diary of a teenage girl

Chapter 5: Losses (Iris' pov)

The architecture of this school is beautiful, it's like the Vatican and the sistine chapel. In the hallways, the ceilings are lined with marble archways and the walls have beautiful detailing. Dusty paintings of famous people that went here hang on the wall, and they have an achievements showcase area, sports, mathematics awards, Nobel peace prizes, etc.
This isn't just any school. It's the most famous in the country. It was like the Harvard of high schools. I go down a marble spiral staircase, "like Hogwarts" I think, and laugh at myself. Finally, I made it to the office. I see guards, and Rose, her boss'/mentor's husband sitting in the office, looking devastated. A well-groomed 40-year-old man is sitting in here as well, and the principal. "Sit down please, Miss Blanc." The well-kept man tells me. I obey and sit on the vintage upholstery.
"Miss Rose Prince passed away at 6:00 this morning." The man says.  No. It couldn't be. I want to scream, kick, cry but I stay in my seat, my eyes wide and red. Tears fall down my cheeks and a lump sits in my throat. "No. . . It can't, I- please tell me it's not true" I plead, now sobbing, my head throbbing. My tears do not drip over, they don't fall slowly, they pour like a heavy downfall in the spring.
My tears soak my neck and the collar of my shirt. I look through heavy tears and pain to see the embroidery on my shirt darken as they drip down and wet it. They seem uncomfortable with my state. "It's true. You may go home, we will get someone to escort you or alert your mom." The principal assures me coldly. "Does she know?" I ask, struggling to get words out. "Yes." The principal then reaches for the intercom and asks Hikaru Jin to go to the office.
Hikaru walks in, and his face drops at the sight of me. Hikaru had only met me yesterday, but it was like we automatically became close friends, and it feels like we've known each other our whole life. I'm not sure whether I am embarrassed or relieved that the principal asked Hikaru to come. I decide that I am relieved since Hikaru seems more vulnerable and understanding than the others.
"Iris? What's happening?" He asks, his voice cracking. He puts his hand on my shoulder. "Iris? Are you okay?" He whispers gently. Hikaru looks scared like he's thinking of the worst. "Someone close to Iris has passed away. Will you escort her home, please?" The man asks him. "Sure."
Hikaru extends his hand to me and we walk out of the school silently. "My car is parked close by." He assures me. I don't answer him. I barely heard what he had said, my mind was too busy with thoughts. "Are you okay?" He asks me again, his voice soft. "I've known her since I was five. I can't believe that she's gone." I speak, my voice unsteady and fragile. "I get it. Someone close to me passed recently also." He confessed to Iris.
"Really? Who?" I try to distract myself by asking questions. "My parents. I live with my older sister." My heart sinks lower. Hikaru was just sixteen. I feel so bad for him, I wouldn't have even known based on his cheery puppy dog personality and happy face. "When?" I ask, craving distraction. "This summer. They died in a plane crash." He strains to get the words out. "Aspen, James, and I are here for you," I told him. I can't express it enough.
I linger on his words in my mind, and my previously slow, silent falling tears stream down my face in agony and my brain pounds against my skull. My face feels hot and cloudy, and no matter how much I cry the lump in my throat doesn't subside. painful sobs escape my mouth one after the other, and I crouch down, practically crumbling, my body overloaded with pain and anger.
Hikaru immediately lowers himself to my level and puts his hands protectively on my arms. He lifts my face and cups my face in his palms. "You feel so hot.." he whispers to himself. He takes his hands off and takes his left hand, touching the back of it to my forehead, feeling my overwhelming body heat. It must be as hot as it feels. He wipes away my tears pointlessly, as they are still endlessly streaming down my face.
He takes in my bloodshot eyes and I see his eyes drown with sympathy and pity. His eyes carry so much pain, maybe from seeing me so down or because of his tragedies. "You can sit here for hours and I will wait. Or you can go home right now. Or I could take you to my house, I will do anything you ask Iris." He whispers to me, tucking my hair behind my ears. "Because I am your BBFF, best British friend forever." He says winking.
A strangled laugh-cry escapes me, slightly lifting my mood. "I don't want to go to my house. It has so many memories of her there. She's everywhere." I just barely manage to say. "Here's my car, let's go to my estate Instead," he expresses caringly. A Rolls Royce. "Lucky," I think, a fancy car, an estate, then remember he has so much worse going on behind some fancy car.
I get in and see the back of Tia's head, her short small figure and wavy black hair easily singled out. She was trying to get in her car by the looks of it, and urgently at that. As soon as Hikaru re-parks the car, I run to Tia. "Tia!" I yell at her, and Tia's tear-drenched face turns to look at me. This is the first time I have ever seen her cry.
We hug as Hikaru walks up to us "Are you Iris' friend?" He asks her. "Mmhmm." She hesitates before asking him something. "Are you British?" She asks with a shaky voice, sniffling, ignoring the problem at hand. "Yeah. My parents were from Asia and I'm from Britain. I moved here after-" He seems hesitant to finish.
"After they passed. I live with my sister now." Tia walks over and hugs him, catching Karu off guard. her head barely goes above his torso.  "Come on, let's go. Would you like to go to my house instead?" Hikaru suggests, putting his hand on our backs to push us towards the car. I watch as Tia strokes the inside of the Rolls Royce, her manicured fingers following the black seams on the red leather interior. Tia kind of has a thing for cars, her little obsession. For Tia, it's cars.
For me, it's books. I love listening to her go on about them, even though I have no clue about what she's saying. we get along great, we can have lengthy conversations about our interests, and I enjoy listening to her almost as much as gushing about my interests. As far as I had noticed, everyone had something that especially piqued their interest, and I love that about people.
Hikaru is an excellent driver, I think as he weaves through the roads and comes to a perfect stop at the light. Then, after a few minutes pass, we arrive at just about the biggest home I've ever seen. It's like a hospital, nay, a resort. It looks like the White House. Of course, the house has many fountains, and a stream seemingly wrapping around the whole house for who knows why.
There were pathways to take strolls I suppose, and the whole house is raised above the ground, stairways leading up to the extravagant entrance. The walk to the house itself must've taken at least 2 minutes, and I noticed people in uniform in golf carts, and people mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, cleaning the drain pipes, etc.
Hikaru didn't even park his car, he just left it and a man in formal attire drove it off to a garage, I assume. I never noticed until now how well-polished Hikaru is. He's still an average, immature teenager, yes, but he has manners and is very respectful. When we got inside people swarmed us, taking our backpacks, offering water, tea, and coke, one even bent down to untie my shoe, and I noticed.
Hikaru finally gets us to go and rest, and then he takes our jackets from us and hangs them on the coat rack beside the door. He opens the fridge and hands us both water and then leads us through an extravagant hallway, with family portraits seemingly from the time he was born to now until finally, we reach an extremely large living room the size of a modest museum. There are games, a humongous TV, a huge sofa, and a loft with yet another substantially large couch.
There was a kitchen with a slushy, soda, and popcorn machine and it seemed to be a concession stand. There was also a man standing behind the counter of the kitchen, just waiting for someone to need him. "Would either of you like to watch a film?" Hikaru asks us. I silently admire his accent, charmed by it even though he doesn't think he has an accent, unlike us.
  "Sure. Where's the remote?" Tia asks him, looking around. He walks over to the side wall that holds the TV and presses something, and then a woman in a suit walks out, well-groomed and with the same smile as all the others.
"Tiffany, will you please tell us what films are currently available?" Hikaru asks her, his hands relaxed in the pockets of his clean black slacks, with our school emblem embroidered beside the pocket. He also had the button-up, which the girls were also required to wear. It's my favorite part of the boy's uniform. He had his suit jacket draped upon his shoulders, and a handkerchief in his button-up chest pocket.
Although it was the school uniform, he was noticeably better dressed than the other boys, who wore the more laid-back version of our uniform. If there was a contest for the best-dressed boy, Hikaru would win. The woman named Tiffany rattled off movies, and we settled on The Amazing Spider-Man, Tia's favorite movie.
Hikaru glided behind the concession stand-like kitchen, dismissing the worker. He put on an apron, shrugging his coat off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. He began making food, to my surprise, despite how obvious it should've been to me. I eventually broke my gaze to watch the movie, although, to my surprise, Tia didn't stop looking. While Tia and I are entranced in the movie, watching carefully, Hikaru strides over, with a whole movie meal.
He clears his throat behind us. "American food is not my specialty, although I deemed it necessary for cinema food." He carries a marble tray with perfect-looking burgers and decked-out hot dogs. "Wow, did you reheat this or something?" Tia asks, not taking her admiring eyes off the food. Hikaru scrunches his face in disagreement. "I've made it myself, Tia." He still keeps his composure though, as usual.
"Oh, that's wonderfully impressive, Hikaru, dear." She says in a mocking British accent, batting her eyelashes. "Haha, you are very funny Tia darling." I don't think he intended to call her darling on purpose, to prove her imitation true, he does speak just as she described. "Well let's watch the movie, darling." She responds, saying darling in an accent. I reach over to grab the burger, and my taste buds feel like they just won the lottery. "What did you do to this burger, karu?" "I've just made my usual recipe, Iris. Why do you ask, is it bad?"
"It's amazing," Tia answers for me, her rosy cheeks full and her brown eyes wide behind her bangs. Hikarus' pinky-red lips turn upward, and his already red cheeks blush harder. "Thanks, girls." He says curtly. Thanks is probably the most casual I've heard him speak. Tia wasn't lying, it was delicious. I lay and watch the movie, a pillow in between the other two so that they don't see the tears rolling down my cheeks. This did cheer me up, but I just need to let out my sadness until I have no tears left to cry.
"Sir? There is a guest for you." Hikaru makes a 'hmm?' Sound to himself as he scoots off the couch, walking over, to the guest on the other side of the door. "Aspen!" I look back to see them hugging. "Can I come in?" He says, and for the first time, I notice James waiting behind him. "Hey James," Hikaru says with a grin. I turn my head back quickly enough to avoid any of them seeing my red puffy eyes, nose, and wet cheeks. I just know my mascara is staining my under-eyes. My heart pounds against my chest at the sight of James.
I look down, hoping to hide my precious tears. Aspen peeks overhead. "Iris?" I look up, blowing my cover. I quickly reset my eyes, but it's already too late. He shuffles to get something from his pocket, and I'm hoping that perhaps he didn't notice. He throws a tissue gently on my stomach, letting it fall into place. I wipe away my mascara under my eyes and take some deep breaths to clear my red eyes. Tia rolls over my pillow shield. "It's okay. I'm sad too." She whispers to me. I look to see her tear-wet brown doe eyes, redder than normal. Tia has soft features, just like her personality.
Ever since I've known her, she's always had bangs covering her eyebrows, despite how perfect they are. Unlike me, who has never touched their hair except for the occasional trim. My super wavy-curly poofy hair would never style anyways. My mom liked how she could see my eyes, though, because of my green eyes and strong facial features. Even though me and Tia have similar face shapes, noses, and lips, our hair makes all the difference. Tia makes everything better. I love her so much, she might as well be my sister.
Aspen plops down on the couch next to us, and he peeks at us under his curls. "Hey, guys." He says softly, almost as if he was saying, 'It'll be okay.' Tia didn't say anything, she just smiled at him. I think she was worried that if she spoke her tears would come out like a dam breaking, water streaming out of control. Aspen lays down, draping a blanket over himself and immediately dozing off. Tia falls asleep too, lying tucked next to me, holding my arm. I close my eyes and feel a blanket thrown on top of us two. I know who it is by the scent, of Hikaru. James sits at my feet, and Hikaru sits opposite him, their feet facing each other.
James eventually falls asleep too, and like a babysitter of some sort, Hikaru stays up to watch us all. Hours later, I wake up, the sun is down, the movie is over, and everyone is awake, watching Hikaru sleep in turn. His knees are up, his hands crossed on top to support his head. I stare at James, who is watching his friend intently. I watch his green eyes focus on Hikaru's unconscious body, snoozing the day away. He looks a bit like me if I was a six-foot-one boy who could probably bench twice my body weight.
Not that I'm not athletic, or short for that matter. I'm quite the opposite. I'm 5'9, despite being a girl. Although it's not tall for a guy, it's tall for a girl and I don't mind it. Every guy in my school is strangely tall, anyway. Me and Tia's height difference is adorable to me, with Tia standing at five feet and two inches tall. When I said Tia was small, this is what I meant. She has a small petite frame and is probably no more than 120 pounds. Meanwhile, although I'm not heavy, I'm a lot more toned than her from playing sports, and I'm at a much different height.
Tia probably couldn't throw a ball in a hoop for her life but that's alright because she's the best cheerleader and it's even more fun telling her about something just to listen to her pretending like she knows what I'm talking about. Suddenly, the butler comes in and mouths, "I'll watch him", pointing to Hikaru. We all nod and walk out of the movie room after Aspen grabs some popcorn on the way out.
Once we're out of the room, James breaks the silence. "I wonder what time it is." He says, looking around for a nearby clock. "On your wrist stupid," Aspen tells him. "Oh," he looks at his Rolex, and his face drops. "Nine O'clock, oh, gosh I have to get home before the apartment closes. They don't let anyone in after a certain amount of time unless you are the sole owner, and since my dad works late I have to get home on time." James says distressed.
"Oh, crap," Tia says with even more dissatisfaction. "Ditto," I add. "Ohhh, Karu drove you two here." He stifles a laugh. "It's okay, I'll drive you," James says. "But you'll be late" Tia objects. "No, you guys live close by." "Well I'm not driving you guys, I'm just.. you know, putting that out there," Aspen adds. "Good to know Aspen," James says sarcastically. Aspen flashes a smile.
"Okay, let's go," James says, heading for the door. He dismisses the tired maids coming over to give us our coats and gives them to us himself instead. "Thank you." We all say as he hands us our coats. "No. You're kidding me." Tia stops dead in her tracks. "A Bentley? Iris, where are you getting all these Uber-rich friends?" She exclaims. James lets out a laugh as he lays a hand on her back to drive her forward, and opens the door for her, still in shock as she steps into the car, taking her time to inspect the interiors of the car.
"Wow, it even has window shades.." she says, her voice drowned out as the door closes. As we ride home, I drown out Tia's ogling about James' Bentley. I eventually fall asleep, falling into a deep dream.