Accidental Always

Chapter 2

There were a few days before the start of her first term, so Ashley took her time getting ready the next morning. Especially the shower. The shower was amazing. Her last place had a semi-functioning shower, but with only cold water. (It had really sucked in the winter)

Unpacking her few belongings hadn't taken long, and after she'd done some minor housework, Ashley collapsed on her new sofa, looking around at her new place. It was really nice, actually. Her apartment had a livingroom, a small connecting dining/kitchen area, and then down the hall were two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Looking at her phone, Ashley saw that it was just a little after twelve. Hmm, maybe I should go into town...

By no means was she a people person, but she loved being outside anyways. She remembered seeing a park on the way to the apartment the night before. Bingo. Ashley shook her long hair out of her bun, running her hands through it before grabbing the keys to her apartment, putting her camera in her purse, and racing outside.

After a few minutes of walking, Ashley knew she was lost. She was nowhere near a park, but had somehow ended up at least four blocks away from home, with no clue as to how she got there.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid GPS. It never works when I need it." Muttering under her breath, Ashley turned to walk back the way she came, when she almost ran into someone.

"Whoa!"

Ashley stumbled back a bit, and felt someone steady her arm. "Hey are you alright? Sorry I ran into you. "

"No, I'm okay, just lost is all. "

She looked up, seeing a guy with warm brown eyes and short, kinda touseled black hair. Nestled on top of his hair was a SFIT baseball cap. "You go to San Fransokyo Tech?"

"Yeah, this next year's going to be my second."

"Hmm, what's your major?" She asked.

"Robotics." He replied. "And...I may be wrong, but.....are you a student?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm a student." She was unconsciously admiring the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. She almost missed what he said next. "First year?" He asked, waiting for her response.

"How'd you guess?" She gave a teasing smile, her inner voice going just what do you think you are you doing?! and her heart beating a hundred times a second.

The guy grinned. "Well, you did say you were lost..."

"Did I give it away that easily?"

"Well, you weren't that subtle either."

They burst into laughter. It was fun to be able to banter with someone so casually like this, she thought.

When they calmed down, Ashley said, smiling, "Now that we're on the topic though, could you maybe give me directions? I'm looking for --" she glanced down at her phone --"Ueno Park. Do you know where that is? I swear I saw it on the way to my apartment last night, but, you know, Murphy's law." Ashley threw up her hands a little.

"Sure," he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ueno Park is down, across this street, you take the next turn to your left, and then just follow that road straight for about four blocks, and you shouldn't miss it."

A woman's voice called from inside the cafe. "Thank you, for the, um, directions," Ashley said, turning down the street. "Bye!"

"Yeah, I guess we'll see each other again soon----" he turned for a minute, saying something to the woman inside the cafe---"hey, i don't ---" he turned back, seeing the girl was gone, "know your name."

He stared down the street, but didn't see the girl anywhere.

The woman came up behind him, wiping a hand in her apron, a smudge of flour on her cheek.

"Who was that Tadashi? She was pretty."

"I....I don't know. I didn't catch her name."

For those of you who might be wondering, Ueno Park is an actual park in Tokyo Japan, popular for its beautiful cherry blossom trees. 🌸🌳