen but it was still not as much as I'd seen families have on television. When he sat on the sofa, he was so close to me that our arms touched and I could smell a faint scent of his laundry detergent--that really sounded creepy.

  "So you remember everything then? It's alright if you don't, it was so long ago that I don't expect you to remember every single detail but if you want a refresher I can help" he said.

  "How do you remember everything?" I asked curiously. 

  "What happened hurt so much that I couldn't help but remember losing my first best friend" he said sadly. I felt my face scrunch with confusion; I looked back up to Takeru so that he knew he had my undivided attention. 

  "It was kindergarten and we were both scared on our first day of school. You were a lot more nervous than I was but that was the problem I guess. The teacher was getting annoyed with us so she had us go with another teacher to try and calm us down--that way she could teach the rest of the class" he stopped for a second and smiled.

  "The teacher that took us told us to hold hands on the way to her class and so we did, I definitely felt a lot better but you just kept crying. So I gave you a hug and tried my best to keep you calm in that little shell of yours. Anyways, the teacher taught us for about a week until we went back to the classroom" he paused for a second. 

 "Then we were inseparable and did everything together, I even came and spent the night here a couple of times. But towards the end of the school year we had a new kid that transferred here and she was just like we were when we first started. You calmed her down just like I did, and brought her into our group. I tried to treat her just as fair as  I treated you but I was closer to you so it just didn't work out. And in the end it was her you chose, it still is" he said, my mind's gears were set into motion and I remembered. Did Aiko not try to refresh my memory for a reason or did she not remember as well? 

  "Aiko?" I said silently. When I looked at Takeru he only nodded and then started playing with a loose thread on his shirt. 

  "It's alright now though, I moved but when I came back you were the first person I noticed. Well--besides Aiko of course but I'd tried to get your attention for so long but I never got anything in return. When I helped you today I thought that you'd remember seeing me up close for sure, and then there was class. I kept thinking you'd recognize my name but I never got anything out of you. But then I thought you remembered at lunch again and still it was nothing, well it was a start and an open opportunity" he said smiling and he nudged me in my side. 

  "You said you spent the night?" I asked him, he nodded and I felt a jolt of excitement. 

  "Well maybe my parents remember you then--you could probably come over after school. They'll be off of work tomorrow, and maybe they'd let us hang out a lot more" I suggested, he smiled and looked at me. 

  "Of course, that'd be a wonderful idea" he said and looked down at his watch. I swallowed, hopefully it wasn't that late this soon. He shifted in his seat and then stood up, when he looked down at me he wore a look of satisfaction.

  "You have to leave?" I asked, standing up as well. 

  "Yes, we have a big day tomorrow after school and I still have to get home before my parents do. Do you by any chance have a bike?" he asked. 

  "Yes, did you want to borrow it to get home?" I asked. 

  "No, I have my own. I was just wondering if you want to start riding with me to school, that way it's faster to ride back without having to call a cab" he said. 

  "Oh, of course that'd be great. But--I usually ride to school with Aiko" I said. I felt bad for choosing Aiko after him even after all of these years later. He gave me a sad smile and nodded to show his understanding. 

  "But you know, I think she'd understand or maybe we could all ride together?" I suggested, he smiled. 

  "Well, alright that sounds good. Hopefully since we're older we can all get along much better than back when" he said laughing. 

  "Well, thank you for coming over. It was very--" I trailed off and searched my mind for the word to use.

  "Fun? Well maybe you can put this into your entry for the writing contest" he said and smiled. 

  "How did you--" I started, but then I remembered that he was right outside of the classroom when I'd finished talking to Mrs. Hye. It never occurred to me to ask him how long he'd been standing out there and what all he heard. I guess it didn't matter not that I had at least a guess of how much he'd heard. 

  "Good night Leia" he said and came closer to pull me into a warm hug. I hugged him back and walked him to the door as he left into the night, I had something to look forward to tomorrow. For once in my life I had no idea how the nest day would go about, and that was exciting to me. 

Author's Note

Feedback is much appreciated. Please tell me what you thought about it, will be updating again VERY soon!