I’m One of the muses, A common wood nymph roaming around Parnassus, Happy with my little sweet pea. With her delicate, fragrant flowers Carried on long, slim stalks, She captivated me. I ran to her flaming with desire. I am flaming. Burning Blazing with desire. Too hot for my sweet pea. Because she’s so delicate, So delicate for me. As I touch her, she transformed into ashes. I burnt her. And out of a haze, you were formed. Like smoke given out by fire. A fireweed that sprang up in the burnt over area. A replacement, I thought. You quenched my thirst. Suffuse my hunger. My desire. I came to you for a crown And you gave me a kingdom. You made me eat on a golden plate And drink from your cup of diamonds. But like a common pitcher plant, Cut your base open And there you’ll find my body’s remains trapped inside. A pitfall in the middle of the forest. I will name you Venus? The goddess with a seducing brilliant red trap. Open to all beings that needs nurturing. Show your bosom and all will crave for your milk. From a butterfly, you turned me to an ant. When I brushed only slightly against your skin, You closed within an instant. Rigid spines on the margins of you blades interlock tightly. As soon as I was trapped, You digested me. Used me as a nutrient material. I know this is about to last for only a week. By the time your leaf reopens, You’ll be reedy for other sufferers. Trapped inside, I accepted my fate. Then there she came one spring day. My little delicate sweet pea. Now a spring beauty in full bloom. A low perennial herb. With narrow, succulent leaves And loose cluster of white and pink flowers. But your leaf has closed. I cannot escape.

Chapter 17  

4/09/2008

A week has passed and Rika noticed that there’s something wrong with Maki… It’s just from her point of view. Actually, it’s been a week since they last had lunch together. And it’s almost a week when they went home together. She didn’t know what happened to Maki. In their last night together, they were talking about the Christmas gifts and the next day, Maki was trying to ‘evade’ her. Maki would also run away after school and left her to walk home alone. She wanted to confront her but Maki would just tell her that she’s busy.



A week has passed and Rika noticed that there’s something wrong with Maki… It’s just from her point of view. Actually, it’s been a week since they last had lunch together. And it’s almost a week when they went home together. She didn’t know what happened to Maki. In their last night together, they were talking about the Christmas gifts and the next day, Maki was trying to ‘evade’ her. Maki would also run away after school and left her to walk home alone. She wanted to confront her but Maki would just tell her that she’s busy.

“Gocchin… I need to talk with you.”

“Gomen Rika, I have so many things to do… Be sure to eat your lunch … Take care.” Maki kissed Rika on the cheek before running off to someplace else. Rika was really hurt by that. She decided to eat her home made lunch with Sayu, Eri… and Reina.

“Hi! Can I join you?”

“Sure, captain!” Eri got up and offered the chair next to Sayu. “Where’s Gocchin?”

“She’s busy.” Rika said that in a somewhat sarcastic tone. Reina looked up because she was somewhat puzzled by the behavior of Rika.

“Wh… What happened?” Reina asked. She knew something was wrong with those two. She noticed that every break time and after class, Maki would always run off. She also saw Rika going home alone yesterday.

“Nothing… She’s just so busy these past few days.” Rika said that because… She also didn’t have the idea what to say to them. Maki would always run off before she could even ask. The three of them became silent. Sayu wanted to get rid of the awkward atmosphere that she decided to change the topic.

“Hey, I’m so excited! The Interschool Futsal Competition is just two weeks away! This will be the first time for me to enter in any competition”

“It’s good to have some experience… But when you go out there for the first time, you will really feel pressured… It happened to me when I was in grade four.

“I remember that one! Eri exclaimed. “We almost made it to the finals…”

“Well, I guess it’s the past now… My only advice to the three of you is to enjoy the game. Don’t be pressured. It will only hinder you to think clearly and to focus on the game. Can I expect that?”

“Sure!” The three of them answered and continued their lunch. Reina looked up towards the cashier and saw someone.

“Maki…” Reina trailed off. Somehow, Rika heard what she said and looked towards the direction where Reina was looking. She saw Maki with a girl from grade 5. If she remembered it correctly, that girl was Kusumi Koharu of grade 5 section B. She knew her because she won the Best Muse Award in the Elementary level last Sports Festival.

Maki saw them and smiled. She bought some bread and gave some to Kusumi before going out of the canteen. Rika could clearly see that the two was having fun. She wanted to cry right in there. She was hurt by the thought that Maki was with another girl.

Reina looked at Rika. It’s clear to her face that she was hurt by that scene. She was also hurt too, but what Rika would feel must be greater than what she’s feeling right now. Rika became silent to the rest of the lunch break. When the school bell rang, they immediately went inside their classroom.

Their teacher was there already but Maki was still missing. After almost 5 minutes, Maki entered the room.

“Sorry I’m late...” Their teacher just nod at her and Maki went silently towards her seat. Rika didn’t bother looking at her. She pretended that she’s getting something inside her bag when Maki passed by next to her. When she got her notebook, she was surprised to see 3 chocolates on her table. She thought that Maki must have left it there when she’s passing by.

“Gocchin, what are you doing? You’re hurting me.”


………
Eri and Sayu didn’t know what to do. They have a futsal practice but it seemed that their two scorers were fighting with each other. They relate it to what they saw earlier at the school canteen.

“Rika pass it to Maki!” Abe-sensei was somewhat annoyed. The chemistry between Rika and Maki seemed to vanish into thin air. Whenever Rika got the ball, she would rather pass it to other players even though Maki was widely open. It’s only two weeks away before the Interschool Futsal Competition and this happened to her team.

Rika had no choice but to pass the ball to Maki. She didn’t want Abe-san to get angry with her. But she was so angry… or jealous with Maki that she kicked the ball too hard. Maki got it with her right foot but the force was so great that somehow, her injured foot hurt a little bit.

“What do you think you are doing?!?” Abe-sensei ran towards the field and stopped their practice. “Do you want us to lose by injuring her again?”

“No. It’s just an accident... I can’t control my kick today.” Rika lied. She didn’t really want to hurt Maki. But the jealousy got the best out of her.

“I guess that’s it for today. We can’t let anyone injure somebody. I need all of you to win this competition.” After that, Natsumi Abe went away.

Rika immediately followed her. She didn’t want to confront Maki today. She just wanted to get out of that place.

“Rika!” Maki shouted but Rika didn’t even look back. Maki tried to ran after her but Ayumi stopped her.

“I guess she already has her first menstruation…” Ayumi joked. “It’s clear because she’s having some mood swings. Don’t try to talk to her today… It may get nasty.” Ayumi said her last sentence while looking at Rika. She knew Rika more than anybody could ever know. She treated Rika like a best friend for the last two years that they were in the varsity team. She knew that Rika was angry at something… or someone. And she knew that it involved Maki.

Maki just followed what Ayumi said. She took her bag and left for the school library. Someone was waiting for her in there.

“Konnichiwa, Goto-sempai!”

“Konnichiwa! How’s my little Koharu doing now?”


AddThis Social Bookmark Button


0 comments: to “ Chapter 17

 

Design by Amanda @ Blogger Buster

Header by Maki