Adrift

1

Aoi Ishiki ♀

My arms and palms rise high in the air, shaking from unease and pain. "I will not beat someone in my new school," I hesitantly promise under my breath for the nth time. Each of my brothers stand beside me with their arms and hands up.

Second eldest, Eiji recites "I will never skip work again," then closes his eyes. Beads of sweat keep dropping from his forehead. He's the only one who's got a proper haircut between all of my brothers with a clean undercut and a small quiff. This is because he's the only one with a job.

Third eldest, Hitomu swears "I won't buy a new motorbike." Following a frown then he descends his arms. His long bleached hair is greasy and smells like Gatsby wax.

Our eldest brother, Daichi screams "Up!" and shoots a glare towards all of us. He's got the longest hair, long enough that it surpasses his shoulders. Also the healthiest, it's black, thick and smooth. I envy it so much. It's 6 in the morning and yes, this is what we have to do, in the morning before we leave for school or work. Ever since, we moved, we swore to become new and proper people. It's a ritual we do right before the main door.

"Okay, this time, Aoi gets to finish first," Daichi announces. I'm so happy that I get to drop my arms now. Hitomu sneaks out a tongue and rolls his eyes. It baffles me how he never learns after he's been always the last one to rest his arm. My body collapses on the brown tatami mat, I lay on it as I regain my strength. Daichi places his hands on his hips and stares at me sternly, reminding me of school.

"Alright!" I groan and grab my randoseru backpack, a red square-like synthetic leather backpack that was sitting beside me. The white loose socks I inherited from my brothers show a yellowing state on the tip, the side near my smallest toe already has a hole. I put it on and grab my shoe from the shelf, wave goodbye to my loving brothers and slide the door close. The doors are made up of translucent shoji paper screens framed and held together by wood and bamboo strips.

Our new home isn't new, it's traditional and dates way back from our grandfather's time. It's a modest property that we luckily inherited. Also, it's the main reason why my brothers decided to relocate here in this town. Not only it is cost-friendly but it would please my dead ancestors. Hopefully, they get their asses working now and bless us with something.

I hate mornings. One, because my brain is still not fully functional yet. Instead of going to the right, which is, by the way, the correct direction. I walk to the left and soon encounter what seems to be a dead end. Four concrete walls that are highly vandalized with colorful spray paint, each written with by what I assume to be, delinquents my age. One of them is a detailed drawing of a penis. I laugh and clapped my hands together. That one is absolute art, the best one.

It's so detailed that you can see the nerves protruding and the smoothness of the- never mind. If a mind reader somehow passes by here and hears what I'm thinking. They'll think I'm some kind of a pervert. I am not! My brothers are but not me.

Two, I hate mornings because I have to go to the train. Every student at this time is busy running towards the open train doors and sticking their body to the crowd inside. I don't mind that task much. I'm slender and fast. The two boys who wear the same uniform as Hitomu groans when they saw me outrunning them. Because, I am what I am, I wave a hand and flash them a grin, teasing them as the train's doors close down.

If you wish to see my state right now on this train. Imagine the sardines that are squished together inside the cramped space of the can. I am one of those sardines. We are so close together that I could feel the sweat of the teenage boy who's back is pressed on my right side. My poor arms that Daichi took advantage of, hurt even more as it barely moves from the limited space. This one I can handle too.