Chapter 9: Chapter 9

I could hear Van's laughter behind me, as we walk our way inside the empty school building.

We started walking at the quiet hallway. We first stopped at the library.

"As you can see, this is our library. Most of the stuff here are really old, but there are lots of interesting books to read on. And let me tell you a secret... Whenever I have a chance,I sneak out some books without permission from the Librarian. Now that I think about it,I need to return them before

graduation." he relayed.

"Oh my goodness, the poor librarian must have been worried about those missing books. You should give it back as soon as possible!" I reprimanded him.

He closed the Library door and we continued walking again.

After we finished touring the first floor, I followed Van upstairs which lead us to the second floor.

"This is my brother and Mika's classroom." Van said,while opening one room which has 1-B placard on it.

Once we're done walking around the second floor, we decided to go to the third floor.

We are already on the third floor and we passed three classrooms. Van suddenly stopped at a certain room.

"This is my classroom." he enunciated.

My eyes instantly read the placard on the door. The room is section 3-B.

"You're in 3-B? You belong to the second smartest class, huh?" I said, while feeling a bit impressed with Van.

There are still a lot of things that I don't know about him.

There were 14 desks and seats inside. The

room was spacious enough and it looks clean and neat.

I noticed that Van was already seated at the desk at the corner part of the classroom, just beside the window.

"This is my desk." Van announced.

I walked towards the teacher's table and stared at him.

"Why do I have this feeling that you hate school?" Van suddenly probed.

I looked away from him.

"This is not about me, newspaper boy..." I curtly replied at him.

"--There are more things in life aside from thinking about the things that can only

make you sad and depress. Life is too short. If you will just look around, there's still many things that we need to be thankful for." Van seriously enunciated.

I don't know why, bit tears started flowing from my eyes after I heard Van's remark...

====================

Just like what Van promised to my mother, he escorted me back home at exactly 7 pm.

Once Van was finally out of sight, I walked at the frontdoor and I pressed the door buzzer.

After a few seconds, Mika opened the door.

"I'm glad you're back! You're just in time for dinner!" Mika smilingly greeted me.

"Where's Mama?" I hastily asked her.

"Uh, she's in the kitchen cooking dinner..." answered Mika.

"Thanks." I said,as I continued to walked towards the kitchen.

I saw my mother, who was busy cooking dinner for the family.

"Oh, welcome home, Nao!" she warmly greeted me with a smile.

I took a seat as I started to think of the right words to say to her.

"There's a lot of things that you should be grateful for..." I clearly remembered Van's words.

"Did you and Van had a good time?" inquired my mother, while still busy cooking.

"Mama, I know I'm a little late for this, but thank you for giving me another chance in life..." There. I finally said it.

My mother stopped slicing some vegetables as she gently smiled at me.

"Of course, you deserved a second chance in life, Nao."

"What's this all about, sis?" asked the surprised Mika, who was standing at the kitchen's doorway.

I turned to smile at her.

"And you too, Mika... Thank you for treating me like your very own sister. Though you're getting into my nerves sometimes..." I thanked her as well.

"Well, I'm happy and proud to be your sister." Mika said, while beaming.

"And Mama? There's one more thing..." I became serious again.

"What is it, dear?" inquired my mother.

Mika sat beside me, waiting for me to speak.

"I want to go back to school." I announced.

My mother and my little sister stared at me, as they were obviously shocked at my announcement . They became so quiet...

I decided to break the silence.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Wow, you just dropped a big bomb right there, my dear sister! But it's the greatest news I've ever heard today!" Mika happily exclaimed.

I can't help but to smile as while looking at Mika, who's overly excitedly with my announcement.

Meanwhile, my mother was getting all teary-eyed, but she's obviously happy with my decision.

"Oh, Mama...You're not going to cry, aren't you?" Mika smilingly asked.

"This is just tears of joy, you silly! I'm really happy for you, Nao!" our mother sniffed.

"So, can we do a group hug?" Mika suddenly suggested.

If she was the same old Nao, she will definetely say NO to Mika's suggestion. But now that she's coming out from her old shell, she needs to embrace the changes in my life now...

We all stood up, and gave each other a big, loving hugs....

====================

After a week.

I nervously made my entrance at Naha High school.

I can see the students who were all looking at me curiously as I walk past them.

"It's rare to see a new face in town." I overheard a group behind me.

"My mother saw her once with Doctor Nishikawa. Could she be--?" the other one spoke.

"Haven't you heard the news yet? She's the adopted daughter of Doctor Nishikawa!" exclaimed the third girl.

"I don't care what you all think...Just leave me alone!" I angrily said at the back of my mind.

"Hey, wait for me, Nao!" somebody called my name, and it made all the students turn their heads towards the school gate.

"Oh, there's Vam again. What is he up to this time?" said the other group of male students,while laughing at the same time.

I sighed miserably.

"Why do you have to show yourself at a complicated time?" I groaned in disbelief.

I decided to ignore Van and I continued on walking.

"Hey! Are you going to abandon me too?" Van called out for me.

"What are you now? An abandoned puppy inside a box?" I muttered, as I walked faster.

Van also did the same to catch up with me.

"Let's walk together, please?" he cajoled, as he was finally walking beside me.

I stopped on my tracks and wheeled around to face him.

"Stop acting like this, will you?" I discreetly whispered at him.

"Why?" Van innocently asked.

"Because I wanted to have a peaceful start at school." I shot back.

"How boring! You should be having fun at school!" Van insisted.

I sighed in disbelief. Reasoning with Van is mentally exhausting. I feel like my braincells are going to explode.