Last Chance

Ch. 7

Grading each assignment on her small round kitchen table. She rubbed her brown eye while writing her own on each question that students got wrong.

"Three more to go and I can treat myself with a beer." Utahime smiles to herself.

As she finished the last few assignments, she dropped her pen and leaned back on her chair, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Finally!"

After grabbing a cold beer can from her fridge and hopped down to the couch. She decided the first thing she does is check on her phone if she receives any notifications or text messages. She had her phone on mute so she wouldn't be distracted.

She only got a few messages from the school's events, a reminder to pay her apartment bill next week, promotions from stores. And one message from Shoko.

She was about to open her recent message but suddenly remembered to grade Itadori's missing assignments.

"How can I forget his!" She cursed herself, lifting her body and looking around trying to remember where he keep his assignments. Then a memory popped in her memory. She went to her small living room table. She grabbed the 7 worksheets of Itadori's homework and pulled them out but stops. "I better check my cluster box unit to see if he send me more of his missing work?"

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After returning to the main lobby where the mails are kept, she held not only few more mails but also a packaged. She closes the door behind her and walk toward her couch, starring her package.

She read the name and address on the package. "I can't believe this was from my parents. I never assumed they would send me something despite all the years we haven't spoke. Especially how our relationship isn't what it used to be. I wonder what they sent me?" She sits down, placing her few mails on the small stand and began peeling off the tape that held the boxes together.

Utahime opened the box and took a look. She leaned her head.

It is her old personal album she made of her own.

"I have been looking for this for years... I must've left this behind when I moved from Tokyo. They must've founded it. I'm surprised they retrieved one of my personal belongings back to me from home." She laughed to herself before pulling out and set the box aside.

Utahime made a photo album book from her family's album including from her younger years to create her own memories and journey of her life. She even asked Shoko to finish putting the memories when she was busy.

She was a very busy girl in her younger years...

She opened her book and smiles.

The first photo that appeared on the left page was her entire family gathered together in her uncle's spacious landscape. Everyone in her family dressed nicely and pricesly as her family is always wanted to look neat and traditionally when it comes to family photos. She sees herself when she was 9 years old in a white floral kimono in the front row in between her cousins. Her hair was above shoulder level as her front bangs were growing at the time.

She turns the next page and lets out a small laugh.

There in the next photo was her in a very short hairstyle. Riding her first bike when she was 7. She remembers that goofy smile she put while giving out a peace sign and an eye-wink.

She turns the next page and lets out a sigh of nostalgia. "I remember this..."

Utahime sees a photo of her with Shoko smiling as they were jumped poses to camera and on the next page are two of them as Shoko giving Utahime a piggyback ride with goofy grins. She flipped the next page and sees her small self in the same area. In this photo is when she is posing on the bench standing with one leg and arm up, balancing. And both the photos took place at the same park she used to love to go back to in Tokyo.