"So yeah, I'm trying to earn enough money with my new friend Maddy to afford a plane ticket to San Fransokyo." (Y/n) explained, holding her breath for what seemed like forever. What would her parents say to her? Would they say no and not permit her to go on a plane trip alone? What would have taken 14 hours by car and days by foot was only going to take 1 and a half hours by plane, was this all too much for her parents to comprehend?

"And why do you want to go to San Fransokyo?" (M/n) asked slowly, removing her red reading glasses and setting them lightly on the small work desk she owned.

"To visit the Hamada's! It's been years and Hiro asked if I wanted to visit the new amusement park with him!" (Y/n) looked at her father who began to write something on a piece of paper.

"All right (Y/n) if you can afford this plane fee, you can go but don't you think the whole amusement park sounds like a date?" (Y/n) stood still as blush crept upon her cheeks. No, it wasn't possible, was it? He didn't like her in that way and she never even thought about something like that until now! But then and again.... Her mind started to wander to the conversation the day before.

The way she felt strange and almost wanted to hate Maddy for talking to Hiro in the way she did, was it really because she was jealous? Never in the 9 years apart from one another had Hiro shown any sign of liking towards her. She never even had the chance to give it a good thought until now.

"Sweetheart? Hello? Earth to (Y/n)?" (M/n)'s voice snapped (Y/n) out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry? Oh um no, there will be his friends there and stuff..." She replied hastily. Both her parents shrugged and turned back to their paperwork.

"If you say so...." (D/n) Replied, holding out his hand with a small piece of paper. "It's our home phone number, it will be easier to make contact with us with this number- that is, if you do earn enough money to go on that flight."

(Y/n) took the slip of paper and entered the number on her contacts page. If anything, she was scared. What if she didn't earn enough by next week? It was already Wednesday and she would only have until Tuesday next week to book a flight for the following Monday.

Maddy only seemed to make matters much more worse by saying that SHE could pay for the entire trip. The last thing (Y/n) wanted was to be in debt to anyone, not only would it be hard to pay up but she would also be living with guilt eating her up whole. Maddy had already done so much for her that she didn't want to bother her some more.

(Y/n) trudged out of her parent's room and entered her own, belly flopping onto the comfy mattress and yawning. Somehow her turn at this game of life was just not going as hoped, perhaps things were different for Hiro, she didn't know.

Early before her alarm clock rang, (Y/n) bolted out of bed and got ready for the usual day for school, managing for once to have time to eat a proper breakfast. She pulled the laptop she was given as a gift out of her book bag and set it up in front of her. The laptop gave off a small "Ding!" And welcomed her with a message from none other than Maddy.

It read, "Sup? I'm bored... early morning today XD Listen, call when u have the chance k? I have an idea for your plane ticket affair!"(Y/n) only took once second to press the call button, desperately waiting for her friend to pick up, all the while chanting a small, "Pick up... pick up...pick up!" Under her breath.

Soon the ringing ended and Maddy's face popped up on the screen. "Hey (Y/n)!" she grinned.

(Y/n) Flashed a smile back. "Not much... what's going on with you?" She asked.

"Same old, same old." She replied. "So anyways, you said you had an idea?"

"Oh yes!" Maddy called, her eyes widening, "I have a wonderful idea, you see... TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!" She screamed so loud (Y/n) figured a window would shatter.

"It's your birthday? Today?! Happy Birthday! I'm so sorry, I should have known!" (Y/n) apologised. Out of all the things Maddy did, the least she could have done in return was to know her friend's birthday!

"Nah don't sweat it! I didn't expect you to know! Besides, we are so lucky my birthday came around at this time!" Maddy pressed on.

"But why didn't you tell me!? You should have mentioned something!" (Y/n) insisted.

"I didn't want you to worry or anything! Anyways, like I was saying-"

"Wait, what does your birthday have to do with the plane ticket?" (Y/n) cut her off, puzzled.

"I was just getting to that!" Maddy squealed. "I'll give you my birthday money! I got a total of $250! I was looking at the cost earlier this morning and guess how much it is? $1500!!! Only $1250 to go!!! This is a return flight to by the way." Maddy added.

(Y/n)'s eyes widened. She didn't want to accept the money, it was her friend's after all and it was her birthday! Maddy seemed to see the modesty reflect in her eyes and shook her head. "(Y/n), I want you to have it... stop being so modest! Besides, what would I do with the cash- you need it more than I do!" She argued. (Y/n) went silent. Of all the things Maddy had done, this by far had to be the kindest.

"No I can't...this just isn't right! I can't accept something as great as this! That's yours!" She argued once more. Maddy leaned closer to the camera so that her face was looking directly into (Y/n)'s.

"(Y/n)." She said slowly. "I don't care what's right and what's wrong. I don't even know if this is that great but you gotta take the money. For once in your life you have to do something for yourself! Don't just give- take stuff back from this game!" Maddy argued, saying each word with so much confidence and passion that it almost seemed that she was angry (Y/n) refused to take it.

"I don't know..." (Y/n) admitted.

"(Y/n). You're given a get out of jail free card right here, right now yet you want to remain stuck in jail? The game can't go on if you stay stuck there you know- someone else is gonna get the better stuff."

Silence followed shortly after. What seemed like years to (Y/n) turned out to be seconds. (Y/n) could only stare at the wad of cash which was now being held up for her to see. Taking it would be a step closer, it really would but was this step going to cause a bad roll of the dice or chain of events later?

"Maddy..." (Y/n) began, only to stop when Maddy rose a hand up to silence her.

"(Y/n)." (Y/n) closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose quickly, sighing heavily afterwards. She opened her eyes and looked into the laptop camera.

"I owe you one Maddy- I really do!" She exclaimed.

"Just say hi to Hiro when you get there!" Maddy grinned.

"That is, if I get the other $1250 in time." (Y/n) reminded her.

"Either way, we are $250 down!" She grinned. "And I may be able to pay the other $250 off by Friday." (Y/n)'s eyes doubled in size.

"How?!" She exclaimed, flabbergasted by the news.

"I've been doing all the chores in the house and doing all my homework and etc." She replied, grinning.

"How much per CHORE!?" the (H/c) haired girl gasped.

"Well, I'm getting paid for doing my homework, the dishes, laundry, cleaning, gardening and looking after the dog. That's 6 chores per day for what will be 4 days- $10 each chore, you do the math."

"$240?!" (Y/n) exclaimed. She had never heard of someone getting that much money before.

"Yup! And include $10 which I get every week for a total of lunch money- something I never use." Maddy beamed at her work. "And for the remaining $1000, my father owns a cafe- we can give people car washes as they drop by- $10 for rinse and $20 for soapy wash and $30 for soapy wash and cleaning interior! That should get us pretty far for this afternoon- what do you think?" Maddy asked.

"This afternoon?" (Y/n) exclaimed. "Uh, yeah I guess I can do this afternoon... you will have to show me the way home though."

"Sure no problem! It will be fun!" Maddy beamed. (Y/n) nodded. Fun could be one way to describe the game of life. Surely this game was ANYTHING but fun...

Eventually the school day started and ended. It was like a blur for (Y/n) who found herself walking with Maddy to her father's café. The café wasn't as big as Aunt Cass's. It lacked the living quarters above the building but nonetheless had a comfortable home like feeling. (Y/n) could vividly remember spending time at the café back in San Fransokyo, this café was just reliving her memories. She smiled when she heard the little bell chime as they entered the business.

The bell chime usually meant (Y/n) was entering her best friend's home for the day to hang out but this time it was different. It was no longer the bell to the Lucky Cat Café, instead- this was the bell to flashbacks and memories.

Just the smallest detail like the little golden cat with the waving paw next to the cash register would remind the girl of her old life, the one where she would enjoy seeing the golden cat and laugh at the chiming sound of the bell.

Good memories they were, oh how the time flew by. (Y/n) wondered if the café still looked the same, had Aunt Cass gotten a boyfriend who helped run the café? What was Hiro and Tadashi up to? Were they both in SFIT? Last she heard, Hiro was convinced to go to the prestigious school by none other than Tadashi.

It didn't really make a difference if she thought about these things however- if she did this right, she would soon have enough money to see them in person and ask her herself and see so much of what she had missed out on.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she waited for Maddy to gather the car wash supplied and followed her outside to the small car park for guests. A couple of people had drove into the parking lot but they were either picking someone up or turning around because they took a wrong turn. By then, (Y/n) was ready to give up. They had been waiting for at least an hour and no one else seemed to be coming.

Maddy insisted that the busiest time of the day was yet to come and forced (Y/n) to wait alongside her. Another half hour past when assumingly the busiest of the day was meant to occur. Even Maddy was about to lose all hope when a red car pulled up, followed by a couple other cars.

Each customer requested for a rinse, resulting in the girl's business blooming. It was well into the late afternoon when they were just about done, earning a total of $170. A black car pulled up and parked next to the girls who quickly prepared to be called for duty.

Out stepped an old lady with a frilly hat and pink dress, she turned and smiled at the two friends before speaking. "Hello lovelies! And what are you up to? Oh! Car wash hmm?" She asked gently, earning a smile and a nod from the two. "My, isn't that nice, and what would you plan to use the money on? A toy?" The lady asked smiling.

"No ma'am, you see my friend here, is trying to earn money for a trip to San Fransokyo!" Maddy smiled sweetly.

"Oh! That sounds relaxing- what would you do there?" She asked, this time directing her attention to (Y/n).

"Oh um, visit my friend whom I haven't seen in 9 years...i miss them a lot." (Y/n) explained.

"A friend? That sounds nice- instead of using technology these days, I remember the good old days. There were no computers or phones and we had to communicate by physical contact or writing letters! I'll tell you what, I'll have the soapy wash and clean interior for not just $30 but an extra $100 as well!" The lady beamed.

"Thank you so much!" (Y/n) smiled as she grabbed the hose and passed the sponge to Maddy. "Feel free to wait around in the café! We won't be too long!"

"You know, that sounds like a marvellous idea!" The woman said. "I'll be back in an hour, how's that?" She asked, slowly walking into the cafe, the sound of her walking stick not too far behind.

(Y/n) exchanged a look with her friend. Maybe, just maybe, there was a slight chance they could raise the money together and in time.

For once, (Y/n) was thankful she was doing this with Maddy- she couldn't have imagined it any other way.