AMACon 3: Oikos - Children

Nagareboshi - Perseus

She fondly looks at her locket as it glistens in the morning light. It seems like yesterday when he gave this to her, a gift she deemed as her lucky charm. She knows she needed to believe today, especially when---

"Maine! Come right down, it's your first day. RJ is waiting..." she could hear her Mom scream at the top of her lungs. Sometimes her mother should refrain from announcing to everyone that it's the dreaded first day.

"Hey, weirdo. You're such a slowpoke, as always." RJ greets her with a salute while smiling at her Mom. Maine could only roll her eyes as her mother gushes at RJ's charm. She raises her brow at RJ who in turn looks at her like she was some piece of gum.

"Are you sure you can drive?" she looks at him accusingly.

"Are you sure you want to get to school?" He asks as she begrudgingly abided.

Maine sometimes wonders why RJ sill considers her as a friend. Sure, she was that annoying little brat who follows him everywhere; who unfortunately for him is his next door neighbor. Sure, she continues to be that girl whom his parents invite over for dinner; who helps him swat away clingy girlfriends or help him plot mischievous pranks to his friends. She really wonders why he keeps her around when all he does is annoy her to no end; she at the same time then wonders why she doesn't walk away.

"Happy first day, weirdo!" RJ says to her while she slams his car shut "Hey, Dad will be mad at me."

She sticks out her tongue at him, a habit she never got the chance to get rid of; a habit she clearly does when she wants to rile him up.

"What are you, 10?" He says as he walks closer to her, his arm draped around her shoulder "Welcome to the wonderful world of high school, freshie. One tip though, try not to annoy people and you'll do fine. Be grateful, this tip is for free; coming from a very experienced one."

"You're not experienced, sophomore."

He smirks at her "Oh, and if someone crosses your path just say my name and they'll leave you alone." He laughs and walks away "See you when I see you."

"You're such an ass." She says, annoyed.

He looks back and winks at her "Like my ass?"

She rolls her eyes at him as she tries to clam herself when she was this close to giving him the finger.

"He's such an asshole." She says.

"Watch your words, young lady" Grandpa Jay reprimands her as she was hanging out later that day in his home "What's the problem?"

"RJ is annoying as ever, I can't even figure why I still consider him as my friend; maybe because I have no choice. He's such a child" Maine looks around the elder man's home "Grandpa Jay, did you change anything? I distinctly remember an incense pot somewhere or was it an hourglass?" The elder man gives her a knowing look and she continues "So he followed me the whole day just to pick on me. Now, no one wants to approach me."

"Maybe he likes you?" The elder man tells her. He smiles at her and she just looks at him in disgust.

"That's impossible Grandpa, RJ does not like me. He just likes to annoy me or he just wants someone to appreciate his every whim" She shakes her head and subtly touches her star locket which she subconsciously does.

Maine's act did not escape the elder man's eye "You still have that locket? RJ would be so proud."

She looks at him visibly surprised that he knew about the necklace. "I want to give this back." She says and Grandpa Jay looks at her briefly then throws his head back in laughter.

"RJ is definitely a jerk." The elder man says as he wipes tears of mirth from his eyes.