Tuesday:
I. English
II. Math
III. Japanese Language
IV. Chemistry
LUNCH
V. Social Studies
VI. Physical Ed.
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
I read the schedule for the sixteenth time, trying to ignore the whispers and giggles that are still floating into my ears. The only assignments we in our classes were read books and take notes. If we were going over notes, the sensei would give them to me, already-printed.
Finally, after Chemistry, it's time for lunch. Everyone leaves the room, and at first, I consider simply staying here in the classroom to eat my bento, but then I remember I gave Misora and Chiyo my word that I would join them for lunch. Grabbing my bento, I stand from my seat—
—And collide with someone else.
We, a few chairs, and our bentos crash to the floor with several sounds of impact. I land on my rear end, one leg bent and the other limp. A few moments later, we're shuffling to pick up our bentos, whilst stuttering out apologies.
"I'm so sorry," the boy says. I can see his uniform, identical to my own.
"No, I greatly apologize. I wasn't paying mind to where I was treading," I say, grabbing my bento and standing up, bowing in apology. "Please forgive me."
"...Yeah, sure. Kosuke, right?" the boy asks. He grabs the back of one of the fallen chairs and pulls it upright.
"Yes sir, I—" I look up at him, and then I see...
...it's not a "him" at all.
She's dressed in the male uniform, and her brown hair is cut short to her neck, although she's clearly feminine. She has large brown eyes and soft-looking lips and I believe that I'm only an inch taller than her. Right now, those large brown eyes are staring at me the in the same fashion that I'm staring at them.
"Excuse me..." I say.
"Aren't you a..." she starts.
"...Girl?" We say at the same time, and then we stiffen.
For the next few moments, it's as if we're reading each other's thoughts. I scurry to the wooden door, making sure no one's past the window, and then I lock it shut. Haruhi shuts the one open window and in no time at all, we're both crouched behind the sensei's desk.
"How'd you know I'm a girl?" We both say in unison.
Drops of sweat roll down the side of our faces. After a moment, she tells me, "You first."
"To me, it's just obvious." I tell her. "Yes, your hair's short, and you're wearing a male's uniform, but you're very…feminine, I suppose? Do you mean to tell me that no one else is aware?"
"My friends do," the girl replies (I note that when she states the noun, she says it with reluctance), "But everyone else just thinks I'm a boy."
"May I ask how you were aware of my gender?"
"Same with you. To me, it's just obvious." she says, inclining her head a bit. Then, she asks, "Did you cut your hair or is that a wig?"
"It's a wig," I say, running a hand through my faux hair. The pale blonde hair falls back stiffly. "And yours, if I may ask?"
"It's cut. A kid got gum in it a while back, and I just cut it off to save all the trouble of getting gum out of long hair," the girl answers. She brushes her chocolate bangs aside with a lift and fall of her shoulders.
There's a moment of understanding silence. Then, smiling slightly, I extend my hand. "I'm Kosuke Nakahara, it's a pleasure to meet you."
She smiles back and shakes my hand in greeting. "Haruhi Fujioka, nice to meet you, too."
Another moment of silence, and then I say, "I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone my true gender."
She doesn't even ask why. She just nods and says, "OK. But you can't tell anyone I'm a girl, alright?"
"Yes ma'am," I nod. "I believe I need to make my way to the cafeteria now."
"Oh, me too," Haruhi says, and we both stand from behind the sensei's desk. We then become aware that we both have each other's bentos, and we swap them, chuckling awkwardly. I unlock the door and hold it open for her.
"You're really polite," she comments as she walks through.
"Thank you, ma'am," I say, closing the door behind me. "If I may ask, why do you dress as a male?"
"It wasn't really my intention. I got confused as a guy the first day and no one caught on. I owe this school's Host Club a lot of money, and I have to dress as a boy to pay it off."
I furrow my eyebrows, bemused. "What is…the 'Host Club'?"
Before Haruhi can speak a singlular syllable, someone's voice slices through the air, high and full of tempo.
"HARUHI~!"
We both turn to see a teenage boy dashing in our directin. He's statuesque, as much so as Rituko, with soft blond hair and violet eyes, wearing the male school uniform. He's bounding towards Haruhi as if he were a lovesick puppy.
"May I ask who that is?" I whisper.
"My friend, Tamaki Suoh. He's the leader of the Host Club. And he knows I'm a girl." Haruhi replies. She turns to the taller, older teenager and sighs, "Tamaki-senpai, what's wrong?"
He stares at her with "You weren't at the cafeteria so I went searching for you to make sure you were—" he stops in his words when he looks at me. At first he looks surprised, maybe a bit bemused, with violet eyes wide and blond eyebrows raised. Then he leers at me so intensely I feel my stomach clench. "Who is this?"
"Senpai, this is Kosuke Nakahara. S...He's new here. Sorry to worry you, senpai, Kosuke and I were just talking."
"Doesn't look like you were talking…" Tamaki growls menancingly.
At first, I'm confused (what did it seem like we were doing?), but then I look at the two of us and understand what he means. I forgot to straighten my wig after I ran my hand through it, and it was now sticking up in odd angles. Our clothes were slightly crumpled from crouching behind the desk. "Oh."
"OH?!"
Suddenly, Tamaki is placing himself between Haruhi and I, snarling like a crazed bear in my face. Haruhi stares on, more annoyed than surprised. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY HARUHI, YOU HEAR ME? IF YOU COME NEAR HIM AGAIN, YOU'RE GOING TO ANSWER TO THE HOST CLUB, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Then I understand. Tamaki was smitten with Haruhi. Every time he looks at her, his eyes are sparkling like fireworks. You can practically see miniature, comical hearts filling the air around him. "Yes, sir."
"YOU LITTLE—Wait, what?" Tamaki's leering face is replaced with a bemused, stunned one. Behind him, Haruhi sighs in annoyance.
"I won't go near him again. I apologize if you were upset, I didn't mean any harm. I hope you'll forgive me." I bow to show my apology.
Tamaki simply stares at me for a long moment, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Then, his eyes increase in size dramatically and he pulls on a baby-like face, his skin tinged pink with blush. "What a charming, polite boy you are!" Tamaki then puts on a genuine smile, bowing to me whilst extending an arm charmingly. "Kosuke Nakahara, I hereby invite you to the Host Club this evening after school hours."
"But-"
"We anticipate you're arrival! Come now, Haruhi!" Tamaki takes Haruhi by the arm—not forcefully, but gently—and begins to lead her away. She rolls her chocolate eyes to the ceiling as he does so.
"Bye, Kosuke-san!" Haruhi calls behind her shoulder.
"Goodbye, Haruhi-san!" I call back as she turns the corner, disappearing from sight.
The moment that I enter the cafeteria, a bead of sweat rolls down my face. The cafeteria is as palatial as the entirety of the campus. The chairs, tables, and students are countless and without a doubt, it would me a substantial amount of time and effort to find Chiyo and Misora.
"KOSUKE-SAN! KOSUKE-SAN, OVER HERE!"
Huh…I suppose not.
At of the closer tables, Chiyo is standing from her seat, waving her left arm to recieve my attention. Misora is sitting beside to her, appearing slightly embarassed. I walk over, and unsurprisingly, girls stare and giggle my way. I seat myself between Chiyo and Misora, and there's no doubt that every other girl at the table inches closer to us.
"I greatly apologize for arriving late," I tell Misora and Chiyo as I open my bento, "I had a small discussion with a fellow peer."
"Oh, it's fine," Misora smiles warmly at me, "Don't worry about it."
"So how's your first day at school been so far?" asks Chiyo. She bites into a golden apple and licks the juice from her bottom, glossy lip.
"It's been fine," I smile gently at her. As I pierce a piece of sesame chicken with my fork, I add, "I appreciate your asking."
"Excuse me, Kosuke-san."
I look up at a girl with short auburn hair and dark brown, almost black, eyes. When she realizes that I am looking at her, she blushes a rosy hue and gestures a long finger to my bento. "I'm sorry, but what is that?"
"It's a bento," I reply. I lift the sesame chicken to my lips and take a bite.
A second girl, with straight jet bangs over emerald green eyes, asks quizzically, "An already-made lunch?"
A third girl, with straight chocolate hair, states, "Kosuke-san, I didn't know you were a commoner."
Commoner? "I apologize, but…my mother simply has our chefs create these for my siblings and I."
"That's so smart," A girl with rich red hair says, "Then you don't have to pay for the school lunches!"
"You're so intelligent, Kosuke…" yet another girl with rich red hair says, her voice dripping with awe. I am uncomfortable with such attention, but I say nothing of protest.
DONG! DONG! DONG!
"Alright, Kosuke-kun, you're dismissed," Sensei says, tossing an already sweat stained towel over his neck. "We'll see if we'll start on something new tomorrow. Have a good evening."
I bow to him, nodding, wiping the sweat from my brow. I'd run across the track five times, with breaks in-between. Now, I could scarcely breathe and my legs are as heavy as boulders. I have to take private classes with the sensei for Physical Education. Of course, this is for my secret's sake, because if I had Physical Education with other males, that'd mean we'd go to the locker room at the same time, changing clothes in the same room. But the sensei had simply been told that I had 'health issues' and that I should take private classes.
Which wasn't necessarily a lie. I do have health issues. I was born two and months premature, born with cardiac arrhythmia.I have to watch my heartbeat carefully, or else I may experience something along the lines of a heart attack. I have to carry this tight contraption on my right wrist to rate my heartbeat, called a HRD (Heart Rating Device). If my heartbeat is fine, then the lines will stay green, but if my heartbeat grows dangerously hard and fast, the lines will turn red and the HRD will beep loudly. The bracelet is hidden under the sleeve of my uniform, but now, in my Physical Education uniform (a white T-shirt and purple shorts), it was clearly visible. Running track wasn't particularly dangerous for me, so long as I took short breaks in-between and I paced myself carefully and accordingly.
I begin to trek back to the locker room, stepping past the students that are exiting the campus for the day. When I get there, I open my locker, pull out my uniform, and enter into the bathroom to change. When I'm finished, I put my Physical Education uniform back inside the locker, making sure I didn't leave anything 'personal' inside.
I exit the locker room, ready to visit the Host Club...but then, I realize I haven't the slightest idea where it is.
I take a deep breath of air and exhale slowly. I could either A) walk around the campus attempting to locate it, which would most likely have me home by the next century, B) not visit whatsoever, and risk being man-hunted by Tamaki, or C) ask someone for directions to the room.
"Kosuke-san?"
C it is.
I turn to see Misora and Chiyo nearby, staring at me with their heads inclined to the side just slightly. "Is something wrong?" Chiyo asks worriedly.
"Oh, no," I assure them with a soft smile, "I intend to visit the Host Club, but I haven't the slightest idea where it is."
Misora and Chiyo brighten as if they were fireworks.
"We can show you where it is, Kosuke-san!" Misora beams brightly.
"Yeah, we were just going to the Host Club, too! We'll take you there!" Chiyo exclaims. She and Misora extend their hands to me politely.
"I greatly appreciate it," I smile at them in turn and take their hands in my own.
"So why are you going to the Host Club, Kosuke-san?" Misora inquires as we begin to trek to the club room.
"The club's president, Tamaki Suoh, invited me there," I explain to her. The crystalline sky reflects off the face of the clock tower, obscuring the current time from view.
"Tamaki-senpai invited you?" asks Chiyo. She seems genuinely surprised at the notion.
"Yes, ma'am. He seemed very serious about it as well," I say with a nod.
Chiyo and Misora exchange looks of bemuse and what I believe is expecting hope. Then, as we halt in front of a tall, pristine pink door, labeled Music Room #3, Misora chirps, "Here it is!"
I nod in understanding and take hold of the door handle, swinging the door open wode so that the girls can—
There's a bright flash of white light (I haven't the slightest idea where it had come from), and drops of red and pink fall down my view. Rose petals? What…?
And then, seven voices speak at once.
"Welcome."