A Mountain of Homework

Hours of studying later, and our stamina began to wane, with the others eventually giving up and closing their textbooks to reminisce, instead. I only half-listened as Yoichi told a story about another one of our classmates, my mind refusing to focus on the conversation. As my gaze wandered around the tiny room, it fell upon the clock.

It’s already this late? Where did the time go? It’s going to be dark, soon!

I glanced out the window to see the sun hanging low in the sky, and thought, The neighborhood looks rougher than it is, but they don’t really know that. I don’t want them to feel uneasy on their way back home…but I also don’t want them to think that I’m telling them to leave. How do people normally handle situations like this? Well, I guess there’s no point in mincing words.

I waited for the conversation to naturally lull, and interjected, “Hey, it’s getting pretty late guys. You might want to head out soon if you want to get home before dark.”

“Yeah, you’ve got a point,” Yoichi sighed, and set about packing his notes and books into his backpack.

The others quickly followed suit, with Ruri pouting, “No fair! It feels like we only just got here!”

“Don’t worry, Ruri,” Kaori assured her, “There’s always tomorrow!”

Together, we looked at the mountain of notes, books, and worksheets that still filled the table, and overflowed onto the floor. Scratching my cheek, I said, “Actually, I think I’ve got my work cut out for me for the next few days…”

Ruri sighed, and rifled through her bag, retrieving her phone and holding it out towards me. When I merely cocked my head confusedly, she explained, “You got a new phone, right? We’ll all share our LYME contacts with you so that we can talk whenever we want!”

“Ah, right,” I chuckled, and set about scanning each of their details into my contact list. Then, I hurriedly shooed them out, insistent that they leave before night fell.

“Catch you later, man,” Yoichi said, waving farewell as he made his way towards the staircase.

Kaori, following closely behind him, added, “It was good seeing you again, TK!”

Ruri lingered for a moment, her eyes shifting around without looking directly at me. “Th-thanks for having us over. I’ll be in touch, okay? And, umm…TK…” She hesitated, clearly unsure of how to say whatever it was that she was thinking.

“Yeah?” I asked, the sound of my voice making her finally look me in the eyes.

She shook herself, and seemed to change course away from whatever she had been about to say, telling me, “Make sure you stop by the store and let them know you’re back.”

“The store?” I wondered, unsure of what she meant. “Why would they care?”

“I figured you wouldn’t remember anything about it. You used to work part-time at the local convenience store, TK. I stopped in a while ago and filled Ms. Hayase in on what was happening while you were still in a coma, and she seemed pretty understanding about it. But you should definitely let her know that you’re okay.”

I had a part-time job, too? “Oh, thanks, Ruri! I wonder what would’ve happened if I just never showed back up?” I never would’ve known, if not for her!

As I laughed at the thought, Ruri’s cheeks turned red. “You’re welcome, TK! I’ll send you the location info after I get home, alright?”

“Sure,” I nodded, and watched curiously as Ruri took a half-step towards me, then averted her gaze and stepped away to follow after the others, who were waiting by the stairs.

Waving, she called, “Have a good night, TK!”

I returned her wave until she and the others were out of sight, then closed the door and stared at my now-empty apartment. That was a little awkward towards the end, there. How would we have normally said goodbye? With a hug? Or, maybe…I felt my face grow hot at the thought of a goodbye kiss, and smacked my cheeks with both hands to clear my head.

I stared blankly at the stack of paperwork that was still left sitting on the table, and sighed. “We definitely need to figure things out between us, but for now, that can wait. First things, first; I need to get caught up on all this coursework!”

I was about to sit down when my stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I still hadn’t eaten anything. I went to the refrigerator, only to find it in a sorry state, with nothing but a package of grapes-turned-raisins and a moldy block of cheese to greet me. I gotta have some ramen around here, I told myself, but rummaging through the cabinets turned up nothing.

Just as I had given up my search, I felt the familiar buzz of my phone, and opened it up to find a message from Ruri with a map link. Guess I might as well check it out, I reasoned, slipping into my shoes and making sure to lock the door behind me on my way out. I need to get something to eat, anyway.

Following the map to the address Ruri had sent, I navigated my way through the streets to my destination; a tiny convenience store located on a desolate street corner. The walk there only took about ten minutes, but night had fallen by the time I arrived, and I was greeted with the sight of bright yellow light spilling out of the large storefront windows.

The place looked absolutely dead, and I entered without hesitation, a bell above the door chiming to signal my arrival. A tall, thin girl who appeared to be college-aged leaned against the counter at the back of the establishment, a bored look on her face as she leafed through a magazine. Hearing the bell, she glanced up to greet me and paused, her mouth falling open just enough to let the lollipop she was snacking on fall right out of her mouth, and onto the pages in front of her.

As I approached the counter, she exclaimed in a tone of disbelief, “Takashi! You’re alive! How are you feeling?”

Recalling her name from what Ruri had said earlier, I replied with a laugh, “Ms. Hayase, right? I’ve been better…” As succinctly as I could manage, I explained my circumstances.

Picking up her lollipop from where it had fallen, she blew on it before sticking it back into her mouth and musing, “Amnesia, huh? That sucks, man. But don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll come back to you in no time. Oh, and there’s no need to be so formal! Call me Keiko, like always.”

“B-but aren’t you my manager?”

Making a shooing motion with her hand, she insisted, “Bah, you’re like a younger brother to me! Anyway, when can you start? That other kid I’d hired ended up quitting so he could focus on his entrance exams, so I’ve been swamped lately! I could really use your help!”

I glanced around the otherwise silent shop, thinking to myself, Yeah, she sure looks swamped, all right. Then again, maybe I just caught her at a good time? Seeing the look on my face, she narrowed her eyes and asked, “You are coming back, right?”

“Yeah, for sure!” I quickly assured her, explaining, “It’s just, I’ve got a lot of coursework to catch up on, and I’d like to settle back into things, first.” But if she really is having a rough time on her own, I’d also feel kind of bad about leaving her hanging for too long.

Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind. Holding a hand to her heart, she sighed, “Thank goodness, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Don’t sweat it, I can hold down the fort for another week or two. Just let me know when you’re good to come back, okay?”

“Definitely,” I assured her, and grabbed a few supplies before returning home to tackle the mountain of paperwork I’d been given.

For the next twenty-four hours, I devoted myself to the monumental task of finishing up that coursework, working straight through the night with only a short powernap. Diving in and getting lost in the sea of text and diagrams felt oddly familiar to me, in an almost comforting way, and eventually I found my flow. It wasn’t until the late the following evening when I was finally pulled out of my trance by the loud buzz of my phone.

A message? I wondered, rifling through the scattered sheets of paper lying all around me before finally finding the device. Flicking open the lockscreen, I read a message from Ruri.

Hey, TK! Just checking in. I haven’t heard from you since yesterday. Don’t tell me you’ve managed to get through all that coursework already? LOL!

A smile crept its way onto my lips as I shot back, Not yet, but I’m getting there! It’s coming back to me bit by bit. Waiting for her reply, I pinched the bridge of my nose and tilted my aching head backwards. After so many long hours of staring at notes and books, my brain felt fried.

Moments later, my phone buzzed once more. I knew it! You totally WERE trying to get it all done ASAP! As I considered how to respond – she was right, after all – she sent a follow-up, Come on, TK, you need a break! How about…tomorrow? We can meet at the zoo. What do you say? She added a cute sticker of a cartoon fox, blushing bashfully.

“A trip to the zoo, eh…” I mused aloud, and my heart skipped a beat as I realized, Wait, is she asking me out on a date? Sweat beading on my forehead, I re-read her message just to make sure, and reasoned, Well, I suppose if we really were a couple, I shouldn’t be too surprised. But, are we still together? And more importantly, am I even ready for something like this?

I struggled to control my rising panic, as she could see that I had already read her message through the app. Time was limited, and she was waiting for a response. Calm down, I told myself, taking a deep breath, I’m overthinking this. There’s no reason to get so worked up. She’s just worried about me, and I could use a break…so, why not?

My decision made, I sent back, Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. I guess I have been going at it a bit too hard. Send me the location and I’ll meet you there! How does 9 sound?

Great! I’ll see you there! Came the short reply, followed by another fox sticker giving a thumbs-up and a map link.

Setting my phone aside, I leaned back and looked around at the spread of papers and books propped up before me. With a heavy sigh, I thought, Man, she really does know me pretty well, huh? To know exactly what I’d do when faced with a challenge like this…maybe I’m not so different from who I was before, after all.