Mocks and Smocks
SUMMARY: Smocks wasn't a big contribution to the club, but that didn't mean that she wasn't a full-fledged member. Bossun suspected she was here just to laugh at them. OC
Chapter 7: Misfit Friendships
Smocks was, to put it frankly, socially detached. Due to her own reasons, she naturally kept to herself and found trying to force her way into making friends as "troublesome". It wasn't that she had anything against friendships; she just wasn't very good handling them. Perhaps that was the reason why she didn't have any friends other than her sempais in Sket Dance.
Her classmates didn't seem interested in her withdrawn and quiet personality, so they didn't bother talking to her. And, apparently, she was considered "gloomy," though Smocks honestly didn't know what made her appear so downcast.
As the days passed by, Smocks began to look forward to her breaks where she could spend time with her newly-made friends. They were incredibly eccentric, but that's what she came to love about them.
Himeko and Bossun would ask her if she would prefer to spend time with her first-year friends instead, both naively guilty that they might be pulling her away from her classmates. Sometimes, Smocks wanted to laugh at their genuine concern—it was something she never thought she'd encounter before. She could even feel worry from Switch, who would often cover his emotions with his characteristically blank expression.
"No, it's alright," Smocks would say with a reassuring smile. The second-years would exchange looks before shrugging and continuing on with whatever they would be doing.
Then, one day, class 1-D had to do a partner project. As her classmates got up to go with their friends to partner up, Smocks sighed in resignation. She detested anything that had to do with working with her classmates—it would fall to the same pattern: awkward silences, wishy-washy decisions, and having the misfortune of being paired up with someone who doesn't even want to do any work.
"I'll end up with someone who didn't find someone else to pair up with," Smocks thought to herself. But just when she was expecting to wait a few more minutes, a work packet landed on top of her desk, surprising her.
"Oi, Smocks. You and me," said a brusque voice. Takemitsu Shinpei towered over her desk, wearing his usual scowl and furrow of the brows.
Smocks was not one to judge (especially after getting to know Sket Dance), but, from what she heard, Takemitsu's gruff exterior certainly matched with his reputation in being a delinquent. Already was she making assumptions about how well would she be able to finish the project while working with someone like him. And it wasn't looking all too well.
However, she quickly learned that was not the case. Takemitsu pulled a chair and straddled it, seating himself before her. He then took the packet and pulled out the staple, then portioning the papers evenly between the two. "I'll do one half and you'll do the other," he said.
She nodded.
They began to work independently and quietly, unlike most groups where they filled the room with chatter and peals of laughter. Aside from asking her the occasional questions, Takemitsu didn't talk to her at all until he popped out one question after another. Their first actual conversations started from there.
"Oi, help me with this problem."
"…"
"Thanks."
"Hm."
Silence.
"You don't talk much, do ya?"
"Does it really matter?" she returned nonchalantly.
"Che. Nothing. Just wondering," he grumbled.
"Nothing much to say," she answered.
"Mm."
Silence.
"What about those sempais who always drag you out during lunch?"
"Huh?"
"What do they call themselves? Cat Dance?"
"Sket Dance."
"Yeah, whatever. What about them?"
"What about them?"
"You seem like you talk to them a lot."
"I…guess I do."
"How come you don't here?"
"Nothing much to say here, I suppose."
"Hn."
Silence.
"Oi, what's the answer to this problem?"
"Didn't I already show you how to do it?"
"I forgot."
"…"
"Don't give me that look! Just help me do it!"
If one were to think that the developing twitch on Smocks's lips was a sign that she was getting increasingly annoyed with Takemitsu, he would be sorely wrong. As Takemitsu continued to broach a topic, the flow of a conversation became fluid. Smocks ended up smiling bit by bit. She didn't know why, but she was beginning to find talking with the delinquent to be rather amusing. He reminded her of Bossun, in a way.
Of course, the two were still strangers, so they didn't hit off right away. The awkward silences were still there, and responses to continue a conversation would sometimes die out. Yet, it was undeniable that this was a start of something new.
"Hey, you like samurais?"
The first image that flashed in her mind was a dancing samurai ad that popped up on her laptop screen a few days ago. "Not really. They're pretty lame," she felt compelled to say.
Unexpectedly, Takemitsu reeled his head back in aghast. "O-oi! What's wrong with you? And samurais are not lame!" he protested.
And then he would ask, "…What about Reality Maji?"
"Holy cow, you would watch that crap?"
"I-it's not crap!"
"It's produced by the same studio that released episodes of Futari wa Nervous. It's worth crap."
"Che."
And then it would result with Smocks laughing under her breath and Takemitsu grumbling defensively.
There were days were Bossun, Himeko, and Switch would see less and less of Smocks before they would gather for their club meetings. More often would the first-years of class 1-D would see Smocks and Takemitsu together, sometimes jokingly bantering with one another, and other times actually quarrelling about trivial things (like whether some animes were worth crap or not).
"You haven't even seen it."
"Kimi Ni Todoke? It's a girly anime! Like heck I'll watch it!"
"Maybe you'll learn a thing or two in getting yourself a girlfriend, noting the number of times your brother failed to do so."
"Argh! Don't bring my brother into this!"
"Well, it's not like you would get a girlfriend. Your creepy samurai fascination does a fine job as a girl repellant."
"Shut up! Shut up!"
If their classmates had to sum it up, it was a strange friendship between two misfits, but it was a good one.
NOTES: Smocks heard of Shinzo from Shinpei—he once unintentionally mentioned about his big brother's failure in getting himself a girl. Smocks now knows why.
