School Girls' Stories - Year 2

Chapter 13 – Shinwa’s Chance

“How does it feel to be back at school?” Yuki asked, in her usual chipper way.

“Oh, good,” Shai said distractedly. “I will have a chance to get some sleep,” she added honestly.

Shinwa stifled a grin while Yuki continued to worry. “I thought your dad hired a nanny,” she said.

“He did,” Shai nodded. “The problem is… I don’t want the nanny that close to my baby,” she admitted. “I want… I mean, he’s my son, and he doesn’t even like me. He likes Fuji better than he likes me.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Yuki argued.

“No, it’s true,” Shai sighed. “Whenever Fuji holds him he quiets down, and now a nanny is going to be taking care of him. He’s going to… like her better. I can’t do this.”

Yuki leaned over and gave her best friend a huge hug, which Shai reciprocated gratefully. “It’s going to be hard,” Yuki admitted, “but we are here for you.”

“Are you going to go back to tennis?” Shinwa asked, changing the subject. The school was in sight and Shai’s agitation was growing.

Shai shook her head. “Raquel called me while I was out, and started talking to me about tennis and how much the team would like me to come back, but I just don’t think I can do it.” Shai looked over towards the tennis courts with a look of longing. “I will miss tennis, but I have too much to worry about now.”

“Plus you don’t want to be that close to Teiyoku,” Yuki added, hammering the nail on the head. Shai tried not to admit that it was the primary reason she was not joining tennis, but she also wanted to go home to her son. Somewhere in the span of time in the six weeks she had been home with him a motherly instinct had taken over and she found herself wanting to be around, to watch him make his every move. Growing up sucked.

Shinwa’s cell phone began to ring in his pocket, offering the girls a pleasant distraction from the unpleasantness of life. They watched him pull it from his pocket and look at the caller ID. It was very unlike Shinwa to answer his cell phone, especially on the way to school. It tended to be rabid fans who had found it somehow, but not this time. He answered it with such enthusiasm that Yuki wished he would answer the phone that way when she called.

“Yes,” Shinwa said into the phone, his smile widening with the length of the conversation. “Yes…Okay… Yeah I can be there… No, I’m coming right over.” He closed his cell phone and placed it back in his pocket. He turned back to his girlfriend and Shai and smiled brightly. “I’m not going to school,” he said, taking a few steps back. “My agent found me a job. It’s not singing, but it’s something.”

“What did he find you?” Yuki asked, her heart leaping into her throat.

“I’m going to be in a movie,” he said excitedly. “I got the part I was going for.”

“I didn’t know you were even going for a part,” Yuki pointed out.

Shinwa missed the hurt and neglect in her voice, he was too excited to think straight. “It’s going to be awesome, and they are shooting it here in town, so I don’t even have to go far.”

“Can I come along?” Yuki asked, cocking her head to the side. Shai looked over to Yuki in unadulterated horror. If Yuki went along it would mean that Shai had to face her first day back in school alone.

“You can’t ditch school for this,” Shinwa denied her. “Your parents would kill you.”

“Yeah, but I’ve never been on a set before,” Yuki said excitedly, ignoring the pains of hurt she was feeling at not even knowing he had gone for the part. Instead she looked at the bright side, and the bright side was that she may meet someone famous. “It would be so great to go!”

“Wait, if she’s going, I’m going,” Shai insisted, looking up at Shinwa with determined eyes. “I’m not doing this by myself today. If Yuki leaves, I leave.”

“Wait a minute!” Shinwa was beginning to understand why women could be so intimidating in their innocence. “You need to be in school. Your father didn’t hire a nanny so you could play all day. And you,” he pointed at Yuki, “should not be ditching school for this.”

“Please!” Yuki begged.

“Please!” Shai mimicked.

“Absolutely not!” Shinwa cried. When the girls continued their pleading, hugging him and pulling on his arms, he finally let out a sigh. “Look, today is going to be boring, we probably aren’t even shooting. This is me meeting producers and the like. If you girls go to school today I will allow you to come to one day of the shoot. One day,” he repeated when he saw the overeager looks on their faces. “And only if it doesn’t interfere with your schoolwork.”

“No dice,” Yuki snapped. “Shai and I get to pick the day, and you have to allow us to come that day.”

Shinwa threw up his hands, knowing he was fighting a losing battle with the girls. “Fine,” he sighed. “You girls can come to one day… one!”

Shai and Yuki locked pinkies in a completely childish way and nodded happily. Shinwa sighed. If it meant that for a moment Shai’s mind had come back to her usual personality, and Yuki was forgetting about the lies he had been spouting to her since the day they had met, then it was worth it. He kissed Yuki’s cheek softly and bid the two girls farewell for the afternoon and hurried home to grab his motorcycle and head off towards a new future… leaving Yuki and Shai behind, whether it be for an afternoon… or longer.