Two Different Worlds
Chapter 4: Another Ridiculous Punishment
Day: April 15
Time: 12:15 P.M.
Kaoru's face was completely pale, and her eyes were wide. She just couldn't believe it. Did she really have to do it? Her current punishment was already bad enough, but…this was just…
The tomboy then heard her homeroom teacher clear her voice, so she shook herself out of her thoughts. She had to stay calm. No matter what, she had to stay calm. The tomboy let out a long sigh before she finally said, "Ms. Keane, you…you can't be serious."
Ms. Keane pursed her lips, and she closed her eyes. "Unfortunately, I am."
"But that kind of punishment isn't something I can do by myself!" Kaoru exclaimed. She quickly regretted it as she saw other teachers in the faculty office look her way. The tomboy felt embarrassed at her outburst; if anything, she felt like she was a little child for not being punished over something she found…ridiculous!
"That's why I said you'll be spending each week cleaning one floor. However, the cafeteria is an exception. Students often make a mess there every day, so you'll be cleaning the cafeteria daily."
"Ms. Keane—"
"I'm sorry, but this is final. You didn't heed my warnings the first week, and I've told you countless times that you needed to change your uniform."
Kaoru frowned. "Ms. Keane, I don't understand why you can't make an exception."
"If I let you change your uniform, I'll be showing favoritism. Same with the principal, Ms. Matsubara. The fact that none of the students know that you're female—"
"A few do."
"Oh? May I ask whom?"
"Momoko, Miyako, and the Jojo brothers," Kaoru replied before she frowned and pondered. "And I guess some other people from my old middle school—"
"That's the problem right there."
"Yeah, but—"
"Let me finish," Ms. Keane interrupted as she frowned.
Kaoru complied by sighing and closing her mouth.
Her homeroom teacher sighed. "Ms. Matsubara, if there are students from your middle school here that know your real gender, word will get out you're a female, not a male. If that happens, then a ruckus might occur, and female students might follow as well."
Kaoru couldn't help but frown at that. To be honest, out of all of the people she knew in middle school, the only girl that Kaoru could think of who'd wear the male uniform and make this much of a hassle over it was none other than herself. That, and she knew how much all of the girls loved wearing skirts. According to Momoko and Miyako, the skirts made girls feel more "free," compared to pants. Not only that, but they were also very cool to wear during the warm seasons.
"You must understand that this is for the best. Now, all of the faculty members know that you're female, but as a way to keep your gender hidden, we refer to you as 'Matsubara-san.' I already gave you a week to buy the new uniform, but since you didn't listen, I need to punish you. I already went over this with the principal, and he agreed that this would be fair."
"Ms. Keane, I know you're trying to make a point, but believe me when I say that I'm the only girl who'd go this far to wear the male uniform."
"Even if that's true, I need to punish you, anyway. It's part of school regulations. That way, when word gets out that you're a female, the other girls will also know that they'll be punished for not following the rules. Am I clear?"
Kaoru frowned, but nonetheless, she reluctantly nodded.
"All right, then. This week, you'll start cleaning the first floor, and you'll be cleaning the cafeteria daily from now on. Do you have any questions?"
"Yeah, I do. So, let's say that I didn't buy the female uniform and stuck with this male one for the entire year. Does this mean that I might get stuck with the punishment for the entire year?"
"Unfortunately for you, yes."
The tomboy let out a long sigh.
"If you bought the right uniform and wore it to school, though, the punishment will be called off. Until you do so, you're stuck with it."
Kaoru refrained from groaning. She knew that there was no way in hell that she'd wear the female uniform. The male one suited to her taste in clothing a lot more. That, and unlike how Momoko, Miyako, and many other girls felt, Kaoru felt she was more "free" and much more comfortable in pants.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"Well, can I have maybe some…helping hands?"
Ms. Keane frowned. "Ms. Matsubara—"
"Look, I know that it's my punishment and that I should do it alone, but can I please have some help? The floors are big, and I still need to study for tests and do my homework, you know? So…please?"
Ms. Keane pondered as she pursed her lips. Afterward, she sighed and nodded. "All right. I'll have Mr. Jojo—"
"Wait, the same one from homeroom?"
"Of course."
"No. I refuse."
Ms. Keane frowned. "Ms. Matsubara, need I remind you again that this is high school. You two need to act civilized. Otherwise, how else will you survive in the actual world? There will be people that you can't get along with, and in the end, you'll have no choice but to deal with them and their attitude."
"I know that. I really do. But Ms. Keane, can I please have someone else help me out instead?" Kaoru asked. She was practically pleading, even though she didn't look like it. The tomboy didn't want to spend even more time with Takeshi than she already had to. The school day plus clean-up duty? That was enough for the tomboy to deal with daily! When Kaoru saw that Ms. Keane looked reluctant, the tomboy quickly added, "I mean, what if…Jojo and I got into another fight, huh? And we ended up making a huge mess? It's easier with eyewitnesses, like our classmates, and with our classroom, but if we have a huge school like this to ourselves, don't you think that we'd end up destroying some amount of school property?"
Ms. Keane pursed her lips at this as she contemplated. "Well, I suppose you have a point…" She then eyed the tomboy before adding dryly, "Considering how short-tempered you are and how you two kept arguing last week. Not to mention the almost physical fights."
The tomboy sighed in relief. "Thank you so much, Ms. Keane. Seriously. You have no idea how grateful I am right now."
Ms. Keane let out a small laugh. "I'll let the principal know about this, but I don't know who to choose to help you."
"Oh, that's fine. I have two people in mind."
"Oh? Who?"
"Akatsutsumi Momoko and Gotokuji Miyako from Class 1-A."
"Momoko and Miyako… Didn't you mention those two as the list of people who know your true gender?"
Kaoru nodded. "They're my close friends, actually."
Ms. Keane contemplated as she slowly nodded her head. "Yes, this…might actually be a good idea. All right, then. Let them know that they're to help you, okay?"
The tomboy grinned and nodded as she resisted the urge to contain her excitement. "Yeah, okay."
"However, this is still your responsibility, Ms. Matsubara. This means that they're not obligated to actually help you if they don't want to—"
"Yeah, okay, got it!" Kaoru interrupted. At this point, she couldn't contain her excitement anymore as she then waved Ms. Keane good-bye and began to head out.
"Wait!"
Kaoru stopped just as soon as she reached the door. She raised an eyebrow at her homeroom teacher. "Yeah?"
"There's still one more thing."
Kaoru's grin began to falter, and the tomboy then frowned. She made no response as she heard Ms. Keane walk towards her. The tomboy then turned around as she sighed, waiting for any more bad news.
"You still need to do your first punishment as well, you know."
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Wait, I thought—"
"That I was going to clear your first punishment?"
"Well, yeah, 'cause, I mean—"
"Nice try, Ms. Matsubara, but clean-up duty is a way for you to learn to get along with Mr. Jojo as well. So until the both of you get along, that punishment will remain there for the rest of the trimester."
"But, Ms. Keane—"
"And if it doesn't get better by the end of the trimester, it will continue for the second and third, which means that unless the two of you clean up your acts and get along in a civilized manner, you two will be stuck with clean-up duty for possibly the entire year."
Kaoru's jaw dropped. "But, you just—"
Ms. Keane raised an eyebrow in response as a way to cut Kaoru off.
Kaoru immediately closed her mouth and sighed. "Fine."
"Good. Then, I'll see you after school to introduce you to the janitor."
Kaoru's eyes widened. "The janitor?"
Ms. Keane sighed. "Yes, the janitor. You'll be cleaning a floor per day and the cafeteria, which means that you'll be helping him as well."
Kaoru sighed and grunted in response. When Ms. Keane waved her good-bye, the tomboy sighed once more before she left the faculty office. Closing the door behind her, she growled softly.
"How did it went, Kaoru-san?"
The tomboy turned her head to the right, and she saw that it was none other than Miyako and Momoko beside her. She frowned. "You two were waiting here?"
"Well, you took forever again to stop by, so we figured something was up," Momoko replied. She then frowned. "So, what happened?"
Kaoru rolled her eyes. She then walked away from the faculty office, and Miyako and Momoko followed her. As they continued to head towards the stairway, Kaoru sighed. "I got another stupid punishment."
Miyako's eyes widened. "Kaoru-san, don't tell me—"
"Don't worry, Miyako. It's just another cleaning punishment."
"Which is?"
"Cleaning a floor every week and cleaning the stupid cafeteria every single fucking day."
Miyako's eyes widened even more as Momoko's jaw dropped.
Kaoru grimaced. "I know."
"That's just cruel and unjust punishment!" Momoko yelled.
"'Unjust?'" Miyako inquired. "We haven't heard the reason yet, Momoko-san."
Before Momoko could retort, Kaoru said, "It's because I didn't change my uniform."
Miyako blinked a few times before saying, "Well, I guess that is rather far for a punishment."
Momoko then ran in front of the two and yelled, "See? I was totally right about the cruel and unjust punishment thing!"
Kaoru snickered before she mocked, "'Thing?'"
Momoko frowned as she continued to walk backwards up the stairs. "Kaoru!"
"What? I'm not the one who said it!"
"Yeah, but at least I'm not the one sticking with cleaning the floors and stuff!"
Kaoru stopped walking up the stairs, and immediately, Miyako and Momoko halted as well. The tomboy hesitated as both her friends stared at her with questioning looks. Eventually, she said, "Actually, I dragged you two into it as well."
"What?!" Momoko yelled.
Miyako narrowed her eyes. "Kaoru-san!"
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down!" Kaoru yelled. "Look, I got a good reason—"
"'Good reason,' my butt!" Momoko yelled as she narrowed her eyes. "I got homework to do, you know—"
"Oh, please. Like you do all of your homework. Hell, I bet you don't even do any of it."
"Hey! I actually do my homework, unlike you!"
"What?! I do my homework, too!"
Momoko scoffed. "Who was the one that copied off of Miyako's at the very last minute in middle school? Oh, that's right! It was you!"
"Hey, don't pin all of that on me! You did it as well, you freaking hypocrite!"
Miyako stepped in between the two before putting her hands in front of their faces. "The two of you need to calm down! Yelling isn't going to solve anything."
Momoko scoffed once more before she turned around. Just as soon as she ran up the stairs, she immediately bumped into a figure and felt herself falling backward. She nearly screamed, but someone caught her. When she looked behind her, she saw that it was Kaoru, and Miyako was right behind her. Just as soon as Momoko was going to thank Kaoru for catching her, she realized that the two of them were staring at something past her.
The pink-eyed redhead was confused until she turned her head. Her face paled slightly.
The "something" in front of her was none other than a male student.
But it wasn't just any male student.
Oh, no. This male student was a redhead, just like Momoko. However, his eyes were red, and his skin was tan—much tanner than Kaoru's skin, in fact. On his head was none other than a red baseball cap that was placed backwards. The male student was glaring at the three of them.
"You three ever heard of using your inside voices?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.
Momoko gulped softly.
"Momoko-san," Miyako whispered as she walked up the steps and pulled on her sleeve. "Perhaps you should apologize for bumping into him."
Before Momoko could respond, he replied, "No need for Akatsutsumi to apologize. I'm willing to bet that she doesn't even have a brain in there."
"Hey!" Kaoru yelled as she narrowed her eyes. "Take that back, you—"
"Kaoru, I can handle this," Momoko interrupted as she glared at the male redhead. Inwardly, she could feel her anxiety get to her, but she did her best to not show it. Momoko sighed as she narrowed her eyes at the male redhead. "Jojo, look, I don't care if you said that it's okay for me to not apologize. I'm apologizing, anyway, so…" Momoko's voice trailed off as she looked down at the stairs before she said softly, "I'm sorry for bumping into you. I didn't mean that. It was accidental."
There was a long pause before the male redhead replied, "I'm surprised to see that you transferred to this school." He paused once more to let Momoko finally look at him before adding, "I mean, considering the fact that your grades are—"
"Hey! I just apologized—"
"I just said that I don't need your apology. In fact, it looks rather pathetic coming from someone like you, who has no backbone whatsoever."
"What?! I have a backbone, mister! I'm yelling at you right now, aren't I?!"
He scoffed as he continued to scowl. "Even if you claim you have a backbone, your voice is annoying as ever."
"Excuse me?!"
"See? This is exactly why every guy finds you annoying. You just don't know when to shut that trap of yours. Actually, you don't know how to shut it at all."
Momoko narrowed her eyes at the male redhead. "Jojo Takeo—"
"God, I still remember your annoying little voice from our middle school days," the male redhead known as Takeo interrupted. "You kept chattering endlessly about Urawa." He then paused before asking, "You're not still crushing on him, are you?"
Momoko flinched. Just as soon as Kaoru was about to move forward, she placed an arm in front of the tomboy to stop her from moving further. Kaoru frowned, but she backed off nonetheless. When she saw that Momoko gave her a look that said she could handle it, the tomboy sighed in frustration, but she complied, anyway. Miyako looked like she was about to say something as well, but Kaoru grabbed onto the blonde's arm and shook her head. Miyako frowned, but complied with the tomboy.
"He doesn't even go to this school," Takeo said.
"I know that," Momoko replied.
"Then why bother? Last time I checked, he rejected you and went after that tomboy friend of yours." Takeo paused. "It's a surprise the two of you are still friends."
"That's because I'm not the kind of person to break my friendship with someone over a boy," Momoko replied as she narrowed her eyes.
Takeo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? 'Cause I remember countless times when you'd get into an argument with that tomboy friend of yours because of Urawa—"
"Jealousy does that to a person! You wouldn't know that kind of feeling because you're always adored by countless girls, like Natsuki-kun! You don't know what it means to envy what another has!"
Takeo immediately glared at Momoko, and Momoko flinched in response. The pink-eyed redhead's face paled when he narrowed his eyes at her. Takeo scowled and said, "You're immature and ignorant. How typical of a teenage girl like yourself."
Before Momoko would retort, Takeo went down the stairs, purposely bumping into the pink-eyed redhead in the process. Momoko glared at him, but he paid no heed as he continued down the stairs. When he was finally out of sight, Momoko began to clench her fists tightly.
The pink-eyed redhead was inwardly fuming, and she closed her eyes as a way to calm herself down.
"Momoko, don't waste your energy on a guy like him," Kaoru growled. "Believe me. I'm dealing with one of them myself."
Momoko let out a long exhale. She sighed before replying, "You're right. He's not worth my anger."
Miyako crossed her arms as she frowned. "Although Kaoru-san is right, I personally think he went too far."
"He's an asshole, just like that Jojo Takeshi," Kaoru said. She then growled as she narrowed her eyes before adding, "Except that Jojo Takeshi's a shitload worse than him. That fucker just gets on my nerves so much that I feel like killing him!"
"Kaoru-san, I understand that you strongly dislike him—"
"I hate him, Miyako. I hate him with every fiber of my being."
Momoko cleared her throat, and she caught the attention of her two friends. "Can we get back to what we were talking about before he came?"
"Oh, yes, that's right," Miyako said before sighing. "Kaoru-san, I don't know if I can help. You know that I have cram school—"
"You've been going to cram school since God knows when, Miyako," Kaoru interrupted as she rolled her eyes.
"That's because I'm taking my future seriously. Even Momoko-san has decided to enroll herself at my cram school as well."
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Wait, what?! And you two never told me about this?!"
"Hey, I tried the cram school thing last week! There is no way I'm going back there again!" Momoko exclaimed. She then scowled. "I only went because I'm annoyed of how Kuriko just goes, 'Oh, look at me, Mom! I'm the top student in my class again!' or 'Mom, look! I did great at today's game! I scored the final goal!'"
The three of them were now walking down the hallway, and the three of them halted their walk when they realized that the hallway barely had any other students.
Sighing, Momoko leaned against the large window. "I swear, that girl just loves being Little Miss Perfect. She even goes to the extent of criticizing me when she herself doesn't even know better!"
"Brats are like that," Kaoru said as she shrugged.
"Yeah, except Sho isn't a snobby, arrogant, annoying little—"
"We get it, Momoko," Kaoru interrupted as she rolled her eyes.
Momoko sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Why apologize, Momoko-san?" Miyako asked. "I think it's perfectly fine that you're annoyed with her." When the tomboy and redhead gave her confused looks, Miyako added as she smiled, "It just shows how much you care about your sister, Momoko-san. They say that sibling arguments or sibling rivalry is a way to deepen that sibling bond."
"If that's the case, then you must really be close to Kuriko," Kaoru said as she grinned. She nudged the redhead. "Come on, Momoko. Don't be all pissed about it, unless you want me to start calling you 'Pissy Pink.'"
Momoko snickered. "What the heck, Kaoru?"
Kaoru's grin grew even wider. "Hey, come on, it's a good nickname."
Momoko shook her head as she started laughing. When she finally calmed down, she said, "Well, anyway, about the punishment—"
Kaoru put up a hand to stop Momoko. "If you guys don't wanna do it, it's fine."
Momoko frowned. "But, Kaoru, don't you plan on joining any sports teams?"
"I can always wait until next year."
"But, try-outs start this Wednesday! And they end by the end of this week!"
Kaoru shrugged. "Like I said, I can wait until next year."
"Kaoru, you're, like, the queen of sports—well, king, since you get mistaken as a dude, but I guess Takeshi has that title, so I guess you get the title of queen—"
Kaoru groaned. "Oh, my God. Don't mention that asshole. Please."
Momoko frowned, and she looked at Miyako. "Miyako, help me convince Kaoru that she needs to join one of the sports teams!"
Miyako sighed. "Kaoru-san, do realize that we can help with your punishment."
Kaoru's eyes widened. "But, what about cram school?"
"I can just take the class that starts at five instead of the one that starts at four."
Momoko frowned. "Wait, Miyako, doesn't that class end at nine?"
"Ten, actually."
"That's way too late for you to go home alone!"
"I can manage just fine, Momoko-san, so there's no need to fret."
Kaoru sighed. "Guys, seriously, I know I dragged you into this, but—"
"Hush, Kaoru-san," Miyako interrupted. "I'm helping you, whether you like it or not. I'll just leave at around…4:30. It takes about fifteen minutes to get there, but thirty minutes if there's traffic."
Kaoru's face practically lit up, but it faltered when she realized that Momoko has yet to respond. At once, she glanced over at Momoko.
Momoko was still frowning. When she glanced at Miyako, who was also staring at her, she sighed. "Okay, fine, I'll help. I have to help out at the library starting at five as well, so I'll be leaving at around that time."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "School library?"
Momoko nodded. "Since the cram school thing didn't work out for me last week, I figured that helping out the librarian and studying from all of those books there would help me somehow with my grades."
"Again, why did I not hear about this?"
Momoko shrugged as she grinned sheepishly. "I forgot to tell you about it until now, to be honest."
Kaoru narrowed her eyes at the redhead.
"What? I'm being honest! I'll help you, though, but you totally owe me!"
"I don't owe you anything!"
"Oh, come on, Kaoru!"
"I know what you and Miyako have in mind for me, and there is no way in hell I'm doing it!"
Momoko pouted. "Fine. But you'll need our help one day. I just know it!"
Kaoru rolled her eyes in response. "Anyway, you two meet up with me after school in front of the faculty office, okay? Ms. Keane's gonna go over the whole punishment thing or whatever. Something about meeting up with the janitor and stuff."
Miyako nodded. "All right, then, Kaoru-san."
Momoko nodded as well before she sighed.
"Momoko-san?"
"I'm fine," Momoko replied before she frowned. "I'm just not looking forward to self-studying."
Kaoru grinned. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
"If you want, I can help you," Miyako added.
Momoko shook her head. "No, Kaoru's right. I'll just figure something out. Besides, I heard self-studying is the best thing to do rather than group-studying."
"Yes, but I can tutor you, Momoko-san."
Momoko smiled. "Miyako, I appreciate it. I really do. But, you need to focus on your own grades, and let's not forget that you have cram school."
Miyako frowned as she realized that Momoko was right. She sighed. "I can still at least help you."
Momoko shook her head, despite her smile. "I'll be fine. Besides, who knows? Maybe the librarian can help me!"
"Well, I suppose you're right about that… You could always ask our teachers for assistance if you're ever confused."
"Yeah, see?" Kaoru said as she shrugged. "Momoko will be fine." Before Kaoru could continue, she felt something in her pocket vibrate, and a smile slowly crept its way to her face as she realized who it immediately was.
Momoko grinned teasingly. "Kaoru…"
"Shut up, Momoko, or I will seriously punch you—and I won't hold back," Kaoru replied, but the smile on her face was still there as she took her cell phone out. Her smile grew even more when she saw the text she received.
BC, I'm so fucking bored. And I'm hungry. Seriously. Why can't you be right beside me to lend me some freaking money?
"That stupid moron forgot his lunch money again," Kaoru muttered as she snickered.
"It's him, isn't it?" Miyako asked as she smiled.
Kaoru nodded in response, and she groaned when Momoko and Miyako began squealing softly. The three of them were doing their best to not attract any attention because even though the hallway was barely empty, there were still some people down the hall in both directions.
At once, the tomboy shushed her two friends. "Guys, seriously. Tone it down."
"She's not yelling at us for once," Momoko whispered before she and Miyako giggled.
Kaoru rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.
"Well, Kaoru-san? What does the text say?" Miyako asked.
"He said that he was bored and hungry. And he said that he wanted me beside him"—at this, Miyako and Momoko were practically jumping with excitement—"because he wants me to lend him some money." The tomboy snickered when the redhead and blonde immediately frowned and stopped jumping.
Momoko groaned. "Seriously. Why don't you just meet up with him or something?"
Kaoru shrugged in response.
Momoko frowned. "Kaoru, if he can text you at nearly any time of the day, he can meet up with you!"
"Momoko, it's not that simple."
"Yes, it is! Just text him that you wanna meet up with him!"
Kaoru groaned softly. "You just don't fucking get it."
"Kaoru-san, I agree with Momoko-san," Miyako said. "Do you know what high school he goes to?"
Kaoru shook his head.
"His age?"
"He's my age—maybe a year older. I sort of tease him about it by calling him a pedo from time to time, even though I don't really mean it."
Momoko raised an eyebrow. "Why a pedo?"
Kaoru chuckled. "'Cause the dude has had countless girlfriends, and some of them were, like, what, three years younger than him or something. Besides, we see each other as just bros."
Momoko pouted. "But your love story—"
"How many times do I have to say there's no love story?" Kaoru interrupted as she glared at Momoko.
"Yeah, but you guys—"
"Okay, seriously, stop. This isn't some sort of shoujo manga or whatever, Momoko."
"Don't doubt the power of shoujo manga! You never really know what happens with reality, Kaoru!"
Kaoru groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Miyako, help me. She's being absurd." When she received no response, she looked at Miyako, only to find that the blonde looked like she was agreeing with Momoko. "Oh, God, not you too."
"Kaoru-san, you two have known each other for a long time, haven't you?" Miyako asked as she smiled even more.
Kaoru groaned once more in response.
"Obviously, you two have, but you two never tried once meeting in reality. Why is that?"
"You don't get it either, Miyako," Kaoru replied as she stared at her phone. It vibrated once more when she received another text message from Butch.
Yo, BC, you there? I'm seriously bored here. Come on, entertain me.
Kaoru scoffed, but a smile made its way to her face again. As Momoko and Miyako began pestering her on what the new message was, Kaoru waved a hand for them to stop talking. The two immediately stopped, and Kaoru texted back, Don't spam me, man. And stop forgetting your lunch money.
Bah.
Pfft. So I guess you did forget it again?
Nah. I just keep forgetting to make myself lunch. Too lazy in the morning to get out of bed to make myself a boxed lunch for later. You know, just like always.
Kaoru rolled her eyes. You're so lazy.
Says the that gets a boxed lunch made by her mother!
Shut up, man!
Seriously. If I was there with you, I would jack your freaking lunch and eat all of it—and I mean all of it, BC.
Kaoru smiled even more. Man, you're a total idiot.
There was a slight pause before Kaoru finally received a response from Butch, and it said, You seem pretty happy. Did something happen with that muscular dude or whatever?
Nah.
Then what?
I just am, man.
…Okay. You better not be lying to me.
Kaoru couldn't help but snicker. She heard Momoko and Miyako immediately begin whispering to each other about the conversation, but she paid them no heed as she texted back, I'm not, man. I can't be happy that I'm talking to the best guy friend in the entire fucking world?
Oh, God. Someone, call the freaking ambulance. This is not the BC that I know! This is some…clone in disguise! Or maybe someone stole BC's phone… You! You better not be some person posing as BC!
Butch, seriously, what the hell?
Okay, BC's back. Never mind. Call everything off!
What the hell, man?!
Haha, sorry, but you seemed too happy for my taste! May as well mess with you.
Man, fuck you!
No thanks, bro.
Oh, God, I didn't mean it that way!
Haha!
"Come on, Kaoru!" Momoko whined. "Give us the details!"
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Later."
"Why not now?!"
"I'm sure Kaoru-san wants some alone time," Miyako said teasingly.
Kaoru rolled her eyes as she began to walk away from the two. "Remember, meet me after school in front of the faculty office!"
Momoko and Miyako nodded as they waved before the two headed off towards their classroom.
Kaoru sighed as she stared at her phone before texting back, I hate you, man.
We went over this so many times, BC. You love me. Seriously. Don't deny the looooove.
Oh, God. Seriously, Butch?
Yes, BC. I'm so fucking serious because you just loooooooooove to deny everything.
Okay, just stop.
Love, love, loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove.
What the hell?! Stop, man!
Hahaha!
Oh, my God, I feel like punching you right now!
Pfft. If only you could. But you can't, so…
Don't. You. Dare.
Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove.
Oh, God. I'm gonna stop responding to you now.
Oh, fuck no! Don't you dare do that, man!
I'm doing it!
No. Just no.
I'm doing it!
Then you may as well stop replying! The hell?!
Haha! Well, later, man.
Hm? Now? But isn't it lunch time over there as well? I mean, it's my lunch time right now.
Yeah, it is, but I'm just…not in the mood, honestly.
Kaoru sighed before she frowned. She finally arrived outside her classroom, but she was leaning against the wall next to the door. The tomboy honestly didn't want to enter yet. She looked at the time on her phone, and she saw that it was ten minutes away from lunch ending. She felt her phone vibrate in her hand, so she immediately went to look at Butch's reply.
What the hell? You were so happy just now. What happened, BC?
Ah, nothing. Something got to me. I mean, I'm still happy. But…eh.
Wanna talk about it?
Nah.
You sure?
Yeah.
There was a long pause before Kaoru received a text message from Butch that said, It's not a good thing to keep things bottled up.
Man, you don't think I know that?
Then tell me. Well, unless you're on your period or something… If that's the case, I'm glad I'm not next to you right now. I swear, girls get so fucking bipolar on their period that it's ridiculous.
Hey! Dude, I don't get cramps and shit! I don't let out that much blood either!
OKAY, TOO MUCH INFO. I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT.
Hey, you brought it up.
Again, I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT SORT OF INFO.
What the hell, man?
Dude. Dude. No. I know you're a girl, but dude, no. Just no. Let's not go there.
Haha, why not?
One of my exes dragged me to go shopping with her.
…Oh, no.
Oh, yeah. She freaking dragged me to the section where there were tampons and shit.
"Dragged?" Really? The "Oh-I'm-so-fucking-sexy-and-badass" Butch got DRAGGED?
Okay, fine. She didn't really drag me.
Haha, I knew it!
But she made me go there with her because if I didn't, she'd end up crying her ass off or some other sort of shit like that.
Oh, so it was one of those crybaby exes?
Pretty much. One of the downsides to being so fucking sexy and attractive to the ladies, haha.
Jesus Christ, your cockiness is absurd.
Pfft.
What?
You said "cock."
…Man, fuck you.
Haha! But, seriously, tell me what's on your mind.
Kaoru frowned as she hesitated before she finally texted back, It's something my two friends said.
Those same two friends you always tell me about?
Who else?
Well, what did they say?
Again, Kaoru hesitated. She couldn't bring herself to reply. She flinched when she got another text message from Butch.
Buttercup?
Yeah?
What did they say?
Kaoru hesitated again.
God damn it, Buttercup! Just tell me already!
Okay! It's just…
Just what? Don't send a text that leaves me hanging!
Well, it's just that they wanted me to meet up with you and stuff.
There was a long pause before Butch replied, That's actually not a bad idea.
Dude!
What? Man, you're worrying over nothing! And here I thought someone bullied you or whatever!
I'm not the kind of girl who'd be a victim of bullying, you moron.
Whatever, man. I don't see why you're so worked up over this, anyway.
'Cause, I mean, we've been texting each other for so fucking long…
And? We live in the same city, don't we?
We do now, but still.
Pfft. You're worried over nothing. I didn't know that the great Buttercup would feel this way.
Hey!
Look, I don't mind meeting up with you. I really don't.
…You don't get it either.
If you don't fucking tell me what's really on your mind, then I never will. I'm not a fucking mind-reader, BC.
Well, it's just that… What if things turn out differently once we meet each other in real life? We agreed a long time ago to never even call each other—just text only.
Yeah, and?
I just told you, man! What if things turn out differently?! I mean, what if we end up not getting along in reality or something? Like, what if we end up hating each others' guts or whatever?!
Okay, you're seriously worried over some stupid shit like that?
I… Well, it just bothers me. You're one of my closest friends, Butch. Even if it's just through…texts and stuff.
"Stuff." Really? You call the shit I used to send to you before we started texting each other "stuff?"
Man, you really don't get it!
Fucking hell, Buttercup. You're making this way too complicated when it's simple. If you wanna meet up, then I don't mind.
No, it's fine. I don't wanna meet up.
…Okay, I felt a total pang in my chest just now from that. That hurts, man.
Pfft, because you got rejected by a girl?
Well, that, and 'cause you're one of my closest friends as well, BC. We live in the same city now, so we could try meeting up. Like hell we'd end up hating each other or something.
But what if we do? I mean, you don't know my real name, and I don't know yours. We've been keeping up with this whole alias thing for a longass time, and…what if we end up seeing each other as someone we're totally annoyed with—someone we just can't get along with? I mean, I…I'm not in the mood to lose one of my best friends over something like that. If that's the case, then I don't wanna meet up with you. I'd rather just…leave our relationship the way it is now because I love it the way it already is.
…Oh, my God.
What?
You finally said "love!"
The hell? That's all you freaking focused on?
Hallelujah! Praise the fucking Gods!
What the hell, Butch?!
Haha, I'm kidding, BC! But, seriously, don't stress over some stupid shit like that. We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?
Well, yeah…
Then, our relationship isn't the type to be severed so easily. Simple. So stop stressing. It doesn't suit you. If shit happens, then shit happens. You can't do much about it, so don't linger on it so much.
Kaoru stared at the text before a grin soon formed on her face. Thanks, man. I needed that. I swear, your words are like a total bitchslap to my freaking face.
Well, you're a girl. Girls are sensitive. Trust me, I know. I had way too many sensitive girlfriends.
Haha, does that include the crybaby girlfriends as well?
Of course it fucking includes them. Jesus Christ. Thinking about them makes me head fucking hurt. So fucking clingy and shit.
Whoa, I hope I didn't stir up bad memories.
They're not bad. Just annoying. They were completely and utterly annoying as fuck.
…Soooooooooooooooooo, you never liked them?
They interested me. After that, they were all the same to me.
That's pretty deep for someone like you.
Yeah, I guess—HEY.
HAHA!
BC!
I gotta go! Later, Butch!
Buttercup! Damn it!
Kaoru snickered as she finally closed her phone. She felt a few more vibrations before she set her text message setting to mute. She continued to snicker as she put her phone away. When she walked into the classroom, she was surprised to see that the class was mostly empty.
Only one person was there. And that person was none other than Jojo Takeshi.
Kaoru grimaced, but she was surprised to see that he was there. His back was still towards her, and when she went to walk to her seat, she saw that he was texting someone on his phone. She didn't bother to see who it was. There was no need to because the tomboy knew that he was probably flirting with some girl, like he always was.
She rolled her eyes when she finally sat in front of him. It was honestly surprising because for once, Takeshi didn't even pay attention to her. He seemed so focused on his phone that he took in no account of his surroundings. Kaoru frowned even more, but she didn't bother to turn around.
After all, this was Jojo Takeshi. This was the very guy that she hated with an absolute passion.
She doesn't care about whatever he does, just as long as he doesn't irritate the living hell out of her.
Right now, the two of them were keeping to themselves.
And honestly, Kaoru preferred it this way.