Neon Street: Red Herring

🎭26: A Flower that Stopped Blooming

12 years ago.

"How can you say that no one's coming? Your noodles taste amazing!" Twelve-year-old Fin exclaimed to cheer his grandmother up. It was their store's opening, but there wasn't a single customer entering the shop. "It's only normal because we're new here."

"Oh, I hope so..." His grandmother sighed, pulling out a stool to sit for a while. "Would you be a dear and give out the flyers? My legs are beginning to throb."

Fin smiled bitterly and nodded. "I'll be outside. Call me if you need anything." Taking the flyers from the table, Fin went  out to bring customers to their little noodle shop. While on the job, he bumps into a girl in uniform, causing all the flyers he had to slip from his hands. They got blown away around the area, leaving the girl startled.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She immediately kept her pocketbook inside her bag and looked at him with worry. "I wasn't looking--here!" She started picking up the flyers and handed them back to Fin. "I'll help you pick them up. I'm really sorry for this."

"It's fine." Fin looked at her and stopped, feeling his heart flutter. "Hello."

"Um... Hi!" The girl pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled sweetly. "Hey! Don't we go to the same school?!" She happily exclaimed. "I'm Kane. You're the one helping in the cafeteria. Right? I often see you at lunch." 

"Oh. I didn't know anyone from school would recognize me as a student. They usually refer to me as a young part-timer." Fin shyly rubbed the back of his head, diverting his stare somewhere else.

"You also attend classes, don't you? How can you not be a student?" Kane continued picking up the rest of the papers and returned them to Fin. "I'm sorry for giving you a hard time." She looked at the flyers and realized that it was Fin's family's business. "Your family runs a noodle shop? Can I stop by? I want to make it up to you."

"You'd really do that?"

Kane didn't give him an answer and went straight to their shop. "Good afternoon!" She greeted when she saw Fin's grandmother sitting inside. Fin comes in, signaling his grandmother that they have their first customer. He points at Kane with a wide smile. 

"You wear the same uniform as my Fin. Are you his friend?" His grandmother asked and stood up, heading to the kitchen.

"N-No. We just met outside." Fin nervously replied and helped his grandmother prepare the noodles for Kane. "What would you like? Y-You can pick anything from the menu." 

Kane looks at the menu on the table and gasps. "Can I get one of everything?" 

Fin and his grandmother immediately looked at her in shock. "Will you be able to finish everything?" His grandmother asks.

"Oh! I'll bring the rest home because my cousins are coming over tonight. My mom's picking me up in fifteen minutes. I'll just text her the place, and we could go home with your food. That's okay with you, right?"

"Yes. Yes, of course!" Fin's grandmother agreed and started boiling the noodles. "It won't take long. I'll make sure you still have time to eat here before your mom comes."

Kane nods in response and looks at Fin. "We should hang out at school. I never see you anywhere except in the cafeteria and during classes. You know... others want to be friends with you too."

And so, every time their classes ended, Fin and Kane would meet in the halls and hang out. They would go to Fin's grandma's noodle shop and be servers most of the time. If Fin had spare money, they would play in Arcade shops the whole day. For the first time in his life, he had someone to laugh and cry with besides his grandmother.

"You're two years older than me?!" Kane asks in surprise. "But, we're on the same level. How is that possible?" She chugged on her soda, looking at the sparkling river in front of them. 

"I took a break from school. My grandma and I couldn't afford it before. She started selling noodles in our neighborhood, and that's when we started to earn a decent amount of money. We moved to Neon Street with what we saved up. Grandma put up a business here and decided to let me go back to school."

"It must've been tough for the both of you. Where did your parents go?" Kane asked.

"My mom had me, and she didn't tell my father about it. After I was born, grandma convinced her to talk to him, but it didn't go well. My dad was also struggling financially. His mother was sick, and he couldn't take care of us. Mom left the next morning. She took with her every single penny we had. Grandma didn't know what to do. She almost sent me to an orphanage, but she realized she couldn't do it. She's been the one feeding and clothing me for years. I owe her everything."

"Did your parents ever come back to, at least, check on you?"

"They probably forgot that they had me. If they really cared, they would've come to see how we've been. We just gave up hoping they'd still come back," Fin sadly said and hugged his knees. "You're lucky you have rich parents. You can do whatever you want, and they'll be there to support you."

Kane smiled to herself and faced him. "I wish the same for you." She stood from her spot, getting closer to Fin. She suddenly left a peck on his cheek and ran to their car at the back, panicking.

Fin was too stunned to move and just watched the car leave. He had so much to say after it, and he couldn't wait until the next day. He wanted to know what it meant and what else could they become. But, he didn't know it would be the last time they'll ever see each other again.

--

Aaaaaa our research paper is stopping me from writing chapters😭 I'm sorry for not updating yesterday. I might update on alternate days from now on...hopefully😅

We get to know Kane a little with this chapter and the relationship she shared with Fin💖 It's a little light for now but it'll get heavier in the future flashbacks with the other characters.

I hope the chapter was entertaining enough! I'll try updating on Monday again🤗