6. The World Not so at peace as it Seems

    


Date: July 27, 2013
Day: Saturday



“Here you go,” Hanak held out the tray with the hot coffee.

    “Um, thank you,” Allen said fidgeting in her chair. Warily she shot Hanaka a quick glance. She had a  glittering smile pasted on her face. I don’t know why but....that’s just making me more uncomfortable. Please stop!!

 “Do you need anything else?” Hanaka asked.

   Allen eyes twitched. “No....” She mumbled, shifting her eyes around the room.  The freaky smile was really intimidating!!! “So,..you were going to tell me something...”

    Hanaka’s smile faded slowly, “Yes.” Timidly, she reached over for the bulging packet straddling the other half of the tray. “This is for you.”

    “Hai,” She let her hands hover over the packet as Hanaka slid it towards her. “Um, what is it?”

    “School transfer papers.”

     Allen’s eyes darted towards Hanka. “What! But...how?”

    Hanaka folded her arms and leaned back into her chair. “Listen, I don’t know why Katane-nay suddenly decided you should go to the States or why you should come back now. If you really want answers you’d have to ask her.”

    Katane-nay.... she’s not here. ...with Hiyo-ni.

    Hanaka studied Allen’s slouched posture. “Don’t concern yourself so much over this. I’m sure she won’t mind if you call her now.” Shrugging, she sipped her coffee. “She probably already called the office a couple times already. You won’t be troubling her if you call to talk about this.”

    ...that’s not what I’m worried ....about.

    “Hmm,” Allen squeezed her coffee cup. It was warm; maybe it would seep into her and melt the cold... “Is that all?”

    Hanaka nodded, “Um, yes.”

    “Thanks for the coffee,” Allen muttered as she stood up.

    “It’s no problem..” Hanaka stood up as well. “But...the papers haven’t been confirmed. I guess she wanted to give you a choice this time around.”

    “Well, that’s nice to know,” Allen mocked.

    “Tctch!” Hanaka pointed a finger at Allen. “Show some respect. Isn't what you’ve already done enough?”

    “What...”

    Hanaka sighed as she looked away from Allen.

    Nay-san.....

    “I’m even surprised that you showed for the wedding. Should we thank you for gracing us with your divine presence yesterday?”

    “Nay-san,..what are you talking about?” Allen’s voice cracked. “I...I don’t know what your-”

    “Oh, this is just great! Now you don’t know what I’m talking about!” Flustered, Hanaka slapped her coffee down onto the kitchen table. “Just get out of my way.”

    “Wait, nay-san!” Springing, Allen latched onto her arms just as she reached the exit. “Nay...”

    “You don’t call, email, text, or even send a letter for a whole year! Do you understand that? What the hell were we supposed to think? Do you even know how worried we’ve all been for you? On top of that you don’t pick up your phone when we call! Then you don’t come home for any holidays, and what about when school ends? Half the time even Aunty Mariko didn’t know where you were! You didn’t even bother to show your face until the last minute for Katane-nay’s wedding!”

    Stunned, Allen lowered her head. “I’m...I’m sorry.”

    “Whatever,” Hanka pulled at her arms. “It’s not me you were trying to punish, isn’t that right?”

    No! That’s not it! “That’s-”

    “Look, just shut it. Alright?”

    “Nay-san. Please...”

    Hanaka looked back at Allen and sighed. “Look, just forget it. Let me know when you decide to leave. I’ll see who’s available to drop you off.”

- I guess some of you might be annoyed at me for this twist but....(spoiler) The last year has changed a lot between the sisters, as you might have seen in this excerpt. Now you've been hinted at booth the sweet and sour after a whole year. Keep in tune for more. (That was a terrible pitch line.) H.T