Act 2 - Part 7-3: Wrong Place at the Right Time
“Hey.” I wave back, wondering how she knows my name.
The wild head of hair and ruby-red eyes seem familiar somehow, but everything else is off.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am, you’re practically stalking me here.” she comments with an amused smile.
“Akira?” I ask.
“Ooh, lucky guess.” she returns.
It’s the same head of hair and the same figure; but the dress style is all wrong. There's no crisp, clean suit jacket, but a red tank top that bares her slender shoulders. A pair of loose-fitting blue jeans graces her hips and legs, bagging up around those slim ankles. To match her more casual attire; those black dress shoes have replaced by a pair of white sandals, exposing the cream-colored complexion of her feet.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. What’s gotten into you, it’s not like I got plastic surgery or something.”
“Oh, uh, sorry. It’s just…”
“Didn’t recognize me without the suit?” she asks.
I nod my head in agreement.
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” the girl next to me replies, bursting into a bout of hearty laughter.
This has quickly become the most awkward part of my school year. The first time was normal; strangers meet in random places all the time. The second time was a little less likely, considering how much business the Shanghai gets. The third time was pure coincidence.
But this is the fourth time. Lightning doesn't strike twice -- and it definitely doesn't strike twice again. Either my luck has really picked up or there's some kind of divine forces transpiring here.
“So, question from earlier; ARE you stalking me?” she asks.
“I find myself wondering the same thing. This is what, the fourth time I’ve run into you?”
“Keep it up and I might start believing in that ‘red string of fate’ nonsense.” she answers, chuckling.
The screen of her flip-phone lights up, which causes her to grumble as she checks its contents.
"Either way, you're still here. So, what brings you here on this fine night?"
“Business, I guess you could call it.” I reply, letting a sigh roll out of my mouth.
“Ah, been there, done that. Just out of curiosity; what kind of business?"
“Well, let’s say I have a friend who is incredibly paranoid, and let's say he wants me to pick something up..."
“Uh huh.”
“Now, hypothetically, what if this friend were to be a conspiracy theorist who thinks the postal service is run by FEMA, who are in turn run by the feminist overmind?”
"I'd say you're on one hell of a quest there." she returns, a couple of idle chuckles escaping her mouth.
“Alright, just making sure I’m not the crazy one.”
“So, what happened?”
“I went to the post office here only to find out that his package has already been forwarded to the one five minutes from the school.”
“Life’s a bitch like that.” she counters.
“Tell me about it. I was thinking of going out and exploring the city, just to feel like today wasn't a total waste of time.” I reply.
Before our impromptu conversation can continue; Akira holds up one finger and reaches into her pocket, pulling out her phone and checking its contents. Her ruby-red gaze switches back and forth between the screen and me, .
“Hey Hisao, how old are you?”
“Eighteen, why?”
“You say you've got a couple of hours free?”
Oooooooh boy. Where could she be going with this?
“Pretty much, yeah. Nothing better to do, anyway.”
She slaps the phone shut and nudges it back into her pants pocket.
“So were you planning to go out and get lost all by yourself, or would you rather have someone show you around?” the woman beside me asks, newly invigorated by the apparent turn of events.
“Who's that someone?”
“A girl who also has nothing better to do for the night because her friend decided to go on a date with a guy she's known for two days.” she comments, an annoyed expression taking hold of her features.
“And that's you, I'm assuming?”
“Yep. Alone on a Saturday night with nothing to do and no one to spend it with.” she answers with a smile, as if it were an accomplishment.
Alone on a Saturday night? Surely she has other friends than just that one. In fact, didn't she say she was going to talk things over with her boyfriend? Wouldn't it make sense for them to be out and spending time together?
“No one to spend it with? What about your boyfriend?”
“We’re taking a little break. Honestly, anyone could see that we both needed it.” she answers.
“Taking a break? I take it you had a little chat with him, then?” I ask.
Her amused demeanor sinks into another melancholy as she gazes off into the distance, expression shifting back and forth as she tries to think of the right way to answer. The silence lasts so long that I almost wonder if she even heard the question.
“It went... okay. I took your advice and we talked for a while.”
“That’s great! Everything fixed up?”
“Kinda-sorta.” she responds. “Let’s just say that asking a stubborn person to stop being stubborn is a good way to get yourself into another never-ending argument.”
“Well at least there’s hope again, right?”
She takes another, even longer moment to think the question over, assembling all of her thoughts together to think of the proper response.
“It’s too soon to say.” she answers, that one statement concluding all of her opinions on the matter.
“It’ll take time, at the very least.” I reply.
I’m not going to lie and say I have no interest in her as a woman, but I want her to be happy first and foremost. She's already in a relationship, and any attempted involvement from may would probably just complicate things.
“Alright, Mr. 'Master of Relationships,'” the girl beside me returns, flashing a grin, “do you still want that tour of the city, or are you going to sit here and wait for another client?”
…Okay, friends do things together, right?
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