Bakkura

~Chapter 1: Manabe~

Reaching my locker in record time, I got my lunch and retreated to the flooded halls. Pushing through the tightly packed people like I was a rag doll and not a 5"7' toothpick. People pushed me around like I was trash here, I didn't like it.

It was worse for my best friend, Satsuki, who was a cute little girl with the innocence of a 5 year old. People used her all the time because she was too nice to say no. I hated it and I was not afraid to fight for her. She was like my sister.

I knew, as always, she had found a way to get out of class and to our meeting spot before I did. She was like a ninja... A short, cute little ninja with a stuffed animal fetish. Turning the corner before the entrance to our spot, I could hear her whistle through the bushes. A sweet, melodious tune that sounded bouncy and catchy; reminding me of pop music.

I couldn't see her through the thick trees which guarded our secret spot from view. It was childish that we found such pleasure in having a place nobody else knew about; but it had been this way since primary school. We knew no better. We still had our innocence.

Pushing my arms between two branches, I drew them to the side so I could squeeze through the small break. As the trees had grown thicker and I grew from a small first year student to a 5 foot giant, it had become much harder to fit through the trees. But I continued to come here everyday, with the promise of a smiling friend.

"You're here!" she cried, slipping her tiny arms around me. 

Surprise flooded me, paired with a small amount of confusion. Against my chest, I felt her eyes hold back tears. She was a cry baby, admittedly, but something was terribly wrong. She shook like a child, as I hesitantly placed a hand on her back.

I had never been a hugger; I preferred to keep my personal space unoccupied. The sudden and strange hug attack, could only be described in one word: Awkward.  

"Ummm... Satsuki, is something wrong?"

She looked up at me, with smiling eyes brimming with tears, she so was so desperately trying to hide them. She was hiding something from me... I could tell. 

"I'm fine." she smiled brightly, breaking away from me. "I was just happy to see you is all."

Now, I was beyond confused. What the hell was going on with my strange little friend? I knew she was keeping secrets; I knew her too well to disregard it. She turned and began to walk away, to sit on chairs we had snuck in.

"Seriously?" I questioned, with an obviously dumb look on my face. 

She turned, her pretty brown hair falling over her face. "Of course. Would I lie to you?"

Her voice broke at the last word. Whatever. I would pretend it never happened now and deal with it later. I couldn't be bothered and my brain was seriously melting down. Following her lead, I sat next to her on our camping chairs and looking at the school dam, shimmering under the rays of the golden sun.

I could still remember the first time we were here, as recently acquainted first years. Satsuki still carried her stuffed bunny with her everywhere she went, and cried when it left her sight. People teased her about it all the time and I had found her in here crying.

"Are you ok?" I had asked, pushing my way through the small trees with my scrawny body. 

She faced me with wide brown eyes, with the trails of her tears glistening under the sun. She hugged her bunny, and was surrounded by many more stuffed, lifeless animals. As a tomboy, I could not fathom why she nurtured the animals.

"Umm..." before she answered, I sat beside with my legs crossed.

"Do you have any friends?"

She stared at me, excited and hopeful. "No! Will you be my friend?"