Lotus

Lindy - 13: Surprise

“If anyone hurt her, I’d hurt them.”

     Ren, Rina, Jason, and Kai went to the mall together in order to shop for Christmas gifts. They missed out on all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, so they hoped to find the best “late bird” sales to fit their tight budgets. The four split up, but Rina was left completely bewildered on her own.

     What kind of present does a girl give to a boy? She wondered. She sat down on a bench and sighed. I’ve never been in this type of predicament before. I’ve only given a present to a boy once, and it was a gift card.

     Rina took out her phone and messaged Jason and Kai. She asked them what they would want a girl to give them for Christmas. Two minutes passed, and there was still no reply. Rina sighed even more heavily and slouched down in her seat.

     “I hate boys!” she grunted.

     Two shadows cast over her. She looked up and saw the blonde and brunette duo above her, smirking.

     “So you hate boys?” Jason joked.

     “Ouch,” Kai said. He walked around and pulled Rina back up on her feet. “We saw Ren go down to the bottom floor. We’ll help you find a present for him, but we need to avoid him so he doesn’t see us.”

     Rina nodded. The two boys locked arms with her and began walking aimlessly.

     “So… where are we going?” Rina asked.

     The boys shrugged.

     “What are you guys planning to get Ren?”

     They shrugged again. Frustrated, Rina began to think long and hard about what kinds of things she knew that Ren liked. He likes food… He likes… spicy food. No, he likes sweet food. Salty? Well it doesn’t matter because I’m not buying him food, nor do I plan on cooking for him. I don’t think he would want something that could potentially kill him.

     She thought even harder. Still nothing.

     “He doesn’t surf of play basketball anymore, right?” she asked. “Does he do anything anymore?”

     “He studies,” Kai shrugged.

     “He hasn’t been the same since the summer,” Jason hinted. “I think he only turns back to normal around you, Rina.”

     Rina blushed, but was a bit worried. She remembered Jason’s story. How Ren couldn’t deal with the deaths of his parents. How something about him hasn’t been the same since then.

     “I’m sure Ren would love anything you get for him,” Jason said, noticing Rina’s apprehension.

     “Cats,” Kai said. “I always thought he was more of a dog-person, but lately he’s been fond of cats.”

     “Cats?” Rina asked. “It’s my fault, I suppose. He tells me that I remind him of one.”

     This gave Jason an idea. It was a seemingly perfect idea. A genius idea. Almost reluctantly, he told Rina.

     “Seriously?”

     Fast forwarding an hour and a half later, the three went to eat lunch after hiding Ren’s gift in the car. Ren was still making his way to the food court when Kai came up with a request.

     “Your birthday was a few months ago, right?” he asked. “That means you’re younger than all of us. You should call me Oppa. That’s what my sister called me.”