Chapter Text
Faraway. A town Mari was convinced she’d never return to. After the recital, her parents told her that she and her little brother would have to say goodbye to their friends. They saw opportunity. They saw potential. They saw their children succeeding outside of Faraway. Hero was distraught, Kel was optimistic, Basil seemed almost grief-stricken in a way, and Aubrey… She never said goodbye to Mari or Sunny.
Now, Mari and Sunny were to move back in. It had not been a perfect five years for either of them. Mari graduated at a new high school where she just couldn’t fit in, her piano playing began to stagnate as the pressure of exams and college began to crush her. Sunny had stopped playing violin years ago, and when Sunny had to be moved into her campus during her 2nd and final year of college, she broke. She couldn’t raise Sunny and dropped out. The two put together all the money they had to move back to Faraway Town. And it paid off.
As for Sunny… life without Mari was tough. Their father got worse after the move, expecting them to play violin every day, until one day.. It happened.
It was an average day, mid-November time. Family dinner had grown silent now Mari was at college, and Sunny had to break the silence somehow.
SUNNY: “I have to tell you something.”
His voice was strained, as if he was attempting to contain himself, but he’d already come this far.
MRS. SUZUKI: “Yes dear?”
SUNNY: “I feel… like a girl. I am.. A girl. You can still call me Sunny, just.. Yeah..”
The atmosphere at the table was frigid. Suddenly, her father stood up, and looked Sunny dead in the eye.
SUZUKI: “Sunny. Some days… I feel you’re incredibly mature for your age. And some days… you tell me bullshit like this. You are not a woman, you will never be one. Now move on.”
SUNNY: “But Dad-”
SUZUKI: “Shut up! What did I do to deserve a freak like you as my son?!”
She prefers to forget the rest of that exchange. He raised his hand and.. Almost hit her. That’s all she even remembers all this time later. But now.. She was back in the town where she was him all that time ago. Everything from childhood was still there. Hobbeez, Othermart, even the house she lived in seemed to not really have any renovations. There was a new family there though.. Her and Mari’s house was in the south-east of town, only down the street from Basil. Seeing all the plants out front, it’s definitely still Basil’s.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
???: “Okay, Sunny. That’s your 2nd alarm now. You said you wanted to go through with this plan and it’s not gonna be done in 10 minutes, so..”
Mari sat over her little sister’s bed, now prodding at her to wake her up, which she eventually complied to. It was the first day of senior year for Sunny, at Faraway Catholic High School. She warmly smiled at Sunny as she woke up, checking her alarm clock.
MARI: “6:48… School starts at 8:30, correct? If we can get you out of the house by 8, that’d be ideal… I’ll be downstairs making breakfast. Make sure you get some, Sunny.”
Sunny couldn’t laze around in bed any longer. She had to come in for the first day. She never bothered to change her name when she came out. Sunny worked for her, so Sunny it was. She had a flawless 4 step plan to senior year:
- Passably disguise as a girl
- Stay under the radar
- Preferably take a B-line away from any old friends
- Graduate!
It didn’t seem completely hopeless. With Mari supporting her every step of the way, she was untouchable. Maybe… Anyway, morning stuff. Shower, hair, uniform, then breakfast.
Showering was still.. Weird for Sunny. She didn’t mind her body particularly much, just it never quite felt like hers. She felt like an empty shell inside this teenage boy, but at least the uniform would make her feel perhaps a tad better.
She’d grown out her hair nicely, to about an inch further than shoulder length. She tried and tried, but the hair tie just would not co-operate! Good thing Mari knows a lot about girl stuff and stuff… at least the uniform fit. She felt odd wearing a skirt, but odd didn’t mean bad. Not at all, it was the only one she actually had. They had to spend everything to get a rather run-down, old house. Vanity was not on the table right now.
7:34am, that gives about 20 minutes for breakfast. Mari probably made scrambled eggs again. But breakfast was the least of Sunny’s concerns. She was going to walk in there, and she was gonna pass! Maybe.. Senior year might be hell on earth…
SUNNY: “Everything is going to be okay.”
Basil always used to say that. Take those words to heart.. And perhaps clear skies may be on the other side for Sunny. 38 weeks. 190 days.
SUNNY: “I can do this.”