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.
“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.”
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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).
2. * Iesu Kirisuto = Jesus Christ (from the Japanese katakana).
Till next time, have a Kolor-Full Life!
Yours truly.
