This is the time!
The time when I am to change myself into a normie!
As a gamer who went through his whole three years of middle-school gaming, I have thought my life will become rosy once I entered high-school.
However, I was wrong.
Two years have gone by and my high-school life was still grey.
After-all, I have spent those time gaming.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I am a loner who failed to enter any cliques in class.
I have friends, old ones from middle-school to new ones I made during the past two years.
There was even a club I joined where I could game with others during the afternoon.
So why was my high-school life still grey?
There was only one thing left to do and it can be easily guessed by anyone.
That's right, I want a girlfriend.
This was something I have dreamed of when I entered high-school.
There was no need to be popular like many other people in class to become a normie.
From my point of view, a normie is a person who has a normal life that they enjoy. Having friends and a girlfriend I can enjoy my time with was all I need to become a normie.
However, it's not because I wanted to become a normie so I'm trying to get myself a girlfriend.
More-like, it has nothing to do with me wanting to become a normie or wanting to get a girlfriend to fulfill my dream in achieving a rosy high-school life.
It's just the thing I am about to do happened to result in me changing into a normie.
After-all, there's a girl I like...
The door to my classroom opened and a beautiful girl entered.
The name of this girl was Maiya, the most beautiful and most popular girl in the class. Actually, it wouldn't be wrong to say she's the most beautiful girl in the entire school since she was the winner of the school's beauty contest three years in a row.
She's an attractive girl, every boy in the class have our eyes stuck to her the moment she entered the class.
When she walked towards her desk, it was as if we were watching a fashion walk show.
Her long and wavy blonde hair seemed to sparkle as it wavers every time she took a step. Her carefully altered uniform, within school regulations, and the decoration she added has made her stand out among the girls in my class. Finally, her makeup was carefully put on to complement her natural beauty.
With a girl as beautiful as her, it was only natural to have all the attention gathered on her.
Seriously, I even thought being in the same class with such a beautiful girl was a blessing for the good deeds I've done in my life. Or maybe even my past life.
Maiya took a seat at her desk.
Her desk was at the end of the classroom, she has two neighboring desks.
Unfortunately, I was not the lucky guy to be able to sit in one of those seats.
But even if I were to be one of the lucky people to sit next to her, I still wouldn't be able to have a word with her.
Why was that?
It's simple, that's because...
"Hey, Maiya!"
"You look as beautiful as always."
"Another new perfume today, huh? Nice."
The handsome boys gathered around Maiya's desk, making their advances and showered her with flatteries.
It was that wall created by those boys that have prevented anyone else from approaching Maiya. They will intimidate anyone who they think was not up to their standards and this will help them keep the number of rivals in check.
So even the guy sitting to the left Maiya could not get get past the wall and speak to the girl he likes.
If that guy could not do it, then it was even less possible for me, an ordinary student, who was allocated the frontmost seat.
However, this will change... no, I will make it change!
Today will be the day for me to get past that wall and talk to the girl!
I have changed my shabby look to one of uptight student.
While handsome cannot be used to describe how I look but the word neat could be used.
Being neat was one of the basic conditions to talk to a girl I never talked to.
I took a deep breath and gathered my courage.
I stood up.
Then I turned and looked at the handsome group of boys, or more specifically, at Jonathon.
He was the most handsome and the tallest boy in that clique, he was also the boy closest in winning the competition among the boys.
Naturally, he's the most intimindating on among all boys.
Being able to challenge him will automatically allow me to get past the wall of other handsome boys.
Jonathon noticed my stare.
Looking at my attire and my expression, he immediately realized what I wanted to do.
He responded with a threatening gesture.
But that does not matter.
No matter how much he intimidated me, he will not block my way to talk to the girl.
This was my determination.
I walked towards Maiya's desk, ignoring the pity stares from the rest of the class for my foolishness.
Getting to the clique, I ignored the other handsome boys and went straight to Jonathon.
Jonathon stood firm, blocking my way.
"Do you mind?" I asked in an irritated tone. "There's someone I want to talk to."
"What if I don't allow you to?" He replied with a sneer.
"Tch."
"!!"
Annoyed by him, I used my left arm and pushed him aside. Jonathon was surprised as he did not expect me to do such thing, he also did not expect someone a head shorter than him could have made him lose his balance.
Jonathon quickly woke up from his shock and anger filled his mind.
Just before he raised his fist to hit me, I slipped past the opening and got to my destination.
I turned right and, with sincerity, exclaimed:
"I like you! Can you please go on a date with me?"
"H-Huh?" A girl with messy black hair looked up at me.
"Eh?" Maiya, who sat on the left of the girl, was surprised.
"Wha-?" Jonathon was frozen with his fist in the air.
"""""WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTT~~~~~???!!!!"""""
Seriously, why was the whole class reacting so much for me asking a girl to a date?
It makes me really embarrassed.
I made a wry smile at the girl in front of me who seemed to be waving her arms bewilderedly.
The girl who has shoulder length hair with frontal bangs long enough to cover her eyes.
The girl who wore her uniform in an old-school fashion that gave zero sex appeal and no decorations to aid it.
The girl who could be described as nothing but ordinary...
That's right, she was the girl who I liked.
Why?
One may ask me that.
...
......
.........
Maybe it's because she play games?
----------------------------------------
Five minutes till 10AM.
A time very close to the agreed time we meet up in the park to start our date.
I tossed another can of coffee I bought from the vending machine into the bin.
Leaned my back against the bench and glanced again at the clock standing in the middle of the park.
I was excited.
Never before was I this excited, not even the first time I went to buy an R-rated game from a store could rival the excitement I'm feeling now.
It was my first date after-all.
For such important day, having done my research, I have decided to dress and act like a gentleman.
I oiled my hair down, tightened my tie and put on my suit before I left my house.
I left my house much earlier than the agreed time so I would not be late.
At first, I thought of arriving here just 5 minutes before the time because, from what I read, it would be bad to let a girl wait on our first date. But when I thought she may also thought of the same thing so I decided to push the time to 10 minutes before. Then another thought came in that she may be also thinking the same thing in arriving 10 minutes earlier so I decided to push the time of my arrival even earlier.
The same thought kept coming in and my anxiety built up.
Then I have finally made up my mind and arrived at the park at 8.
As expected, she was not here when I arrived at the park at this time.
I took the bench closest to the vending machine and began waiting till she arrives.
During the wait, I almost fell asleep a few times. Well, I was so excited for today that I could not sleep well last night. The lack of sleep hit me hard so I have bought coffee from the vending machine.
It would not look cool if she comes and see me sleeping on the bench.
This 2 hours were long, I have lost count of how many cans of coffee I drank, but I have waited it out.
It was 10, the exact time for our date to start.
"Hey." A cute voice called out to me.
"Oh, good morning!" I quickly stood up. "You are on time!"
"It's the time we agreed upon after-all."
Finally, the girl I have been waiting for came.
The girl who hid her eyes behind her messy black hair as always, the only difference was that her attire was not of the school uniform.
"You waited for long?" She asked as she looked around.
"A-Ah? Of course not! I just got here as well!"
I lied.
Of course I have to, as a gentleman, I should not let a girl feel bad about me waiting. I also did not want let her know I've been here since 2 hours ago, because it would be really embarrassing if she knew.
"Is that so...?" She tilted her head.
"Yes, that's right!" I nodded repeatedly. "Something wrong?"
"No, it's just strange the top layer of the bin was filled with only one type of coffee so I thought they were drank by the same person."
Woah, this is bad!
I didn't notice I only picked my favorite brand of coffee from the vending machine!
"Each of those can were squeezed when finished, could be done out of habit. From the dryness of droplets coming from each opening, it seemed the coffee were drank recently. I assume someone must have been waiting here for a while... probably for about 2 hours." She sighed in relief. "I'm glad that person wasn't you."
Holy shit! Is she some kind of high-school detective?!
It was like she was investigating a crime scene!!
This cannot continue!
If she was to find out I was the one who waited for 2 hours then things would become awkward!
I will need to change the subject!
Ah, that's right! From what I read, I should compliment the clothing the girl wears first thing in our date!
"This is the first time I have seen you wearing something besides your school uniform." I squeezed a gentleman's smile. "You look great in that!"
"Is that so?" She looked at her dress. "It's the same ordinary clothe I usually wear at home so I didn't think much about it."
It's true that her white one-piece, with green apron-like design, does look a little bit too ordinary. It totally does not much up with my full formal attire at all!
Did I over did it? Or was it that she thought pickng the right clothe for the date was too troublesome so she picked the one that was easy to wear.
"I thought it was troublesome to pick a dress that would be fitting for the date so I just took the one that was easiest to wear."
So she really did just pick the easiest one to wear! At least put some effort into choosing your dress!
"A... Haaa...." She yawned behind her hand. "Ah, sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."
"?!"
She didn't get much sleep last night...? Just like me?!
Could it be she was also excited for today's date that she had a hard time sleeping?
"I spent the whole night playing the monster hunting game that was released a few days ago."
So that's what she's been up to, huh? Com'on, at least show a little excitement for our date!
And wait, did she say that monster hunting game?! Could it possibly be Monster Hun-
"What is the first thing you have planned for the date?" She interrupted my thought.
"A-Ah, that's right! Let me check the schedule first!" I took out my small notebook and flipped through its pages.
"So you are flipping through that in front of me without any second thought?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing."
Strange that she'd brought that up.
Was what I'm doing weird?
Anyway, I have refreshed my plan for today.
"First, let's go watch a movie."
"Genre?"
"Romance."
From what I read, romance movie has always been the most popular choice for dates.
It has been said that it was effective to set the mood between couples.
While me and her were not a couple as of now, I do wish to improve our relationship.
"Romance, huh?" She sound confused. "I thought you'd be the type of person who'd rather watch an anime movie and shout 'Magical Girl Luliruka is the best'!"
"No, who does that on a date?! Of course I won't do that!"
At least not today.
From what I read, Magical Girl Luliruka will only be airing next week.
"That was a joke, no need to be so excited about it."
"Where does it look like I was excited?"
"You're not? Hm... Your expression is pretty hard to read."
I don't want to be told that by a person who has half her face covered by her hair.
"Then, shall we go?" She asked. "I think romance movie is perfect for me."
Yes, she liked the idea!
It's just like what the internet have said, girls do like romance movie when they're out on a date!
----------------------------------------
When the lights in the cinema were put out...
"...zzz..."
She fell asleep.
Wait, isn't this a bit too fast?!
We have only just made it through the trailers, the real movie hasn't even started!
'I think romance movie is perfect for me.'
I did not think what she meant by perfect was this! She just wanted to take a nap! Doesn't this mean any movie would be perfect for her? I could even suggest watching Magical Girl Luliruka and she will also say it'd be perfect for her!
But as gentleman, I should not wake her up.
Especially not when...
"...zzz..."
She rested her head on my shoulder!
Oh My Gawd! A scene I have only seen in games was now happening to me in real life! I'm super happy! My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to burst!
Calm down, I need to calm my excitement down! Or else it'd be embarrassing if she was woken up by my heartbeats!
That's it, I should just concentrate in watching the movie!
The strong sensation I felt on my shoulder when her head rubbed against it each time she breathes dragged me away from the movie.
My eyes continued to be attracted to my right, the movie has became difficult to understand.
She's like a cute little animal that kept robbing my attention.
I could feel my body was heated up by joy and my breathing has became heavier as the result.
This can't do! If I continued to stare at her like this then I will be branded a pervert!
I needed further distraction!
I grabbed my drink!
*****
15 minutes into the movie...
uuuuuwwwWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
I NEED TO PEE!!!
This was the result for finishing my drink this early into the movie.
Not only that, but it seemed all those coffee I drank earlier has finally taken effect as well!
I could no longer make out what I'm watching anymore, all of my concentration went into holding in the liquid collected in my bladder. I cannot leave, not when she was still sleeping on my shoulder.
Thus, my only option was to hold until the end of the movie.
The rest of the 75 minutes sounded long and it seemed like an impossible feat for me to hold out until then.
But I will endure it!
For the girl who's having a sweet dream!
I am a gentleman after-all!
I clenched my left fist, grabbing onto the armrest that should be to my left...
Should be?
A soft and warm feeling, a familiar sensation.
It was another guy's hand!
I looked to my left and the guy was also looking at me.
...
The guy suddenly turned his head away, from the dim light reflected off the screen, I could see the back of his ears have turned red.
Slowly, he turned his head around and looked at me with upturned puppy eyes.
He covered his mouth like an easily embarrassed girl.
"I... I am a guy you know..."
"!!!"
I almost coughed out blood.
A danger signal screamed and alerted all parts of my body.
My adrenaline pumped in, my eyes became dilated and I quickly let go off his hand.
At the same time, my buttcheeks tightens and I felt the liquid in my bladder were retracted.
My body has automatically entered the mode to protect itself, not leaving any openings for possible dangers.
This was the moment when I was reminded the type of movie I was watching today...
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
A Horror.
*****
Miraculously, I made it to the end of the movie.
*****
I got out of the toilet.
I walked to the foyer of the cinema, the place where we agreed to meet up after our toilet break.
That was when the scene have entered my eyes.
A lone girl stood still in the crowd, looking in only one direction. There wasn't any particular thing she was looking at, it looked more like she was just spacing out.
The people in crowd, walked past her, sometimes even bumping into her. No one paid her any attention, it was as if she has no presence at all.
For some reason, it felt like she and the crowd belong to two separate world.
"Hey." I quickly walked up to her. "You waited for long?"
"Not at all." She sighed. "Was that an appropriate opening when coming back from the toilet break? Or were you planning to take even longer? Were you planning to take a shi-"
"No, I only just needed a number 1."
Unexpected.
I did not think she'd casually say shit in the open, at least as a gentleman, I should make sure our first date was free from such vulgar use of language.
But what was even more unexpected was me wanting to call out to her.
I had a strange feeling that I wiuld be left behind by her if I were to let her be.
"Anyway, shall we continue with our date?"
"Where we going?"
"It's past 12 so it's only natural we go grab something to eat." I smiled. "I happened to know a good family restaurant in this area."
"Family restaurant, huh..."
"No, don't look at me like that. Even though I may have dressed up in a suit but in the end I'm still just a student. Please forgive me for not being able to take you to an expensive restaurant where we both can enjoy full course of food under the dim light of a single candle!"
"Nobody is asking you to do that. Also, you seemed to know quite a lot about that kind of situation." The end of her lips rised. "Anyway, I thought you would have taken me to a maid cafe for lunch, enjoy omelette rice with a maid writing 'I Love You' with ketchup on top of it and then pay extras to get a chance to take photos with the maids."
"Who goes to a maid cafe on a date?! And also, you seemed really familiar with maid cafes!!"
----------------------------------------
In the family restaurant, we have finished given our orders.
While we wait for the food to arrive, we talked about the movie... or rather it was only me who has things to say about the movie. Though, it was just the first 15 minutes that I have a hard time recalling.
Then I just talked about the experience I have about the movie.
She was shocked to hear I talked about the movie as if I was watching a horror.
Of course I have hidden the reason why I don't remember about the last 75 minutes and what I have encountered to think the movie was a horror.
The food came.
We changed the topic of our conversation to gaming, the topic which both of us feel at home with.
She was more talkative this time around.
While I cannot see her expression behind her bangs, but listening to her tone, I could tell she was excited.
We were able to share the opinions of our favorite games and talked about its secrets or other interesting facts we experienced in the games. Our opinions may not completely agree with one another but our conversation continued to be lively.
I, too, was having fun.
Being able to talk to a girl, who I have never talked to before, as if we have known each other for a long time was indeed a strange experience.
But it was an interesting experience.
Now, we were left with our drinks.
It was time to move on to the next plan of our date.
I took out my notebook and checked the next item in the list.
Then, without any warning...
"Hey, you said you liked me, right? Can you tell me the reason why you came to like me?"
She brought up an explosive question.
I was shocked, my heart skipped a beat, almost made me drop the pen in my hand.
I may have expected this question to be brought up at one point but never would I have expected to hear it this soon.
Calm down, I need to calm down!
As a gentleman, I should not be easily fazed by mere words!
I have prepared for this after-all!
I closed my notebook and straightened up my back.
Then, I began reciting the answers I have thought of the previous night.
"I like you, because you are as cute as an angel."
"Anything else?"
"Because you have a cute voice and I enjoyed talking to you."
"Anything else?"
"Your personality, I have fun being with you and sharing opinions with you."
"Anything else?"
"E-eh?"
She's still going to continue?
That was basically the last on my list! What else could she be looking for?
Maybe... this?
"Err... M-Maybe because you plays games and I play games so we match with... one another?"
"Anything else?"
Looks like that wasn't it.
This was bad, I could feel something bad about the atmosphere around us.
If I don't get the answer she wants then this date will turn in the wrong direction.
More-like, I don't even know the intention behind her question, I know too little of her.
Without knowing that then I won't be able to give her a satisfying response.
I never knew such generic question could be so hard to answer... wait, generic...?
Aaah! That's it!
The question she asked was a generic question asked by girls in dates!
I have read about it during my research!
For a generic question like this, there was only one correct answer to it!
The answer she was looking for was:
"Everything." I said with a serious face. "I like you because I like everything about you."
"Anything else?"
Eh, there's still something else after everything?!
I really can't come up with any better answer than that!
Seeing I was unable to respond to her question any further, she leaned forward:
"Everything, huh?" She asked. "Is that the reason you liked about me?"
"Y-Yes." I quickly nodded.
"Is that so...?" She grabbed her drink and leaned back on the seat.
What's this? Did I mishear her or she sounded a little bit indifferent?
Before I was able to say anything, she dropped the bomb:
"You are lying, aren't you?"
"?!"
I... I was lying?! What does she mean by that?!
Is she suspecting that I was lying when I say I like her??
No, that can't be possible!
I like her, that feeling I have for her, I am sure it was genuine!
Just when I wanted to tell her that, I froze.
The scene in front of me have made me froze, no, the atmosphere between me and her was frozen.
In front of me was a lone girl, staring out the window.
There was nothing particular she was staring at... she gave me a distant feeling.
I have been left behind by her.
The time continued to click, everything else continue to flow along with time.
The only thing that has been stopped was my interactions with her.
Before I knew it, our drinks have reached the bottom of the glass.
----------------------------------------
It has became rather awkward between us since we left the cafe.
We haven't spoken a word to one another, we just walked on the street.
It can't be helped, 'that' happened after-all.
Even now, I was still clueless as to what led to that.
I am at loss as to what I should do...
I don't even know if it was appropriate to even carry on with my list of plans.
Could this be the end of the date?
No, I can't let it end like this! I cannot allow my first date to end unsuccessfully!
If I were to let it end like this, I have a strong feeling that I would never be able to talk to her again!
Think, I need to think of a way to break this ice wall between us!
But I was not able to come up with anything.
Even the list I made from my research could not help me in this situation.
Then a tack on my sleeve woke me up from my thought.
I looked in the direction she pointed at.
"Game Center?"
*****
"Aah, I lost." I said in a disappointed tone.
We both agreed to play a VS game upon entering the game center.
It was a game both of us were familiar and in love with, we both have spent countless hours into this game before.
In the end of our clash, she was the victor between the two of us.
I was happy with the result.
She was the one who suggested to come to the game center and being able to obtain victory in her favorite game surely will make her happy.
From my research, I learnt everyone would be happy if they obtained victory in a challenging game.
Surely, this will soften the atmosphere from earli-
"You were holding back, weren't you?"
It has gotten worse?!
That's strange, why does it feel like she's angry?
"No, of course! You are just way better than I am, that's it."
For now, I have decided to say things that wouldn't be on her bad side.
"Is that so...?"
"That is so." I nodded repeatedly.
"..."
She sat back at her seat, in order to not waste the credit, she continued playing against the COMs.
I feel the ice wall between us has became even thicker.
Strange...
How did this happen? Why did this happen?
Questions like these continued to pop up in my head.
I have done a lot of research for this date; from what we should do to what would make a girl happy.
Having chosen the activities that have the best rating, prepared the best response for possible questions and putting on the best look, I was sure I could make our first date successful if I would to follow the plan.
But something went wrong, something went horribly wrong that led to this awkwardness in our date.
The trigger must have been my failure to answer her question in the family restaurant.
I was sure I have provided the best answer possible to her question... yet something still went wrong.
It went so wrong that even she suspected me not actually liking her.
But even till now, I still couldn't find what went wrong between us.
Unable to come up with an answer, I have given up thinking about it for now.
I decided to cool my mind off so I turned my attention to the screen in front of her.
My eyes widened when I saw the fast-paced action happening in the screen.
But it was not the action that surprised me but rather the health of the player.
Her character was still at full health!
If I remember correctly, the opponent she's fighting was the last character before fighting the boss of the game!
To fight that character without losing any health was insane! Even I couldn't have done that!
This piqued my interest as a gamer.
Now, looking at the battle closely, I noticed something even more incredible.
She does not use her character to initiate any attack, she only attacks when COM's character does something.
She only counters... and she does so without any failure.
Not wasting any move, every time her opponent does something she could find an opening for an attack.
When the opponent does a straight punch she will duck and counter with a leg sweep, when the opponent signalled a tackle she will punch at the right frame to flinch the opponent, and when the opponent does a flying special attack she will step back at the exact position where the hit box was out of range and she will perform her own flying attack.
To do something like this, not only one must have in-depth knowledge of every character moves in the game but also a pair of good eyes to observe the frames of each move to be able to counter with such precision.
Just from being with her for one day, I have learnt she was a person with strong observation.
Maybe she has a strong memory as well to be able to remember all those character details.
No wonder I lost against her, I was basically up against a superhuman.
Then why was she angry when I lost against her?
Doesn't she know there's pretty much no one who could possibly win against her?
Maybe the world champion in this game but such person would not be in this game center now.
Curious, I looked to her to see what kind of expression she have.
I was surprised.
I could see her eye from the slit of her frontal bangs.
Being able to see her eye from the side was not what surprised me, what surprised me was what I saw from her eye.
Empty, her blue eye seemed to have lost its spirit.
Her eye fixed to the screen does not move, her entire expression was bland.
She gave me a feeling of boredom.
It was as if she was doing something that was obvious to do. Playing against character controlled by lines of algorithm was the same as playing chess against the computer... no, rather it was like playing tic-tac-toe. Reading the moves chosen and performed by the algorithm was the same as reading the states on a tic-tac-toe board, and naturally there will be a best action to take against it.
Being able to do something like that will guarantee the player to never lose a match, whether it was a game of tic-tac-toe or a fighting game.
To her, clearing the whole campaign without being hit once was more like a normal routine for her.
There was another feeling I felt from coming from her... The feeling of loniness.
That's right, this was feeling of loniness coming from her.
I know it, because this was not the first time I have seen it.
I have seen her acting like this in class when she was sitting next to the clique of Maiya and the handsome boys, like thin air that they failed to noticed she was present.
The other times were in the cinema when I just got of the toilet and, of course, in the family restaurant after I failed to answer her question.
To get one thing straight, I did not approach her because I felt pity for her being alone.
I approached her, simply because I like her.
I thought I could change that about her if I take her out on a date.
But I was wrong, it seemed like she has rejected my advances and became isolated again.
Even till now, I still could not find the reason that have brought us to this situation...
Could it be that she was always like that?
No, that cannot be true. At least from the interactions with her in the park, in the cinema and when we were talking about games, I could tell she truly enjoyed those times. She even made a few jokes without changing the tone of her voice.
So in the end, it boils down to that incident, huh?
That incident in the restaurant when she isolated herself and rejected me...
Wait.
If I was rejected by her then what was this about? Why was I invited by her to enter the game center and play a VS game with her? Wasn't this a chance given to me to steer our date to the direction of success?
But I was wrong.
She once again isolated herself and rejected me...
This was what I don't understand! I have done all that should have been done!
Everything should have been done accordingly, there shouldn't be a chance this could go wrong!
But why?
Why was I rejected?
Why couldn't I make our first date a suc... cess...?
...suc, cess...
...huh?
Aah, ah. I see.
I finally get it.
She may have isolated herself but she has never rejected me.
I was the one who rejected her.
This whole time the only thing that was in my mind was the success for our first date... or rather, should I say my first date?
That's right, what I was doing was not for me and her, it was just for myself.
Funny isn't it?
While I thought I wasn't trying to pursue a rosy high-school life but deep down I was obsessed with it. So obesessed that I researched all over the internet and read through many magazines in order to come up with a 'perfect' date, all to satisfy my ideology of a first date and fulfilling what I thought was a rosy high-school life.
Changing myself to a gentleman, places to go and things to do on a date, and answers to expected questions were just what I expect to happen on a date.
Those were from what other people thought and rated to get the best experience from their date.
'You are lying, aren't you?'
Those words from her did not mean she suspected that I like her nor were they directed at my planned answers.
They were directed at the whole date that masked my ideology of a first date.
She was a girl with good observation, there's no doubt she has already seen through that.
The mask that I purposely turned a blind eye on.
What a cruel thing I have done...
Once again, I looked at the girl sitting in front of the screen.
I do not know when it started but I have being watching her, she was always alone.
I thought I would be to take her out of that shell, I thought I was the special person.
But I did an unforgiving mistake.
I did things that I expected any girl to like and I expected her to react accordingly.
Wearing the fake mask of a gentleman, I gave her 'special treatments', putting her on top of a pedestal.
I was the one who put her into isolation in this date.
...
Aaarrrrgggggghhhhh!!!!
I scratched my head out of frustration, putting it back into its natural messy state.
Haha, funny isn't it?
What Gentleman? I was just forcing myself to change into someone I wasn't!
I loosened my tie and unbuttoned the top two of my shirt.
In doing so, I have hurt the girl I liked.
I have failed to noticed what she really wants, even though it was so simple and easy to see.
I grabbed the coins from my pocket.
That one thing she was looking was...!
[Here Comes New Challenger!!]
The words suddenly appearing on her screen surprised her.
She turned to me and was further surprised to see me having my opposite hands on the controls.
"What?" I scoffed. "Did I not tell you I'm left handed?"
"..."
For a short while, she stared at me with her mouth opened.
When the character selection music played, she turned back to her screen, the end of the mouth slowly rised.
That's right.
When two gamers clash like this then there were no need for words.
The match between us started, our machines screamed the names of our favourite characters.
[King VS King]
We will just let our skills do the talking!!!
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Sunset, we were walking alone on the same road.
We played the same game until the time we should go back home.
Our home was in the same direction partway so we decided to walk together until then.
Normally, we should be walking side by side and talk about what we enjoyed about the date. But of course, this was not the case.
She was hopping in front of me, I only adjust my pace so she would not get too ahead of me.
We did not say much since then, there was not a need to do so anyway.
Looking at her light steps, I could tell she enjoyed the last session.
Knowing this was more than enough... maybe not...
There was something left that I have yet gotten across to her.
Finally, we have reached the crossroad where we part with one another and it was also when I made up my mind.
It was hard to bring up something when the silence have continue on for so long.
Still, I have mustered my courage and called out to her.
"Hey, there's something I'd like to tell you before you go."
"...?"
She slowly turned around.
With the sunset behind her, I was not able to make out what kind of expression she has on now.
Actually, her expression has always been hard to read...
But I'm sure being suddenly called out, she must have a clueless expression on right now.
"The thing I wanted to talk to you about was the question you asked me earlier today." I said. "The question about 'the reason why I like you'."
"...ah... that..."
She replied with a stiff tone.
It can't be helped, this was the cause of the awkwardness between us.
After calming down, she also thought she was at fault to be too harsh with her words.
But none of us brought it up, purposely.
I'm sure she was also like me, a bit afraid to bring it up since it may ruin the good mood we have built up between us and the date that could have ended on a high note.
Also, it does feel a little bit embarrassing to bring it up.
However, I feel I could not let this one go down the drain.
If our date was to end like this then this topic will never be able see light again and I will definitely regret to not resolving this.
I scratched the back of my head.
"It's embarrassing to say this but... no, I have made up my mind!" I coughed once, I changed my tone to a serious one. "I like you. Unfortunately I don't any particular reason why I came to like you but I am sure my feeling to you is genuine." I made a firm expression. "I like you. It's just as simple as that."
Embarrassing!
I can't believe I have said something as embarrassing as that!
I really want to dig a hole and hide my face in it but I can't do that!
I am curious to how she would respond!
"... ... ..."
A noticeable pause before she finally responded.
"I-Is that so?"
She stuttered.
Oh my, that's my first time hearing it! It's cute!!
... ... ....
After that, there was a long silent between us.
How did it led to this?!
Then it was her who broke the awkward silence.
"Do you like good-looking girls?"
This was indeed a strange follow-up she came up with!
It makes me want to laugh out loud but I guess this wasn't an appropriate thing to do now.
"I'd be lying if I say I don't." I admitted it.
"Is that so? That means you like girls like Maiya?"
"I do like looking at Maiya." I can't deny it. I don't think I can lie to her. "Let me get this straight, my like for her isn't the same as my like for you."
"No, nobody asked you that... but..."
... ... ....
Again, there was another awkward silent between us.
Suddenly...
"I see..."
No, what did she see?
She turned and began walking down the street separate from mine...
Wait, is she going to end this just like this?! This is a strange way to end our date!
"Ah...!"
She seemed to have realized something and she came running to me.
"I forgot to say this."
She tiptoed and whispered in my ears:
"I enjoyed today's date, thank you."
I froze.
I was so surprised when I heard her words that even my brain stopped functioning for a short while.
It was like my brain short-circuited.
My memory for what happened after that has became hazy, I couldn't recall how our date ended.
The last thing I could still recall was...
Her, a cute girl with messy black hair, stood in front of me with the corners of her mouth rised.
"I looked forward in seeing you at school."
----------------------------------------
Back at school, everything has returned to normal.
I changed back to who I always was.
Left my hair as is when I woke up and putting no effort in keeping my uniform neat.
Now, as usual, I was watching Maiya enjoying the flattery shower from the same clique of handsome boys.
One thing that has changed was that I would sometimes glance over to the desk on Maiya's right.
That seat was empty.
Usually, at this time, the girl would have already been seated there.
I wondered what has made her late.
Suddenly, the door to my classroom was opened.
A beautiful girl entered the classroom.
Her appearance immediately caught the attention of everyone in our class.
The classroom became silent, it was as if time itself has stopped at this moment.
It was simply because we were so absorbed by the beauty of this unknown girl that we have forgot to talk.
My eyes were immediately attracted by her skirt of a length that emphasized her slender long legs. The black silky stockings that seemed to reflect light perfectly defined how destructive the combination with her legs was.
In constract, her uniform top was worn neatly, giving her a very modest look that complements well with her body. While they should be in contrast with one another but they also form a great combination to highlight the slenderness of the girl, giving out a very active feeling.
Finally, her wavy black hair gave her a sexy look and by clipping her frontal bangs to reveal her watery round blue eyes further enhanced the lively aura she gives off.
"D-Do any of you know her?"
"No, just who is this girl?"
"Is she in our class? Did we have someone this cute?"
The boys and girls in my class began whispering to one another, they were in discussion in finding out who this mysterious girl was.
Thus, it seemed like only I know who this girl was.
The girl looked in my direction and began walking towards me.
Everyone's eyes followed her as if they were watching a walk show.
This resembled a lot like when Maiya did a walk show to her desk.
I can't help but compare them, right?
Maiya was the most beautiful girl in our school and now there was a girl whose beauty could rival hers.
If I were to describe them:
Maiya's beauty could be described like a sun, hot and bright. Whereas this girl's beauty could be described like a moon, cool and filled with mystery.
Now this mysterious and cool girl have arrived at my desk.
Only up at this close was I able to see that the girl have applied light makeups.
But that seemed unnecessary since her natural beauty outshone what the makeups could do for her.
She was the first one to open her mouth:
"What do you think?"
First thing she said was not a greeting but to ask for my impression, huh... I think I'm getting used to how she rolls.
"This is the first time I've seen you wearing your uniform like this, right?" I smiled. "You look great like this."
I complimented her.
It may be simple but that was truly what I could think of now.
"Is that so..."
She smiled.
Ah, was this not the first time I have described her expression this way?
I see... so that's how it was...
While I thought I have reverted back from my fake change, I was not completely back to who I was previously.
Something changed within me, I have became able to read her expression.
I have come to understand her even more and now she has showed me a new side of her.
I like her.
That 'was' the feeling I have for her before it changed.
Now...
"Hey, are you free next Saterday? Want to go on a date with me?"
I have completely fallen head over heels for her.
----------------------------------------
Something has changed.
There was a boy who I loved.
I don't know when and how it started but before I knew it I have fallen in love with him.
For a long time, I was troubled, I have no idea how to talk to him.
Then, all of the sudden, he approached me.
That was trigger for that fateful day both of us spent together.
I was happy.
After that fateful day, something has been changed.
My daily routine was changed.
I have woken up early, dressed neatly and applied makeups.
Things I wouldn't usually do.
While those were indeed changes in my life but there was one even more noticeable change.
My love for him has changed.
Before, I would have been satisfied to just be able to talk to him, however, this was no longer the case.
I have became greedy.
Now, I wish we could enter a relationship...
Why do you love him so much?
One may ask me that.
...
......
.........
Maybe it's because he play games?
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A Date for A Change ends