Chapter 06 ~ The Speech
image [https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.nCyjOxwlu1iGgfujBuO3LAHaNK&rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain]
Koemi's POV:
I couldn't get over the fact that Yamato and I wouldn't probably ever talk to each other again. The thought made my heart ache, but I couldn't ignore what was happening. Kana was a bully, and I had to stand up for what was right. But the problem is he never listens. He was blinded by her "angelic side." And there's no way I could do to change his mind. Besides, it's too late now. We aren't technically friends anymore; no one is talking to one another, and it made me feel so guilty that I won't hear his laugh and chats.
Dad knew I was upset about something; these days I went back to binge eating and I'd go home from school looking like a burnout. He tried to ask what was happening, but I didn't tell him. He won't understand what I'm going through. It's all for one stupid reason that drove me to this silent treatment. Even Sana can't figure things between us out; how is Dad going to?
I couldn't sleep for days. My dark circles had become more visible, and I had to conceal them with tons of The Cream Desire. The thought of Yamato being attached to a bully and not talking to me gnawed my stomach. Didn't he understand that I was only trying to help him? Or did he find bad girls attractive? I won't lie; I missed him. Life seems dull in the days without him making me laugh or pulling pranks on strangers. But if I interfere once again, who knows what'll happen that's worse than a broken friendship? I know I might be overreacting, but seeing your best friend being intimate with someone you don't like messes with your mind.
I realized not to damage my relationship with him any further, I should stop seeing him. In the past, we hung out almost every day (right after I was finished with my homework), but now that we're distancing, it's better to not meet up with him nothing more of our relationship will worsen. I think that the only thing that we'll discuss if we meet up is how Kana is a lost cause. Unfortunately for me, my plans that weekend were supposed to be spent with (the one and only!) Yamato.
My solution?
Cancel everything. I was pretty sure he wouldn't mind a thing, considering we still weren't talking.
I soon got bored and basically texted Sana all day long. But she can't be online 24/7. Sana loves to go to charitable activities; she's an active donor to the local charity, which is also a program in charge of taxes. I'm not sure what's going on, but ever since that charity was created ten years ago, the street hasn't had any major projects. But the government established this program, so better not to question it.
And if she's not doing philanthropy, she's either at school for club meetings and/or contributing to a few school projects. Man, the girl is committed. I once asked how she could keep track of time doing so much stuff.
"You just gotta be organized. Which is something I see you don't have, coming from a person who loves "normal reputations" so much she has to remove wrinkles from her clothes every morning," she teased.
----------------------------------------
The weekends soon passed, and Monday came again. Great. My weekends are effing boring, and now I have to go through Monday. I'll die before Tuesday comes, for sure. I slowly strolled out of bed, did my skincare routine, applied and reapplied The Cream Desire until it fully hid my shadows, wrinkled out my uniform, checked that I had everything I needed for the coming day, went downstairs, had my breakfast before the TV, and waited until it's 6:45 before setting off for school.
I stepped onto the street. Realization hit. This was going to be my first time going to school without Yamato. Terrifying.
As it was fifteen minutes until seven, the street wasn't full of students running or walking in time for class. The reason why I'd like to come in early is that I could drop off my bag at my desk, and then spend the remaining time roaming around the yards, chatting with my friends.
I'd like to have a peaceful, quiet morning before school starts. When it's around 6:55, I return to class because that's when the school gets the loudest. While walking, I spotted Sana on the opposite side of the road, coming out of her house and locking the front door.
"Hey, Sana!" I waved. She beamed at me, then, after thoroughly checking that the door was completely secure, she put the key in the side pocket of her bag and ran towards me. She needn't worry about traffic; not a lot of cars or motorbikes roam at this time. Students practically take over the streets. It's more crowded than usual. What's the occasion?, but I ignored it.
We chatted furiously about the trending topics on social media and giggled madly when any of us mentioned one of the famous, handsome celebrities. But as we approached the school building, I realized something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
I might have overthought everything, but the school has never been this crowded. This provided a lot of disadvantages. First, I won't get to enjoy the first fifteen minutes of peace, in which I couldn't cool off my mind before class starts, and second, something big has happened. And I mean, really big. News spread fast around here. Sana also noticed the change, "School never gets crowded this early."
"What do you think has happened?" I asked.
"Probably something between the students." Sana suddenly replied excitedly. She loves to gossip but knows how to keep secrets, "You think some old couple had broken up?"
Couples continually break up at our school. No relationship ever lasts long. So when the school heard of some lovers splitting up, it was nothing unusual. But this is something big. No breakup has ever gotten the school so hyped up. "The only couple I know are Shimizu and Kana," I said, bored. Yes, I was still mad at him, so I still referred to him by his surname. It's not my fault, I repeat. "I thought you're the one who keeps track of these things."
"The popular ones, Koemi, not some small relationship in class. They're not famous enough to be noticed by the whole school."
"Good point. So who is other than Shimizu and Kana? From what I can see, they're too attracted to each other to be separated."
I could see Sana forming a devious smile on her face. But when I pointed it out, she ignored me by waving her hand and began listing the couples she managed to find out about. "There's Ken and Aiko from the class next to us; they're cute if Ken doesn't reveal his k!nk to us every time we meet. There's this senior Yuna and her younger boyfriend Atari. That's normal, but Morita-senpai from 2 - C thinks girl-older-than-boy relationships aren't capable and bound to fail. Then we have Bento and Benjiro, the twins from 1 - E dating another pair of twins from 1 - F, Cami and Fuka. Unique, right? They even go on double dates. They're considered as the below averages, though, with their crazy liking towards astrology and autonomy, which, in my opinion, are two fields that aren't meant to be mixed--"
I frowned. Once Sana starts yapping, there's no stopping her. Unless we interrupt her mid-sentence. "Couldn't we ask Kaiya-senpai about what's going on?"
"Great idea! What didn't I think of that? Let's find her."
Kaiya-senpai is very similar to Sana when we're talking about gossip-related topics. She gets ahold of things faster than anybody because she goes to school earlier than us and has a large friend group who loves gossip and anime just like her. She is the first you need to befriend if you want to know about rumors and breakups.
She's not hard to find, either. If you want to find Kaiya-senpai, you have two choices: her homeroom or the school entrance, where she could spread the gossip to anyone who would listen (basically everyone). We went past the gates this morning, and we didn't spot her, so we made straight for Kaiya-senpai's homeroom on the fourth floor (tiring ðŸ˜)
We finally spotted her leaning against the classroom door, narrowing her eyes as someone whispered something furiously into her ear. Must be some interesting scandal.
"Kaiya-senpai!" Sana waved. Kaiya waved back and beckoned us over. She knew that the only reason why we were up here was to either keep up with new information (aka the tea) or to confirm the claims made by other students. I believe she had the power of prediction because even before we asked her, she shushed us and 'guessed', "You want to know why it's so crowded today?"
"Yeah! Isn't it strange?" I said.
"Definitely, but everyone must've known by now. Aren't you guys in the student group chat?"
"I'm not in it. It's active all the time. My phone's gonna explode at some point with all those messages." I explained.
"Me, too! I'm in it, but I don't text much and I turned off the notifications button." Sana agreed.
"But it's the most efficient way to spread and get gossip instead of coming to me all the time!" cried Kaiya.
"Whatever, just tell us!" I said impatiently.
'Fine, fine. Kana and Yamato had broken up."
The way she'd said it so calmly made my jaw drilled straight through the cement. Before, my and Sana's mouth had already hit the floor when Kaiya-senpai broke the news to us. Yamato and Kana, the IT couple at school, had broken up!!?? That's unbelievable!!!
"H-How?" I asked.
"I don't know, but I knew they won't last long," Kaiya-senpai said confidently, as if she'd had known this all along. "Look, they're a pair of idiots dating each other. Will idiots last long? No! Both are average at studies ("Says the one with a D on that math test last Tuesday," I mumbled), and sports won't take them far. Yamato acted smart: he'd made the right decision of dumping her. I mean, look at the girl! She might be a heartthrob, but nothing ends well for a heartthrob. She might have the visuals, but without the brains, say hello to God!"
Sana nodded in agreement to Kaiya's words. Kaiya-senpai had overflowing theories that were somehow always right. But I noticed a detail in her speech.
"Wait, Yamato was the one who dumped the other?"
"Yeah! According to a senior of our school who overheard their conversation that night, his words were something about her being "violent, a bully", something about him being "tired of her actions" and that they were "not working out"; the usual stuff."
"But the good news is that they have finally separated! Right, Koko?" Sana squeezed my hands, grinning in delight.
"But don't you find it strange, Sana?" I asked. "Why did he break up with her so out of the blue? Their relationship was at a high peak!"
"You can ask him yourself if you want," Kaiya shrugged, "He's right there, outside the gym," she absent-mindedly pointed below, "and oh my, what a crowd."
There was indeed a large crowd. It seemed that we weren't the only ones that wanted an answer. From above, the gathering of students looked like paparazzi, and Yamato was like some A-list movie star.
"Come on, let's go! The crowd's getting larger!" I grabbed Sana's hands and we both rushed down the stairs, jumping three steps at a time, ran across the Main Yard, and arrived outside the gym. By now, the crowd had gotten bigger, and we had to stand on tiptoes only to see Yamato's forehead. Everyone was shouting, their questions overlapping each other.
Meanwhile, Yamato was making "calm-down" gestures as if this was the most normal thing in the world. Well, I can tell you one thing: that crowd won't calm down soon. His buddies stood by him, looking just as confused as everyone else. Except Kenji. He looked as if he knew the reason behind the breakup.
Or maybe he enjoys looking at crazy students screaming for answers. That would've explained his amused expression.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
I tried to push through, but the crowd was so thick, and no one was letting me pass. "I am starting to hate the boy's attitude right now..." I grunted in frustration after many failed attempts to make it to the front.
"Why?" Sana asked, craning her neck for a better look.
"Because friends are supposed to console everything to each other! And I'm still his friend, despite our recent you-know-what. Not only did he NOT tell me anything about his breakup, but now he won't give me answers! If he was still the same, he would have put me in his useless sports schedule and explained the whole thing."
I brushed off the way Sana flinched when I mentioned the consolation part. "Not only that, but the Yamato I know, heartthrob or not, won't suddenly become the President of America and speak up in front of everyone about his life. I know he's the extroverted type, but not that extroverted that he has to share everything! He is taking his popularity for granted!! Probably that's how that student overheard the "breakup" talk. Yamato is doing that on purpose! Mind you, after this, he and the idiotic Kana are going to get back together and continue their idiotic legacy, have an idiotic marriage after graduation, and give birth to idiotic kids-"
"Yeah, well, if you want to continue this rant, best do it later," Sana nudged me, hissing urgently. "If you haven't noticed, everyone's gone quiet except you. So they've probably heard every word, including Yamato-kun."
I paled and met Yamato's gaze. He'd put on a cold expression but his eyes said a different thing: hurt and betrayal. I knew I should've kept my mouth shut. Right then, I just wanted to cry out that everything was a mistake and I didn't mean a thing I said.
But I didn't have the courage, because I had poured my heart out just now. I couldn't go back and fake my feelings (it's not like I could anyway). I wanted to cry right there and then, but I've been vulnerable enough. I just bit the insides of my mouth, but never breaking our gaze. I could feel Sana's hand squeezing my shoulder lightly.
I'd messed up badly. Even though we might hate each other at the moment, I'd never wanted to hurt him. But all I wanted was the old Yamato back; funny and smart and mischievous, not some attention-seeking prat with bad choices.
But no matter I much I'd regret it, I didn't take back what I said.
----------------------------------------
Yamato's POV:
"Please, calm down everyone!" I shouted over the noise, but it was no use. I grunted in frustration. How could I let Koemi know that I was done with Kana once and for all, that I was so sorry for not knowing the things she did behind my back, and that I wanted to mend our friendship?
Yep, that's the reason why I chose to make a speech today. I'm not the public-speaker type, so this was a bold (not to mention embarrassing) move. Kenji and my other buddies had warned me. But why do they have to care? This is my life and I can do whatever I want with it.
Another reason I haven't told them was to expose Kana and possibly the Blush Rushes. I don't know about the other girls (they keep their lives outside really private), but at least I got the confirmation from Sana the Honest that Kana BULLIES. What a childish act. This might sound evil considering her popularity and status might be ruined after this, but the pros outweigh the cons, buddy: people will get to know what a bully she is, and maybe the Blush Rushes will stop their acts, and eventually, no one else has to get hurt.
I took one last look at the crowd. They want answers, I noted their desperation. Were we the IT couple? We did nothing except kiss and flirt all day. Not going to lie, my mouth felt a little bit bruised. Kana has absolutely no experience, which is saying something, with her being a heartthrob and all. But one thing is for sure: she spends her time training her skills and physique and not wasting her life on being a playgirl like her other group members. She has nice abs; I saw it when she was throwing and the shirt exposed her stomach (note: I'm not a pervert)
WHY AM I THINKING OF THE GOOD QUALITIES OF MY EX???? YOU'RE OVER HER, YAMATO!!! DON'T CARE IF SHE HAS GOOD ABS!!! DO YOU WANT TO HAVE A STUPID RELATIONSHIP OVER A MEANINGFUL FRIENDSHIP?? THEN GET THE SPEECH STARTED!!!
I took a deep breath. "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me."
Immediately, everyone shut up and stared at me dead in the eye with anxious and anticipated looks. It was as if I had cast a spell that had silenced them. The school had never been this quiet before. What power do I have?
I spoke too soon. Two seconds later, I could hear someone rambling, the sound getting louder and louder. I turned to my friends. It seemed that they'd heard it too. I turned to the other students, looking for the source.
I furrowed my brows. I've found it.
It was coming from Koemi. Why was she here? I didn't expect the girl to be someone interested in someone's love life. Sana was urging her to stop, eyeing the other people anxiously. What were they discussing?
It was right then, I heard what she was talking about.
"....Not only did he NOT tell me anything about his breakup, but now he won't give me answers! If he was still the same, he would have put me in his useless sports schedule and explained the whole thing..."
"Okay, okay, we know that he's not the same as before, but-"
"...won't suddenly become the President of America and speak up in front of everyone about his life..." "...taking his popularity for granted..." "...he and the idiotic Kana are going to get back together and continue their idiotic legacy, have an idiotic marriage after graduation, and give birth to idiotic kids..."
A fire burned in my heart. So she thinks that I'm an idiot and taking my popularity for granted? Did she think I was so stupid and still love the Kana Watanabe from the bottom of my heart?
That's what I heard.
Coming from the mouth of my own best friend.
Koemi finally noticed my staring and she quietened, looking so scared and anxious. I felt right bad then. But she was thinking badly of me, even when I was making things right again. I hate people who won't let the past go and misunderstand the situation present.
And sadly, my best friend right now was that person.
At a time like this, when every eye was pressuring her, Koemi would immediately turn humble and deny everything she'd said. But she didn't this time. She was nervous, yes, but she didn't take back her words. She stared right back, her eyes faintly lighting a fire of determination.
That's when I knew she'd meant every syllable she had uttered.
Great. Not in a good way.
But thank you, anyway. For providing a chance to prove myself again. And prove you wrong.
I broke my gaze and turned back to speak to the crowd. "Let me set this straight: I'm not a so-called "idiot" and no, I'm not going to get back with Kana and have idiotic children after an idiotic marriage, because we're never getting back together. The break up was real."
I could hear a few gasps and small cries of sadness. A wail was heard at the back of the crowd. I craned my neck to see and spotted that stupid gang of five heartthrobs. Kana was being cradled by the other Blush Rushes. They were busily wiping her nose and stroking her hair like a caring mother. Reina, I was surprised to find, was ushering some encouraging words. That won't work. Kana accidentally spilled one time during basketball practice that when she cries, there is no stopping and no kind of comfort would help. Four of them glared at me angrily. I rolled my eyes. I noticed how loudly she was sobbing. Kana was an ugly crier, not going to lie: her face wrinkled up into what looked similar to a pug's face (pugs are cute, but not at a time like this), and snot ran out of her nose like a raging river. Still trying to stand out in a situation like this, I scoffed. They're the attention-seekers, not me, I gave Koemi a look.
Then Kana's eyes met with mine. Time seemed to stop for a moment. Kana's eyes swelled up with sadness and sincerity. I thought, What if Kana did love me? But I replied with empty hollowness. Kana seemed to have gotten the message, because, at that moment, Kana wailed even louder, escaped from her friends' arms, and ran away from the crowd. I could hear a few snickers coming from the other students.
"A heartthrob being dumped? How embarrassing..." one said.
"They must think they have it easy, don't they?" another laughed.
Yamato quickly diverted his gaze to the other Blush Rushes. Strangely, none were following their distressed friend, but they wore a similar mask of disappointment. Disappointment. Not sadness or worry for Kana. I scoffed in disgust. What kind of friends are they? They don't even try to follow her? Then the comforting before was an act? How toxic.
I felt someone glaring at me. I turned to look.
Koemi kept her glare. What's up with her? I confirmed the breakup, didn't I? I've proved to her that I am no longer in love with a bully. Does she still think I'm looking for attention?
I looked back to the expecting crowd. I'll prove to her. She'll see. "I want to explain to you why I broke up with Kana. Right here and now, I'll reveal all the evildoings that she-wolf did. Kana wasn't who she pretended to be. She bullied people and made their lives miserable. She spread rumors, manipulated friendships, and made others feel worthless. I couldn't stand by and watch her hurt people anymore. I know this might be hard to believe, but I have proof. I've seen her do it and heard the stories from those she's hurt. Yeah, that's right: she's not the kind-hearted, sport-loving, Blush Rush angel you all think. It's time for the truth to come out."
The crowd murmured, and I could see the shock and disbelief on their faces. Everyone looked up to her as if she were their saint all these years. All they had ever seen was Kana bringing glory to the school, having a golden heart when she donated money to the school, etc. "I broke up with Kana because I couldn't be with someone who caused so much pain. I hope you all understand why I chose to end our relationship. She hurts people and I don't want to be with a bully."
I smiled in relief when the other students nodded in understanding. Some were whispering to each other (I have no idea if they were bad-mouthing me or not), but...it was good to know that I did the right thing. Why? Because after I had finished, Kenji squeezed my shoulder from behind and made a cheeky grin. "That was awesome, man. Kana's status is now at rock bottom. Your popularity just increased. You might be at No. 1 by now!"
"Am I not No. 1 before?" I laughed.
"So what now? I think everyone sympathizes with you now."
"Well, then it's time to activate Phase 2."
----------------------------------------
Koemi's POV:
"I'm amazed. Now he decided to acknowledge all that bullying and break up with her?" I scoffed.
"Hey, at least he's smart for once," Sana shrugged. "Did you believe in his speech?"
I paused. "Not really," I finally said. "I mean, Yamato's not that smart. Someone must have notified him of those things she hid behind his back."
Sana sighed in disbelief. "Koemi Ai, can't you believe your best friend for once?! Why do you always have to criticize him? Now that I notice it, you have hated him since he announced the relationship. Yeah, he was dumb back then, but now he has atoned for his mistakes!"
Damn, angry Sana is scary. I hung my head, "...Sorry. It's just the stereotype I have for heartthrobs."
"Whatever, because now, what matters is that Yamato's looking at you again. And I spot some determination in his eyes."
"Wait, what?"
My eyes met a pair of shiny black ones. Then it got closer. Yamato was slowly marching towards me, his lips carving in a pained smile. The other students' beady pupils were following his every move. Was it what it was like to be popular? To have everyone studying you, as if to find a flaw? Well, I don't like it. Then suddenly, without a moment to waste, Yamato pulled me into his arms, his face digging into my shoulder.
image [https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.iEJUGJ5e8JoXOVkg97JstQHaNK?w=115&h=180&c=7&r=0&o=5&dpr=2.5&pid=1.7]
"U-Um...?" I stuttered in surprise.
"I'm sorry..." he said, barely above a whisper. There was a hint of...shame in his voice. "I'm sorry...for being such an idiot; for not listening to you, for calling you wrong and all that stuff.... I regret it now." He hugged me tighter. "When you cried that day (yes, I saw it Koemi), I almost felt bad for you. Back then, I thought Kana was just an innocent girl being harassed by your stereotypical theories. I regret it now. I regret hurting you."
He stared deep into my eyes. I could count all of his eyelashes. I'd never noticed it was so long. Not only that, but I could count how many people were staring at us. One girl was even biting a book in her hands, biting away the pages' corners, and another was quickly pulling out A3 paper and writing hate comments on it. Like, girl, you bring paper everywhere??? I was so busy judging them that I almost missed out on what Yamato said next.
He squeezed my shoulders and gave me a small smile of apology. "I'd never wanted to make you cry like that. I was a fool. You're usually a strong girl, but if I had made you cry like that...I am shocked at myself. I'm sorry, Koko. Will you forgive me? I want to mend our friendship. My stupid ideals have torn it apart too much."
I looked from left to right at all of the watching students. Most of them, I'm sure, had all of these negative thoughts running inside their heads. The only person who radiated the most positivity was Sana. She had put on a proud smile for both of us.
----------------------------------------
Sana's POV:
Yeah, you know what? Yamato is really stupid, and without me telling him the things Koko hid, this relationship would have been dragged even further. What Koko said about him is true, but I'm just tired of her rambling on and on about it. I'm surprised I even defended him at that point. 0_0
But whatever, I'm just happy that I have contributed a part to mending my two besties' friendship ^w^
----------------------------------------
Koemi's POV:
I slowly turned to Yamato's expectant face. There was tension in him.
I shrugged. "I've had my fair share of stupid ideals. But one thing's for sure: you are an attention-seeker, whether you admit it or not. I mean, all of this! Dramatic much? You know about my goal this year! But the damage is already done so..."
I grinned. "Sure, I forgive you. And I hope you'll forgive me too."
Yamato nodded, his smile widening. "Then! To seal the deal!" Yamato suddenly yelled, taking his hands off me and whooping into the air. I stepped back in surprise. "A reconciling hangout! Just the two of us! To mend this friendship! At-"
Ring...!
It was the bell. Looks like it was seven. By 6:50, everyone would be in the classroom. Now almost the school is by the gym, listening to the #1 Heartthrob's speech and this "reconciling hangout" with his best friend. Teachers would be in for a surprise.
"Ah well, I'll text you the location afterward then," he shrugged playfully. "Go to class, everybody! The show's over!"
Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I joined Sana and the disgruntled students up the stairs. I muttered, "That was crazy. He has intense mood swings. One minute he's all sad, the next, he's all excited and playful."
Sana chuckled, "Yeah, and who knew Yamato would be the one to tell people to go to class."
I smiled. "Hey, at least he's back to his normal self. No more clingy Kana tagging along anymore. And, a reconciling hangout?!"
Sana smirked, "Are you looking forward to it?"
I thought for a while. "Currently, the place is a mystery," I replied. "And I'm pretty excited. So yeah, you could say that."
And speaking of excitement, I felt like the rest of the day's classes were more interesting than before.
END OF CHAPTER 06