The next day, Justin spent all day thinking. Or trying to. Sarah was a bit of a handful to deal with. Only one day in and he already wanted her to leave. But, Brooke said she can come back in two weeks.
When he WAS able to gather his thoughts, only one person kept crossing his mind.
"Aiko." he said to himself. They haven't spoken much since the Christmas party last month. The last thing he remembered saying to her was '$600 in cash?!' before hugging her. After that, they all got drop dead drunk from alcohol spiked with roofies.
He figured enough time had passed. They needed to have a talk. Since Sarah was at his house, she can finally tie the loose ends with her after the interaction they had on Inna De Poona in November.
He grabbed his phone and texted her.
"Aiko, it's Justin. When you get a chance, can you please come over? I need to talk to you and see how you're doing. There's a lot on my mind."
Within a few minutes, she texted back.
"K. I'll drop by this evening. I've been wanting to talk to you."
He replied with a simple "OK". It was finally time to settle everything. Even if she did pay him back during Christmas, he still wanted to completely patch everything up. He still had some guilt in him after what happened.
A few hours later, the doorbell rang. He answered it, since he was expecting her.
"Hey, hotshot." the Japanese woman greeted.
"Yes, hi. Please come in, Aiko."
She came in and sat on his couch. Sarah heard her but stayed behind the corner, peeking at who was there. She knew who it was and didn't want to be seen, especially after their interaction.
"So, what's this about?" she asked.
"I just thought I'd invite you over to see how you're doing. I haven't really spoken to you since the Christmas party."
"Oh, right. I honestly forgot all about it. I don't even remember leaving your house."
He got a feeling of discomfort. She definitely noticed it and got concerned.
"You alright?" she said, trying to comfort him.
He gulped, getting anxiety from the conversation. He tried to snap himself out of it.
"Y-Yeah. I'm just..." he said, suddenly not finishing his sentence.
"You're just what? Spit it out!" she replied.
"Look, Aiko. The reason you don't remember the party is because someone put ruflin in the alcohol that you and Jessie brought. Nobody remembers much, besides a few."
"Is that why I don't remember much? Huh. I guess that explains it. But, do you know what happened?"
"I'd... rather not talk about it. But, I didn't invite you here to try and remember stuff. I invited you here to finish what I started."
She looked at him straight in the eyes. She knew what he was trying to do.
"Look, Justin. It wasn't your fault. It was that young punk Connor's fault for not using a condom. I was very depressed and the last thing I needed was a child with some guy I barely knew. Don't beat yourself up over it."
"I-I know. But, part of it is my fault. I invited him to the vacation because it would've been boring with just me and a few other girls. I needed a guy friend there. If I would've known he'd do that, I would've invited someone else."
She frowned. He was definitely being too hard on himself.
"Listen. Stop beating yourself up over it. It's in the past and I've moved on. I still love you, Justin. I don't want a repeat of what happened back in August."
He grinned. She was right. Putting your life in an endless loop would get you nowhere. Being depressed or feeling guilt for something wasn't going to help.
"I know. But, let's catch up. I know you lost your house and you moved out of mine. So, where do you stay now?"
"Me and Jessie are roommates now. She let me live with her and I'm getting my life together. I'm making more money now and have gotten back on my feet."
"You are? But I thought they cut the teacher's pay at Glenberry?"
"Well, let's just say that Jessie got me a second job that pays pretty well." she said, dropping hints. What's she into? Being a camgirl? Filming porn? Something worse?
"Alright. I'm just glad you're getting your life back. I hated it when you were depressed."
She grinned. Justin was definitely a good guy, despite his mistakes.
"Yeah, I'm doing much better now. But, Jessie told me about you and Tiffany."
He gasped. Is she talking about the Christmas party? Fuck!
"H-How'd she find out?!" he said, showing visible anxiety.
"You fixed their relationship, remember? I'm just glad you became committed to her. I hope you two take the next step and get married."
Oh, that's a relief. She doesn't know about the drunk marriage.
"Y-Yeah. Me and her are definitely soulmates. No doubt I'm gonna propose to her this year, or next, or never! Ha ha!" he said in a hysterical tone.
"Um, right. But, look. I don't want you to be concerned about me, okay? You'll always be my favorite student, even if I never taught you."
He chuckled. Then, Sarah came out from behind the corner.
"H-Hi, Ms. Yumi-san." the weeb said.
"Wait, aren't you that annoying girl?" she asked.
"Aiko..." Justin said, feeling some emotions. Are they about to get into a fight?
"Y-Yeah. That's me. But, I just wanted to say I'm super duper sorry for being such a meany-poopy head to you. I should've known you were Japanese and not Thai or whatever I said."
This was very surreal. Sarah "Suki" Stevens, the annoying weeb that nobody liked, actually apologized? This was... Incredible. Definitely a sight to behold.
"You know what? I should apologize too. I'm sorry for cussing at you in Japanese. I should've just kept my cool but I snapped. I'm sorry."
She sniffled. "You really really mean it?"
"Yes. Oh and Suki is a cool Japanese nickname. I don't think it'd fit anyone else, besides you."
She smiled. Justin sat there, absolutely blown away at this. It was almost like a part 2 of the weeaboo's redemption. They all hugged. Everything was patched up between them.
They all settled down. He let Aiko stay over for a bit and watch TV. Things were going smooth. But, just like a rollercoaster, life is a constant up and down ride. Something was bound to happen sooner or later.