[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190616/c1a4ba20e6b8148ebb772dcd0a70476e.png[/img][/center] [i]Kei.[/i] [i]KEI.[/i] Lifting his head from the diz he was in, the boy returned to his meal. He stared down at the breakfast before him—miso soup, a touch cold. Steamed rice, no longer steaming. Fish becoming lukewarm. And pickled veggies, sweaty and condensating. "Kei, eat. You be school early. Today very important." His mom instructed him in a language he referred to as mother tongue, sometimes including bits and pieces of their language, but more often, and especially since they moved to Emerald City, entirely in English with a thick accent and broken grammar. And as usual, the instruction was that which he already knew. Kei's mother never had anything new to say: She was like a doll with a string, repeating the same phrases day in, day out, month after month and year after year. He wanted to tell her to stop it, to shut up even, that she knew nothing about what her son wanted, nor how important this day was to him personally, not just to this town. He opened his mouth. "Hai." --- Mounting his bike, Kei cycled awkwardly toward the school. He didn't usually sleep much, waking early to see his father off at 5:00 in the morning, and then cycling the long way through the oldtown neighborhood into the new suburban one, as gravelly paths gave way to firm roads and then into the sights of the city, where he attended high school. Kei had long loved this morning journey. He felt invigorated, starting it before it seemed the world was awake (other than his family), and then bit by bit being joined by friends and neighbors scurrying to their own locales, until he made it school, where he would slip into the broadcasting room to prepare notes for the morning announcements he helped give as class president. But the last week was different. He didn't speed to school—Kei buckled, hobbled, merely stumbling along as if injured. His normal five hours of sleep after class activities and work and study gave way to three or two, and last night, none at all. Until now, he had avoided giving serious news to the students on the announcements—no matter how charismatic he was, no administration would let a boy deliver disturbing news to the student body—that would be for the adults to give. But today, he would speak a benign announcement, or so it would it seem as much. For who would think that a quick report on optional excused attendance for the town hall would be so personal to a boy four years younger than (and even further in terms of class from) the mayor's daughter. No one would think he had any private connection with her, nothing intimate, not for a minute. Well, none would think that but perhaps one. One knew of the secret. And, Kei thought as he trudged along the dirt paths, possibly one more. -- Kei sat in the front-most seat in Mr. Akers class. As the old man lectured, he looked briefly up at the lock on the wall. [i]10:21 a.m.[/i] "Kei...did you know Lily Turner?" His head shot around as if set on a spring. He opened his mouth to respond, unsure even of what he would say, but before he could, Bobbi continued. "Did you know Lily Turner's body was found, all cut up...and in pieces?" The girl said so with a grimace, one that seemed to convey, [i]I'm disgusted at this turn of events but it's a little cool, don't you think?[/i] "Bobbi," Kei responded in a whisper, knowing that Mr. Akers was all but deaf and wouldn't hear them whispering even in the front row, "I know this town loves scandal, but if it has to do with decapitation, cannibalism, or the occult, I probably wouldn't believe what I heard." She glared back at the boy, feeling a slight rush of embarrassment. "My source is good." [i]You don't have sources. You're just a stumpy-nosed, friendless girl.[/i] "I know they are. You're always in the know, but I don't think anyone really knows what's going on right now." "They do, Kei. Why else would they make such a big deal out of this thing in a couple hours? They know something...and it's not good." "I hope you're wrong," Kei responded, "Because she seems really nice." He turned and faced the front of the classroom again, acting as if he was paying attention, but the monologue inside had started. In fact, it hadn't stopped since he gave the announcements earlier, but the voice inside was now screaming, SCREAMING. [i]That stupid girl[/i], he thought. [i]She doesn't know anything but...I wonder if they do know something. I wonder if she's right, that the worse has happened...[/i] But Kei stifled the emotion within him, the screaming that wanted to come out, the howling and crying and anger and confusion. He pushed it somewhere deep, in some pit he learned that he had, an Aiba family trait it must have been, where they could put all unhappiness in a hole in their bellies where it would be swallowed and held for all time. And this was no different, even if Lily had been kidnapped, even if she were dead. He would hold it in, for that's what being an Aiba meant: You put on a show for the sake of those who tell you that you must. And so he would. But a whisper escaped, a response to Bobbi's initial question, the one she hadn't actually meant to ask. She wouldn't be able to hear the response, either, for Kei meant it really for only himself to hear. He whispered gently, "Yes, I know Lily. I love her."