25 Ending Shopping

We get up from the table and start walking.

*crash*

"Sorry! It was an accident!"

'Hm? Naomi?'

"Hahaha! You are pathetic! You can't even carry a plate!"

'What?'

"Everyone has accidents-" Naomi tries to defend herself.

"But you always do! Hahaha!"

"Who are they?" I ask.

"They are classmates. As you can see, they are idiots" Elin responds.

"Besides, why do you care about-"

"That was my hamburger, so I care a lot" says one of them.

"What happened here?" the manager of the stall approaches.

"Sorry! I stumbled and dropped the hamburger by accident..."

"Oh, don't worry. But you have to pay for it and apologize to the client"

"But! Fine…"

"Yes, where's my apology? Nerd"

"Son of-"

"Calm down, Alex. I'll go"

"I... I'm sorry... I'll bring you another hamburger right away..."

"You better hurry up. One more minute and I'll tell everyone this place-"

"Nao! Are you okay?"

"Reidun?" the guys are surprised.

"Elin? I thought you left... Yes, I'm okay, thank you"

"How interesting, I just heard some rumors about you. Is it true that you are-"

"What was your name? Since you're a nobody I forgot, hehe" Elin says.

"Tsk... Don't think that, because you were the class president in first-"

"Come on Nao, let's pick this up"

"Bitch, I'm talking to you!"

"What did you say?" Kuno approaches them.

"Don't think you scare us just because you're older..."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes ... Anyway, we were already leaving, we don't want to eat in a place as disgusting as this"

They all three leave.

"There go three clients... Well, I don't think they matter very much. Sakura, as soon as you finish cleaning you can take the day off" says the manager.

"Su- sure. Thank you…"

"Rest well"

"After everything that happened he looks very calm" Elin says.

"He is very kind. I think he's already used to my stupidity"

"Come on, don't be so hard on you-"

"Don't worry, I'm used to it" she tries to smile.

"Nao..."

"Thanks for helping me clean up. I better go" she turns around and leaves.

'A tear…'

"Elin, I think Naomi-" I approach Elin.

"I know. I'll go with her for a while. I'll return home as soon as I can" she gives us her bags and says goodbye.

We leave the mall.

"What a way to end the day" Kuno says.

"She's going to be fine. It's true that she is very clumsy, but she's very smart" Dai says.

"Yes, I think so. When will you tell her you like her?"

"I already told you a hundred times that I don't like her!"

"But you play almost every night. Also, the way you both talk is very strange"

"And when will you tell-"

Kuno shuts his mouth.

"Don't listen to anything this idiot says" Kuno says to me.

"What? I'm sorry, I was thinking about everything that happened..."

"Forget it…"

Kuno moves his hand away from Dai.

"Dammit! When you do that I can't breathe! "

"Anyway. Let's hope everything goes well. Let's go back home"

'A lot of things happened today... But I can't stop thinking...'

We walk under the sunset.

'Naomi reminds me a lot of myself... I used to break plates at home all the time... I wasted so much food that dad cooked for that reason... But he was already used to my clumsiness...'

I stop walking.

'Now, dad died and... And I miss his food-'

*sob*

"Alex? Are you okay?" Kuno asks.

"Yes…"

"What happened? You got hurt? An allergy?" Dai asks.

Kuno hits him.

"It's not the time to make jokes"

"I wasn't joking..."

"I just need some time... Let's go back quickly"

We arrive at home with the moon illuminating the sky.

"Are you feeling better?" Kuno asks me.

"A little... I just want to be alone for a while"

"Don't you want to take a bath? It's very relaxing" Dai says.

"May l? We couldn't do it at home because of the water..."

"Sure, I'll prepare it. I'll call you when it's ready"

"Thank you…"

Dai goes upstairs.

"Kuno... You know who are your parents?"

He is surprised by the question.

"Well... we all know who our parents are, but we've never investigated more than their names"

"Have you never been curious?"

"A lot, a few years ago. But we already went through that stage"

"I... I've been thinking... I don't know anything about my mom. And even though I lived with my dad for 18 years, I don't know anything about him either..."

"Alex..."

"It's unfair, don't you think? I didn't choose this life. They neither. They sacrificed to give me a better life. They sacrificed hundreds of lives... Why? Am I really that important? Now I will have to pay the consequences. I think it would have been better not to have been born-"

Kuno slaps me.

"I'm sorry, but you must come to your senses. Your parents have already paid for their crimes, you don't have to pay anything. They decided to do it because you are their daughter. If they hadn't escaped, I don't know where you would be now. They done their part, now it's your turn. Don't let their sacrifices be in vain-"

I throw myself towards Kuno and hug him.

*sob*

Dai comes down the stairs.

"Alex, the bath is ready- Oh, I'm sorry"

"It's fine, I'm going right now"

I grab the clothes I bought.

"Thank you, Kuno. But I'm still worried about many things..."

"It doesn't make sense to be now. You already suffered enough, now it's time for you to clear your mind and establish yourself in your new home. You just have to worry about things your age, like school"

"You're right, I had forgotten. I'll be taking a bath"

I go upstairs.

I enter the bathroom and close the door.

'Wow... How much foam...'

I'm looking for the pajamas I bought inside the bags.

'Here it is, it looks very comfortable'

I go to the bathtub.

'I wonder how the water temperature is...'

I check the water with my hand.

'It's perfect'

I get naked.

'Wait a moment. I had completely forgotten about the stab, but I don't feel anything...'

I take off the bandage.

'Impossible, now it's just a scar... Thinking about it, I don't know what is impossible anymore'

*plop*

*plop*

I enter the bathtub.

'Ah... Now I have to sit down...'

Slowly, I start to slide until I feel the bathtub with my butt.

'This is great…'

I lay my head on the edge.

'So this was what I was missing for 18 years...'

I close my eyes.

'Kuno is right, I should stop worrying so much. Dad wouldn't like to see me cry all the time...'

I move my legs.

*swoosh*

'I still see a bit blurry, I hope it's not a problem. And I don't know what to do with my hair, people just stare at it... Although they don't just look at that...'

I look down.

'Is really my body... pretty? Elin said she envies me. Although I think she is prettier... And Naomi is very cute too'

*swoosh*

'Dai said she is very smart, but very clumsy. Those guys are idiots. What's the point in making fun of someone? It must be very annoying to be in their class... Speaking of which, I should think if I want to enter the university...'

I lay my head on the edge again.

'But first, I will clear my mind for a while...'

Blink.

Blink.

*click*

'What the fuck?'

*splash*

I cover myself with my arms.

"Elin! Knock before!"

"What? Oops, I'm sorry, I didn't realize"

She goes out of the bathroom.

'That was strange... How long was I here? I didn't hear when she arrived'

I get out of the water.

I grab a towel and begin to dry myself.

I put on my new pajamas and leave the bathroom, carrying the bags full of clothes.

I enter Elin's room.

I leave the bags on the floor.

"Elin? Are you okay?" I ask Elin.

"Totally. Why do you ask?"

"I think you're acting a bit weird... Is Naomi fine?"

"She's perfectly"

"That's good…"

"I'll go take a shower" Elin says.

"Okay. I'll be bored here-"

*BAM*

'She left... I was hoping she would give me something to distract...'

"Alex! Can you come to my room?" Dai yells.