Story: The Unlucky Tenants

Prologue

Day 1 Saturday Morning

Mai Taniyama opened her eyes.

The room she was laying in was both familiar and strange.

Where am I?

Sitting up, she looked around.

Light filtered in from the window by her bed, illuminating the otherwise dark room. It looked like her bedroom. Items cluttered the space like normal.

There was last week's laundry still in the basket that she forgot to fold up. On the floor lay her school uniform and socks from the previous day. Shoes were piled up in the corner. Her bathroom door was opened. On her desk by her computer sat her book bag with the binders and books spilling out. Posters of various rock groups and movies lined her walls. Her childhood toy chest sat at the foot of her bed. Pictures of family and friends scattered the surfaces of her dresser by her bed.

Typically, Mai kept her apartment clean, but her room was her sanctuary. She kept it messy because it made her feel less alone when she slept at night. On her dresser lay her key. It was the key to the old house where she lived as a child with her parents. It brought her comfort to keep it close to her.

Both of her parents were dead.

Mai was an orphan, who lived alone.

Mai said quietly, "I can't put my finger on it, but something is definitely off." She tried to remember what she had done before going to bed.

A noise was coming from another room. It sounded like a news broadcast.

That's funny. I don't remember leaving the TV on last night.

No matter how much she thought about it, Mai could not remember the previous night's events.

I think yesterday was Friday, and I went out with my friends.

As she thought on it, an idea came to her head. Oh crap! I'm going to be late for work! She jumped out of bed.

In her haste, her hip hit her dresser.

"Ah!" she screamed and fell to the floor.

Through tears, she cursed the furniture, "Today you threw the first punch stupid dresser, but I will win the war!"

Mai fully believed that inanimate objects in her life were conspiring to get her. Her random actions had nothing to do with how she always managed to get hurt by everyday items.

She made record time dressing.

As she was brushing her teeth, she heard someone in her bedroom.

Mai froze.

Walking to the bathroom door, Mai hesitantly reached toward the knob. It slowly turned.

The door was flung opened, hitting Mai in the face.

"Ah!" Mai cried. She was thrown backwards, her toothbrush went flying. She heard it clatter somewhere in her tub.

Great! I am going to have to get a new toothbrush.

Holding her face, Mai at first didn't see who had opened the door.

"Mai are you in here?" said a woman's voice that Mai recognized.

Glancing up in shock, Mai saw who it was.

Her mother stood there with her hair braided to the side wearing the ugly yellow sweater she was so fond of and a white apron that was slightly tarnished with overuse.

"Oh there you are silly." Her mom smiled then frowned. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"Mom?" whispered Mai.

"Who else would I be? Hurry and come downstairs. Breakfast has already been served. Your sisters have already left, but your dad is watching TV still."

Huh? Dad? Sisters?

Her mother closed the door before Mai could say anything.

What is going on?

Mai's parents died. And she did not have any siblings.

Hesitantly, she made her way out of her bedroom. Like a ninja, she stealthily darted down the hall until she came to a balcony over a living room. Spying down on the two people below, Mai realized that she was not in her apartment. She was in a house. It looked like the house she lived in as a child.

A man sat on a couch watching the news.

He called out, "The prime minister is at it again."

There was a kitchen area where Mai could observe someone moving around. She could not see who it was.

"You know I don't want to hear that," her mother said.

Mom must be in the kitchen. I have to see her again!

Mai looked around. She saw stairs to her right. If she could move quietly, maybe she could get to the kitchen without being noticed.

Silently creeping down them, she tried to sneak to their first floor. Looking through the banister the whole way, she ended up tripping hallway down. The commotion caused the man to jump up.

"What is that?"

It was her dad.

Her mom rushed out of the kitchen.

"Mai! Are you ok?"

Standing up, Mai questioned them, "Mom? Dad?"

She flew down the rest of stairs.

"Mom!" Mai exclaimed excitedly. She flung herself at her mom giving her a huge hug.

"Hey, what is this?" Her mom said.

"I am just so happy to see you." Mai cried.

Her dad spoke up, "Mai are you feeling ok?"

Mai turned to see her dad. She had not seen the man in years. He died when she was a child.

"Dad?" she approached him slower than her mother.

"Yes?"

Mai was momentarily confused. Her dad died when she was a little girl.

"I am fairly jealous of that hug you just gave your mother. I wish somebody appreciated me like that." He said in a huff.

Mai smiled. Her hesitation vanished and she jumped him.

"I love you dad."

He wrapped his arms around her, "I love you too little one." He mumbled into her hair.

Pushing back, Mai smiled. She was so happy.

"Your sisters are already up, sleepy head. Hurry up and eat. We left you some food. It is probably cold."

"Sisters? I don't have any sisters."

Mai's feelings suddenly changed. A cold feeling went through her. Something was not right.

"Dad? Mom? Aren't you dead?"

The man who looked like my father frowned at me, "What? Are you feeling ok?"

Mai's mother came to her and put her hand on Mai's forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever," she said. "You probably had a bad dream. You know how you always had weird dreams when you were younger."

Mai became confused again. Her eyes roamed over everything.

Why do I feel like this?

She suddenly spotted the clock.

9:00…..

"Ah! I am late!" Mai ran to the kitchen, barely noticing her parents' blank looks.

A plate was on the table with a glass of water beside it. She started chomping down the food hurriedly. Her mother followed her into the kitchen. Her dad leaned against the back of the couch.

"Late for what dear?" asked her mom. Her mom snatched her hand. "Chew slower otherwise you are going to chock."

Mai spoke through a mouth full of food, "I gotta ho into worg. He gonna gill may."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," commanded her mom.

Swallowing, Mai yelled, "I have to get to work! I am supposed to go in at 9:00 on Saturdays. He is going to kill me if I don't get there on time."

Her parents laugh. "What work are you talking about? Who is going to kill you?"

"Uh, my job." Mai gave them an annoyed face.

They looked at each other with amusement. "I think she is still asleep. Baby you don't have a job," smiled my dad.

"Yes I do. I have had it for over a year."

"Oh and what job is that?"

Mai stopped. She couldn't remember, but she was positive that she had a job.

A dark figure appeared in her mind. She could not make out the features, but she could tell it was angry at her for not making tea.

"I make tea."

Her parents both outright laughed.

"What is so funny?" Mai asked cross eyed.

Her mother said, "Mai you don't know how to make tea."

Her dad agreed, "Honey, you would burn water."

Mai started eating again.

"So who is the 'he' that is going to kill you?"

"My boss."

"Why would he kill you?"

"Because he likes me to make tea and hates me to be late."

Her dad wanted to know, "What? He can't make his own tea?"

"Actually he can."

"Well he must be a kind and considerate person to want you to make his tea," said her mom.

Her dad mumbled under his breath, "Or there's something wrong with his taste buds."

"Actually he is a jack-ass. And there might be something wrong with his taste. He is not what you would call ordinary."

"MAI TANIYAMA!" screamed her mother the same time her dad threw a pillow that caught Mai in the face. She fell out of the chair, landing on her butt.

"WE DO NOT TALK THAT WAY IN THIS HOUSE!" her mother's voice boomed causing everything in the room to vibrate.

Mai was suddenly scared.

Her dad looked angry, but tried to calm the mother down, "Honey, it is ok. She just let something slipped."

The mother turned her evil glare to the husband, "AND WHY ARE YOU TAKING UP FOR HER. IT IS YOUR RULE!"

Mai's dad flinched and back up, "Now be reasonable, sweetie. It is too early in the morning to get mad. I was just trying to calm you down."

A frying pan suddenly appeared out of nowhere flying toward the dad's head. He dodged the attack. He then proceeded to avoid a wave of spoons and dishes that followed before hurrying back to the living room. As he took cover behind the couch, Mai was pretty sure she heard him say, "Nice going kid. You are on your own."

Once her dad was out of sight, Mai's mother turned her sights back on her daughter. The mother had a furious, indomitable aura.

"I am sorry mom," Mai apologized as she stood up.

Her mom looked angry for another couple of seconds, and then popped into the appearance of someone completely serene and peaceful. "Of course! Apology accepted."

I forgot about Mom's bipolar streak. Mai's mother was a sweet woman, who could get riled up at the littlest of things.

"If you want to go somewhere," her mom said, "Your sisters already left so hang with them. Only I wish you would study this morning instead of waiting until tonight. Your end of the year exams is around the corner, and you know we want you to get into a good college program like Rin and Koharu."

Something doesn't feel right.

Mai sat down again and reached to for my glass of water. She was very thirsty and hadn't drunk anything yet.

A boy's reflection appeared in the glass.

"Eeek!" Mai squealed, tipping the glass.

Mai's dad did not even move from where he was now sitting on the couch, "What is it?"

"I thought I saw something in my cup."

Her mom brought some napkins over, "Here let me help you clean this up. I will get you something else to drink."

Mai shook her head, "That is ok. I can get it myself."

Taking the napkins, she cleaned up the spill. Then Mai headed to the refrigerator. Opening it, she looked in. It was completely full. Moving items around, she finally found the milk and pulled it out.

Closed the door, Mai noticed a boy with black clothes standing beside her.

"Mai" he said.

Surprised, Mai jumped squealing again. The milk in her hand fell.

The boy had dark hair and blue eyes.

"Mai, you have to wake up."

"W-ho, who are you?"