Shopping For Memories

After the last class finished, Masato came up to me.

"Hey, are you sure you want to go today? We could postpone it for another day..."

His sweat dripped down his face as he gave me an awkward smile.

"Huh, I thought you were angry at me?"

At the last class, some memories from my past ruined my mood, and my two friends saw that. I thought that they were upset with me for not telling them anything.

"What? No. When Ko left, I shook my head because I thought she was acting childish. Sure, friends should trust each other, but you can't expect someone to tell you their darkest secrets."

It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

"Thank god! I thought that I made a mistake..."

"Don't beat yourself about it. The problem right now is Ko."

"What do you mean?"

He pointed in a direction. I saw Ko looking irritated before she angrily stomped out of the classroom.

 "Oh, yeah..."

Even though I knew I wasn't at fault I still felt guilty about not telling her.

"Masato, you coming?"

I heard her through the other side of the door. It seemed like she was getting impatient.

"Yeah, and Noboru-"

"Fine!"

She cut him off mid-sentence and ran down the hallway.

"So... Are you sure?"

"Am..."

My brain came to a halt. If I go with them, the atmosphere will get tense, and if I don't I will regret it later...

"Fine! Just don't leave us two alone..."

Masato nodded and we finally exited the classroom.

The walk to the mall was oddly quiet in the beginning. You could practically feel the tense air.

"So...um... Have you checked out this new app on the handphone? It can show 3D pictures in holographic format!"

Masato was trying to break the ice by talking about some random topics. He typed something on the device before a holographic little boy in diapers popped out.

"See! This- AHH!"

Trying to turn it off immediately, he punched the device stuck to his hand.

"Ow!"

He held his palm.

"You were cute."

Ko out of nowhere commented. 

"Y-Yeah."

I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't stop myself from laughing a bit. Masato only looked at us, probably embarrassed. After he composed himself the silence continued.

"How far away is the transportation point?"

Did Masato know when to stop? No.

"We should be close by..."

I answer in an uncertain voice.

"Maybe we should have taken the flying taxi..."

Since transportation points were introduced in Japan in 2065, no one used flying cars anymore. Some people still use them, but they make up 5% of the population since transportation points are more "eco-friendly" by not wasting gas. The taxi services are still working, but they will close soon.

"Are you crazy, Noboru? Do you know how much they make you pay?"

"Um... No."

"3000 yen per kilometer!"

My eyes widened in shock.

"Huh! That's ridiculous!"

We stopped talking shortly after we got to the point.

Once inside the mall, Masato pulled at my sleeve.

"Could we please go to the jetpack store first?"

He sounded like a toddler.

"You and Ko go. I have to get myself some new clothes on the other side of the mall."

For a mall, it is surprising that it somehow stayed open. Even now, only a few people go to buy here.

"You sure?"

"I sure am, Masato. Don't worry, I'll be back to bug you two."

We split off and I headed towards the escalator. As I hadn't been here in a while, I checked the map on my handphone.

"Hmm... Everything looks different now. More stores closed..."

After navigating for a while, I finally reached the store, but there was a problem...

"Huh?"

The store was packed with people. When I got closer, I noticed the reason why.

"Huge fall sale. 50% off for in-store purchases. Oh."

A poster on the store window read.

"But wait. How am I going to get through the crowd all alone!?"

Social anxiety was one of the many mental disorders I had. It wasn't a problem if someone held my hand since they would always guide me through, but alone... That was impossible.

"Need any help?"

I turned around.

"Ko?! Weren't you-"

"I thought something like this would happen, so I came to check on you."

She didn't want to look me in the eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way. It's just that I care about your health and I want to help you!"

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I should have trusted you more..."

At that, she looked up at me and came closer.

"Friends?"

I nod.

"Thank god..."

A loud sigh escaped her lungs.

"Wait, were you thinking about how to apologize to me this whole time?"

Her embarrassed face said it all.

"N-No! Let's go in already!"

She pulled me into the store.

I must say, people here are quite aggressive. Two ladies were punching each other over a dress, and three guys were screaming at each other over trousers. People surrounded us, and everything else appeared as a blur. I don't know when, but I had let go of Ko's hand.

"Ko?"

I looked around, not seeing her anywhere.

"Ko!"

My heart beat faster. At this rate, I could get a panic attack.

"Ko!"

"Ko!"

"KO!"

I started crying. The memories of my past resurfaced again...

"What have you done?"

Mom said in a playful tone.

"I made a jetpack! So I can fly like you and dad!"

I was 6 when I made a jetpack that was an old gray cabinet and a pair of shoes. I used crayons to color my white shoes to match the cabinet.

"Haha! Way to go! But you're missing something!"

Her smile never left her face.

"What?"

"Where are your propellers? And engine? How are you going to fly with that?"

I was shocked. I didn't think about how it would fly.

Mom's smile grew into a grin.

"Hey! No fair! I want to fly too!"

"Don't worry dear! You'll fly in no time! Now, come here!"

She hugged me and I hugged her back. There was no better feeling than this...

In reality, after a short time, I collapsed on the floor. Everything went black. The only thing I remember was my mother's sweet voice.

"Don't be sad, I'm here."