Chapter 22
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 8:26 pm
by sg1cat
My parents don't say anything further for the rest of the walk to the parking garage, having to focus on navigating the growing crowd as we run headlong into the rush of commuters. I also suspect my parents realized that I was having a hard time of keeping up with signing their words for Shizune, while also speaking for her and trying to put in my own part of the conversation.
I'm happy for the reprieve. I also have started to worry about my ability to keep up with translating for everyone for the days and weeks ahead.
Glancing over at Shizune, I see her smiling enigmatically as we walk forward. She now looks postively pleased and completely relaxed. I grin at the sight of it. I knew that she and my parents would hit it off, but I should have figured that their rather peculiar sense of humor would probably catch her off guard at first.
She seems to be handling it well enough now. Then again, she's only just sampled a taste of it. She has yet to get the full dose. My friends always loved my parents, but none of them were really like Shizune.
I'm not really worried, though I suspect she doesn't realize what she's in for.
Oh well. I guess she'll find out soon enough.
When we get to the parking garage, we quickly make our way to the elevator. My father pushes the up button as we all stop around the door.
"So Shizune," he asks as we wait. "Where will you be going to University?" I tense up at the question, watching Shizune as I sign his words for her.
[Tokyo University,] she answers and I repeat. Adusting her glasses, she adds, [It was rated 5th in the QA Asia University Ratings, the highest in Japan.]
My father nods appreciatively as my mother replies, "Oh, Hisao, wasn't that one of the schools you were accepted to?"
I clench my jaw at this, suddenly worried that my surprise has been ruined. I simply nod to her, and glance over to Shizune.
[What did she say, Hisao?] my girlfriend asks with a slight frown when I fail to sign for her.
[She said she was impressed with you going to Tokyo,] I quickly lie, feeling nervous inside. I hate lying to her, but I want to surprise her with it later, when we're alone.
I rationalize that it's not lying, it's just time-shifting the truth.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see my parents exchange glances. They of course don't know what I told Shizune, but they know me well enough. They can read me like a book.
As I glance back at Shizune, I can see her watching me with a suspicious gaze. Of course, she can read me pretty well too.
I guess I'm kind of transparent to everyone here.
Time to change the topic and distract.
["So how are things at home?"] I ask my parents while signing for Shizune. ["How's work, more of the same?"]
My father groans at the question. "Oh, it's the same as always," he replies, while I sign his words. "Too much work for not enough pay, plus a load of bullshit politics and stupidity on the side. But still, we manage to get by." He shrugs at this as the elevator doors open and we step inside.
My father is a senior engineer at one of the larger employers in the city. He likes what he does, but hates working for a company. I remember plenty of times when he would come home and complain about his management and coworkers. Not to mention the fact that he's dramatically underpaid for his work.
I frown slightly at his answer, realizing how much sending me to Yamaku must have set my parents back. Money was tight enough, before. Now I worry that they probably dipped into their retirement funds to take care of me with this whole ordeal.
As we settle into the elevator and it starts to go up, I catch sight of Shizune's face. She looks uncomfortable, perhaps a touch guilty at my father's words. It's the same look she had on her face last night, when Misha and I were talking about having to get jobs while we go to University.
Usually it's so easy to forget that she's from a completely different world than me and my family, but then there are moments like this that suddenly make it so blindingly apparent.
"So Shizune," my mother asks in a chipper voice as the rest of us fall into an uncomfortable silence. It takes me a moment to remember to sign as she goes on, "What will you be majoring in when you go to University?"
[I'm going to be in the business program,] Shizune answers. [I want to become a philanthropist someday, so I need to earn my fortune. A business degree seems like the most sensible way to find the opportunity for that.] My father lifts an eyebrow as he hears me repeat her words.
"Oh yes, the corporate world will give you lots of opportunities," my dad says, half under his breath with an uncharacteristically bitter tone.
"Hush, Hakuri," my mother chides him. Shizune furrows her brow as I again fail to sign what my parents are saying, observing their dour expressions with concern.
"Shizune," my mother says, quickly smiling at her to dispell the mood from my father's remark, "I think that's an admirable goal, to want to help people through philanthropy." Shizune lights up as I sign for her, smiling widely at my mother.
[Thank you,] she answers with a touch of color to her cheeks, clearly happy to be understood. [That's what I'm most interested in, helping people. Success in business will just be a means to an end.]
I chuckle at this while I repeat her words for my parents, quickly adding, ["So the fact that your road to philanthropy will be paved with endless competitions is just a fringe benefit?"]
Shizune smirks devilishly at my question, looking into my eyes with a coy gaze.
[Well,] she answers with a sly smile, [nobody said that my efforts to help people couldn't be fun.]
I laugh as I relay her words to my parents, unable to take my eyes off of hers. In my peripheral vision, I see my parents exchanging knowing glances as they watch us, smirking at each other.
["And you'll relish every fight, won't you?"] I ask with wry grin.
Shizune tries to supress an even wider smile, but fails miserably [It's just a happy coincidence,] she says with a shrug as our elevator reaches its destination and opens. With a grin and a shrug she adds, [I'll suffer through it.] My parents smirk when they hear me repeating her words.
"Shizune has a bit of a competitive spirit, does she?" my father asks with an amused voice as he and my mother exit the elevator, with my girlfriend and I following behind.
Shizune lifts an eyebrow as she watches my translation, waiting for my response while I smirk at her. ["You don't know the half of it,"] I respond, meeting her gaze with a devilish look as we walk trough the parking garage, our steps echoing through the cavernous concrete space. She narrows her eyes at my phrasing. ["Everything has to be a game with her, there isn't much she can't turn into a contest."]
Shizune frowns slightly, [as if you'd have it any other way, Hisao,] she protests, looking a little defensive.
["Did I say I didn't like it?"] I ask her with a grin.
My father chuckles, "Ooh, you better be careful, son" he warns me playfully as we approach their car. With his keys in hand, he unlocks the vehicle and pops the trunk. "I think you might be in over your head with this one..." He winks at Shizune, who looks at me triumphantly as she sees my translation.
["Oh, don't worry, Dad. I can handle her just fine,"] I tell him, though my gaze is fixed upon Shizune as I answer. Her eyes flash in excitement.
[That sounds like a challenge,] she observes.
["Good,"] I answer, grinning, ["because I totally meant it to be."]
She smirks and my parents laugh at our banter as they load our luggage into the trunk of their hatchback. [Better listen to your father, sweetheart,] Shiznue warns me, smiling wickedly, [and realize when you're out of your league. If you admit defeat now, I'll be a manganimous victor to you. It will only serve to strengthen our relationship.]
["Not a chance,"] I tell her as my Dad closes the trunk with a loud slam, and my parents walk forward to the driver and front passenger seats, respectively. ["I can easily take you on,"] I add as Shizune and I follow behind, staring intently at each other over the car.
Shizune smiles excitedly at my boastful claim, saying nothing at first, as her hands are busy with the door and then seating herself in my parents' car. [Well, I hate to tell you love, but I've been taking it easy on you until now...]
I laugh at her as we buckle ourselves in. ["Oh, I find that hard to believe,"] I tell her. ["You don't know how to do anything halfway."] I spare a glance at my parents, who are listening to our conversation with wry, knowing smiles.
[So kind of you to pay me a compliment,] Shizune fires back, pausing to haughtily adjust her glasses as my Dad starts to back the car ot of its parking space. She then adds, [but flattery won't save you now, you know.]
["I don't need saving, darling,"] I tell her as the car is put into drive and we start to roll towards the exit ramp. ["I've held my own against you quite nicely for the last few months, I can easily handle you."]
Shizune bares her teeth while smiling from ear to ear at my words, looking more excited than I can remember in a while. She says nothing more, but only looks at me with sparkling eyes. In the growing, still silence, it slowly occurs to me how deep of a hole I've dug myself.
I really hope I can live up to all the bravado I just spouted. In honesty, I'm not really sure where all of that came from.
"Shizune, what did your Student Council do?" my mother asks, before my girlfriend can fire off another rebuttle, adding, "How did our Hisao help you?"
[Well,] Shizune answers as my father drives us down the spiral ramp to the bottom floor of the parking garage, [We did the usual paperwork, but I also had us doing both festivals that the school held, as well as a few other responsibilities.]
It's dark in the car as we drive down the ramp, the only light is from the lights inside the garage as we pass by them. It's becoming difficult to read Sizune's signs.
She continues as I try and translate. [Hisao was incredibly helpful for both events, I don't think we could have pulled of either one without his help.] She looks into my eyes with a happy smile as she signs her answer, the telling clearly bringing back the memories of our time together building all those stalls.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" my mother answers her voice radiant. "Hisao, that was so sweet of you to help out Shizune and the rest of the council like that." I laugh softly as I sign her words for Shizune. I can tell she's likewise having difficulty reading my signs.
["There wasn't really a 'rest of the council', Mom,"] I tell her as my father pulls up to the garage cashier. ["It was just Shizune, myself, and a friend of ours named Misha."]
"Oh!" she exclaims, asking in disbelief, "that's a remarkably small student council! And you three put together two festivals, all by yourselves?"
[We did,] Shizune starts to answer eagerly, but then my father finishes with the cashier and the car moves forward, leaving the cabin in darkness as he drives us into the night. I hear Shizune sigh in frustration as she realizes that I won't be able to see her response. In the passing streetlights, I can see her drop her hands into her lap and look despondently out the window with a frown.
"Hisao," my mother calls back, "Did you tell Shizune what I said?"
"Yeah, Mom," I tell her as I pull my cell phone out while saying further, "But I can't see her signing now that we're out of the garage." Press the button to awaken it, I then unlock the device. "Hang on," I add. In the passing street lights, I see Shizune look over from the window as the light from the display catches her attention. She frowns all the more.
Opening the notepad application, I type out, { Go ahead with what you were saying. } then offer the phone to Shizune.
She glances at the display to read it, but doesn't take the device. In the shadows at the edge of its display light, I can see her instead glaring at it and me. She signs to me, but in the relatively dim light of the phone's display and the passing street lights, I can only catch glimpses.
Even though I think I caught the gist of what she said, I still type out, { Sweetheart, I can't see you well enough to read your signs, it's too dark. Could you please write it out for me? } I show her the display and hold out the device and offer it to her, watching again as the light dimly illuminates her bitter expression.
With a huffing sigh, she snatches the device from my hands and starts to type. She then pauses, glancing over at me with a furrowed brow. I watch her with a questioning gaze, even though I suspect she can barely see me. Lifting an eyebrow, she glances back at the phone and presses the button to close the notepad application.
Surprised, I open my mouth in protest, then immediately shut it while feeling foolish for having done so. Shizune then browses around in my phone until she finds what she was looking for with a smirk. Touching a few controls on the phone, she turns up the brightness until the display dimly bathes half of the back seat with a dim electronic glow.
She glances over at me smugly, smirking at the sight of my slight frown. Glancing at the seat back between us, she sees the flip down console that it hides. Pulling the partitioning section down, she grins at the sight of the cupholders on the newly revealed side. She places my phone inside the cup, thus illuminating both of us in its dim light and freeing her hands to then sign.
[Now then, like I was telling your mother, we did do all those things, but it was a lot of late nights and skipped classes to do so. Still, we were able to pull it off with your son's help.] Shizune smirks at me triumphantly in the low light, looking into my eyes with a victorious gaze.
[Shizune,] I answer, [we shouldn't have a light on back here, it's not safe to drive with interior lights on.]
She lifts an eyebrow, answering, [why don't you ask your father if the light bothers him? He's the one driving, not you.]
I stare back at her for a moment, then sigh in frustration. ["Hey Dad,"] I call out, ["does the light back here bother you?"]
"No, you're fine, son," he answers. "Is it bright enough for you and Shizune to sign to each other? I could turn up the dome light a little..."
I frown slightly in defeat as I force myself to sign his answer for Shizune, who only smiles all the more, sitting more upright as she takes pride in her win.
If there was a way to crow without speaking, she's definitely found it.
["No, that's fine, Dad. We can see each other fine now."] I meet her gaze with an irritated stare. [You know this isn't very safe, in spite of what he says.]
[Trust your father, Hisao,] she answers, still grinning wryly. [He's probably been driving longer than you've been alive.] Even in the dim lighting of my cell phone, I can see the twinkle in her eyes.
[Fine,] I tell her, [but you know we won't always be able to fall back on a light. There will be times when it's just too dark to sign...] I lift my eyebrow suggestively, smirking at her.
Shizune blushes slightly at my insinuation, but quickly recovers, smirking back at me again. [That's fine,] she answers, meeting my gaze intently. [While we're on break, I'm teaching you deaf-blind sign language. We are NOT going to use a cell phone to talk when we sleep together!]
I chuckle at her reply, grinning widely back at her.
"Hisao, what's so funny?" My mother asks.
"Nothing," I quickly answer, blushing at the sudden question. I'd forgotten my parents were up there, I was so involved in my discussion with Shizune. Clearing my throat, I'm glad that it's too dark for them to see my embarrased expression. "Shizune was just telling me her answer to your question..."
This really is going to be an interesting break.
