Saturday and Sunday were spent studying. I had to finish up memorizing words and switched to practicing for the listening portion of our exam. Even though all of this was difficult for me, I knew I had it very easy- Tomoko and the others didn't even have time to breathe with the amount of studying they had to do for our science and math classes.
Since our English exam was the last one, on Thursday, I spent home the beginning of the week shut indoors eating potato chips and chocolate to keep me motivated... or at least just awake to keep studying. Sometimes I got bored and felt an urge to text Ryu-chan to take a break, but I fought my urge because I was sure he was busy studying and didn't want to bother him with my trivial whims.
By Thursday, I was so done with studying that I just wanted to get it over with. Ryu-chan was waiting for me like always in the morning. I honestly wasn't expecting him there, because last time I checked, he didn't have exams scheduled for Thursday.
"Isn't today a no-exam day for you?" I asked as we started walking to college.
"Yeah, but it's your English exam, right? I couldn't come any of the other days because I had exams scheduled, but today I don't so I can cheer you up even if just a little," he said.
I was beyond relieved that he couldn't come before, because it would've been awkward to explain why I "skipped" all three exams. But I was a little touched by his gesture of coming all the way here only to raise my motivation.
Ryu-chan gave me a few last-minute advices from what he could remember from his English exam last year, and we eventually reached my classroom.
"This is your last exam, right? Good luck," he said and patted my shoulder.
"Thanks, I'll try my best," I said, and waved goodbye.
I sat in my seat, without saying anything to anyone. The classroom was silent, and everyone seemed to be cramming all they could before the professor came in with the exam sheets. And before we knew it, he came into the room with a cardboard box full of papers. I shivered in anticipation.
The exam sure was hard. I blanked on more than one question, but I remembered most words I studied, and surprisingly a couple of last-minute advices Ryu-chan gave me came in quite handy. When it was the listening portion... well I think I butchered that section, but at least I could confidently say that I did my best when the exam was over.
I stood from my seat and walked over to where Tomoko was packing her writing supplies in her bag.
"Tomo-chan, how are-"
"Gyaah!" Tomoko exclaimed at my face as though she had just seen a ghost. Her scream actually scared me.
"What's wrong?" I asked with my heart racing.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling fine today?" she said.
I put two plus two together, and came to the conclusion that I should've been prepared for in the first place.
On Saturday, I called my sister to remind her that the analytical chemistry exam was on Monday afternoon.
"Also, I don't know if I mentioned this to you before," I said. "But I made friends with Tomoko, Nanako and Hitomi in my, your, class."
Chinami was silent for a moment, and I wondered whether she even heard me.
"Who?" she asked.
"You don't remember them? I can describe them to you," I said. "Tomoko is short, thin and wears glasses with red frames. Nanako is tall and has long wavy hair... she's the only one with wavy hair in class. Hitomi, well she's as short as Tomoko and has freckles on her face. She usually has her hair tied in low twin tails."
"I don't remember seeing them," Chinami replied. "But to be honest, I never paid attention to anyone in my class."
I shouldn't be surprised, since there had to be a reason no one seemed to be on friendly terms with me before Tomoko approached me. However, I didn't know my sister could be this anti-social.
"Just be kind and amiable with them, will you? I don't think it'd be good for us if they think we're shady," I said.
"Don't worry, I got this. Leave it up to me," she said and finished the call.
Don't worry? I worry. I worry, a lot.
I was right to worry, it seemed, from Tomoko's reaction. While it was true Chinami was my sister and a master manipulator from what I knew, she was still somewhat of a serial killer. It was perhaps asking her to be genuinely pleasant was pushing her limits a little too much.
"Don't mind my behavior from the past three days," I said, scratching my head. I needed time to think of an excuse.
"Your behavior was really weird, to say the least," Tomoko said. "You seemed like a completely different person. Is that what you're like when you're under a lot of stress? I really don't want to see you like that again."
"Yeah, it was the stress. Sorry about that."
Hitomi and Nanako joined our conversation, and told me about how speaking to me on Monday was like walking on eggshells. Apparently, Chinami had looked amiable, but showed her scary face a few times when their conversations took unfavorable turns. On Tuesday and Wednesday, she had been amiable in general, but acted rather bossy and asked them to shut up a couple of times.
While I tried to pacify my friends, Ryu-chan peeked into our classroom, and Hitomi pointed him out for me.
"What are you still doing here?" I asked him.
"I was studying in the library while you took your exam," he said. "Let's go celebrate your being done with exams?"
"You're not yet done with exams, though."
"That's no matter. I need a break from studying, anyway," he said, and looking at my friends who were intently listening to us, added, "You should invite your friends too. How about we go eat dessert at the cafe again?"
"Oh I'd love some-" Hitomi started saying, but Tomoko hushed her.
"You two should go," Tomoko said, pushing us out of the classroom. "Enjoy your sweet desserts."
She shut the door behind us, but we could still hear their voices.
"But Tomoko, I wanted to have some cheesecake," Hitomi complained.
"Didn't you notice that Naruhodo-senpai invited his girlfriend, and added us in the invitation because we were poking our noses in their business?" Tomoko said. "I'm sure he wanted a date alone with his girlfriend, and was waiting for us to say we aren't coming."
"That's not what I was thinking, I swear," Ryu-chan whispered to me, and we both chuckled.
Perhaps Ryu-chan had no intention of that, as he stated, but if I was very sincere, I couldn't say I was displeased by Tomoko's misguided consideration. After all, I couldn't deny that I enjoyed spending time alone with him the most.
Perhaps it was time to come to terms with it. It had been a while since I had suspected it, but now it was very clear in my mind that... I was in love with him. There, I thought it. I wouldn't dare say it aloud... but surely he knew? He always seemed to understand my feelings, even before I could put them in words.
We sat down in the same sunny corner that we sat the last time we came to the cafe.
"Do you want to split sweets this time?" Ryu-chan asked and I nodded.
"What would you like to order?" asked the waitress in a unnaturally hoarse voice, while covering half her face with her note pad. "I recommend you order enough for three people."
Ryu-chan and I looked at each other, bewildered.
"Why would we have to?" he asked on my behalf.
"Obviously because there'll be an addition to your party, silly boy," she said and sat on Ryu-chan's thighs, almost crushing them under her weight.
Except the waitress wasn't a waitress, but Yahari-san wearing a waitress uniform.
"Yahari, what on Earth are you doing here, and dressed like that," Ryu-chan asked.
"What about my outfit? Don't you like it? I think it accentuates my hairy calves," Yahari winked at me. "And I did tell both of you I was going to quit my job at the convenience store. That's why now I work here, as a waitress."
Right then, the cafe's manager showed up and gasped.
"Yahari! I told you not to wear the female uniforms twice already," he scolded Yahari-san. "I'll fire you if you do that again, damn it!"
Yahari jumped from Ryu-chan's legs and saluted with his right hand on his forehead.
"Aye understood, captain! I'll go change right away," he said and stormed through the staff-only doors.
"Please forgive his... eccentricity," the manager said to us and continued his round of inspection.
Five minutes later, Yahari-san came out again, this time wearing long pants instead of the pencil skirt from earlier.
"Boring, don't you think?" he asked me, referring to his uniform. "When you think of cutesy cafes like this one, I'm sure you'd expect a cutesy waitress to welcome you."
"Then why did you take this job," Ryu-chan sassed him.
"You can't say that to me after you made me quit my previous job," he said, looking all emotionally pained.
"What? I didn't make you quit your job," Ryu-chan retorted.
"A pointy-haired customer bullied me in labor hours," Yahari-san said. "Isn't that reason enough to quit a toxic work environment?"
I was listening to their banter, but I couldn't contain myself and bursted out laughing.
"Is that a place to laugh?" Yahari-san said, sounding offended. "Just when I'm narrating the tragedy of my work life."
"I'm sorry, Yahari-san," I giggled. "It's just... your tone of voice and Ryu-chan's perplexed face are too funny."
"Heh, your girlfriend is laughing at your face, Naruhodo," he shook his head sideways. "So uncool."
"Yahari!" the manager shouted from the other end of the cafe, which made Yahari-san wince. "Stop chit-chatting and do your job."
"Just when we were having a fun time," he clicked his tongue. "I'm going to quit-"
"Really? You just started this job and you're thinking of quitting," Ryu-chan shook his head. "So uncool."
The three of us laughed, and Yahari pushed Ryu-chan's head playfully.
"Alright, what are you going to order?"
"Well, for starters I want a cup of coffee," Ryu-chan said, and asked for my drink preference.
"Matcha latte, please."
"I don't know what sugary thing to order, though," Ryu-chan said.
"Me neither."
"One cup of coffee and one matcha latte," Yahari-san said as he jotted them down on his notebook. "I can recommend this plate of assorted sweets which is an item for two, but which I know can satisfy three people, if you'd like."
"That sounds like a good idea... but aren't you in labor hours?" Ryu-chan asked.
"I'll take a break, don't worry about me," Yahari winked. "The manager looks harsh but is actually friendly to me on the inside."
To prove his point, he waved his hand to the manager, but only got an angry frown in return.
"Be right back with your assorted sweets," he said and ran off before the manager could come bite his head.
"I think I understand what you meant when you said you never had a monotonous day with Yahari around," I said.
"Magnet for trouble... and on top of that, drama queen," Ryu-chan sighed. "What combination could be more explosive than that?"
We waited for our order in relative peace until Yahari-san showed up again with a round tray. He placed the assortment of sweets on the table, which indeed were varied and way too much for just two people. Then he put two glasses of juice, which we had not ordered, in front of us. Both had purple juice in them and raspberries and blackberries decorating their top.
"The juice is on the house," Yahari-san said, smiling. "It's grape juice."
"What happened to my coffee?"
"Come on, Naruhodo. We both know you don't even like coffee," the waiter shook his head and shrugged. "Trying to look cool in front of your girlfriend?"
Ryu-chan blushed and opened his mouth to object, but apparently there were no objections to be had.
"Do you like grape juice, Ryu-chan?" I asked.
"It's his favorite," Yahari-san replied in his stead. "I don't know if you like it, but I figured I'd bring them to you both. Let me know if you prefer your green tea."
I took a sip. It was sweet with a hint of acidity characteristic of grapes. The berries also gave the drink a nice fruity aroma, and went well with the taste of grape juice.
"No, I like it, and it's aesthetic, too."
"I'm glad. Now, let's dig in, shall we?" Yahari-san raised a cup water in the air. "Cheers!"
Now, on the plate, most things were paired: swirl cookies, cream puffs, macarons, chocolate truffles, scones... you name it. If it were just Ryu-chan and me eating, the division would be straight forward, but since we were three people, I felt stressed about not taking the items that both Ryu-chan and Yahari-san might want. However, choosing wasn't hard after all because Yahari-san talked much more than he actually ate. We engaged in casual talk for a while, until only two items remained on the plate.
"Since you two are the real customers, have the remaining things," Yahari-san said.
"Don't worry about that," I said. "I'm actually full, and besides you haven't eaten that much."
"I don't think so, Chii-chan," Ryu-chan said, shaking his head.
I expected that if anyone would insist I take one of the two items, that would be Yahari-san, so I was caught a little off-guard by this comment.
"You have the habit of lowering your gaze slightly when you say things that don't align with your true thoughts," he pointed out.
"That's... Really? I hadn't noticed," I said.
"You'd have to see yourself to notice," he said. "Now, which do you want? The rainbow cookie sandwich thing or the caramel-and-chocolate-topped cupcake?"
"H-how about you choose first?"
"Chii-chan?" Ryu-chan said in a tone of voice that communicated "no, and choose it now".
"Alright. Err, I'll have the rainbow," I said and Ryu-chan quickly placed the cookie sandwich on top of my plate.
"Then, I'll have the cupcake," said Yahari-san and ate it in one bite.
"Wha- Yahari! That was mine," Ryu-chan cried out.
"I was also withholding my appetite like Chinami-chan, so I assumed you were going to tell me to eat it," he said. "Thank you, friend."
Ryu-chan had to eat his words and instead sipped on his grape juice while pouting.
"Yahari! I was wondering where you'd run off to," said the manager as he came to our table. "You little slacker!"
From how many times the manager had scolded Yahari-san just in one day, I was starting to wonder how he hadn't been fired already.
Yahari-san jumped up from our table with rocket speed.
"Aye, captain. I was talking to Chinami-san about possibly being our postergirl," he said.
W-what? I thought but I was too stunned to say anything. The manager looked at my probably wide-eyed face.
"We don't have funds to hire a model," he grumbled. "You know that too. If we did, we wouldn't be hiring weirdos like you."
"M-model? I'm not-"
"Yeah, manager. Err, she's not a model, so she'll do it for cheaper," Yahari-san said. It appeared that he was making this whole narrative up as he went, just to cover up for slacking and eating with customers earlier. The manager had a strict face, but when he told him that, his face brightened up a little.
"Really? For how much?"
"I-I don't know," I said, and resorted to passing the baton to someone else. "What do you think, Ryu-chan?"
"Don't ask me. I don't know anything about that," he said, nearly choking on his grape juice.
"What about I do it for free," I suggested, but the manager unexpectedly turned me down.
"That won't do," he said. "But how about this. You don't have to pay for your order today, and I'll give you a ticket so you can have your next order for free as well? Does that sound like a deal?"
"Sure," I said, relieved that we could reach to an agreement quickly.
That's how I suddenly became a postergirl for a random small cafe in the outskirts of Tokyo City.
"I'm glad," Yahari-san said, showing me a thumbs up. I wasn't sure if he was referring to me accepting to be their postergirl or that he somehow slipped out of trouble with the manager. Probably both, I thought.
However, when I was about to stand from my chair to go get ready for the short photoshoot, the manager frowned at Yahari-san again.
"Yahari... Is that chocolate cream on the side of your mouth?"
He couldn't escape his fate. After all, he was the magnet for trouble*.
*事件の影にやっぱり矢張 = Jiken no kage ni yappari yahari = At the shadow of an incident, of course you'll find Yahari = the Japanese equivalent of "when something smells, it's usually the Butz" but I like the Japanese version better since it makes more sense imo. But since I can't make neither of those jokes in this fanfic, I'm sticking to magnet for trouble :p
- Characters -
Ryuichi Naruhodo = Phoenix Wright
Ayame Hazakurain = Iris
Masashi Yahari = Larry Butz
Reiji Mitsurugi = Miles Edgeworth
Chinami Miyanagi = Dahlia Hawthorne
Kikuzou Nonda = Doug Swallow
