Figments of Imagination (Chapter 2)

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The blast of car horns and people screaming were enough to pull Umi’s concentration away from the romance novel she was reading. She looked up to find people calling each other names and threatening other drivers on the road, using language that she would never use herself. Every time she heard a swear word, Umi’s pencil-thin blue eyebrows would rise. She swore a lot herself but not like these fools on the road. This was where the hell the girls decided to shop? Oh yes, Ai and Kiku were out of their goddamned minds. No wonder Sora wanted to escape this place.

The screaming, cussing drivers weren’t the only things constantly breaking her concentration. Behind her were a couple of schoolgirls, still dressed in their uniforms, gushing over the newest J-pop musician to hit the scene. Their squeals and giggles sometimes rose above the foul language being used on the streets. On Umi’s left side was a young woman begging her boyfriend to go shopping with her. He kept refusing as she tugged on his sleeve. Her whining was another wonderful addition to sounds that kept aspiring authors from brainstorming or even paying attention to what they were doing. Why, oh why, did she live in such a noisy town?

This is all Sora’s goddamn fault. Umi thought to herself, trying so hard no to look furious. She had just gotten to the climatic part of her novel as well and whenever she wanted to dive farther into the story, she was pulled away by one of those stupid sounds. Hopefully Sora would come soon because the moment she did, Umi was going to strangle her.

Folding the page in her book and putting the book down on the bench where she sat, Umi rubbed her temples. Downtown Tokyo, despite all the lovely restaurants and shops it had, also bought in lots of bad things. Pollution, criminals, cranky people…name it and it was in Tokyo. Thank God her apartment was far from this crazy place.

With no chance in finishing the novel now, Umi decided to try and write down what she needed to do while she waited for Sora to come. Finding a small slip of paper in her bag, which was blank except for Natsume’s phone number, Umi flipped it over and picked up the pen. Thumb running across the stripes, she loved the way it glimmered in the sunlight.

“You asshole, watch where you’re going!”

“Shut your damn mouth, ya’ son of a bitch!”

Umi winced and almost screamed to both of them. Damn drivers. She couldn’t even admire her new pen with all that screaming. But, then again, it *was* a pen. What was there to admire?

Well, it’s a pretty pen. And I’m sure it still writes. Umi opened the cap and saw that it was felt-tipped, not ballpoint. She tried hard not to jump for joy. She always preferred felt-tipped pens to ballpoints any day. The words always appeared clear and bold when written with one of them.

Harada Sora had finally snuck up from behind Umi, waiting to see what her friend was going to do. Her shadow loomed over Umi who didn’t notice until she got settle to make a list. She turned around to find Sora with a shit-eating grin on her face.

“I was wondering when you’d notice me.” Sora said. Using one hand, she brushed aside some dark brown hair from her eyes. “Took you long enough, Umi.”

Umi turned away, pretending to be upset. “I hate you very much right now. You begged and pleaded for me to come. When I do, you’re nowhere in sight! I had to listen to those girls singing some damn J-pop song over and over again! Oh yeah, and the cussing…God, Sora, my mother would kill me if I ever used some of those words in the house!”

“Umi, darling, you *do* use those words in the house. Haven’t you ever heard yourself?”

“Not that much though. Anyway, forget about that. What took you so long?”

“Blame Kiku. She saw some ‘really adorable sandals’ in the window of one of these stores and dragged me into it. I spent a whole hour trying on nothing but shoes.” Sora sighed as she sat down on the bench next to Umi. “Somehow, I convinced Kiku to let me go and here I am. She was a little disappointed I didn’t buy anything but…”

“You didn’t have enough money.” Umi finished off. Sora nodded. This was typical. The Harada family had never been well off when it came to money and Sora usually saved most of what she earned. That’s why she often felt left out when Ai and Kikuno dragged her on a shopping spree. They would spend endless amounts of money buying all the latest trends while Sora would usually buy something small for herself (most likely, if it was on sale). Umi did pity her. The Yanagisawa family also wasn’t wealthy, even though they were slightly better off. Money could be here one day and gone the next. It was a lesson that both Ai and Kikuno would have to learn soon. Perhaps the hard way but they’d learn it.

“But enough about me!” Sora put a smile back on her face. “I did tell you about the thong that Ai bought me, right?”

“Oh my God, you let her *buy* it? Sora, what the hell were you thinking?”

“You mean, what the hell was *Ai* thinking. To be honest, I don’t know. She said it looked cute on me and that the boys would finally notice me in that. And you know me. I want a boyfriend so badly.”

“Not all men go for girls wearing skimpy outfits.” Umi pointed out. Almost immediately, she was reminded of her crush on Watabe Kouji. He was one of the men she was referring to. He did not become Umi’s best friend when he saw her in a bathing suit (which he only had the privilege of doing twice). He became her friend when he started talking to her, when he read the stories and poetry she wrote, and when she stood up for him. Did he ever like seeing her in a bathing suit? Perhaps but she wasn’t going to ask. Bathing suits did not bring people together. People bought people together.

Sora, however, was well aware of Umi’s little crush on Kouji. She knew exactly what her friend was saying. “And not all men are like Kouji and Junpei. You know that, don’t you?”

“Look, the point I’m trying to make is not to let Ai and Kiku rope you into getting something you don’t want.” Umi said, avoiding all thoughts and feelings of Kouji. “And I know you’ll find someone soon. It’s gonna take time.”

“Whatever.” Sora sighed. “So how long have you been waiting for me?”

“Who knows? I’m glad you’re here though.” Then Umi lowered her voice so that people around her wouldn’t hear. “I was ready to kill one of those stupid girls behind me. I swear I hate that “I Can’t Stop Loving You” song now!”

Sora laughed and minutes later, Umi joined in. It made them forget about the craziness all around them and the difficulty of life itself. Umi wished she could take the things she was seeing now and write them down. Perhaps she could do that tonight and maybe, just maybe, it would lead her somewhere.

“Oh, Sora!”

“Oh, Umi!”

“Oh no!” Sora and Umi said together, recognizing the voices at once. They didn’t need to turn to see who it was. They could pick Orimoto Ai and Oikawa Kikuno out of a crowd any day. Somehow, those two were the most conspicuous members in the group.

“I’m going back to hell.” Sora joked as a flustered Ai and cheerful Kikuno greeted them. Both were carrying bags that looked like they weighed well over 200 lbs. Most likely, they had clothes and shoes inside. Ai squeezed herself in between Umi and Sora while Kikuno got on Umi’s other side. Both girls began talking at once, making it hard for Sora or Umi to understand what they were saying.

“I bought the cutest pair of…”

“Oh my God, you will not believe…”

“He’s here! It’s that guy…”

“I can’t believe you decided to…”

“Whoa!” Umi stood up, dropping her purse in the process and holding out her hands. She picked the bag off the ground and let out a deep breath. “You guys! I have no idea what the hell you’re trying to tell me!”

Kikuno smiled and fanned herself. Sweat poured down her bright-red face due to her excitement. Moping up the area around her forehead, she relaxed her shoulders and began to talk all over again.

“Ah, sorry.” She apologized. She readjusted the purple scarf around her neck as she went on. “Ai and I had a lot of fun shopping today.”

“You mean you had fun torturing poor Sora. I don’t know what kept me from kicking you both in the ass.” Sora frowned.

Ai giggled. “You love us and you’d never hurt us! That’s why Sora-Plain-and-Tall would never put a foot up my poor ass.”

“Wanna bet? How about I…”

“Enough with the talk of asses already.” Umi sat back down on the bench. This time, she was next to Kikuno and on the edge. “So how much money did you waste today?”

“Ah, you’re so stingy, Umi!” Ai sighed. “I don’t see it as wasting money. I see it as…giving it away to get something better for myself.”

“In other words, you’re wasting money.” Umi rubbed her face. She rested her chin on her knuckles. “So where’s the ugly thong? I wanna see it.”

“Thong? Oh, you mean this.” Kikuno opened up one of the giant bags she had bought along and pulled out a colorful yellow bikini. “Sora’s exaggerating again. This is *not* a thong.”

“What’s that string on the back of the bottom half, huh?” Sora demanded. She showed the banana-colored swimsuit to Umi. Of course, she was right. The bottom half was a thong. Umi shook her head and Kikuno just shrugged.

“It’s not an ugly thong.” She pointed out.

“I beg to differ. You’d look like a large lemon wearing this thing.”

“Are you saying *I’m* ugly?”

“No, I’m…”

Ai stepped in between Kikuno and Sora. “That’s because Sora has a different taste in fashion…but a very good one. Ne, Sora?”

Sora nodded and Kikuno backed down. Umi mouthed ‘Thank you’ over to Ai who mouthed back ‘Sora owes me one’. Umi rolled her eyes. Kikuno and Ai began to gush over the clothes once again. They spent the next few minutes talking about how cute Sora would look in this strapless bikini with flowers and how Umi should buy the adorable white sandals that were on display at some store. Sora looked miserable through the whole thing but Umi just tuned everything out. This was the perfect time to observe the things around her. Hopefully, she’d get an idea.

Behind her, there were more schoolgirls. It was a different group but they were doing the usual: gushing over the new J-pop singer. There was also a little boy whining because his mother had refused to buy him something. She kept telling him to stop complaining but his screams got louder. Finally, she pulled him into a store and his crying ceased. The traffic wasn’t quite as noisy and the language being thrown around wasn’t as vulgar anymore, just an “asshole” and “son of bitch” heard every now and then. Across the street, there was a man selling flowers and another man buying from him.

Of course, she couldn’t forget the buildings. All tall and sturdy, they seemed to touch the sky. Men and women in suits kept pouring out of them, holding newspapers and briefcases. They waited by the bus stop in silence. The sidewalks were crowded and various smells of food wafted through the air. And then there was Ai and Kiku giggling around her. Sora was sitting there, head in her hands, keeping herself from hurting her friends. All in all, it was a nice scene. Umi had to get it down.

And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, this will be the beginning of a successful novel. She thought, taking that slip of paper out again along with the pen. Pressing the sheet against her thigh, she pulled out the beautiful pen again. She had wanted to use it and the chance had come.

Carefully, she twisted the cap and pulled it off.

TBC…

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