What? No green tea? Takumi - open tag

[fryn]

Friday already? The week had flown past and so much had happened. He'd met Izzy's family and she, in turn, had met his. Yesterday evening had been great fun and his parents had adored her. Mayuki and Fumi had too. Later today was the funeral but this mornign at least he had to attend school. Izzy probably wouldn't be in, though, preparing herself for this afternoon. The suit Dare had given him was hanging up in his bedroom. A white shirt and a borrow black tie completed the ensemble. His only concession to his otherwise extrovert attire would be the Hello Kitty socks he would wear. Luckily his father's feet were the same size as Takumi's and so a black pair of lace-up shoes had also been available. A beyond sombre outfit but then the reason for him dooning it was equally sombre.

Takumi was deep in thought as he rummaged in his locker for that morning's books. It was so hard to concentrate and for that reason alone he found himself shoving the completely wrong heap of books into his pack. A muttered few words in Osakan slang followed and he rectified the error, finally ready to head for his first class.

He waved to a passing couple who he knew and then set off. He was a little early for the lesson and so made for the cafeteria. Tim to kill equally a last minute drink. If he was lucky the kitchen staff would have heeded his hints and would have green tea available.

Somehow he doubted that!

No green tea and after throwing a couple more hints at the woman behind the counter he opted for a glass of apple juice.

"Warm? No its cold."

"Can I have it warmed?"

The woman lifted one eyebrow, tutted and stuck out her hand.

Seconds later and after having been escorted to the microwave Takumi sought out a table to enjoy his drink, dropping down opposite someone who had their nose pressed against a text book.

"Ohayu," he greeted as he took his seat.

[Ben Patridge]

Ben yawned as he headed down the hall. His long blonde hair was still a little damp with sea water from his morning surf and he was dressed comfortably in a Billabong T-shirt, a pair of plaid Volcom shorts and brown leather flip flops. As always he looked like he'd just wandered off the beach. He hit up his locker, grabbing his books for his second period history class. He had PE first period but didn't always have time to go to his locker between first and second so he usually brought his books with him. However, upon grabbing the book, a folded in half piece of paper floated out with a note he'd left himself about a quiz. "Damn, forgot," he said aloud to no one in particular.

He yawned again and realized he was going to need some sort of caffeine if he was going to get through PE and still have the energy to cram for a quiz, so he headed to the cafeteria, hoping they'd have something. Luckily, they had some--it was kind of gross coffee, but it would have to do. With his coffee in hand he made his way to one of the tables, opening up his history text to study for a few minutes while he drank. He sensed someone sit next to him, but he didn't look up to see who it was until he heard the voice. Seeing Taki, Ben smiled.

"Hey," he said. "How's it going? Things go well with Izzy last night?" he asked. He'd heard something about dinner with parents but he didn't know which parents. For Taki's sake, Ben hoped that it was Taki's parents, because while Ben had never actually met Izzy's father, he knew enough stories to know that that would probably be a stickier situation.

[fryn]

"Ohayu Ben-chan!" Takumi enthused, smiling when he saw his companion was none other than Izzy and Jett's old friend. He wrapped his hands around the mug holding the warmed apple juice as he leaned across the table slightly, grinning broadly.

"Hai! Last evening was great! Izzy came over to meet my family. I scared her completely," he added with a short laugh. "We watched a movie. Ringu. The original form of the movie. Not like The Ring. Much better." He was referring to the western remake. Then we ate supper and she brought apple pie for afterwards. My family all love her already."

He looked down at his mug as he continued. "Then the evening before..." His voice had dropped any enthusiasm at this point. "... i met her father and her family. I was walking on the beach..." Takumi explained how he'd stumbled into the group. "Kim-san didn't seem to like me all that much and even after he'd invited me to supper at Izzy's house. I think he aaah... what is the word... didn't approve." He lifted his slim shoulders in wry resignation.

He brightened visibly as he pushed the memory of that evening firmly aside. Yoshino Takumi wasn't the kind of person to dwell too much in low moods. "So tell me... what have you been doing lately? Anything exciting?"

[Ben Patridge]

Ben smiled at Taki who seemed overly excited, however from what Ben knew of the boy he was always like that. Ben had a harder time being in a good mood in the morning mostly because he was always so tired. He was always in a good mood when he first woke up because that meant surfing, but after the surf was over and it was time for school, his mood tended to diminish. Ben was impressed Taki always seemed so happy.

"Yeah, that's great that they like Izzy, but then again everyone does...don't they," he commented. It was true too. Everyone did like Izzy. Out of all of them Izzy was probably the most popular. Jett might have hung out with the most "popular" crowd, but Izzy certainly always made the most friends. While he and Eden tended to keep to themselves more, Izzy was always meeting and connecting with new people.

"The original ring...really," Ben said. "I heard that was way scarier than the one here," he commented. "Do you have it on DVD?" he asked, wondering if he should check it out. He hadn't thought the American one was all that scary...the whole mystery behind why it was happening had seemed cool and interesting but the culmination of everything at the end had sort of been a let down for him. However, Ben had never been too interested in scary movies, but that was a lot of the reason. He didn't think most of them were scary. Maybe there was a movie out there that would scare him...but if so, he just hadn't bothered to watch it yet.

"Oh really...you met Izzy's dad," Ben said, watching as the boy described the meeting with much less enthusiasm. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've never met Izzy's dad but I've heard a lot about him over the years. Seems like he doesn't really like anyone," Ben commented. "But Izzy really likes you so that's all that matters. I don't think she's ever going to really listen to her dad," he said, which was the truth. After all, she had been raised more by her mother, given that her father was in Korea most of her life. Ben didn't really understand the whole arrangement but had never really asked either. It had never seemed like his place.

"I haven't been up to too much...same old really...surfing...hanging out...smoking..." he shrugged. "Same stuff really."

[fryn]

Takumi nodded enthusiastically when Ben declared Izzy to be liked by everyone. "I agree. I know I am lucky in that she agreed to be my girlfriend. I am sure she had many boys to choose from! But would you like to borrow Ringu? I have it on DVD and it has English subtitles." He paused with a wry grin. "You have to have known that part already as Izzy watched it!" He took a long sip of his warmed apple juice. He frowned slightly. It was chilling down far too quickly in the thin mug. "I will bring it to school on Monday unless... are you going to the beach this weekend? Its not far for me to walk there and Hashi always needs walking. I will bring it with me in case I see you there," he stated decisively.

"I really wanted Kim-san to like me but even my clothes weren't taken all that well. Perhaps he doesn't like the French people...?" he mused, explaining to Ben what he was dressed in - up to and including the 'French flag' type overskirt he'd donned.

"But Ben, you know smoking is bad for you. Your lungs... You will get 'gan'... they will get sick." He couldn't recall the English word for gan... or cancer, not realising Ben didn't mean 'normal' cigarettes. "But surfing is good. One day I hope you will show me how to do it but I already know I will be terrible!" he said on a laugh.

Takumi fiddled with the mug once more. "This afternoon is the funeral," he said in a low voice. "Izzy has asked me to go with her. Will you be there?"

[Ben Patridge]

"Yeah...sure, why not," Ben said, when Taki offered to let him borrow the DVD. Maybe he and Jett could watch it sometime...it seemed like something Jett might like after all. Plus, the Patridge's did have that huge/awesome movie theatre sized home theatre that was perfect for something like that. "Yeah...I'm sure I'll be at the beach at some point," he continued. "I'll have to give you my cell number so you can call and I know when you are heading over," he offered, figuring it would be nice to get to know Taki a little better. He was a really nice guy.

"Yeah...I dunno," Ben said about the clothes, doubting very much that that was the reason Izzy's dad didn't like him. "Why were you dressed like that anyway?" he couldn't help but ask. The boy was sort of odd, Ben supposed, but he figured it was just the foreign thing.

"Oh, no...I don't smoke cigarettes," he said, "I meant..." he trailed off trying to think of how to explain it. "What I smoke is all natural...not bad for you," he finally said. Okay, maybe is was still bad for you or it wouldn't be illegal in most places, but Ben honestly didn't see how. It was no worse than alcohol...and was almost legal in California now.... "But yeah, I'll teach you to surf sometime...just let me know when," he offered, not sure how it would go, but willing to try anyway.

He simply nodded when Taki mentioned the funeral. "Eden and I basically grew up with Jett and Izzy...so yeah...we'll be there..."

[fryn]

Takumi couldn't comprehend why his clothing had caused so much interest. It was normal for him to dress in such a manner. Even Izzy had commented so maybe it wasn't so normal here in America? Still, it was unlikely he'd change his tastes. Takumi rarely - if ever - conformed and he wasn't about to start now. "I thought I looked tody," he replied uncertainly. He was still convinced Kim-san had an aversion to anything French. That was the only possible answer.

"Aaah... so wacky backy, yes?" he said with a laugh, having her that term said before around school. Of course, he'd had to have it explained to him. "We call it taima," he added. "It is legal here? In Japan it is not so." He brightened instantly when Ben agreed to teach him how to surf.

"Arigatou, Ben-chan! Although I have an idea that I will be really bad at it. I will try my hardest, that I promise!" It wasn't as if Takumi did anything by halves anyway.

He nodded when Ben told him he and Eden would be at the funeral. He was glad to know there would be more friendly faces there and that he wouldn't have to face Izzy's family on his own. One time had been bad enough!

"I have only been to one funeral before," he went on. "It was for my hii-ojiichan...aaah... the father of my father's father. I am not sure what that is called in English. They are usually Buddhist ceremonies and so I am not sure what to expect this afternoon." At least the clothing was similar. For men, at least. "Does anything in particular happen that I need to know of?" Better to know in advance than to make a complete baka out of himself later!

[Ben Patridge]

Ben wasn't really sure what Taki mean when he said that he thought he looked today, but decided to let it go. He figured he could ask Izzy later. He knew that there were probably a bunch of large cultural differences between them which was cool but at the same time made things confusing sometimes.

"Wacky...Backy?" he asked. "Never heard that before...but probably," he said with a nod. After all...what else could he mean? "Uh...yeah...its legal if you have a medical card for it." Ben of course did not have a card though but he left that part out. Plus, he fully planned to get a card once he was old enough. The problem was that you had to be 18 to legally get a card for it and although both his parents smoked weed, they were actors so couldn't get cards because their publicists would probably kill them. So Ben just had a dealer, the son of his dad's dealer, who grew his own stuff. While weed could be acquired legally in California there was still a business to acquire it illegally as well.

"Well...maybe you won't be so good at first, I don't think anyone is, but the more you do it the better you get," he explained. "Like riding a bike...only in this case you're standing on a board in waves. Have you ever skateboarded or snowboarded before?" he asked. "It's not really the same, but it helps with balance at least." Ben had learned when he was really young so it was hard to remember a time when he wasn't so good at surfing.

"You're grandfather," Ben offered, filling in the word Taki didn't know. "Yeah, I've only been to one as well, for a grandfather," he explained. "I was much younger though. I don't think you do anything special...just kind of sit or stand there quietly and follow what everyone else is doing," he shrugged. He didn't know. The funeral he had been to had been a mass in a church and he wasn't really sure how this one would be.

[fryn]

So the taima Ben smoked was also illegal here in America. It made no difference to Takumi who smoked it. All he knew was that he never would. Taima - or normal cigarettes for that matter - had never appealed. He shook his head at Ben's snowboard and skateboard question. "I can ride my scooter but that's about it," he declared with a characteristic grin.

Takumi leaned closer when Ben spoke some more. "No not grandfather... the father of him," Takumi explained. It was so confusing. "Big grandfather?" He shook his head. It was something like that anyway. "Ok. So follow what the others are doing." He nodded just the once. "Hai! That I can do easily enough. Thank you, Ben," he added. Takumi wasn't even sure, though, if he would be with Izzy during the funeral. Back in Japan the close family were always set apart from the other mourners and as Takumi hadn't even met Izzy's mother then he didn't come anywhere near being close. Well, he was to Izzy, of course, but...

"Dare-kun lent me a suit. I didn't think my own clothes would be right for this. Nothing I own is really black colour. I mean, I have some black jeans but... no. Not for a funeral. Do I need to take anything with me? An offering to help Izzy's mother's spirit ascend? Insense perhaps? Or 'koden'? Aaah... Condolence money. It is given in Japan." He sighed slightly. "I am worried I will do or say the wrong thing," he admitted. "Or worse, NOT do or say the right thing!"

[Ben Patridge]

"Scooter...yeah...I don't think that will help much with surfing, but that's okay. Like I said, snowboarding and skateboarding experience can help, but its not like its necessary," Ben explained. To be honest, he wasn't sure how the other boy with fair in the waves but at least he was enthusiastic about it. Ben would rather deal with that than someone who just gave up right away.

"Oh, Great Grandfather," Ben said, giving the other boy the right word to use. Ben had never met his great grandparents as they had all passed away before he was born. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea...a suit," he clarified with a nod. Ben would have to dig one of his suits out of the back of the closet. He hated wearing them but he had a few from different premiers and award shows he'd attended with his parents.

He did feel a little awkward about the next question though, given that he honestly had no idea. It probably depended on what religion she'd been, which Ben wasn't sure about. He never really talked religion with Jett or Izzy and while he was sure it had been mentioned at some point, he honestly could not remember for the life of him what that was. "I'm sure Izzy would appreciate anything that you do," he told Taki. "She understands that you're used to different culture traditions and all that so I would just do whatever sounds right to you," he said with a shrug. "I'm really no expert on the subject...plus, my mom is sort of taking care of all that stuff," he explained. While both his parents had been on location shooting, they'd both flown back for the funeral. A lot of celebrities had. After all, Connie Chen was a well known actress, which made her death a bigger deal than most.

Ben finished off his coffee just as the bell rang. "I better get going," he said, standing up, as he didn't want to be late. "I'll see you later, Taki," he said. "And I really wouldn't stress about tonight at all, if I were you. Like I said, Izzy will appreciate anything you do. Anyway...I should really head to class," he said. He grabbed his text book, hoping he'd have some time to study before his quiz, but for now he had PE, so she'd have to head to the gym.

Wrapped for Ben