#yhjuno

raon didn't even bother taking out her camera - a picture like that in the paper would be so offensive that the elderly residents of the town would probably make complaints directly to the chief. sighing and walking back to her scooter, she whipped back around when she heard the cops stopping a young, orange-haired man who was strolling in her direction. 'look casual,' she noted silently to herself, sliding behind a corner of a neighboring house as the group of men gathered.

     yumi sat in the breakroom, tapping away at the chair. she looked around. the clock on the wall screamed to her how much time she was wasting. it could hardly be helped, though, for she did not want to wait at all.      when the door to the breakroom opened, she would eagerly sit up, smile, and hold her shoulders back. of course, each time, it was just a concerned manager wondering if the bus boy had gotten there yet. and, every time, yumi had to shake her head with a polite smile.      she briefly wondered about this bus boy. she heard so much about him and almost none of it was good. all she knew was that, apparently, he liked being late and not even showing up for work.      she looked around the silent room. only the ticking echoed off the plain walls. she wanted, badly, to find a window, but all she had was the loud sound of patrons and the extremely faint sound of the waves crashing. she swore she could almost taste the vile seawater. it made her smile. she beamed at the thought of tomorrow morning.      then, the door opened. she sat up! no, just another manager. still, she smiled.      “no, not yet, but i bet he’ll be here soon!” she nodded happily. then, the door closed, and she slouched down in her chair again.

he tosses his backpack on the edge of the court, making his way to the middle. he puts the skateboard down, staring at it for a moment. he feels annoyed by the small twinge of anxiety settling in his stomach. he holds his hand out, beckoning juno to come closer, “okay i’m just gonna use you as balance for a second.”

     she groaned and stood up as soon as he got on stage. already bothered by having to be at the damn festival, now she had to watch this guy too?      her friend grabbed her arm and forced her down. yumi huffed, stood again, and walked out. in the crowd she was hardly noticeable. she pushed through people like a bulldozer. the sound of his violin, though, pushed harder.      a violin? please.      out loud, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. she shook her head, trying to ignore the sound being projected all around her. she could have sworn that he was using an electric violin just to torture her like he does at work.      a hush fell over the festival. everything stopped. the air turned cold. only the sound of his music pierced through the sky. the hush had stopped yumi in her tracks. everyone at the stalls, everyone eating, and every audience member was suddenly still. a coincidence?      she turned around.      “that. . . that can’t be you.” she whispered.      her shoulders tensed to her ears. he was there, just, sitting, it seemed. was he waiting for someone else? yumi stood up from her seat. she had to say something. if she did not say something then and there, she would never say anything at all.      “hey,” it was a quiet approach. “don’t run away, juno. i’m not here to harass you or anything, okay?”      she bit her lip and swallowed. it was impossible to look at him. instead, her eyes darted from place to place, stall to stall. they did not help her. she was completely left with her words.      “look. . . i saw you, uh, performing. . . it was really beautiful.” she pushed her thumbnail into the back of her hand. never once was she able to relax the tension in her body. her voice was it’s own exception. she spoke as if to console a saddened kitten. “do you. . . want to go get drinks? i think there’s, uh, a popular coffee stall not far.”

     she was happy his clothes were sopping wet. in fact, she wished she had a whole mop bucket to throw on his stupid, mean head! working with him was a nightmare even when he was not even present!      she waited an entire week to be trained by this guy, then she waited a whole hour on the day he finally showed up, and now to be treated like this! so cruely as if he had a right to be mean!      she followed him around, arms crossed and lips pouted in anger. every time she saw some sort of dish she wanted to just pick it up and chuck it at him!      “clean. kuh.” she scoffed with an eyeroll. even the way he talked to her was so demanding. who did he think he was? all she did was stand there, arms firm and eyes ablaze. they trailed fire all the way until he was at the door. she moved.      she took the hose thingy by the sink and stretched it. she aimed it at him.      “you know what would be so horrible? if the one person who’s supposed to train me doesn’t teach me how to use this properly and then i go and spray down the entire room. wouldn’t that be so bad? maybe you can run away and get someone else who will actually want to help me.”      then, she aimed it at the ground and shot. water blasted out of the fauscet.      she raised her brows. she pouted at him.      “oopsie.”

he takes a spot next to his friend, stretching his arms up high. “couldn’t sleep.” he says simply, “this is usually when i’m awake for helping on the ranch anyway, so i thought i would get some food here because i’m too tired to cook.” he looks down at the bowl in juno’s hand and leans forward, sniffing it dramatically, “wow... that smells so good.” he opens his mouth, pointing at it to silently ask juno to share with him.