Trust

Broken - 02

I walked glumly to school, the usual bounce in my steps gone.

"Zaki-chan! Happy birthday!" I suddenly felt arms wrap around my waist and warmth spreading throughout my body. I turned to face my best friend.

"Nari!" I exclaimed. Nari had just made my frown alter into a megawatt smile.

"Here!" Nari said, shoving her present into my arms as she hooked her arm around mine and dragged me to class. She can be playfully rough sometimes.

We walked to class as I still held Nari's present in a tight embrace. The present was important to me. A symbol of my friendship with Nari. I walked down the aisle of tables and chairs and my eyes landed on the boy with the dual-coloured hair. 

"Hello, Todoroki-kun!" I greeted him and walked over. 

"Hello, Kizaki-chan." Todoroki replied. He was always kinda emotionless, and kids always thought he was a bore, but I thought otherwise. Since I was sitting next to him, we chatted frequently during lessons and I learnt about Todoroki's background. His mother was always at the hospital and he resented his dad. I didn't want to pry, but I empathized with Todoroki because I had been raised by a single parent from young. But in ways, he didn't really have a pillar of support like me. I had my mother. He didn't have anyone. So I became his best friend, hopefully filling in the space for someone to depend on.

"Are you done with all of your homework?" Todoroki asked. 

My mind drifted to the task: "Write three paragraphs about yourself". "Ah... No, not yet. I'm not done with the task that tells us to write about ourselves." I sheepishly scratched my head. 

"Need help?" He asked. "Yeah...I don't really know what to write about." I said gratefully. 

"I just wrote about my hobby, birthday, appearance, friend, school, favourite subject and talent." He said in one breath.

I furiously copied down Todoroki's advice onto my journal. "Wow, thanks, Todoroki-kun!" 

"Anytime." Todoroki's face turned a little pink but he switched his attention back to his story book. 

The teacher walked into the class, and I could barely listen to the class because I was feeling bubbly and excited. It was my birthday. Finally, it was break time.

"Hey, Todoroki-kun! Come sit with Nari and me!" I gestured at Todoroki to come over. He nodded, and carried his tray to our table. 

"What're you going to do for your birthday, Kizaki-chan?"Nari asked, her eyes shining.

"I'm going to spend it with Todoroki-kun and you, of course!" I replied. I tucked into my lunch. Yum, it was stewed beef and potatoes. Delicious.

Todoroki looked at me and I could see his lips curling upwards a little. He was smiling. A rare sight, I must say. 

Pitter. Patter.

I glanced towards the window outside. It was raining. Every pearl-shaped drop landed onto the puddles or ground, rippling. I liked the rain. It soothed me somehow, made me feel calm.

"Kizaki-chan, it's time to go back to class." I felt Todoroki tugging on my dress.

"Ah! Coming!" I said, reluctantly turning my attention back to the hallways. Todoroki noticed how I stared longingly at the rain that fell peacefully onto the roadside. 

The lessons passed, but I was just staring out of the window, enjoying the symphony of the rain and the marvellous sight. I felt as if everything in this world was okay. Everything. 

"DING DONG! DING DONG!" Finally, the long-awaited bell rang. I gathered all my books and stuffed them into my bag. "Kizaki-chan! Why don't you open my present now?" Nari asked excitedly. Todoroki also gave me a present. "Hope you like it, Kizaki-chan." Todoroki said softly. I grinned at him. "Thanks," I said.

I opened Nari's present. Inside the box, was a pair of earrings. They were a deep, dark blue, and matched my eyes perfectly. "I feel like this contrasts with your hair." Nari said. I hugged her tightly and thanked her. "They're so pretty!" I commented.

Next, I opened Todoroki's present. I felt my insides becoming warmer the moment I touched it. I carefully unwrapped the present. Inside the box, there laid a dark blue headband. There were alternate bands of dark blue and black intertwining with each other, forming a beautiful pattern. I pulled Todoroki into a tight bear-hug. For a moment he was caught by surprise, but slowly, I felt his arms wrap around my back. "Thank you, Todoroki-kun." I mumbled into his ear. 

With that, we broke away from our hug and made our way down the steps of the hallways. We finally reached the school gate. Mummy must be waiting for me at home right now! She promised that she would request for a half-day! Just thinking about my mother made my heart feel warm. 

We stepped out onto the cool pavement outside the school building. I tilted my head up, and caught sight of two men donned in navy blue uniforms. Huh? Policemen? Are they here to control the traffic? 

The two men also spotted me, and took one glance at my name tag. They made their way towards the three of us. Huh? Are they coming for me? Did I do anything wrong? My heart skipped a beat as I clutched my dress nervously. 

"Miss. Kizaki Shimura? Could you please come with us for a moment?" The shorter one of the two spoke. I could feel beads of sweat on my forehead. Did I commit a crime or something? 

I followed them, but surprisingly, they stopped and turned to face me just after walking a few steps away, but enough to be out of earshot from Nari and Todoroki.

The two men wore expressions tinged with what - sympathy? 

The taller one spoke now. "Miss. Shimura, we are sorry to relate this saddening news to you. Please understand, that your mother met with a tragic accident while she was driving this afternoon at precisely two o'clock. The doctors... Tried their best to save her, but to no avail. Your mother...Has passed on."

The last three words hit me like a strong gust of wind, blowing away everything around me. The gust of wind gradually grew into a huge tornado, consuming everything in its way, bringing forth destruction in every possible way. I felt an excruciating pain in my heart, that stabbing pain, leaving such a deep wound in my heart that can never possibly recover. 

Brick by brick, my walls came tumbling down. As I ran from my friends the tears in my eyes turned the rainy day into a whirlwind of grays and yellows.  Suddenly, the peaceful and quiet rain I had enjoyed so much turned into a heavy thunderstorm. I could hear Nari calling out to me, Todoroki's shouts, but they were so distant. I continued to run, Todoroki chasing me. Unknown to me, my mother's note that she left for me slowly fluttered down from an open pocket in my school bag, falling into the hands of a certain boy...

I didn't care where I was going. I just broke down. The sobs punched through, ripping through my muscles, bones, and guts. I pressed my forehead against the grimy stall door and began to let my heart yank in and out of my chest. It pulled back in like a yo yo. Over and over. In and out. I was hollow. My life crumbled at my fingertips. My tears streamed down my face in torrents, the impact of the situation hitting me, each blow harder than the previous one. My mother. Gone. 

My tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I feel the muscles of my chin tremble like a small child and I look at the sky, as if the light could soothe me. Then the thought comes to me. Maybe this was what my mother felt like when she experienced the loss of my father...

There is static in the side of my head. I hear my own sounds, like a distressed child, raw from the inside. It takes something out of me I didn't know I had left to give. That's the way it is when people are hard. It's like a theft of the spirit, an injury no other person can see. I was broken.

(A/N): Sorry, Kizaki....... Todoroki will help you, don't worry.

Thank you for reading!!