The Cask of Manhasset { Ranpoe }

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We get a taxi cab and I want to ask the driver a million questions but the rhythm of the car lulls me to sleep before I have the chance.

-

I'm not sure what our house is quite like, even as I step inside it. All I know is that it's warm and safe, and ours and I'm tired.

Dad leads me to my room and I fall into bed, clothes and all. Sleep is a welcome companion.

–

I wake up late, even for me, and stumble as I follow the smell of food to what's either the kitchen or the dining room. It's disconcerting. With my eyes closed I could almost be in our old house in the suburbs of Yokohama but I keep bumping into stuff.

A collision with a table has me fully alert, I begrudgingly open my eyes and the buzzing excitement from the day prior returns.

It turns out the smell was coming from the dining room where Dad and Papa set dishes down in front of Kyu and Elise. I grab a plate from the counter and join them.

"Ah, good morning, Ranpo. I thought I should make some classic American breakfast food today, so I made us omelettes. Yours has cheese in it, is that alright?"

It takes me a moment to comprehend his words. They're sharp and different and don't flow into my ears easily. " . . . Dad! English this early in the morning? Really?"

"You're going to have to get used to it. School starts early, just as it did back home, and Americans speak much faster in English than I do so it's better if you get your brain up to speed now."

I groan and start to dig into my food. It's good, not quite sweet enough for my tastes, but still, the texture is yummy.

-

When breakfast is over, we all help clear the table.

When the dishes are clean and put away Dad looks at all of us with his stereotypical stern but kind father face. "Rin and I have to leave for work soon, so the three of you will be on your own for today. You'll be on your own a lot until you start school. Please be responsible and don't do anything we wouldn't do. Ranpo, your bicycle is in the garage if you want to go anywhere please take that, but stay in the bicycle lanes, and use the digital maps app on your phone. We don't want any of you getting lost or hurt."

Papa appears behind Dad, patting Elise on the head, "Exactly. Ranpo, the driving age is lower in America so you'll be taking driving classes in school, but until then please make sure to follow the biking safety rules. Always stay alert, be very careful." He has a British accent when he speaks English because he spent some time training as a doctor in Europe.

Translation: Please, please, please for the love of god, stay away from the car until you learn to drive, so you don't kill yourself and your siblings.

"He knows! This is stupid, I want to go to the playground!" Elise says.

"I was getting to that." Dad sighs affectionately. "There's a playground in this neighbourhood. Go down the street and turn right. You can go there but please stay safe. Don't forget to put on sunscreen, reapply every hour, and come back to eat lunch. There's food in the fridge for you all."

"Come on, Yuki, we really must go if we don't want to be late," Papa says, but both he and Dad linger until he hugs Elise one last time. Then Papa pulls Dad away, both of them blowing us kisses.

-

The playground is easy enough to find, there are many other kids there and Elise is on the swings talking to another girl within two minutes. Kyu explores a large tree, scaling it to watch spiders.

The playground is next to a pool, basketball court and tennis courts, all accessible to residents of our neighbourhood. I don't play sports and I didn't bring swim shorts so I just sit on the bench with my eyes closed soaking up the sun.

All the noise begins to come together into one big noise, like a song. I don't focus on each one, letting them mix and blend and bleed until they're all the same, a softer less specific noise I can easily tune out. I did force myself to put on sunscreen because Dad asked me to, even though the sensation of the goopy stuff makes me want to crawl out of my skin, but I can't make myself reapply it. I have long trousers and sleeves on, but I still feel a little guilty about ignoring Dad's directions so I put my hat over my face.

-

The days pass like that. Hot and muggy, yes, but the thick humid air is full of excitement.

Elise has a whole gaggle of new friends. One day I took them all out for ice cream and shopping in the little shopping centre nearby. The next day we explored the library, the next day the park, and after that the trails in the "woods" at the end of our street. Elise practised on her bike and discovered her affinity for roller skating with her new friend. We made popsicles and slurpees and even tried our hands at ice cream (that one did NOT go so well). Elise found some mother's arts and crafts blog and now we all have plaited bracelets and rubber band accessories with beads. The tee shirts from the craft store probably wish they had never been bought by us after Elise customised them, adding a tied fringe and arm slits.

Before I know it there's only a week before school starts.

(A/N: bold italicised underlined words are in English. They won't be after this chapter since everyone will be speaking English. If they're speaking Japanese, it will be specified.)