Realistic or Modern road trips and reconnections | closed with yoonie.

[goodbyeskyharbor]

Satomi Noda knew that there was no way that things would go well when she came home and told her parents the truth, but that didn’t make the fallout hurt any less. Just a week ago she was in university, barely holding on, and now she was here with no plan in sight, with nothing but the open road ahead of her. A part of it was scary, but at the same time, it was kind of… freeing. The last time she’d had nothing planned would have been early childhood, and even then her parents’ had piled things on her shoulders. Things couldn’t remain the way they were forever, but she was excited to finally figure out who she really was as a person.

All she had was her belongings from her university dorm piled up into bags in her car, and a few things she’d salvaged from her bedroom before time was up and her parents made it clear that it was time to go. Her money wouldn’t last forever, either, her only living off what she’d managed to save over time, and she was unsure about settling down and getting a job just yet. She’d have to figure it out soon, but for now, she had decided to take the strategy of saving until she managed to put a plan in order. It meant sleeping in her car most nights so far, something she still wasn’t quite used to, but it was far better than having no money on top of no connections.

Food took up most of her money at the present moment, coming second to fuel. She tried to make smart choices, though, leading to her stopping at a twenty four hour diner when the hunger got a bit too much to bear much longer. The carpark was just about empty at this hour, populated by several trucks and one or two other cars, and the lights from the diner produced an eerie glow that made her feel like she was on another planet. The inside was much the same. Several truck drivers sat together with sandwiches and coffee, laughing over something she couldn’t understand, and a mother tried her best to control her tired, cranky children in a booth in the corner. It wasn’t her usual scene, but despite the strange feeling of being in a place at this hour, it felt somewhat… comforting at the same time.

She grabbed a seat at a booth by the window, looking out at the cars in the distance and the few lights that dotted the distance. Her stomach growling reminded her of her purpose here, so with a sigh, she turned her attention to the menu. Ultimately, she ordered a tall mug of coffee and the soup of the a day. It was reasonably cheap, and she was sure it would be satisfying enough. After that, she’d be back on the road again. For now, this was going to be her life, and she told herself to go with it. Perhaps it would lead her somewhere better that she’d never even imagined before.

yoonie

 

[yoonie]

Coffee. Mae could really use some coffee right about now. For hours the only thing that had been fueling her was the rush of adrenaline that hit her whenever she realized that yeah, she was really doing this, driving across the country with nothing holding her back, and the slight anger she still felt whenever she remembered what had prompted this trip in the first place. Unfortunately, both the adrenaline and the anger had simmered down quite a bit 12 hours into the drive, and the cheap energy bar she'd had as a snack several hours ago was no longer sustaining her growling stomach. So yeah, coffee and food were top priorities at the moment.

The pink neon lights did their job in catching her attention, and after figuring it was probably the only place open this late apart from a Mcdonald's, Mae parked her car in front of a 24-hour diner that looked like it came straight out of the 1950s. There didn't seem to be very many guests at this late hour, but Mae sort of preferred that anyways. It made her feel like she was one of the last people on Earth, destined to meet the remaining survivors at this dingy diner to figure out what the hell was going on. When she stepped through the diner doors accompanied by the chime of a bell to announce her arrival, Mae wasn't too convinced these people would be ideal end-of-the-world comrades, but she could appreciate the atmosphere in the diner nonetheless. She glanced around, hands in her jacket pockets as she tried to find the best place to sit.

There wasn't really a need for a booth, she was just one person and was hardly expecting any company, so she opted for a bar stool at the front of the diner. There was an older woman working the counter, the kind of woman with a comforting smile that could make anyone feel at home despite being in a nearly empty diner hundreds of miles away from home. Mae ordered coffee and a club sandwich, thanking the waitress before casting her gaze around the room yet again, this time less focused on where to sit and moreso on the diner's other occupants. There was a mother and a child, hidden away at a corner booth and looking beyond exhausted, and a group of truckers who were chatting away as if it were noon instead of midnight. Their hearty laughter and endless coffee requests combined with the music playing from a jukebox in the corner (something old-school that Mae wasn't 'hipster' enough to know) filled the diner with just the right amount of noise.

There was one more person tucked away at a booth, a girl whose face was turned out towards the window. Mae couldn't deny she was surprised to find another girl her age there, or at least someone who looked her age. Naturally, Mae's interest was piqued. She knew her own situation, why she was at a diner in the middle of nowhere this late at night, but she couldn't help but wonder what the other girl was doing there. It didn't help her curiosity that the figure looked familiar, which was kind of ridiculous because Mae could only barely see her side-profile without fully staring, but then again Mae liked to think that after years of drawing people and studying how to capture their faces on paper, she sort of had a knack for this kind of thing. She tore her gaze away when the food came, though the waitress behind the counter did give her an amused look when Mae snuck another glance at the girl by the window before starting on her meal.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

With so little customers at the diner at such an hour, it didn't take long for Satomi to recieve her food. The soup looked far better than she expected something made at a diner that could easily be at the edge of the Earth to be. It was hearty instead of watery, and she could see plenty of chicken and vegetables in it. While a small thing, it felt like an odd sort of sign that she'd made the right choice. The woman that she was at university was in no way someone she could be proud of. She was living a lie and had fallen apart, and when she couldn't take it any longer, she began to lash out. She drank too much. Failed her classes. Burned every bridge she had. The last thing she had to do was talk to her parents, and that proved to be the hardest thing of all. It was done now, though, and she had to live in the now. This soup at a little 24 hour diner was just one of many new experiences for her, and while nerves still simmered in her stomach, she told herself to enjoy it.

Satomi started on the soup, nodding in approval to a crowd of no one. She focused her attention on the food, well and truly needing it after the day she'd had, but a... strange feeling came over her after awhile. It wasn't something that she could confirm, but she had a sinking feeling she was being watched. Instinctively, she moved to wipe her mouth with a napkin, then began to look around, trying her best to be discreet. Her attention first went to the truckers, deciding that they'd be the most likely to be so rude, but the group of mean were far more focused on their apparently hilarious conversation and the food in front of them. Not them. She didn't even bother to look at the mother. When she walked in, she looked so busy dealing with her kids to have the energy to look at anyone. Strange. Perhaps she was paranoid, but she wanted an answer, and it came when she looked at the bar.

She caught the very end of the woman's look. Satomi looked away, feeling heat seep into her cheeks. She busied herself taking a drink of coffee, but her mind wouldn't leave the woman alone. It was hard to judge when she'd barely gotten a look at her, but there was a sense of something familiar. She knew for sure it wasn't Yukie or Haruka. Perhaps it was her shame that influenced that, but she refused to believe in was either of her now ex friends. Her mind went a little further back than that. High school... someone she hadn't known for too long, in the scheme of things. She felt absolutely awful upon the realisation, but she just couldn't bring her name to mind. At least, not right away.

Mae. Oh, Mae! She realised why she couldn't remember her now. Once again, it was to do with shame. It hadn't been a spectacular bust up like things with Haruka and Yukie last week, but perhaps, a... slow slipping away. University had been far worse in the long run, but the end of high school was a miserable haze that she struggled to pull herself out of. She was so focused on trying to get back her model student status and make her parents proud that everything else fell by the wayside. She didn't have the energy for it. Thinking about it, she was embarrassed. The only thing that felt more embarrassing was thinking about going over there and the woman being a complete stranger. She let the thoughts swirl around in her head as she finished off her soup, before finally making a choice. She'd done far harder things today. Potential humiliation couldn't be too bad in the scheme of things.

Once the soup was finished, Satomi took the empty bowl and her half-full mug of coffee over to the counter. She slid the bowl over to the kind looking waitress who offered her a sweet 'thank you,' then slid into the booth beside the mysterious woman. She didn't know how to go about this. Socialising had never been her strong suit, so she decided to get right to the point. "...Mae?"

 

[yoonie]

Oh god, she'd definitely been caught staring. Well, 'definitely' maybe had been a strong word, technically Mae hadn't been able to tell if the other girl caught her looking or not before she'd turned her head away, but the worry of having been caught and seeming like a creep was enough to keep Mae from glancing back again for the remainder of her meal. The sandwich was nothing short of delicious and the coffee did its job in reviving her for the most part, but the young woman by the window lingered in her mind. She'd seemed so familiar, and it practically pained Mae not being able to put her finger on just who she was. Surely she wasn't imagining it, right? Then again, maybe she was just a doppelganger of a friend or classmate from university, but Mae's memory wasn't so bad that she'd already forgotten her classmates- at least, she hoped not. She could already tell this was going to be one of those things that bugged her for a while, the sort of thing that would come to her at 1 a.m a few nights from today and cause her to sit upright in her bed when she finally remembered who the other girl was or who she reminded her of.

Mae tried to focus on finishing her coffee, legs crossed at the ankles as she tried to figure out her next course of action. Finding a cheap motel a little further down would probably be good; the caffeine rush from the coffee would only last her so long. She was just about to slide her phone out of her jacket pocket to look up the nearest motel when suddenly the girl from earlier appeared beside her, and Mae's lips parted in surprise when she was face to face with none other than Satomi. As in, Satomi Noda from high school, who used to be her close friend and confidant until senior year caused them to drift apart. Mae held no bitter feelings towards the other though, they hadn't ended on bad terms and she'd chalked it up to just being a part of growing up and going their separate ways at the time, what with Satomi being the perfect student on her way to law school and Mae immersing herself in her art portfolio. Now, however, all Mae felt was pure joy and a rush of excitement at seeing Satomi again.

"Oh my god, Satomi?" she exclaimed in near-disbelief, though she was already having to hold herself back from simply reaching over and wrapping the other up in an embrace. It had been long enough that Mae wasn't sure what the proper form of greeting was without being awkward or invasive, so she settled with spinning in her seat to face Satomi, leaning forward excitedly. "I can't believe it's you! I mean, I spotted you when I first came in and you looked familiar but it was hard to tell without staring, y'know? I was worried you'd think I was a creep," she explained with a laugh. "How the hell did we end up meeting here of all places?"

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

So… this was the moment of truth. Either she had embarrassed herself, adding yet another piece of misfortune to her day, or she’d done something right. She had wanted to reconnect with Mae, she really did… but she never got around to it. After her mental health truly began to slump, the only thing that Satomi could focus on was surviving. Then there was university, trying to adapt, getting too used to finally having some freedom… and then, she fell apart. As bad as it sounded to her, Mae slipped from her mind. Maybe now, she could make some amends if it was her.

Turns out, she was right. Despite the guilt in the pit of her stomach, Satomi’s eyes lit up when she saw Mae, her first genuine smile in what felt like forever forming on her features. It was silly, and she would definitely never say it out loud, but she didn’t feel as alone out there now. “Yes, it’s me,” she said through a laugh, reaching for her mug of coffee. “I was wondering who that girl looking in my general direction was, to be honest. I had hoped I wasn’t going to be dealing with a creep… but then I noticed you looked rather familiar.”

The words were meant to be playful, and she hoped that they came across in that manner - it had been awhile since she’d socialised in a more… positive way, to be honest. She tried to soak up the last of her smile before she had to get to the hard part… answering Mae’s question. That was certainly a big one. There was no way she could dump everything on Mae, though. She didn’t want to do that to anyone, and dumping everything on her old friend felt like a prime way to scare her away.

“Well… things have changed pretty quickly for me, you could say. I just wanted to get away for awhile. Never thought that I’d bump into someone familiar,” she tried her best to put it in a lighthearted way, but it was hard to keep the pain out of her voice. She took another sip of her coffee, wishing that she had something stronger, but she had to make do with what she had. It was time to try and make herself more comfortable, and that meant turning the conversation back on Mae. “What about you?”