A can of milktea and two riceballs 

One step, two, hands in her pocket, and eyes fixated on the moon, she lets out a deep sigh. The walk felt long and thoughts ran wild, she had missed her home in the states, already. A thousand miles and more. June treads lightly into the autumn night, wondering what her next steps were going to be after landing in Tokyo.

She was currently staying in her designated apartment along with her two friends from college, who, like her, wanted to experience a new language and culture. They had planned to join the exchange program for the longest time and after saving enough, they were finally able to take a full semester worth. 

Their flight landed in the morning and since it was their first day, unpacking was their main priority. It was a tiring process, especially when jet-lag and the sore limbs were included.  

"This is never-ending", June groans loudly while simultaneously throwing a random piece of clothing against the wall. Unfortunately for her, it hits the framed family picture that she had just finished nailing to the wall several minutes ago, after much difficulty.

Startled by the monstrous thud, hurried footsteps are heard running from the living room. Both of which had the same expression on their face. Worried and panicked. 

“HEY!”, one of her friends yells in disbelief once she realizes that it wasn’t anything serious, “sheesh, we thought something happened to you”. The girl’s height was measured to be around five foot nine so her figure towered over June, who was hopelessly laying on top of her clothes that piled on the floor. 

“You are definitely something else”, arms-crossed and furrowed eyebrows was her other friend, Reese. She was small in size, had long raven hair that was pulled into a high ponytail, and thick semi-round glasses that decorated her face due to her poor eyesight. 

“Why did I bring so much clothes with me..”, June groans as she stares into the ceiling. She refused to move a muscle, wishing that the clothes could fold itself and find its way to the closet. Realizing now that she had overpacked. 

Caelan snickers as she tugs on June’s arms in an effort to get her up, while Reese watches in amusement. Her friends weren’t big on packing bulky so they got everything organized in no time, including all their bathroom necessities to the kitchen refreshments. After all, unlike June, it wasn’t their first trip outside of their hometown. 

“I told you not to pack too much”, the tall one says in a manner to , “look at you now”. 

June sends her a death-defying glare, speechless and unamused. 

Before leaving the states, Caelan had strongly advised the both of them to pack light and even made a list to help organize what to bring. But being the hoarder of the group, June didn’t listen. To her, all of her items and every piece of clothing she owned were precious so she couldn’t help it since they held some of her favorite memories.

“It was just so difficult to choose what to take and what to leave home, okay?”

"You guys! stop it", Reese interrupts whilst looking down at her watch, “we have to get everything done before we can meet up with our classmates tonight”. It was half past three which meant they’ve been unpacking for hours on end since the morning. 

June shakes her head vigorously with a pout, “I’m not going anymore”. 

“This girl–”, the taller one lets out. Despite her relatively calm face, June knew Caelan was internally pulling on her hair. After all, she was infamous for constantly canceling on plans. 

Although, June's friends insisted that she come to the gathering with them, she protested that she wasn’t feeling good from the flight and would just attend the orientation the day after which she thought were all good reasons. And plus, the social scene wasn't something she was big on since she liked her circle to be small, minus her awkward moments. 

“You know, it’s a good chance for all of us to build a connection with our seniors”, Reese implies as she pulls up her glasses, “so then we can have someone to rely on if we don’t know our way around campus”. 

As the oldest one, she was always good with her words but it wasn’t enough to convince June who was dead set on staying home. She was as stubborn as a bull and was described this way by all of her loved ones. 

Caelan nods in agreement, “I mean, have you seen the campus? It’s huge”. She exaggerates in her gestures, eyes-widen, and her lips shaped into an oval to express how enormous it was. “And plus, we’re not fluent in the language–let alone, being able to read it"

June smirks in response to that. In fact, before making the trip to Japan, June had taken up lessons to learn the language and perfected it to the point where she could have a basic conversation. That’s more than enough knowledge to get by, she thought. 

After years of being friends with June, they knew that if she made up her mind about something, she would be unmoved by any kind of persuasion. They both sighed, giving up. 

“Fine, suit yourself”

-

As she continues her stroll, June whispers to herself out of slight regret.

“Maybe I should’ve gone with them..”

It was simply too late and most importantly, if Caelan were to ever catch her saying that, it would not end well. An hour long earful of mockery in the form of 'I told you so' was a nightmare that she didn't want to imagine. 

Since it was autumn, the weather was at a perfect stand-still between breezy and warm. On top of that, the leaves on the surrounding trees had a beautiful palette to it. Orange and red, the typical colors of fall. And despite the lack of stars in the sky, the street lamps brightened the sidewalk significantly, which made her feel safe.

She reaches into her pocket, feeling around to see if she had any silver coins left to grab a couple of treats from the convenience store. After all, she hasn’t had a decent meal since landing. A bag of pretzels for breakfast and a chocolate bar during lunch were not enough to fill her up. 

With her stomach leading the way, she reluctantly lands in the food section. There was a variety of food plastered in front of her, ranging from bento boxes to instant ramen. 

"Hmm..", she hums with a pinch of concern in her voice, "everything looks so good though".

She knew for sure if she didn’t go light after barely eating the entire day, her stomach would be in massive pain once the morning came and sufficed with two rice-balls for now. Her metabolism was no joke and she was definitely not looking forward to her therapy session with the toilet. 

At this point, she was practically drooling with no recollection of shame. If it weren't for the bell attached the entrance of the store, she wouldn't have snapped out of it. 

From the corner of her eyes, she could see a hooded figure entering the store. They were clothed in black from head to toe, including the mask they were wearing. And shades in the middle of the night could not have made it less suspicious. Even the worker at the register is startled at the appearance. As a paranoid person, June found it fascinating how her mind worked, immediately pin-pointing the figure to be a robber. Her many years of watching Sherlock-Holmes' remakes and Criminal Minds have led her to this conclusion. 

Luckily for the both of them, the person is seen grabbing a can of milk-tea before heading to the counter. Proven to be harmless, she inches slowly towards the front.

“That’s going to be 200 yen, Mister”

The man reaches down, patting every single one of his pockets in search of his wallet but to no avail, there was nothing there. Not his card, not any cash, not even his phone. 

Observing the interaction between the two, June lightly taps on the shoulder of the hooded man in front of her. Only then did she realise how gigantic he was, in terms of his height and build, as they stood in close proximity with one another. She was trying to scan his facial expressions but the only feature that was visible was his eyebrows, as he had everything else covered. 

“If it’s okay with you, I-I can pay”, June utters to the best of her abilities, anyone could tell her Japanese wasn’t the best but it was coherent enough for the man to understand. 

If it was one thing she hated, it has to be silence that filled the air as soon as she stepped in. Cue the cricket sounds and the croaking crow. 

“It’s really no big deal”, she happily insists, feeling generous at the moment. A can of milk-tea and two rice-balls wasn’t a pricey combination at all compared to that horrid plane ticket. 

The man chuckles under his mask, “Thanks for offering but it’s alright”. He picks up the drink off the counter and places it back to its original seating before exiting the store, mysteriously. 

Weird, she thought.