ZANE, MEET THE ASHIDA FAMILY

CHAPTER 7 / PRE-ARRIVAL

ZANE

Slowly I woke up, having my eyes closed, I stopped stirring listening for the soft purring that Nana makes when she's almost, when I couldn't hear that, I felt my hands around to see if she was still asleep, but she wasn't. I opened my eyes immediately and didn't see her there. Her side of the blanket was pushed to the edge of the bed, yet her phone was still charging on the nightstand.

But the curtains were drawn back and I saw the most beautiful creature on the balcony. [2022 Edit: cringe...] 

She was resting her arms on the railing of the balcony. Her pink hair blowing in the wind, her ears ruffling in the wind, and her head were facing towards the lake, where the pure water was glistening. Silently I got out of bed and joined her outside. I hugged her around the waist and she jumped, not realising I was awake. I kissed her on the head. 

"Morning beautiful," I said, then rested my head on her shoulder again. 

"Oh, morning Zane. I was just admiring the view. I didn't realise you had woken up." Nana said. 

"I know. You looked like an angel from where I was sitting." 

"You know, for once, I woke up before you."

"Well, then that was a freaky fluke. I didn't expect you to not be in bed when I had woken up."

Nana smiled and turned to me, "So, I was thinking, we pack up, hit the road again for the last hour of the drive, and have McDonald's for breakfast, hash browns and fries would be my preferred option. (delicious hashbrowns and fries for breakfast!) I don't think it would be appropriate to arrive early in the morning, but I thought I could show you around the town," she explained. 

I nodded, "Sounds perfect. I'll shower first and then you go next so I won't have to wait. You always take a long time." I answered. 

She stuck out her tongue and moved from hands from her waist. "Wow, thanks, Zane," she said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "I didn't know how time inconvenient I am!" she sassed with her hands on her hips.

I began walking back into the room, "I highly doubt it." I remarked, taking my clothes to the ensuite, taking approximately fifteen minutes. My face mask was in my pocket along with my phone, car keys and wallet. 

Nana took her whole suitcase in with her to the bathroom. 

Once she left, I began placing books back into my suitcase, leaving one out for the wait. After folding the blankets and making the bed with the original sheets and packing everything away. Nana had taken an entire hour in that bathroom, but, it paid off in the end since she was perfect, she's perfect even without spending that amount of time in the bathroom. She had half of her hair braided and her long, natural curls were sitting perfectly. She looked ready for a day out with her boyfriend. 

"Are you finally ready?" I asked her. 

"Yeah, Zane I- Woah! I was just about to help you make the bed, but you've already done everything!" 

"Well, I guess I had some time to kill," I said and laughed, a whole hour...

"Is everything packed then?" she asked. 

"Yeah, you ready to show me around your childhood town?"

"I am. We'll save my parents to the end since, in my opinion, I'm saving the worst for last." 

"You think of your parents that way?" I asked, moving the suitcases.

"Well, even though they were my parents, they were never around when I needed them. I practically raised myself after the age of nine." 

"Oh. Hey! That's around the time I wore my first mask, the day after my ninth birthday," I pointed out.

She shrugged, then smiled, "We better hit the road. We might come here again." After an hour of driving, we finally made it to Nana's hometown - Alyssa Falls. It was small and sweet, just like her. But one thing I noticed was that there were an infinite number of cherry blossom trees.

WORD COUNT: 685