Ripples [3]
FROM CHAPTER 2:
“See?”
“Oh, come on, Kris!”
As they were laughing and yelling at the abandoned bench, someone was looking at them from the right side. Looking seductive but very mad, she puts on a poker face and went away.
“Naoko Kujo… I will definitely,” Mashiro Ayami played her Swiss knife, “destroy you.”
~o~
It was almost time for midterm exams but Naoko wasn’t really concentrating about it. She missed two classes already, and there was only one reason for it. Kris.
“Do we really have to go today?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kris said, holding her hand towards the bakery shop, “I think it will be a good thing for us to spend this day eating pastries.”
“But-”
“No, buts, Naoko.”
“No,” Naoko laughed, “I don’t really like pastries, Kris.”
Kris then looked at her and started laughing. Naoko smiled shyly and looked away from him. Kris swayed his head sideways and caressed her cheeks.
“Of all people, damn it,” Kris chuckled, “Seriously? You don’t eat pastries?”
“I’m not a fan of it, sorry.”
“Ah, whatever,” Kris pulled her near him, “You’re still coming with me, whether you eat or not.”
As they approached the counter, the owner looked and saw that it was his favorite customer.
“Why, isn’t it Kris Wu?”
“Yeah, it’s me, back from the dead,” Kris said, holding the booklet which contains the menu, “well, even so, this is same old, same old.”
“No, this ain’t same old, you have a girl with you.”
Naoko blushed, thinking what she wanted to think. She gripped his hand tightly and tried not to look around much.
“Well, Kris never ever had brought a woman here before. Except that one time…”
“One vanilla milk tea and one caramel macchiato, please,” Kris hurriedly ordered. His face then turned worried and glanced at Naoko, who was still at the peak of listening to the owner.
“Who was he talking about?”
“Oh, nothing, I don’t really… know…”
Naoko then changed the topic so that they would have a nice afternoon together. Kris, on the other hand, looked back at the counter, and the store owner nodded at him and made the words ‘sorry’ with his mouth.
~o~
“Are you sure I’m dropping you here?”
“Yes, come on, it’s only a block away, don’t worry.”
Kris nodded his head and waved to Naoko. She walked and tried to remember what happened during the day. Suddenly, two men blocked her path and when she tried to cross the street, two more men appeared. They looked big and sturdy but she can see that they are only high school students. She saw the logo of a sword and a lion.
“Geom Saja High School…” she whispered to herself. She tried to think why on earth these students who are not related to her are, and whose school is three kilometers away from their school, are trying to block her? She wanted to ask them but she knew it was pointless. They were holding something on their hand, but she knew it wasn’t a knife, since the handle had two holes.
Scissors, she looked at them.
“Hmm, they said ‘when the cat is gone, the mice will play.’, ain’t it right, Ms. Naoko Kujo?”
She looked to her left, then, to her right. She was sure it was a woman’s voice. And, at that moment, an arm hooked her neck.
“Boo…”
~o~
Kris was on his way to the subway when he found that Naoko’s wallet was on his bag.
Oh, yeah, he thought, she bought me a pair of shirts before we went to her house.
He, then, turned around and went back.
At that very moment, too, Naoko was now strangling herself from two of the men who were around her. She cried but didn’t call for help.
“Okay, so, you really don’t wanna talk. Lucky for you, I’m not in the mood to kill someone,” the woman said, “but, I’m in the mood to degrade you.”
The woman grabbed one of the pair of scissors. She smiled at Naoko, while playing with the scissors, as if it was just a toy.
“You have a very wonderful hair, Naoko,” she grabbed Naoko’s cheeks, “why don’t you cut them?”
“Please, stop…”
“Oh,” the woman let go of her and clapped her hands mockingly, “so, you have a tongue. So, tell me, what’s with you and Kris?”
“He’s a friend, a classmate, that’s all,” Naoko said, as she tries to let go of her arm, “There’s nothing between the two of us.”
“What if I tell you he broke up with me because of you?”
Naoko could not say anything more. She was dumbfounded.
He did that? She asked herself.
“That was the good part, the bad part, though… He forgot how obsessed I am about him.” The woman then raised her hand and pulled Naoko’s hair. The latter was kicking from the ground and was trying to get out her arm, but she can’t.
“Sorry, Naoko. I am just too much of a bitch to do this.”
They left Naoko on the ground. She was crying and was collecting her hair.
“Oh, one more thing,” the woman said, and held Naoko’s face, “tell Kris, we, at Geom Saja, miss him so much.”
“Naoko?”
The woman saw that it was Kris’ silhouette and quickly went away. Kris rushed to Naoko and saw what happened.
“Shit, shit, what happened? Who are they? Did you see their faces? How-”
“STOP! JUST SHUT UP!”
Naoko screamed and cried. He, who was still wondering who were those people are, massaged his head then hugged her.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered, “It’ll be alright. It will be fine.”
“No, you don’t understand, no,” Naoko sobbed as she spoke, “They- they said, they m-miss you.”
“Huh?”
“They are… They are fr-from Geom S-Saja…”
As he heard the name of the school, Kris’ sight turned black. He helped Naoko stand up and it was a good thing that she wasn’t hurt.
“I’ll get them for you, I promise.”
“No, please, it’s just a petty situation…”
“No,” Kris smirked, “The rumours that you might have heard before about that school, they are all true. We live to fight.” He kissed her cheek and rang the doorbell.
“Um, Kris,” Naoko smiled, “this is not my house.”
“Then, where is… Don’t tell me you live there?”
Naoko nodded and Kris looked away at the sight. It was a plain white mansion with the largest front yard Kris had ever seen.
“I AM really gonna get them for you.”
“It’s okay…”
~o~
The next day, Kris didn’t show up since the morning class. Naoko knew that he might go to Geom Saja High. She was worried yet she felt happy that he was trying to do this for her. Naoko also had some people turn heads to her because of her new hairstyle. Her parents were shocked to see her hair. She made up a story, as always, and tried to ease the tense by saying “it’s just hair”.
On the other hand, Kris was a little tense. He never wanted to go back at this school, his old school. Some students saw him and were familiar of who he was. When he reached the rooftop, he saw some of his old clique.
“Where is she?” He raised one of the students and threatened him, “where in this fucking school is she?”
“Calm down, baby,” a woman’s voice spoke, “What brings you here?”
“Mashiro Ayami… what the hell did you do to her?”
“With who-”
“I said, ” he pushed her to the wall, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?”
Mashiro spat on her left side, “If you knew any better, you should not have broken up with me.”
“The fuck’s your problem, Mashiro?! She’s not even my girlfriend, why the hell did you do that?!”
“So,” Mashiro, then, was taken aback, “she was telling the truth? No connections?”
“Look,” Kris let go of her and opened the door, “if you have a problem with me, tell me and I’ll show up and give you a good night sleep. But if it’s about her, stop bothering yourself. You, people, are not the only friends that I have.”
With that, he left.
“What should we do now, Ayami?” asked one of the students who was smoking.
“I think,” Mashiro smiled, “we move on to plan B. He’s lying. He does feel for her, and so does she. We just need to push them both a little bit, until one of them falls on the cliff.”
“See?”
“Oh, come on, Kris!”
As they were laughing and yelling at the abandoned bench, someone was looking at them from the right side. Looking seductive but very mad, she puts on a poker face and went away.
“Naoko Kujo… I will definitely,” Mashiro Ayami played her Swiss knife, “destroy you.”
~o~
It was almost time for midterm exams but Naoko wasn’t really concentrating about it. She missed two classes already, and there was only one reason for it. Kris.
“Do we really have to go today?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kris said, holding her hand towards the bakery shop, “I think it will be a good thing for us to spend this day eating pastries.”
“But-”
“No, buts, Naoko.”
“No,” Naoko laughed, “I don’t really like pastries, Kris.”
Kris then looked at her and started laughing. Naoko smiled shyly and looked away from him. Kris swayed his head sideways and caressed her cheeks.
“Of all people, damn it,” Kris chuckled, “Seriously? You don’t eat pastries?”
“I’m not a fan of it, sorry.”
“Ah, whatever,” Kris pulled her near him, “You’re still coming with me, whether you eat or not.”
As they approached the counter, the owner looked and saw that it was his favorite customer.
“Why, isn’t it Kris Wu?”
“Yeah, it’s me, back from the dead,” Kris said, holding the booklet which contains the menu, “well, even so, this is same old, same old.”
“No, this ain’t same old, you have a girl with you.”
Naoko blushed, thinking what she wanted to think. She gripped his hand tightly and tried not to look around much.
“Well, Kris never ever had brought a woman here before. Except that one time…”
“One vanilla milk tea and one caramel macchiato, please,” Kris hurriedly ordered. His face then turned worried and glanced at Naoko, who was still at the peak of listening to the owner.
“Who was he talking about?”
“Oh, nothing, I don’t really… know…”
Naoko then changed the topic so that they would have a nice afternoon together. Kris, on the other hand, looked back at the counter, and the store owner nodded at him and made the words ‘sorry’ with his mouth.
~o~
“Are you sure I’m dropping you here?”
“Yes, come on, it’s only a block away, don’t worry.”
Kris nodded his head and waved to Naoko. She walked and tried to remember what happened during the day. Suddenly, two men blocked her path and when she tried to cross the street, two more men appeared. They looked big and sturdy but she can see that they are only high school students. She saw the logo of a sword and a lion.
“Geom Saja High School…” she whispered to herself. She tried to think why on earth these students who are not related to her are, and whose school is three kilometers away from their school, are trying to block her? She wanted to ask them but she knew it was pointless. They were holding something on their hand, but she knew it wasn’t a knife, since the handle had two holes.
Scissors, she looked at them.
“Hmm, they said ‘when the cat is gone, the mice will play.’, ain’t it right, Ms. Naoko Kujo?”
She looked to her left, then, to her right. She was sure it was a woman’s voice. And, at that moment, an arm hooked her neck.
“Boo…”
~o~
Kris was on his way to the subway when he found that Naoko’s wallet was on his bag.
Oh, yeah, he thought, she bought me a pair of shirts before we went to her house.
He, then, turned around and went back.
At that very moment, too, Naoko was now strangling herself from two of the men who were around her. She cried but didn’t call for help.
“Okay, so, you really don’t wanna talk. Lucky for you, I’m not in the mood to kill someone,” the woman said, “but, I’m in the mood to degrade you.”
The woman grabbed one of the pair of scissors. She smiled at Naoko, while playing with the scissors, as if it was just a toy.
“You have a very wonderful hair, Naoko,” she grabbed Naoko’s cheeks, “why don’t you cut them?”
“Please, stop…”
“Oh,” the woman let go of her and clapped her hands mockingly, “so, you have a tongue. So, tell me, what’s with you and Kris?”
“He’s a friend, a classmate, that’s all,” Naoko said, as she tries to let go of her arm, “There’s nothing between the two of us.”
“What if I tell you he broke up with me because of you?”
Naoko could not say anything more. She was dumbfounded.
He did that? She asked herself.
“That was the good part, the bad part, though… He forgot how obsessed I am about him.” The woman then raised her hand and pulled Naoko’s hair. The latter was kicking from the ground and was trying to get out her arm, but she can’t.
“Sorry, Naoko. I am just too much of a bitch to do this.”
They left Naoko on the ground. She was crying and was collecting her hair.
“Oh, one more thing,” the woman said, and held Naoko’s face, “tell Kris, we, at Geom Saja, miss him so much.”
“Naoko?”
The woman saw that it was Kris’ silhouette and quickly went away. Kris rushed to Naoko and saw what happened.
“Shit, shit, what happened? Who are they? Did you see their faces? How-”
“STOP! JUST SHUT UP!”
Naoko screamed and cried. He, who was still wondering who were those people are, massaged his head then hugged her.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered, “It’ll be alright. It will be fine.”
“No, you don’t understand, no,” Naoko sobbed as she spoke, “They- they said, they m-miss you.”
“Huh?”
“They are… They are fr-from Geom S-Saja…”
As he heard the name of the school, Kris’ sight turned black. He helped Naoko stand up and it was a good thing that she wasn’t hurt.
“I’ll get them for you, I promise.”
“No, please, it’s just a petty situation…”
“No,” Kris smirked, “The rumours that you might have heard before about that school, they are all true. We live to fight.” He kissed her cheek and rang the doorbell.
“Um, Kris,” Naoko smiled, “this is not my house.”
“Then, where is… Don’t tell me you live there?”
Naoko nodded and Kris looked away at the sight. It was a plain white mansion with the largest front yard Kris had ever seen.
“I AM really gonna get them for you.”
“It’s okay…”
~o~
The next day, Kris didn’t show up since the morning class. Naoko knew that he might go to Geom Saja High. She was worried yet she felt happy that he was trying to do this for her. Naoko also had some people turn heads to her because of her new hairstyle. Her parents were shocked to see her hair. She made up a story, as always, and tried to ease the tense by saying “it’s just hair”.
On the other hand, Kris was a little tense. He never wanted to go back at this school, his old school. Some students saw him and were familiar of who he was. When he reached the rooftop, he saw some of his old clique.
“Where is she?” He raised one of the students and threatened him, “where in this fucking school is she?”
“Calm down, baby,” a woman’s voice spoke, “What brings you here?”
“Mashiro Ayami… what the hell did you do to her?”
“With who-”
“I said, ” he pushed her to the wall, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?”
Mashiro spat on her left side, “If you knew any better, you should not have broken up with me.”
“The fuck’s your problem, Mashiro?! She’s not even my girlfriend, why the hell did you do that?!”
“So,” Mashiro, then, was taken aback, “she was telling the truth? No connections?”
“Look,” Kris let go of her and opened the door, “if you have a problem with me, tell me and I’ll show up and give you a good night sleep. But if it’s about her, stop bothering yourself. You, people, are not the only friends that I have.”
With that, he left.
“What should we do now, Ayami?” asked one of the students who was smoking.
“I think,” Mashiro smiled, “we move on to plan B. He’s lying. He does feel for her, and so does she. We just need to push them both a little bit, until one of them falls on the cliff.”