RACE TO YOU

NatsuxMi

DISCLAIMER: I, KYO, DON'T OWN GAKUEN ALICE. LEAVE THE HONOR TO TACHIBANA- SENSEI FOR CREATING A MANGA SO GREAT..:p

Chappie1 Wake Up

Wordcount- 1032words

Date Re-posted: May 3 2012

A/N: I am in dire need of beta readers...T.T. I need blunt ones.

Please PM me:DD

"'You can't live your dreams, unless you wake up.' When I was still a kid, I'd always mulled over the meaning of the phrase. My real parents died in a car accident a little over a month since I was born, at least, that was what I was told. I never really asked how I survived. The one who took care of me till I was 17 was the guy I now call Father. I grew up in the car shop he owned that was in the countryside. But since it was the only one in town, it had been a good business.", Mikan slumped in the corner of Anna's room.

"When I was 3, a boy, that looked older than me, was lying outside the shop. I thought that he was dead but father still brought him inside and nursed him till he was awake. I remembered looking at him curiously, trying to get him to talk about his self, but he would just stare at me with his sad black eyes.", she smiled slightly, then continued.

"It took him almost a month before opening up to us. Tsubasa said he doesn't have anywhere to go and father decided to take him in,too. Still, he never really told us much about him. Even when we had lived together as a family for over a decade.", she paused a questioning look on her face. She seemed to have forgotten that Anna was with her.

"Father provided us with everything. Clothes, food, shelter. He had even insisted that we should go to school. He said it's essential for us to learn the basics. But I was stubborn and would only read novels and pocketbooks, never textbooks. Tsubasa was worse. He barely attended class at all.", the ghost of a smile returned.

"Their couldn't have been a better father than him. I have always remembered him talking about his dreams of being a racer and through him we learned to love cars, too. After 17 years of being with him, his dreams became my dreams, his pain, my pain and Tsubasa's pain, became one.", Mikan stopped and unwanted tears streamed down her face.

Anna wanted to slap herself. How could she ask something so touchy as this subject? Mikan's eyes were glazed over, like she was reliving everything.

"Tsubasa... and now father. They left..me ", her voice cracked at the last part. She realized she really was alone. Anna's family, who took her after the death of her father, was accommodating but they certainly can't replace the whole in her heart. Anna could only look at her friend in pity. She didn't know what to say.

Three years before, Tsubasa and their father had a huge fight. Never before had Mikan thought that she would see their father so agitated. Tsubasa was involved in a fight and came home with a broken nose. When their father asked about it, he just ignored him. Somehow, they ended up saying things they did not mean and hurt each other. The next day, there was no Tsubasa, only a note.

Her father's health then started to deteriorate. He wanted to start a search for Tsubasa but he was too weak. On the last day, with his last breath, he repeated his favorite phrase.'You can't live your dreams, unless you wake up.'. He smiled at her then. It was the sweetest smile she'd seen from her father and she'd returned it, even when her eyes brimmed with tears.

She scrambled to the bed she was sharing with Anna and took her backpack, the opened the smallest compartment then took out the note Tsubasa left her. She'd read it a million times and she could almost memorize every written word. But she was still hoping there would be a clue as to where her brother could be. She quickly wiped her tears then started skimming through it.

Dear Mikan,

You might get very upset with me after getting our father too worked up, right? Can you tell him I'm sorry? You're crying now aren't you? Be strong. For yourself and father. I'm sorry, you might be having a hard time reading this, you know I was never good in writing. I'm sorry that I'm too much of a coward to say this to you personally.

Father has been our guiding light. He took care of us when no one would and I think it's time for us to repay him. When I finish what I set to do, I hope we'll still be able to live as one family again. So before that, take care of father until we'll be together again.

Remember....'You can't live your dreams, unless you wake up.'.

I'll be waiting,

Tsubasa Andou

She reread the last lines again. Again and again. It's clear he's waiting for her. But where? 'Dreams, my dreams!', she thought excited. Suddenly, she stood up and looked up at the sunny sky through the room's window. She could almost feel her father smiling upon her. As if saying she's not alone.

"Anna, I'm going home. Tell everyone thank you...",Mikan smiled at her. Now she knows what to do, "...for everything."

She dashed towards the car shop that had served as her home for the past 17 years and she almost broke down again as memories came crashing at her. She strengthened her resolve with an 'I have to do this', then opened the garage door with the key her father left her.

After Tsubasa left, her father had been spending more time in the shop. When Mikan would ask him to rest, he would always say that he doesn't have much time left. She knew what he had been doing, a welcome home gift for Tsubasa and a gift for my 18th birthday.

The two black cars in front of her were the last gifts from her deceased father. Since she couldn't take both, she took the car with a white 18 on the side, promising that one day, she'll come back for the other one.

"'You can't live your dreams, unless you wake up.'. You wouldn't mind if I use it in advance, right? Thanks for the wake up call,dad."

I finally started re-posting the story.

Special sorry/thanks to:

Gothic-Neko-Writer

Refugees Escape From Death

ChicCuteness

cj-the-greatest

Kylee-Cat

TheHeideePayas

Chibicat12

Crimson-Midnight-Moon ( My first-ever reviewer)