Two Crashed Hearts on Wheels

Chapter 2

I went to the dinner table to see what my uncle had prepared. There he placed tsukemonos, chicken katsu curry, and rice. He didn't make much since it was only the two of us who would be eating.

Both of us expressed our gratitude for the food and began eating. I couldn't get Langa out of my head—not him, but the feeling when we crashed. Just thinking about it makes my heart race, and it frustrates me. I was staring at the empty space while eating and ended up dropping a piece of pickle on the ground.

"My fault," I say, picking it up and throwing it away.

"Is something wrong? you appear a little distracted," Uncle Kaoru asks me as he eats his food.

I froze immediately and looked back at my food.

"Uh, just scared for tomorrow. You know, my first day of school," I lie. I didn't really care about tomorrow being school. I just have to mind my own business and make friends. My grades have always been good in the city, so what could go wrong?

"Nothing to worry about. Make sure you have some friends with whom you can share your experiences. High school would not be possible without them. As far as I am concerned, I would never have been without my friends," Uncle Kaoru says as his voice slowly fades away at the end. I didn't know if he was upset or if he was just concerned about me. But I felt concerned when he talked about his high school life. I knew he had a great high school life since he would always tell me about it, but he never told me what happened to those friends. I never pushed him to tell me, but it always got me curious.

After dinner, I was on my phone playing some games. Uncle Kaoru let me do that because he would tell me to sit for a bit before going to bed. About 30 minutes later, I brushed my teeth and went to sleep. I had my own bedroom, but it didn't have many decorations. Maybe I should get some if I ever make friends and they come over.

I laid on my bed, placed my phone in charge, and turned off the lights. I couldn't get Langa out of my head. The worst part was that stupid feeling in my chest. It has never happened before, so why now? It's probably some pain I'm getting because I crashed into him. But why am I getting this pain whenever I think about him? I mean, it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel good either.  I shouldn't overthink it, since it's not like I will ever see him again anyway.

With the thought that I'd never see him again, I slowly fell asleep.

The next day

I was still in bed, even after my alarm rang.

"Wake up, Asuke. You can't be sleeping right now." My uncle says he is coming into the room and patting my head. I placed my blanket over my head and stretched while letting out a big groan.

"It's too early for this. Can I please not?" I say. I know I said I was fine to go to school yesterday, but I am too lazy to get up at the moment.

"You know I love you, and I'll let you do anything. But you also know I am very strict when it comes to school, right?" Uncle Kaoru says. It was true. He thought education was the most important thing a child could have, and I have no way to get away with this. Uncle Kaoru takes my blanket off, and I give out another groan. I got out of bed and stretched as each part of my body cracked.

"This is why you should eat more. Your just bones that everything cracks," Uncle Kaoru says, folding my blanket.

"I don't think that's how it works," I say, yawning. But before I could find another excuse to stay home, I was pushed into the bathroom by my uncle. He throws my towel and uniform inside.

I rolled my eyes slightly and began showering. I didn't complain since I loved taking showers. It's where I can have the weirdest thoughts while I rest in steaming water.

After my shower, I wore my uniform and looked at myself in the mirror. Hair in a ponytail or down? Mmmm...probably down would look fine. Besides, I had really short hair anyways. I just never liked my long hair. It would always get in the way of everything. I let my hair out and put on mascara before running to the kitchen. He was making breakfast and serving it to me. I quickly expressed my gratitude and ate fast. I was running out of time, and I was about to be late.

"Bye Oji-san!" I said, running out the door. He waves at me with a smile, but I didn't look back as I was running. I had GPS on my phone while I was running to find my new high school. On my way, I bumped into a figure in front of me. I looked up, and it was... Langa! He looked at me as we were on top of a small hill, and he was on his skateboard. Before he could say anything, I think I accidentally pushed him a little while he was on the board, and he began going down the hill. Oh, great going again!

I thought of running away again, but I felt too bad to just let him get hurt like this. 

"Fuck this," I mutter under my breath and chase him down the mountain as he was screaming and trying to stop. 

"To stop and slow down when traveling downhill, take your back foot off the board and slide it across the ground!" I yelled as I chased him down. Langa did as I told him to and began slowing down. I sighed in relief, and I stopped running. 

Suddenly, there was a rock in front of Langa, and he didn't see it. The rock made him fall off his skateboard, and he tumbled down the hill, falling to the ground. I immediately went to check on him.

"Are you okay?" As he was face-flat on the ground. He looked up at me, and his eyes shone slightly. He shot me a smile as he looked me in the eyes. It made me feel awkward, and I moved back slightly. 

"You are  that girl from yesterday!"