So, I'm trying to improve the quality of my writing by taking more time to compose my writing. This one the longest addition yet. I doubt there will be anymore shorter chapters like the first few. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Also, please be sure to read the author's note at the bottom.
Counting the Differences
Chapter Six
Regardless of how tired she was, Davina was so restless in her bed. A thunderstorm had formed unexpectedly to the south of the Kanto region and was circling through the city after about three in the morning. In addition to the dozens of aggressions that were boiling within her, occasionally bursts of thunder kept her tossing and turning.
More than a dozen times during that thunderous and sleepless night, regardless of the hour, Davina wanted to send Shin—that bastard—a phone message calling the whole deal off. She had definitely been more of a distraction at the tutoring session than a valuable asset. The class was putting more effort into trying to ask her out instead of learning English for their exam. Shin's English was good enough, he could have taken her place, she bet.
In midst of her restlessness, she unwillingly put crucial thought to her reoccurring uneasy stomach. She remembered with embarrassment the moments when the butterflies were fluttering painfully in her torso. The train, walking home.... The fact that Davina hadn't lost control over herself was soothing though.
She objectively pondered the origin of those stupid butterflies. She had experienced similar anxiety when she had performed in her very first ballet recital as a kid and for at least three of her show auditions. Something was much different from then and now, she had thought, rubbing her forehead. Even on those occasions, Davina knew her goal and knew perfectly well that she had the skills to succeed.
"My stomach feels weird, Ma." Young Davina rubbed her belly and gulped to her mother.
Davina had been dressed in her fluffy, soft pink costume. Her light red hair was tied back into a circular bun on her head. She had walked hand in hand with her mother, trying to match her mother's long strides.
Her mother smiled sweetly down at her. "Those are called butterflies, Davina. It's normal to feel a little nervous, but just remind yourself that you know your steps and that you know what to do."
Davina's arm flapped limply to her pillow above her head as another low rumble of thunder clapped outside. There were no routine steps to this dance and this time Davina didn't know what to do. Her nerves then as a kid were meager in comparison to the agony she was presently facing. She furiously fluffed her flat pillow to provide more support for her neck.
There was still one forgotten factor in this butterfly business: Shin. Davina punched her pillow then pressed her face hard into the cushion until her ears were covered. She eventually relaxed her stiff body and lifted her head and instead pressed her chin on the pillow and stared at the wooden back of her bed.
Why were her current butterflies associated with Shin? When she had first met him, he was a perfect stranger and except for the fact he had yelled at her, she had been in total comfort. Back then she trusted him, but now she needed to stay on guard and not because of him, but because of herself. If she got too sensitive her feelings would get hurt.
Davina's vision on the wooden back unfocused and she yawned. Her body was dead tired, yet her mind was wide awake and not willing to shut up. It was nearing the end of the school year for her so finals were inevitably approaching. Since she heard the news of the Tokyo audition for SAB, she was pushing harder during her ballet classes and having longer practices at home. Meanwhile, tutoring 3-D was unexpectedly dropped on her and adding to her workload.
Stress was the perfect explanation for the nausea in her stomach lately. Why hadn't she fully considered that before? Lack of sleep and a busier schedule could lead to a coming of illness and nausea was perhaps one of the many symptoms she would soon be experiencing. And to define Shin's association with her stomach illness could be due to how Shin had been a reminder of the night she had been attacked and was the bringer of the tutoring and ultimately, more stress in her life. If she stopped seeing Shin, her stress would diminish to that of a level she had been accustomed to and her stomach illness would be gone. Simple as one, two, three.
Turning over to lie on her back, Davina was satisfied with her theory and was convinced it was the truth. She wouldn't quit the tutoring, finish what you started, Davina, she imagined her father's deep voice projecting to her. She owed Shin and she was the one who offered herself to him.
After the following Monday, Davina promised that she would go back to doing what was important. Ballet was her first and should have been her only priority. The anger that had erupted within her from being misunderstood by Shin and his friends had ruined the happiness of being congratulated for her leg extension. She had been so happy before she saw Shin too!
The alarm clock blared the worst sound in the world. With a tight fist, Davina smacked the off button until the clock was tossed to the floor from her dresser. Another rushed night that led to a long, teeth-grinding day.
The sun didn't peak through her curtains like usual so she prayed to every holy deity in existence that she had made a mistake in setting the time the previous night. Davina picked up the clock next to her bed to check because surely that did NOT feel like six hours worth of anything, let alone sleep.
Damn it.
Before allowing herself to miss her bed, she set her feet on the floor and replaced her alarm back to its correct place. Maybe a nice cold shower will do the trick....
"Davina! Hello?"
A hand waved in front of Davina's face, she jolted straight and tore away from the dream-like state she had fallen into. Her school lunch room was vivacious, fuller than normally because the rainy weather hadn't ceased since the previous night. She pulled her hair behind her ears and sighed. She must have been dosing off. Her two friends, Mira and Jayla were tilting their necks and narrowing their eyes at her in suspicion.
"Are you catching a cold, Davina?" Mira asked with concern.
"You've been seeming kind of spacey lately, is there something wrong?" Jayla stabbed her fork into her lunch.
Davina peered down at her own lunch. She had managed to smear and mix her peas into her potatoes, but she hadn't eaten any of it. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, but she was just too tired to scoop up any of it with a utensil. "With the storm I didn't rest well last night. Plus, I've been extremely busy."
Her friends were taking too much consideration and thought into her words as they kept looking at each other as if trying to decide by their eyebrows if Davina was lying or not.
"Busy with what?" Jayla turned to Davina, her suspicion staying strong.
Davina balanced her chin on her fist. "Tutoring English..." She replied absentmindedly.
Her friends' reactions were calmer and less questioning than she expected. "Oh, really? Are you being paid?"
"It's...volunteer stuff." Davina lied. "My dad got me into it."
The girls nodded their heads, finding probability in Davina's statement.
"Japanese kids are just now having midterms, right?" Mira said before taking another bite of food.
"So I hear, but summer vacation is next month for us. God, I can't wait. Do either of you have your summer plans finalized?" Jayla wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"For two weeks, my family and me are going to Alaska. I'm still unsure about the dates, but we're expecting to go in early July." Mira twirled her utensil in her hand.
"Sounds nice. As far as I know, I'm not leaving Japan unfortunately. I'm going to Nagoya to finally meet my great-grandfather. I'm kind of nervous about it though." Davina swirled her fork, eventually bringing food to her mouth.
Perhaps it was due to the rain but Davina seemed a bit...under the weather. Jayla's and Mira's summer excitement calmed, sensing Davina's unease. She had told them a bit about her family's history, particularly that she had a Japanese great-grandfather who was a WWII veteran.
"He is family though, Davina. How could he not love you?" Jayla patted Davina's shoulder with a loving expression that warmed away Davina's cold frown. A smile curved at Davina's lips, reassuring her friends that she was alright.
"Are you going to ask him about how he met your great-grandmother?" Mira asked.
The relationship between her great-grandfather and great-grandmother was a matter that Davina had had dozens of questions but never asked to avoid being rude. She had never met her Sofu so her great- grandmother's testimony was all she had to go by. Davina remembered having her questions on the tip of her tongue. Her great-grandmother had been so concise and so vague about her life in Japan, but she showed such great pain to even lightly discuss the subject that Davina repressed her curiosity.
"Do you think the weather will clear up soon? I hope it's not the start of the rainy season, though I think it's still too early for that." Jayla grimaced at the thought. She had lived in Japan for a little over two years and she had confided to her newcomer friends that the worst season in Japan for her was the mid-year rainy monsoon. Typhoons didn't come to Tokyo often, but the southern storms sent wild rain and brutal winds north, leaving the island virtually sunless and unpleasant for two months.
The girls turned to the water-stained window depicting the low gray clouds that hung in the sky outside. Any traces of thunder and lighting were gone by morning, yet random pockets of rain would pour often enough to keep the regular outside-lunch-eaters inside. Luckily for Davina, it hadn't rained during her commute to school but she had carried her umbrella with her, just in case.
Davina sighed, remembering tutoring with Shin and 3-D, and looked away from the window to eat more of her now cold lunch. "I hope so."
As usual, much of 3-D's total class was missing from the classroom. However, much to everyone's jaw-dropping surprise, they were studying. One 3-C student believed he was going to get pummeled when a 3-D student had yanked him back by the shoulder. The 3-C student was tinier than the other student; he gulped to himself and braced himself for the upcoming impact. When no abrasions came to his face, he cautiously peeked an eye open.
"Hey, do you know the answer to this?" The 3-D student pointed to a question in his English textbook.
The frightened student's mouth slid open. "Huh...?"
The 3-D student grew impatient and huffed in annoyance. "What? Don't you speak? Do you know the answer to this?" He tapped a furious finger onto the page of his open textbook.
That sounded more like a 3-D student. The shaking boy read the question. He had heard rumors about Yamaguchi's class trying to keep Fujiyama by doing decent (by 3-D's standards) on their exams. 3-C's substitute was not the attractive, feminine poise of Fujiyama, but his entire class, upon learning of the promise between Headteacher and Yamaguchi, had grudgingly bid their farewells to the beautiful Fujiyama. There was no way that 3-D was going to achieve thirty pounds on their exams. However, if giving his best answer to the dimwit in front of him would help keep his teacher employed at Shirokin then the 3-C student would give it his all.
"Answer D." The 3-C student was sure of his answer even though, honestly, his class was no good at English. How could they possibly pay attention when there always a goddess in their homeroom? Interestingly enough, math was their best subject.
The 3-D student listened to his answer and didn't utter a thanks but was mumbling the explanation given in the textbook for the answer to himself. He walked by the 3-C student, reading out loud to himself down the hallway. The 3-C boy watched with a look of disbelief. He didn't want be too optimistic, but he had gained a glimmer of hope. He was suddenly thankful for Yamaguchi. She was little dorky, yes, but he only seen a few teachers that matched her passion.
The 3-C student straightened himself and began his way back to homeroom. His English, without tooting his horn, was one of the best in Fujiyama's class. He wanted Fujiyama to stay, so, until 3-D had their midterms, he would do his best.
It was technically her hour to teach math, but Yankumi had her nose in one of the English books Davina had sorted out for her. She was double checking her study guide to avoid the nitpicking of Shin and Davina. English wasn't her subject after all....
Headteacher and Washio-sensei were chattering loudly near Yankumi's desk even though their work desks were further back in the room. "Kobayashi-sensei does not seem to be a good match. He works well as a babysitter for 3-C but pity the poor man if he has to ever teach 3-D."
Yankumi squeezed her pen and groaned to herself, trying to ignore Headteacher's annoying arrogance. He and his little sidekick were parading around as though he had already won. Headteacher was the sort of pricks she used to beat up in high school. She had never really harmed them, but she would make them eat their words, and some dirt as well.
After yet another exaggerated malicious laugh, Yankumi gathered her study materials, enough was enough. She loudly stacked her fresh copies of her study guides, stacking noisily again and again, making sure that Headteacher and Washio-sensei heard. Without excusing herself, Yankumi left the teacher's room and rushed back to 3-D.
Headteacher scuffed to himself and leaned back in his desk chair. One of these days, he would find a surefire way to sack Yamaguchi and the entire class of 3-D once and for all. The easiest part of his job though, he smirked deviously, was that 3-D was prone to trouble and they would eventually screw up enough to the point where his job would already be taken care of. He grinned with his tongue at his teeth. It was only a matter of time before that perfect day arrived.
Davina stuck a careful hand outside the cover of her umbrella. When no rain touched her palm, the arm carrying her umbrella swung down to her side. The gray clouds overhead were thick with the promise of more rain, making the sky darker than it should have been for a late afternoon. She folded her umbrella and packed it away into her bag.
The exhaustion she felt standing, waiting for Shin, was equal yet so different than what she had the previous day. After several tedious applications of concealer, she had finally given up, accepting the fact that the bags under her eyes were there for the long run. The humidity, meanwhile, was doing wonders for her hair. No matter which shoulder she set her tresses on or how many times she comb her fingers through her locks, her hair felt sticky and heavy. Sighing, she reached into her bag and pulled out a white beret and covered her hair.
Davina stared on down both directions the road, taking in every single detail of both ways, determined not to let Shin catch her off guard for once. This time, she would see him walking to meet up with her and she would say "hello," to which Davina imagined Shin could say "hello" as well.
The ASIJ bus had already arrived at the designated stop post and picked up most of the students. Mira and Jayla were in that group of regulars. They both had given her their mutual squints of suspicion when Davina admitted that "one of her students was coming to retrieve her."
"Are you sure?" Jayla asked, giving the impression that she sense that Davina was hiding something.
Truthfully, Shin walking with her was something Davina hadn't actually put any thought to, Shin actually hadn't told Davina that he was coming to accompany her to Shirokin again. Even though the honest answer to Jayla's question was "no," Davina didn't doubt for a second that Shin would come all the way just to stroll with her to his school. She flashed Mira and Jayla a reassuring smile and hurried them away so they could catch their bus.
Davina hadn't watched them get on the bus but when the bus drove off, Mira and Jayla were gone too.
She leaned against the metal gates of the school, right next to the proud sign that clearly read in English and Japanese, "American High School in Japan." Davina, while staring at the silver lettering of the sign, imagined what it might have been like if Mira and Jayla ever met Shin? What would have happened if her two friends ever met 3-D? Both of them spoke better Japanese than Davina so communicating wouldn't have been difficult. However, when she pictured the meeting...she decided that her two friends could be turned off by 3-D's persist flirtations, no matter how flattering they found it. Her two friends meeting Shin...they would have had a hard time understanding the premise of their friendship, relationship—no, association—with each other. Hell, Davina couldn't understand herself.
Shin didn't trust her to walk home alone for goodness sake. Any other girl would consider that creepy and stalker-like, not that Davina didn't not perceive it was those two things, but that was how it worked between her and Shin. She had, in fact, never bothered to argue his walking her home. She had also never found herself minding all that much—
Davina's hair fell in waves to her face. She gasped and jumped, her hand flying to the top of her head. Her hat was gone. She turned around and saw Shin, with his hand closed over her beret.
That bastard! Of course he teleports behind her in between the nine seconds she hadn't been paying attention.
The look she was threatening him with was one of death. Nonetheless, Shin figured he'd allow her to be upset with him. "You know you don't have to wear a hat to cover up your hair." He stuffed the white hat into his jacket pocket.
Davina groaned angrily to herself. At this rate, Shin was going to effectively steal all of her hats.
"Won't a simple 'hello' do just fine Shin?!" Davina crossed her arms but suddenly remembered her messy hair and frustratedly tried to smooth out the tresses.
Though he didn't show it on his face, Shin was slightly amused to watch Davina get so frantic over an article of clothing. Judging by how she had just snapped at him, Davina was still a bit touchy about his returning her money the prior night.
"Ya know," She began with a raised voice, still wearing a glared expression. "I might have worn that because it went with my outfit. A person can wear a hat for reasons other than insecurity. Don't ya know?!"
Davina's redundancy reminded him of Yankumi's dialectical switch from standard Japanese to Yakuza slang. Being yelled at by Davina, was almost just as funny as being yelled at by Yankumi. Shin smirked and chuckled to himself.
Davina's entire body stiffened, her eyes widened and both her jaw and arms dropped. She wouldn't, couldn't allow herself to fully grasp what she was viewing. He was actually laughing at her?! His smile reawakened the butterflies in her stomach, causing her cheeks to burn and her heart pound in her ears. Her legs grew fidgety and restless, no longer able to gaze at his smile and keep herself together, she turned and took furious strides down the street. "Aren't we going?!" She wailed without looking back. A sigh and few deep breaths slowly soothed away the hot flash in her cheeks and the pounding in ears. The butterflies continued to swirl, triggered by the uncontrolled replay of Shin's smile in her head.
Shin let Davina go on for a few paces ahead of him, just to let her cool off. He continued to smirk at her back, watching her arms fold over her chest then randomly fall back down to her sides. She brisked ahead, her steps long and fast enough so that he had to quicken beyond his usual walking speed. His fists closed inside his jacket pockets where he felt the soft material of Davina's white hat. He prepared a counter argument against her wearing a cotton hat in the rain, but seeing the girl get feisty was just so funny. He hadn't meant to insult her by laughing but her annoyance from the day before might have inspired her stomping departure.
Too bad though, Shin thought. He had planned to use the walk up to Shirokin gakuen as a chance to explain to Davina about Noda and Fujiyama-sensei. He wouldn't dare approach Davina now, no, no. Telling Minami to give up on his girlfriend was easier than trying to talk to a woman when she was angry. He sighed, deciding that he would have to wait until later to give her the full details.
And maybe later he would make peace with her and return her hat.
Seeing 3-D's faces light up when Davina and Shin walked in was enough for Davina's foul mood to finally fade away. Shin had kept a safe three paces behind her the entire way there, her frigid aura had melted after the train ride, evident by how she looked back at him, checking to see if he was still with her.
3-D's unconditional happiness was contagious, causing a smile to pull at Davina lips. And to think, Davina reminded herself of her bitter thoughts from the morning, she had almost convinced herself to stop coming to 3-D's tutoring. Even Shin friends, Uchi, Minami, Noda, and Kuma, were content to see her. Memories from the previous night flashed in her head of dinner and Shin giving her the money. It appeared as though no bad feelings existed, however she decided to wait before she would let her guard down.
Yankumi's hand quivered at the chalkboard, surprised by Shin's and Davina's sudden appearance but visibly grateful. "Dozo." Here you go. She went to the podium and handed them each a copy of her mistake-proof study guide. She grinned to herself. There was no way, over her dead body, that either Shin or Davina would find a mistake on her mistake-proof study guide that she had checked over at least one hundred times—
"Um...sensei?" Davina pointed to the English quote on the front page.
"Yes, Dabina-chan?" Yankumi walked in between Shin and Davina and looked on at Davina's copy of the study guide.
"This quote, 'make miracle' is grammatically incorrect, sensei." Davina never looked up from the page so she didn't see Yankumi's pout.
Yankumi gripped her own copy and brought it inches away from her glasses. She looked to Shin, who nodded. Yes, it is incorrect.
The teacher's nostrils flared. Her mistake-proof study guide, which had been checked not only by her but everyone who lived in the Oedo house, was compromised by one little glance at the front page by this foreign teenager. Yankumi knew she had no grounds to argue, Davina's check on English grammar was natural feeling, but she had worked so hard last night...
"But, I see what you did here. Pretending to make a mistake so the class could catch it. It's perfect for what we are learning!" Davina smiled as she circle around Yankumi and picked up a white piece of chalk and rewrote "make miracle."
Yankumi stood in her spot for a long moment, confused until she finally understood. Playing off her mistake, she enclosed her hands behind her back and tilted her head wistfully. "Ha! Of course that mistake was intentional! In life, when you boys grow up and speak with native English speakers, there isn't going to be a teacher hovering over you to point out the mistakes. You must learn these lessons now and become the best you can be!"
Her glasses glared proudly in the fluorescent lighting. 3-D merely shrug off Yankumi's wisdom with blank expressions. Yankumi, however, was frozen by Shin's unwavering stare, shaking his head. She knew she hadn't fooled him.
Davina waited by the chalkboard, ready with a piece in hand, for Yankumi to finish her speech. The teacher sure loved to talk. Davina also hadn't fully understood what Yankumi had been preaching about.
"Boys—" Davina heard the metal grinding of desks scooting to the front and chuckled to herself—"what is wrong with this quote?"
Davina turned away from the green board and confirming what she had heard, the entire class had moved their desks closer, leaving Shin's lone desk in the back.
Shin strolled around the oval of desks and slouched into his seat. Obviously bored, he contented himself by staring blankly at the window planted over the lockers. Resting his chin in his left palm, his right fingertips tapped rhythmically on the side of his desk.
Davina sighed at the sight of Shin. He wasn't planning on being much help was he?
Several of the boys were flipping through their textbooks, trying to find the lesson about articles. Others were waving their pencils in front of their noses or scratching their heads. Murmurs of "ne...which is it?" were spread throughout the classroom.
The classroom creaked open. "Make A miracle." Called an unfamiliar voice from the door. Everyone craned their neck to see who have arrived.
There stood three other Shirokin students but none were from 3-D. The answer had come from the student standing in the middle as he seemed the most confident of the three, which wasn't saying much. The other two were practically hiding behind their middle bystander, obviously dragged unwillingly by their friend, assuming they were friends.
Whispers of "who are they?" scattered the room. Davina had appeared to be just as clueless as they were so they apparently weren't with her, thought the 3-D students.
"They're 3-C students." Said a 3-D student with a deep voice. "The one in the middle helped me with a question earlier."
There was a nod throughout the room. More murmurs were exchanged, Davina only heard slight hints of what was being said: "3-C? Fujiyama's class."
Yankumi peered from the 3-C students at the door a few feet away to her own students. "Is there something that you need?" Yankumi approached them, trying to warm up the atmosphere for the students, seeing their apprehension towards her 3-D class.
3-D's students fixed their eyes suspiciously on the three students as Yankumi led them into the classroom. The air grew tense and thick, regardless of Yankumi's kindness, so much so that even Davina noticed.
Davina knew very little about 3-D's affairs with the rest of the school, but judging by what she was seeing, there was obvious animosity with other classes.
The middle student was blind to the tension, however, he displayed a lowered head as if he were going to ask a favor. "Yamaguchi-sensei, we, representatives of class 3-C, ask to be of help to 3-D for their English exams. We are the best English speakers of our class. We wish for Fujiyama to stay at Shirokin. ONEGAISHIMASU!" He bowed sharply from the waist down at Yankumi then straightened. The student turned to the rest of 3-D, he gaze slowly roved over the class, the depth in his eyes showing his genuine sincerity, he then bowed once more. "ONEGAISHIMASU!"
The boy's two accomplices bowed as well in unison. "ONEGAISHIMASU!"
Davina rubbed and turned the chalk between her fingers. She caught Shin's eyes; he read her confusion, but she couldn't see through Shin's poker face his regret of not telling her about Fujiyama. She was able to gather, though, that he would do some explaining later on, if time and chance permitted.
Noda stood from his desk in silence, under everyone's watchful eyes. He walked up the 3-C students as all three of them straightened and waited. Noda, with an unmistakable expression of guilt, lowered his head. Eying the three of them, establishing their willingness to help, Noda eventually lifted an awkward arm and patted the middle student on the back, cutting the tension.
Yankumi's eyes glimmered behind her glasses as if she were about bawl. It was unfathomable that 3-C had come on their own accord to offer their help and her class was willing to accept them. "Everyone, let's do our best! Dabina-chan, please continue, ne?"
Davina's head piped up, originally focused on the display in the middle of the room. "Oh, yes, sensei." She rewrote the quote in chalk as it should have been: make a miracle!
Perhaps it hadn't registered before to the 3-C boys that there was a redheaded teenage girl in the room, however their oblivion was ruined fairly quickly and obviously when they all stiffened then all walked up next to her to introduce themselves. They were all muttering in Japanese, "gaijin...gaijin...what do we say?"
"What do we say?!"
"Idiot! We speak perfectly good English!"
"Then you go first!"
The middle student glared at his two friends to quiet down. Davina's face twitched; when were people going to finally accept the fact that she had decent fluency in Japanese and could understand when they were generally spattering about as if she weren't there? Decent fluency might have been pushing it, but she definitely could understand "foreigner...foreigner!" being stammered over and over again.
The middle student cleared his throat. "I...my name is Tsuchida, Tatsuya." He said in accented English with a bow. Sweat dripped down his temple, so much for being the best English speaker in his class...
It had been months after her move to Japan and Davina was still uneasy about bowing and would occasionally forget that people just didn't shake hands here.
Davina gave a courteous smile, "my name is Davina Summons. Nice to meet you."
Tsuchida-san held out his right hand for Davina to shake. At first Davina was slow, due to having adjusted to the lack of handshaking, but eventually blushed from not returning the gesture. She stuck out her hand and shook his strongly.
3-D, judging by their narrowed eyes and suspicious whispers, seemed to perceive her blushing and handshaking as flirting.
"Hey, 3-C," hissed an intimidating student, sitting near Minami. Tsuchida-san lowered his hand and the other two boys turned their heads in the same direction. "Back off of Dabina-chan! She's ours!"
The student received nods of approval and a pat on the shoulder from his fellow classmates. "Couldn't have said it better myself!" Added another student, his narrowed eyes still glued to the trio in the front of the classroom.
Oh my god. Davina groaned to herself. Meanwhile, Yankumi sighed to herself, so much for peace between the two classes. Over a girl.
Before her class could get too incited and start hooting roars induced by testosterone, Yankumi pushed the 3-C boys aside, "please continue, ne, Dabina-chan?"
Davina eagerly agreed and frantically flipped the page of her study guide. Yankumi took the left half of the board and together, Davina and Yankumi wrote the rules of more in depth English word order and articles.
The 3-C boys were left to awkwardly stand by the door, huddled together like a pack of penguins. Tsuchida-san listened and absorbed the lesson, actually following along. His two friends however, were scanning the threatening faces from most of the 3-D class. Both of them had completely forgotten exactly how and why Tsuchida had coaxed them to do this.
"For Fujiyama!" The three of them had shouted together after the final bell had rung, before they had left for Yamaguchi's homeroom.
As much as the boys wanted to keep the foxy Fujiyama as their homeroom teacher, they hadn't wished to place their lives on the line by tutoring dimwits. They hadn't even uttered their names yet and already 3-D wanted to put them through a world of pain.
"And be sure NOT to insult them. Not one of them, because they are a pack, they stand up for each other. Not even sarcastically or in jest or they WILL kick our asses." Tsuchida had warned them both before the entering the classroom, during their dreading trip down the hall.
The two boys shared mutual expressions of horror. Again, how had Tsuchida convinced them to do this?
"Boys?" Yankumi said suddenly, slapping the chalk from her hands. "Get comfortable, and don't be afraid to speak up, alright?" She smiled warmly before twisting around to face her class. "The second sheet in the study guide is for individual work. Davina and I will circle around and help those who ask. And our friends from 3-C will also provide you with help. Do your best."
With another glance at the maliciously eager faces of 3-D, the 3-C boys gulped and gave strained nods to Yankumi.
Yankumi enclosed her hands behind her back again and slowly tiptoed to next to Davina. Still facing the 3-C students, she whispered to Davina's ear, "Dabina-chan, I'm going to hover around and make sure nothing starts up with these boys. You and Shin got this right?"
Davina peered over Yankumi to Shin. All the way from across the classroom, Shin stared back at her for a brief moment then sighed at the window as though he was aware of the agreement she was making with Yankumi. "Yes, sensei. We'll take care of it." Davina replied, tucking a lock of hair to her ear.
Looking in the general direction, Davina saw Uchi's arm rise up and waved. "Da-BI-na-chan! I have a question!" Uchi grinned and winked at her.
Davina chuckled to herself and set her piece of chalk down to retrieve her study guide. Yankumi sighed to herself, wishing she could do more to make sure the boys would take Davina seriously. However, the girl had agreed that she would be fine while Yankumi watched over the 3-C boys. Kawashima-sensei wouldn't be in the infirmary to wrap any injuries if any were to occur.
Uchi leaned his back towards Shin, who was laying his head down to sleep. "Shin!" He wrapped his arms around his desk chair while Shin slowly lifted his head from his arms.
Shin blinked droopy eyes at Uchi. "What?" Shin groaned in response.
"I study English at night and I have so many questions. You should give me Dabina's number." Uchi flashed his teeth eagerly at Shin.
Shin squinted his eyes at him and yawned. "If you had questions about English, you should have called me."
Uchi withdrew, his eyes trailing the ground, trying to find a decent comeback. He hadn't expected Shin to be willing to release Davina's number but he at least figured Shin would have yelled "shut up."
Minami, however, jumped in. "Shin doesn't have feminine grace, nor does his hair smell as nice." Minami, Uchi, and Kuma laughed together, leaving Shin to roll his eyes at the window and bend over to take a nap.
Davina knocked on Uchi's desk to acquire his attention. "Yes, Uchi?"
Uchi twisted back slowly, trying to be macho by showing off his chest by folding his arms behind his head and fixing his collar. "I'm sorry, Dabina-chan. I seem to have forgotten my question. But give me your number, I might remember later." He grabbed the handle of his guitar case. "Maybe I can play it for you sometime."
Davina pouted and cocked an eyebrow at him, eventually causing Uchi to bow his head and lower his arms with bashful uncertainty.
Kuma and Minami eyed each other, giggling behind tight lips. "Smooth, wiseguy, smooth." Minami playfully punched his blond friend's shoulder. "Even if you get the highest score on the exam, if she rejects you now, it's all void."
Uchi let out a hot puff of air. "I don't get how Shin managed to get a pretty girl's number."
"He didn't get my number, I gave it to him." Davina smirked then left Shin's friends to answer another crying call of questions from the front of the room.
Behind her, Uchi, Minami, Kuma all wailed. "Ehhh?! How does Shin attract girls when all he does is sleep?!"
Davina sighed, recalling the night before, Shin handing her the money. Apparently, if his friends had a rough impression of her, it didn't stop them from hitting on her. She straightened the student's mix up of the articles fairly quickly, the most difficult part being able to simplify English rules in comprehensible Japanese. The student had been extremely patient with her and seemed to understand Davina's choppy explanation. To her left, Tsuchida was assisting a student however, the student was being a bit difficult and second guessing Tsuchida's answers.
"He knows what he is talking about." Davina stepped in, grabbing the student's book to confirm Tsuchida's answer. "The answer would be A, but B adds an 's' to the noun, which gives the sentence correct word order. The article 'the' is correct in both A and B though, so it is easy to confuse them."
The student surrendered his argument with Tsuchida, knowing his side wouldn't hold against Davina, the native speaker. He didn't say anything, just circled the answer and continued reading.
Davina and Tsuchida secured eye contact, sharing quick acknowledgment. It was the first insistence that Davina could see how much the tutoring sessions mattered, not only to the particular class of 3-D, but to other classes as well. Something was at sake and soon she would ask someone to explain.
There was a loud rush of students to the center of the classroom. One of the 3-C boys was being held by a 3-D student at the elbow. The 3-D student squeezed his English textbook with a strong expression on his face. Yankumi tried to wiggle through, worried about a fight breaking out between the 3-D boys versus the 3-C trio. "Let me through!" She shouted over the boys.
"I did it! I wrote the sentence right!" The 3-D student shook the 3-C student who had helped him in excitement. The 3-C student stood stiffly braced at the elbow, awkwardly patting the 3-D student on the back with a tight smile, trying to show his congratulations.
Yankumi stopped in her tracks, peeking from behind the shoulders of one of her students. Davina, who had been standing only a few desk away, hadn't noticed what was happening until the students in the rows next to her pushed their desks aside to the circle developing in the middle of the classroom. The redhead looked towards the back of the classroom to Shin. He had stood straight and alert from his desk, absorbing the situation, waiting to act.
Tsuchida slowly nodded his head to the 3-C student in the center, allowing the awkward student to relax. He's not going to hurt you. The 3-C student continued patting him on the back and muttered a swift but sincere, "good work."
As the classroom calmed back into their desks, Davina peered from Shin to Yankumi, remembering mutters of a name, Fujiyama was it? There was about an hour of tutoring left but she was anxious to find a free moment to ask her questions. Who is Fujiyama?!
"The weather is bad, ne?" The boys kept uttering, all glancing to the pattering window. Literally, the precise moment that Yankumi finally dismissed the classroom, rain began pouring. The teacher had grunted to herself. She had been hoping to leave before the rain had started again.
Tsuchida and the rest of the 3-C students regrouped, making sure all three of them had made it through. Tsuchida seemed cheery while his two friends appeared to be a little jittery but whole. "Can we do this again tomorrow?" Tsuchida said rhetorically, causing his friends to simper. True, they had made it out alive and the 3-D students seemed thankful, but they were still dead frightened of 3-D. Still, the class was doing this for their homeroom teacher, something had to be good about them, right?
Davina waited until nearly half the classroom had cleared before sneaking up to Yankumi's podium. She watched the teacher pack away her books and stacks of papers before opening up with her planned conversation. "Sensei?"
"Yes, Dabina-chan?" Yankumi barely looked up, debating whether or not the umbrella she had brought with her to school would be enough or if she should take a taxi.
Davina bit her lip. "Sensei, if you need any help with getting the study guides put together or if you have any questions, I can give my cellphone number." She showed the teacher her cellphone, intent on offering her number.
Yankumi peered up, her mouth slipped open, 'oh.' The teacher searched through her purse to produce a pink cellphone, she flipped it open and turned on the info-red. Davina flipped hers open as well and matched the sensors of the two phones until a menu on both phones flashed that their numbers and information had swapped effectively.
"Arigatou, Dabina-chan." The teacher smiled and replaced her phone into her bag, believing that Davina needed nothing else.
"Excuse me...sensei?" Davina leaned in, lowering her voice, twiddling with her phone.
Yankumi suspiciously leaned, wondering why Davina was being so discreet. "Yes, Dabina-chan?"
Davina bit her lip and inhaled deeply. "Who...is Fujiyama?" Her voice dipped as she uttered the name.
Yankumi leaned back in surprise. "Dabina-chan! Hasn't Shin told you?" Why hadn't Shin explained the story to her? Yankumi stared at the pondering teenager, crossing her arms, trying to decide why hadn't Shin told Davina and how she could give the details to her. If there was a reason for Shin not to tell her, should she tell Davina? Didn't the girl have a right to know?
Speak of the devil, Shin slicked in next to the desk. He didn't appear to be mad or uneasy, simply Shin. He nudged Davina and began leading out to the back exit of the classroom. "Shall we go?"
Unbeknown to him, Davina rolled her eyes. She was still annoyed with him, a bit from the previous night and for stealing now two of her hats.
Yankumi watched as the two teenagers exited the backdoor together. She slung her bag over her shoulder and prepared her umbrella. Whatever was going on between them was interesting and secretive. Glancing towards the rain-stained window to her left. The spattering of rain made her sigh...maybe she would take a taxi.
Davina unfolded her umbrella and held it over her head. She looked to her left at Shin, seeing him standing casually before she realized that the boy didn't have any rain protection.
"No umbrella or coat?" She asked him.
The rain was pouring quickly from the gray sky overhead, however Shin didn't seem phased. "I'll be fine."
Davina exhaled a deep breath, hating herself for what she was about to do. She lifted her umbrella so that it hung over her and him. "Share it?"
Shin inched in under the umbrella and both teenagers walked out onto the school grounds. The weird stomach feeling came back when Davina learned that she could barely walk next to him under the umbrella without brushing up against him. She gritted her teeth, it was just the stress, she reminded herself.
She turned away, watching students stroll with umbrellas and coats or dashing home with no cover. Behind them, Yankumi had seen Davina offer to share her umbrella and was gleaming. "Spring is the season for love, isn't it?"
"We don't know how Shin manages to get them." Kuma's voice uttered next to Yankumi. The teacher turned and saw Kuma, Uchi, Minami, and Noda ducking under their books.
"Do you think it's for his good looks?" Noda asked. All of them stared on as Davina and Shin turned around the gate.
"Does Shin attract a lot of girls?" Yankumi asked, tilting her head at the group.
"Girls like looking at him but he pays no mind to any of them. 'Not interested' he says." Minami replied.
"Girls usually stop pursuing him when they see how standoff-ish he is. That's why we drag him to parties with us. Shin draws them in, but our personalities keep them." Noda grinned.
"I wish I had girl to share an umbrella with." Uchi muttered and all his friends agreed. Yankumi saw the lonely expressions of her students and imagined them thinking about girls they had fallen for. Her eyes fell upon Noda, she knew he was worried about Fujiyama, Shizuka as he called her.
Even with Davina and Shin had gone around the corner, Yankumi wondered if Shin had planned on telling Davina what she need to know and if he would pay justice to the emotional significance of this situation, especially for one of best friends.
Davina's heart pattered excitedly in her chest each time Shin's arm brushed against hers. The scent that drove her insane the previous night was still intoxicating. It was so difficult to stand so close to him knowing the sort of effect his presence had on her.
After another unpleasant brush, she unconsciously peered up at Shin. The calm Shin peered down back at her, causing her to blush. She sighed, hoping the extra air would soothe away her nerves and get rid of the red in her face. Her fingertips lightly pressed against her cheeks. What was her problem?
She had a few questions that she wasn't sure if she even dared to ask anymore. She wanted to know about Fujiyama and what Noda's connection was to that person. Also what Fujiyama and Noda had to do with thirty points on midterms and tutoring.
Down the row of trees and the paved path, there were no vendors out today. The overlapping of the branches provided plenty of cover against the rain, however, Davina kept the umbrella up above her and Shin. Except for a few groups of school kids and business men running home, the park was mostly empty. Davina was interested in Shin's demeanor. While everyone rushed by them for home, not even rain could hurry Shin towards their destination.
"Do you like the rain?" Davina uttered softly against the splattering of rain in the trees, watching her shoes splash in the puddles.
"It has its beauty, but you won't miss it after a few months of only rainy weather." Shin answered. Davina moved her hair over her shoulder, trying to avoid getting it wet. She imagined he was talking about the dreaded rainy season that Jayla had mentioned earlier that day.
They continued to walk under the trees. Davina eternally was fighting a sick stomach and the urges to ask about Fujiyama, Noda, and his friends. She bit her lip, trying to find the right way to jump into it.
Shin noticed how she chewed on her lip. "You remember Tsuchida and his friends from earlier?"
Davina looked up at Shin and nodded her head. "Yes, I do."
They reached the intersection, waiting for the crosswalk to give them right of way. They stayed a few feet away from the edge of the pavement to avoid getting soaked by puddles splashed by passing cars. The group of girls in front of them weren't so lucky or thoughtful.
Just before the lights changed, Shin continued, "they belong to class 3-C, their headteacher was Fujiyama sensei. You might have seen her already, she occasionally spies on our tutoring."
"Oh..." Davina voiced inaudibly. She hadn't noticed actually, or if she had seen her she hadn't paid any mind to her. "What does she look like?" She asked more clearly.
"She is beautiful. Short red-ish hair, tall, curvy. Most men find her attractive."
Davina nodded, now she was especially interested. She wanted to know what Shin found to be beautiful. She had felt a slight pang when he called the teacher beautiful but she sorted it out to be curiosity.
"Most of her students lust after her, winning her obedience from her class and even 3-D. Yankumi teaches math while Fujiyama's subject is English."
Davina listened intently as they stepped onto the pavement of the other street. That explained about the academic subject of the exams. "And Noda...?"
"Noda—" Shin began again, sharply. "Noda fell in love Fujiyama." Davina let out a small gasp, her mouth flying to her mouth. Shin peered down at her wide eyes. "To catch her attention, he studied hard and he purchased a present for her."
Awwww, Davina's cheeks turned red with excitement.
"However, he found out she had thrown his present away."
Davina gasped again, now mad and disgusted. Shin sighed, this girl might as well be watching one of those terrible TV dramas. If she kept gasping and interrupting him, he would never get to finish explaining. She however, caught his sigh and made note to quiet down her responses.
"Because he was upset, he took a photo of her working as a hostess in a club in Ginza and emailed it to the school. Yankumi was furious with him. She doubted his love, causing him to run away. It was looking as though Fujiyama was going to get sacked. Luckily, Yankumi made a deal with Headteacher that if everyone in 3-D earned at least thirty points on their upcoming English midterms, Fujiyama could keep her job, if she wished."
"You recalled the offer I had made a while back. And you thought you wouldn't need my number." She added.
"I called you after the first tutoring session, after seeing Noda's face on the walk home. Upon seeing 3-D's apprehension about getting thirty points, she set up after school study sessions. The first day it was only Uchi, Minami, Kuma and I. Noda begged every single student of 3-D to attend the tutoring sessions the night before you first came to class."
Shin allowed for Davina to absorb all the information as they entered the train station, which seemed a little bit busier than usual. Davina folded her umbrella and shook away the water as they strolled onto the platform for the Northbound train.
"No ballet today?" Shin asked as the roar of the incoming train drew in the crowds lining up along the edges of the platform.
"No ballet in the studio. I practice everyday. Why you ask?" Davina asked as she lined up behind Shin to board the train.
"Betsu ni." He answer. Nothing.
No, no, not betsu ni. Was he going to ask her to hang out before he took her home? Butterflies were flying and darting every which direction in her torso. She was glad Shin was turned away, otherwise he would have seen her burning red in her cheeks. Her fingertips pressed against her cheekbones again. You know, flushed cheeks was usually a symptom of an upcoming illness...she reasoned with herself as she boarded the train.
"Ano, Shin?" Davina eventually asked after what seemed forever. If her calculations were correct, she only had minutes to have Shin explain the last two remaining subjects on her mind before he left her at her home. "What is the classroom pact about getting the highest grade on the midterm?"
Shin sighed under the umbrella. He hadn't expected Davina to remember and or actually ask about it. "The classroom decided amongst themselves that whoever got the highest grade on the exam would be good enough to ask you out on a date."
Davina's jaw dropped. Really, now? "Hmmm..."
"Noda is most likely going to get the highest grade, however his heart belongs to Fujiyama. There was nothing in the original agreement in the classroom about the 'prize' being given to the next person if the first place person didn't accept the 'prize.' Which is why 3-D students intimidated the 3-C students to keep their flirtations away from you."
"What if you get the highest grade?" The words slipped from Davina's mouth before she could stop them. She bit hard into her lip, almost causing it to bleed.
Shin considered her statement, however he easily replied. "Don't we already hang out alone?"
True, Davina thought to herself. But there was a definite difference between a date and just walking her home. Davina shook her head. Why was she thinking such things? Did she actually hope for Shin to get the highest score and to go out on a date with him? Please! As if!
"Are Kuma, Uchi, Minami, and Noda angry with what I did last night?" More words spewed from Davina's mouth, in Japanese no less.
Shin cocked an eyebrow at her. They had reached the gates of the Hardy Barracks. The two guards at the front glared at Shin, even though they were different from the usual night guards who had seen Shin before. "Why would they be angry?"
Davina reached her hand into her wallet for her military identification while watching Shin's expression. "B-because...because I left money on the table for all the meals. You said they found my gesture rude..."
"They hardly remembered what happened last night. If anything, Kuma loved you for giving him your leftovers. He and the rest of them proposed that you join us for dinner again, but only if they all pitch in for your meal."
Davina nearly dropped her wallet she was so dumbstruck. Shin had led her to believe that her first impression was ruined, however he had never really suggested that...damn it! She bit her lip, this time tearing the tissue and tasting some blood. This misunderstanding was the reason why she couldn't sleep the night before?!
"You okay?" Shin must have seen Davina's obvious disgruntlement.
"I'm fine, just fine." She simpered, wishing to snap herself out of it. Since when had she let such meager things unwind her so? "Also, Shin, are you ever going to give me my hat back?" She recalled earlier when he stuffed her white hat into his blazer pocket.
"Why should I?"
Davina's mouth slid open as she managed to cross her arms while still holding the umbrella over them. She hadn't expected to be arguing with about her accessories and she definitely hadn't expected him to be so simple with his statements. "Because it is my hat! And so is the other one! Why won't you give them back?"
Shin did it again. He smiled and laughed. Why was he laughing at her? Before she could ask, his expression dramatically changed from happy to serious. Davina held back her word, waiting for an action from him.
He stepped closer. They had technically been standing inches away from each other under an umbrella but he felt too close now and suddenly the air between was so tight and uncomfortable that Davina could hardly breathe. His eyes grew intense drawing her to stare back. Her green set met his brown set. If she could look away she might have but no reason in her head was strong enough to push away her fixed gaze. One of his hands slid down her shoulder to her crown and his fingers ran through her red tresses. He raised his hand towards him so that every lock of hair slowly untangled and fell gently back to her chest. "This is why."
His voice rang in her ears and she drew in a harsh breath of air. Her torso pounded from her erratic pulse and her stomach was jittery from those blasted butterflies. Her knees were now giving way and her balance was shaking. Her balance?! She was a ballerina for goodness sake! What was happening to her?!
"Davina...?"
"Huh?" Davina shook her head, now realizing she had been breathing heavily. "Yes, Shin?"
"It stopped raining..." Shin held a hand under the umbrella then carefully moved her fingers from the umbrella's handle. Her fingers were locked as if trying to savor the feeling his touch as Shin folded her umbrella and shook away the excess water. She glanced at the sky above and sure enough, no rain, in fact, it was almost sunny. She hadn't noticed at all, so she wondered exactly for how long had it stopped raining?
Shin handed the girl back her umbrella and strolled with her the remaining way to the gates. He ignored the threatening expressions of the guards as Davina showed them her military identification. She adjusted her bag strap on her shoulder to give her nervous fingers something to do while she turned around to say goodbye.
Shin shrugged his fists into his pockets, squeezing Davina's second hat in his palm. "See you tomorrow then?"
Davina nodded her head, "see you."
With one last glance, Shin twisted around and started for home. Davina meanwhile let her fingers grasp the locks of hair Shin's hands had felt as she watched him leave. Any and all foolish conclusions that Davina had made about her butterflies about Shin being nerves, illness, etc, all melted away. She wasn't that dumb and inexperienced. She had watched many friends go through what she was now seeing for herself. And so she knew now that for the night, she would be doomed to dreaming about his smell, hands, fingers, and, lips.
Shin smiled to himself as he gazed at the sky, knowing it wasn't going to rain on him. He was relieved that with some patience, he was able to at least to smooth away any bad feelings being held against him for stealing her hats and returning her money. He should have realized though that Davina would have been worried about her impression with his friends. Crossing the intersection, his memory of his conversation with his friends flashed in his head.
"Keep her around, Shin." Noda had said after Shin mentioned the previous night that he was going to walk her home.
"Yeah, because even if none of us have a chance with her, she can at least give us advice on how to...you know, get more girlfriends." Uchi added, making all of his friends nod with him.
"She might have other friends who are girls as well." Minami chimed in.
"I rather like Davina's company. So, don't you scare her away!" Kuma finished between bites of noodles. All four of his friends give him serious expressions of 'screw this up and we will make you suffer.'
Shin didn't tell them that it was completely up to Davina whether or not she stayed in his or their lives. He had already forced his way in by asking for a favor. He then began to imagine what if Davina had rejected having him in her life. He would always provide protection for her but lately he was actually beginning to want to be closer friends with her. The language and cultural barrier was slowly diminishing, which meant that eventually the only thing between them being friends was their own internal inhibitions.
For now, his friends would be glad to know that because of his success that day, Shin was successfully warming up to her.
Thank you for reading and please review!
As for hints, if I were to provide you all with hints it would spoil all of the fun :) But I suppose it won't hurt to tell you all that one particular plot point that I had saved for this chapter was moved to a later chapter and instead of being a tiny bit taking only half a chapter is being spread into a (at least) three chapter long ordeal coming up in the next couple of chapters. If my writing skills are up for it, the ordeal will be dealing with a type of situation that was not dealt with in the J-drama series. Another hint, I suppose is that we all know who got the highest score on the English midterm ;)