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"Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart."
-Washington Irving
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POV: TAMAKI AMAJIKI
[1ST PERSON]
The weekend had finally come, and mommy was on her days off from work.
It was strange to be at a new place with new people, and I had a hard time adjusting. I shuddered at the mere thought of having to introduce myself at my new school...
Alone.
'"I thought we were in all of this together?"'
Then, I had remembered the note (Y/N)-chan had given to me before I'd left. I went into my bedroom, that was still unfamiliar, and looked for my backpack.
'"I'd never get mad at you for something like this."'
I smiled, remembering (Y/N)'s rare but soft hug that day...
I found my backpack and had eventually found the paper note. It was wrinkly, probably because of the position of the bag.
I exited my room to meet my mother who was in the living room, enjoying a small bag of salty potato chips.
"Mum, can you download this?" I asked sheepishly.
"Hm? What's that, dumpling?" Mummy patted the chip crumbs off her thin shirt, then took the slip of paper and flattened it out gently with her fingertips.
"'Learn and Play'?" her indigo eyes wandered back to me questioningly.
I nodded, still unsure of what this app was for. What even is an app?
"I'll look at it first to see if it's appropriate." She pulled out her phone, and started tapping for a bit. I stood there, trying to suppress my excitement.
'I hope I can talk to (Y/N) again!'
"Awwww, dumpling~!" I was startled by my mom who suddenly broke the short silence.
"You wanna make friends!? I never thought a day like this would come!" She squished my cheeks.
"O-Oww!" I squeaked.
"M-Make friends!?"
'What have you gotten me into, (Y/N)!?'
"This is an app for learning games and making friends!" She squealed with joy. "I'm so proud of you!"
"T-That's not-"
"Here you go! Mommy's gonna need her phone later, so don't forget to give it back. Okay?" she patted my head as she handed me her rectangular device.
"O-Okay... t-thanks mummy.." I shyed away with the device.
'Well, step one complete... I guess?'
I went and sat on a nearby couch in the living room as she turned on the T.V. I tapped the app, and it opened with bright colors.
Make Your Username!
'What's a username...?'
I look back at the small paper in my hand in panic, as if it were (Y/N) herself who would always know what to do.
'Tsk tsk...'
I guess I got so used to her always by my side, ready for anything.
Under the title of the app were more words messily written by my (h/c- ette, blonde, etc.) friend. I squinted my eyes as I brought the paper nearer.
The words spelled out, "username is Yes_Yumei" next to a hand-drawn heart.
'Yeah... that's something (Y/N) would do.'
I look at the blank square on the screen, trying to think of a suitable name.
What would she write if she were me?
'Hmm...'
'Oh.'
More words once again showed up on the screen.
WELCOME TO LEARN & PLAY, may_i? !
I winced, embarrassed already.
'I'm never gonna hear the end of it.'
After a while, I finally figured out how to "search". I typed in the username 'Yes_Yumei' and clicked enter. I found her immediately.
I clicked the 'Add as Friend!' button. And in a minute, she accepted. Suddenly, a chat bar I never knew existed popped up.
-New Message from Yes_Yumei!
[10:16 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: MAY I !?!? XD
(a/n) lol im so sorry
I blushed of embarrassment, wanting to hide my face but there was really no need. I tapped the blank bar to type a response...
'I'm getting used to this...
[10:17 a.m.]
Me: how doi chnge itpleas
..or not.'
[10:17 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: doi doi doi
I blushed again out of embarrassment. My fingers were getting shakey all of a sudden.
[10:19 a.m.]
Me: imm nt used to thisokay............
[10:19 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: Hahahha its ok!
She seems so fluent at this kind of stuff.
[10:22 a.m.]
Me: do yuo playnthese alot????
[10:22 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: I play every once ina while,,, ^_^
Yes_Yumei: in a*
[10:23 a.m.]
Me: oh thatexplains
[10:23 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: Hows life there ?
[10:24 a.m.]
Me: its going well,.,..
Me: how aboutyou?
[10:25 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: Yeah well uh...,
Yes_Yumei: I guess nows a good time to tellyou...
'Tell me what?'
[10:25 a.m.]
Me: yeah?,
[10:27 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: I'm not gunna beat around the bush
Yes_Yumei: I moved too.
[10:27 a.m.]
Me: ohwhere?
[10:29 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: Uh.. woulkd you believe me if i saidUSA?
Yes_Yumei: would*
I blinked at her response for a few minutes.
'SHE'S IN AMERICA!?'
[10:32 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: Heyy! awestruck?-_-
[10:32 a.m.]
Me: ddumfound ed
[10:32 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: You even stutter in chat XD
[10:33 a.m.]
Me: how is itover there... ?.,
[10:34 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: I dont know anyone, anything anywhere
Yes_Yumei: I BARELY SPEAK ENGLISH
[10:34 a.m.]
Me: why ar yuo thereanyways?.
[10:35 a.m.]
Yes_Yumei: I dont know ;(
I stared at the screen again. Did something happen?
'I know her mommy isn't always nice to her for some reason... does that have something to do with this?'
I decide not to pry. (Y/N) would tell me if she were comfortable with the topic.
On that note, we continued to chat on this app for kids. We also played some games on it, too.
And our lives continued with this routine, chatting and playing on the weekends. And soon, my mommy got vacation, so I was able to be online more often.
This newfound style of bonding with (Y/N) made me happy, really, but something wouldn't sit right.
I was thankful I still got to bond with her after moving, but I couldn't help but miss my (H/C-ette) friend.
'It's just not the same...'
But even if I missed her in person, I was still happy.
Time flew. Months seemed like weeks and weeks felt like days as our vacation slowly came to its end.
Sooner than I had hoped, I had to go to school again. (Y/N) and my routine had to switch back to the weekends, sadly.
Because I had never been to this school before, there were extra paperworks and things to have done so I could attend.
This took a while, so now I'm enrolled a couple weeks late. This means everyone already has their own groups, and I'll stick out like a sore thumb.
'Yahoo.'
I gripped onto the straps of my backpack as I anxiously walked to my new school. My heart rate increased with every step.
Then, more and more questions flooded my train of thought.
'I'm going to a new school.'
'I don't know anyone here.'
'What will they think of me?'
'Can I go home?'
.
.
.
I wish (Y/N) were with me.
I gripped my bag's straps tighter. This would be so much more bearable with (Y/N) by my side.
Now it really won't be the same.
I continued to walk, anxiety building with every second that passed by. Then flashbacks of my chat with (Y/N)-Chan yesterday came to mind.
[2:26 p.m.]
Me: im going to scool tomrrow:(
[2:26 p.m.]
Yes_Yumei: oh rlly? school here hasnt started yet...,
[2:27 p.m.]
Me: (y/n)chan how doi intrdce myseld???
Me: wwhats if i mess up.....
Me: wwhat if nobofy likesmme
[2:27 p.m.]
Yes_Yumei: yooull do fine, i believe in you!!!
[2:27 p.m.]
Me: what do i say tomrrow....
Me: i dint know whay to ssay....
[2:28 p.m.]
Yes_Yumei: jhust say ur name! and say u like butterflies
[2:28 p.m.]
Me: nnno i cant say butrlfiles thats embrrsibg
[2:29 p.m.]
Yes_Yumei: then say u like heroes! u said yu wanna be a hero right?!
'Heroes...'
I closed my eyes momentarily as I neared my classroom.
'Heroes help people when they're scared...'
I opened my eyes and sighed, loosening the grip on my backpack's straps.
'"Guys, stop! That's not nice!"'
'She was my hero that day.'
I remembered last year, when the girl saved me from her own friends.
'"Are you okay?"'
That simple act is the very reason I love heroes now.
'I wanna be a hero...
I kept walking, staring at the ground.
because I wanna be like her.'
"Today, we have a new student joining us!"
An adult's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, causing me to stop in my tracks. I hadn't realized I was right at the entrance.
"Would you like to introduce yourself?"
Six words was all it took to trigger an enormous amount of nervousness.
"U-Uhmmm..." I stiffly walked to the front of the classroom in front of everyone else.
"M-My... n-n-name's..."
'Mummy, (Y/N), anyone...
"A-Am-Amaj-jiki...." I tightened my grip again, "..T-T-Tam-ak-ki..."
HELP ME.'
I felt all the eyes burning into my soul.
'"Say you like heroes! You wanna be a hero, right?!"'
I gulped. "A-An-And I... l-like... h-h....h...."
I couldn't say it.
"H...h...he..."
I really couldn't.
"H-Her-"
"Everyone, please be nice to him! You can take a seat over there."
The teacher who probably sensed I couldn't finish my sentence interrupted as the faint snickering of peers could be heard.
'So embarrassing...'
I walked with my head down low, then sat down on the unoccupied seat. Soon after, the lesson had started but I wasn't able to concentrate well.
Once a free period rolled around, I sat in my seat alone as all the other kids grouped up around me.
No one wanted to talk to the weird new kid who couldn't finish his own sentence.
Or so I thought.
"You're Amajiki, right?!" A bubbly blonde boy approached me.
"I-I... uh..." Only stutters came out for a response.
"Earlier when you were introducing yourself," he beamed at me, so excited,
"you were trying to say 'heroes', weren't you?!"
I stared up at him.
"Y-Y-Yeah..."
He's so confident and friendly. He and (Y/N) would be two peas in a pod.
'I should stop relating her with literally everything...'
"I like heroes too!" The blonde gave me a thumbs up.
"I'm Togata Mirio!"
He then sat on a desk near me, and the other boys with him followed suit. I weakly smiled in response.
'This year might not be too bad...'
The hours flew by, and the school day had ended. Togata walked with me, but we lived on different streets so we'd have to split soon.
I looked down at the concrete sidewalk as we continued to walk, the blonde next to me blabbing about a hero he admired.
I finally mustered up the courage.
"H-Hey, T-Togata..."
POV SWITCH: (Y/N) YUMEI
I lay on my stomach, comfy on my bed as I played games with the phone daddy gifted me.
'I've been so spoiled here, it's so nice.'
Life in America has been swell. I've been learning the English language, and I've tried a lot of common food here.
I've gotten to see nice places and meet many friends of my father despite the language barrier.
America is very different from Japan, but I'm starting to love my new home.
Though as amazing as it's been, I still can't help but be homesick. And confused.
A painful kind of confused.
I still don't know why mommy kicked me out.
I felt myself frown. I missed mommy.
But does she even miss me?
She hasn't made a single effort to communicate with me. My heart ached at the thought.
I sighed, then continued playing chess against a computer on easy mode.
'Checkmate, again...'
I grew impatient waiting for my indigonet friend to come online.
I wonder if-
*Ping*
My phone made a notification sound.
LEARN & PLAY: Le_Mirio wants to be your friend!
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END OF CHAPTER III
WORD COUNT: 2055
ANOTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE!
THANK YOU FOR OVER 300 READS!
Guysss I'm so sorry for taking so long! School has started and yada yada, I think we all know. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this! I'm literally so happy with how my makeshift book is doing! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING, THANK YOU SO MUCHHH!💕💞💙😍😘