第3章

Sighhhhhhhhhh...this is so relaxing....

One of the reasons why I chose this house, where there was a lot of greenery was because of this...

The evening chilly breeze, the sounds of the insects and the birds harmonizing into a beautiful sound with the whoosh of the wind, the setting sun illuminating the sky with hues of pinks and blues and purples. All of this with a warm cup of black coffee, the contrasting feeling of the warm cup and the hot liquid on my tongue, the nostalgic and aromatic smell of the coffee and its bitter-sweet taste dominating my mouth.

This feeling right here...is something that some people would do anything to experience.

Today was kind of a hectic day. While I rode back to my house, I saw a convenience store on the way. It had a 'wanted staff member' sign stuck on the glass walls. I thought of trying a part-time job to earn some income, then I would not have to depend fully on the money my mother makes.

And after the ride, here I was, enjoying this beautiful moment, hot coffee mug in my hands and my legs softly brushing against the cold grass as I sat at the edge of the balcony above a pillow. It was just perfect! I would have to go back inside to unpack my luggage later though, then iron the uniform that I bought from the campus and polish my shoes....

Man, I really crave for a slice of a nice, warm and fluffy cake...

Cake...cake...cake...

OH SHIT! rICE CAKES! NEIGHBORS! FRIDGE!

The thought came like a tornado in my mind, as I kept my mug down on the wooden platform, stood up and sprinted my way to the kitchen. I remembered my mom telling me to buy some rice cakes from a store to gift my neighbors, an etiquette I learnt that they followed. The sun was setting rather quickly and I had to hurry to gift my neighbors. Although the house was at an isolated area, there were a couple of houses a few metres from here so they do count as neighbors. Right?

I dashed to my bedroom and took a quick check at my outfit, a cream colored long sweater with a dark grey short skirt. My long curly brown hair was braided and at the front with a few loose fringes dangling delicately on my face. I gave myself a quick nod of approval as I went towards the fridge and grabbed the bento-wrapped rice cake boxes, wore my shoes haphazardly and went out.

There were around two houses near my area, so I walked towards the nearest house, which was a few metres away at the right side. When I reached the first house, I noticed the structure was similar to mine but it was much bigger with a wider backyard. I could also catch a glimpse of a basketball hoop as I walked towards the front door.

I took a deep breath in and pressed the doorbell button for a brief second, coming back on a stiff stance right after. A few seconds later, the door opened to a tall blond-haired boy with a pair of square-framed glasses and headphones around his neck. He wore a casual white T-shirt with knee-length black shorts, plus his height itself was intimidating and he had a slight scowl on his face.

He first looked confused when he saw at his eye level and found nothing until he tilted his head down to look at me, the glare he wore was sharp enough to murder. I thrusted my hands which had one of the bento boxes towards him.

"hm?" he hummed in confused for a second while tilting his head to the side, "oh, we don't want any girl scout cookies" he said with a straight face as he was going to immediately shut the door if it was not for me stuttering out a 'wait'. He slid the door open again and stared down at me impatiently. Even though he was just looking, it was annoying and for some reason, I had a sudden urge to punch him.

G-g-girl Scout Cookies? Just how old do you think I am??

I pretended that the comment did not get to me as I slowly dragged deep breaths in and out to calm myself. I looked up at this Giraffe and put a feigned but convincing smile myself, "oh no, I am your new neighbor! I live a few metres away from you in that house", I pointed behind me at the small house, "my name is Urvi Roy, nice to meet you!"

"Oh, Tsukishima", he nodded as he took the bento box from me and examined it for a bit, then looked back at me with a smile. He then bowed a little and shut the door right at my face with a loud bang.

"Kei who was it?" I heard a distant feminine voice ask.

"Oh just a new neighbor's kid mom, probably a middle schooler", he said.

Rude-ass tall hashbrown...

I took the other bento box and walked a few more metres further to the last house within the 'neighborhood boundary' I guess. The architecture style was slightly different from Tsukishima's and my house. It was bigger, had a flat roof unlike our sledge roofs, maybe two floors overall. They had a rusty car made into a cargo truck parked at the front yard. And I already assumed that these neighbors were much livelier as I heard loud chatters from the second floor when I walked up to the door.

Ding Dong

The door opened to, not even a surprise anymore, a tall guy-shorter than that salty fry-with black hair, T-shirt and shorts and a very kind face. He looked tired and sleepy. He looked down at me with slight confusion and started to speak, but I cut him off before he even began,

"I am not a girl scout, my name is Urvi Roy and I am your new neighbor who lives in that small house", I pointed behind me again, "it is nice to meet you!" I chirped and shoved the box towards him.

"Err...sorry! This is my friend's house...but I'm Ennoshita. Nice to meet you too", he introduced himself. He had a slightly husky and deep voice which I thought was calming and gentle. I was about to say something but then I was cut off by another voice from inside and the sound of footsteps.

"Ennoshita-san, who was it? I swear if you're flirting with my sister again-" a bald-headed guy with only a air of shorts and an irritated face rambled as he walked up to the front door. He was the same guy from the Gym...

Shit HE IS MY NEIGHBOR!??

I completely froze and so did he with a frown on his face. He looked at me with slight confusion for a few seconds but that immediately changed to a shocked one.

Please don't recognize me, please don't recognize me, please don't-

I was trembling in fear as he pointed a finger at me with his mouth and eyes blown wide, although the guy by the door did not seem to be phased by it.

"Hey! You're that gym kid!" he shrieked as he came closer towards us.

Shit, I'm gonna die...

I Still Don't Know Who I Am - Barnes Blvd.