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Reki had lost track of time. His clothes were dripping wet from the rainstorm and the skateboard was beginning to get heavy in his hands. He’d been wandering the streets of Okinawa for a while now, ignoring his phone and the world around him.
He felt empty somehow, as though any and all emotions have been dulled beyond recognition. He thought it was sadness. It probably didn’t matter, in the end.
Looking up, he realizedd he must have unconsciously walked backed back to Crazy Rock. With the absence of S taking place, the site looked eerily empty. The mountain walls surrounded him, bathing him in their shadow.
Reki stopped, taking a painful breath. He could sit here, he thought, stay the night. Nobody would find him. His feet were aching reminders of the hours that must have passed him by.
He was so tired.
A car pulled up beside him, the driver’s window screening down.
“Get in the car.” Cherry said, tapping the window impatiently, a frown marring his elegant features.
“No, thanks.” Reki responded shaking his head and kicking gravel in an attempt to look anywhere but at the calligraphist’s disappointed face.
“Get in the fucking car, Reki, before I call the police.”
“You wouldn’t.” Reki said, uncertainly, trying to gauge if he’s being serious. The driver’s solemn expression unfortunately didn’t leave a lot of room for interpretation.
His shoulders slumped in defeat. Not this, too. He didn’t have the energy to deal with a delinquent report on top of everything.
“Fine.” he said, walking around the car and getting in the passenger’s seat.
To his surprise, Cherry didn’t say anything about his drenched clothes or the way they dripped a mixture of water and mud on his fancy car seat.
Instead, he eyed him from the side, until Reki remembered he has to yet fasten his seatbelt.
Then, there was nothing but a ton of awkward silence and the jingling sounds of Okinawa Local Radio in the background.
Reki bit his lip, turning his head to look out of the window.
“Restaurant.” Cherry ordered, and the AI-system that must have been integrated in his car as well responded with an affirmative and a flash of purple.
“You threatened him with the police?” Joe’s incredulous voice carried over the bathroom of the restaurant. Reki turned the tap down a little so as not to miss a word, lathering his hands until they’re soapy.
“Well, I sure as hell wasn’t going to discuss it with him in the rain.” Cherry snapped back, a tinge of desperation in his voice that Reki was perhaps only imagining.
“Kaoru…” Joe sighed.
“Don’t call me that. And don’t give me that look! I know you could’ve done a better job, alright?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“That’s what you’re thinking.”
There was a clatter of plates and then Joe scoffed.
“So what, can your little machine read my mind already? I’ve been so naïve. Thought the robot apocalypse wasn’t coming for another decade, but here we are.”
“Just shut the fuck up, you braindead chimpanzee.”
“Make me.” Joe sing-songed, which drew a plethora of curses from the other skater.
Reki took s a long time drying his hands, preferring to not get right in the front line of their banter.
“Get a room”, was what Shadow called it whenever they did it during S , and although Reki’s language skills weren’t bad, he had no idea why he kept saying it in this exaggerated sigh.
That he wanted them to go inside? Well, here they were and still going about it as merrily as ever. Didn’t make that big of a difference after all.
Shadow might’ve been better at English, but he really wasn’t the brightest light in the chandelier.
“Hey there, sit down. I’m making your favorite, mozzarella pizza.” Joe greeted him with a smile, once Reki walked back inside, no longer able to find excuses to stall any further.
“Aw, thanks, but…I’m not really hungry.” Reki said, rubbing his neck subconsciously.
“Really?” Joe answered, not sounding at all like he believed any of it, “Well, you’re going to be sharing with Cherry here. I hope he leaves any for you. Just stay clear of the half with arugula and you’ll be fine.”
“I’m really not hungry.” Reki repeated, but he sat down at the table Joe gestured to anyway
Cherry glanced at him over the rim of his glasses.
“Did you dry your hair?”
“Kinda.” Reki said, running a hand through his still-damp strands.
To say Joe hadn’t been expecting them would have been the understatement of the century. They had arrived a quarter to eleven, only minutes away from the restaurant’s closing time. Everyone but Joe had already gone home and the kitchen had been closed for the day.
Supposedly. Next thing, Reki knew, Joe had rolled his eyes and beckoned them inside, towards a table right by a glass panel that offered a view of the restaurant’s garden. Even now, at night, it was lit up by a myriad of lights that trailed around the bushes.
He’d thrown Reki a towel, chuckling that he looked like a wet rat and pointing him towards the bathroom. Reki had taken him up on is offer, if only to escape the first few minutes of the tension mounting between the two skaters.
“As long as you don’t catch a a cold.” Cherry said, turning back to the magazine at hand, “Someone likes to blast the AC.”
“It’s summer in Okinawa, Cherry, not my problem your soul’s made out of ice.” Joe replied good-naturedly, returning to their table at that very moment and taking a seat next to Reki.
“Shouldn’t you be watching your cooking?” Cherry scowls.
“A, I’m off the clock. B, pizza’s in the oven. If you’re that eager, feel free to invade my kitchen and watch the dough rise.”
Cherry muttered something that sounded like: “when hell freezes over”, and dropped the topic.
“Rough day, hm?” Joe asked, and it took Reki an embarrassingly long second to realize that he was talking to him.
“I guess.” he answered with a shrug, fiddling with the table cloth.
“Didn’t see you at at S this week. Busy with school?” Joe asked.
“I wasn’t feeling well.” Reki answered, which wasn’t even a lie, “So I took some time off.”
Strangely enough, sitting in his bedroom until the early morning, watching videos of his best friend easily excelling him within weeks of a sport it took him years to master, hadn’t exactly helped his mood.
“Is it because of Langa?” Joe asked.
“Sorry?” Reki stammered, hoping that he had misheard.
“We thought it might come to something like this.” Cherry threw in. He sighed: “It’s not unusual for someone to establish themselves as a progidy. It happens in every sport.
He paused, meeting Reki’s gaze: “It’s nothing to be ashamed about if you’re affected by it.”
“It happened with us and Adam.” Joe said, “It wasn’t as out of the blue, as with Langa, but you know. Took some getting used to regardless.”
“No offense, but Adam is batshit insane.” Reki mumbled, “That’s not the same.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Joe burst into laughter.
“Did you hear the kid?” he wheezed, amicably patting Reki’s back: “He’s batshit insane! You shouldn’t say it, but it’s true, huh? Damn, that goes down in my memoirs.”
“Yes, I heard him the first time.” Cherry replied, but he too was busy suppressing a smile.
“You’re not wrong though, Reki.” Joe said, becoming serious again, “Even for a skater…Adam’s been off his rocker since the good old days.”
“Even before, if you ask me.” Cherry added.
“So you guys are…were…friends?” Reki asked, curiously.
Joe and Cherry exchanged a glance.
“Define friends.” Cherry said, with a disgruntled look in Joe’s direction.
“I mean. Sort of?” Joe shrugged, “At some point in High School, since we were all into skating during that time. We went to different schools, though. But then he moved away, and it was years before we heard from him again. He’d already established his skating persona, by then.”
“Our advice is to just stay away.” Cherry added, seriously, “He’s dangerous, unfortunately beyond the point where I can estimate just how much. There’s a reason people suffer vital injuries when he challenges them to a beef. Langa shouldn’t be competing against him, either. But there’s a limit to what we can do. It’s Langa’s decision in the end.”
“Langa’s fascinated by him.” Reki said, swallowing. He clenched his fists until his nails dug indents in his skin. “The way he used to be fascinated by me.”
“Reki…” Joe said cautiously.
“It’s fine.” Reki said, attempting to steady himself, “Some of us reach the limit of their potential earlier than others. Guess I’ll just have to accept that I reached mine already.
“Nonsense!” Cherry snapped, which startled both Reki and Joe.
“Listen to me.” He said, pointing his fan threateningly at Reki, “Don’t you dare to put yourself down like that. You still have plenty of potential waiting to be unfolded. All the effort and years you put into perfecting your skate, you’re just going to throw it away like that? The second you face an obstacle, you’re quitting?”
“But- Langa-“ Reki tried to interject, futilely.
“No but Langa!” Cherry said heatedly, “This is your hobby, your talent. You should be proud of what you have achieved, and all that you’re still going to achieve! There will always be skaters who are better than you, but that’s the way life is!”
“Not to mention, wasn’t Langa taught snowboarding from a young age by his dad?” Joe interjected, “That’s difficult to keep up with. Everything you did so far has been self-taught, hasn’t it?”
Reki had never thought about it that way. Skating was something that had come to him naturally “I guess, but so have many others. It’s really not that impressive.”
“Will you stop comparing yourself?” Cherry said, exasperatedly, “I’m telling you your skills are impressive.”
“Second this. Coming from someone who’d never thought I’d agree with that AI maniac on anything, that is.” Joe said, with a grin.
“If you guys say so.” Reki mumbled, “It’s just difficult to deal with. In my head.”
It had sounded a loss less pathetic in his head, as well.
Joe brought out the pizza, and their drinks – coke for Reki, and water for Cherry. And although Reki had initially said he wouldn’t eat anything, he faltered under Cherry’s glare.
After taking just on bite, he was immediately sold on the delicious flavour, the mozzarella practically melting in his mouth. Before he could stop himself, he had devoured another slice, all while listening to the drama play out on the other side of the table.
“Are you going to bring me cutlery? Or do you expect me to eat it like this, you barbarian?”
“How the hell are you so high maintenance on pizza too, of all things?”
But Joe sighed, and did as he was requested.
“Is it good?” he asked, settling next to them with a glass of wine and some garlic-bread, side-eying Cherry who cut up miniature slices right before bringing the fork to his mouth in an elegant motion.
Reki almost choked in his haste to chew faster, settling with giving him a satisfied thumbs up.
Joe laughed. “I’m glad then.”
They sat in a comfortable silence as they ate. Despite how down he had been earlier, Reki was now feeling famished, remembering he hadn’t eaten since hours, and easily made his way through more than half of the pizza.
Cherry nagged him to sit up properly, and to make use of his knife and fork.
Joe, already on his second glass, jumped right to his defense, teasing his former classmate about the amount of calories that arugula probably contained.
(Not a lot, Carla clarified when being questioned. She also offered up a list of horrendous consequences that were to befall one from alcohol poisoning. Cherry sipped his water with great satisfaction, as Joe visibly paled.)
Reki sighed, once he was done, stretching his limbs from him with satisfaction.
“That was so good.” He commented, “Thanks, Joe. I should come by more often.”
“You’re always welcome here.”
He nudged Cherry: “Any compliments for the chef?”
“Cease and desist, you gorilla.”
“I’ll take it.” Joe smirked.
Cherry ignored him, preferring to check his messages.
“So, you guys…you don’t actually think I’m bad?” Reki asked tentatively.
“What? Why?” Joe said, frowning all of a sudden, “Why would we?”
Reki shrugged. “I don’t know, just checking.”
Cherry put down his phone. “Did someone say something?” he asked.
“A few people.” Reki admitted after a beat of silence, “Like, that everyone knows I’m not Langa, that I’m not as good as him. That I could never keep up. Stuff like that.”
“Who said that?” Joe questioned, raising his eyebrows.
“I don’t know…” Reki said, uncomfortable all of the sudden at the protective aura that was emanating from the two of them, “Some random guys at the last S I was at. Adam. Also, Shadow and Miya, but it’s not that important.”
“I’ll talk to them.” Joe said, gruffly. It sounded like a promise.
“Just don’t overdo it. I know they didn’t mean it.” Reki said, raising his hands in defense, “I don’t want to be like, the looser that got his feelings hurt. You know? I can stick up or myself.”
“Regardless, they shouldn’t be saying such hurtful things.” Cherry replied, fanning himself “Shadow of all people knows better than to exploit someone’s insecurities.”
“Yeah, we can’t have Miya turning into a jerk, either.” Joe groaned, “He probably didn’t even realize how it affected you, he’s just thirteen after all. I promise you I’m not gonna be preachy about it. He just needs to be told that’s not the way to act towards your teammates.”
Reki hesitated. “But we’re not…teammates really, are we?”
“Well, not in the official sense.” Joe said, grinning, “But you know. We’re still a group that skates together. We’ve gotta be supportive of one another, right? That’s just good sportsmanship.”
“Wise words from someone in possession of a single brain cell.” Cherry commented spitefully, but even he gave Reki an encouraging smile.
“To our team.” Joe said, raising his glass for a toast. Reki was quick to follow. Cherry rolled his eyes, but then joined in. Their glasses clinked in celebration.
“Now.” Joe said, with a wink at Reki, “I do hope you’ve left room for dessert. It’s on the house.”
Reki couldn’t possibly say no to that.
Joe brought out a mouth-watering cup of banana and chocolate ice-cream, decorated with hazelnuts and candy sprinkles and topped with chocolate sauce and whipped created. Reki felt as though he had ascended to heaven. P
Cherry clicked his tongue at the abnormous amounts of sugar, but seemed mollified when Joe brought him what he claimed as “his favorite”- a cup of matcha and sakura ice-cream.
“You could’ve left out the chocolate hearts, you moron.” Cherry grumbled, as Joe smirked deviously, stealing some of the sakura ice-cream when he wasn’t looking.
It was a lovely peaceful evening, a far cry from what Reki had expected his day to end like. When it was close to midnight, Cherry gestured that it was time for them to leave.
Joe cleared away their plates as Reki sat through his emerging food-coma, not sure how he was going to move a single step.
“So, do you want me to take you home?” Cherry asked, meeting Reki’s gaze with his own.
Reki bit his lip. “Not really.” he answered honestly, “Normally, if I wanted some time off I would’ve just gone to Langa’s but…” he trailed off, the truth beyond his words becoming painfully obvious.
“I see.” Cherry sighed, “I take it you want to stay over at my place then?”
Reki’s eyes lit up: “I can?”
“Yes, but just this once.” Cherry grumbled, “And only if you don’t break anything.”
“If you want, you can also stay over at my place, Reki.” Joe offered, “I’ll just need to clean up here and then we can leave. My apartment’s close by. I also have a TV and a playstation, if you’re bored.”
That did sound like a good offer.
“He needs sleep, not all-nighter spent gaming.” Cherry retorted.
“No.” Joe said, raising an eyebrow, “He needs some distraction. Not you making him more miserable, Kaoru.”
“I told you not to call me that!”
“You decide, Reki.” Joe sighed, as they both turned to stare at him.
The situation seemed entirely surreal. Back when they were on holiday, Reki really hadn’t gotten Miya’s inside joke with the two of them being his parents. Now he felt right in the middle of a custody battle.
“I um…” he said, scrambling to come up with a good answer and then wondering how he had ended up here when all he wanted was some time alone at Crazy Rock, “I guess I’ll go with Cherry, this time? Maybe I can stay over with Joe another time.”
“That settles it.” Cherry said victoriously with a smile that seemed a little too smug given the occasion, ignoring the look of disdain Joe shot his way, “Come on Reki. Let’s go.”
“Good night, Joe.” Reki said, waving him good-bye, “Thank you for the meal. It was really delicious.”
“You’re welcome.” Joe responded good-naturedly, “Take care, Reki. Sleep well.”
The drive back to Cherry’s apartment was mostly silent, apart from Okinawa Local Radio playing a bunch of pop songs in the background. Some of them, Reki recognized, he had been listening together with Langa. He sighed quietly, when a feeling of grief began to settle in the pit of his stomach due to the association . He wondered if this was what a break-up was like.
He quickly texted his mom that he’d be staying over at a friends, and to his relief, she agreed, telling him to enjoy himself and call her if he needed anything. It probably helped that the next day was the weekend already.
Cherry’s apartment was spacious for a 2LDK, and quite exquisitely furnished. Scrolls adorned with elegant calligraphy hung everywhere. There was a small bonsai tree on the living room table. “It’s name is Joe.” Cherry said, once he noticed Reki’s gaze, “But only because it’s green like that gorilla’s hair, and he gave it to me.”
Reki needed a second to digest that new bunch of information.
“Here’s the guestroom.” Cherry said, pointing to a door leading away from the mainroom, “And right behind you there’s the bathroom.”
He eyed Reki scrutinizingly: “Can I see your arms for a bit?”
“Um, sure.” Reki said, uncertainly, rolling up his sleeves, “Why though?”
Cherry didn’t dignify that with an answer, preferring to grasp Reki’s arm between his hands and running his fingers along the fresh scratches and bruises.
“Have you been overdoing your training again?” he asked, grimly.
“Not really, I just…I just wanted to see if I could do it to.” Reki said, as Cherry continued to examine him, “The drive up the wall that Langa’s so good at. I wanted to see if I could reach the same spot as he did.”
“The drive up the- for God’s sake, Reki!” Cherry snapped, “That’s more than reckless. Do you want to injure yourself and be out of commission for another event?”
Reki bit his lip. “Not really.” he winced.
“Then why would you overdo it like this? You don’t get bruises like that from nothing. You probably went up that wall ten times or something, didn’t you?”
“Eleven.” Reki said.
Cherry rolled his eyes. “Just don’t do it again. I’m serious. You can practice fancy tricks like that, but you don’t force yourself to do it for hours while you pay less and less attention. These things take time. You can’t manage it in one afternoon. Even Joe and I find it difficult to go vertically.”
“Really?” Reki asked. To him, Joe and Cherry were legends of skating. He couldn’t possibly imagine any trick they didn’t excel in.
“Yes, really.” Cherry said, “And we’ve been at it for longer than you.”
He sighed, adjusting his glasses. “Take a shower and clean your cuts. There’s some disinfectant and ointment in the bathroom. There’s a spare toothbrush somewhere in the cabinet. Okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” Reki agreed, not pretty keen on having continue to gril him, “Thank you. Good night."
The shower was soothing against his aching skin, and Reki was unconsciously beginning to relax. Cherry had left an oversized “Universal Studios Osaka” shirt on his bed, and he assumed to be his nightwear. Although he couldn’t shake the feeling that XL was a little too big given Cherry’s statue. Oh well. Perhaps he liked it comfortable.
Reki thankfully had remembered to bring his charger with him. He plugged in his phone, turned off the lights, and waited for sleep to come.
It didn’t. Instead, he lay awake for hours, replaying the events of the last week, all that had been said and left unsaid between him and Langa. The defeat he’s suffered.
How pointless everything seemed, now that Langa had surpassed him, and would continue to surpass him in the future.
The thoughts kept circling his mind in an unpleasant, vicious circle and as much as he hated himself for it, he couldn’t help but wish that he could overtake Langa one day. As petty as it seemed.
His phone was a magnetic force that was drawing him in, and he forfeited sometime after 2 am, turning on the homescreen and adjusting the initial glaring brightness.
He ignored the messages from Langa- all 10 of them- and opened his video folder instead, searching for footage of their first few practices.
When Langa was but a beginner, and fascinated by him. Back when Reki still though he had talent.
It was like a drug of sorts, clicking himself from video to video. Every time he heard himself laugh, every time Langa did, every “You’re so cool, Reki!” said in that dazzled, awestruck voice felt like a stab to his heart. Watching Langa progress slowly from video to video, at a pace which Reki wouldn’t have thought to be possible- unless one were a progidy, which Langa was, no doubt, the rules were different if you were a progidy- made his stomach sink, made nausea rise up in him.
They had trained together, and where was he now? Where was Langa, Langa who could barely stand on a skateboard a few weeks ago? He was a rising star that made head’s turn.
And where was Reki? Just back at where he’d always been. Just a little worse for wear, and with an inferiority complex to boot.
No wonder that Adam wouldn’t acknowledge him as a rival.
He’d always been a beginner, and he’d stay a beginner. There was no place in S for him.
Reki swallowed, choked back a sob as tears ran down his cheeks.
This was just so pathetic. He hated himself, hated Langa, hated the entire competition that made him feel as though he wanted to erase himself.
Perhaps it was better if he did?
There was a quiet knock. Reki startled, and then Cherry stood in the doorframe all of a sudden, dressed in a bathrobe, the moonlight streaming into the hallway casting him in a serene glow.
Yeah, he’d messed up now.
“I’m sorry.” Reki stammered, cursing himself internally for not being able to follow basic hospitality, “I didn’t mean to wake you! I’ll keep quiet, now.” He really was a lost cause, wasn’t he?
But Cherry didn’t reply. He walked up to him and then gingerly sat down on the side of the bed. Reki noticed that he didn’t look irritated, quite the opposite. There was something akin to sympathy in his eyes.
“There’s no need to cry.” he said, cupping Reki’s face with his hand and wiping away some of his tears, “What got you so upset, hm?”
That did it. Reki started sobbing, and to his surprise, Cherry reacted immediately, pulling him close to his chest. The older skater gently carded his hand through his hair, shushing him as Reki continued to cry, gripping his bathrobe desperately.
“It’s going to be okay.” Cherry said, in a soothing tone that Reki hadn’t thought he was capable off, “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to stop hurting, I promise.”
“But when?” Reki choked, voice trembling, “When is it going to stop? I can’t take this anymore. I feel like such a bad friend. All I wanted was for both of us to be happy. I swear, I’m just so pathetic…” He broke into another sob.
“You’re not Reki, don’t say that about yourself.” Cherry said, rubbing his back comfortingly, “You’re stronger than you think. It’s going to be okay, I promise. Even if it doesn’t feel like it now. We’re here for you. You’ll be alright.”
He listened to Cherry’s calming words, let the older skater hold him as he cried, and hoped that he would be.
It took Reki a while, but he slowly calmed down, untangling himself from Cherry with a slight tinge of mortification, and resting back down against the pillows.
Cherry handed him a packet of tissues, and then left the room to “get him some water”.
Reki thought it was more likely to give him some privacy after his small breakdown, as he wiped his eyes and blew his nose, but either way, water was a good idea. His throat was parched from all the crying.
Cherry came back with a glass of water, and his laptop in his hands, sitting back down on the edge of the bed.
“Count yourself lucky. Other than Joe and me, no-ne has seen this footage before.” he said solemnly, before Reki could ask any questions, booting up the computer.
“Footage?” Reki asked, curiously.
“The humiliating tales of our youth.” Cherry said, with something close to a grin, and just for a moment, he seemed like a teenager again.
He clicked through a few folders until he found what he was looking for. “MiddleSchoolS8”, the file read. “I thought I was being really clever there.” Cherry said, chuckling as he opened it. “I trust none of this ever leaves this room?”
“Unless you want me to become a shut-in until graduation?” Reki said, only half-joking.
He certainly hoped that Cherry would keep what had happened tonight private. And that private included from Joe.
“We understand each other. Please enjoy.” Cherry clicked start on the first video. It was a compilation of him and Joe, both in middle school according to their uniforms, practicing skating at a rink. Some shots were only records of Cherry filming Joe, and vice versa, some were of the both of them skating simultaneously with the camera having been monted somewhere.
It was chaotic, more so than Reki would have ever expected from the pair. It was clear that both of them were just beginning to learn the sport. There was a lot of falling over, scraped knees and cursing. Joe and Cherry bantered back and forth like there was no tomorrow, but even Reki could see the genuine concern in Joe’s eyes the one time Cherry took a bad fall, and how he rushed over immediately to help him get up and check he was alright. Fortunately, as it turned out, he was. The pair practiced a lot of tricks as well, from ollies to kickflips to pop shuvits and even a few impressive attempts at a frontside 180. Cherry’s hair was long back then, as well, but his ears were pierced. Cherry clicked his tongue malcontently when Reki asked why he’d stopped wearing them.
“Some of my customers might view it as unprofessional, I’m afraid.” he said, “Also, I’m not a teenager any longer.”
“But you look so cool in them!” Reki fawned, pausing the video so he could get an extra good look at the metal studs glinting in the sunlight, “Right? Look. Much cooler than Joe even!”
“I’ll make sure to tell him that the next time I see him.” Cherry promised, laughing despite himself, “So, what do you think?”
“I think you guys are incredidbly.” Reki said, sighing wistfully as he stroked across the screen, “You were amazing back then and you’re amazing now. Actual legends.”
Cherry paused the video.
“You completely missed the point.” he deadpanned, tapping the back of Reki’s head with his fan and making him wince, “That was meant to show you that everyone started slow. My skills in middle school and high school were not even close to what I achieved by now, over years of training. Yes, there will always be some genius prodigy that will make you doubt yourself and your skills, but the key is not to let it get to you. Understood?”
“Yeah.” Reki said, taking a deep breath and leaning against his shoulder. Cherry didn’t complain, nor did he move away.
“Langa’s success doesn’t erase your own.” Cherry said, the gentle tone from earlier slipping into his voice again, “his talent doesn’t undermine yours. It’s important not to forget that. Didn’t you start skating because you loved it? Isn’t that all it matters, doing something you love, and doing it with your friends?”
“I do love skating.” Reki agreed, a pang of melancholy hitting him of all of a sudden, “It’s my favorite thing in the world. And I loved sharing that with Langa. I don’t want to give that up.”
“And you won’t.” Cherry assured him, “Just take my word on that. There’s a whole world of skating out there, waiting for you.”
“Do you have any more we can watch?” Reki asked. He felt calm, as though a weight had been lifted of his chest. Sitting in here, in Cherry’s guestroom, watching memories of him and Joe and talking about skating and what it meant to both of them was oddly soothing, cathartic almost. He wished for the night to go on a bit longer, for the moment to last.
“Well, I have some footage from where I first started working with the AI skateboard.” Cherry suggested, “If that’s something you’d like to see?”
At once, Reki agreed enthusiastically.
“Alright.” Cherry said, clicking onto another folder title “OHSS8C” (“Okinawa High School Skate Club, really had a blast with the titles.”) and showing him a video of his first practices with an electronic skateboard. “I hadn’t build Carla back then, and AI skating was still relatively unknown. But a fellow skateboarder showed me the ropes. He was an IT-Tech on the side. I think he’s retired from skating by now, which is a shame. He was quite skilled.”
“AI Skating is a whole thing?” Reki questioned.
“Well, I didn’t invent it, exactly. See? This is a photo of of my first boards.” He showed Reki the picture of a skateboard that looked like a prototype of Carla.
“That’s incredible.” Reki gasped, “Wait, are those little sensors? Did you build it yourself?”
“Yes, exactly. I did.” Cherry said, sounding quite proud of himself, “It’s really quite rewarding. You should consider it.”
“Consider it for what?” Reki frowned.
“If you’re going pro, of course.” Cherry said, as though it was the most logical thing in the world, “Or at least, semi-pro- like me and Joe, and Shadow. And Adam, I guess. It’s a smart move to specialize.”
“Oh, no no.” Reki said immediately, waving his hands in resignation, “I could never do that. I don’t have the brains for that.”
“It’s all a matter of acquired knowledge and perseverance.” Cherry insisted, “You’re skilled at building and modifying your own boards. All you need know is some basic IT and electronics knowledge, and you can start.”
Some basic IT and electronics. It probably sounded easy for him, but Reki was driven insane by high school level maths on a weekly basis. “That sounds like a lot to learn.”
“Perhaps.” The AI skater agrees, “But it’s worth it in the long run. If you want, I can teach you a little. You didn’t have skateboarding mentor, so far. But that doesn’t have to stay that way.”
“You’re serious?” Reki asked, taken aback with surprise. Cherry, who was notorious for investing almost everything into his calligraphy business, and keeping skating as a side gig, was offering to teach him? “But isn’t that your thing, the AI gig?
“Well, I’m not eager to let the craft die with me.” Cherry said, with the hint of a smile, “Think about it, alright?” He checks the clock on the bottom right corner of his screen, “Almost 3 am. You should get some sleep.”
“Yeah, probably.” Reki said, yawning, the exhausting seeping into his bones. It had been a long day, and emotionally taxing one at that.
“Good night. For real, this time.” Cherry said, briefly ruffling through his hair.”
“Good night. Thank you, Cherry.”
“...Don’t mention it.”
Reki slept until the morning sun was high in the sky. He awoke to the clattering of dishes and chatter of voices coming from the kitchen. It was just past 11.
He checked his face in the mirror, realizing with relief he didn’t look that terrible for someone who’d basically cried himself to sleep last night, and pocketed his phone.
“Good morning!” Reki wished he could have been a little more surprised to find Joe in the kitchen with cherry. The latter looked quite tired despite the large mug of coffee at his side. Joe, on the other hand, seemed as energetic as ever. He pushed a plate of pancakes and a mug with cocoa towards Reki, who took a seat next to Cherry. “Slept well?”
“Yeah, really good actually.” Reki replied, “Cherry has a nice guest room. And wifi.”
“Priorities sorted, huh?” Joe said, sounding amused, before apparently realizing what Reki was wearing, “Oh. Didn’t know you had such good taste, Kaoru. What a nice USJ shirt!”
“It’s super comfy.” Reki confirmed, digging into his pancakes.
He checked his phone, texting his mom a good morning and then finally opening the text messages from Langa, tuning out the conversation around him.
“Almost reminds me of the one I used to have, what a weird coincidence.”
“Don’t you dare.”
Reki swallowed. He really had given Langa quite a scare. The texts started out with a few customary: “Hey, how are you?” and “Want to meet up?” , and grew more worried and confused. In the last text, Langa was apologizing, asking if if there was something he could do and telling Reki to please call him back. Asking if he wanted to skate together that weekend.
Reki finally pulled himself together, and sent a text back.
Hey, I’m still alive, sorry for worrying you. Feeling kinda sick this weekend, maybe next one? CU.
He added an emoji of rilakkuma waving.
The response was almost immediate.
Get well soon! Sure, anytime. Gonna be busy trying to finish all that homework.
A despaired rilakkuma was sent his way, followed by a few skateboarding emojis. Then a hugging one.
Reki blushed faintly, turning off his phone.
“Langa?” Joe asked, teasingly
“Yeah, asking about homework.” Reki said, rubbing at his neck.
Whether Joe bought it or not, he didn’t push the issue.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better now.”, the skater-chef said, smiling comfortingly, “Take it easy, yeah? It’s normal to hit a slump. Happens to everyone.”
He shot a look at Cherry. “What I’m more surprised about is the fact that Kaoru made you feel better about it.”
Cherry straightened up, serving him with a poisonous glare.
“Do you know the number one letal cause for a man in his mid-twenties, Reki?” he asked, in a saccharine tone.
Reki shook his head, glancing towards Joe.
“An accident?” Joe offered.
“That’s what I’m going to make it look like.”