(no subject)

[calmingwaters]

There were some days when Simon Wallace had to take a step back to detach himself from the waking world. It helped the lone boy with his new environment as well as deal with those nagging feelings of anxiety, sadness, boredom & loneliness. It was tough & he wasn't going to lie, he missed his family back home in New York. He missed his father's humble clumsiness in the kitchen, the sound of the chatter of his siblings & the feeling of his dear younger brother snuggling up against him on the couch. Here in Japan, he had none of that.

Some days when he wasn't studying, at a swim meet, or avoiding any sort of means of having a social life, Simon visited one of the town's parks. When the weather was pleasant enough he would find a spot desolate of other people & simply laid down on the grass. Hands were neatly folded over his stomach & his eyelids slowly fell to a close. Soon he began to disconnect, the world around him became dark, black & then his mind left him.

Comments

[calmingwaters]

There was a slight look of confusion on the boy's face. He wasn't quite sure why she suddenly looked so happy. Her next comment explained it though. "Wel, I guess it's sorta nice. We're a big family but we're all very supportive of each other." Suddenly he felt homesick. Despite his distant nature, he truly did miss his family.

"Ah.. I'm sorry. Maybe you could visit him during our next break?" Whenever that is! The school year here was a lot different than in the US.

[terminalshow]

“That's a really good idea, actually.” She gave him an appreciative smile, and then moved on to trying one of the sushi rolls she'd made out. “Ah, if you like egg, this one has egg and tuna. I think it's really good. I wouldn't really want to bug him, though, right? Busy, busy guy.” Miho leaned back on a palm. “Is any of your family out here, or are they all back in America?”

[calmingwaters]

Simon eyed the sushi roll curiously for a moment before carefully reaching for it with his chopsticks. He wasn't much of sushi person -- yeah, funny for a guy living in Japan -- but he thought it'd be rude not to try it at least. He took a tentative bite & was surprised by how good it tasted!

He swallowed the half that was in his mouth & then looked up to answer Miho. "Oh um, they're all in the states."

[terminalshow]

“My brother taught me to cook, so I hope they taste okay..” She didn't like to brag about it, but her bro was a really good cook (gosh what a bachelor) as well as a pretty good soccer player. As a result of his help, Miho wasn't half bad in the kitchen herself! “Oh.. I see. I can um, kind of relate, since my brother lives so far away. Not that far, though.”

The girl paused to have another bite of sushi, as a warm breeze rolled over them – it seemed to smell distinctly of summer, despite it only being April. “Hm, uh.. Do you like video games, at all?”

[calmingwaters]

"They taste really nice," Simon said with a quiet smile. "I um, I was never much of a fish person but I think I may have to reconsider." He understood Miho's feelings so he felt that maybe he could try cheering her up. She did treat him to lunch after all!

At her other question, he needed a moment to think. "I've played a few before, but I can't say I'm a big gamer. One of my brothers plays a lot though. He plays online with a lot of people, too."

[terminalshow]

“That sounds pretty cool. I have a few online games, but I don’t really play them. Ehe, my Mom’s usually the one on the computer all the time, so..! I just study a lot.” She had no problem admitting that the majority of her free time was spent on the books! “But I really like old school fighting games. I play them at the arcade sometimes, you know? There’s one in the mall near the Academy. Ever been?”

[calmingwaters]

Most of Simon's free time was either spent swimming or avoiding any sort of social attention -- so he mostly kept all of that to himself. "Oh- yeah, well I never went inside.. it always seems so busy. I guess it's very popular?"

[terminalshow]

“That's true! It's always really crowded. Ehe, um, but I usually get there right as it opens in the morning, you see? So.. no people, at all! Not that I dislike people, or anything, it's just easier to play without people staring? Is that weird?” She was used to playing in her living room on the tv by herself, after all. “But I've gone there with friends right after school, super crowded, and it's still fun. We usually just go to the picture booths and stuff then.”

[calmingwaters]

"That sounds nice," Simon said as he forced a small smile. It didn't surprise him that Miho had a lot of friends. She seemed to be the well liked type.

When he finished his sushi roll he set his chopsticks down & muttered another quiet thank you. He felt bad for eating any more when they still had yet to find Miho's friend.

[terminalshow]

“Yea!” Miho nodded her head in response to his thank-you, then offered him a smile. “Thanks for eating lunch with me. Eating alone when with so much food would have really been unpleasant. I think I got stood up! Or maybe I told her the wrong time?” In any case, she didn't seem too bothered by it now that she'd gotten some company. “Do you hang out here a lot?”