The Event: expect the unexpected (2)

Hey There! How are you? I wanna know! :) 

Enjoy the last post? I appreciate all your comments and likes. I'm enjoying this story mehn - its a fun read! Enjoy, share, click the like button, spread the word. You know you want to...lol. You can even subscribe to the blog and receive a notification email when a new post arrives. First, some instructions.

All definitions of words that may be confusing have a hyperlink that you can click and learn the meaning of the word. 

I told you to grab a drink, last time, right? This time, You might wanna grab the whole bottle and a glass.  Now, I present part 2 of the story. Enjoy the ride, and don't forget to leave a comment and tell 5 friends!

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So, what do You think of the design?
Its custom-made, in case you were wondering.

Rumble. Rumble. Bright Flashing light.

Rain. Most likely a minor thunderstorm.

The man sat up straight. Unlike many of his friends, he was a morning person. He was ready to take on the day. He looked to his left, took out his pen and cards from the bedside cabinet, and was ready to begin his morning ritual of list-making and positive reinforcements. He looked at his alarm clock; the poor old alarm clock. Once again, he had woken before the clock could do its duty: spreading morning gloom with its incessant tintinnabulation. He was smarter than it was, of course. He wouldn’t let it spoil his day. So he competed with the clock constantly, and had soon made a habit of waking up at exactly 5:59am. “Well”, he said, “Beat you to the punch again, didn’t I?” Then he thought, “I’m talking to my clock. I really need to schedule an appointment with a new psychiatrist.” He moved to get off the bed. Suddenly, something jerked under the sheets.

The figure that was revealed when the sheets moved was quite astonishing. Shapely, yet mature, wearing only a striped blue longsleeved shirt. Long auburn hair, full red lips, long eyelashes, face shaped like an orange, light colored skin with evidence of tanning, legs that looked athletic and frail at the same time. The duvet covered her midsection. She had spent the night there. With him. And who was to blame? Her? She was 38, divorced, with 2 kids who abhorred her, and had traveled far away from the United States to this place, where she could continue her profession and begin a new life. She had no friends or acquaintances to keep her company. Or was he to blame, for sleeping with his psychiatrist?

This was not him. He didn’t even know why he had done it. He was told by his boss to seek help for his addiction. Indeed, his boss was a lenient, sweet, old lady: she knew he was addicted to gambling, and that he especially had a thing for Poker and Dominoes. And she had called him into her office one day.

“Welcome, Mr. Shou Masato.” she began, “How are you today?”

“Hello Principal Naoki. I’m okay, I guess. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, my young man, there is. A huge problem. Bigger than an elephant. In. This. Very. Room.” She brought her round-rimmed glasses to the tip of her nose, so she could peer at him directly without taking the glasses off. Then she bent down and looked into his face. This intimidating move had the desired effect; Shou became afraid. Her face bore no inkling of the sweetness she was known for.

This is a graphic design blog, remember? So I made an original graphic for  

'Three Fingers Bar'. What do U think? What could I have done better? 

Opinions are sincerely welcomed.

“I heard what happened at the Three Fingers Bar two nights ago”, Principal Naoki started again. “I have booked an appointment for you with this lady.” She shoved a business card into his hand. “I want you to see her as soon as you are done with today’s duties.”

“But Principal Naoki, I have to …” he started.

She gave him a piercing gaze, fiercer than the first one. She seemed to bore a hole right through his forehead with her eyes. It worked like a charm. He shut up.

“You can leave now. And know that I’m doing this because I like you, young man. I want you to keep working here. But realize that the reputation of this school is at stake. If you do not go to the appointment, you can feel free to pack your things after today, and turn in your I.D. badge. “

He nodded, stood up, and left. “The restroom”, he thought. He had to use the restroom. The Principal almost made him wet himself in her office. He would have to go see the woman whose name was on the card. “Why do they think I have an issue?” he thought. “Gambling is a way of life; I live on the edge everyday! It’s so much fun. Those who say gambling is an addiction say so because they have no life; they do nothing interesting. Now I have to go see this silly old hag who was paid one week’s worth of my wages to listen to me talk about something I love for 2 hours. What a waste.”

Well, it wasn’t that much of a waste. He was intrigued when he first saw her. She wasn’t his type of woman, being from the States and all. However, she had a presence, a charisma, an allure that most of the ladies he had met didn’t have. She listened to him intently, but was able to steer him back onto the right course of conversation when he started drifting or rambling. It made her all the more enigmatic, and he was determined to solve her. By the second appointment, they had kissed. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he had no power to stop it. He had heard of people whose lives were ruined because they started sleeping with someone who was close to them or someone who was helping them. He had heard of people who talked of some guy – what was he called again – that could make one stop doing wrong things. “Well, I need whoever that guy is. Iesu Kirisuto*. I think that’s his name…or something like that. But later on, not now”, he thought.

Yesterday afternoon was his third appointment – and their first date. And here she was, lying on his bed. How did it come to this? Not that he didn’t like her – he liked her very much. He liked her even more after last night. Yet, he was in love with someone else. Unfortunately, that someone had been refusing his several date requests. “It’s not like I had a choice,” he thought. “Anyway, she’s gonna have to do the ‘walk of shame’ later on – I’m heading to work.” He left the bed and went into the shower.

Shou had a quick shower and breakfast; total time spent was 15 minutes. She still hadn’t woken up. “Mehn! She sleeps like a log!” he thought. “Or, maybe I’m quite good at….” He let the thought wander without finishing, while his face contorted into a leer. He scribbled something on a sticky note and stuck it to the bed poster of the side where she slept. He dropped a few notes and coins on the table, and put on his baseball hat and brown jacket, then he was out the door and into his car. He was a brisk man; he didn’t believe in dull moments. Surprisingly, he had one of the dullest jobs he could think of: a bus-driver. What was worse than being a bus driver? A bus driver for school kids. Stubborn, dirty, foul-mouthed, loud, angry school kids. A livid thought raced through his mind: “Who in the world invented kids? Worst Invention Ever!” Then a softer, mellow, follow-up thought: “I was once a kid though. I probably behaved like some of them. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on them.” The second thought softened him up a bit. He could hear the patter of the rain drops as he drove to the school. He decided to go slower; he was going to be driving for a while. He arrived at Tohoku Elementary School at 6:50am. He greeted the ‘Man of the Gate’, and collected the keys for his bus. He got into the driver’s seat of Bus #AF16B9, and drove off to pick the children whose houses were on the #AF16 route. The morning drive was the easy shift. Most parents took their children to school anyway, so he had a handful of children in the bus. It was quiet and uneventful. A series of thoughts raced through his mind: “Why is the ‘Man of the Gate’ called that? Because he’s been watching the gate for over 6 years now? Because his previous job was also watching the gate at the house of an opulent couple? Because he’s so old, his government ID number is 5? Why doesn’t he just shorten the self-adopted nickname to ‘Gate-Man’? But he really freaked out on me the last time I called him that. Old people are funny. Well, they make life more interesting with their names. Man of the Gate. Hahaha…” He smiled a hearty smile.

The morning went by without any commotion. He dropped off the kids at Tohoku Elementary, and drove his car to the nearest news stand. He picked up one of the several newspapers at the stand, walked into The Old House Café right next to it, and requested his usual. A Double Mochachino Latte. He paid, sat down in the lone booth by the window, and settled into his eight-hour wait for the school to close. This was a day like any other.

At 2.00pm prompt, Shou left the Old House Café , got into his car, and drove off to Tohoku Elementary. He began mentally preparing himself for the battle that was the afternoon shift, with all the children. And today was a Friday. “Woooh – saaah…. Wooooh – saaaah…I’m calm, confident, assertive. I’m relaxed. No pressure. WOOOOH – SAAAAH…”, he muttered to himself. He arrived at his destination at 2:25pm, got into Bus #AF16B9, and waited for the wave of children. At exactly 2:30pm, it happened.

The gates of Tohoku Elementary burst open as she launched out her little minions onto the sidewalk, armed with lunchboxes, schoolbags, and waterbottles. The invasion had begun. They even managed to topple the ‘Man of the Gate’! He landed on his behind with a thud. The kids laughed so hard, tears dropped from their eyes. Even Shou grinned. Everyone was rushing to get into their respective buses first – because they wanted the back row of seats. The back row was known as ‘The Naughty Row’, and rightly so. Pranks were masterminded, people were jeered at, stones were thrown at people - all from The Naughty Row. And when sitting in the naughty row, the driver had the least possible view of what one was doing. During the 20-minute to 1-hour ride home, the ‘Naughty Row’ for that day had the least adult supervision. Little wonder Shou looked at the back of his bus through the mirror above him and saw 2 young boys struggling to take the last seat in the back row. Before he could get up to go separate them, one of them had thrown a punch. The other kid dodged it and retorted with a left hook. It sank in. The first kid held his face to absorb the pain. Then he pretended to slap the other kid with his right hand. As the other kid moved his hands to block the slap, the first kid saw the opening he was trying to create, and gave the other kid a walloping uppercut with his left hand. A tooth flew upwards, followed by some blood. Shou arrived.

“WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU KIDS! HAVE YOU GONE MAD?! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING???” Shou started furiously.

First Kid: “He started it! He was trying to take my seat! I got here first!”

Second Kid: [amidst muffled cries of pain] “Not true! I got here first! Ask the girl over there!”

Shou: “No! No!! I don’t wanna hear it. No one is sitting on the back row today. Everyone, find another seat! Now, you two, apologize to each other!”

First kid: [with a red face] “I’m sorry.”

Second Kid: [crying fully now]: “I’m sorry.”

Shou: “You,” [pointing at the second kid] “Go to the school infirmary so they can take a look at that tooth – or the space where the tooth was supposed to be. Go! Now!!”

The other kid scampered out of the bus and back into the school premises.

Shou: “You!” [pointing at the first kid] “What is your name, fighter? I’ll make sure to report you to your parents and the principal. What is your name?!”

First kid: “‘The Terminator’. My name is The Terminator.”

The other kids, who were watching the entire altercation with gusto, laughed and cheered in the background. Shou realized that with all the kids present, he was fighting a losing battle. He took the kid outside and shoved him up against the bus.

Shou:  “Do I look like I’m joking? Do you want to be suspended? Your name! Now!!”

First kid: “My name is Hiko.”

Shou: “Full name, son!”

First Kid: “Akihiko Daichi.”   [pause]

“Sir, please don’t tell my mother.”

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..to be continued. (That feels really good to say! try it...lol)
2. * Iesu Kirisuto = Jesus Christ (from the Japanese katakana).

Till next time, have a Kolor-Full Life!

Yours truly.

The Event: expect the unexpected (1)

Hey There. What's up? U miss me?
Before I begin, permit me to dedicate these series of posts to 2 lovely people: Tomilola Lawal (for inspiring me to be consistent with my posts, and for persuading me to join Blogsville - U're awesome!), and Ifunanya ( for inspiring me to take a leap into writing a series. You showed me - indirectly - how to let a story craft itself, and I intend to do that with these). I appreciate you all. You guys can check out Tomi's Blogs here and here; and Ifunanya's blog here. Fun stuff, I tell U! Great writers they are.

Now, to the post. Get a glass of juice or something to sip on. This is kinda a long read.
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Decided to do my own design as the picture for the post -
This is a blog about the beauty of graphic design, remember?
What do you think? What could I have done better?
Opinions are welcomed.

He opened his eyes; everything was fuzzy. He could make out the outlines of an image above him and a dim curve on the lower part of the image. A smile. He felt loved. “Wake up, Hiko. It’s time to get ready for school”, the soft yet firm voice said. “O.K. Mom, I’m coming”, Akihiko replied groggily. He rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom like a Resident Evil zombie who had overdosed on opium and alcohol. His full consciousness returned to him as soon as the water hit him.

He had a good life: had never known what it was to miss a meal, had two parents who were happily married, who loved him dearly and never failed to tell him, had a nice apartment to live in, was attending one of the best schools in his district. Not many of his mates or friends were that lucky. He was the only child of his parents, albeit not by choice.

The Daichis were a happy couple. They enjoyed each other’s company, but one thing that brought them sadness was the fact that they were married for several years with no child to share their love with. Yet they managed to stay happy. Mr. Daichi was quite the romantic. He would bring home flowers for his wife while returning from work at least once a week, and constantly researched new ways to spice up their romance. Nevertheless, when they saw other couples with their baby trams and screaming kids, they longed for the day they would hold their own child in their arms. Their own flesh and blood.

After being married for three years with no sign of pregnancy, they had panicked themselves into the doctor’s office. The doctor had told them that their reproductive organs were working fine; there was no logical reason they shouldn’t have a baby in the next few months. This calmed the Daichis down a bit. Then, one year. Two years. Three years. Four years. Five years. Six years later. They decided that the first doctor they were seeing was a quack, and sought a second opinion. The second doctor told them that they were fine, except for one small issue: Mrs. Daichi’s fallopian tubes were very small – if she got pregnant, the chances of an ectopic pregnancy occurring were 95%. This news brought gloom, enough to suck the light out of a street lamp. That day, Mr. Daichi got his wife the biggest bouquet of flowers his “flower guy” could hook him up with, and later took her out for ‘A Night on the Town’. They were happy again, albeit for a little while.

About a month from their “Night on the Town”, Mrs. Daichi was awakened by a deep retching feeling in her gut. She rushed to the bathroom, and threw up for over 20 minutes. Naturally, Mr. Daichi was worried. He did the most logical think he could think of at the moment: he rushed her to the hospital. The diagnosis was not expected. Mrs. Daichi was three weeks pregnant. Oh! What joy! “You can throw up all you want honey, as long as we get the baby!” shouted Mr. Daichi as he drove her hack home from the hospital. She screamed in return, “We’re getting a baby! WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!” The joyous moment had finally arrived! They signed up for pre-natal classes, went shopping for baby things, and hired an interior designer to remodel the third room of their 3-bedroom-apartment into the baby’s room that same day! Their joy was contagious, which turned out to be a blessing for the interior designer and the carpenter they hired to fix up a custom baby cot to their specification – the Daichis tipped them like they contributed to the pregnancy.

During one of the routine prenatal visits to their obstetrician 6 weeks later, Mrs. Daichi got some not so shocking news: she had an ectopic pregnancy. The obstetrician showed them the ultrasound scans – Mrs. Daichi’s fallopian tube was already damaged badly from the pressure of a growing zygote. Mrs. Daichi needed surgery fast to move the zygote into the uterus directly. The surgery took place 1 week later. After 2 days of preparations and 6 hours of surgery, Mr. Daichi was glad to see the lead surgeon come out with a smile on his face. That was all he needed to see - all was well. However, Mrs. Daichi was advised not to get a second baby after the one that was on its way, or it could completely ruin her reproductive system. The rest of the pregnancy went on without a hitch. 

On the 2nd of August, 2001, the Daichis officially welcomed the newest member of their family! They looked down at him, and his eyes seemed to sparkle. “Let’s call him ‘Akihiko’”, Mrs. Daichi said softly. “Hmm. Akihiko. The Bright Prince. I like it”, Mr. Daichi replied. “You always know how to pick the best names, don’t you?” he continued. She smiled; they kissed. Their dreams had come true.

 Hiko got out of the shower and got ready for school. He didn’t let his Dad dress him up anymore; he was an adult now. A ten-year-old adult. He got into the elevator with his Mom and rode it down from the 15th floor where their apartment was located. “Why don’t they let ten-year-olds drive cars? I bet I can drive Mom’s car – it’s not that hard. That’s so unfair.” These were the thoughts swirling around in Hiko’s head as his Mom dropped him off at school. Mrs. Daichi and her son came out of the car, and she knelt so she could look at his face directly.

“Hiko, don’t miss the school bus back home, O.K? Do your homework before I get back. I’m working an extra hour today, so I’m gonna be home a little late.”

“Its fine, Mom. I can take care of myself. I’m fine. I’m a man, you know...”

“I know, my little man. You’re a man and can take care of yourself. That’s why I love you.” Mrs. Daichi leaned forward to kiss her son on the forehead...

“MOM! STOP IT! You’re EMBARASSING ME!!”

“Really? That’s what you’re gonna tell your Momma before she goes off to work? And where did you learn that word, anyway??”

“O.K. Mom...sorry.” In a muffled tone: “I love you too. Now go! See you when you get back.” Then he ran off to join the hordes of children pouring into the great halls of Tohoku Elementary.

A smile came across Mrs. Daichi’s face. Indeed, she loved smiling – her face had two small cute creases from her constant smiling, and it made her apple-shaped face look all the more beautiful. She entered the car, revved the engine, made a U-turn and sped off to work, all the while thinking: “Hiko grew up too fast! How did he grow up this fast?”

The day went by quickly. Not much was interesting as usual. The teacher did the same old routine. “I could have just stayed home and taught myself by reading Wikipedia all day”, thought Hiko. “I could have had a three day weekend – I don’t learn much from here anyway. But No – Mom wants Hiko to come to school. Why won’t she leave me alone?? Well, school’s almost over. I can go home and watch some TV. I might even go to Koichi’s house later on. Oh well. Today, March 11, is going to be just another uneventful day. So uncool.”

...if only he knew how wrong he was.

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...to be continued (I've always wanted to say that.)

Have a Kolor-Full  Life!

Yours Truly.