Black Flower

Black Flower Chapter 1

(A quick word, before you read. I'm no professional writer, in fact, i'm a machinist, which couldn't be further from a writer. This text is sure to be full of silly mistakes or weird phrasing, and i apologize.)

Black Flower Chapter 1

Her

Funny how in movies and anime or manga, the main character is always sad when their family has to move to a new house. They lose the home they are used to, they lose their friends, their beloved school and the city they grew up in. I felt none of all this sadness when we moved, for i had no friends to speak of, hated my school and never went outside except for school. And to me, it was just another house. Again. So it really was just a pain to have to pack boxes. Again. I can only remember having one friend before, when i was very little, at an age where standards or appearances aren't really a thing. But after that, well...yeah. I have a naturally very unfriendly face, shall we say, and cold eyes, so most of the time others just avoid me or simply won't speak to me. I've tried to change that a few times before, but gave up. Now i just live with it and, as a result, i have no friends. I live alone with my mother, and her work often requires that we move, so even if i did make a friend, it wouldn't last very long.

"Tomoko? Dear, have you seen the boxes with the dishes?" my mother hollered from the kitchen.

"Wasn't it one of the first ones we brought in? It's probably behind all the others in the living room!" i shouted back.

I slowly but surely emptied about half of my own boxes, before i became somewhat lazy and tired of unpacking boxes. We had timed our moving so that i would start school just a few days after and, come to think of it, our new house was relatively close to my new school. I thought maybe i should have a look at it, see how to get there and so on. So i grabbed my longboard from amongst the pile of boxes and headed to the front door.

"I'm going to go have a look at the school, i'll be back in a bit."

"Alrighty dear, watch out for cars!"

It was a reasonably pretty neighborhood. Plenty of trees, old but beautiful and sturdy houses, some people here and there walking their dogs and so on. Very typical neighborhood really, not much different from the last one. I casually cruised my way towards where the school was supposed to be, and thankfully the way there was pretty quick and straightforward. The school was...meh. Very boxy, mostly grey or brown, no adornments of any kind. It literally looked stern and severe, even before i even set a foot in. Nobody was there of course, or at least nobody that i could see. No doubt some teachers were already there preparing for the school year. I wonder how long i'll be there before we have to move again. I stayed a few more minutes, lost in thoughts, before i moved on. I didn't feel like going back home quite yet, so i just started wandering the streets, now mostly empty really. Funny how in manga and anime school always seems fun. It has always felt more like a chore to me. Spending an entire day in a building full of people i don't know, or don't care about. An entire day being looked at weirdly from a distance. Nothing good ever really came out of it for me. As i was thinking that, the sun was slowly beginning its decent towards the horizon. By this time, mom was probably waiting for me for dinner, so i started heading back home. On the way back, i rolled past the school, and didn't bother looking at it again.

"I'm home!" i said as i entered, loud enough so she could hear me wherever she was in the house.

"Welcome back! I thought we'd both be pretty tired, so i thought i'd order pizza. Didn't think you would mind!" she answered, peaking around the corner of the dining room with a wink.

"Heh, you know me so well!" i said, smiling, before joining her.

Pepperoni and cheese, just how i liked it. Though my happiness from seeing this divine invention of a meal was somewhat diminished when i realised that it would not be the same than the one i was used to. Another inconvenience of moving, even if small and somewhat insignificant. We ate in awkward silence for a while, before mom spoke.