The S.H.A.N.E. Game (editing)

Chapter 20: Skateboards and Cellphones

Dedicated to @Red_Inferno for voting on every single one of my chapters! Thank you so much (even though I don't even know your name yet), it means a lot! =D

**

|| Erin ||

"Actually, it's the analysis window," I correct Nikki lightly, smiling and reaching over to press another button. The same cellphone picture of the black-haired figure running away from the dark alley pops up, but this time with super-small grids covering it.

"First, I rescanned the pixels," I inform them, clicking the corresponding icon. The entire image becomes black, with randomly placed white dots here and there. "And then I clicked this, and then that tiny window pops up, and I type in... 'command+kfs-d' and tap this button twice. I then select the 256 pixels from the center"--I look up to see everybody staring at the screen in pure bewilderment but continue--"and then I click rescan, which brings us to... this."

This time everybody is staring again, but not in bewilderment, but in the anticipation of a new clue.

There's a phone number plain white against a black backdrop.

2383-325-8564

**

|| Hana ||

"So when are you leaving?" I ask.

"We'd just met and you want me to leave?" Kazuki whimpers, sticking his bottom lip out like a little kid. I laugh and smack his shoulder lightly. "Iie, baka*! You know what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah," he laughs, nearly choking on his Gatorade, which is only a few shades lighter than his hair. "Well... when my otousan finishes his work here, I guess we have to go."

"And when is that?"

"Half a year, twelve months if we're lucky."

"That's sad," I murmur, looking down at my feet. About two-thirds of the people thirty minutes ago have trickled away, and only a few tired skaters are left. Shane is still at the juice bar, entertaining himself with what, I have no idea.

"Before I have to go home," I begin, playing with the hem of my shirt, "Tell me. Tell me why you weren't there when I had to leave. Everyone else was!" That last sentence came out harsher than I'd expected and somehow, tears find their way to my eyes.

Kazuki places an arm around my shoulders, leaning slightly, but comfortingly on me. "I... I'm really sorry."

"What do you mean? You were my best friend, Kazuki!" I half-exclaim, looking up. Surprisingly, his eyes have slightly gazed over, as if recalling a sad memory.

"I'm sorry," he begins slowly. "But I really couldn't. You-you know my sister Akira, right?"

I nod slowly, remembering Kazuki's adorable little sister with charcoal hair and pearly black eyes. She and I used to play kimono dolls with each other while the boys fought with bokken**. Ever since I'd moved away from Japan, though, I've grown out of dolls and long, hot robes.  "Yes."

"Well... that day you had to leave... my sister... Akira... she got hypothermia," Kazuki managed to say before swiping his eyes quickly. My eyes widen and I give him a comforting half-hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault," he tells me reassuringly, meeting my gaze. Everyone knew that Kazuki and Akira were really close. Even though they were totally opposite when it came to looks and hobbies, they cared for each other more than possible. "Akira was careless. It was negative three degrees celsius outside, and I couldn't get her out of the snow.