Little Tiger

the Apartment and the Second Opinion

After weeks of procrastinating, I finally did it. May twenty-seventh, nine a.m., dreary morning, the scent of rain in the air and the promise of more to come. Packed boxes were clustered around me. One last look around my room...no dust, no forgotten items, no smudges, chips, or marks on the walls. Good. There was nothing left to do except exit the threshold and move forward. So...go? Move. Move your ass! First, I'll pick up a box. Alright, got the box. Now...one foot in front of the other. Don't forget to check the bathroom one last time to make sure you packed your toothbrush, though! Put the box down, walk past the threshold (practice for the real deal), check the cupboard in the bathroom and...yeah, you packed it. Of course you did. What about your face wash? Moisturizer? Lotion? Washcloth? Steal a roll of toilet paper for your own place. Perfect, nothing left in the bathroom and I am now one toilet paper roll richer. Go back to your room, pick the box back up. Good. Now...it's time to go, Ko. Move! I can't. Forgot to check inside my desk drawers one more time--don't want to leave a piece of my novel behind. Okay, there's nothing left in any of them. What about under the bed?

"Ready yet? What are you doing?" I was on my hands and knees, looking under my bed which housed nothing aside from a discolored plank of wood flooring that stuck out from all the rest like a sore thumb. Hatori bent down, picking up a box, grunting at how heavy it was. All of my books were inside it. The box rounded at the bottom, as if groaning under the weight of the books. "C'mon, pick up a box already. I've got a day's worth of appointments after I get you moved in." 

I wasn't working with Shigure or Hatori anymore, starting today. They both decided that they were wasting my time by having me do the most menial tasks. I was grateful; things were slowing down even more than they already were and I was bored more times than I was busy. I would be working at Ayame's salon from then on. Toya Okazaki, the weekday receptionist, would be moving to the back to do strictly tailoring, while I took his job at the front desk. 

I was still crouched underneath my bed. I sat up too fast and bumped my head on the roof of my bed. "Ow," I mumbled to myself, rubbing the back of my head. I got back to my feet carefully. "I was just making sure I didn't leave anything." I picked up my box again and followed Hatori out to the estate car. 

"Did you leave anything in my office or Aya's room?" 

Great! Another place for me to check. "I'm not sure, I'll go check--" 

Hatori cut me off. "No, never mind. You'll only be a few minutes away. If you forgot anything, you can just come back to get it." 

I couldn't argue with that. 

Ayame and Shigure were waiting in front of my new building. Ayame was opening his salon late, and Shigure had written his column responses and emailed them a day early, just to help me move in. I had forgotten to thank them properly, which would haunt me for the rest of the night. I didn't want to make them feel like I was unappreciative, because that was not the case. Still, I hadn't thanked them and by the time I remembered it, I thought it was too late to say anything. 

"Ko-Ko, I'm so proud of you--" big bear hug--"You're a real grown-up now." 

"Don't scare her out of this," Hatori grumbled. "It was hard enough already to convince her to move out without your incessant 'grown-up' talk." 

"I'm not getting scared out of this," I argued, even though the thought of being a 'real grown-up' did make me anxious. Where had all the time gone? One moment, I was four years old, and now I'm twenty-two. 

"What's the big deal if she wants to move back to the estate, Tori? I'd move back in if I had the chance." 

Hatori and Ayame started laughing at Shigure, unable to contain themselves. I laughed too, but I was also relieved that someone was on my side, reassuring me that I could leave my new apartment if I wanted.