The Letter: Part Two
It was one of those mornings when everybody would be busy doing something else rather than lazily wait for their first period class to start.
Some of the girls are crowded together talking about that concert of that hot matinee idol shown last night on TV. Some are busy chewing the end of their pencils as they review for their upcoming test that day. While some would read that newest issue of that pink-covered teen mag.
Few of the guys were arguing about who is the best rock group. One of them holding a guitar, strumming tunes as they compare them with other songs. And some of the boys were talking about that new action flick they had just seen in the movies. Everybody seems to be preoccupied, and that includes Kazuma Kuwabara and two of his buddies.
"I'll bet you five bucks she's not coming today." Kuwabara declared as he placed his money on the table.
"I'll take it. Here's my five." Said one of his friends.
They were referring to their first-period teacher. She's that type of a teacher who never fails to absent from classes every now and then. And today is not an exception; she was already 10 minutes late.
"Hey, you saw that late movie last night" Asked another, ignoring the ongoing bet.
"What movie" Kuwabara asked.
"You know, that one with that hot chic who always wear red lipstick. And who kills everyone she went to bed with"
"Oh, yeah. Watched it." Answered the other.
"Isn't that girl real hot"
"Yeah, with that red lips and that really skimpy skirt. She's the reason why I stayed throughout the movie."
"If I were to have a girlfriend, I'd prefer her to be like that girl."
"A murderer? You prefer a murderer for a girlfriend" Kuwabara asked.
"No! Not that murder-part. I'm talking about the way she looks."
"Blonde. Sexy. A real looker." He said, trying to make his friends picture the girl he wanted to be his girlfriend.
"And the red lipstick." He quickly added.
"Red lipstick" Kuwabara asked.
"Yeah. It's a real turn-on for me."
"I haven't seen any fourteen or thirteen-year old girls in this whole school who were really red lipstick." Kuwabara pointed out.
"Well, I'm not saying she would be thirteen or fourteen. She is definitely older than that."
"She has got to be older to look real hot to be my girlfriend." He added his eyes a little wistful.
"Yeah, in your dreams. As if somebody like that would waste her time looking at you." Said the other as he laughed.
"If I'm going to have a girlfriend, I'd prefer someone simple." He said after laughing.
"Someone who'd like to eat at the canteen and hang out in the mall during weekends. Who plays arcade, who wants those little pink beaded bracelets and wouldn't mind consuming a big bowl of chocolate ice cream." He said, describing the girl of his dreams.
"That could be anybody in this whole school. That's too general." Said Kuwabara.
"Okay, then I'll go to specifics. Let me see…" His friend pretended to think.
"Brown hair. - Long brown hair. Big, blue eyes. Cute voice. Tall. -But not too tall…" He stopped to think again.
"I guess that's it. That would be my dream girl."
"That's too general." Kuwabara repeated.
"Well, I'm not that picky." He answered.
"What about you, Kuwabara. Any 'dream girls'"
"Of course."
"Then, what would she be like" One of his friends asked.
"And be SPECIFIC." Said the other. Giving emphasis on the last word.
"Being specific is not a problem for me. I've thought about it a lot of times to be sure what the girl of my dreams would look like."
"Ahem…" Kuwabara prepared to describe his dream girl.
"I'd like a girl who's absolutely feminine. Black hair. Pony-tailed high and would fall down to her shoulders. Green eyes, size - average. Not too big, not too chinky, just the average size. Cute nose, not too pointed and not too flat. Just right. She has got to be thin-lipped, but not too thin. Just thin." Kuwabara paused.
"That's specific for you" His friend mocked.
"I'm not finished yet." Kuwabara retorted.
"She has got to have a fair skin. Clear and smooth. She has got be a good five inches smaller than me. She would smile nicely, showing off a complete set of white teeth. Deep dimples on both of her cheeks. Small pink dangling earrings. A pink-strapped wristwatch on her left arm. A cute, pink bag hanging on her left shoulder. Shiny black shoes, knee-length really white socks…" He continued but stopped again to remember what her voice would be like.
"Her voice would be sweet, but not soft-spoken. Just sweet. She doesn't know how to curse. She would be smiley and cheery. She would look good frowning. And she would be…" Kuwabara was cut off as one of his friends nudged him to tell him their teacher was just about to enter their classroom.
"The owl has arrived." His friend said using the nick they gave to their big-eyed teacher as they quickly ran to take their proper seats at the back.
The room fell silent as the stern-looking old teacher entered the classroom.
"Hey, Kuwabara. I'd get my five bucks later." Whispered his friend as he leaned at his seat.
But Kuwabara seemed to be already out of it.
"Oh my… " Kuwabara muttered under his breath as his world seem to stop revolving. Suddenly, he felt frozen to his seat. He can't breathe. He felt his heart beat ten times faster. Everything else became blurry, he barely heard his friend whisper. All his attention was focused beside his teacher where a dream is currently standing.
Kuwabara can't believe his eyes. She has a long pony-tailed black hair that fell down to her shoulder. Green eyes. Thin lips. Cute nose. Clear, fair skin. Probably five inches smaller than him. Black shoes. Knee-length white socks. Really pretty. She looks exactly the same as the girl Kuwabara was dreaming of having.
Okay, not exactly. Her earrings weren't those pink dangling things. It was of pink gem alright, but not dangling. Her wristwatch isn't pink-strapped either. It was black-strapped, the kind you'll buy from the men's watch section at a department store. Her bag isn't one of those cute pink shoulder bags. It was one of that black backpack you'll buy from the men's bags section at the department store. That alone would tell that she isn't absolutely feminine.
"Okay, class. Good morning and sorry I'm late." The teacher said as she stood beside the teacher's table.
"You have a new classmate. This is Ms. Nagasaki Ana here. I hope you'd all welcome her." The teacher introduced the girl standing next to her.
"Do you have anything to say, Ms. Nagasaki" The teacher asked.
Kuwabara waited for her to smile cheerfully and politely say a small 'hi' to them but the girl just answered by shaking her head.
"Then, take your seat over there." The teacher pointed at the chair in the front row.
"I prefer to sit at the back." She said in a tone students don't usually use when talking to teachers.
Not smiley. Not cheery. Not polite. No sweet voice either. I wonder if she has dimples… Kuwabara was thinking.
"Well, suit yourself." He heard his teacher said.
Kuwabara waited for her to say 'thank you'. But her 'thank you' didn't come. Instead she walked towards the back of the room and sat two seats away from his chair.
He noticed that she didn't remove her backpack to hang it on the chair in front of her. She was still wearing them until the final bell rang. He also noticed that she didn't even once copy a lecture or got out a ball pen. She was just sitting there all-day. Wearing a bored expression.
Okay, so she isn't really Kuwabara's 'dream girl'. She's pretty alright; she has the right hair, nose, lips, eyes, height, skin and earring color. But she doesn't have the sugary voice, the pink bag, and the pink wristwatch. And she isn't smiley either, nor cheery, and definitely nowhere being an absolute feminine, not like the girl in Kuwabara's daydreams. But he didn't mind, he can still feel his heart beat faster as he went home from school.