Last Isn't The End

Between hours of work and studying, the awaited Saturday arrived. Fujio Risaki, and his niece, Sugimoto are the first to arrive at the bookstore, unlocking the front doors, but not flipping the “closed” sign to “open” yet. Risaki heads to the office in the back of the bookstore, while Sugimoto locates her work counter and settles in. After coming back from the office, he stands in front of the counter that was his niece's workspace.

“Ah, no cashier work today. You and the other staff will be preparing the bookstore for the event.”

“Okay.”

“What's with that response? I thought you’d be more excited.” He says, leaning his elbows on the counter.

“Ah, I am!” she pauses and scratches the back of her head. “I'll probably join a bit later though…”

“A bit later?" Risaki furrows his brows.

“I have tutoring.”

“Tutoring?” he says, doubting her. “You’ve never mentioned tutoring in your years of college, why now?”

“Believe it or not, I found one who agreed to help me.”

“Yeah, Youtube.” He mocks, laughing.

“Seriously, I found someone! You'll see when she comes by later."

“Alright, alright. Sweep the floor for me while I go check things in the office, okay?” He taps the countertop and walks backwards, pointing to the floor around him. Sugimoto yawns, indicating that she needs a zing to keep her preparing the bookstore.

“Can I make some coffee?” Her gaze aims at the espresso machine.

“Clean up afterwards!” he yells, already in the back of the bookstore about to enter his office once again.

She silently complains, standing up from the seat. Walking towards the cafe area, four loud knocks startle her. Returning past the counter to the main doors, she peeks outside.

“Hey! You there Akako? Up for a ride?” The energetic voice outside says. Four loud knocks enclose the front of the bookstore again. “Anybody there?”

“Dumbass! Don't knock so loud.” Sugimoto suddenly opens the door. Besides the obvious bleached spiky hair, a tall brawny guy with a cigarette in his mouth stands outside. The eye-catching Thrasher logo on his hoodie could be easily seen in the distance. His baggy pants keep him somewhat warm and protected in the chilly almost-winter weather.

“I’m working, Takuya. I can't ride today.”

“But it's Saturday! Come on, take the day off!” He drags on his cigarette, holding it in his index and middle finger as he exhales a cloud.

“I got a tutor coming soon, believe it or not.”

“A tutor? You’re brain’s gonna fuckin’ explode!” Takuya brings his fists to the sides of his face and opens them intensely, imitating an explosion.

“Not if yours explodes first from all that smoking.” Sugimoto chuckles and swipes the cigarette from his hand, inhaling deeply and breathing out the whiff in his face.

“Hey, are you stupid? Ask first before you do that! It’s my last one.” He takes the cigarette back, once again taking a hit. Sugimoto glances at his Thrasher hoodie once more.

“Are you still doing those street challenges in Tokyo?” She asks, curious about her high school friend's sport.

“Yeah!” He enthusiastically answers. “The next one’s gonna be my last.”

“I’ll be sure not to miss it.” She smiles, lightly punching his shoulder. “Your last already, huh.”

“Last isn’t the end, Akako. I’m just switching it up a bit.” He reaches into the hoodie’s front pocket and hands her a crumpled flyer. She reads the vibrant graffiti-like words, but one thing really catches her attention: The $5000 first place prize.

"What the hell? $5000 first place prize? That's too good to be true..."

“You can compete in singles or duos.” He implies, trying to get her to catch on.

“Are you doing singles?"

“Nope!” Takuya chuckles, crossing his arms.

“Who are you pairing up with?” Sugimoto asks, intrigued.

“The one that’s standing right in front of me!” he laughs. “That's if, well, you accept. What do you say? You and I, one last time.” Dumbfounded, Akako reads the wrinkled flyer again, noticing there’s no fixed date for the competitions.

“When’s the competition gonna be? There’s no date on the flyer.” She points, showing him.

“Mid December.” Sugimoto hands him the flyer back, but Takuya denies it. "It's the same as last. Underground and feisty. You know how the crowd is." Takuya grabs his skateboard by the trucks and slides it along the road, jumping onto it.

Not getting the chance to say goodbye or answer, Akako closes the doors and glares at the serene bookstore, unlike Takuya, who is one of the most bounciest people she's ever talked with. After resting on the chair behind the counter, she looks for a sheet of paper. On it, she does some calculations. The prize money, split between the two of them, meant earning $2500, equivalent to a year and a fourth of part time money. Quitting her part time job wasn’t something she wanted, especially because of a childish reason, but it sure seemed tempting to occupy her mind about. For now, she snapped back to reality and gathered the tools for cleaning the floor and anxiously expected her new tutor, Kimura's arrival.