The last school bell for the week had rung and all of the students rushed out the door. After five days of classes filled with schoolwork and boring lessons, the teenagers at Myaruka High craved their two days of freedom known as the weekends. Within seconds, the classroom was devoid of students and only the teacher sat at her desk, taking her time to pack up.
One of the students, a seventeen year old girl by the name of Alicia Riley, didn’t sport the expressions of joy and delight that her peers had. Her school day afternoons and weekends were anything but free time. While she wasn’t the only student that had an afterschool job, she was one of the few that needed one to actually support herself.
The other students could rely on their parents to pay for their necessities and their jobs were just for their own personal spending money. Alicia didn’t have anyone to look after her. She worked each afternoon as a housekeeper at a nearby hotel. All of her earnings went to her rent, bills, school supplies, and meals. If she had any leftover money from her paycheck, she stored it away for emergency funds.
This also meant that Alicia lacked a social life. She and her father had just moved to the city of Myaruka near the end of summer. They were going to live in a moderate sized house together with their dog, a German shepherd puppy named Shun. Unfortunately, their car was hit by a drunk driver, leaving her father in a coma and their dog dead. Alicia had to sell nearly all of their belongings and move into a small apartment. Not knowing anyone in school and being too busy to socialize left Alicia as an outcast.
After an hour of walking, Alicia reached her working place, Cher Fleur Hotel. She tossed her backpack into her locker and quickly changed into her uniform. A quick glance at the bulletin board informed her of which rooms she was in charge of cleaning. From four o’clock to nine o’clock she worked.
She was exhausted when she reached home and just wanted to sleep. Her stomach let out a loud growl and reminded her to eat. ‘Stupid human body.’ Alicia thought as she added water to the kettle and started to heat it up on the stove. ‘I just want to rest but my stomach won’t shut up.’
It took only a few minutes for the water to boil and the kettle to whistle. She poured the water into the cup of instant ramen and cursed as part of her hand touched the hot water. She set the kettle to the side and held her hand under the sink’s tap water. ‘Thankfully it isn’t a serious burn.’ Alicia sighed in relief once she got a better sight of her injury. ‘I can’t afford to go to the doctor’s.’ She tiredly rubbed her eyes with her uninjured hand. ‘I’m so exhausted…’
After treating her burn, she sat down at her table. She started to eat her noodles, the entire apartment silent except for her slurping and chewing. “It’s so empty.” Alicia noted, pausing in her eating. “It’s so lonely.” She stared down at her food and stirred her noodles a bit. “I’m lonely.”
The silence was a painful reminder of the bad events in her life. There was no longer the happy yips, the playful barks, and the protective growls of Shun. There was no longer the greetings of her father or him asking how her day was. All of that was gone now. All of that was gone because of that stupid drunk driver!
“No crying!” Alicia furiously shook her head and blinked away the tears. “I can’t cry! There’s nobody to comfort me so crying is useless! It won’t make me money nor will it pay any of the bills! I can’t cry!” ‘Crying is for the weak!’
She finished the rest of her ramen, noodles and all, and took a shower before bed. The warm water cascaded down her black hair and body. The heat helped loosen her overworked muscles and she let out a relaxed sigh. ‘Why was I suddenly thinking about the loneliness? It’s been months since the accident. This isn’t my first night without Dad and Shun. This isn’t my first night of eating alone. So why was I thinking about it? What brought up those thoughts?’
She couldn’t think of an answer to her questions. Without a groan of frustration, she dried off and curled up in her futon. Her bed had been too bulky and it would’ve been a pain to move so it was amongst the things she had sold. Her futon wasn’t too bad though; it was comfortable enough to sleep in and kept her warm in the night. She let herself drift off to sleep.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Wha?” Alicia sleepily sat up in her futon. “What time is it?” She glanced at her alarm clock and frowned. ‘It’s only three in the morning. Nobody would be awake at this hour. I’m probably just imagining things.’
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
This time Alicia was more awake. “Is someone actually knocking at my door at this ungodly hour!?” She angrily stood up and headed to her door.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Hey bastard!” Alicia threw her door open. “It’s 3:00 AM! Who the hell do you think you are!?”
She expected it to be a ding dong ditch situation and that there wouldn’t be anyone at all when she opened the door, or at least she’d catch sight of the culprit fleeing. But she was wrong. Standing in front of her apartment was a young man who appeared to be a few years older than herself. He had short turquoise hair and violet eyes. A golden crown sat atop his head.
“My name is Chase Eheu Yong,” He introduced, his voice deep and attractive as if he were from an anime. “Marry me.”
Alicia promptly slammed the door in his face.
