4. Wishing Bracelet? (1/2)

chapter 4: wishing

acelet?

len watched the tealette rummaging through her room. she was not alone, of course, because there were two kids helping her to make her room a pretty landfill. mikuo and rin were also pulling things out of here and there, chorusing "not here!" and throwing these things wherever they wanted to. after they searched through her study desk, the kids moved to the other corner and started to dig miku's drawers, emptying the one-topped box by spilling its content on the floor.

miku's room was such an eyesore. she, who hated disorganization, was currently busy making her own room chaotic. len cringed as rin and mikuo hopped on miku's bed - the last thing left tidy in that room - and flipped the sheets and kicked her pillows away. "not here!" the two yelled in unison. len leaned his back against the door frame, huffing. these kids were way too gifted in littering people's place, really. whatever they were looking for, it was holding up the two. matsuda must be pissed off by now.

today marked the second anniversary of matsuda's stay in their city. yes, he wasn't originally from this place, but matsuda mentioned that he lived in here once - when he was a kid. as the listless blond stood on the corner, face kept neutral, a frabjous idea popped up in his gorgeous

ain. nevertheless, len's inference was bloody accurate: at this rate, matsuda would be stood up.

"-en!"

"len!"

the blond felt a tug on his wrist and the next thing he knew, he was pulled down. "len!" miku yelled, dragging him to crawl with her. "quit standing there and help us! i'm so sorry for matsuda, but i can't leave the house without my phone," the tealette pushed the blond towards her bed. "look underneath, please." and just like that, len sent matsuda a message, advising him to enjoy himself.

matsuda squinted as he tried reading the message he received from len. he was already outdoors, making his way to the dorado square. it was too sunny and he couldn't see much from his phone. if it wasn't because of his message tone, he wouldn't know that someone texted him. that loud 'shit!' was an effective ringtone, he concluded. maybe he would ask len to piss off rei more often so he could record that guy's curses. he muttered a cuss for adjusting the

ightness to its lowest setting - he wasn't sure if he was really in the message app now.

matsuda spotted a tree several meters from where he was, and he jogged to share the shade. that was the only moment when he finally saw whatever his phone was up to, and he quickly adjusted the

ightness. he proceeded to read len's message, his big smile faded in a blink of an eye. 'shit!' - another message bubble appeared, it was from len - again? "i'm really sorry! my phone's missing! i can't leave the house yet. len and i will meet you at the dioch's place asap." this one was miku, matsuda thought to himself.

he was left alone and these two were together? that was really unfair. "len planned this well," matsuda muttered to himself, a smirk

ightened up his face. "why am i stood up on this shit they arranged!" the guy began typing a reply, his message was as irritating as the fact that he was alone now. "don't...make...babies...while...your siblings are...around. have...a...safe...sex...guys. there! sent!"

"perv," matsuda was hearing voices.

matsuda chuckled softly as he slid his phone in his pants pocket, eyes flitting around. it was a

ight day so he might as well enjoy his alone time. it could be the perfect hour to look around for someone he met in his past. the stalls and shops were opened now, sheltering themselves under the striped shades. he lifted his right hand and stared at the thin blue wishing

acelet around his wrist, eyeing the initial 'm' very carefully.

"perv. mr. perv," matsuda tore his eyes from his wrist. okay, so the voice earlier wasn't his imagination. there was a girl glaring at him. her long black hair reminded matsuda of rei's dark locks, but such hair color was common anyway. this girl couldn't be rei's relative or something.

"ah, sorry? you're not talking to me, are you?" matsuda bent down a little to peer at the girl's face, but to his surprise the girl made a gross expression.

"disgusting filth, stop talking to me like a kid." the girl stepped backwards, her expression annoyed matsuda. the last time he looked in the mirror, he was handsome as fuck. he hadn't met a girl who would look at him with such intense dislike. "are you aware that you are talking loudly to yourself? what you said a while ago is such a disgrace."

matsuda straightened his back, closing his eyes to recall what he said earlier. what did he say? "don't make babies while your siblings are around? have a safe sex, guys? is that what are you talking about?" when matsuda opened his eyes, the girl was already scowling at him. "hey, middle schooler. that's a common thing to say for an...adult like me," he tried smiling at her to no avail. she kept on making that gross expression. this girl was looking at him as though he was a big cow poop!

"my name isn't middle schooler. watch your language, mister. i will call a police and report that i run to a pervert downtown," the girl stepped away from him. "disgusting seniors."

before matsuda could ask the girl to stop making stories - such as he, being a pervert - the girl had run away from him. "kids," he said, kneading his temples. "you haven't witnessed the vices of the world yet. and yeah, your name isn't middle schooler. i saw your nameplate. seriously, who would wear one on saturdays, euls?"

matsuda had to go downtown just to find a perfect café where he would meet rei. yes, there would always be a plan b for anything, albeit this backup plan was unwanted. this supposed-to-be date with len and miku to cele

ate matsuda's stay in the city wasn't his idea in the first place. at least rei volunteered to give him company. the raven-haired flirt even volunteered to give matsuda a chick.

the guy picked up the menu, whistling a tv commercial jingle as he read across the list of drinks. his red irises dilated when he saw a pepperoni pizza on the menu. it was really weird for a café to serve pizzas, but oh well, matsuda liked pizzas. why would he question such delicious food on the menu? and just in time, a waitress approached his table.

"may i take your order, mr. pervert," that sarcastic voice...

matsuda lifted his head from the menu and met the glaring eyes of the same girl from earlier. she was glowering down at him, and he knew that such facial expression would drive customers away. it was kind of funny though, to meet this girl again. maybe this middle schooler got a crush on him or something? well, if that was the case, it was no surprise. he was used to being worshipped by girls of any age. matsuda carefully put down the menu and smiled at her.

his eyes glanced at her nameplate and smiled. "good day, euls? uhm, i want a pepperoni pizza and an iced tea. thanks," he beamed at her, straight white pearls of teeth showed. sadly, his charm never moved the middle schooler.

"idiot, that isn't a menu. that is a flier for the new restaurant at the far end of downtown. can't you see, this is a freaking coffee shop," she rolled her eyes. "are all grownups as dumb as you?"

dumb? okay, that's enough. "hey! watch your language, little girl! and what are you doing in a café, anyway? i'll talk to your manager, huh. they shouldn't employ a sarcastic

at here."

"watch your language, mister. go and rise from your seat, then tell that to my parents on the counter."

matsuda held her glare. fists clenching, he stood from his seat - about to scold the young girl...but rei came in the picture.

"hey,

o!" rei put an arm on the guy's shoulder. "oh, man. never thought you're a pedophile. i seriously thought you like girls such as miku. you know, blue or teal hair, sweet, passive...come on, chill. suzune ring will be here after a good couple of minutes." the raven-haired flirt pushed matsuda down on his seat, and rei ran to sit on the opposite chair. winking at the young waitress, he ordered for two black coffees - unsweetened. the girl left the two in silence, muttering something to herself as she turned her back.

when matsuda calmed down, rei relaxed on his seat. he slouched and crossed his legs, tilting his chin up to look around the place. it was sunny and the

eeze was cool. they had a fine weather so far. "say, why are you looking for a girl with blue or green hair around our age? i have heard from len that you were hitting on girls of that looks. what's up with them?" rei prompted a question,

eaking the serene silence between them.

the chirping birds answered rei instead; they are possibly singing about today's good weather. matsuda remained silent for a few more seconds, and when the wrinkle on his forehead was gone, he spoke. "my family and i lived here for some months before moving out again. we didn't return until two years ago. during my

ief stay here when i was a child, i befriended a girl with pale blue or green hair - i'm not so sure. we were like...sweethearts, you know? and she's really pretty. before we moved out, she gave me the other half of a wishing

acelet with both our initials carved on the blank plate. i forgot her name and her face. but when i saw this