Last Minute Christmas Shopping

Chapter 1 (of 2)

DECEMBER 18, 2005

Maemi slowly opened her eyes and turned to the table beside her bed. On it was a phone, ringing madly and she reached to pick it up. “What do you want?” She growled into the reciever, uncaring as to who was on the other end of the line or how she sounded to them.

“Nice to talk to you too, Mai.” Her sister began with narrowed eyes. She was across town on a bench outside of the Maxmile café, where she had been waiting for almost a half and hour to meet her sister, Maemi. “Where are you? I thought you were gonna meet me at 10 o’clock.”

With a yawn, Mai sat up and looked at her clock. 10:28. “Sorry, I guess I overslept.” She rubbed her eyes and walked over to the closet. “I’ll be there in no more than 15 minutes, ok? I promise.”

“Alright, I’ll see you then.” Kori said, and she hung up the phone. She stood up dusted off her skirt, then walked into the store adjacent to the coffee shop. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, then mumbled to herself, “Maybe I can get some last minute Christmas shopping done while I wait. . .”

Mai grabbed a brush and attempted to tame her messy ebony locks, but to little avail. She then tore over to her closet and grabbed the first thing her fingers touched. Her outfit consisted of a pair of slightly flared, old, and faded blue jeans, a collared shirt with crimson and orange stripes and a brown suede jacket. It was thrown together with a pair of 3 inch heeled boots. Maemi grabbed her glasses and a small, forgotten looking book off the table and was out the door.

Mai took the elevator down to the lobby. In front of her was a quaint holiday display. There was a manora and a miniature, artificial christmas tree, side by side on a small table, with a white poster beneath it.

“Gift Drive

In the spirit of the holidays, think of the less fortunate and donate a gift to those in need. Just wrap a small present and include on the wrapper or on a small card the age and gender of the child it is intended for. If you wish you may also include your name.

With warm holiday wishes,

Management”

With a crooked smile, Mai peered at the thoughtful gesture. She pulled her planner out of her bag and added a small note to herself to buy a gift for the gift drive. She shoved her book back in her bag and looked at her watch (10:39). Maemi ran out the door, threw up her hand and whistled. “Taxi!!”

---

“Nope. . .” Kori apathetically sighed as she tossed the garment behind her. “Looks terrible, ugly, horrible, never. . .” Soon a pile of clothes about 4 feet high had stacked up behind her when she reached her final selection. “Perfect!” A pair of long, straight-legged pants had gained her approval. They were black with white pin stripes and, at the waist, had a belt with a big silver buckle. Kori exited the dressing room and hung the rejected selections on a rack. She then headed toward the front of the store, so she could pay for the pants.

Before she reached the cashier, Kori(literally) ran into a man coming the other way. The impact sent her phone flying. “I am so sorry. . .” She said as she reached down to get it, barely looking at the man. She grabbed the phone (that had shot open when it hit the ground) and when she had gotten it to just about eye level, it flashed unexpectedly.

Both Kori and the man rubbed their eyes and Kori blushed. She began to rapidly apologize to him. “It must have switched to camera mode when I dropped it, I’m really sorry, did it hurt your eyes—“ the girl stopped talking unexpectedly, because she had finally looked at the man. He looked as if he were about 20 years old and his skin was a soft tan. The man’s long, blonde locks curled in near the nape of his neck, and then jutted back out just before the shoulder. His wispy bangs were parted in the middle and framed his deep, azure hues.

“It’s alright,” the man said, with a hint of an accent that Kori couldn’t recognize. She barely noticed it, though, because his voice was so soft and calm, and his speech flowed beautifully. Kori blushed a furious crimson and looked into the man’s eyes. “Listen, would you do me a favor?” She asked with all the courage she could muster.

“A favor?” The man echoed. He contemplated what it possibly could have been. “I suppose.” He said with a small grin. “What is it I can help you with?”

“Well, it’s not really me that you can help. . .” a flustered Kori began. “It’s my sister. She has never really been on a date, so I figured ‘What better gift to give her than a blind date?’ Only, I kind of. . .forgot to set her up. We’re meeting up today, in like, five minutes, and I need to set her up before then. So right now I’m sort of. . .last minute Christmas shopping.”

The man put a hand under his chin and looked as if he was concentrating hard. “Your sister doesn’t like to date, so you get her a date for Christmas. You forget to set her up, so you meet a random guy in a store 5 minutes before your supposed to give her her present and try to set her up with him?” A sly smirk played across his lips. “You’re a wonderful sister, you know that?”

Kori blushed for the third time in less than five minutes and she sported a nervous grin. “Well, will you do it?”

The man softly chuckled at her nervousness, then held out his hand. “Do you have a pen?” He asked with a light, happy tone in his voice.

Puzzled, Kori took a pen out of her pocket and handed it to him. Before she could take her hand away he grabbed it and turned it palm up. He quickly scribbled something onto her hand, then turned it over and put it to her side. He let Kori’s arm hang free and walked away, but turned his head over his shoulder. “Call me and we’ll set it up.” He yelled to her as he walked away, and with a backward wave he disappeared out of the building.

A look of confusion crossed Kori’s face and the girl lifted a hand to her face. 437-7451. ‘He’s so sweet. . .and mysterious. . .’ She thought. Kori looked at her watch. 10:45. ‘I better hurry,’ she thought, ‘Mai will be there soon.’ And Kori continued her trek to the front of the store.

---

Mai entered the small café, then searched the vicinity for her sister. She was sure that Kori wasn’t there yet, so she selected a tall table by the window. A waitress came over and she ordered a caramel latte. She would have usually just ordered a coffee, but this was sort of a special occasion. She and her sister were both busy, so they rarely got to see each other. It was the christmas season that brought them together. Every year they met, here at this café. At the same time, at the same place. They would meet here and exchange their gifts, and then later they would go back to Mai’s apartment. Always.

Though, this year, things were slightly different.

Mai pulled the book out of her bag. She peered at it’s dusty cover, marked only with the words “my journal” in black permanent marker, it’s plain nature telling nothing of the secrets it held within it. This year, Kori had specifically chosen what she wanted as a present. She asked for Mai’s diary. Maemi still remembered the conversation exactly. “Do you still have your old Journal? You know, the one you were so secretive about and never let anyone read?” “Yeah, I think it’s in a box in my closet. Why?” “Could you give me that for christmas? I just feel like I could learn so much more about you if I read it. And the child in me still wants to know all of you secrets…”

Mai chuckled. Her sister really is childish. “I guess her eccentricity is really a good thing..” She mumbled to herself, “ at least I didn’t have to think of a gift.” She smiled and looked toward the door to see her sister walk into the coffee shop. Mai raised her hand and called her sister’s name.

“So, did you remember to bring it?” Kori said, once she had ordered (a hot chocolate and blueberry muffin) and sat down.

“Of course,” Mai said as she handed Kori the diary. “ How could I forget such a simple gift.”

“Awesome. . .” Kori muttered as she flipped through the pages. “Lets see what happened…nine years ago today. Ahem. . .”

“December 18, 1996”

---------

A nervous girl leaned against the bathroom stall door and fumbled with the note in her hand. On it was her deepest feeling, one she had never admitted to anyone. Not to her friends, not to her family. Barely even to herself.

The girl slid down the wall so that she was sitting on the ground. ‘I know I have to do this. . .’ She thought to herself. And it was true. She really did have to do this. This feeling was causing too much stress bottled up. There was no telling what she’d do if she had to keep the secret any longer.

Kreeeeeeeeeeeek. The girl jerked herself out of her thoughts and off the ground when she heard the door creek open. She listened as the footsteps neared the stall she was in. Step, Step, Step. . . whoever it was stopped right in front of the stall. Then there was a knock. “Mai, are you in there?” called a familiar voice from outside the stall.

Mai unlocked the door and pushed it open, emitting a soft creek. ”Yea, I’m here.” She said as she stepped out of the stall and shoved the note into her pocket.

“What are you doing just sitting in here? Your gonna miss your next class.” Her sister asked with a slight hint of worry in her voice and on her face.

“I’m just. . . uh, freshening up.” Mai said, trying to make her face look as carefree and cheerful as possible. She couldn’t tell how well she was acting, but the girl hoped her sister would just take the hint and leave. The sooner she left, the better. “I’ll be out in a second, really.”

Kori cocked an eyebrow, but shook it off and turned away. As soon as Mai heard the door close, she fell to her knees. The girl felt her eyes begin to water, but she quickly rubbed the tears away with the back of her hand. She hoped that getting this emotion off her chest would relieve some pressure. But the fear was really getting the better of her.

Maemi rose to her feet and looked in the mirror. She lifted a finger to push an ebony strand from her face before entering into the hallway.

It wasn’t long before Mai reached her next class; it was only a few rooms away from the bathroom. She wandered to the back of the class and sat down. In a few mere seconds, the rest of the class filed in around her.

“Good afternoon, class. . .” The teacher began, but that was all Mai heard. The object of her torment had sat down in front of her, and everything else just blurred. She could feel herself staring, but could not persuade her eyes to divert. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for the way her feeling were controlling, not to mention confusing her.

40 long minutes later, the class ended and it was time at last to reveal her feeling. The girl stood up and immediately felt herself tense up. Her whole body went numb with nerves and it felt like she had butterflies the size of ferrets in her stomach.

“Aden. . .” She called from across the room.

---

Kori continued to read the diary. “I called his name from across the room, and he turned and looked at me, his blue eyes gleaming and a look of wonder on his face. “ What is it, Mai?” he asked me. He’s the one who made up that nickname. It just sort of. . . stuck. We had hung out before, but I had no way of knowing if he was ready to accept what I was about to tell him.”

---

“I have a note for you. . .” The girl said as she held an unsteady hand out. Aden raised an eyebrow and edged forward to take the note. He carefully unfolded it, still eyeing Mai, then peered down at the paper in his hand.

Maemi watched as his eyes darted around the page and then suddenly stopped at one spot. Mai knew what he was reading.

---

“As he read the words ‘I think I like you as. . .as more than just a friend.’ I watched his expression change. He looked shocked, and nervous of all things. He dropped the note and shook his head, then ran out of the room. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to face him again.”

---

As the boy ran down the hallway, he slowed down and began to regret his fearful decision. He had always sort of liked her, he was just too afraid to say anything. Too afraid of rejection. Too afraid of what he had just done to Maemi.

By now he had completely stopped. The boy turned around and walked back to the classroom, but by then she was gone. He picked up the note and started off to his next class.

---

Kori sat silent for a moment and then spoke. “No wonder you’ve never gotten into dating. . .and here I just thought you liked being alone.” She added sarcastically at the end. “Though that was a long time ago. You should give dating a try. Don’t give up on love just because of that one guy. .”

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about dating, Kori,” Mai began with a raised eyebrow. “I just have no idea where I would start. I mean, I’ve never been on a date in my life. I don’t even know where I’d meet someone.”

A sly smile slipped onto Kori’s face. “Boy, do I have the present for you..” She stopped short, right in the middle of her sentence. “Uh oh…”

“What’s the matter now?” Mai asked, almost as if she was expecting something like this to happen all along.

“I set you up on a blind date with the hottest guy, but I never got his name!” Kori said. She replayed the conversation in her head, hoping names had been exchanged somewhere when she remembered the cell phone. “Wait a minute, I might have gotten his picture..” She whipped out the cell phone and searched the gallery.

“Hopeless. . .” Mai began. “How is it that you got his picture, but not his name?”

“Well, I ran into him and dropped my cell phone, then when I picked it up, it flashed,” Kori explained. “Ah Ha!” She stopped on a picture and handed the phone to her sister. “This is what he looks like.”

Mai took it and looked at the display. It was an incredibly dark, low quality picture of the inside of the store next to the coffee shop, but in the background, you could just barely make out two human figures, that were darkened almost to the point of being silhouettes. The one on the right had one hand stretched out in front of it, holding the phone. This one was Kori, Mai assumed, picking up the phone. Next to her was a man with blonde hair whose eyes were hidden by darkness. His arm was over his face, shielding his darkened eyes from the flash.

“Wow, I defenitely have a great idea of what he looks like now.” Mai sarcastically stated with a sideways glance. “Though he does look a little familiar.”

“Well, if you know him that will just make it easier for you to talk to him.”

“Alright. . .” Mai agreed. “I’ll go on the date.”

---

Kori propped the phone on her shoulder and looked at her hand while she dialed a number. It rang three times before a man picked it up. “Hello?” He said, as sort of a question and a statement. It was the guy Kori had met at the store.

“Hi, um, it’s Kori. The girl from the store next to the Maxmile Café. You might not remember me, I’m the one who asked you to go on a blind date with my sister?” Kori started with a nervous grin while she twirled the phone wire on her finger.

“Oh, yeah, it’s hard to remember, so many people come up to me and ask me to go on a dates with their sisters in stores.” The man sarcastically retorted. “Of course I remember you. So when do you want me to go out with this girl?”

“She has time off all this week, so will any of those days be okay for you?” Kori asked him.

“I suppose I could meet her on the 20th.” He suggested. “Where and what time?”

“I guess you guys should probably meet at 8, and where do you want to meet her?”

“How about I pick her up at her apartment, where does she live?”

Kori recited the address, she had it memorized since she would be staying there for the next week. “ You’re such a sweet guy, offering to pick her up. I think Mai’s really gonna like you.”

“Mai? Is that your sisters name?” Here the boy paused and bit his lip, for the first time in years unsure of what to say.

There was a certain. . .air of awkwardness about the silence that Kori could sense, even over the phone, and though she could sense it, she decided to let it go. “Yeah. . .anyway, I’ll talk to you later.”

“By the way, before you hang up. My name is Aden.”

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