Seasonal Changes
Downtown (Spring Arch)
Over the next few weeks, Mei finally adjusted to her busier schedule. She and Dadrian became closer friends, and Jun soon got to know him as well. At school, many of the girls were jealous of Mei and Dadrian, but no one really cared. Mei’s paychecks soon began to add up, and finally Jun had decided to plan a trip downtown.
“Come on, Mei! I’ll never ask for anything from you ever again! Please, please, please!” Jun continued to whine. Mei was getting more and more irritated, and Dadrian was also slightly irked.
“I already told you, it’s my money, and you can’t just go asking for it whenever you please! Get your own job and earn your own money if you want to go on this trip.” Mei snapped at Jun. She was at the end of her rope and didn’t want to put up with Jun’s constant begging.
“What if I said that we were going downtown to find me a job?” Jun finally let out her secret plan because she didn’t want Mei to get angry with her. Mei considered the proposition and finally agreed with Jun. A loud shout of excitement pierced Mei and Dadrian’s eardrums as Jun leapt with happiness. Both of them looked at each other with exasperated expressions as their irritation slowly faded away.
Downtown was bustling with excitement, and Mei, Jun, and Dadrian were caught up in the rush. Mei and Jun, raised in the small fishing town, had never been around so many people before, and Jun especially seemed a bit overwhelmed at first. It didn’t take long, however, for the two girls to get adjusted to the new surroundings. A small café was where the trio decided to pause and share some milkshakes after doing a bit of browsing at a nearby jewelry store. Dadrian seemed perfectly in time with the rushing surroundings, but Mei noticed his shoulders relax a bit as he settled down into his chair.
The café was small and brightly colored; “Sweet Speed” was written boldly above the awning. Black and white checkered tablecloths were placed on the outside tables at which Mei and her friends sat, giving the place a retro theme.
“Coming through!” A high-pitched voice said loudly. Mei just managed to turn her head in time to see a blur of color swerve past her table. Still windblown, she was frozen for a moment before finally managing to turn around to face her silent friends.
“…what…the….?” Jun turned around to try to see the dashing blur that had passed them, but it had already rounded the corner of the café. Mei flattened her hair and took another sip of her milkshake, trying to reassemble herself. However, though they managed to return to their conversation, the peace was once again broken; around the corner came the same blur of color from before. Swerving through the spaces between tables, the figure finally began to slow down, allowing Mei, Jun, and Dadrian to see her true form as she approached them.
A silvery-blue wisp of hair curved into a crescent between her yellow eyes, which accented the midnight blue of her smooth, shoulder-length hair. Her tan skin highlighted the bright blue halter top she wore, as well as the small black miniskirt with the red belt. Black knee-high socks and white leg warmers accented her bright pink roller skates; to add to her strange outfit, her bright yellow hat had odd little buttons with black and white checkered pattern that matched the tablecloths.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” The colorful character said sweetly. In her hand she balanced a tray, and from it she set small pastries in front of Dadrian, Jun, and Mei. “There are the muffins you ordered.” She smiled at the customers.
“Um…thank you…” Mei said, still a bit stunned at the rainbow of colors she was seeing all at once. The bright girl turned and went to serve other tables. Mei noticed, as the girl sped away, the dark blue tail that fluttered behind her and the furry cat ears that poked out from underneath her hat.
“Well…she’s going to be fun to work with…I hope…” Jun said quietly. Mei shot around to face her friend.
“Wait…you mean you’ll be working here? That’s great!” Mei smiled widely at her friend.
Dadrian was also happy for her. “Good work, Jun. And since we’re your friends, we’ll get discounts, right?” The three of them laughed; the cat-cosplayer had to smile at the laughing customers before returning to her speedy deliveries. The three of them finished their muffins, and Dadrian and Mei left Jun to fend for herself at her new workplace so they could finish their weekend homework.
A girl at another table watched the handsome foreigner intently as he walked away with the red-head. She sipped her coffee, and when they were around the corner, she stood up and left a tip for the waitress. Smoothly swerving around the corner, the black-haired girl followed the blonde man’s movements with her eyes, only hesitating a moment before moving her feet in their direction. She watched them as they boarded a bus to a small outer town, and she stopped her pursuit. She walked to another end of the platform, moving as if to board a different bus, but when theirs had departed, she turned and left the station.
The door to the girl’s apartment opened, and she set her keys on the small entrance table. She walked into her bedroom and changed from her tan turtleneck to a thin, black tank top. She noticed that a picture hanging on the wall was crooked, so she adjusted it until it was parallel with the windowsill. Pulling the curtains across the small glass window, she ran her fingers down the heavy, soft fabric. She checked the other curtains calmly, and then walked over to the small bookcase next to her bed. Running her thin fingers across the different spines of the books, she lifted one away from the shelf; beneath it was a small, black button that was barely visible since it blended with the ebony finish and was so thin.
Pressing the button and replacing the book, the bookcase swung inward momentarily, allowing the slender girl to slip behind the bookcase quickly. Closing behind her, the bedroom returned to its eerie silence. Now within a small, hidden room, the girl flipped the light switch to turn on the dull red light bulb that hung precariously on old wires. Illuminated were old and new pictures of Dadrian, strewn across the wall; newspaper clippings about him from England, family pictures with the other people’s faces blotted out, and dozens of self-taken pictures of him. She walked in silence towards the photos, and ran her fingers down her favorite framed picture; the one where he was smiling warmly as he chatted with a scratched out person as they sipped coffee in England.
“I’ve found you, my love.” She said in a barely audible sing-song voice that pierced the eerie dim and resonated across the walls.
“Come on, Mei! I’ll never ask for anything from you ever again! Please, please, please!” Jun continued to whine. Mei was getting more and more irritated, and Dadrian was also slightly irked.
“I already told you, it’s my money, and you can’t just go asking for it whenever you please! Get your own job and earn your own money if you want to go on this trip.” Mei snapped at Jun. She was at the end of her rope and didn’t want to put up with Jun’s constant begging.
“What if I said that we were going downtown to find me a job?” Jun finally let out her secret plan because she didn’t want Mei to get angry with her. Mei considered the proposition and finally agreed with Jun. A loud shout of excitement pierced Mei and Dadrian’s eardrums as Jun leapt with happiness. Both of them looked at each other with exasperated expressions as their irritation slowly faded away.
Downtown was bustling with excitement, and Mei, Jun, and Dadrian were caught up in the rush. Mei and Jun, raised in the small fishing town, had never been around so many people before, and Jun especially seemed a bit overwhelmed at first. It didn’t take long, however, for the two girls to get adjusted to the new surroundings. A small café was where the trio decided to pause and share some milkshakes after doing a bit of browsing at a nearby jewelry store. Dadrian seemed perfectly in time with the rushing surroundings, but Mei noticed his shoulders relax a bit as he settled down into his chair.
The café was small and brightly colored; “Sweet Speed” was written boldly above the awning. Black and white checkered tablecloths were placed on the outside tables at which Mei and her friends sat, giving the place a retro theme.
“Coming through!” A high-pitched voice said loudly. Mei just managed to turn her head in time to see a blur of color swerve past her table. Still windblown, she was frozen for a moment before finally managing to turn around to face her silent friends.
“…what…the….?” Jun turned around to try to see the dashing blur that had passed them, but it had already rounded the corner of the café. Mei flattened her hair and took another sip of her milkshake, trying to reassemble herself. However, though they managed to return to their conversation, the peace was once again broken; around the corner came the same blur of color from before. Swerving through the spaces between tables, the figure finally began to slow down, allowing Mei, Jun, and Dadrian to see her true form as she approached them.
A silvery-blue wisp of hair curved into a crescent between her yellow eyes, which accented the midnight blue of her smooth, shoulder-length hair. Her tan skin highlighted the bright blue halter top she wore, as well as the small black miniskirt with the red belt. Black knee-high socks and white leg warmers accented her bright pink roller skates; to add to her strange outfit, her bright yellow hat had odd little buttons with black and white checkered pattern that matched the tablecloths.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” The colorful character said sweetly. In her hand she balanced a tray, and from it she set small pastries in front of Dadrian, Jun, and Mei. “There are the muffins you ordered.” She smiled at the customers.
“Um…thank you…” Mei said, still a bit stunned at the rainbow of colors she was seeing all at once. The bright girl turned and went to serve other tables. Mei noticed, as the girl sped away, the dark blue tail that fluttered behind her and the furry cat ears that poked out from underneath her hat.
“Well…she’s going to be fun to work with…I hope…” Jun said quietly. Mei shot around to face her friend.
“Wait…you mean you’ll be working here? That’s great!” Mei smiled widely at her friend.
Dadrian was also happy for her. “Good work, Jun. And since we’re your friends, we’ll get discounts, right?” The three of them laughed; the cat-cosplayer had to smile at the laughing customers before returning to her speedy deliveries. The three of them finished their muffins, and Dadrian and Mei left Jun to fend for herself at her new workplace so they could finish their weekend homework.
A girl at another table watched the handsome foreigner intently as he walked away with the red-head. She sipped her coffee, and when they were around the corner, she stood up and left a tip for the waitress. Smoothly swerving around the corner, the black-haired girl followed the blonde man’s movements with her eyes, only hesitating a moment before moving her feet in their direction. She watched them as they boarded a bus to a small outer town, and she stopped her pursuit. She walked to another end of the platform, moving as if to board a different bus, but when theirs had departed, she turned and left the station.
The door to the girl’s apartment opened, and she set her keys on the small entrance table. She walked into her bedroom and changed from her tan turtleneck to a thin, black tank top. She noticed that a picture hanging on the wall was crooked, so she adjusted it until it was parallel with the windowsill. Pulling the curtains across the small glass window, she ran her fingers down the heavy, soft fabric. She checked the other curtains calmly, and then walked over to the small bookcase next to her bed. Running her thin fingers across the different spines of the books, she lifted one away from the shelf; beneath it was a small, black button that was barely visible since it blended with the ebony finish and was so thin.
Pressing the button and replacing the book, the bookcase swung inward momentarily, allowing the slender girl to slip behind the bookcase quickly. Closing behind her, the bedroom returned to its eerie silence. Now within a small, hidden room, the girl flipped the light switch to turn on the dull red light bulb that hung precariously on old wires. Illuminated were old and new pictures of Dadrian, strewn across the wall; newspaper clippings about him from England, family pictures with the other people’s faces blotted out, and dozens of self-taken pictures of him. She walked in silence towards the photos, and ran her fingers down her favorite framed picture; the one where he was smiling warmly as he chatted with a scratched out person as they sipped coffee in England.
“I’ve found you, my love.” She said in a barely audible sing-song voice that pierced the eerie dim and resonated across the walls.