Love Game

Chapter 2:

I walk down the street, my eyes glued on the ground. A car would catch my glance every now and then, but everyone knows that they're there for decoration. No, really. They actually are there for decoration. I shit you not.

The only 'car' that drives is a taxi. Preposterously expensive, and with a wait-list of over 1 thousand people last time I checked, it's not worth it. You're better off walking. I promise you, you'll get there faster as well.

"Short-cut detected," Orio pipes up.

I glance down at him with a smile. "Thanks, bud, but not this time. I'll take the long way 'round."

"Understood."

I take a right and head down a familiar path. On my way, however, I see something captivating.

A man is cutting a woman's hair. What made it so captivating? The way he was preforming the task... His movements were quick and elegant, as if he could cut someone's hair with his eyes closed. Watching the scissors move, and the hair fall to the ground, I began to wonder...

I was due for a haircut. My hair reached my tailbone for Christ sake. Unruly, normally tangled, and often frizzy, perhaps a haircut was needed.

If I get enough money from the junk-shop, I'll get it on my way back. Right now I can't be distracted.

As the hairdresser finished, he ran a comb through the woman's hair. Slowly and gently, he smiled down at his masterpiece. And when he was done, he faced the line of waiting customers. His red eyes scanned the crowd, and then suddenly traveled to me.

Upon eye-contact, I started walking again. With a bit of oomph in my step, I tried to pretend I was simply passing by.

Appearance wise, his red eyes and kimono stuck out like a sore thumb. So naturally that's what I would notice first. It's a bit of a bummer, really. I didn't get the chance to get a good look at his face...

I take a deep breath in and make a left. I head down the narrow alleyway, and finally arrive at my destination. It's named Junk Shop Heibon. From the looks of it, it's pretty run down. But isn't everything in this area shitty looking?

I lean against the door and slowly feel it give way. Hopping inside the store, I sigh. I was about to look for an employee. But when I look around, my eyes land on a mess.

Three children are running around, chasing a robot. Items from the store are scattered pretty much everywhere, and I can even see broken glass off to the side. The sight of this made me wonder if I should just turn around and leave. However, the sight of a boy with blue hair catches my eye.

He's chasing after the children, calling them by name. I don't catch what he says, due to the sound of falling boxes and the occasional glass-shattering. But as he passes by, he realizes that I've been standing here all along.

I take the brief moment to study this boy's appearance. His clothes included a white and blue Brain Nuts jacket, a navy long-sleeve shirt underneath, blue jeans, and a blue studded belt. He wore matching shoes with dark blue leg warmers, a blue and black glove on his right hand and a coil on his left wrist. Around his neck, he had large, retro pink headphones.

"O-oh." He stops what he's doing immediately and tries to straighten his posture. "Welcome to Junk Shop Heibon! What can I do for you?"

...Really? He's going to pretend that everything is okay?

I raise an eyebrow, but go with the flow anyway. I hand him the box of supplies, and gently cradle Orio in my arms. Whist still looking at him, I sigh.

"I'd like to turn these in. How much?"

The boy chuckles and turns to the running kids. They stood off to the side, no longer chasing the- now hiding- robot.

"Give me a sec to sort through this," he says. Afterwards, he walks over to his desk. Like he says, he begins to look through what was in the box.

"You're weird," one of the children- a boy, I believe- announces. He points at me with a half scowl, "Your hair is pink! It looks like yarn!"

Oh, how original... As if I haven't heard that before.

I scoff. Going over to him, I watch as the two other brats part like the Red Sea. He tries to back up or get away from me, but I kneel in front of him. Giving him a rather serious gaze, I reach over to ruffle his hair.

"Go home, kid. Your parents must be worried sick."

He crosses her arms stubbornly. "My parents are working!"

My eyes narrow. "Then be thankful that you have parents."

His face drops, my cynical and eerie attitude getting to him. He raises his hands with a wary look, and suddenly runs past me. The side of his body accidently brushes against my waist, nearly causing me to topple over.

Presumably his friend, a girl dressed mostly in pink, follows him out. On her way, she calls me a 'creepy yarn-hair lady', and grabs the hand of the other boy. The trio depart with the sound of the door bell ringing behind them, leaving the store in peace.

"Uh...was that necessary?" The blue haired boy from before gives me a wide-eyed look. I return it with a smile.

"It got them out of the shop, didn't it?"

I carefully walk over to him, stepping over the occasional broken item. When I get to the desk, the boy is already putting items back in the box.

"Well, what you brought is unquestionably old, but they're in surprisingly good shape. Hardly any rust, and from what I've seen, no major pieces are missing. With the exception of a few dents and how out of date they are, the box should be worth about $30."

My face sinks when hearing the price.

He said it himself. They're old but in 'surprisingly good shape'. Shouldn't they be worth more, given that fact?

I sigh a little, but nod. "All right. I'll take it."

The boy smiles and walks behind the desk. He approaches the cash register, and opens it with a key. Reaching inside, he takes out $30. Subsequently, he reaches over to hand me the money.

"There you go! Thanks for dropping by."

I take the money from him, and count it quickly. I'm astonished to see an extra 10 bucks thrown into the deal.

"...I thought you said it was 30," I murmur.

He shrugs with a gentle grin. I thought that was going to be his answer, but then he speaks:

"Think of it as a thank you for getting those brats out of here. They were wrecking the shop." His eyebrows turn down when examining his surroundings.

He knows that he's either in trouble, or he has to clean this mess. Actually, it could be both.

"Oh, okay," I nod. I stuff the money in my pants pocket, and turn to exit the junk-shop. "It was nice meeting you."

I watch as he waves goodbye. "Likewise. Goodbye!"

I don't bother with a verbal farewell. 'It was nice meeting you' was as close as I ever got to 'goodbye'. Reason for that being, I hated goodbyes. It was like a vow to never see each other again. The idea sucked. So I avoid it altogether.

I take a deep breath in and look up at the sky. It's clear, for the most part. I could spot the occasional cloud, but other than that, there was blue sky for miles!

Maybe this day isn't going to be as bad as I thought. I mean, the walk was nice. I got $40 off a box of materials worth only $30. It would seem that luck was on my side.