THE START OF A NEW FRIENDSHIP
On a pleasant morning, we see a young boy leaving the airport and calling for a taxi; he went inside and said a coordinate to the driver.
"Hello, my name is Shikamura Vinny. I've lived my whole life in the UK; now I'm here in my parents' home country. This is Japan. If you guys are wondering if I can speak Japanese, yes, I can. I can also speak 3 more languages, but that's for another chapter. Right now I am going to the apartment my parents have.
(Japanese) (driver)
"Young man, we have arrived at the destination you mentioned earlier."
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Thank you, Oji-san."
The young man gets out of the car and starts making his way to his apartment. When he arrives at his apartment, he starts to look around and organize his things. The apartment is not that big but also not that small; it can fit 8-10 people in the living room. It's a good apartment for 1 to 2 people.
Vinny goes to the bathroom and starts taking a bath; after that, he starts making his way to his bed to get some rest. The next morning, which is also his first day of school, he starts preparing his breakfast and gets dressed for school.After that, he gets his fixed-gear bike and starts heading to school. After a while, he stops at a nearby convenience store and buys lunch.
We see Vinny at the school, outside his classroom.
(Japanese) (teacher)
"Alright class, settle down. Today we will be having a new transfer; he's from the UK, but his parents are Japanese, and now he will be studying with us from today on. You may come in now."
(Japanese) (classmates)
"Oh, so the transfer student is a boy, darn it. I thought it was a cute foreign girl."
"Keep dreaming."
"I heard he's rich and handsome."
*Vinny enters the room.
(Japanese) (classmates)
"Wow, he's tall, not gonna lie."
"Ohhh, he's tall and handsome; he's perfect with me."
"Keep dreaming, girl; he's perfect with me."
(Japanese) (teacher)
"Alright, class, settle down. Can you introduce yourself to the class?"
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Hello everyone, my name is Shikamura Vinny. I once lived in the UK with my parents, but my parents rarely go home because of work, so I decided to move here to Japan, and they approve of my decision. Nice to meet you all; I hope we get along."
The bell rang, and some students made their way to the school cafeteria for lunch; we left off with Vinny with his three classmates.
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Uhm, do you guys need something from me?"
(Japanese) (Kuro)
"Yo! My name is Kuro. Nice to meet you. These two behind me are Shin and Haruto."
(Japanese) (Shin & Haruto)
"Hello, nice to meet you. I hope we get along, hehehe."
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Likewise, nice to meet you guys. So, what do you guys want? Sorry, just curious, that's all."
(Japanese) (Kuro)
"Nothing serious, really. I just saw you this morning riding a fixed gear, so I was, or we were, wondering if you want to join our club and crew. We are one-person short right now, you see, so it will help if you join, but we are not forcing you. If you don't want to, then it's okay."
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"You guys ride fixed gears?
(Japanese) (Haruto)
"Well, we actually just started using fixed gear these couple of days, so we are not really good at it yet."
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Yeah, sure, I would join, no problem."
(Japanese) (Kuro)
"Yes! Welcome to the team."
*He forwards his hand for a handshake and smiles.
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"likewise"
*shake his hand and smile
The four of them go to the teacher's room to sign an approval letter for their club and ask for a room; the teacher approves their request letter and gives them a key for their club room.The four of them now go to their assigned room. The room is on the 3rd floor of the school building. The room doesn't have anything other than the blackboard, table, and chairs, and with that, the room is also very dusty.
(Japanese) (Kuro)
"I guess before we conduct a practice or training, we have to clean the place first. I also got the permission for us to use the backyard as our training ground."
(Japanese) (Shin)
"Well, that's one way to lessen the problem we have right now, I guess, hahaha. How about we clean the club room later after school?"
(Japanese) (Haruto)
"That's a great idea."
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Well, for now, let's head back to our room; the class will start soon."
*The four of them head back to class.
After class the four of them head back to the club room to clean. While they were cleaning, they chatted and chatted about themselves; they got to know each other better. Kuro then asks them to celebrate the birth of their fixed gear club; they all agree and go to a nearby fast food place. While all of them order heavy meals, Vinny, on the other hand, only orders medium fries, a cheeseburger, and an extra-large cola. Vinny loves to drink, not alcohol, but rather cola to avoid getting sick. He always has a stock of coconut water/juice and always drinks water, sometimes with lime or lemon in it. The four of them have a blast, and after they had their fun, they say their goodbyes and go home.
The next day the club members are having a meeting.
(Japanese) (kuro)
"So guys, what will be our crew's name? Any suggestions?"
(Japanese) (Haruto)
"How about Silent Gear?"
(Japanese) (Shin)
"How about Humming Bird Crew?"
(Japanese) (kuro)
"Hell nah, we will be copyrighted if that's our name -_-"
Oh believe me we will. Well, anyways, no more breaking the 4th wall.
(Japanese) (kuro)
"How about you, Vinny? Any suggestions?"
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Phantom Crew, how about that one? It will make us more mysterious in some way."
(Japanese) (kuro)
"Any objection, guys?"
(Japanese) (Shin & Haruto)
"None for us, hehehe."
(Japanese) (kuro
"Well then, Phantom it is then. So, one other thing: will you help us, Vinny, with picking a bike?"
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Excuse me, what? You guys said you already rode a fixed gear?"
(Japanese) (kuro)
"Well, we did, but we only rode an old and almost destroyed bike from my grandfather's bike. He is not using it anymore, and it's full of rust and dirt, to be honest."
(Japanese) (Vinny)
" well at least you guys experience riding fixed gears that's one, we should focus buying your bike to your preference and role to the team or to be more simple, your role in the team the roles are Ace, Sprinter, Climer, and Support the support for my opinion is the most needed in a team because the support is the one who will lead the whole team till finish line, for example is me, I once had a crew of my own back in UK I am also the ace and support of the team with that being said I need a dynamic bike to support all courses, I use 1975 cinelli pista, it is an old model bike also know as vintage or classic bike, the geometric of the frame help me with wind reduction when I am speeding and with the help of the geometric of my frame help me with my moves to break free from a peleton."
(Japanese) (Haruto)
"Woah, that's lit. Can I be the sprinter?"
(Japanese) (shin)
"I like to be the climber."
(Japanese) (kuro)
"I guess that will leave me for the support then."
(Japanese) (Vinny)
"Alright, I guess we are all set to buy your bikes; let's buy them this Saturday."
(Japanese) (kuro)
"Well, for now, let's head back to class."
*The four of them head back to their class.
To be continued…