I've Got the Smell of a Local Man
There is a phone booth that has been long disconnected in an abandoned alley in downtown Ikebukuro. People have walked by it before but no one has given it a second notice. That was until tonight.
Tomoya didn't want to be here. This was more of you have to come out and socialize with your coworkers type of deal. He sat at the bar and stared down at his drink. Why did he come here again? The tadpole turned and saw a couple of his female coworkers singing karaoke. Oh yeah. That.
"Hey man!" someone shouted in his ear. Tomoya rolled his eyes as a pair of arms wrapped around his body.
"Kazuma," he said.
"You okay, man?" his work friend asked.
"Yeah, yeah," the tadpole muttered. He shoved off his friend. Kazuma frowned.
"Seriously, man, what's wrong?" he asked. Tomoya turned and stared at him. He won't understand. They lived in different worlds now. They might as well be on opposite sides of the planet.
"Just leave it," Tomoya said. He pushed Kazuma off and walked away from the bar.
"Tokiwa?" his friend asked. The tadpole was already out the door.
Nothing in that place was for him. The karaoke bar did nothing for his senses. The smoke, the bad singing, the pounding music, the sweat, the perfume, the cologne, the gum-smacking, The loud talking from the corners of the room and the hall, the tapping of keys on the phone...
Tomoya paused when something caught his eye.
"What the hell is that?" he asked himself. The tadpole walked over to that lone phone booth. He strained his ear for a listen. Was it... ringing? As if in a trance, Tomoya walked over that relic from a forgotten era.
"Hello?" he asked. At first, he could hear nothing but static.
"Hello? Hello?" he asked. He could only make out a faint whisper.
"Please... don't..."
"Hello? Hello? I can barely hear you. Hello? Hello?"
"Please... don't..."
"Don't? Don't what? What are you saying?"
"Please don't go!" Suddenly, static filled the other line.
"Hello? Hello? Are you still there? Hello? Hello?" The static grew in pitch before the line went dead. Tomoya looked at the receiver in his hand with a sense of dread. He tossed it away before backing out of the booth. He's heard that voice before but something inside of him wouldn't let him place where.
"There you are!" Tomoya heard in the distance. He turned his head to see Kazuma jogging over with him, waving at him. The tadpole lowered his face before lifting it up with a forced smile on his face. Kazuma was now standing inches away from him and catching his breath.
"Why did you walk off like that?" he asked. Tomoya blinked at him confused.
"You were looking for me?" he asked.
"Uh-huh," Kazuma said. He turned and looked over his friend's shoulder.
"Huh? What is this phone booth doing out here?" he asked. "Who would put something like that in an alley like this?" Tomoya didn't turn around to look.
"Never mind, let's just go back inside," he said. The tadpole pushed his friend along before he could say another word.
