Lotus

Rina - 2: Flowers

 “The lotus is associated with purity, estranged love, and the forgetfulness of the past while the jasmine was a symbol associated with attachment, sensuality, modesty, grace, and elegance.” 

     The first full day of school arrived for both Ren and Rina. Ren left his school once he was dismissed, not wanting to return to his house too late in the afternoon. After chatting with her friends for a while, Rina caught the bus to take to her house. Her house was close enough to her school to be considered walking-distance, but she was too lazy to walk.

     The bus stop was across the street from her and Ren's house. Stepping out of the bus and onto the sidewalk, she saw Ren approaching his own driveway.

     “Ren!” she shouted from across the street.

     Ren turned around and waved back at her.

     “Come over!” he shouted. “Let's do homework together!”

     After making sure that there were not any incoming cars, Rina ran over. Her appearance was even more different from that from their first meeting. Her hair was tied up half up and half down. She wore her uniform: a navy blue varsity cardigan, a white polo, a gray pleated skirt, black knee highs, and black suede, slip-on ankle boots. Along with her uniform, Rina also wore her black rimmed readers. She had rolled her skirt, reducing its length to about four and a half inches above her knees, her long, slim legs catching Ren's eyes.

     “What do you have for homework?” Rina asked. Although she was a bit out of breath from running over while her small, slender body was carrying a crammed tote bag, she managed to give Ren another one of her delightful smiles.

     “AP Calculus,” Ren replied.

     “I'm still on Pre-Calc!” Rina moaned. “You're the one who should be helping me with my homework!”

     Ren laughed. Disregarding her comment, he dragged Rina into his house. It was much cleaner than it was before. Most of the moving boxes were unpacked and gone. Rina could finally differentiate the kitchen from the living room.

     “Where's Alex? How's he feeling?” she asked.

     “He's probably with our aunt downstairs,” he replied. “He's still a little sick, but he's finally back to his usual self.”

     “That's good.”

     Rina could feel her heart sink down to her stomach. She was still curious to learn about the brothers' absent parents.

     “Hey, do you want these chips?” she asked, pulling out a small, unopened bag of sour cream and onion chips. “I bought them at school, but I don't think I really want them anymore.”

     “Sure,” Ren replied, accepting her offer and taking the bag. He opened it and took out a tiny chip. Upon eating it, he smiled with content at the taste. This was the first time Rina saw him actually smile. It was such a sweet smile that she was proud of indirectly creating it. Snapping out of her trance, she reached into the bag and took a chip for herself.

     “Seeing you eat one made me want one, too,” she said cheerfully. “You can still have the rest though.”

     “You can do your homework on my desk,” Ren said, softening his smile. He put the bag of chips down and began heading out his room. “I'll be right back. I need to use the bathroom.”

     He left. Rina looked around the room. It was the same as before, or maybe even a little more decorated. She sat down on Ren’s chair and stared at the study desk offered to her.