When Things Got Out of Hand

Clickity-click-clack. There's nothing I find more relaxing than the tap of a keyboard.

I should probably explain a few things before I start. My name is Harumi Hanamura, and this story I'm about to tell you is a true account of my high-school experiences. I've left some of the more delicate/sensitive parts out, and only given the bare bones in others, but everything I do write is true.

Context seems like a good place to begin. I've always been small and skinny for my age, and the other guys always enjoyed making fun of me for it. Animals... If they wanted to get bulging muscles and ridiculous tans, then good for them, but I wouldn't sacrifice my mind for such frivolities.

Funny enough, I stand by that statement even now.

A few weeks before it all kicked off, my parents had dragged a promise to start a diary out of me. My mom thought that because I was so quiet and secretive, I needed to write everything down; because I "clearly can't talk to people about it". I'd agreed to her request on one condition: I did it digitally. No nonsense with a book and pen that could easily be lost or stolen. My laptop was my most prized possession, so chances of me losing it were less than nonexistent. It was still a month and a half before I was idle enough to start it, though.

It was my last day at my old school - a bright, warm July afternoon. I was sat under a tree typing short stories - I'm a web-novelist - and everyone else, including my sister Hinata, was enjoying the sun. Girls were sat in groups, gossiping, boys were playing sports. There were a few other nerds sat in the shade, but most were inside.

The guys playing sports looked over at me. I'd always been the special target of their mocking for my androgynous appearance and ambiguous name.

"Hey, sissy!" One yelled. "Come join in!"

They often used insults like that, but it didn't bother me overmuch. They were just words, afterall.

"No, thanks.!" I called back. "I'm good here!"

That was when Daichi walked past.

Most of the guys made fun of me because they wanted to look cool. Daichi was different. He had a particular loathing for me - and it was my sister's fault. He'd been running unopposed for class rep when Hina got it into her head to campaign at the last second. She'd won by a landslide.

She wasn't your average popular pretty girl, either. She could look after herself, and took to hitting things that made her angry. Trust me when I say you don't want to piss her off. 

Daichi preferred helpless victims, so he targeted me to get to her. She threatened several times to beat him up, but I stayed her hand. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that Hinata's fierce and protective of her geeky little brother.

But she wasn't there to help this day.

Daichi grabbed my shoulder. "C'mon. Prove you're a man."

I squirmed but he had a tight hold of me. "I don't have to prove anything."

He grinned like a wolf about to go in for the kill. "Well, either way... I got a surprise for ya."

I couldn't call for Hina - she was on the other side of the school. That meant I was on my own. In other words, helpless. Just how Daichi liked it.

A couple of guys grabbed my arms, Daichi my head. Then a swarm of girls descended on me.

It took about fifteen minutes, but it felt like an age. after that was another ten minutes of torturous photo-taking.

They eventually got bored and left me.

Using my phone screen as a mirror, I checked the full extent of the... makeover... Provocative makeup, as well as bright red ribbons in my hair - which I normally kept shoulder-length.

I collapsed against the tree trunk, struggling to fight back tears. I'd never thought they'd take it this far. Calling me a sissy was one thing, but actually dolling up my face?

I tried rubbing it off but it wouldn't even smudge. Next I tried washing it off in the bathroom; no luck - it must've been waterproof as well.

I went home. No way I was gonna sit through the rest of school like this - the teachers wouldn't care. Besides, what could they do to me? Give me a detention I wouldn't be there for?

It took well over an hour, but in the end I got it off. It'd been painful, and my face had dried out and cracked in the following weeks, but I couldn't bear the thought of Hina seeing me like that.

Speaking of which, it wasn't long before she got home and slammed the door shut.

"Those bastards!" she screamed. Hina was given the double-edged sword of a shrill voice, meaning she could sing well but her infrequent shouts turned into shrieks. "I'll kill them!"

I was lying on the sofa, which faced away from the door. I'd glanced up when Hina walked in, then dropped back and buried my face in a cushion.

"Leave it." I told her, voice muffled. "If you get involved things'll only get worse."

"Worse?" She squealed. "Worse?! They've already posted everything online - all the most popular websites, media feeds, you name it! How can things get worse?"

"They didn't put me in a skimpy outfit this time. If you go and beat them up, they will next time." I replied wearily.

She deflated after I said that. Visibly deflated, as the breath she'd drawn to keep shouting whistled out of her mouth softly. "So... What do we do about it now?"

"We move on." I said. I'd had two-and-a-half hours to think about what I wanted. "We find a place that hasn't seen the pictures... Or I -"

The rest of what I was going to say was cut off by the Phone Call. I type it like that because it was life-changing - and not in a good way.

Hina picked up. "Hello, Hanamura residence."

About a minute later, though it seemed like eternity, her face dropped into what was unmistakably the deepest depths of sorrow. "No, that can't be true... No..."

A few minutes later she turned to me. "Rumi... Mom and Dad... They-They're not c-coming back."

I was both confused and terrified by her behaviour, I'm not afraid to admit. "What do you mean?"

She choked back a sob. "The p-p-plane c-crashed."

It felt like the bottom had dropped out of my stomach. Mom and Dad... gone? How? It couldn't be true... They'd been around forever - not literally, I know, but this is the best way to describe in words how I felt. It's hard to type this, even years later, but I promised you as full a truthful account as I could give, so here I am.

We spent the rest of the evening together, taking comfort in each other's presence. All sibling relationships are special, but none quite as special as twins, which Hina and I technically were. She was born at five minutes to midnight on April twelfth, me at ten past midnight on the thirteenth. A fifteen-minute age-gap that put our birthdays apart; that only made our relationship feel even more special, however.

Finally, Hina pulled herself back from the edge. "I'm gonna make dinner. We still have to look after ourselves. It's what - what they would've wanted."

Those words gave me an idea. Strangely out of context, but as a storyteller I'm used to getting inspiration from the most random things. If I couldn't hide from the situation as I was, all I'd have to do is change that.

I talked Hinata through my plan. She seemed on-board with it, but also worried about me. She decided to stay with me - even after I told her I'd be fine.

"family comes first." She said firmly. "Besides, I can't let me little brother get lost in those politics."

Yeah, I think that's everything for today. It was one of the most important of my life, and I don't wanna overload you guys - so I'll do my first day next time.