Starlight Covet - An Original Short Story

Prologue

Katsumi's eyes sparkled. I love macarons! "Yes! That's perfect!" She then noticed a crystal blue pendant around his neck, captivated by it. "I really love your pendant. It's really beautiful."

"This old thing?" Jun asked while fidgeting it with his fingers. "It's something I had for a long time now."

"Wow..." Katsumi stared at the pendant in amazement. Noticing that she was being weird, she vigorously shook her head. "S-So... 5pm at the macaron cafe sounds super!"

Jun chuckled under his breath, giving her a warm smile. "Great. I'll see you then."

"Yeah... See you then..." Watching Jun walk away, Katsumi was wearing a goofy smile. She happily sighed, feeling like she was on cloud nine. The cutest guy in class... Just asked me out! She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Pinching her arm, Katsumi felt a wave of slight pain. Nope, I'm not dreaming! She never wanted tomorrow to come any faster. At this point, she didn't care if girls in her class were staring at her with envy.

~*~

After work, Katsumi was walking home in the dead of night. No matter how many times she walks home, she always felt paranoid. Almost like something could pop out at her.

Arriving at her apartment, Katsumi used her key to unlock the front door. Opening it, she saw the room was pitch black. Something was shimmering in the room, almost like it was a beer bottle.

Hearing loud snoring, Katsumi knew that her mother had passed out after drinking too much. Ever since her father divorced her after her older brother's death, her mother's life went down the crapper. If Katsumi did something slightly out of line, her mother would snap at her. Even if she didn't do anything, her mother would take her anger out on her. It felt like she was just a human punching bag.

Quietly closing the front door, Katsumi took off her shoes. Tiptoeing towards her room, she slowly stepped foot in her room, carefully closing the door behind her.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Katsumi switched the light on. She really didn't want to deal with her mother today. Today was a good day, and she didn't want it to be spoiled.

Katsumi's focus was back on the date with Jun tomorrow. She had to decide what outfit to wear on her first date. How should I do my hair? Would I even have time to do my nails?

With those thoughts in mind, Katsumi started digging through her closet full of casual clothes. She wanted to look cute just for Jun. She didn't want him to remember her as the girl who didn't even try on their first date.

That would only lead to a disaster if Jun ended up telling his friends, the news spreading all around school. Curse my anxiety for making me even think that!

~*~

Tomorrow had finally arrived. Katsumi managed to find the perfect outfit to wear. It was a tanned button down blouse complemented with a dark navy blue skirt. She carried a brown over the shoulder side bag to keep the little things she needed.

Katsumi usually wore her hair in braids, but this time she wore it down. Always wearing it braids resulted in her hair becoming wavy, but it looked stunning with her outfit.

Applying the finishing touches on her makeup, Katsumi took one last look at herself, nodding in approval. Looking at the clock, it was already 4:30. Arriving a little early wouldn't hurt, right?

Exiting her room, Katsumi saw a beer bottle flying towards her. Ducking down, the bottle ended up hitting the wall next to her bedroom door, shattered pieces were all over the floor.