Chapter 8: Weird

I feel glad as we pull closer to my school, so I can get away from the terrible tension in this bloody car.

"Kourane..."my mother says. Quiet, but loud enough for me to hear her.

"Hmm?"I say, hopeful that what she will say won't make this anymore awkward.

"Ah...nothing. Just...try your best. Alright?"she says.

What? No judging my hair, telling me to put some lip gloss on? Nothing? This is...odd.

"Umm..Thank you, Mother."I respond, trying to hide my confusion and shock.

"We're nearly there, Madam."my driver says to my mom.

"Alright, thank you."she replies

I keep looking out of my window, avoiding eye contact.

I hear a car outside and then I feel Ian brake the car quickly. I grab onto the handle of the car door and so does my mother My hair that was nicely tied up into a ponytail is now messed up with hairs sticking out from it. But I couldn't care any less. I just want to know what happened.

"Kourane..are you okay?"my mother says, fixing her hair because she obviously cares about that.

"Yes."I reply. "Ian?"

"I'm okay. Thank you, Miss. Sorry about that. Some bastard ran a red light."He says cursing under his breathe slightly.

"That's all right. At least we are all okay. Kourane your hair."she says to me.

I nod and pull my hair back up into a neater ponytail.

The car starts up again and I hum, annoyed and bored.

My stomach grumbles a little and I curse. I should have eaten. Ugh.

"You're hungry, aren't you?"my mother says with a teasingly smile.

I nod reluctantly. She pulls out some onigiri that looks absolutely delicious. She hands me them and I thank her.

"Thank you, Mother."I say, eating them.

"I knew you would hungry. You always had a big stomach."she chuckles lightly.

HUH??? Okay I was trying not to act weirded out by the way she was acting. But my mother actually laughed. She LAUGHED!!! She hasn't laughed in...forever...Since Liv's death..

I stare at her weirdly and she simply smiles.

"Am I not allowed to laugh?"she asks.

"Of course you are, Mother. But...it's weird.."I reply.

"I know."

"It's weird, but...it's nice? I guess."I say. It is nice to see my mother smiling and laughing.

"I love you, Kourane. You know that don't you?"

I nod. "Of course I know that, Mother. I love you too, but I guess we're not good at expressing it."

"Hmm..that is true."she says, looking out her window. "You need to be strong because this world is cruel...love is sometimes weakness. Which is why I don't show it too much. I'm sorry."

"I know...but I still can't help but wish we had a better relationship.."I say, taking the last bite of my onigiri.

"Yes..I would like that."she says looking at me. She reaches out to caress my cheek and strokes my hair.

I don't move away from it, but I feel weird. Is this really my mother??

"We're here."Ian says. My mother lets go and I grab my purse as we both get off.

I stare at the building in front of me. My class. For some reason I don't feel like going in. But I don't have a choice. Oh well.

I turn to my mother. "Goodbye, Mother. Have a good day."

She nods and says, "Thank you, dear. I hope you have a good day, too. Don't forget your mission."

I nod and start walking to the building. I make my way to my class and open the door.

The octopus is busy dodging attacks from some kids. They stop to look at me and blush.

"Hi, Kourane."one of them says, scratching the back of his neck.

"Tch."I say rolling my eyes and walking over to my seat.

"Careful, Terasaka. She bites."Karma says, smiling deviously. I roll my eyes and sit down.

"Don't mind Karma. That's just how he is."Nagisa says.

"Oh I know."

"Okay students. Quiet down. We have a busy day ahead of us."The teacher says.

"Yes, sir."the class says.

"Pfft."I say, bored. I need to kill this thing. But how? That's the million dollar question right now. Not even the world's brightest scientists and assassins have figured out this guy. What are a bunch of teenagers going to do??? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.