December 5th Mon. -- Afternoon
The floor boards creaked sleepily as Kasai walked down the dreary hallway. Few lights lined the dusty hallway barely illuminating his way. The dull colors of the area gave the place an unkept feeling. One of the bruised, brass numbers on the door Kasai had stopped at had turned upside down, hanging feebly by one rusted screw. He only had to knock once on the mossy green door before a muffled voice carried from inside. Seconds later, a loud clang came from the doorknob, and Kasai hardly had to touch it before it was swinging dangerously on its hinges inwards.
A large smoke cloud billowed out of the room once the door had been pulled ajar. Kasai hesitated allowing the initial cloud to disperse before stepping into the room. The room was just as dark as the hallway only with a little light escaping into the room through the dirty window. The room was muggy and cramped. On one side of the door was a wall, on the other, a wall of junk. Tattered boxes were piled high as if someone had never gotten around to unpacking after moving in. The floor in front of the entry was littered with odds and ends and plenty of empty beer cans.
As Kasai walked into the room, he carefully stepped over the tangled mass of phone cord on the floor. The cords led to a cheap phone also lying on the floor forgotten. The room was crowded with furniture. A large couch was pushed up against one wall and facing it were two large, bulky armchairs. Boxes were stacked on top of one another to serve as a table. More junk lined the circle created by the furniture, making it impossible to shut the door leading to the bedrooms and bathroom.
Four guys lived in the apartment, but there was usually never less than six people hanging out there. At the moment, there were four guys in the living room: one on the couch, two in each of the chairs, and one using one of the many boxes for a seat. They were gruff looking and in their twenties. The guy on the box was dressed in an orange sleeveless top and orange capris. His skinny arms were decorated in ink and he had a lone patch of hair on his head spiked into a mohawk. One of the guys on a chair was dressed in red plaid pants, a black tee, and a red long sleeved jacket. He had short black hair and a dog collar around his neck. The other guy wore black pants and a button down shirt that was unbuttoned. He had bleached blond hair. The other guy on the couch looked nearly identical to Kasai, only with longer and shaggier black hair. He wore all black except for a white under shirt.
Each of the guys looked up at Kasai as he entered the room and greeted him lazily. After returning the greeting, Kasai picked his way carefully to the couch to sit besides his brother Jin. It had been some time since he had last visited his brother. The apartment wasn’t one that Kasai was very fond of. It was dirty and cramped, and all the tenants in the room ever did was sit around getting high. There was a pile of needles on a box besides an ashtray with more cigarette butts then what could fit in the tray.
“So what have you been up to?” Jin asked him, breaking his trail of thought. “Nothing much, just school,” Kasai responded unenthusiastically. The guy in red shifted in his seat. “I saw you hanging ‘round wif that Harchi girl…” he began before being interrupted by the blond. “Harchi? How you manage that?”
Kasai looked between the two and then at his brother confused. “I’m sorry, I don’t know any ‘Harchi’-”
“Naw I know it was her. Her blonde hair an’ the way she dress… I had a bad run in wif them some time ago, but I remember her,” the guy in red cut Kasai off. Jin looked curiously at Kasai, eventually saying, “Running with gangs now, eh lil’ bro?”
“What? No!” Kasai began. “I don’t know who this ‘Harchi’ is, but I can tell you that Yumi is not her. Yumi’s not in a gang.” As he said this, he couldn’t help recall all her bruises and excuses to why she couldn’t hang out that day.
“Didja fuck her yet?” said the guy in orange in a Kansai dialect, changing the direction of the conversation.
“That’s none of your business and I would rather not talk about Yumi anymore,” Kasai spoke defiantly.
The blond held out his hand, “Want a smoke?” Every time Kasai came here, he was offered either a joint or a shot. Every time, he always rejected it. This time, however, with his thoughts whirling in his mind, Kasai reached out and took it from the guy. Seeing this, Jin smiled.