Stephanie & Xander

Chapter 19

Stephanie and I get to airport first. Coco rides on Ma'am Thuy's pickup truck. He has all our bags with him. Imagine, he can just have this much money in a blink of an eye and now he's on his way to Japan like it's nothing. His parents are beyond just supportive. My father isn't anyone different though. The only reason we can leave San Francisco this early is because he gave us our passports, documents and money. $540 per head isn't a joke.

"Why didn't you let him hold your hand?" Stephanie asks. I know it. He's awake. This idiot loves romance like a girl.

"Don't spread the love." I say, "Just because you have Emily doesn't means that I have to have a love interest too. I think I'm okay right now as it is."

"Though, I bet if he whispers in your ear, you'll jump like crazy." He laughs. Yeah, I can perfectly see that too.

But I think I'll just embrace these butterflies in my stomach every time he's near. I don't plan on feeding them.

"Coco is only seventeen." He says, all of a sudden, so I tilt my head in confusion, "It means, it's impossible for us to travel without an adult."

"FUCK! I didn't think of that!" I jump up, squeezing my head with both my hands.

He laughs, "But, I've thought of that. Akutagawa's from Japan, you see? The one who hired you, remember?" of course fucker I remember. I'm actually more surprised he remembers him, "Sakiko, the girl you saved is apparently an Akutagawa. She's Junnichi Akutagawa's first cousin and from the trouble she got into, he wanted her to be sent back to Japan. So, we'll have Sakiko and Juunichi in our party."

"That's cool." I say, sitting down to the corner again. I thought Stephanie's only good in handling household but here he is handling the affairs that should've been mine.

"There they are." I point.

Two cars parked by the lot, one a rickety old pickup truck and one a sleek black sedan. The difference is amusing.

And then there's ma'am Thuy carrying our bags smiling widely as if we're her children about to take their first flight from the nest.

It's that kind of proud smile you'll remember whenever you miss home. For the first time I felt like I've planted my roots. I travelled and embraced my freedom throughout my whole life. I go whenever I have time. Even if I don't have time I make it. It feels like I have a fear of settling down but right now I felt like I don't want to move. It feels like I want to stay for a year or two or until I got tired of resting. I just want to stay. For the first-time I felt tired.

Ma'am Thuy hugs me. I guess for her I'm an open book. Whenever she hugs me she subtly pulls me towards her so that she can hug me whole. I'm too tall after all. And in her bosom I feel small. I don't know. It's weird. I'm a big person but sometimes I just want to cuddle to her like a baby.

"Good luck in your journey." She says ruffling my hair even though I don't have much.

"We will." My voice shivers.

And the thing is... I don't think it's the same for everybody but I always wanted to start my travel at night. There's something about travelling at night that sends my adrenaline kicking.

It might be the chills of the fog or the smell or the night lights. Maybe all of them. Stephanie thinks so too but he's like a mom. No matter how much he likes it, he can't risk our safety just to get high. He chose to travel tonight it seems, because I'm not the one driving.

The night's excitement makes goodbyes much easier.

Thankfully we have Jun-nii. Akutagawa insists that we call him Jun-nii. Nii comes from Niisan which means brother and so we're like having an older brother. He's 30 by the way and Sakiko is 19. So, she was kinda an adult too. We let them handle all the ticket stuffs and we the three of us just cuddle together the entire waiting time until our flight's there.

As soon as we got into Air China, we sink into the chair and sleep. We didn't even fight who would sit next to the window. We just behave ourselves like good kids. Even if we aren't. in 15 hours we'll be in Japan. We'll be like only kilometres away from Emily.

Whenever I look at Stephanie, he's smiling like there's no tomorrow. He probably could feel it too. The excitement, the thrill, the weird enthusiasm I feel when I was a kid a night before the field trip.

Stephanie is by the window, me on the middle and Coco by the isle. Coco's asleep with a blindfold on but his hand is between us as if waiting for me to hold it. But I turn away and pretend I didn't notice. When he's too eager it's scary. It feels like he's doing something for me and I have to give something back. And that something, I have no idea what it is.

My back and joints hurt when we reach Narita airport. Imagine, the only thing we do is go to the restroom and back again to our seats. This is actually worse than classroom.

And, I can totally see the love on the stewardess' eyes every time she walks by our rows. The way she looks at me like I'm Superbowl is disturbing. Gawd, how many times do I have to get a girl crush from random women? I guess it'll never end.

She can't be looking at Stephanie because Stephanie lacks equipment a man needs to attract a woman. It can't be Coco. Coco's face is covered with his scarf and blindfold.

The time zone difference is amazing. We travelled for fifteen hours so it must be 9am of May 7 or something but damn it's 1am of May 9! Where did May 8 go?!

This is crazy. I feel weird like all my organs are being rearranged. Everyone who passes us is actually trying to take a glance at me way worse than the stewardess did. The girls here are way smaller than in US. Even with all the foreigners in here, I couldn't find a woman taller than me.

And, Stephanie belongs here. Asian men are so not hot. The average height is pretty small and they always look younger than their age so feminine-looks aren't uncommon. Stephanie is just like anybody here. While I, I've become more of an alien than I've ever been. Superbowler than Superbowl.

After clearing our immigration on the second floor, we claim our baggage on the first floor and then we clear customs. I never really imagined the hard parts in the travel. Now, that we're here, I realize I couldn't have done this when it's just the three of us. Although, Coco is the oldest, it feels like I'm still the one in-charge of all the hard stuffs.

We're about to head to the South Wing for a little shopping, when Jun-nii calls our attention. He hands a card over to us. It has his name and contact info and address, "We have a house in Central so if you ever need help, please feel free to drop by my place."

"Yea, thanks." I say, tucking it in our luggage, "You're not replenishing goods?"

"If you wanna buy stuffs, you better do it outside. You'll be surprised by the cost difference."

Sakiko waves goodbye at me. She doesn't talk a lot. Why the hell Jun-nii did take her out to CA anyway? Doesn't he think the place is too dangerous for a girl as timid as her? I'm not really the one to talk about family matters or how someone is supposed to raise a family member since as far as I'm concerned my family isn't anyone better. We're not broken or anything. My father just has few screws loose in his head.

My dad knows exactly that Emily's in Ikebukuro so he probably knows that Emily moved. It could possibly be Stephanie's dad who wanted to get rid of Emily. That's why as soon as Coco told him I was hospitalized he also sent our passports with it... a trip to Japan.

Well, here we are...