Lizzard-Breath Studios

Written By Elizabeth Jaramillo

Chapter 1

The lock clicked slightly and the door knob began to turn as Toru pushed the front door open. He let the door shut on its own as he slipped off his brown leather loafers and left them at the entryway’s tile covered step. Toru trudged through the hallway, passed the kitchen until he reached the spacious living room at the far end of the house. Letting his green canvas book bag fall from his slumped shoulders, he half heartedly tossed it onto the family’s ivory and blue checkered sofa. He crumpled his own body down beside the bag with an exasperated sigh. Toru was so tired of his school and his classmates. He disliked nearly all of them, and if it weren’t for the summer break approaching, he doubted that his sanity would last much longer. Most of the students in his class ignored him, and as a result Toru generally kept to himself and rarely participated in any activities. Also, being smaller than the other 15 year old boys was always causing a lot of embarrassment for him. Memory of that afternoon’s incident swept back into his mind once again and Toru began rubbing his temples in hope of erasing it from his brain.

Maturo Satsuki was a very athletic and popular boy in Toru’s class. He was extremely tall and muscular for a 15 year old and was constantly being compared to the senior high school boys. Toru often suffered a lot of anxiety during physical education, because Maturo liked making a point of how poorly Toru did in the majority of the activities they were required to do. That afternoon, the boys and girls were instructed to divide separately and each practice doing pull-ups on two different steel bars. The girls were to hang from a pull-up bar that was only 4 feet high while the boys had a bar nearly 7 feet tall. The day had been going uneventful until Toru’s name was called for his turn to try the pull-up. Sweat trickled down his brow and he felt the palms of his hands begin to grow moist with perspiration. Swallowing nervously he approached the menacing steel bar that seemed miles above his head. Stretching his arms up as high as his muscles would allow, he closed his eyes tightly and gave a small hop. Toru clung to the bar for a few moments unable to accept the reality that he actually succeeded in taking hold of that dreadful piece of metal. Unfortunately, his dream shattered when the slick sweat that drenched his palms proved his undoing. As he bravely attempted those horrid pull-ups, the steel bar slid from his grasp and he landed ungracefully on the pavement below.

“Looks like Tiny Toru should start doing the girl’s pull-ups if he wants to pass the class.” Maturo’s snide and patronizing voice broke the silence that hung over the class. Toru felt his face turn red as he sat there watching everyone, including the teacher, laugh at him.

Toru lifted himself from the sofa finally after a few moments of painful recollection and proceeded into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a can of apple juice while glancing at the clock over the stove. It was 3:20 pm and he knew neither his mom nor dad would be home until at least 7:30, which meant that dinner would most likely be late that evening. His parents were both doctors for the local hospital and they worked long, exhausting hours. Toru was their only child, and he often thought about what life would have been like if he had grown up with a brother or sister. He yawned as he opened his drink and decided maybe a short nap wouldn’t hurt. Finishing his juice with one gulp, he tossed the empty juice can into a bin, walked into his bedroom and collapsed on the bed, completely missing the answering machine that sat blinking with a message.

Aya glanced back down to the piece of paper she was holding to make sure that she was at the right address. The previous day she had cut it from the newspaper ads while searching for a place to live since she would begin school at the local university soon. The ad offered a single bedroom within a mid-sized family home, close to shopping and transportation. Earlier that morning Aya had called to see if she could arrange a meeting with the owners, but since no one was home she had left a message that she would be visiting in the late afternoon to see the bedroom. Aya now stood outside the walkway of a lovely two story house with tan panel siding and a front window that protruded into the garden. She walked cautiously to the front doorway of the home and stood a moment to calm her nerves before pushing the buzzer.

Toru snapped awake suddenly when he heard the sound of the front door buzzer. He shook his head to clear his mind of sleep and then slid awkwardly from his bed. Still fully clothed in his school uniform, Toru patted his hair down and glanced at his reflection in the hallway mirror before he made his way to the front room. Opening the front door, Toru felt his knees go weak for an instant when he saw a very pretty girl staring back at him from the doorway. She had large green eyes and a pair of pink, shiny lips that sat upon her round face, which was framed nicely by her shoulder length auburn hair. Only 4 inches taller than he was, she had a very slender and attractive figure that was clothed in a peach colored summer blouse and a knee length skirt with floral print.

Aya felt herself perspire nervously as she stood staring at the young boy who had opened the door. He had light brown, nearly blond hair that hung down into his face and very soft blue eyes that focused on her intently. He had on a simple school uniform of dark blue slacks and a white button-up collared shirt with short sleeves. Aya lost her train of thought for a few seconds while she stood facing the boy, but finally she managed to find her voice again.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m here about renting the bedroom that was offered in the newspaper.” Aya held the ad clipping up for the boy to see in case he didn’t believe her.

Toru continued to stare at the girl that was standing in the doorway before his gaze finally drifted to the small paper she held. All his senses rushed back to him as he realized why she was there and he remembered his parents telling him about renting the extra bedroom upstairs.

“Uh… yeah, it’s here.” Toru managed to croak. He turned a light shade of red as he heard his voice crack. Toru opened the door wider and stepped aside so that she could remove her shoes within the entryway. “It’s upstairs, but I can show you where it’s at if you like?”

“Thank you very much.” Aya left her sandals sitting at the entryway’s tile covered step, and proceeded to follow the boy down the hallway to the stair case. “Sorry for the intrusion.” Aya glanced around at the beautifully decorated rooms as she was led through the house and up the stairs. “My name is Aya Kiramoshi.” Aya said as they reached the top of the stairs. “I appreciate you showing me the room.”

“It’s no trouble.” Toru swallowed hard and led her to the room at the end of the second floor hallway. “My name is Toru Nagata. I’m sorry my parents aren’t here to speak with you, but they’ll be home this evening.” Toru opened the door to the bedroom and allowed Aya to enter.

Stepping into the room, Aya was extremely shocked at how large the space was because it was nearly twice the size of the current apartment that she and her older sister shared together. Beams of sunlight were streaming through the open, green curtains and bouncing across the plain white walls. The soft, tan shag carpet that covered the floor felt warm from the sunlight and was very pleasant to walk across. Aya turned to face Toru with a bright smile, thus showing him her approval of the room.

“This place is lovely!” Aya complimented as she strolled leisurely around the room, running her fingers along each of the walls. Toru shut the door once again as Aya and he exited the room and then proceeded to walk down the stairs and into the foyer.

“If you want, I can have my mom or dad give you a call when they get home.” Toru offered nervously as he led her back to the doorway.

“Yes, I would like that very much.” Aya gave Toru another smile as she put her sandals on. “I left a message on your answering machine earlier today. It has my phone number on it so that they can contact me.”

“Oh… thank you for coming by.” Toru opened the door and timidly waved as Aya stepped outside.

“Good bye.” Aya returned his wave as she followed the walkway back to the street.

Once the door was shut Toru pressed his back against it and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. All of his breath was forcefully exhaled with a sudden gush. His heart was still beating fast from Aya’s visit and he could feel himself becoming light headed. Toru looked up after taking a few deep breaths and he slowly began to stand once again. When he had his balance, he strode to the wall that the telephone and answering machine sat against and saw that the red light on the machine was blinking with one message. Toru pressed play. Aya’s sweet voice filled his ears and his chest tightened as he listened intently to her message. He couldn’t stop thinking about her charming smile or how nicely she spoke to him. It seemed like it was all just a dream and his mind wandered absently, forgetting all about the horrible day he had at school, as he continued to replay the phone message over and over again.

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