Ever since the incident, things have been great among the three of us. With everyone agreeing to let the past behind them, we can finally be just regular friends, sharing our interests, our dislikes together, and share our dreams and aspirations with one another.
Well, at least, that’s what was supposed to have happened. But…
[Yoichi: Where are you, man?]
[Me: Same place.]
Quickly delivering a line of text, I toss my phone to the side and let out a sigh as I lie down on the roof and gaze towards the unmoving clouds. A couple of minutes later, a clacking sound appears behind the door, and from it emerges a boy in a black suit and top hat.
“Don’t you get hot wearing that?”
“I’m used to it,” Yoichi shrugs before sitting down next to me and opening his lunchbox.
“What do you have today?”
“Karaage and rolled eggs. Want one?”
“Yeah. I’ll take up that offer… Oh, just the egg, though. I’ve had enough oil and fat consumption for the day.” I sit upright again and reach out to my bag of lunch, which I put to the side with my phone.
“What did you have exactly?” Yoichi asks as he takes a big crunch out of his chicken.
“Burger,” I raise the still-wrapped order for him to see.
“Fast food again? You sure you’re the son of a major tycoon?”
“Hey, it’s not like I get to eat this every day.”
Of course, that was a lie. I’m practically sick from eating fast food already, so much so that the presence of oil is enough to make me nearly puke. But unfortunately, for a guy that can’t cook like myself, while fresh ingredients are expensive as hell, fast food is the most reasonable option even if eating it every day is another kind of hell on its own.
“So, where’s Natsume?”
“I… didn’t ask her.”
Yoichi pauses for a moment. If he lets out one of his pet crows right now, it will probably fly over our heads cawing repeatedly.
“... Dude, it’s been three weeks,” It takes a while for him to finally say something as if he just had to swallow the biggest bite he had the entire day. “How are you still not able to talk to her?”
“Look, it’s not like I see her every day! We’re in different classes, remember?”
“We gave each other our CURVE contacts! Who meets directly nowadays?”
“We are… like, right now.”
“... Okay, you’re right there, but still!”
This kind of argument has become commonplace between us. As luck would have it, Yoichi in fact transferred right into my class, and we didn’t waste any time hitting it off. Having a friend like him is great, of course, but I haven’t closed any distance with Natsume since we’re in different classes, and ever since he realized that he hasn’t been letting up at all.
“Come on, Hakuen,” Yoichi cheekily pokes on my cheek. “If you keep hiding like this, you’ll never get the girl.”
“I know, I know,” I let out a sigh. “But it’s just hard, okay? Have you seen my first encounter with Natsume?”
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“Yeah, she told me.”
“It was rhetorical.”
“I know. Why did you think I answered?”
“... Fine, I walked into that one. But the point is, I choke easily, all right? What if I freeze up again in front of her and say something I would regret later on?”
Yoichi looks at me as if I was a strange animal. After a moment, he repeatedly points downward, where my phone is. “... Dude, that’s why we have this. You’re not talking to her directly, how can you still be this afraid?”
“Well… I don’t know, what if I text something stupid?”
“God, you’re hopeless,” Yoichi pats his hands together and takes out a white flag out of thin air, then waves it as fast as he can while lying defeated on the tiled roof. But knowing him, it’s only an elaborate act, as he soon sits up again, squishes down the flag he just made into a deck of cards, and says:
“But if it was easy, I wouldn’t be drawn to you in the first place.”
“Does that mean you have a plan?” I excitedly ask.
As the cards fly up and down in between his hands akin to a lively snake’s movements, Yoichi continues with a confident smile. “Calling it a ‘plan’ is a bit much, but I at least can nudge you a bit …”
Reaching out to my hand, Yoichi swiftly takes a card out of my sleeve, flipping it over to reveal an ace of spades. “Like an ace up your sleeves, don’t you think?” He says with a grin.
The little antic he did causes me to form a chuckle as well. “Did you just do that whole sequence for this one joke?”
“Maybe,” with a playful wink, Yoichi answers. “Now give me your phone.”
The smile soon disappears off my face.
“You don’t plan to text Natsume in my stead, right?”
“Don’t worry, it’s just the opening line. After that, you’re on your own.”
“That’s… less reassuring than before.”
“Come on, it’ll be fine,” Yoichi waves his hands, and in an instant, his deck of cards has turned into my phone. With a few taps, he easily unlocks it - I don’t even want to ask how he got my password correctly - and before I know it, he has already tossed it back to me.
“Here you go,” says Yoichi. When I turn my gaze to the phone’s screen, a conversation has already started.
[Me: What’s up?]
[Natsume: Nothing much. I haven’t seen you for a while, though. How are you?]
Uh… How am I supposed to continue this? I can’t say that I’ve been avoiding texting her!
“I’ve been busy with some stuff, but it’s fine now,” as if sensing my danger, Yoichi offers me a saving grace. “Something along that line.”
[Me: I’ve been a bit busy with some matters. But everything should be fine now.]
[Natsume: Great. Does this mean that you’re free for the time being?]
Wait, is this what I think it is?
“Dude, don’t leave her hanging! Just say yes!”
“Oh, right, right. My bad.”
[Me: Yeah, I should be free for a couple of days.]
[Natsume: Perfect. Then how about tomorrow afternoon, after school?]
It’s actually happening!
Okay, breathe, Hakuen. Stay calm. You got this… you got this?
You don’t got this. Oh god what do I do? How do I respond?
“Snap out of it man! You’re choking again!” Yoichi grabs me by the collar and shakes my body as if to rid me of my own anxiety.
“Thanks man, I needed that.”
[Me: Yeah, I’m free. Where to?]
[Natsume: The city library.]
[Me: Okay, I’ll be there. See you tomorrow.]
[Natsume: See you tomorrow.]
With the corner of my mouth slightly twitching, I turn to Yoichi, who is sporting a similar, way-too-excited grin.
“I did it?”
“You did it.”
“I did it! I didn’t choke!”
“Hell yeah you didn’t! Great…”
A sudden buzz coming from my phone interrupts our joyous moment. Contrary to our beliefs, my conversation with Natsume isn’t over yet.
[Natsume: Oh, right, I should ask Yoichi as well.]
Oh.
I guess that’s my fault for being too excited about things.
But it looks like today’s not my time to wallow just yet, as Yoichi soon places his hand on my shoulder and says:
“Don’t worry, I got your back.”
He then whips out his own phone and types for a moment. Fast as lightning, Yoichi tosses his phone to me:
“There you go.”
On the screen is a small piece of conversation.
[Me: Yo, Natsume. Just wanna say I’m doing a show tomorrow, so no calling or texting, okay?]
[Natsume: Okay.]
[Natsume: It’s kind of funny though; I was just about to ask you something, but it seems like you can’t make it. Shame.]
The sight of a smile appears once more on my face.
“Thanks, dude! I owe you one!”
“No problem. I got your back, remember?” Yoichi grins in return, raising his fist out for a congratulatory bump.
“Thanks… wait, but what do I do tomorrow?”
If that question hadn’t unconsciously left my mouth, everything would have been fine. But no, I had to be a big mouth and choke myself.
A sense of dread once again fills my body. My stomach churns and twists, while my hands and legs grow colder by the second. Sweat pores on my forehead like a river, but I’m only inches away from shivering.
“Oh, god…” Yoichi, seeing the situation, shakes his head in disappointment. “Really? Again with the cold feet?”
“I can’t help it, okay?”
“... Well, it’s not like I didn’t expect this kind of situation,” letting out a sigh, followed by a wry smile, Yoichi pats me on the back. “Like I said, Hakuen, I got your back, so don’t you worry one bit. Leave it to me for a perfect plan!”