Lolita Love Story

Pillows of all shapes, sizes, and colors covered the floors and furniture of Saikai’s room. The teenage girl lay on her stomach, surrounded by huge plush animals and colorful, fruit-themed pillows as she sent texts to her friends. Her fingers clicked away at the buttons on the cell phone, keeping up to the rhythm of a song playing softly on her small white stereo.

After finishing the text, she stood, stretching lazily in Rilakkuma themed pajamas. She dropped her phone onto the bedspread and opened a drawer of her dresser, pulling out a pink frock that was adorned with thick, detailed white lace and puffy short sleeves. After pulling the dress on, she slipped her feet into small, black round-toed shoes, picked up the phone from the bed, and pulled her plain black briefcase from the floor.

“Obaasan!” she called, skipping down the staircase excitedly. “Obaasan!” Her long, curly red pigtails bounced with each step until she reached the bottom, where her grandmother appeared with a gray hand towel.

“Sai-chan! Please eat something before you leave for school. I have made you some breakfast this morning.” The young girl nodded and smiled, following her grandmother into the small kitchen. At the table there was a bowl of miso soup, a bowl of rice, a few strips of nori, and a small dish of tsukemono. Saikai sat down and put her briefcase on the floor by her chair, taking a bite of nori and mixing a few pieces of matsumaezuke into the rice. She ate both the rice and soup quickly, washing her dishes just as quickly before grabbing her school briefcase and heading out.

“Oh Sai-chan, you ate so quickly!” her grandmother said with a fond smile as she folded the towel in her wrinkled hands. “Have fun at school today, dear.”

“I will, Obaasan,” Saikai assured with a jubilant smile. “It’s the first day, I’m so excited! Ittekimasu!” She rushed out of the house almost before her grandmother could reply. She stood in the doorway, waving after her granddaughter.

“Itterasshai!”

Saikai looked back at her grandmother, waving in response before making her way to the train station to meet up with her friends. They were gathered in front of the train in a large circle, cell phones in hand. One of the girls, Rie, waved to Saikai, smiling.

“Rie-chan! I thought you moved to Nagoya!” she said in disbelief.

“Nope! I would never leave you, Sai-chan,” the other girl replied, hugging her friend happily. “It’s good to see you, I’ve missed you a lot!”

“I thought for sure you were gone, but I’m glad I was wrong,” Saikai said as she returned her friend’s hug.

“We can talk about that later, Sai-chan, I heard something so amazing!” Rie squealed, jumping up in excitement. “Guess what? There’s a transfer student from Osaka. Osaka!!! Can you believe it? I heard it’s a boy, too! I wonder if he’s cute…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes glazed over.

“Oh Rie-chan!” Saikai said, laughing. “You’re crazy! You haven’t even met this person yet and you’re already dreaming about him.” As the girls laughed, the doors to the train opened and the girls stepped in, standing at the front of the train car and holding the rails. Saikai looked out the window, nervous and excited as the train pulled away from the station.

She watched the passing scenery, surprised when something brushed the hem of her dress. She turned to see what it was. A boy about her age had swept the edge of her dress to get to the last open seat, the one near her. He was thin and pale, very sickly. His hair was spiky and had two thick strips of green near his face. As she stared, the boy turned his head, catching her gaze. She kept staring for a moment, surprised at the calm and almost troubled look in his eye, before blushing and turning away quickly. She felt more than a little guilty for staring, but more so for being caught.

When the train stopped, Saikai rejoined her friends and half-listened to their hurried, bubbly whispers about the Visual Kei boy who sat beside her. One of the girls hoped that he wasn't going to be in her class. Another said he was mysterious and handsome. The group squeezed out the doors, all but Saikai giggling loudly and girlishly. She had looked back, and though she hadn’t seen him leave, that mysterious boy had somehow disappeared.