Chapter One
Eliza groaned as she slapped her alarm clock as it rang loudly. She looked up at the time, frowning. 6:45. Her brown eyes widened as she realized the time. Scrambling out of bed, she ran into the shower.
The sound of running water stopped as she finished. Eliza hurriedly got dressed in her uniform and rushed downstairs to the kitchen.
Her mother looked up at Eliza and frowned, “Elizabeth! You’re going to be late for school!”
Eliza smiled nervously and snatched a piece of toast from the table. She grabbed her schoolbag and ran out the door, “Sorry Mom! I’ll see you later!”
Jogging quickly through her neighborhood, Eliza spotted Kimura walking ahead of her. She scowled and caught up to him, “Why did you leave without me!”
Kimura ignored her comment and kept walking, “I can’t believe you overslept on graduation day.”
Eliza frowned, realizing he was right. Shaking it off, she grinned and stretched her arms out, eager for the end of the day to come.
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The school day dragged on like any other day. The classrooms were filled with excited rumors about graduation. Staring out the class window, Eliza propped her chin on her elbow. Her brown eyes seemed far off as she drifted farther away from paying attention to the teacher.
“Please excuse this interruption, but may all graduating junior high school students meet in the auditorium. Thank you.” The PA system echoed through the classes and halls loudly.
Eliza snapped out of her daydream and stood from her chair as well as all the other students in her class.
“Liz!”
Looking up, Eliza saw a pretty black haired girl walking towards her. She laughed at the way the girl bounced on the balls of her feet in anticipation.
“Are you nervous for graduation?” the black haired girl asked.
“A little. High school’s not that far away, you know?” Eliza grinned. They started to walk down the hall, following a crowd of students headed for the auditorium.
The girl nodded and walked to her assigned seat. The auditorium filled quickly and grew silent as the principal stepped onto the pavilion.
“The graduation ceremony will start momentarily. Please remain silent and seated while staff members call names. When you’re name is called, please come up to the stand and receive your diploma.”
Eliza sighed as she waited for her name to be called. “Elizabeth Ayasaki.” She straightened up and walked towards the podium. She smiled at her teachers as they handed her her diploma. Looking out at the hundreds of students, her brown eyes froze.
A cloaked figure stood leaning against the auditorium wall. Its pale hands pulled its hood down as it did in her dream. The woman’s face was revealed, looking up at Eliza. She gasped as she felt the woman’s eyes piercing through her.
“Miss Ayasaki? Please continue down the steps back to your seat.”
Eliza blinked, snapping back to reality. She nodded in apology and continued to walk to her seat. Looking back where the woman was standing, she saw no one there, as if nothing had happened.
“Lynn Yamakura.”
The black haired girl stood up eagerly as her name was called. She grinned happily as she received her diploma. Turning her head, she spotted Eliza and smiled.
Eliza smiled shakily in her seat, her diploma trembling in her pale hands.
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The school yard and parking lot quickly filled with talking students, all proudly holding their diplomas. Eliza walked slowly to a wooden bench, and sat down, clutching the paper tightly in her hand.
“Hey.”
She looked up quickly to see Lynn, her black eyes full of worry.
“Something wrong?”
Eliza smiled, trying hard to cover up her strain and worry.
The black haired girl sat down next to her and frowned stubbornly. Suddenly, Lynn grinned and stood up, “Come on, let’s go get some ice cream; to celebrate. Everyone’s coming.”
Eliza nodded, laughing at Lynn’s immature grin. She stood up and followed her to downtown Ashikaga.
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The two girls walked into A Sweet Treat, a small café Lynn’s mother owned. A group of graduated students were seated by the window. One of the students waved as she spotted the two.
“Eliza! Lynn!”
Lynn grinned as she walked over to the girl that called her over. She was a long blonde haired girl with a slight mature look to her face.
“Hey Alexa, I didn’t know you guys would be here so soon.”
The one called Alexa smiled, “We left the school right away. Come on, Kouza’s paying.”
A large sigh came from one of the seats. A boy with light brown hair and green eyes grimaced as he peered into his wallet. Another student grinned mischievously as he slapped Kouza on the back.
“Come on Kouza, suck it up.” He was a stubborn looking student with the same face as Kouza. Spotting Eliza and Lynn, he grinned, his large canine teeth flashing.
Eliza laughed loudly as she watched the students talking and shouting.
Lynn came to the table with a tray full of ice cream. She frowned at the green eyed boy, “Satomi, Kouza, what are you doing here?” She smiled at the others and placed the ice cream on the table, “Hey, ice cream’s on the house.”
Satomi scoffed and grabbed some ice cream. “Come on, Lynn. Does it bother you so much that your cousins are here?” he grinned, ice cream stuffed in his mouth. Kouza laughed and snatched some ice cream as well.
Lynn sighed and rolled her eyes, sitting back down.
Taking some ice cream herself, she wondered aloud, “So what are we going to do over vacation?”
Eliza thought momentarily and swallowed her ice cream, “I’ve never been to the beach before.”
Satomi looked up from his ice cream and grinned happily, “Hey we should go this weekend! It’ll be fun!”
Alexa put down her now empty bowl and smiled, “Yea, I can just imagine it; the ocean, the sand, the wind, all of that in one place…” Her blue eyes became fogged with daydreams.
Lynn nodded, twirling her small spoon in the air.
Kouza’s green eyes were wide with mischief, “So it’s set right? We’re all going to spend the weekend at the beach.”
Eliza nodded, “Yeah!”
“So what’s this about the beach?”
Eliza jumped as another voice sounded behind her. Her brown hair flew as she turned her head sharply.
Two brown eyes frowned in her face as she turned. Kimura blinked lazily as he stood there, waiting for an answer. Another boy looking about his age stood next to him, grinning with amusement.
Eliza folded her arms stubbornly, “What’s it to you? It’s not like you’re coming.” She turned to the boy next to him, “Hi, Chris.”
Kimura scoffed, “Says you, Liz.” He pulled up a chair and sat down with the rest.
Chris nodded hello and sat down as well, “So how was your graduation?”
A large lump formed in Eliza’s throat as the image of the woman’s face flashed in her mind. She shook her head and smiled, “It was enjoyable.”
