A feeling of
impending doom clung to the school when Ryu arrived the first Monday
after their midterm exams.
With exams over
and done with the main dish on the rumour mill menu ought to have
been the student council elections.
However, what
most students spoke about was a disgusting rumour about Red Rose
Academy and systematic rapes with racist overtones. It was the kind
of rumour that needed to be quelled immediately, and Ryu was here to
douse the flames with petrol. In case the rumours blew out of all
proportions Principal Nakagawa had promised to step in and add
dynamite to the fire.
After changing
shoes by his locker Ryu walked past the wall where the top fifty
students from each year were soon to be posted together with their
results and headed for the stairwell to his wing.
He rushed to his
classroom and during each and every break he joined the subdued
conversations he heard and said all the wrong things. Before lunch
was over the entire first year floor of the right wing rumbled with
barely supressed indignation.
Just prior to
class he checked his mailbox for more instructions from Kuri. There
were none and he decided to move on his own. One email later he had
suggested he'd honour his promise to attend a goukon. If he was
honest with himself he had nothing against meeting Ai-chan again, and
it was with a tinge of a bad conscience he planned to use her for
spreading the rumours to Irishima high.
Like most of his
classmates he went through the motions of attending class. This close
to the exams most were more interested in the results than any topics
covered by their teachers, and it seemed the teachers understood as
well. Homeroom mostly consisted of selfstudying. Planning their
participation in the annual marathon race took up a fair chunk as
well. After that club hours, which he used to spread the rumours even
further.
The next morning
irritated conversations about Red Rose ran between the shoe lockers,
and later the same day, in the cafeteria.
When it was time
for club hours he made his excuses to Kuri and told her what he had
planned for his karaoke session with a few guys and girls from
Irishima high.
Ryu left school
and headed for the same karaoke bar they used to celebrate their
cultural festival a few weeks earlier. Had he been given a choise
he'd preferred to meet at Stockholm Haven café, but for this kind of
occasion a sterile karaoke room was the norm.
Ai-chan stood
waiting for him inside the doors despite Ryu being close to half an
hour early.
“Wakayama-san,”
she greeted him.
Ryu shot her an
exxagerated look of irritation. “Hasegawa-san, what a pleasant
surprise,” he said and bowed formally.
Ai-chan blanched
and took a step backwards. “Why so awkward?”
“How would I
know Hasegawa-san. I'm at a loss for words Hasegawa-san.”
“Stop it!”
“If you stop
being so stiff I'll do so as well. OK Ai-chan?”
She blushed and
stammered. “Fine, whatever!”
“My name
being?”
“Waka…
Ryu-kun.”
“Good. Now, why
so early?”
Ai-chan took the
opportunity to study her shoes and didn't answer, which made Ryu grin
a little. When it came to reading the signals in the boy meets girl
game he was an expert, something that made him never having had a
girlfriend doubly amusing, Ryu mused.
“Waiting for
someone?” Ryu teased.
“I'm waiting
for you,” Ai-chan responded, and her eyes filled with
determination.
“If you didn't get that I'm interested in you then
you're denser than I thought.”
That bravado!
I like it. But you really are rather nervous right now, aren't
you? “No I got that message loud and clear during our
festival,” he said and smiled. “You know, according to a friend I
shouldn't be able to see that for another half a year or so.
“Sounds like
your friend knows her shoujo manga,” Ai-chan said and grinned
widely.
Ah, seems
that joke helped with her nervousity. “It's a he, but otherwise
you're correct.”
Ai-chan smirked
and loked up at him. “So, you tricked me into a confession. What
about you?”
“I'm
interested,” Ryu admitted. “Would you go out with me?”
She nodded and
smiled, but Ryu could see how she crabbed the counter behind her for
support. Behind the counter a clerk grinned and gave him a thunbs up
sign, and Ryu realised their conversation had been heard by everyone
here.
“Ai-chan, we
have an audience,” he said with what he hoped was a subdued voice.
She loked around
and flared red in an instant.
“Idiot!”
Ryu listened to
her outburst, but her expression conflicted with what she had just
said.
“I guess I am,”
he answered and took a step closer to her. “Feeling embarrased?”
“Idiot!”
“I am. Feeling
embarrased that is. With all the people staring at us.”
“Idiot!”
He wasn't,
really. Experience from years spent surrounded by adoring girls made
him more or less immune to the discomfort that had Ai-chan's face all
in flames. Getting his first girlfriend was a novel experience
though.
“I didn't hear
your reply,” he said as teasingly as he could.
“Reply?”
“Your reply to
where I say: I like you. Please go out with me!”
That line kept
her face adorably coloured like a tomato and she stuttered what
almost sounded like a positive reply. Around them guests arriving or
leaving the place stood and gasped or grinned. A few girls giggled
loudly and Ryu felt what a spectacular show he ran for his small
audience.
“I can't hear
you. Could you please repeat that?”
“Idiot!”
“Sorry, was
that a yes or a no?”
“Idiot!”
Ai-chan stared at her feet again. “Yes, please take good care of
me.”
Ryu grinned and
bent forward for a last tease. The topics during their stay here
would be grimmer, so he wanted to extend the fun for as long as
possible. “Ai-chan, why should I attend the goukon in the first
place?”
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