<div class="floatleft">(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o288/Leapyear12/4c3c7d1c-9e52-4a40-bc3a-3fc4ceb97de0_zpswhvfz6ge.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Koushouba Osamu (Sumi)<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Home / Class / Roof<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Open<br/><br/>There was a flare in her signature as she finished writing her report under the dim light of her desk lamp. Her bare knees were against the mat as she sat at the low desk in traditional style. The small room around her was otherwise dark. There was a mat on the floor with a solid pillow. On the wall was her two school uniforms. Nearby a cardboard box held some very worn manga and magazines. Her school bag was in the corner. There was nothing else, no shelves, no television, no radio, no computer. The room itself was so cramped that Sumi barely had room to stretch herself out on her sleeping mat. She put the assignments next to her on the floor, exhausted. It was one in the morning, but she had done all her chores and finished her homework. They shouldn't have anything to complain about. Once she turned the light off, the small room was completely dark. There was a sigh of relief that she hadn't been caught working so late before she drifted off in the dark.<br/><br/>She had that dream again, her mother. She was a little girl at the time. The road was so close and yet she was walking on the edge of the curb. Mother kept herself distracted, for some reason not scolding her. And then she tripped, falling towards the road. The oncoming truck looked so huge. It was going to squash her. Sumi squinted. A firm hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. It was the first and only time she had felt her mother's bosom, at least that she remembered. Sumi could look up to see the fear in mother's eyes. The memory of being forced to walk near the gate. The terrible fear of punishment, but for some reason, an even greater joy.<br/><br/>It was morning when she woke up. There was no window or alarm clock to tell her that, but she could here the birds chirping and that was more than enough to supplement her internal clock. The bathroom was empty so she washed her face in a hurry, and quickly brushed her teeth. If she cleaned up well there was barely any sign she had used it. Then she would take her toothbrush and her face rag back to her room to put in a plastic bag that was kept under her writing desk. But where was her homework! She swore she had laid them down right.... in the open, oh no, not again! Not again!<br/><br/>Not even thinking to dress Sumi checked the trash bins. She walked around the house seeking her papers a bit frantically, which disturbed her mother, Akane, who was reading a newspaper in the parlor.<div class="floatright">(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o288/Leapyear12/images_zpssfpxouac.jpg)</div>She  folded the newspaper as she stood up and went to see her daughter looking around the kitchen frantically, even checking the ice box for her papers.<br/><br/><strong>"What are you doing at his hour of the morning, not even dressed, you sneaky child!? Are trying to sneak some hoodlum into this house! So help me when your father returns...</strong>" her mother snapped.<br/><br/>Sumi went stiff, half in tears, stifling her voice to keep from shouting,<strong>"I worked all night on those papers!"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"What papers, are you doing this again? You're such a vile thing! Are you accusing me again?"</strong>Akane shook her head,<strong>"You always blame your parents for your failures, even after all we've done for you. You ungrateful little snake!"</strong><br/><br/>That's when Sumi felt the newspaper whack the back of her head with some force, she knelt down as the paper thumped her again and again on the back of the head,<strong>"Mother... I'm sorry... I didn't mean it. I'm very sorry. Gomenasai! Yurundekudasai! I'm so very sorry!"</strong><br/><br/>It finally ended, her mother simply snickering and going back to the parlor. Sumi knew she wouldn't see the papers, probably ever. She went to her bedroom and got dressed in the long skirt uniform, gathered her things. She would be in trouble for not having assignments again. If only she could find a better hiding place for them. On the way out, Sumi bowed respectfully to her mother.<br/><br/><strong>"Itte kimasu,"</strong>she said.<br/><br/><strong>"Osamu,"</strong>her mother said idly,<strong>"You don't have to keep up this charade. Everyone knows you are lazy, that you aren't bright or talented at anything. Your family has worked very hard to arrange your Marriage to Kumagawasan. Please stop being so stubborn, you don't need an education to be a good wife. You know how much I desire a grandson, that is the least you could do for me."</strong><br/><br/>Sumi bowed, red faced,<strong>"I'll keep that in mind, mother."</strong><br/><br/><em>I hope my first child is a daughter</em>, she thought.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>In class Sumi was working frantically. There was a lot of snickers and whispers around her desk. Osamu forgot to turn in her assignments the girl. There were the real and imagined whispers: The weird girl with the boy's name was such a headcase, she was so useless, how lazy could one be not to even do the assignments, maybe she was just really dumb. Sumi wanted to grab her hair and scream, but she could at least scrawl one paper done quickly from memory. Her pencil broke. no one would loan her a pencil. She was always borrowing them and had become a nuisance. What was she supposed to say, that her parents took her school supplies? Nobody would believe her. She tore up the half paper in frustration and slammed her head on her desk. There were some giggles all around as the teacher told her to go stand in the hall.<br/><br/>As she stood outside with a bucket of water in her hands, she simply looked at her reflection until her glasses slid off and fell into the bucket. Once the water had calmed, the little drops of water from her eyes made ripples on the surface. It was at least interesting enough to distract her a little bit.<br/><br/>It wasn't fair, none of it was fair. She had worked really hard on those assignments. Some of them were even make-up assignments that she couldn't do again. How was she supposed to pass her classes like this? She sighed, it was still better than being home. But it was hopeless if she couldn't keep her grades up or make friends. Perhaps if she married that ugly old man her parents would be nice to her a little more often, maybe he would be nice to her. Maybe the answer was to just give up. But she'd rather die than marry that bloated puke face. Or maybe, if she'd really rather die, maybe she could jump off the roof. If she wasn't such a coward she'd do it. Then maybe they would understand.<br/><br/>Her legs started shaking. They were all right about her! She was so useless she was too afraid to even do one simple jump!<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Lunch finally came. Sumi had a ball of rice to nibble on. There was a spot in the very corner of the roof where she could sit in the sun with some degree of solitude. She didn't have to watch the 'normal students' talking to one another as she ate. Most of them even had cell phones with internet. Sumi flipped open her prepaid phone, she was only allowed to use it to keep contact with her parents. She kept it in her lap. No one had called, and there were no texts. She flicked her hair back and looked about. There was a nice wind up here, the weather was wonderful. The back of her head hurt a bit and she rubbed it tenderly. As she finished the rice she stood up, her things were left in the corner. There was a safety fence with a wide rail that she could easily climb, she was quite limber. The sun beat down on her face and the wind caressed her hair.<br/><br/><strong>"I'm not going to be a coward this time, I'm standing up here so I have to do it before somebody sees me. I have to hurry,"</strong>she whispered,<strong>"But why won't my legs stop shaking"</strong><br/><br/><em>Lazy, dumb, sneaky, untalented, weird, careless, sloppy, vile, ungrateful, no-good, rebellious.</em>Sumi stretched out her arms, trying to calm herself with deep breathing as she kept her balance. She closed her eyes and wondered what it would feel like to just tilt her body a little bit forward. That was all she needed the courage to do, just tilt her body a little bit forward. This time her mother wouldn't be able to stop her. Would her parents, would anybody finally understand?<br/><br/><em>Would anybody even miss me, would anybody even miss me at all?</em>