A Promise

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I continued laying in bed. I don’t want to go to school today. I turned over and closed my eyes again.

The next time I woke up, I heard father at my door. I rubbed my eyes as I sat up and told him to come in. He entered my dark room and sat down on the edge of my bed.

“I heard you didn’t go to school today,” he spoke.

“Yeah…” I said.

Silence spread between us.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“...nothing like before.”

“If there’s a problem, we can always try to fix it. Don’t suffer through it.”

He’s right… He helped get those girls who bullied me and cut my face up suspended from school. They even spent a little time in the juvenile detention center. Their parents tried to protect them, but my father wouldn’t back down until they were brought to justice. I could barely think during that time because of my trauma so I don’t actually remember all the details… Father had explained what happened.

Although what Yuasa did was insensitive and a type of bullying, it wasn’t as bad as what I had experienced before. I don’t necessarily want him to get suspended. I just really don’t want it to happen again… I don’t even want to see him again…

Since I was quiet, father spoke. “We can always move you to a different school.”

A different school. When I entered high school, I knew that taking another break from school could be an option if I ran into trouble. After the incident in junior high school, I took a year break. I did some schooling at home and managed to graduate junior high. The transition to high school was smooth despite the long break I took.

But do I want to go to a different school now? I thought it wouldn’t matter what school I went to. Yet now, I feel like I can't leave. Even though we haven’t met in person, Kishi is here. After we solidified our friendship, I don’t want to leave and go somewhere out of reach. If I can, I want to meet him in person and spend time at school together… If that is even a possibility for me.

“I think… I want to stay,” I finally said.

“Alright. Have you made a friend here? I’m proud of you.” He rubbed my head, messing up my hair.

“Yeah, thanks…”

“Are you hungry? I can make dinner.”

Now that he says that, I feel like I am really hungry. I slept all day without anything to eat.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

I felt a bit better after eating and thinking about some positives to my school life. I noticed that on my phone, Kishi was talking about cats again and Yorikane asked if I was doing anything this weekend. There’s the kind Yorikane in my class too… I should try to stay. If Yuasa bothers me again, I’ll tell father and maybe he can do something about it.

I chose a day just before the weekend to miss school. So I automatically had an extra day of relaxation. I got some much needed rest and the sun shined on another particularly bright day.

I turned Yorikane down once again. But I felt like I shouldn’t spend my weekend doing nothing. When I thought about how I couldn’t leave Kishi, I figured it was time I tried to meet him. The thought of it makes me incredibly nervous and I want to back out of it. But I need to take the plunge and see if this friendship is actually viable.

“Ki-chan, where’s the place where you find all the cats?”

I waited anxiously for his reply.

“I’ll send you the address!”

Once the reply came, my palms began to sweat. I tried to hold onto my phone tightly so I wouldn’t drop it. After the address came, I prepared myself to type out one more message.

“Thanks. I’ll probably be over there in a few minutes. If you’re not busy, just know that I’ll be there.”

“Rose? Does that mean…?”

“I’m sure the cats would like to see you too.”

“I’ll try to head over there in a bit!!”

I took a deep breath. Then I left my room and entered the bathroom to check my outfit. It’s a purple long-sleeved sweater and black jeans. I adjusted my glasses and brushed my hair over my left eye with my fingers. I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment. I usually avoid mirrors. But when most of my face is covered, it’s at least bearable to look at.

I leave the bathroom and pass by father in the living room watching TV.

“I’m going out for a moment,” I tell him.

“Alright, be safe,” he replies while looking at the TV.

I take my phone with me as I leave the house. I get on the bus and head to the address that Kishi sent. My nervousness makes me play with my hands and my heart beat quickly. When I arrive at a nearby bus stop, I stand still for a moment as the bus leaves behind me. I can do it… I can’t chicken out now…

As I walk, I notice familiar scenery that is in the pictures Kishi sends. I recognize the sidewalk and a wall with a house behind it, weeds sticking out where they meet. Apparently cats like to lay on the wall or the sidewalk in the sun. I look down the path and see a cat. I’m almost surprised to see it. I slowly approach.

The black cat looks up at me with yellow eyes. I kneel down and put my hand out. “Hey, kitty…”

The cat sniffs my hand then rubs its face against my fingers. I smile. I gently pet the cat and it purrs. If only my father would let me have a cat…

“Rose…?”

I look up once I hear his voice. Kishi stands there wearing blue jeans and a light orange button up shirt. His shirt matches his golden eyes and the light wind rustles his hair. I slowly stand up.

“Ki-chan… It’s actually Saki…” I grab the end of my sweater out of nervousness.

“Saki… It’s nice to finally meet you.” He smiles brightly at me.

I didn’t think he could smile so happily after seeing my appearance. I guess he hasn’t seen my face completely yet, but still. Shouldn’t he be taken aback? I bet I’m far gloomier than he expected…

“I see you’ve met Kuro.” He kneeled down to pet the cat.

“...Kuro? Because it’s a black cat?”

“Yep!” He beamed up at me. “It fits perfectly, doesn’t it?”

A smile tugged at my lips. He’s even more adorable in person… I knelt down again and pet the cat some more. I’m glad the cat seems to be enjoying the attention.

“I’m glad you came out here to meet me…” Kishi said. “But I’m just curious as to what made you come now…”

“...I just thought I should. We’re friends after all…”

“That’s right. I’m really glad you came here.” He looked me in the eye and gave me a tender smile. I looked away as my cheeks became warm.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt your plans for this weekend.”

“Not at all! I usually stay at home with my mother. We don’t do much except for watch TV shows or movies. Sometimes I write.”

“You write?”

“Yes, but just short fantasy stories… They’re not very impressive or anything…”

“I’d love to read one of your stories. Fantasy just happens to be my favorite genre.”

“I’ll have to send you one then. All of my stories are about magic because I think the concept is really cool.”

“Then if you could have one magic ability, what would it be?”

“Hm… That’s a hard one… Flying would definitely be cool. Or shapeshifting into different animals. Oh, or controlling water!”

“Those are all cool.”

“What about you, Ro– I mean, Saki?”

“Seems like it’ll take you some time to get used to that.”

“I’m doing my best, don’t tease me!”

I let out a small laugh. “Alright, sorry. And let’s see… I think being invisible would be cool.”

“Invisibility is cool too!”

The black cat, Kuro, walked away so we stood up. Then Kishi said there was a pretty white cat that lives near his house so we began walking there. To fill any awkward silence, he talked about his club and his many female friends. Apparently they follow him everywhere, even to the bathroom. They don’t go inside, but wait outside until he’s done. He said it was a bit strange but he got used to it.

“They won’t let you have a moment to yourself, huh?” I commented.

“No… but it is nice to have friends with you all the time.”

“Well I’m glad you all seem to be good friends.”

“Yeah, they’re always nice to me. I thought they were teasing me at first…”

“Friends tease each other sometimes.”

“Oh, there’s the cat!” He pointed at a house. There was a white cat behind the front gate on the path leading to the front door. It blinked at us with bright eyes and clean looking fur.

“It’s beautiful…” I said in awe.

“I’ve only been able to pet it on rare occasions. Its fur is silky soft.”

“Wow… I want to pet it…”

We both tried to call it out but it wouldn’t budge and only stared at us boredly. Eventually it began to clean itself like it was telling us to leave it alone.

“Maybe there’s a way to win it over…” I said.

“I tried giving it treats from the convenience store but it didn't want them.”

“It probably likes expensive treats.” I glanced up at the house behind it. It looked like a nice house, one that looked like it could pamper a cat with expensive items.

“You’re probably right…”

After we walked away from the cat, Kishi said there was a park nearby where we could sit. I followed him there. When we got there, there were a few kids playing in the jungle gym. We took a seat on an empty bench in a shaded corner.

“...Did you talk to your sister?” I asked.

“Yes, a little bit. She said she was going to tell us about her engagement but she was busy with work and everything. She said she’ll make time for me one of these days.”

“That’s good. I’m glad she’s making an effort now.”

“Me too. I think she’ll bring her fiancé so I should get to know him better since he’ll be a part of the family.”

“Good luck, I’m sure it’ll go well.”

“Saki, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you want to meet each other in the beginning?” Kishi began to play with a string on his shirt.

“...Sorry. I just wasn’t confident. In myself, or you, I guess… I was afraid of what would happen if we met.”

“What were you afraid of?”

I stared down at my knees. “Just that… You wouldn’t like me… after seeing me in person…”

“Saki.” I looked up and met his eyes. “There’s no way I wouldn’t like you after you’ve been so kind to me. And plus, didn’t we say we’d be best friends? I wouldn’t abandon my best friend just because I saw her face. Let’s be friends for a long time, okay?”

He stuck out his pinky finger. A pinky promise. A promise to stay friends for as long as possible. Hopefully that lasts even if one day I show him my real face. I lock my pinky finger with his.

“It’s a promise,” I said.