one [sachio ueda]

f o u r : m a i

"What do you want to know?" I looked away. I don't want to let him know that I am affected by him.

"Your interests, the things you like and the things you hate." He sucked the juice from his straw.

My interests? It used to be stalking him but that will change today onwards.

"I like donuts." I finally spoke after a long moment of silence. "It's been a long time since I've had one." I added.

This made him glimpse at me. He was probably thinking how idiotic I was. Or worse, how fat I was.

"And your family?"

I halted and held my breath. Why is he asking stuff like this? Because he judged me without knowing anything about me and he feels guilty? He deserves it and I won't let him be satisfied by asking me questions.

"Are we close enough to talk about this?" I put my eyes back on him. I should not have said that. Now he probably thinks I have family problems.

He blinked and glanced at me. That wounded him. I would be hurt too, if someone said that to me. It's Sachio though, he'll be okay. He has a bad image of me anyways.

"Mai, here." Yuken jumped from the back and handed me a juice box. He went and sat beside Sachio. He looked at the both of us before speaking. "You both are so similar."

I was taking a sip from the box when I realised what he just said. I ended up choking and coughing. "What?" I managed to croak. He probably noticed both of us sitting in the same position.

"You both are so cranky sometimes." Yuken chuckled, earning a glare from Sachio. Sachio seemed like he didn't mind getting compared to me.

But I did. I don't want to be related to someone as heartless as him. Firstly, he judges too much. Secondly, he jumps to conclusions too soon. Thirdly, I hated his attitude. The list could go on.

The crush I had on him a few hours ago? It ceased so quickly. All because of the way he was disgusted by me. He doesn't care about how it would influence me. If he had shown signs of hatred, I'd still have my self esteem. The way he grimaced had me wondering if I was actually tolerable or not. What if Fujio had been silently swallowing my behaviour and letting it slide all these years?

That can't be. I'm a nice person. I have to be a nice person. I should care less about what some random, emo dude from Housen thinks about me.

"I'm a nice person." I finally muttered.

"Sure you are." Sachio sipped his orange juice without looking at me.

This fucker-

Don't react. That's exactly what he wants. I looked away too. I brushed his words off completely.

"I'll get going." I stated, getting up from the platform. I stayed here just to seem nice but I don't think I'll stay nice with Sachio around me. Just before leaving, I visited the puppy for one last time.

"Bye bye." I whispered, crouching down and scratching her head. Take care. Grow up well. Eat lots of food. That's what I told her.

"You can visit her every week. You know that, right?" Yuken leaned against the main gate, crossing his arms and looking down at me.

"Will you pay for the subway?" I turned my head back, making him flash a smile.

"Okay. Maybe not every week but sometimes?" He corrected himself.

I nodded, getting up and noticing Sachio come out of the gate. That's my cue to leave.

"Wait." Yuken stopped me. "Sachio can drop you off at Oya if you want."

I glanced at Sachio who had no expression on his face whatsoever. He didn't say no though. He just kept staring at me.

"I'm fine." I turned around to walk away. "It'd be a waste of money anyways."

While walking out in the main street, I realized that I didn't have that much cash left in my bag. I'd have to take the bus.

Why do I always suffer after making a decision? If Sachio came with me, I would've made him pay.

Boarding a bus, I sat in the last bench near the window. My parents used to tell me to sit in the middle seats when I was child because people had less chances feeling nauseous. However, I always felt comfortable at the last seats. People usually avoid the last bench since they always want to get down first. Especially since it was crowded most of the times.

Soon the bus was filled with people. The last bench had only four of us, me included. I always found it difficult to sit beside someone in a two-seater. The last bench could hold six people and yet, nobody would sit there. It was a wonderful way to stay away from people, if you ask me.

Even after the bus was packed, people kept squishing in. That's the worst thing about buses.

A guy with dark hair wearing a red uniform came and sat beside me.

He smelled strong. He had used too much deodorant. He seemed like a model but was a bit rough around the edges. He definitely caught my eye. He didn't seem like a common passenger even though he seemed to be around my age.

And above all, it seemed like he had just escaped a fight.

Yuken had given me two extra juice boxes. Seeing how exhausted this guy was, I offered him one box. At first he hesitated but ultimately took it from my hand, giving me a smile. If he didn't take it, I would've been embarrassed.

Returning to Oya, I planned to head straight to the cafe. It was already evening and my shift had begun.

The cafe wasn't much. Just a few types of drinks and pastries. It was quite dull and shabby, compared to most cafes I had seen. There were two other guys, Ciro and Koa, who worked there. Ciro was slightly shorter than me and had blue dyed hair. Koa was tall with dark hair. In some ways, he looked like most girls' ideal type. I always tried to avoid them since they eyed at me crudely. Once or twice I heard them talk about how grotesque I looked and I assumed it was because I wasn't thin. That's when it all started.

I couldn't say anything back at them. What if they get mad at me and talk more shit behind my back? I couldn't tell the owner anything either worrying that he'd ask me to quit if I had so many problems. Sometimes I felt as if they had every right to judge me.

When I entered the cafe today, the first thing I noticed was Ciro's red face. His left cheek was slightly swollen and there were a few bruises scattered all over. When he saw me, his eyes widened. It was a mix of anger and fear. Mostly anger.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, looking all over his face and trying my best to act like I care.

His anger dissipated, leaving only fear. The next thing I knew he was tearing up. I guess my acting was great.

"Your friend." He finally spoke. "He came today and gave us a warning."

"Fujio." I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah. Him." Ciro pointed out. "He said we should stop insulting others." He looked down and paused for a while before continuing. "Mai, please don't take it personally. You know, it's kind of our thing to make fun of people. We don't mean any of it." He defended himself.

"Wow." I grimaced. "That was a lame excuse."

He looked away, not being able to respond with anything else. I went back to taking orders. I didn't want to make it worse when I saw Koa in a corner, glaring at me from the distance. His dark underlined eyes made his gaze intimidating.

That scared the fuck out of me, not going to lie.