An urgent errand and shopping trip

INDENTGreen Ridge seemed like it was a nice little island, at least so far. Lester Jones had recently moved there from his previous home in California. Most of his boxes hadn't even been fully unpacked. He would have to work on getting more settled. However, that would have to be a different day. Today, Lester was on an entirely different important mission.

INDENTIn his haste to move and join the community, he had forgotten one very important, crucial thing. The thing in question? Food for his fish Nabokov. The middle aged man had already thoroughly chastised himself for being so careless and, for lack of a better term, dumb. He had also made a mess of the few boxes he had that were labeled 'Fish' and 'Nabokov'. But, no matter how hard he looked, there was just no fish food. So, today, as was previously mentioned, Lester was on a mission for food for his little aquatic friend.

INDENTLester wish he looked more impressive for his first official trip around the island and out of his apartment. But truthfully, he wasn't the most impressive sight. He wasn't the tallest of men and it didn't help that he had packed on a few pounds as he aged. Also in his gaining age his hair had begun to grow a lot thinner, while his glasses had gotten thicker. It also definitely didn't help that he was wearing a sweater that even Bill Cosby would think was tacky. Despite all this, he would walk in confidence all the way from his new apartment to the Creatures Great & Small pet store. By the time he got to the door he would be a little sweaty from the combination of the walk and the fact he was usually more sedentary in his lifestyle choices. He would have to learn to adjust to this as the island was pretty small and he hadn't brought an automobile with him.

INDENTWalking inside his eyes glanced around, taking in the sight before him. The store seemed very nice and put together, even though there was a lot more merchandise then he had anticipated. A smile crept to the man's face as he reached his forearm up to wipe away some of the excess sweat. Lester would step further into the pet store and making sure to shut the door firmly behind him. Yes, he would enjoy this mission of his. He shuffled off to find the aisle or place where the items for fish would be kept. Maybe they would even have different accessories that he could put in Nabokov's bowl. That would be a delightful surprise for the fish. It had been much too long since he'd splurged on his loyal companion. Oh yes, this shopping trip would probably turn out to be quite enjoyable indeed. And with that he would let his feet carry him around the establishment. He'd have to find fish stuff sooner or later.

Kohaku had lived on this island more than two months and he truthfully still hadn't formally unpacked his stuff from the boxes. His supplies, such as bathroom necessities and cooking utensils, were in their proper cabinets along with cereal, rice, ramen and other forms of bachelor chow. But his clothes were either absentmindedly spilling from the boxes, on the floor or still packed away. He'd gotten his piano stuff out of the box within the first few hours of his arrival. Right after he met Ace. It wasn't as though he had piles upon piles of boxes either- he had less than the average tenant of a one-bedroom apartment.

To be honest, Kohaku was pushing unpacking back as far as he possibly could. He was too lazy... and at the same time, a master of procrastination. Kohaku's cleaning habits were limited to only when he was expecting company, if the whole place smelled horrible, or if there was an infestation of insects or small mammals once he left food out. But only then! Although, because of his boundless energy, he had his moments where cleaning took the place of other work that he had to do and then got immersed in the rhythm, completing everything. It was like he had OCD for the day. That was an event that probably happened 3, maybe 4, times a year. He only went on cleaning rampages when he had absolutely nothing to do besides the work he was supposed to be doing.

In terms of activities, Kohaku was ready to claw his eyes out in boredom. There was only so much eating, sitting around and playing piano a guy could do. He'd go to the gym, but there wasn't one on the island. He'd make a mental note of checking to see if there was one on the main land, but he always managed to forget by being distracted by something else.

And today, he was distracted by hamsters. Well, the idea of them anyway. He'd been biting back the urge to visit the pet store and look at the adorable furry rodents for the simple reason that he just couldn't afford to take care of a hamster right now- he was technically unemployed because he didn't get paid until he actually started work, naturally. Until September 5th, he would be living off of savings. Interns didn't get paid, so he had basically nothing to fall back on. A hamster would have to wait, but there was nothing wrong with looking.

Kohaku decided to venture out on his man cave, sporting a pair of jeans and a t-shirt which had the design of a bunch of sumo wrestlers pushing each other, because that's what sumo wrestlers do. His appearance was fairly plain, but as far as Kohaku was concerned, he looked pretty good for a hopelessly bored and broke bachelor. He didn't think he looked half bad- he was young, wasn't too tall or short, and still had the body of an exercise-demon. He actually did have a routine of exercising more than the average guy his age before he moved to Green Ridge. His mania gave him surges of energy that could only be properly burned off through lots of exercise. He had abs, (past tense) but alas, they suffered the fate of being swallowed by un-burned-off food. Kohaku's high opinion of himself, the borderline narcissism, was due purely to mania. He was confident, some days a little too confident, but he wasn't arrogant. At least, not all the time.

Kohaku, in general, was in a good mood, but he had all this energy he had no idea what to do with- he wanted to exercise. (Perhaps he'd make it a point to go running every day before he could afford a gym membership on the main land.) Even just being in someone else's company would give him the necessary rush. If he kept this up, he'd sink into depression, however rare that may have been for him. That would truly be a bummer, and it was entirely possible. He wasn't diagnosed with just mania, but Bipolar Disorder. If he spiraled into depression, he wouldn't know what to do other than what he was already doing- nothing, but with much more sleep. And that wouldn't make anything any better.

Kohaku made it to Creatures Great & Small without any physical complaints. He was used to walking, running or biking great distances. He had truly never owned a car even though he had a valid license. He lived in New York City when he could afford a car, and there wasn't even a use for one- he got everywhere by walking, running, biking or riding the subway/buses. So, naturally, walking a bit to a pet store on a small island wasn't a challenge for him.

Kohaku stepped into the store and shut the door a little carelessly- he was too excited to be particularly polite. He made a beeline for the small furry mammals section like someone twenty years younger than he was. As predicted, his face melted into adoration as he leaned over the hamster cages. He could see that most of the hamsters were curled up against each other, sleeping in one unanimous ball of fluff. Two or three of the others were running in the wheels or drinking.

Kohaku, despite thinking of himself to be manly enough, let an excited squeal escape his voice box.

"You're so cute..." He said to all of them. "But I can't afford any of you right now... I'm worried about food and bills. But when I start working..."

He sighed, then turned to the nearest person he saw, which happened to be a middle-aged guy in a sweater. He'd never seen or met him before, but since when had that stopped Kohaku Honda from starting up a conversation? Never.

"Hamsters..." He sighed dreamily to the guy, not taking note of whether he noticed him or not and kept rambling. "I'd sure love one. But I can't afford to keep one alive until I start teaching. Why can't September just come already, you know? I'm really excited to teach and get paid for it this time. So why are you here? You buying a pet? Or do you already have one?"

Kohaku knew he was asking too many questions, so he stopped talking for a moment. It all traced back to the energy-buildup thing. An excess of it caused him to do things he wouldn't normally do. He always wondered what he'd be like if he wasn't Bipolar- but he knew he'd be a hell of a lot more boring, that was for sure.

"Heh, sorry. I get ahead of myself sometimes. I don't know who you are, and you don't know who I am. Why don't we fix that?"

Kohaku held out a hand for the man to shake, and recited cheerfully the thing he always said when introducing himself:

"Kohaku Honda. I'm not a car."