Chapter 3: Make it Better
There she was again, just like so many nights in the past. Waiting for him to close his eyes and drift into the oblivion of his mind, a predator. Most kids are scared into sleeping by being told of the Boogeyman, a creature from a swamp. But this one was scared Benjiro more than any spook or specter since this monster never only came in his sleep. He just stood there, paralyzed with horror as the monster drew closer, with a look of madness in her eyes. She drew back her clawed hand, and began ripping and tearing at his flesh.
He held up his arms to try and block the strikes, but her claws raked across them, tearing them open and spilling blood on the floor. Screams of pain broke the tranquility as he forced his trembling legs to stand up and run away. Benjiro tore through what looked like an old abandoned house, looking for anything that could be an escape or a hiding place.
Behind him, the monster wasn't giving any ground. It extended its claws and delivered many swipes to his shoulders and back until the muscles and bones were exposed. As he ran, he heard the monster making a bunch of short high pitched shrieks that made his blood run cold. He never had good endurance, and between the running and terror, his lungs were burning. Still, he managed to just barely keep away from the monster as he ran. He was just running at random, through rooms and archways until he saw a door that potentially lead outside.
Benjiro hung a sharp turn as he put on one last burst of speed that could get him outside and away from the beast. He shot his hand forward to turn the knob, but that brief second of standing, cost him. The monster wrapped a claw around his neck and through him on the ground. It placed a foot on his legs, to prevent him from running and looked down at him with an expression of sadistic satisfaction.
The terrified boy held up his arms to shield himself from what was coming, but they were already so torn and tired that he couldn't lift them. The monster just began tearing at him once more, slicing open his chest and slashing his face with those terrible claws.
"Please, stop! I swear I didn't do anything bad. Please" The boy cried as he tried curling into a ball to block the strikes and pleading for mercy.
But as his pleas fell on deaf ears, her beatings only grew more intense. Over and over he was struck until he no part of his body was left without a bruise or a tear. And even then the monster still wasn't satisfied. She just kept wailing on him, as the glint of madness only grew more unstable. She opened her maw and began making those high pitched shrieks once more.
"A dream. That's all it was. Just a dream"
He raked a hand through his hair to try and calm himself, but the hammering in his heart just refused to calm down.
'Why is that dream happening again now? I thought I finally stopped having it a year ago.'
He took a few deep breaths and rubbed his face a little.
Friday morning arrived not so bright and early for the young man. After shutting off his alarm's infernal beeping, and knowing the danger of going back to bed, he quite literally rolled himself off his mattress and onto the floor. Slogging through his morning routine like always, Benjiro tried to keep it as quiet as he could. He knew his Dad had another rough night and disturbing that sleep was not a good idea.
After grabbing some food for later on he strapped on his shoes and headed out. It was a cool but clear morning, which helped to drive the drowsiness from his head. The piercing rays of the dawn were harsh on the eyes, but beautiful all the same. He drew his jacket around him a little tighter. He took out his phone and picked out something fast paced to try and get his head in the game.
Across the street, Akiko was rehearsing what to say in her head. Saying "Sorry" and admitting fault to people had always been a bitter experience for her. She still didn't want to face someone that most likely rubbed one out with her as the subject of fantasy. The girl still didn't think she was entirely in the wrong, but she also didn't want it to be assumed that she couldn't let go of what most would deem a petty matter.
Once Akiko had noticed that boy was her neighbor, she had begun to change her routine slightly, so she could avoid facing him just yet. Going to school a little earlier, taking new roads when she went to the store or to hang out with a friend. But with increasing pressure from her mother, she couldn't put if off any longer. She checked her porch monitor and saw the door across the street open and the boy from last week walk out.
"OK, I just have to act a little ashamed, make my offer and that should do the trick. Besides," she thought, "Wouldn't most boys just go wild if a girl shows that she's feeling apologetic? Careful, don't let yourself be walked over."
With that final thought, Akiko straightened up, took a deep breath and she opened up the door. He kept walking along, and didn't notice the girl behind him. She just kept walking until she noticed that school was coming into view. Akiko hesitated for a moment, thinking that it might be better just to hang back and do it another day. But, she just shook her head and slightly quickened her pace. She tried calling out to him as she extended her hand to try and hail him.
But Benjiro was off in his own world again. The dulcet tones of Paul McCartney helped to focus as he prepared for the terror that was standing in front of that classroom. He was trying to envision how he would deliver his entry. He smiled as he pictured standing in the front and getting a standing ovation.
'Hey Jude, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her.'
He slightly bounced on the balls of his feet and bobbed his head with the beat of the drums and piano. He was about five minutes from school and he could feel the tension building in his chest. Even though his Language Arts class was his last period of the day, it was the only thing that he could think of. Benjiro could just ever so slightly hear a muffled voice over his music, but he paid it no mind. People usually started calling out to their friends when they got to school.
He started to just slip back into his mind when he felt something tug at his left arm. His mind didn't register the pressure at first, but the second tug caught his attention. He quickly inhaled as he turned around to a sight that he was hoping that he would never see again: It was the girl from the walk to home on Friday. He had some trouble reading expressions, but her face looked a little annoyed. She started to speak, and the tightening in Benjiro's chest changed from excitement to anxiety. He spun around and started speed walking towards the school, leaving the girl just standing there incensed that someone would blow her off.
"What is she doing here?", Benjiro wondered, "Wait, she's wearing my school's uniform. But, I've never seen her before. Either she's in a different class or a different grade. Man, I'm so screwed. If she's here, she'll probably keep dogging me for no reason."
Quick as he could he made his way inside, put on his indoor shoes and scrambled to class. Akiko tried to call out to him, but he was too quick and didn't seem in the mood to listen.
"Ugh, come on. I just wanted to talk. Whatever, I can just catch him when he comes out of the building or something."
The morning passed about as normally as one would expect. When it was time to eat, Benjiro wandered down to the cafeteria. The sound of chairs scraping across the floor and the babble of everyone's conversations reverberated throughout the room. He looked longingly outside at the outdoor tables and benches. He probably could sit outside and eat lunch, but with the end of September slowly approaching, the temperature outside had been taking a steady downward slope outside. He didn't mind cooler days , but eating a sandwich without being able to feel your fingers wasn't exactly a pastime that he actively sought out.
Benjiro went up to the register, and stammered out an order. He rolled his eyes hearing a quiet snort behind his back, but he just paid for his sandwich and began to wander out of the cafeteria. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the girl from earlier. She was eating with a couple of friends, and she was sitting at an angle which she could easily spot him. Benjiro tried watching her in his peripheral vision, and unfortunately he saw her turn her gaze on him.
Once more, he started walking double time and made his way through the hallways until he came to his abode in the music room that nobody seemed to know or care about. After the noise of the cafeteria, the stillness inside the room had a comforting feel. Narrow beams of sunlight shone through the window, highlighting the specks of dust just floating around. He took a covering off the piano and draped it over the floor. As he was opening his sandwich packet, the door opened up.
"That's odd," he thought, "nobody ever comes in here. And there shouldn't be any events where they need to put anything in or take anything out. Eh, whatever, they'll come in and hopefully just pay me no attention."
Benjiro just quietly took a bite of his sandwich as the footsteps got a little closer. He looked up, and lo and behold, there was the same girl. He noticed that she was slightly panting.. He could feel his chest tighten up again as she approached him with the same expression of being annoyed as the day before and this morning.
"Geez, will you stop running away? It's really hard for someone like me to catch up to someone who has such long legs."
"Wh-what do y-you w-want? I th-thought you d-didn't w-ant me coming any-wh-where near y-you. A-and that's-s what I've b-been trying-g to d-do."
The girl put her hands out in front of her as if grabbing an invisible steering wheel, took a deep breath and tried to compose herself.
"OK look, I didn't come here to start anything. I realize that the other day was a bit of a bad first impression."
"B-bad imp-pression? Y-you s-slapped m-me and th-threat-tened to c-call the p-police!"
"But, I came here so that we can patch things up", she said as she lowered her upper body, "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I thought you were following me, and so I took rather drastic measures. Please, don't be angry."
Benjiro was a little confused, but he recognized that the girl was at least trying. He felt a little uncomfortable seeing someone bow to him, since nobody had ever done that unless it was required for a special occasion.
"P-please st-top b-bowing, you're f-f-reaking me ou-ut."
"Listen, you can refuse if you want, but if you're willing, you can have dinner over at my home."
Benjiro raised his eyebrows at that request. The girl let out a small gasp as she realized how that sounded.
"No, that's not what I meant. My mother told me to ask you that. She said that she wants to make sure that there's no hard feelings between the two of us. She also said that she'd like the chance to meet your parents if she could get the chance."
Benijro paused for a moment to put on his thinking face: by pursing his lips and drawing his eyebrows together, which made Akiko think he was getting angry with her. He knew that his Dad would most likely have to work late again tonight. His Dad typically left a little after he departed for school, and returned after he went to sleep. He wasn't sure about accepting an offer from this girl, but he recognized that an olive branch was being extended towards him.
Eating leftovers or takeout got a bit old when both his own and his Dad's cooking skills were still kind of unrefined. Food with some company sounded like a nice time. Besides, this was probably the first time in months that he'd done anything relatively social with anyone from this town.
"OK, I suppose I have nothing better to do tonight. Probably better than whatever I'm going to eat tonight anyway."
"Oh, good. Dinner will be at around 7 o'clock. I can come and grab you before that.", she said as she turned to exit the room.
"Wai-it! I don't kn-now wh-where your h-house is, and I d-don't know y-your n-name either."
"Oops, I guess that would make things a little odd. My name is Akiko Higaki, and your house is just across the street from my own, so you don't need to worry about getting lost along the way."
The puzzle pieces started to fall in place as the misunderstanding from the Friday before suddenly made sense. He was going to say something but looking at Akiko's face he could tell that they both didn't want to revisit that particular incident.
"Al-lright, I-I'll s-see you a-at about s-seven tonight th-then."
Akiko offered another quick bow and turned to walk out of the room. As she walked back to the cafeteria she felt a slight nagging in the back of her mind and she began to wonder why that boy was eating all alone in a practically abandoned room. But she already felt uncomfortable being alone in a room alone with him, and didn't want to remain there any longer.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone