Saturday: 08:33 am
He glanced at his wristwatch to check the time, the airplane that he was riding has arrived on time. The pilot announced that they safely landed at O’Hare airport and most of the passengers stood up to prepare to get out of the plane.
Shikamaru got an offer from his dream job, it was the sweetest YES that he gave in his entire life. Finally, the position that he was aiming for three years was now in his hands and it has a good bonus and allowance packages too. He immediately books a ticket on Japan Airlines to catch the earliest flight on the weekend.
When he steps out of the plane, he inhaled the air of Chicago and smiled. He grabbed his luggage and backpack and stroll inside the airport. A feeling of excitement arose inside of him, especially in this new phase of his life, this will be his home for the next years. He stared at the airport’s interior, it has a mix of modern and classic architecture with a hint of Victorian design due to the black and white tile flooring. The glass ceiling gives a soft warm light that covers the whole establishment.
He turns around to look for the signage "Train to the city" which he searched on google to know how to reach his destination, the Chicago downtown. After a couple of minutes of looking for it and carrying his luggage around the airport, he finally saw the signage and then rode the escalator where it leads to the station. It was a long walk.
When he reached the station, he searched for the vending machine where he could get the ticket to ride the train. He was confused at first, it was different from all the trains that he rode. The stations were categorized by colors and not numbers, so he searched again in google, thanks to free WIFI he was able to find the color that will reach his destination.
“Ah here it is, the Blue line”
A blue card was dispensed from the vending machine and he immediately rode the next train. He seated at the last cabin near the window so he could see the beauty of his new home. He stared at the view outside where the pigeons flew across their train, tall establishments that have a mix of modern and old architecture, and the terracotta-colored masonry cladding exterior gives an accent to the city design.
It’ll be a 40 minutes ride to reach his destination so he closed his eyes and attempt to sleep. After a few minutes and almost slipping away from being awake, they reached one of the stations, Logan square.
The train door opened and passengers starts occupying the empty chairs inside.
A blonde girl sits across him, wearing black jeans and a leather jacket. Her hair is styled in a two ponytail which he finds funny but cute. Unknowingly, he was staring at her a little too much which the girl noticed and starts glancing at him in return.
He scratched his forehead to hide his embarrassment and stared at the window once again. A low and husky chuckle escaped from the girl’s mouth which made his skin tickle, how can a laugh be that attractive?
He looked up to the ceiling of the train, observing the design, then he stared at the train door, then the seats, but he was just trying to glance at the girl across his seat in a not-so-creepy manner. He was able to glance at her a few times and surprisingly, their eyes always met.
Does she have a teal eye? Huh, rare.
He clears his throat and fixed his posture, conscious about his action because he realized that she was staring at him too.
“Visiting a friend? Or new to Chicago?” she spoke
His eyes quickly turn to her “Uhm-I, yeah..I just moved here and I-I’ll visit a friend. So, I think both” he stuttered while fixing his ponytail.
“Wow, welcome to Chicago” she smiled
Shikamaru smiled in return, he could feel his stomach starting to churn after seeing her smile.
“I’m Shikamaru and you’re?”
“Tem, my friends call me Tem. Uhm, can I sit next to you? It’s really hard to talk when this—this far” she chuckled while swaying her hands to explain the gap in their seats.
He can feel the flush starts crawling up to his head and a red tint was a little visible in his ears and nose.
“Yeah, sure. You can sit here” he said while posing like a cool guy.
She stood up and slowly walked and sit beside him. Shikamaru felt her warmth after sitting beside him like she was comfort wrapped in a human form.
She smiled again at him “Thanks. So, where are you heading?”
“Downtown. I actually got a new job there so this will be my new home”
“Lucky guy! You’re probably a big asset since a company offered you a job and it requires you to move to a different place?” She stared at him with a smirk on her face.
“No, No..I actually waited for three years to get this job so it’s more of hard work than luck”
“Wow, interesting. You’re interesting Shikamaru. I'm living in downtown too”
Their arms touched while sitting, they were both too close to each other and he liked that, he liked her warmth. Shikamaru glanced at her hands, there was no wedding ring. He smiled and stared at her teal eyes again. His heart had a little jump thinking that a girl like her finds him that interesting. Is she into me?
“So, are you here with your parents? Brothers? Or boyfriend? partner?”
“No, my parents were dead and I don’t have someone right now…but I have two sons”
“Oh, you have? How are they? What are their names?”
“Gaara and Kankuro”
“Oh okay, you’re probably a busy mom. Raising two kids alone? You’re interesting too you know, Tem”
“Really huh?” she released a soft laugh “Uhm, yeah I raised them with all of my heart. I love them so much”
He glanced at her again and saw her sad eyes but her lips still formed into a smile.
“They’re lucky to have you” he smiled at her “Do you have a number? I mean, since you’re living in downtown too, it’s really nice to have a friend there. Since I’m kinda new here”
“Oh, I don’t ---I don’t have any number or phone even”
“You don’t?” he curiously asked, it was his first time meeting someone that doesn’t have any contact number. How can people reach her?
The train stopped and they finally reached their destination, Washington station.
Shikamaru wished he could have a little more time to talk to her but she stood up quickly and clutch her shoulder bag.
“Nice meeting you Shikamaru, I hope you enjoy staying here”
“Uhm-yeah. Nice meeting you too Tem”
“Bye” She said then walked out from their seat
Shikamaru stood up and tried to reach her, he wanted to ask if she want to go to dinner that night but Tem was in a hurry. He just wished he could see her again so he could ask her out.
He walked outside of the station and waited for a taxi; he patted his coat to get his wallet but it was not there. He looked again at every pocket he has in his clothes but it was not there. He searched in his luggage too and backpack while sitting on one of the benches outside, his wallet was missing.
“FUCK! Did I just got robbed!?”
He palmed his face and breathe heavily after he realized that the girl he sits beside on the train was a thief.
The arms, her hands, her phone number, that’s why it’s all kind of suspicious. He just realized all of that.
“Damn! I’m a fucking idiot!” He just now thinking if everything that she said was true.
“Was it her real name? Fucking hell! I need my IDs and my credit card!”
Shikamaru immediately walked to the south part of the downtown where his friend Choji owned an Asian restaurant. He didn’t have any money with him so he just walked.
When he reached the Akimichi restaurant, Choji immediately gave him water and let him sit at one of the VIP tables of their store.
“What happened to you? You’re covered in sweat” Choji asked
“Don’t remind me, everything is such a drag”
Choji’s wife, Karui came with food in her hand. She was born in Chicago, and when Choji and Karui married each other they settled there and build a business.
“Here, you should eat. Poor guy you seem tired and hungry from all the walk” Karui said
Shikamaru sighed “I just got pickpocketed, someone stole my wallet on the train”
“Oh right, I forgot to warn you about that. Well, every city has it and I cannot blame you. Just call your bank and cancel all of your cards. Be careful next time Shikamaru” Choji said with concern in his eyes
“Yeah, I think I should. Thanks, Choji” he said while eating the steamed fish and rice that they served.
“Here, take this money for now. You need these for today” Choji extends his hand holding a few dollars to his friend.
“I’ll return this, I promise. I just need to reach my apartment today. Then I’ll probably call my bank to cancel my cards and request a new one”
“If you need anything, you know where you can find us” Choji offered
“Thanks again man, you’re such a savior”
After eating with Choji and Karui, he headed to his apartment riding a taxi. He can’t help but to think about the woman he met earlier. She’s so professional in doing that and how can a person like him fall for some weak trick that she did?
Shikamaru was so disappointed in himself.
When he reached his apartment, he immediately arranged his stuff in his new home and call the bank to fix his card. Fortunately, there was no card transaction on that day.
He walked outside and stayed in the apartment hallway balcony. His hand grabbed the cigarette case in his pocket and starts lighting one, he smoked while clearing his mind.
After a few minutes, he saw a familiar blonde hair that was walking to the other side of the hallway. It’s her, the girl that she met on the train. She was carrying a bag of groceries while holding her door key.
Shikamaru walked closer to her quietly and then throws the unlit cigarette in the trash.
She opened her door while humming and before she closed it, Shikamaru was able to hold it.
“Hi Tem” he said in a mocking way
She gasped after seeing him at her door, she attempted to close it but his grip was too strong.
“Come here outside, I need to talk to you. I don’t want your sons to hear about our conversation”
“Do you really think that I actually told you the truth earlier?” she said in a sassy voice
“Tch! So, you’re living alone here?” He swung the door and walked inside her room and then closed it. He grabbed the grocery bag that she was holding and throws it onto the couch beside them.
“Where’s my wallet? I need it! I need my cards, my IDs, my cash, give it to me!”
She laughed “Well you see, I can give the IDs and cards but I don’t think I can give the cash. I already bought groceries from it”
He rubbed his face and starts to walk back and forth “Alright, give it to me. Just the wallet and the cards….and IDs”
“Sure, 100 dollars”
“What?” he said while his hands placed on his waist
“100 dollars, I’ll give it to you if you’ll give me 100 dollars”
“Are you selling me my own fucking wallet?” Shikamaru said angrily
“Isn’t it obvious?” she walked to the grocery bag, grabbed the apple, and bite it.
“You’re…you’re impossible!”
“Oh, okay. How about 10 dollars per item? I’m giving you a discount here Shikamaru” she giggles while chewing the apple in her hand.
“Are you going to return my wallet or I’ll start to call the police?”
She grabbed the wallet in her back pocket without breaking her stare and hands it to him “Here. It’s really funny to see you so frustrated, you know” she laughed again.
“You’re so troublesome, woman!” he grabbed his wallet and browse the inside of it to check if his cards and IDs were complete.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m moving again to another city after three weeks so you’ll never see me again. And I’m not going to rob you obviously, you already caught me”
“Luck was on my side today because your room is next to mine, so I was able to catch you. You don’t know how important these IDs are to me, I need them in my work” he walked closer to her while his hands were now crossed in his chest “So, you’re really not in here? In Chicago?”
“Yeah, I’m not really from here. I don’t have any reason to lie so everything that I’ll say is the truth. I move places to do my job”
“The job of what? Stealing?”
“I don’t have any choice, I ran away from my city” she chuckled while walking away from his spot “I left my brothers there and my allowances were cut off so this is the only thing I know, I just need to survive”
He sighs, Now I’m the one who’s feeling guilty. Tch!
“My friend owned a restaurant. I can refer you to work there. Do you know how to do dishes? Or clean tables?”
She turns around to face him and was shocked about his offer “I don’t have any IDs; I wasn’t able to bring it with me when I left”
“You don’t have to. I can vouch for you. What’s your real name?” he tilts his head and stared at her, waiting for her answer.
“Temari” she turns her gaze away from him
“I’ll bring you there tomorrow, prepare yourself alright? Just don’t steal again”
Temari was trying to hide her smile, she took another bite from the apple that she was holding to cover her lips.
Shikamaru roams his eyes around her room, it was quite organized and clean “So, uhm..You live here alone huh?”
“Yeah. For a week now, I just arrived here last week so I’m new too”
“Right” he nodded while scratching the back of his neck
“Well, I can still tour you around the city I actually know every corner of it from now since I roam around most of my time. In exchange for my troublesome action of stealing your wallet. How about that?” she offered
“That’s probably the only thing that I’ll agree with you”
“So, it’s a yes?” she said slowly in her husky voice
He bites his lower lip to stop himself from smiling, he can’t help himself but to stare at her. It’s a cliché to say but her face is like a depiction of an angel from above. Beautiful and gorgeous.
“Yes, yeah. We can do that”
“Alright” she smiled and stared at him; a red tint starts to appear on her cheeks.
“Alright” he smiles in return.
They both chuckled without breaking eye contact.