In Lakewood, a small town with a reputation of crime, gangs, outcasts and violence, Lana Takumi is an orphan and a gang member disguised in ripped jeans of her late mother and old flannels of her late father. She feels stuck in an endless cycle of b...
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L A N A
"His parents bought the Takumi house?" Isha asked, dropping down next to me on the couch at my apartment which was now free from Jake's threats. I had Jada to thank for that.
Jada and Carmen were seated on the carpet and we were surrounded by boxes of pizza, chips, ice cream, and candy. This is what we always did when one of us was going through something. We listened to music, ate snacks, and took Buzzfeed quizzes. This time, it was me who was going through another spiral. It started with me feeling down, then I started forgetting things, lost my appetite, stopped coming to school, and in the end, I had no motivation to get out of bed.
"It does make sense. Nobody has left this town recently. The Takumi house has stood empty for years," Carmen said, biting into a slice of pizza.
"I'm surprised they could afford it. His parents must be loaded," Isha assumed, pulling her knees up below her chin.
"They're both doctors. I saw them both at the hospital when I went to check on Ali the night The Lions kidnapped him," Carmen told us, munching on the pizza bite in her mouth.
"Well then it makes sense how they could afford the Takumi house," Jada said, grabbing a box of strawberry ice cream and a spoon before scooping up a huge bite and shoving it inside her mouth. As the ice cream melted in her mouth, she closed her eyes and made a noise of delight.
"So how's life, guys? Tell us anything. Who wants to go first?" Jada asked, changing the subject.
Isha went first. "I saw mom at the store today."
I glanced at her. "Oh, shit."
Jada rolled her eyes. "Ugh."
Carmen sighed. "How bad was it?"
Isha pressed out a stoic smile and said, "Mom looked at me this time. Dhruv is apparently visiting from college acted like I wasn't even there."
Isha left her house when she was thirteen and Jada and Carmen took her under their wing because her mom and her brother didn't accept her after Dhruv caught her kissing a girl at a party and discovered that she was gay. After all of her mom's plans for her once-perfect Indian daughter were crushed, and her brother turned her back on her, Isha left her house for good without looking back. However, this was a very small town and all the residents bought groceries from the same store.
"Maybe they'll understand one day, but not now. You just have to let it be. Don't beat yourself over it," Carmen said, grabbing a spoon and scooping up some strawberry ice cream from the box in Jada's lap.
