Cobra & Mimi Note: The color of Mimi’s eyes was changed because the author thought that blue eyes would look good on Mimi, as well as to avoid any confusion and because the author has always had a thing for blue eyed girls. The sun was setting in the sky as Cobra and Mimi made their way home from the mall. They had gone to the mall because Mimi had complained that they hardly ever did anything since their relationship had started. Mimi had bought two gold heart lockets for each of them with each of their pictures in them and an inscription which read: C&M, for always Cobra thought that Mimi looked even more beautiful without her pink cowboy hat on. And every time Mimi looked at him with her deep blue eyes, he felt like he could get lost in them. Cobra looked at his watch, it read 21:30   “Hey you wanna go catch a movie at the multiplex?” Cobra asked, after looking at his watch “I can’t, I have to be home in a half hour.” Mimi replied “Oh, bummer.” Cobra said. “How do you like your present?” Mimi asked suddenly “It’s great, but what’s it for?” Cobra replied. “It’s to mark our one month anniversary, silly.” Mimi said, looking at him with her deep blue eyes and making him start to melt.  “Oh it’s beautiful, almost as beautiful as you.” Mimi giggled upon hearing this, blushed, and then asked. “Do you really think I’m beautiful?” “Of course I do.” Cobra replied. “You’re the most beautiful girl that I’ve gone out with.” Mimi was puzzled by Cobra’s remark. “What do you mean by ever gone out with?” she asked. Cobra sighed and looked up at the sky, watching the last pinks and reds fade. “Well, I was hoping that this wouldn’t come up but since it has, I might as well tell you.” Cobra replied “I’ve had other relationships before but they didn’t last more than two weeks. This relationship is the first to last for a month.” “Then why did you ask me out?” Mimi asked. “I asked you out because you’re the first girl that captured my heart with your intelligence, beauty and because you have the prettiest blue eyes that I’ve ever seen.” Cobra replied. “Aww.” Mimi sighed. “That’s the prettiest thing I’ve heard you say.” Cobra didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t have to say anything because Mimi leaned over and kissed him on the lips. “Wow.” Cobra said, amazed. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.” Cobra looked at his watch after Mimi had finished kissing him; it read 21:40. “Didn’t you say that you had to be home in a half hour?” Cobra asked “That’s what I said.” Replied Mimi “Well we’ve got twenty minutes before you’re late.” Cobra said “Yikes!” Mimi yelled. “We’d better hurry.” And the two of them began to run as fast as they could to Mimi’s house. They made it to Mimi’s house just as Cobra’s watch alarm began to ring. “Goodnight Mimi.” Cobra said, as Mimi walked up the front steps of her house. “Goodnight.” Mimi replied. “Are we going out tomorrow night?” “Sure, why not.” Cobra replied, turning to leave. But before he could start on his way, both of them saw a car pulling into the driveway. Cobra and Mimi saw Mimi’s mum getting out of the car. “Whoops, I’d better be on my way Mimi.” “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Cobra started on his way to his house. But in order to get to his house, he had to cross a bridge that separated the upper class area of the city from the lower class area of the city. Cobra didn’t like to walk across this bridge because it was a hangout for hoods and bums during the night. Cobra had just stepped onto the bridge when he saw a scruffy looking boy, no older than him, standing on the other end of the bridge, blocking his way. “Well if it isn’t snake boy.” The scruffy boy spat at Cobra. “Don’t call me snake boy.” Cobra shot back, his combat knife drawn. The scruffy boy laughed, and then said. “Get used to it.” “And anyway what are you gonna do to stop me?” the scruffy boy asked. “How bout if I beat you senseless?” Cobra shot back. The two boys lunged at each other; the scruffy boy swung his fist, hitting Cobra in the eye. Cobra retaliated by punching the scruffy boy in the cheekbone. The scruffy boy grabbed a stick that was lying on the bridge and swung it at Cobra, hitting him in the ribs. Cobra slashed open the scruffy boy’s hand, making him drop the stick that he was holding. The scruffy boy pulled out a knife that he was carrying and tore open Cobra’s arm. Cobra retreated to a safe distance to regroup. The moment passed quickly. The scruffy boy lunged at Cobra again. But Cobra sidestepped the attack, grabbed the boy’s arm and judo flipped him onto his back. The scruffy boy managed to tear open a deep gash in Cobra’s waist before Cobra moved out of range. The scruffy boy, though bleeding, lunged at Cobra with his knife, cutting part of his lip. Cobra, also badly hurt and bleeding, backed off for a second. This only made the scruffy boy lunge at him again. Cobra sidestepped again, grabbed the scruffy boy’s arm and flung over the side of the bridge. Cobra watched as the boy fell 5 and a half feet into the river below. He saw the scruffy boy rise to the surface. “THIS ISN’T OVER!” Cobra heard him yell as the fast flowing current of the river carried him away. Using the bridge rail for support, Cobra struggled to his feet. Cobra was bleeding badly. But he managed to get onto his feet. Suddenly he heard a voice from behind him shout. “COBRA!” It was Mimi, she had remembered that the bridge was dangerous at night. Cobra could also make out another figure standing near a car. “Are you alright Cobra?” she asked. “I’ll be ok.” Cobra replied, and passed out.   Cobra awoke to find himself in a hospital bed. Everyone he knew from everywhere he had been was there; Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, T.k and Kari were crowded around his bed. “What’s going on?” Cobra asked, holding his head. “What am I doing here?” “Mimi and her mum brought you here after you fainted.” Kari replied. Cobra tried to sit up, but the deep gash in his waist began to give off a searing pain so he just lay back down in his hospital bed.   “Where’s Mimi anyway?” Cobra asked. “She’s decided to wait outside until we’ve all left before she comes in.” Izzy replied.  “You’re one brave guy Cobra.” Said Matt. “Thanks Matt, but what exactly do you mean?” Cobra replied. “I think you’re a brave guy because you’re always trying to protect all of us.” Matt said. “Oh ok.” Cobra replied “You’re pretty brave in all the ways that you try to protect T.K.” Just then, Cobra’s doctor walked in. Cobra recognized him. It was Joe, the member of the group that was studying to be a doctor. “Hey Joe where you going with that gun of yours.” Cobra sang, getting a disapproving look from the rest of the group. “What’d I say?” he asked, seeing the look on everyone’s faces. “That’s not funny Cobra,” replied Kari. “How’s the medical study going?” Cobra asked. “It’s a little hectic sometimes, but it’s cool.” Joe replied. “I see you got roughed up somewhere Cobra.” “Yeah it happens all the time when I go home from Mimi’s.” Cobra said, as Joe began to look at Cobra’s medical report. “How’s it look?” Cobra asked. “Well.” Joe began. “All your eye needs is some ice to decrease the swelling but the wounds on your arm and waist will need some stitches in order to close them over.” Cobra noticed his friends were getting ready to leave. “We’re going to go now Cobra but we’ll be back to visit you tomorrow.” Said Matt. “Before you go, can you send Mimi in?” Cobra asked. “Sure.” Replied Matt. Cobra watched his friends leave. Cobra began to wonder why his stepbrother hadn’t shown up. He was so busy thinking about this; he didn’t notice Mimi walk in. “Cobra are you awake?” Mimi asked. “Of course I’m awake, I couldn’t miss looking at your beautiful face for a second.” Cobra replied. “Oh Cobra.” Mimi sighed. “You say the prettiest things.” And then she kissed him. Cobra looked around his hospital room and saw Joe standing in the doorway, looking at his watch. “Time for you to go now Mimi.” Joe said “Already?’ Cobra asked, disappointed. “Unfortunately yes.” Joe replied. “I’ll come and see you tomorrow.” Mimi said, leaning down and kissing him again before she left. “Man she’s beautiful.” Said Cobra, thinking out loud. Joe heard him and asked. “You two must really care about each other don’t you?” “Yeah we do.” Cobra replied. “How long have you two been together?” Joe asked. “A month.” Replied Cobra. Joe found his way to a nearby chair, sat down and asked. “How did you two get together anyway?” “It’s a long story.” Cobra replied. “Looks like it’ll have to wait.” Joe said, looking at his watch. “I’ve got to go back on duty.” Cobra watched as Joe left. After Joe left, Cobra looked around his hospital room again but he didn’t see anything new. Cobra began to think about why Greg hadn’t shown up again. “Maybe he wasn’t able to come because he’s busy doing something else.” Cobra thought, yawning. Cobra adjusted his pillow, laid back, closed his eyes and was soon asleep. The next day, when Cobra woke up, the sun was shining brightly into his room. Cobra saw all his friends, except for Mimi and Joe, were crowded round his bed. “Hi Cobra, how are you feeling today?” asked Matt. “A little better.” Cobra replied. “That’s great.” Matt said “Yeah.” Added Tai. “I’m surprised that you think so Matt.” Cobra replied. “Why?” asked Matt. “I always thought that you didn’t care about anyone but T.K.” “That’s not true.” Matt replied. “I just care about T.K more because he’s my brother.” “Oh.” Cobra said. “We miss having you with us.” T.K squeaked. “Get well soon.” “I’ll do my best dude.” Cobra replied. The group’s attention was drawn toward the doorway by a loud noise. Everyone saw a figure standing there. “Hey, what’s going on?” the figure asked. Cobra recognized the voice and he knew that belonged to his stepbrother Greg. “Why didn’t you come to see me yesterday?” Cobra asked. “I was busy tying up lose ends.” Greg replied. Cobra was puzzled by Greg’s reply. “What do you mean by that?” Cobra asked. “I mean exactly what I said.” Greg replied. Sora gave Greg a disapproving look. “Don’t be mean to your brother.” She told him.    “He’s my stepbrother, not my brother.” Greg shot back. Cobra saw Mimi standing in the doorway. “Guys, can you give me a minute.” Said Cobra, interrupting the argument between Greg and Sora. “Why?” asked Tai Cobra indicated Mimi standing in the doorway. “Oh ok.” Said Tai, getting up to leave. All the others started to leave as well, when they had all left, Cobra motioned for Mimi to come in. He could see that she had a smile on her face. “What’s with the smile?” Cobra asked. “You’re going to be released this afternoon.” Mimi replied happily. “Did Joe tell you?” Cobra asked. Mimi nodded. “I’m sorry that we weren’t able to go out last night.” Cobra said. “Don’t be sorry” Mimi replied. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” “I’m glad you came to see me again Mimi.” Cobra said. Cobra looked towards the hallway outside of his hospital room and noticed Joe standing there, holding a sheet of paper. “Whoops.” Said Joe. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” “It’s alright Joe.” Cobra said. “We were just talking.” Joe looked at his watch again. It read 10:00. “It’s time for you to go now Mimi.” “I’ll see you later today.” Mimi said to Cobra. And leaned over the side of his bed and kissed him before she left. Cobra and Joe watched Mimi leave. “She is beautiful.” Joe said, after Mimi had left. “You finally agree with me about that.” Cobra replied. Joe was  getting a little flustered. “Don’t you think you should get some sleep before you get released?” he asked.           “Yeah you’re right, maybe I should get some sleep.” Cobra replied, adjusting his pillow and yawning. “I’ll come back later and get your wounds dealt with.” Joe said. Cobra nodded, closed his eyes and was asleep before Joe left the room.  After Joe left the room, he started walking over to the front desk. On his way there, he ran into Mimi again. “Is Cobra all right?” she asked. “He’s sleeping right now, but I’ll tell him that you came.” Joe replied. “Thanks Joe.” Mimi said, and began walking toward the main entrance of the hospital. Joe began to walk with her. “I hope I can see Cobra after he gets released.” Mimi said to Joe, before she left. “Don’t worry you will.” Joe said, reassuringly. After Mimi had left Joe walked over to the reception desk and asked the receptionist. “What goes on in your part?” The receptionist was about to reply, but was interrupted by the arrival of Greg in the area, who was always trying to make dramatic entrances. Joe shook his head. “Haven’t you heard of being quiet in a hospital?” Joe asked. “Hospitals are always too quiet.” Greg replied, a bit loudly.   “I thought that this place needed a little action.” “Hospitals are quiet for a reason, Greg.” Joe pointed out. “Many people here need to recover from accidents. They need their rest.” “Why do we have to go through this every time I come here?” Greg asked, rolling his eyes in disgust.   “Why did you come here to begin with?” Joe asked. “You should know by now.” Greg retorted. “I came here to see Cobra.” “Well you’d better hurry up because he’s going to be released this afternoon.” Joe said. “And try to keep down the noise.” Greg rolled his eyes as he walked down the hall to Cobra’s room. Cobra had been sleeping but he was awakened by the clatter at the front entrance. “Hey Greg.” Cobra said, when he saw Greg enter his hospital room. “Hey yourself.” Greg replied. Cobra looked at the clock on the wall of his hospital room. It read 4:30. “Well we’ve got a few hours before I get released.” He said. “That should give us some time to talk.” Greg found a chair, dragged it over to the side of Cobra’s bed and sat down in it. “Have you found a new place for us to live yet?” Cobra asked. “Not yet but I’m still looking.” Greg replied. “I’m getting sick of having to fight off all those hoods and bums every time I come home from Mimi’s.” Cobra said. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to Mimi’s house anymore.” Greg replied. “Mimi and I like walking to her house together.” Cobra said. MIMI, MIMI, MIMI! THAT”S ALL YOU”VE EVER TALKED ABOUT THESE PAST FEW DAYS!” Greg yelled, attracting the attention of every one of the medical staff in the vicinity, including Joe. “I’ve told you before to be quiet.” Joe said to Greg. “He’s just mad because I haven’t talked about anything besides Mimi.” Cobra replied. “Well if he’s going to yell about it he can go somewhere else.” Joe said. Joe’s remark was the last straw for Greg. Cobra saw him glare at Joe as he left. “I’m glad he’s gone.” Joe said to Cobra. “Why?” asked Cobra. “Because he’s always being loud.” Joe replied. “You’d better keep an eye on him.” Cobra said. “He can do a lot of damage when he’s like this.” Both of them heard the sound of glass breaking a few seconds later. “I think he just broke a window.” Cobra said, unimpressed. “I’ll go and check.” Joe replied. Joe walked out into the hallway and looked toward the main entrance of the hospital. At first he didn’t see anything, so he began to walk toward the front doors. When Joe reached the front doors of the hospital, he saw that one of the front doors had its glass window completely shattered. After surveying the damage, Joe walked back towards Cobra’s room. “You were half right Cobra.” Joe said, after sitting down in a nearby chair. “How do you mean?” Cobra asked. “Greg did break a window.” Joe replied. Cobra rolled his eyes and said. “I told you so, didn’t I?” “You never told me that he could do things like that.” Joe replied “Are you gonna do something about my wounds?” Cobra asked, changing the subject. “I completely forgot about that.” Joe replied. “I’ll be right back.” Joe left the room for a few minutes and Cobra thought to himself. “Greg’s always breaking stuff when he’s mad.” After a few Joe came back, holding a medical tray with some stitches, some stitching tape, and a stitching needle. Cobra could see a syringe full of some kind of liquid. “What’s that for?” Cobra asked, looking at the syringe. “That’s a way to keep you from feeling any discomfort.” Joe replied. “Can we just get on with this?” Cobra asked, impatiently “Of course.” Replied Joe, preparing the syringe. “You might want to look away.” Joe said. “This won’t be pleasant.” “I’ve been in worse situations.” Cobra replied. “So I can handle this one.” “Ok then, here it goes.” Joe said, injecting Cobra with the syringe. After a few seconds, Cobra’s arm felt like it wasn’t there at all. “Is that what’s supposed to happen?” Cobra asked. “Yep.” Joe replied. Joe began to prepare the stitching needle and stitches. “You ready for this?” Asked Joe. “Let’s get this over with.” Cobra repeated. “Ok.” Joe said, beginning to stitch the open gash on Cobra’s arm closed. When he had finished Cobra’s arm, Cobra looked at him and asked. “Is that it?” “That’s it for that one but I still have the gash in your waist to close up.” Joe Replied. “You’re going to have to remove any clothing that’s in the way.” Joe said, looking at Cobra’s fatigue shirt. Cobra began to lift up his shirt, but as he was almost finished, he saw Mimi walk in and he had to pull his shirt back down very quickly. “Hey what’s going on?” Joe asked, angrily “I’ve got company.” Cobra replied, looking at Mimi. Joe looked over to Cobra’s bedside and saw Mimi standing there. “I think you might want to wait outside.” Joe told Mimi, who had an unpleasant look on her face. “We’re almost done Mimi.” Cobra said “It won’t take much longer.” Mimi nodded and walked out into the hall. Back in Cobra’s room, Joe was busy injecting Cobra’s waist with the syringe. Cobra got the same feeling that he had in his arm in his waist. Cobra saw Joe preparing the stitching needle and stitches. “Are we going to get this over with?” Cobra asked. “Of course.” Joe replied. “And it won’t take long.” “Ok.” Cobra said. Cobra watched as Joe began to stitch the gash in Cobra’s waist closed. When Joe was finished, Cobra looked at him. “Is that it?” “That’s it.” Replied Joe Cobra looked at the clock on the wall of his hospital room. It read 6:30. “Am I free to leave now?” Cobra asked. “Not yet, I just need you to sign the release form.” Joe replied. Cobra looked at him. “Oh.” Cobra said. “I thought that only a parent or guardian was allowed to sign those kind of things.” “Not if you’re 18 or older, which you are.” Joe replied. “Well, I might as well get that over with too.” Cobra said, with a sigh. “That’s true.” Joe replied, with a laugh. Joe left the room to get the release form for Cobra to sign, on the way out he passed by Mimi. “Can I go in and see him now?” She asked “Sure, but he’s a little out of it because of the side effects from the freezing agent.” Joe replied. Mimi nodded and walked into Cobra’s room. “Are you ready to get out into the world again?” she asked. Cobra groaned and rubbed his head. “Yeah, but I’ve got such a headache.” Cobra replied. Mimi giggled and said. “I kind of figured that you would.” “I’ve really missed being with you.” Cobra said. “Aww.” Mimi sighed. “I’ve missed you being with me too.” Mimi leaned over the side of Cobra’s bed and kissed him. “What was that for?” Cobra asked. “That’s for all the pretty things you’ve said to me.” Mimi replied. Cobra noticed Joe coming back with the release form. “Where do you want me to sign?” Cobra asked. “You can sign your name on the dotted line at the bottom.” Joe replied. “Can I get something for my headache first?” Cobra asked. Joe smiled. “Sure.” He replied, and left the room. After Joe had left, Cobra looked at Mimi. “I’m glad to be getting out of here so I can spend more time with you.” Cobra said. “I’m glad that you’re getting out of here too.” Mimi replied, looking at him with her deep blue eyes. “Man you’re beautiful.” Cobra said. Mimi was about to kiss him again, but Joe’ s arrival interrupted the proceedings. “Here’s a couple of aspirins, I hope they help get rid of your headache.” Joe said, handing Cobra the aspirins. Cobra took them in his mouth and swallowed them in one gulp. Mimi was completely shocked. “How on earth can you do that?” She asked. “It’s easy once you know how to do it.” Cobra replied. Once he had taken the aspirin, Cobra’s headache slowly began to disappear. “Ok.” Cobra said. “I’m ready to get out of this hospital.” “Just sign your release form.” Joe told him. Cobra signed his name on the sheet of paper. Once that was done, Cobra got out of his hospital bed, picked up his stuff and with Mimi hanging on his arm, started walking to the front door of the hospital.  When Cobra walked outside, he had a smile on his face. It was early evening as Cobra and Mimi began to venture to Mimi’s house. Cobra’s smile suddenly faded when a thought struck him. “What’s the matter?” Mimi asked, looking at the worried expression on Cobra’s face. “I just realized that I’m gonna have to cross that bridge again.” Cobra replied. Mimi looked at him and smiled. “You could stay at my house tonight.” She said. Cobra was shocked when he heard this. “Are you serious?” he asked. “Absolutely.” Mimi replied Cobra’s mind began to wander; this was the first time that any of his girlfriends was going to allow him to spend the night at her house. “Are you sure that your parents are going to allow this?” Cobra asked. “I don’t really know, but what I do know is that my mom knows you.” Cobra looked up at the darkening sky, he could see that a few stars had come out and were shining brightly. “Look there’s a shooting star.” Cobra said, watching as a bright stream of light shot across the sky. “If you see a shooting star you’re supposed to make a wish.” Mimi replied. Cobra thought about this for a minute and decided what to wish for. “There I’ve made my wish.” He said. “What did you wish for?” asked Mimi. “I can’t tell you.” Cobra replied. “If I tell, my wish won’t come true.” “I’ve never heard that expression before.” Mimi said. “Well that’s what I’ve been told.” Cobra replied. “And I’m still not sure about this.” “Stop worrying about it.” Mimi replied. “I’m sure my mom will allow you spend the night.” Mimi’s reply put Cobra’s mind to rest for a while. The pair of them walked on in silence until they reached Mimi’s house. When they had reached Mimi’s house, Cobra watched as Mimi walked up to the front door of her house. Cobra saw a car in the driveway, and he knew that it belonged to Mimi’s parents “You know, this is the first time that I’ve met your mother.” Cobra said. “No it isn’t.” Mimi replied. “You got to meet my mother when we she helped me get you to the hospital. “That’s true.” Cobra said. “But I was unconscious then.” Mimi opened the door and they walked into Mimi’s house. Cobra looked around, and was amazed at the size of Mimi’s house. “Is that you Mimi?” A voice asked. “Yes mom.” Mimi replied. “And a friend.” “Mom, is it ok if my friend spends the night here?” Mimi asked. “Yes but I have to meet your friend first.” The voice replied. Cobra watched as Mimi began to remove her shoes and begin walking toward the source of the voice. “Come on.” Mimi said, gesturing for Cobra to come with her. Cobra wasn’t sure what to do, but he knew he had to do something. “What’s going on?” Cobra asked. “Just take off your shoes and follow me.” Mimi replied. Cobra took off his shoes and followed Mimi as she led him into a relatively large room. Cobra looked around and saw that this room was a combination kitchen and dining area. He also saw a bunch of shopping bags sitting on a counter. “Looks like your mom’s been shopping.” Cobra commented. “My mom’s always going shopping for stuff.” Mimi replied. “Is that why you always want to go shopping?” Cobra asked, trying hard not to laugh. “You’re going get yourself into trouble.” Mimi said, with a smile on her face. Cobra heard the voice of Mimi’s mom coming closer to them and he began to get really nervous. “Just relax Cobra.” Mimi told him “My mom will remember you.” “I hope you’re right about this Mimi.” Cobra replied. “I don’t really know how to act around someone like your mother.” “Just be yourself, but try to stay well mannered.” Cobra took a deep breath and thought about what Mimi had said to him. “I’m certainly going to try my best.” Cobra said. Cobra and Mimi waited for Mimi’s mom to return to the kitchen area. “Well hello there young man.” Cobra and Mimi heard a voice from behind them; they turned around to see Mimi’s mom standing there with two bags of vegetables. Cobra noticed that one of the bags was slipping out of her arm. Cobra stepped forward, grabbed the bag with a hand and heaved it into his arms before it fell to the floor. Mimi and her mom were totally shocked by this display. “You never told me that you were able to do that.” Mimi said. “How on earth did you manage to lift that” Mimi’s mom asked. “I was able to do what I did because of my army training.” Cobra replied, still holding the bag. “And where do you want me to put this?” “Over there, by the sink.” Mimi’s mom replied Cobra walked over to where Mimi’s mom was pointing, and set the vegetable bag down. “Haven’t I met you before?” Mimi’s mom asked, after Cobra had finished the task. “Don’t you remember mom?” Mimi broke in “We took him to the hospital after the fight on the bridge.” Cobra smiled, he was pleased that Mimi had remembered that event. Mimi’s mom suddenly remembered. “Now I remember, you were just saying goodnight to Mimi when I got home that night.” Cobra nodded. “That’s right Mrs. Tachikawa.” Mimi’s mom began to look at Cobra for a few minutes. “And why are you in my house?” she asked. “I’m here because Mimi invited me.” Cobra replied. Mimi broke in and began to speak. “He’s half right mom.” Mimi said. “I invited him in, but I also said that he could stay the night.” Mimi’s mom was speechless for a few minutes but she began speaking a few minutes later. “Why would you tell a poor boy from the wrong side of town that he could stay in my house?” she asked Mimi. “But he’s not a poor boy.”  Mimi replied. “He’s living on that side of town because his step father can’t afford a house in this neighborhood and he doesn’t want to have to fight off the bad people that use the bridge at night again.” “Well he can’t stay.” Mimi’s mom said finally. “Now go tell him my decision.”  Mimi began to cry as she turned back to face Cobra, but she stopped, turned back to face her mom. “YOU UNGRATEFUL SNOB!” She yelled, the tears streaming from her blue eyes. “What did you just say?” Mimi’s mom asked, in disbelief “You heard me.” Mimi replied. “Don’t you ever call me that.” Mimi’s mom shot back at her. “I don’t want him in my house for a night.” “Why should he have to leave?” Mimi asked, still sniffling. “He’s always trying to make me happy and that’s why I said he could spend the night.” Mimi’s mom didn’t change her attitude for a second, but did turn to look at Cobra when he said. “Mimi’s right, I’m only living in the poor side of town because my stepfather can’t afford anything in this neighborhood.” “Is it true that you and Mimi have been together for a month?” Mimi’s mom asked. Cobra nodded. “That’s right.” Cobra replied. “And I don’t see why you won’t allow me to spend the night with you and Mimi. In your house tonight” Mimi was taken by surprise. “What are you saying?” she asked. “I’m saying that your mother is being biased and judgmental.” Cobra replied. “And that’s a problem?” Mimi’s mom asked. “Yes it’s a problem.” Cobra replied. “Because that attitude makes gentle people like me look bad.” Mimi’s mom looked at Cobra and then looked at Mimi, who still had tears in her eyes, and relented. “Alright.” Mimi’s mom said. “You can spend the night here, but you’ll have to sleep on the floor.”    Cobra shrugged. “I’m used to sleeping on hard surfaces.” He replied. “Can he sleep in my room?” Mimi asked. “Why would you want me to sleep on the floor in your bedroom Mimi?” Cobra asked. “I’ve got carpeted floors in my room.” Mimi replied. “It might be a little more comfortable for you.” Mimi’s mom looked at the two of them. “ Alright but you’re going to have to show him where your bedroom is Mimi.” She said. “Ok Mom” Mimi replied. And started to walk toward the stairs that lead up to the second floor. Cobra followed close behind. “Man, your house is huge Mimi.” Cobra said, looking around. “Just one thing Mimi.” Mimi’s mom said, before they could get up the stairs “What’s that?” Mimi asked. “What I have to say is more of a warning for your boyfriend.” Mimi’s mom replied. Cobra looked down from where he was standing. “Yes?” He asked. “You’d better make sure you don’t go anywhere near Mimi’s bed.” Mimi’s mom told him. “I’ll remember to keep that in mind Mrs. Tachikawa.” Cobra replied. After the conversation was over, Cobra followed Mimi to the top of the stairs. When they had reached the top of the stairs, Mimi began pointing out the various doors. “That’s the first bathroom.” Mimi said, pointing to the first door.  When Mimi had finished pointing out all the other doors, she led Cobra to the end of the hallway and stood in front of a door. “Oh no, another door.” Cobra groaned. “You’ll like what’s behind this door Cobra.” Mimi replied. Mimi opened the door, and Cobra looked inside. What he saw amazed him. “Man, your room is big and pink.” Cobra said, pulling his head out of Mimi’s room. “What’s wrong with my room being pink?” Mimi asked, with a hurt look on her face. “I didn’t say that there was anything wrong with your room Mimi.” Cobra replied. “Actually I think that it suits you because you’re always wearing something pink all the time.” Mimi’s expression of hurt turned into a smile and then gave way to a giggle. “You always know how to make me happy Cobra.” Mimi said, walking into her room. Cobra remained standing out in the hall, not sure what to do. “Well are you going to come in here or not?” Mimi asked. Mimi’s question brought Cobra’s attention back to the present. He walked into Mimi’s bedroom and sat on the carpeted floor. “Man, this carpet is soft.” Cobra commented. Mimi smiled at Cobra. “I knew that you’d like it.” She said, sitting on her bed. Cobra looked at his watch; it read 22:30. “Don’t you think that we should be getting some sleep?” he asked. Mimi looked at her alarm clock; it also read 22:30 “You’re right Cobra.” Mimi replied. “We should be getting ready to sleep.” Mimi got off of her bed, walked over to a nearby closet, and pulled out a large blanket and a pillow. “Here you go.” Mimi said, handing them to Cobra “You can use these for tonight.” Cobra took the blanket and pillow from Mimi and began to lay them down on the floor, He was just finishing adjusting the blanket when he remembered that Mimi’s mom had told him not to go anywhere near Mimi’s bed. “Oh man.” He groaned. “Now I’ll have to find a different spot.” Cobra picked up the blanket and began to move it to a spot that looked to be farther away from Mimi’s bed than the first spot. He was just going back to get the pillow when he heard Mimi’s voice from behind him. “Why are you going to sleep there?” she asked. Cobra turned around to see Mimi standing behind him in a pair of pink pajamas. “Because your mother told me not to go anywhere near your bed.” Cobra replied, blushing. “Maybe I should go outside for a minute to give you some time to…well you know.” Mimi began to smile. “Thank you Cobra.” Mimi replied, climbing onto her bed. “That’s nice of you to offer but I’m already finished doing that.” Cobra let out a sigh of relief. Mimi looked at him with a puzzled look. “Am I making you feel uncomfortable?” she asked. “Oh no.” Cobra replied, trembling slightly. “It’s just that I’ve never done this before.” Mimi was puzzled. “Done what before?” she asked. “Spent the night with a girl at her house.” Replied Cobra. “Oh, now I understand.” Mimi said. Cobra looked out of the window in Mimi’s room, he could see that the sky was completely dark except for the moon and a few stars. “Let’s get some sleep.” Cobra said, yawning. “Yeah.” Mimi replied, climbing under her bed covers. “I’m exhausted.” The two of them laid down where they were. Mimi in her bed and Cobra on the floor under the blanket that Mimi had given him to use for the night. “Mimi?” Cobra asked. “Yes Cobra?” Mimi replied. “Does you mother dislike me?” Mimi thought about this for a minute and then spoke. “I don’t know, but I think that she’s acting like she hates you because of where you live. Now can we please just go to sleep?”  Mimi yawned and was fast asleep. But Cobra stayed awake for a while, he was still thinking about this whole issue and what Mimi’s mother had said to him. “Maybe Mimi’s right.” Thought Cobra, yawning. Cobra rested his head on the pillow, closed his eyes, and was soon asleep. The next morning, when Cobra woke up, it was still dark. Cobra looked at his watch. “1:30, man I’m up early.” He said, still lying under the blanket. Cobra yawned, sat up and looked at Mimi, who was still sleeping in her bed. Mimi looked beautiful even when she was sleeping. “I wish I could buy her something instead of her buying stuff for both of us.” Cobra thought quietly. Cobra yawned again and lay back down under the blanket again. “I’m going to try to get a few more hours of sleep.” He said, as he laid his back down on his pillow. Cobra fell back to sleep as soon as his head began to rest on the pillow. But he was only able to sleep until a few hours later. He groaned as the sun began filtering its way into the bedroom through the blind covered windows. He watched as Mimi sat up and stretched her arms as she began waking up. “Good morning Cobra.” Mimi said to him, looking over at him. “Did you sleep well?” “As well as I could expect.” Cobra replied, looking back at Mimi. Cobra began pulling on his shirt and pants, which were starting to look like they had seen better days. Cobra finished pulling on his shirt and pants. Cobra noticed that Mimi was still in her pajamas. “Don’t you think that you should put some clothes on?” Cobra asked. “You’re right Cobra.” Mimi replied, walking over to her clothes closet. “I was just about to do that.” “I’ll just step outside and wait until you’re done.” Cobra said, walking to the door. But as Cobra turned to step outside into the hall and Mimi noticed a nasty scar on Cobra’s right cheek. “Where’d you get that nasty scar?” Mimi asked, her blue eyes full of concern. “I got it when I was trying to clear a mine and it exploded on me, I turned my head to the side to avoid the explosion and the flying shrapnel hit the side of my cheek.” Cobra replied, as he stepped out of Mimi’s room. “You’d better get dressed Mimi.” Cobra said. “I’ll tell you more about how I got this scar when you’re finished.” After Cobra had finished speaking, he stepped out of Mimi’s room and into the hallway, where he sat down against the wall. “Why did Mimi’s mom tell me to stay away from Mimi’s bed last night?” Cobra thought. But before he could give the matter any more time. Mimi stepped out into the hallway. “Are you going to sit there all day?” She asked. Cobra looked up at Mimi, he could see that Mimi had a smile on her face. “No I’m not going to sit here all day.” Cobra replied, with a grin on his face. “I was just waiting for you to finish getting dressed and do you know that you’re even more beautiful when you have a smile on your face.” Mimi blushed. “You’re so sweet Cobra.” Mimi said, watching Cobra get up. When Cobra was on his feet, Mimi leaned over and kissed him. Cobra reached his arms around Mimi and pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss, but Mimi pushed herself away, gasping for air. “Man, that was something.” Cobra commented, breathing heavily. “You sure know how to kiss a girl Cobra.” Mimi replied, also breathing heavily. Their conversation was cut short by the sound of Mimi’s mother coming up the stairs. When Mrs. Tachikawa reached the top of the stairs, she found the two of them standing outside of Mimi’s room. “This isn’t the place for that.” Mrs. Tachikawa said to the two of them. “And breakfast is ready.” “Ok mom” Mimi said to her mother. “We’ll be down in a second.” “Well I’ll expect you downstairs in 2 seconds.” Mrs. Tachikawa replied, as she turned around and started back down the stairs.  Cobra and Mimi followed a few seconds later. When Cobra and Mimi got downstairs, Mimi walked into the kitchen of her house, with Cobra following close behind. Cobra saw Mimi’s mother sitting at one end of a large table. Cobra wasn’t sure what to do, so he just stood where he was and looked around nervously. He saw Mimi getting a piece of toast. “You know, you can help yourself, Cobra.” Mimi said to him, biting into the piece of toast. Cobra still wasn’t sure. “Are you sure about this?” He asked nervously. Mimi was about to answer, but before she could, a loud voice sounded from the dining area. “Mimi, Who are you talking to in there?” “It’s only a friend, papa.” Mimi replied. “Well why do you have one of your friends in our kitchen?” Mimi’s father asked. “Because he spent the night here last night.” Replied Mimi Cobra felt himself begin to sweat as Mimi finished speaking. He didn’t know how Mimi’s father would react to this situation. Cobra watched as Mimi’s father walked into the kitchen. “Is this your friend Mimi?” Mimi’s father asked, looking at Cobra “Yes daddy.” Mimi replied. “This is Cobra.” Cobra smiled and held out his hand. “Hello Mr. Tachikawa.” He said to Mimi’s father. Mr. Tachikawa shook Cobra’s hand lightly and yawned. “I need a cup of coffee.” He said, walking over to the cupboard. “What brings you to the Tachikawa house, Mr. Cobra?” he asked, taking a coffee mug out of the cupboard. “My name is just Cobra, Mr. Tachikawa.” Cobra replied. “I’m here because I spent last night here.” Mr. Tachikawa was shocked to hear this. “Who told you that you could?” he asked. “Mimi gave me the invitation last night, but Mrs. Tachikawa wouldn’t allow it at first, but then she said that it was ok.” Cobra replied. Mr. Tachikawa’s expression of shock began to wear off. “Well there isn’t anything that can be done about it now.” He said, looking at his watch. “I’ve got to get to work in an hour, so I can give you a ride home if you want” “No, that’s ok.” Cobra replied. “I can find my way home by myself.” Mr. Tachikawa made his way over to where a coffee machine was sitting on the counter, and began to fill his coffee cup. “I’ve been told that you’ve been going out with my daughter.” Mr. Tachikawa said, without taking his eyes off of what he was doing. “That’s right.” Cobra replied, looking a little nervous. “But if you want me to stop seeing her I will.” Cobra looked at Mimi, her deep blue eyes filling with tears. “What do you think, Mimi?” Mr. Tachikawa asked, looking at her. “I want to keep going out with Cobra.” She replied, as tears began to roll down her cheeks “Why do you want to keep going out with him?” Mr. Tachikawa asked again “Can’t you see that you can do better than him?” “I’m not going to stop going out with him.” Mimi replied, as her tears began falling like raindrops. Cobra didn’t like to see Mimi crying, but he disliked the disparaging remarks that Mimi’s father had made about him even more. “And just how do you know that I’m no good for her?” Cobra asked, beginning to lose his temper. “I just think that Mimi could have found someone that’s in better financial and living conditions.” Mr. Tachikawa replied. “And I warn you, if you try to harm me in anyway, I’ll have you arrested.” Cobra’s grip on his combat knife slackened, then he spoke. “Mimi choose to go out with me, I asked her if she would go out on a date with me.” Cobra said, trying to console the now sobbing Mimi. “Is this true?” Mr. Tachikawa asked, looking at Mimi “Yes it’s true.” Mimi replied, still sobbing slightly. “Why did you agree to that, Mimi?” Mr. Tachikawa asked. “I agreed to go out with him because he’s always finding a way to make me happy.” Mimi replied. Mr. Tachikawa’s angry look vanished. “I apologize for what I’ve said to you, Cobra.” Mr. Tachikawa said. “If you can make Mimi happy, I can learn to live with having you in this house now and then.” “I’m used to being judged as a low life from the wrong side of town.” Cobra replied, looking at his torn and ragged fatigue pants. “But that’s not what I am, I’m only on the poor side of town because my stepfather can’t afford to buy a house in your neighborhood.” Mr. Tachikawa looked at Cobra for a second and then asked. “Were you in the army?” Cobra nodded. “Yes I’m in the… well I’m in the military anyway.” Cobra replied. “What part of the military are you in?” Mr. Tachikawa asked. “I was in the army but now I’m part of an airborne division.” Cobra replied. Mr. Tachikawa looked surprised. “Really?” he asked. “What division of the airborne are you with?” “I’m with the 72nd airborne division.” Cobra replied. ‘Which is part of the air force.” Mr. Tachikawa looked over at Mimi, who was busy pouring herself a glass of juice. “Would you like something to drink?” Mr. Tachikawa asked. “No thank you.” Cobra replied, fiddling with his dog tags. “But I would like something to eat.” Mr. Tachikawa pointed toward where Mimi was standing and indicated a plate of toast slices. “Help yourself to a piece of toast if you like.” Mr. Tachikawa said to him. “Thank you, I don’t mind if I do.” Cobra replied, walking over to the plate. Cobra picked up a piece of toast and bit into it. “I really wish that I could live in a house like this.” Cobra commented, with his mouth full of toast. “Don’t talk with your mouth full Cobra.” Mimi said, looking a little shocked at Cobra’s display. Cobra looked at Mimi and then gulped down his mouthful of toast, choking slightly “Are you alright?” Mimi asked, looking concerned. Cobra managed to get his breath and come to his senses. “I’m fine and I’m sorry about my bad manners.” Cobra replied. “It’s just that I forget sometimes.” “I forgive you, Cobra.” Mimi replied, still holding her now empty juice glass “Just try to remember to be polite.” Just then, Mrs. Tachikawa walked into the kitchen. Cobra watched her place her breakfast dishes into the dishwasher that he saw in a spot under the kitchen sink. Mr. Tachikawa walked over to the front door of their house, and began pulling on his coat. “I’m off to work now.” He said, opening the door and stepping outside. “Have a good day, dear.” Mrs. Tachikawa replied. “Bye, daddy.” Mimi replied. Cobra, Mimi and Mrs. Tachikawa watched through a window in the front room as Mr. Tachikawa got into his car, backed it out of the driveway and then drove off. After Mr. Tachikawa had left, Cobra made his way to the door. “Looks like I’d better get on my way home now.” He said, pulling on his shoes. “You’re going already?” Mimi asked, disappointedly. “My stepfather will be super mad at me for not telling him where I was last night.” Cobra replied. “Well I hope you and I can spend tomorrow night together.” Mimi said, smiling at him. “You can count on that Mimi.” Cobra replied, winking at her. Cobra and Mimi walked to the front door. Cobra was about to open the door when Mimi leaned over and kissed him. This kiss lasted for a few seconds, but ended when both of them broke it, gasping for air. “I’ll be thinking about you and me tomorrow night.” Cobra said, as he opened the door. ‘So will I.” Mimi replied, and gave him a quick kiss before he stepped outside and closed the door. Cobra was only a few blocks away from Mimi’s house when he saw Greg running up the street towards him. “Where the hell have you been?” Greg asked, almost out of breath. “I was at Mimi’s house.” Cobra replied Cobra’s reply didn’t surprise Greg at all. “All night?” He asked “What the heck were you thinking?” “Mimi said that I could stay overnight.” Cobra replied    “And nothing happened.” “Gee, that’s too bad.” Greg said, smirking. “I was beginning to think that you and her would get funky.” “Hey!” Cobra snarled. “Quit thinking in the gutter so much, Greg. And besides, I couldn’t even get close to her bed.” “Why’d you spend all night at Mimi’s house anyway Cobra?” Greg asked. “I spent last night at Mimi’s house because I didn’t want to face all those hoods and bums who use that bridge as a hangout during the nights again.” Cobra replied. The two boys watched as a police car drove down the street, followed by another one heading up the street. “Man, what’s with all the police cars down here?” Greg asked. “I’m guessing that all this police activity is because of that fight that I got into the night before last.” Cobra replied, looking down at his army boots. “Dad is really gonna cook your goose when he finds out about this.” Greg said, with a smug look on his face. Cobra, angry at Greg’s remark, swung his fist at Greg, hitting him in the nose. “Hey man, that hurt.” Greg moaned, holding his now bleeding nose. “What did you do that for?” “That’s for trying to make me look bad.” Cobra replied. Greg didn’t say anything after that, and the two boys walked on along the street. After a few hours of walking, they reached the bridge that separated the two sides of the city. Cobra noticed a whole bunch of police cars clustered around it. “They must be looking for that kid that fell over the side a few nights ago.” Cobra commented. “That’s what it looks like they’re doing.” Greg replied. “They’ve got their dive team in the water as well.” As Greg and Cobra walked closer to the bridge, they were stopped by one of the police officers. “This isn’t the place for you two.” The police officer said to Greg and Cobra. “Why don’t you two get on home.” “But our home is on the other side of this bridge.” Cobra replied “We always walk across this bridge to get home.” The police officer pulled out his notebook and a pencil “If you use this bridge to get home every night, then you know what occurred two nights ago on this very bridge.” The police officer replied. “I have no idea what happened two nights ago on this bridge.” Greg said to the police officer. “Me neither.” Cobra replied, even though he knew exactly what happened on that night. “Well if you two find out anything let us know.” The police officer replied, putting his notebook and pencil back into his pocket after he had finished writing some words down. “Are we allowed to cross the bridge now?” Greg asked. “I guess so, but don’t touch anything.” Replied the police officer. Greg and Cobra began to walk across the bridge. When they were sure that the police officer was out of earshot, Cobra looked up at the night sky and asked. “Why does this have to happen every night?” “Maybe it’s because everyone thinks that we don’t belong in the poor section of town.” Greg replied.     “Why does everyone have to be so judgmental all the time?” Cobra growled. “It’s ridiculous.”         “I agree.” Greg added, fiddling with his knife. The two of them walked on across the bridge, reaching the other side without any unexpected happenings. “I just hope we don’t run into anymore street hoods.” Cobra said, holding onto his heart pendant. “Same here.” Greg replied, looking at the blade of his knife. Greg had just finished speaking when a group of street hoods stepped into their path. “What the hell do you people want?” Cobra asked, reaching for his combat knife. “Because if it’s a fight you’re after you’re looking in the wrong place. “That goes double for me, man.” Greg broke in, his jungle knife already drawn. “Do you really think that you can take us all on?” The lead boy asked. “I’ve taken on larger groups of your kind and won.” Cobra shot back. “So have I.” Greg spat out. Greg and Cobra stood their ground as the group of hoods advanced on them. Cobra drew his combat knife as the lead boy lunged at Cobra. Cobra sidestepped the lunge and swung his knife, slashing open the boy’s arm. The boy retreated and tried to deliver a karate type kick to Cobra’s face, but Cobra simply grabbed the boy’s leg and pulled him to the ground. The boy tried to get back onto his feet, but Cobra jumped onto his back and had his knife blade at the boy’s throat in seconds. “I said that I didn’t want to fight with your kind anymore.” Cobra said, with his knife blade cutting into the boy’s throat. “Get out of here before I cut your throat wide open, understand? ” The lead hood nodded and Cobra let him get onto his feet and ran off, holding his arm. Cobra looked over at Greg, who was busy fighting off another one of the hoods. Cobra flipped his combat knife to a throwing position and hurled it at the second hood, just missing his head. Cobra retrieved his knife, grabbed the second hood by the back of his head and placed his knife at the second boy’s throat. Cobra told the second hood what he had told the leader and then let him go Greg was so busy watching Cobra’s actions that he almost didn’t notice that a third hood was sneaking up behind him. “Greg, behind you.” Cobra said. Greg turned around and saw the third hood lunging at him with a piece of lead pipe. The third hood swung the pipe at Greg, who ducked the swing and swung his jungle knife, cutting open the hood’s chest. Greg and Cobra watched the hood fall to the ground and collapse. Thinking the fight was over; Greg turned to Cobra and said. “These people never learn, do they?” Cobra noticed that the third hood was trying to sneak up Greg again. “Watch out, dude he’s at it again.” Cobra said. Greg threw his jungle knife at the hood. The knife’s blade buried itself in the hood’s chest. Greg and Cobra watched as the hood fell to the ground. “Another hood put in his place.” Greg said, cleaning the blood off of his jungle knife. “I don’t think he’s dead.” Cobra replied, kneeling down beside the hood. “What are you talking about dude?” Greg asked, puzzled “He’s still got a pulse but it’s very weak.” Cobra replied. Greg looked down at the dying hood. “Let’s go dude, we’ve got to get home.” Greg said Cobra wished that he could do something to keep the hood alive but he wasn’t carrying anything that could help and he didn’t want to get into trouble for coming home late. “You’re right let’s get on our way.” Cobra replied, rising to his feet. Greg and Cobra started walking away from where the dying hood was lying and gradually his pleas for help died away. When Greg and Cobra got home, they noticed their father was sitting in their living room. He was passed out on the couch in front of the TV, a liquor bottle in his hand. “Looks like he’s drunk again.” Cobra said, not at all surprised. “He is drunk again you dolt.” Greg replied. Cobra walked over to the couch and reached for the power button on the TV, but the smell of the strong liquor was too over powering. Cobra retreated holding his hand over his nose. “God what’s he been drinking this time?” Cobra asked, stifling a cough. “Smells like a home brew.” Greg replied, backing away to find a window. Cobra’s stepfather had disliked him ever since he had married his mother and had found out that Cobra was his stepson. And to make matters even worse, he blamed Cobra for causing the death of his mother, even though it was his constant abuse that had caused Cobra’s mother to die. And even more recently, Cobra’s stepfather had been using him as an outlet for his anger. Cobra constantly had to endure hours of beatings every time he didn’t do what he was told or if he did something incorrectly. “You ok dude?” Greg asked, noticing Cobra’s blank stare. Greg’s voice brought Cobra’s attention back to the present. “Yeah I’m fine.” He replied, yawning. “I think we should just go upstairs and get some sleep.” “Sounds good to me dude.” Greg replied. The two boys made their way to an old, dilapidated staircase that led to the second floor of the house. Cobra hated the second floor of the house even more because the floor was nothing more than a few sheets of plywood covering holes in the rotting floorboards. Greg and Cobra had been given separate rooms, but Cobra often spent the night in Greg’s room because his room was the worst in the house. The walls of it were only two by four studs. But he never told his stepfather that he didn’t like his room because he was afraid of another beating. “I hate this house.” Cobra said to Greg when they had reached the top of the stairs. “So do I dude.’ Greg replied, looking down at the staircase, which was looking like it was ready to collapse at any minute. Greg and Cobra suddenly heard their father mumbling about not appreciating the things that they had. “How the hell can he say that when we hardly have anything?” Cobra asked. “He’s drunk, he says a lot of things when he’s drunk.” Greg replied, shrugging. Cobra looked out of a window and noticed that the sky had gotten darker. “Let’s get some sleep.” Cobra said, looking back over at Greg. “Yeah you’re right I’m starting to feel a little tired.” Greg replied, suppressing a yawn. Greg and Cobra walked over to Greg’s room. This room was a lot better than Cobra’s because it had completely finished walls, a bed for Greg and a window, which was insulated against the cold. Cobra had dragged the mattress from his bed into Greg’s room so he could sleep on it in this warm room instead of his room, which was often really cold at night. “What a day we had today.” Cobra said, lying down on his mattress. “You can say that again dude.” Greg replied, pulling the bed covers back and climbing into his bed. “Turn out the light Cobra.” Greg said, looking at Cobra. “It’s your turn to do it, I turned it off the last time.” Cobra protested. “No you didn’t, you were in the hospital last night.” Greg shot back. “Fine, I’ll turn it off.” Cobra grumbled, getting up and reaching for the light switch. He managed to get a hold of the light switch and flip it to the off position, dousing the light. Cobra began to make his way back to his mattress. Even though it was pitch black in the room now, Cobra was still able to find his mattress. “I’ll go over to Mimi’s house tomorrow and see if she wants to go out with me somewhere.” Cobra thought, as he started to lie down on his mattress. Cobra yawned, set his head down on his pillow, and was soon fast asleep. The next morning, when Cobra woke up, it was still dark. Cobra sat up, yawned and looked at his watch, it read 5:30. Cobra yawned again as he got up and started to pull on his shirt and fatigue pants. He had to try and be as silent as he could to avoid waking Greg up. Just as he was about to make his way over to his room, he heard Greg stir in his bed. Cobra froze; hoping that Greg wouldn’t open his eyes. Cobra’s luck paid off; Greg had only rolled onto his back to get more comfortable. “That was too close.” Cobra said, his voice barely a whisper as he breathed a silent sigh of relief. Cobra continued on his way to his room, he was only doing this because he had noticed a garden lattice that was right under his room window on the back of their house. Cobra had just reached the threshold of his bedroom when he heard another noise coming from the bottom of the stairs. He flattened himself against the wall and waited, but nothing happened.  Cobra pulled himself off of the wall and moved silently into his room. Shivering slightly from the coldness of the room, Cobra climbed onto the window ledge, and swung his leg over the other side. Cobra swung his foot around in the darkness, trying to find a foothold on the lattice. Cobra felt the top hole of the lattice under his foot and he knew that he had found a foothold. He swung his other leg over the window ledge, put his other foot onto the top hole of the lattice and began to slowly climb down the lattice. When Cobra reached the bottom of the lattice, he looked around at his surroundings, and then looked at his watch again; it read 6:00. “It took me half an hour to climb down here.” Cobra said, trying to be quiet. Cobra looked at the sky and saw the sun was just starting to rise. “I sure wish Mimi could see this.” Cobra said, watching as the sun rose higher and higher. Cobra started walking in the direction of the bridge that he had to cross in order to get to Mimi’s house. He was only a few bocks away from the bridge when he stopped and looked at his watch again. “If I remember right, Mimi and her parents get up at 7:30, so I’ve got an hour and a half to kill.” Cobra said, thinking out loud. He resumed walking towards the bridge, as he was walking he began to think about all the events that had happened either on the bridge or around it. When Cobra reached the bridge, he could still see a few police cars and some officers clustered around it. Cobra walked closer to the bridge and looked around. He didn’t think that the police officers would mind if he crossed it now, so he began to cross the bridge. He had almost reached the other side when he was stopped by one of the police officers. “Not again.” Cobra thought as he stopped walking and stood where he was. “What’s the problem now?” Cobra asked, looking at the police officer. “We’ve received a report that there was another gang related crime last night.” The officer told him. “I’m sorry but I can’t help you with that.”  Cobra lied, although he’d been involved in that fight. “Well if you think of something let us know.” Replied the officer. “You bet.” Cobra told him and continued on his way. Cobra walked on down the street, looking at the sunrise. “It’s too bad that Mimi’s missing this.” Cobra thought, as he continued to walk down the street. When he reached Mimi’s street, he looked at his watch; it read 7:00. “Well, that killed an hour.” Cobra said, and continued to walk down toward Mimi’s house. When Cobra reached the front of Mimi’s house, he looked at his watch again, this time it read 7:20. “Ten minutes till Mimi and her family get up.” Cobra thought and sat down on the curb in front of Mimi’s house. While he was waiting, he thought about what had happened with his stepfather last night. The sound of the front door opening from behind him brought his attention back to the present. He turned around and saw Mr. Tachikawa reaching for the newspaper that was in the mailbox. “Good morning Mr. Tachikawa.” Cobra said “Is Mimi up yet?” Mr. Tachikawa looked at Cobra for a second and then said. “She’s just waking up, but I’ll tell her that you’re here.” Cobra nodded and sat down on the front steps. After spending five minutes of sitting on the front steps, he heard the front door open again. Cobra turned his head and looked up to see Mrs. Tachikawa at the door this time. “Are you here to see Mimi?” She asked. “Yes.” Cobra replied, still sitting on the front steps. “You can wait inside while I go and tell her that you’re here to see her.” Mrs. Tachikawa told him. Cobra stepped into the front hall of Mimi’s house and sat on the floor. “Here’s a pillow for you to sit on.” Mrs. Tachikawa said, handing him a pillow. Cobra took the pillow, placed it on the floor and sat down on it. He watched as Mrs. Tachikawa began climbing the stairs that he knew led to the second floor. After a few minutes of waiting, Cobra saw Mimi and her mother coming down the stairs. He could also see that Mimi was still trying to put some make up on. “You don’t need any of that Mimi.” Cobra said “You’re beautiful enough without that stuff.” Mimi giggled, a sound like music to Cobra. “Oh Cobra, you always know how to make me happy.” Mimi said, as she leaned over to Cobra and kissed him on the cheek. Cobra smiled. “ I came over here to ask you if you would like to go out with me somewhere.” Cobra said to her. “Sure, I’d love to go out with you somewhere.” Mimi replied. “Where did you have in mind?” “I hadn’t really thought of a place to go.” Cobra replied, looking at her. “But I had thought that you’d like to go to the park or something like that.” Mimi looked at Cobra for a second with her blue eyes. “I would much rather go to the mall with you.” She said. “Well we could do that too, but I think that today is too nice of a day to spend inside.” Cobra commented. “What’s so good about the park?” Mimi asked, looking at Cobra. “I didn’t say that we had to go to the park.” Cobra replied. “But if there’s time, we can go to the mall and then the park.” Mimi thought that Cobra’s words sounded reasonable. “Ok let’s go.” Mimi said, walking over to get her shoes from where she had last put them. Cobra watched as Mimi started pulling on her shoes. After a few minutes, Mimi was ready to go. “I’ll be back at about 9:30 mom.” Mimi said. “Ok but be careful.” Came the reply from Mimi’s mom. Once Cobra and Mimi were outside, Cobra looked around. But all that he saw was an empty street with a few cars parked along the sides. “What did you expect to see?” Mimi asked, looking at Cobra, with a puzzled look on her face. “Oh nothing.” Cobra replied nervously. The two of them continued on their way to the mall. When they had reached the mall, Cobra looked at his watch. “How long are we going to be here?” He asked. “And why did you want to come to the mall in the first place?” “I should be done by 9:00.” Mimi replied. “Why else would I want to come to the mall?” she asked. “Oh.” Cobra groaned. He automatically knew why Mimi wanted to come to the mall. He had often wondered why girls always wanted to shop so much. “Earth to Cobra.” Mimi said, waving her hand in front of his face. Mimi’s actions brought Cobra’s attention back to the present. “What?” he asked. “You were staring off into space.” Mimi replied. “Why were you doing that?” Cobra didn’t know what Mimi was talking about for a second. “Doing what?” he asked “Staring off into space.” Replied Mimi. “Oh, I always do that when I’m thinking or trying to figure something out.” Cobra told her. “You’re very weird at times Cobra.” Mimi said with a smile Cobra laughed at Mimi’s remark. “I know that my actions may seem strange but you and I are different people.” Cobra commented. The two of them continued to walk down the street on their way to the mall. Cobra looked over at Mimi. “Why do you want to be with me anyway Mimi?” He asked. “I want to be with you because you’re always saying pretty things to make me happy even though you and I live on different sides of this city.” She replied. Mimi’s reply seemed to satisfy Cobra’s curiosity, so he stayed quiet for a long period of time until they had reached the mall. “Well, we’re here at the mall, now what are we gonna do?” Cobra asked. “We can go and shop for some things.” Mimi replied. “Woah man.” Cobra said, looking a little surprised at Mimi’s reply. “I’m not a big spender like you.” Mimi looked at Cobra. “I know that your money situation isn’t that great but that doesn’t mean that you can’t come shopping with me.” She told him. Cobra and Mimi walked around the mall; Mimi looked at everything that caught her eye. “I’ve always wanted to own that necklace.” Mimi said, as she and Cobra stopped in front of a store window. Cobra looked into the store window and saw a gold necklace with a small diamond in the center of it. “That would look really good on you.” Cobra said, still looking at the necklace Mimi smiled. “I know that already.” She told him “But even I can’t afford that.” Cobra looked at the price tag. “Three hundred bucks, woah man, that’s expensive.” He replied. “Come on.” Mimi said, after a few minutes of silence. “We’d better get what we’re after.” Cobra was puzzled by Mimi’s choice of words. “Why do you keep using the word we?” he asked. “I didn’t come here to shop.” “That’s true.” Mimi replied, trying to hide a giggle. “But you are here with me.” Cobra was caught off guard by this remark. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He said, trying to figure the whole thing out Mimi took Cobra by the hand and led him to a clothing store where Mimi bought a bunch of new dresses. “What do you think of them Cobra?” Mimi asked, after she had paid for her things. “What do I think of what?” Cobra asked, coming back to the present. “What do you think of my new clothes?” she asked again. “Oh they wouldn’t look better on anyone else.” Cobra replied, even though his reply was just off the top of his head. Mimi smiled at him. “You’re sweet.” She said, as she leaned over and kissed him lightly. “All you need now is that necklace that you like so much.” Cobra commented. “Yes but how can either of us afford it?” Mimi asked. Cobra began rummaging through his pockets. “I just might have enough.” He replied, as he pulled a thick wad of cash out of his pocket. Mimi gasped. “How much money is in that?” she asked. “Oh, about $450.” Cobra replied. “Where did you get such a large amount of cash?” Mimi asked, still shocked at the amount. “I won it all at a poker game a few nights ago.” Cobra replied. “And I hadn’t really thought of any ways to spend it until now.” “You’re sweet.” Mimi said, and kissed him again. “Mimi, there’s people all around.” Cobra replied, feeling a little uncomfortable with getting kissed in the mall. “Well are you going to buy that necklace or not?” Mimi asked, with her hands on her hips. Cobra smacked his forehead. “I almost forgot about that.” He replied. “Can you wait right here?” Mimi nodded and Cobra ran back to the jewelry store. He got there just as the counter person was about to close up for the day. “Uh can I help you with something?” The counter person asked. “That necklace in the window.” Cobra puffed, catching his breath. “Would it be possible for me to buy it?” The counter person nodded. “You can buy it.” Cobra breathed a sigh of relief, and watched as the counter people walked over to the store window, picked up the necklace and carry it over to the sales counter. The counter person began to press the buttons on the cash register. “$300.00 please.” The counter person intoned Cobra handed over the amount of money needed. “Do you want it gift wrapped?” The counter person asked as she was placing it in a jewelry box. “Sure.” Cobra replied. “My girlfriend will be happy to se this.” The counter girl smiled. “I guess that you’re buying this because you want to stay together?” The counter girl asked, as she began wrapping up the item. “You could say that.” Cobra replied, as he stood waiting for the counter girl to finish wrapping up the gift. When the counter girl had finished wrapping the item, she handed it to Cobra. “How much does the gift wrapping cost?” Cobra asked. “Oh it’s free.” The counter girl replied. “Gift wrapping is free with any purchase from this store.” Cobra picked up the small box and turned to leave. “Thank you for shopping here and have a nice day.” The counter girl chimed “I hope your girlfriend will like that necklace.” “Oh, I know she will.” Cobra replied, walking out into the open area of the mall. “And thank you for letting me buy this on such short notice.” Once he was back out in the open area of the mall, Cobra started walking back to where he had told Mimi to wait for him. When he got there, he saw Mimi sitting down on a bench with her shopping bags by her feet. But when she saw Cobra coming toward where she was, she stood up. “Here’s something for you.” Cobra said, handing the small neatly wrapped box to Mimi. “What is it?” Mimi asked, taking the small box from Cobra. “It’s something that I know you’ll like.” Cobra replied, waiting for Mimi to open the box. Mimi began to tear off the wrapping paper, which to Cobra, seemed like such a waste. “This isn’t much of a gift.” Complained Mimi, after she had finished pulling off the wrapping paper. “No it’s not the box that’s the gift.” Cobra replied with a laugh. “It’s what’s in the box.” Mimi opened the box and Cobra saw her face light up with happiness, because the gold necklace with the diamond in the center now belonged to her. “It’s the most beautiful thing that I’ve ever seen.” Mimi said, with a voice full of happiness and a big smile on her face.   “Thank you Cobra.” Cobra blushed. “I knew that you would….” Cobra was stopped in mid speech when Mimi kissed him again. “You knew that I would what?” Mimi asked, after kissing Cobra for about the 300th time. “I was going to say that I knew that you would like that necklace.” Cobra replied, feeling even more uncomfortable. “But you cut me off before I could finish.” Mimi giggled. “I’m sorry about that, but this necklace is beautiful.” Mimi said, as she looked at him with her deep blue eyes. “But why did you want to spend $300 just for me?” Cobra was shaken a little by this question. “I can’t think of anyone else that I would spend my money for.” He replied. “You’ve done it again Cobra.” Mimi said, her blue eyes as bright as they were when they had first gone out. “You always know what to say to make me happy.” And kissed him lightly on the cheek. All this kissing in the mall with people around was making Cobra feel more and more uncomfortable. But he did manage to reply to Mimi’s comment. “How can I not say things to make you happy, I feel as though those beautiful blue eyes of yours inspire me to say such things.” Mimi sighed and continued to hold onto Cobra’s hand as they walked on through the mall. After a few more minutes, they found an empty bench and sat down for a while to rest. “Why do we always have to walk in malls? my feet are killing me.” Mimi whined. Cobra rolled his eyes. “Perfect.” He thought. “She has to start whining and complaining now.” Cobra’s attention was brought back to the present when Mimi began waving her hand in front of his face again. “What now?” he asked. “There’s no need to get snappy at me.” Mimi replied, with an annoyed tone in her voice. “Oh, sorry.” Cobra said. “You were staring off into space again.” “Didn’t you say that you would be home at 9:00?” Cobra asked. “No I didn’t, I told my mom that I would be done by 9:00.” Mimi replied. “Don’t you think that we should start heading home?” Cobra asked, looking at his watch. “What time is it anyway?” Mimi asked. Cobra showed Mimi the time on his watch, which was 8:00. “You’re right Cobra.” Mimi said, as she got up from the bench. “We should start going.” Cobra agreed and stood up. “Are you ready?” He asked, looking over at Mimi, who was carrying her shopping bags. “I’m ready.” She replied. “But my arms hurt from carrying these bags everywhere.” “I’ll carry them for you.” Cobra offered. “Thanks Cobra, you’re a life saver.” Mimi replied, handing the bags to Cobra. Cobra blushed “I may be a life saver, but I’m your life saver.” He chimed, as he picked up the two shopping bags. Mimi giggled again, Cobra always thought that Mimi was singing a song when she giggled. They started walking towards the exit of the mall. “What have you got in here?” Cobra asked, feeling the weight of the two shopping bags pulling on his arms. “I told you before, some new clothes. And some accessories.” Mimi replied. The two of them reached the exit doors of the mall. Cobra had a time trying to get out the doors with the two shopping bags in his hands. But he managed, somehow. “Cobra?” Mimi asked, as they continued on their way home “Yes Mimi?” Cobra replied. “Why do you have to fight with everyone all the time?” Cobra didn’t know why Mimi asked that question but he resolved to try and answer the question as best he could. “I don’t fight with everyone all the time.” Cobra replied, adjusting his arms a little “That’s not what I meant.” Mimi said, as they walked on. “I meant why did you have to fight with Papa that one time?” “I didn’t fight with him.” Cobra replied, rotating his shoulder. “He just made me loose my temper.” Mimi looked at Cobra, her blue eyes showing a sad expression. “Why can’t you and Papa just get along?” Mimi asked, about to cry. “I’ll try and get along with your dad just for you.” Cobra said, noticing as a few teardrops began falling from Mimi’s eyes. “Thank you Cobra, I know that you and Papa can get along.” Mimi sniffed. Cobra smiled and adjusted the shopping bags. “What’s with the tears?” He asked. “What tears?” Mimi replied. Cobra looked at her face, true she had been crying but she wasn’t crying now. “Oh” Cobra said. “Guess I was wrong.” They reached Mimi’s house just as Cobra’s watch read 8:30. “Goodnight Cobra.” Mimi said, as she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Will I see you tomorrow night?” Cobra looked down at the ground and then looked at Mimi. “I don’t know.” He replied Mimi looked hurt. “Why not?” she asked, a look of concern in her deep blue eyes. Cobra looked down at the ground again and then back at Mimi. “I told you that my stepfather doesn’t have a lot of money.” Cobra began. “Yes I remember you telling me that.” Mimi replied. “Well that’s because anytime he does get any money he spends it all on booze.” “You never told me that before.” Mimi replied, in a state of shock. “Well that’s because I didn’t think that anyone would want to hear it.” Cobra said, still standing on the sidewalk outside of Mimi’s house. Mimi sat down on the front steps of her house and invited Cobra to do the same, which Cobra did. “Cobra, this isn’t something that you can carry with you forever.” Mimi replied, placing her arm around his shoulders. Mimi pulled Cobra’s face up to look at her. “How long has he been doing this?” she asked. “He’s been at it ever since my mother married him.” Cobra replied, trying hard not to cry. “Where did you get that?” Mimi asked, noticing a big purple bruise on Cobra’s arm. “My stepfather did that when I was trying to clean up a mess that he made.” Cobra replied. Mimi was even more shocked to hear this. “You mean he beats you?” she asked. “He used to, but he doesn’t anymore because he knows that I’m stronger than him.” Cobra replied. “And what makes thing even worse is the fact that he blames me for causing the death of my mother, which isn’t true.” “We’ve got to do something about this.” She told Cobra. “How?” Cobra asked. “I’ve already tried to talk to the police about it and they said that they can’t do anything about it.” Mimi gasped at this remark. “I’m going to talk to Papa about this.” She told Cobra, as she got up from her seat. Cobra looked up at her. “Please don’t say anything about this to anyone.” Cobra told her. “It’s bad enough having to live with it, but I don’t know if I could handle talking about it.” “But Cobra, you shouldn’t have to live with a past like that.” Mimi said, still talking as Cobra got to his feet. Both of them heard the sound of footsteps from inside Mimi’s house, they turned and saw Mrs. Tachikawa standing in the doorway. “How was the mall Mimi?” she asked Mimi. “It was just fine mama, and this time Cobra bought something for me.” Mimi replied, holding up the box that held the gold necklace with the diamond in the center. “That’s a lovely necklace Mimi.” Mrs. Tachikawa said, admiring it. “But how much did it cost?” “It was $300.00 Mrs. Tachikawa.” Cobra broke in. Mrs. Tachikawa was shocked to hear that. “Why would you want to spend that much for a piece of jewelry?” She asked. “I thought that it would the least thing to do for Mimi after she spent her money for me.” Cobra replied. Mrs. Tachikawa smiled. Cobra looked at his watch, which said 9:50. “I’d better get on my way home.” Cobra said, after looking at his watch and turning to leave. “Wait a second Cobra.” Mimi called. Cobra turned back to face her. “Yeah?” he asked, not sure what this was all about. “You can stay here tonight.” Cobra smiled and shook his head. “It’s nice of you to offer but I’ll be fine at my own house.” He replied, turning to leave again. “And besides, I don’t think that your mom would want me to spend another night here with you.” “It’s ok with me.” Mrs. Tachikawa said. “But why do you want him to stay here again?” “I just thought that he could stay here tonight mama.” Mimi replied, still hearing Cobra’s words run through her mind. “It’s up to him Mimi.” Mrs. Tachikawa said, looking towards Cobra. “I should get going, my stepfather will start to wonder why I’m not home.” Cobra said, as he turned to get on his way. “And I had a good time today with you Mimi. I hope we can get together tomorrow night.” “I hope we can too.” Mimi replied, as she began to step inside her house. Cobra started on his way home. On his way, he walked down a few different streets to avoid the bridge that he had dubbed “The Bridge of the Disadvantaged.”  Cobra continued to walk down one street until it abruptly came to an end. “That’s just great.” Cobra thought, as he began to walk down a connecting street. Cobra walked down this street until he saw another bridge that crossed the river that divided the city in half. “Now maybe I can get home without getting into a fight.” Cobra said. He walked down to the end of the street where one had to cross one of the busiest throughways of the city, but at this time the street was pretty clear. Cobra crossed without having to wait for any traffic. “That was easy.” Cobra thought. When he got to the front door of his house, he looked at his watch, which read 10:30 “Huh, it took me an hour and a half to get home.” Cobra said, surprised at his discovery. “That’s what I get for taking a different way home.” He thought, as he stepped into his house. Cobra walked over to the entrance to the living room, looked in, and saw his stepfather slumped in his favorite chair with a bottle of booze in his hand. “He’s drunk himself stupid again” he thought, as he walked passed the living room and towards the old staircase that he really hated. “I hate this house.” Cobra thought, as he started up the stairs. “It’s always falling apart.” When Cobra reached the top of the stairs, he walked over to Greg’s room and sat on the mattress of his bed, which he had dragged off of the bed in his room. Cobra noticed that Greg was already asleep, so he figured he had better do the same. “Maybe I should have stayed at Mimi’s tonight.” Thought Cobra, as he yawned. “It’s too late now.” He said quietly, as he was lying down on the mattress. He yawned again, closed his eyes and was soon asleep. The next morning Cobra was wakened by a beeping noise. He looked around, still groggy from sleep, trying to find the source of the beep. And then he looked at his watch. “Oops.” He said, having forgotten that he had set his watch the night before. As he turned off his watch alarm, he got up, pulled on his shirt and pants and tiptoed out of the bedroom. “Man I’m hungry.” Cobra whispered to himself. He checked his pockets and found the wad of cash that he had from yesterday “But I’ll just go and buy something to eat from the store.” Cobra silently made his way to his room. This was his way of getting out of the house without waking anybody up, because he knew that the window in his bedroom faced the back of the house and that there was a lattice for creeping plants under the window. And he used this to climb down from his second floor bedroom window. Cobra began to swing his leg over the side of his bedroom window like he had done yesterday morning, but this time he hit his knee on the bottom of the window ledge. He grabbed his knee in pain silently, but he didn’t yell out because that would have wakened Greg and he didn’t want to do that. The pain in Cobra’s knee gradually subsided as he sat on the floor of his room, waiting for the pain to stop before continuing his efforts. A few minutes later, Cobra began to swing his legs over the side of the window ledge and onto the lattice. After this was done, he climbed down the lattice slowly and quietly. Once he was on the ground, he looked at his watch, which read 6:00. “Looks like I’ve got an hour and a half to use up before I get to Mimi’s.” Cobra said quietly, even though there was no one around to hear him. He walked through the back yard of his house and made his way onto the sidewalk of his street. Cobra continued to walk along his street until he turned onto a different street. He walked down this street until he saw “The Bridge of the Disadvantaged.” And turned down a side street. Cobra walked on this street until he reached the street with the bridge that he used to get home during the night before. Cobra turned onto this street and was about to walk toward the bridge when a thought struck him. “Am I spending too much time with Mimi?” Cobra asked himself. “How could I spend too much time with a beautiful girl like Mimi?” Cobra told himself, and continued toward the bridge. Cobra started to walk across the bridge. As he was crossing, he watched as the sun rose into the sky. “These sunrises sure are great.” Cobra said, thinking out loud. Cobra finished crossing the bridge, when he had reached the other side of the bridge; he looked at his watch again. His watch said 6:30. “That gives me an hour.” Cobra commented, after looking at his watch. “I sure wish Mimi was here to see this sunrise.” Cobra continued on his way to Mimi’s house. At one time, Cobra got lost but only for a second. With his bearings renewed, Cobra continued walking, On his way he passed a park that he hadn’t noticed last night when he was on his way home. He noticed that the park was littered with all sorts of garbage. “Why is everyone in this part of the city so ignorant?’ Cobra asked, angrily. Cobra was about to walk past the park when he noticed something written in the concrete walkway, he walked over to it, bent down and looked at it. What he saw was a small heart with the words “C.S+M.T Forever.” Written inside it. “Aha.” Cobra thought. “Mimi and I have been here before.” Cobra’s mind was still wandering as he stood, shook the dust off of his hands, and started walking again. Cobra walked down a street for a few minutes and then stopped to rest, He spotted a bench next to a bus stop, and sat down on it. Cobra sat there until he had to move because he saw an old lady and offered her the chance to sit down on the bench.  He walked for a few more minutes and saw that he had reached the top of Mimi’s street. Cobra walked down Mimi’s street until he reached Mimi’s house. Cobra checked his watch; which was reading 8:00. Cobra walked up the front steps of Mimi’s house and was about to ring Mimi’s doorbell when he suddenly stopped. “What if she doesn’t want to spend time with me today?” Cobra wondered. He sat down on the front steps of Mimi’s house and continued to think about this. Cobra was so deep in his thoughts, he didn’t notice that Mimi had sat down on the front steps beside him. “Hi Cobra.” She said, looking at him. Cobra turned his head whe he heard that. “Oh, hi Mimi.” He  replied, bringing his attention back to the present. “You’re late this morning, why is that?”  Mimi asked. “That’s because I took a different way of getting here.” Cobra replied, looking at her. “And it took a little bit longer than it usually does.” “That’s ok Cobra.” Mimi said, holding onto his hand. “But why did you take a different way to get here?” “I only did that to avoid getting into another fight.” Cobra replied, staring at the ground. Mimi was surprised to hear this. “You’ve been fighting?” she asked. Cobra nodded sadly. “It always happens when I try and cross that bridge which I now call “The bridge of the disadvantaged.” And that’s why I took a diferent way to get here.” Cobra replied. Mimi smiled at him. “I’m proud of you Cobra, you avoided another fight.” Cobra smiled back at her, and then looked down at the ground again. “What’s the matter now?” Asked Mimi. “I was thinking that you wouldn’t want to spend the day with me.” Cobra replied. “Of course I want to be with you today.” Mimi said, puzzled at Cobra’s reply. “That’s great.” Cobra replied, happy that his thoughts were wrong. “What do you want to do today?” Mimi shrugged. “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “There’s a Movie Matinee on at the multiplex, we could go see it.” Cobra pointed out. Mimi shook her head. “I don’t feel like seeing a movie today.” “Then we could go to the mall again.” Cobra suggested. “I don’t feel like doing that either.” Mimi replied. Cobra was surprised by this reply. He had always thought that Mimi loved going to the mall. “What’s going on with you Mimi?” Cobra asked. “I thought that you loved going to the mall.” “That’s true, I do love going to the mall.” Mimi replied, as she wiped a tear from her eye. “It’s just that my dad said that I had to stop going there for a while.” “How long is a while?” Cobra asked. “Two or three weeks.” Mimi replied, as her tears fell from her blue eyes like rain “That’s not very long.” Cobra said, trying to get Mimi to stop crying. “I think you’re beautiful just the way you are.” “Thanks Cobra, you’re great at making me happy.” Mimi said, as she leaned over and placed a light kiss on Cobra's lips. “Well, I try.” Cobra replied, blushing a little “Are your parents at home?” Cobra asked. “Not right now.” Mimi replied. “But my mom will be back in a few hours.” “Can we go inside? I’m getting hot.” Cobra asked. “Of course we can.” Mimi replied, getting up and opening her front door. Cobra and Mimi stepped into the front entrance way of Mimi’s house. “Do you want something to drink Cobra?” Mimi asked, while Cobra was removing his shoes. “No, that’s okay Mimi.” Cobra replied, enjoying the cool air inside Mimi’s house. “A drink might help you cool down.” Mimi pointed out. “Water’s fine Mimi.” Cobra told her. “I’m going to get a glass of fruit punch.” Mimi replied, and walked into her kitchen. “Why don’t you go and sit down in the family room Cobra.” Mimi called from the kitchen. “Ok, I will.” Cobra called back. Cobra walked into the family room and sat down in the middle of the carpeted floor, waiting for Mimi to return with their drinks. When Mimi walked into the family room and saw him sitting on the floor, she laughed. “You are allowed to sit on the furniture Cobra.” She said, still giggling a little. “I like sitting here better.” Cobra replied. “You’ve got a comfy carpet.” “Ok you can sit on the carpet.” Mimi said, handing Cobra his glass of water. Cobra took the glass of water form Mimi and sipped at it slowly. “I sure wish I could live here instead of the place I’m staying in now.” Cobra said, laying down on the carpet. “What’s wrong with your house?” Mimi asked, intrigued by Cobra’s remark. “Oh, nothing.” Cobra replied. “I just like your house a lot better.” Mimi smiled at him. “I always knew that you did.” She said. A few hours later, Cobra and Mimi heard the sound of a car pulling into the front driveway, followed by the sound of a car door being slammed shut. Mimi looked out of the window in the family room. “It’s Mama.” She said, still peering out the window. “Should I leave?” Cobra asked, nervously. “No it’ll be ok.” Mimi replied. The two of them continued to sit in the family room and talk. But when Mrs. Tachikawa entered, Cobra jumped quickly to his feet. But what he didn’t realize was that he was still holding onto his glass of water which shot up and out of the glass. The water landed on him, soaking him from head to toe. “I’m sorry to disturb you.” Mrs. Tachikawa said, as she set down her bags. “Mom.” Mimi complained. “You scared Cobra half to death, now look at him.” Mrs. Tachikawa looked at Cobra. He was standing in the doorway with water dripping from his head. “Aren’t you cold?” Mimi asked, as Cobra stood where he was. “I’ve had to deal with water that was a lot colder than this.” Cobra replied. “We have a clothes dryer, you can use that to get your clothes dry if you want.” Mrs. Tachikawa offered. “That’s nice of you to offer Mrs.Tachikawa.” Cobra said. “But what could I wear while I’m waiting?” “You could wear some of papa’s old clothes.” Mimi suggested. Cobra thought about this for a minute and then decided. “That’ll work just fine for me.” He said, shaking some water out of his soaked T shirt. “But where can I go and change?” “You can change in the upstairs washroom.” Mrs. Tachikawa said. Mimi handed him a laundry basket. “You can put your wet clothes in here.” She told him. Cobra took the laundry basket and proceeded up the stairs to the second floor. He found the bathroom ok but he hadn’t been given any dry clothes. He was just about to go back downstairs when he heard Mimi’s voice outside the door. “Cobra, did you get some of papa’s old clothes?” She asked. “No, I don’t know where his bedroom is.” Cobra replied. “Just hang on, I’ll get some for you.” Mimi told him. Cobra waited for Mimi to come back with some dry clothes. Mimi came back after a few minutes. “Here you are Cobra.” She said, as she laid the clothes just inside the door. Cobra looked at the clothes that Mimi had brought him. There was a grey sweat shirt that looked about one and half sizes too big, and a pair of grey sweat pants that also looked about one and a hlaf sizes too big. “Oh well.” Cobra thought, as he began to remove his wet pants. “At least they’re dry.” It took Cobra A few minutes to get his wet clothes off and a few more minutes to get the dry clothes on, but he was really having trouble keeping the pants from falling down around his ankles even with his belt. Once he was done, he walked out of the bathroom and toward the stairs. “Oh great.” Thought Cobra. “This is going to be fun.” He slowly made his way down the stairs while holding onto the laundry basket that held his wet T shirt and pants. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he let out a sigh of relief. “Are you alright Cobra?” Mimi asked, as she leaned her head around the corner of the family room. “I’m ok.” Cobra replied, pulling up the pair of pants that he was wearing. “But I think that these pants are a little too big for me.” Mimi looked at at him, and saw that the shirt was a little too big for Cobra because his hands were still inside the sleeves. “At least they’re dry.” Mimi replied. “That’s true.” Cobra said, pulling his hands out of the shirt sleeves. “You can put that laundry basket in the laundry room.” Mrs. Tachikawa said to Cobra. Cobra picked up the laundry basket and began to make his way to the laundry room, but he didn’t find it. “Mimi will show you where it is.” Mrs. Tachikawa replied, noticing that Cobra was having problems. “It’s over here Cobra.” Mimi said, taking hold of Cobra’s hand. Mimi led him into a small room off the kitchen. Cobra looked around this small room and saw a clothes washer, a dryer and some boxes of laundry soap in various places along the walls of the room. “You can put your clothes in the dryer.” Mimi told him, as she pointed out the dryer to him. Cobra walked over to the dryer with the laundry basket that held his wet clothes. “Ok.” Cobra said, as he opened the dryer door and placed his wet T shirt into the clothes dryer. “What do I have to do now?” “You have to check the pockets of your pants just in case you have something in either of them.” Mimi replied, as she watched Cobra. Cobra checked the pockets of his pants and found the wad of cash that was still in his pocket from the day that He and Mimi had gone to the mall and he had bought that necklace for her. “Thanks for telling me that Mimi.” He said, as he took the wad of cash out of the pocket in his pants. “You see why I told you that now, don’t you?” Mimi asked. “I don’t think that you want to have all that money fall out of your pants pocket and get lost in the dryer.” With the pockets check over with, Cobra put his wet pants into the clothes dryer. “How do you turn this thing on?” Cobra asked, having never used an electric clothes dryer before. “You just turn this dial to how many minutes you want your clothes to dry for, and push this button to start it.” Mimi replied, as she pointed out the timer dial and the starting button. Cobra started turning the timing dial, after turning it for a few seconds, he stopped on 40 minutes. “I don’t think that’s going to be enough time.” Mimi said, and turned the dial to 60 minutes. “And I just push this button to start it?” Cobra asked. Mimi nodded. “That’s right Cobra.” Cobra pushed the start button, and the dryer started right away. “How long do I have to wait until my clothes are dry?” He asked. “They’ll be dry in an hour.” Mimi replied, looking at him. “We can do something else while we’re waiting.” “Like what?” Cobra asked. Mimi sat down on a step stool that she had dragged over. “We could talk about stuff.” Mimi replied. “What could we talk about?” Cobra asked, looking at her with a blank look. “I would much rather take a nap, I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Mimi giggled, which Cobra always like to hear. “Ok you can sleep for an hour I’ll let you know when your clothes are dry.” Mimi replied. Cobra yawned and sat down on the floor of the laundry room. With his back against the wall, Cobra yawned, closed his eyes and fell asleep. When he woke up an hour later, he felt himself being shaken around slightly. “What’s going on?” he asked, as he looked around, his eyes still dim from sleep. “Wake up Cobra, your clothes are dry. Cobra yawned and got to his feet. “I’m glad I took that nap.” He said, as he walked over to the dryer, opened the dryer door and began removing his clothes from the dryer. “I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t wake up.” Mimi said, as she watched him take his clothes out of the dryer. “Now why would I want to oversleep?” Cobra asked, as he put his shirt and pants into a nearby laundry basket. “Especially when I’ve got to watch for when my clothes are dry.” Mimi stood nearby and waited for Cobra to finish removing his shirt and pants from the dryer. When he was finished, he picked up the laundry basket and started to walk out of the laundry room. Mimi follwed Cobra as they came out of the laundry room. “What took you two so long?” Mrs. Tachikawa asked, as she stood in the kitchen and not far from the laundry room. “I had to show him how to use the dryer mama.” Mimi replied, looking at her mother. “But it took a little bit longer than we expected to get his clothes dry.” “I’m glad that showed him how to use the dryer but that doesn’t mean that you had to stay in there with him Mimi.” Said Mrs. Tachikawa, getting angry now. Cobra saw the red light and spoke up. “I don’t see what the problem is Mrs Tachikawa, I think that it was good of Mimi to stay in there with me.” Cobra replied.  “She showed me how to use your clothes dryer and she kept me company while I waited for my clothes to dry.” The angry look On Mrs. Tachikawa’s face faded slightly but was still present. “Did he do anything to you?” She asked Mimi. Mimi shook her head. “No mama, he didn’t really do anything to me.” Mimi replied. “All he did for the whole hour was sleep.” “Well that’s good to know.” Mrs. Tachikawa said, the anger fully subsided now. Cobra waited until Mimi and her mother had finished their conversation and then went upstairs to change back into his own clothes. As he walked into the upstairs bathroom, he began to think. “Mrs. Tachikawa sure doesn’t like me going out with Mimi, I wonder why?” Cobra shrugged off the thought and began to take off the shirt and pants that he was wearing. He took off the shirt first and dropped into the laundry basket, then he pulled on his own shirt, it was torn in places but it was still a good fit. Next came the pants. With the pants off, He pulled on his own pants, Cobra had always thought that these pants suited him the best. When he was done, he walked out of the bathroom, turned off the bathroom lights and walked down the stairs, carrying the laundry basket with him. “That feels better.” Cobra said, thinking out loud. “What’s that?” Mrs. Tachikawa asked, popping her head around the corner. “To be back in my own clothes.” Cobra replied. “You can put that laundry basket in the laundry room.” Mrs. Tachikawa told him. Cobra looked at his watch as he made his way to the laundry room; It read 8:45. “I’d better get home after this.” He  thought, as he put the laundry basket down on the floor of the laundry room. With this task finished, Cobra walked over to the front door. Mimi saw him walking to the front door. “Are you getting on your way home?” She asked. Cobra nodded. “Yeah, I’d better go early so I won’t get in trouble.” He replied “Well please be careful.” She told him, as she kissed him lightly. “I will.” He told her. And with that, Cobra started on his way home.    The end. Author’s Final note: There will not be a sequel to this story, unless the readers really want to read a squel. But as always, feedback will determine that.

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