The Truth Is...
If this is going to be another one of those sickeningly-saccharine love confession right out of an unbelievable and recycled Hollywood chick flick, the girl swears that she will kill herself. No tricks, no illusions, no pretense, not this time. She's done with playing games. This time, it's for real.
(The truth is...)
He smiles lazily, puts a languid arm around the back of her chair. His gesture is flippant. He probably doesn't think about it.
(He doesn't think about a lot, does he? And yet...)
"Life sucks, eh?"
You have no idea, the girl thinks. To Mitsui, she plasters a fake smile on her face, nods in agreement, and nonchalantly leans back against his arm, however slightly.
As predicted, he doesn't notice.
(Does he even notice anything? Jesus.)
"So what's this about then?"
The girl starts. "What do you mean?"
Mitsui glances at her from the corner of his eyes (I could swear that my heart just stopped). He doesn't say a word; merely raises an eyebrow... and that lop-sided grin, ever present, so boyishly charming, that the girl is almost completely mystified.
"Oh yeah, I asked you out," she says, with nervous laughter. She attempts a careless shrug. She fails. "Well..."
(Damn, since when am I such a bubbling fool? What happened to the self-assured intellect, perpetually jaded, supposedly street-smart? I am such a liar.)
His expectant look is unrelenting. He wants an answer. But how is she going to get it out?
"I was bored."
Perfect. An answer fit for a cynic like Mitsui. He even reminds the girl of Charles Dickens's James Harthouse in some ways, except that Mitsui does care for something: basketball. That is the essential difference between the two. She was disappointed at first, but she soon found out that Mitsui doesn't care for anything but basketball. And it's not hard to understand why: he makes a detestable sport a beautiful performing art. Because of him, the girl has embarked on a mild basketball-obsession.
But Mitsui, of course, does not know that. He can never find out.
"Bored, eh?" He laughs. "Welcome to the club. So, what do you wanna do then?"
The girl shrugs. "I don't know. Anything."
(Actually, I lied. The truth is, there is something I wanna do. But... I just... can't.)
"Wanna hold my hand?"
How does he know? The girl is momentarily stupefied... until she looks at his face, sees the impish grin, and realises that he's kidding. She smacks him on the shoulder, harder than she originally intended, but he doesn't feel the pinch, not even the slightest bit.
"That's not funny, you know." (In fact, that's far from being funny. If only you had a clue.) "Can't you think of other ways to entertain me?"
Mitsui laughs again. The sound is almost like music to her ears, despite its tendency to go out of tune. "Oh come on, I'm not your personal clown. I could be, if there were a basketball court around, but you hate the sport, so..."
"How self-sacrificial," the girl teases. "I'm so touched."
Mitsui throws another lazy grin her
way. "Yeah, you should be. I hardly care about other people's taste and
preferences."
(Really? Then why me?)
The girl feels a slight lurch within her. Perhaps there is hope!
"So why me?"
Mitsui shrugs. "Oh, no reason in particular. You're just a nice person to hang out with."
(Nothing more?)
The girl thinks she hears glass breaking, but it seems to be noticeable only to herself. It's now or never, she thinks. I have to do this.
"Actually, Hisashi, I did have a purpose in asking you out today."
He turns towards her in his usual non-hurried manner, doesn't reply, merely nodded his head, as if to ask, "Yeah?"
(The truth is...)
"The truth is..." the girl begins.
(The truth is, really...)
"Hisashi, this is awkward... but I have to tell you."
(The truth is, Hisashi...)
"I..."
The girl is interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone. He reaches into his pocket, retrieves his phone, and answers the call.
Now, the girl hears the hissing of a balloon being deflated of its air. (Goddammit, who the hell is that? If it's Hanamichi he's gonna get it from me, that bloody dolt.) She steadies herself to get on with it, until Mitsui suddenly gets up from his seat.
"Sorry, I have to go. Girlfriend called. She has some emergency and yeah, gotta go see her."
He got up quickly, looks like he's about to leave, spoke faster than usual, his body suddenly rejuvenated, no longer slouching. And then, he remembers that the girl was trying to tell him something.
"So what was it you were going to tell me?"
"I..."
(The truth is,)
The girl is at a loss for words. Girlfriend? Since when?
Mitsui is impatient. That is clear from the way he is standing, getting ready to leave.
"I... Nevermind."
"Okay then. See you around."
(The truth is, I like you.)
-end-
PS. 'The girl' is left nameless for
a reason. ;)
(and if you really want to know,
this is kinda a tribute to Mitsui's sexiness, the reason why his fans are
attracted to him, from my point of view.)