Rose-Colored Boy
"Is it me or is it really quiet today?" Sora pressed her lips together.
"Suspiciously quiet," Izzy nodded in agreement.
"You guys are too uptight! It's probably people being upset about their results from that dumb career assessment we had to do a while back. I didn't think we got them in yet," Tai sat up in his chair.
"Career assessment?" Kari asked.
"Yeah. All the seniors took some bullshit test during homeroom asking us about our personality and interests, and I guess that's how they'll judge what career will be the fit for us," Matt shrugged.
"The seniors? I took that test too, but I'm only a junior," Izzy frowned.
"How? Did you take it in one of your AP classes?" Sora asked.
"No. Homeroom, same as you guys. To be honest, I thought it was weird since I haven't started thinking about college just yet," Izzy shrugged.
"But you're so smart. What are you gonna do after you graduate high school? You know, you literally have like only a year and a half to plan out the rest of your adult life, right?" Davis's jaw dropped.
"When you phrase it like that, I guess I have some thinking to do…," Izzy turned pale.
"Hi everyone! How's everyone doing?" Mimi cheerfully made her way to the table.
"It's not as quiet anymore," Matt snickered.
"Hi Mimi, it's always nice to have someone brighten the mood," TK smiled.
"See, isn't he the sweetest? Someone could take a cue from him," Mimi smacked Matt with a stack of envelopes.
"Hey, don't be a little b!" Matt pouted.
"Meems, what you got there?" Tai pointed at the stack of envelopes in her hand.
"Oh, I came to hand deliver these results to you! I wanted us to open them together," Mimi mischievously smiled as she handed Tai, Sora, Izzy, and Matt some envelopes.
"How did you get a hold of our career assessment results? Isn't that like mail fraud?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"I'm confused, why does my result say Tai's name on it?" Matt held up his paper.
"Yeah, I don't understand. I think I have Catherine's results? But I don't see anything else…just her name," Tai looked dumbfounded.
"Is this a typo? I have Miki Kurosaki's paper? She's a grade above me. What is this?" Izzy held up his paper.
"Guys…these are love-matching results," Sora gasped.
"Wait what?!" the boys gasped in unison.
"Yeah, you guys took a matchmaking quiz. The results are crazy, huh?" Mimi laughed.
"How did we even get matched up? I don't remember taking a compatibility quiz of any kind!" Sora gasped.
"It was under the guise of a career aptitude test that would traditionally be taken exclusively by seniors in a homeroom period, and no other group of people. Ring any bells?" Izzy pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Like whatever Izzy probably said! We thought it would be a fun way to raise money for the spring formal coming up, buuuuut considering how the test results went, I don't see many couples coming to the spring formal," Mimi bit her lip.
"Great job, you probably broke up a couple of relationships," TK feebly gave her a thumbs-up.
"Yeah. And probably some bones. Whatever happens, Miki and/or her boyfriend cannot know that a stupid artificial test matched me up with her. I don't feel like getting beaten up because of some stupid stunt," Izzy ripped his paper into shreds and dunked it into coffee.
"You can destroy the evidence, but it truly never goes away. What if she's your soulmate?" Davis winked.
"I'm leaving," Izzy got up from the table and walked away.
"Hey princess, what did you get?" Matt nudged Sora.
"Incompatible. I don't care anyways. High school boys are lame anyways," Sora shrugged.
"Wow, I'm hurt," Tai frowned.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean like you guys…I just mean like in general. If I were to date someone, I'd want a more mature guy anyways," Sora shrugged.
"What about your test results?" Tai looked over at Mimi.
"It's ugh…," Mimi turned red and crumbled her paper. "Izzy's right. This is stupid. I thought it would be more fun, but it wasn't. My mistake! Anyone have any trash?" Mimi extended her hand out.
"Here. This is trash," Tai scoffed. "I can't believe that this test is trying to make fun of me, it doesn't even know me."
"Hey, at least you got someone cute. I got matched up with you," Matt scoffed.
"Hold on, that doesn't make any sense," Kari frowned.
"I know! I think I can shoot higher than Tai. I know what he does in his free time-"
"Not that! How did you get matched up with Tai, but he matched up with someone else? Wouldn't an ideal compatibility test make sure that the two of you matched up with each other?" Kari asked.
"Yeah, that's actually really weird when you point that out," Sora frowned.
"Mimi, who did you match up with?" TK asked.
"Uh….," Mimi paused and blushed. "That stupid Pierre guy, I hate him."
"That's weird. I think you guys might need to talk to whoever was in charge of this test, because how did it pair up people who can't stand each other, or not even pair people up together correctly in the first place?" TK rubbed his chin.
"Hey, I wasn't the one who developed the test! I was just the the one who had the genius idea of tricking everyone into taking it," Mimi pouting.
"So if you didn't make up the quiz, then who did?" Davis asked.
"Hey best friend!" Rina awkwardly walked into the store and sheepishly made her way to Izzy.
"I know you better not be talking to me," Izzy raised an eyebrow at her.
"Come on, we're buddies! Stop playing! So how's it been?" Rina winked.
"What do you want? And please, cut to the chase. I have a store to run," Izzy sighed.
"Okay, fine. I need help," Rina huffed and pulled a laptop out of her backpack.
"Why should I help you?" Izzy crossed his arms.
"Well…I can make a sweet deal for you. I know you run this store, but you don't technically have the official position. I can talk Yolei into getting you the night manager role," Rina smirked.
"What if I don't plan on being here much longer?" Izzy leaned over the counter.
"Fine…what's fair to you?" Rina sighed.
"Depends. What do you need help with?" Izzy asked.
"Okay, so I developed a matchmaking quiz and I had recorded everyone's results on an Excel sheet-"
"You did what?!" Izzy gasped. "I don't know what worse, the fact that you were behind that terrible quiz, or that you decided to input the data on a rudimentary Excel sheet!"
"Okay, I get it. I messed up, but I want to fix it, okay? Something happened with my matchmaking results where some people aren't pairing up with the same person. So for example, person A, B, and C all take the test, A pairs up with B, B pairs up with C, and C pairs up with A. Get my Tokyo drift?" Rina twirled her fingers in the air.
"Let's just say I'm pretty fast and furious with you. I would ask you how could you be this irresponsible, but that's just wasting time. Irresponsible is your middle name, isn't it?" Izzy grunted.
"Hey, you don't have to kick a dead dog once he's down. How many times do I have to apologize, geez?" Rina huffed.
"Just once! I haven't heard you actually utter an actual sorry yet! Acknowledging you messed up is different than apologizing for a mistake, you don't get off scot-free like that!" Izzy angrily paced back and forth.
"I'm sorry I didn't rig the formula so I could pair both you and your girlfriend up, but I didn't think you'd be the kind of guy to let a test determine your life choices anyways," Rina shrugged.
"Excuse me? Now my patience is wearing really thin with you…," Izzy pressed his lips together.
"I'm sorry. Okay? Sorry about everything, alright? Forgive me?" Rina shook her head.
"The sad part is this is probably the best apology I or anyone else will get from you in your lifetime. Fine, let's check this out. Give me the laptop," Izzy sighed.
"Somewhere along the line, I think one of the formulas got messed up - I just can't tell where. If you could figure it out, I'd really appreciate that. It would suck if we ended up having a crappy spring formal, because of a dumb test that I did," Rina sheepishly said.
"I can help, but it will cost you," Izzy shook his head as he clicked though multiple screens.
"Sure, name your price," Rina shrugged.
"$100 an hour," Izzy blankly said.
"I'll take it. That's a bit steep, but fair considering our circumstances. I am asking a bit from you," Rina sheepishly said.
"Great. I'll send an invoice when this is completed," Izzy nodded.
"Alright. I don't mean to start pushing, but please don't take too much time with this," Rina said.
"Do you want it done quickly, or do you want it done correctly?" Izzy crossed his arms.
"Okay, message received. Take all the time you need," Rina gingerly put her hands in the air and walked out of the store.
"Hey Tai, if you had to pick a type of girl, who would you go out with?" Megumi asked.
"I think he needs someone who could keep up with him, if you know what I mean," Miki smirked.
"Really? I think he'd like someone who's sweet and goes with the flow," Megumi linked arms with Tai.
"Ha! Since when do you ever go with the flow?" Miki snorted.
"Umm…what's going on?" Tai subtly unlinked arms with Megumi.
"Nothing. Just tell us, what do you look for in a girl?" Miki put her hands on her hips.
"Cause you can't have both," Megumi crossed her arms.
"I don't know! What are you guys up to?!" Tai gasped.
"Do you like blondes or brunettes?" Megumi raised an eyebrow.
"Uh…what does this have to do with anything?" Tai turned red.
"Hey boyfriend, what's up?" Matt strolled into the store.
"Huh, I guess there goes your answer," Miki snorted.
"Knock it off, idiot!" Tai flicked Matt in the arm. "I'm assuming you guys took that stupid compatibility test too, huh?"
"Yep," Miki sheepishly said.
"Yeah…," Megumi bit her lip.
"So, what were your results?" Matt asked.
"Him," the girls pointed at Tai in unison.
"Well, if it isn't a real life Betty and Veronica. So, Archiekins, who ya gonna pick?" Matt heckled.
"Miki, don't you have a boyfriend already? One who could kick my ass if he found out you were entertaining this nonsense?" Tai crossed his arms.
"I mean, yeah…but I still need to know I'm still hot on the market," Miki casually freshened up her lipstick.
"You're hot, that's for sure," Matt whistled.
"Hey, keep your eyes in your sockets," Tai snapped his fingers.
"I asked if you liked blondes or brunettes, but I really should have asked whether you liked blokes or babes," Megumi smirked.
"Nonononono, we are not together. My standards are higher than that," Tai frantically waved his hands in the air.
"Don't resist it. You never know, there may be our first gay couple coming to this spring formal," Matt winked.
"Oh my god, really?!" the girls squealed.
"No, Matt's just being an ass!" Tai scoffed.
"Come on…I've been known to be a good time," Matt winked.
"Are you asking me to the spring formal? We haven't even sold tickets yet," Tai scoffed.
"You have to say yes!" Megumi squealed.
"Hold the phone, you girls were literally fighting over me two minutes ago, and now you want me to go to the Spring Formal with Matt?" Tai gasped.
"Yeah, duh…," Miki casually filed her nails.
"You know we support the Gay BLTs here. Hashtag gay rights," Megumi beamed.
"Close, but yet so far off…," Matt pinched his fingers together. "Listen, I gotta go but I'll catch up to you later."
"Sure…," Tai rolled his eyes.
"At first, I wasn't sure if you and Matt would make a good couple but you guys do kinda have this chemistry. I think the more I play around with the idea, the more I like-"
"Megumi, me and Matt are not a thing, nor will ever be a thing. Trust me. He's just being an ass. Now, if I ask you to the stupid spring formal, will you stop talking about it? Will that make you happy?" Tai blurted.
"Oh my god," Miki gasped.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod…wait. Kinda…I mean, yes! I mean, I'm totally psyched to go, but couldn't you ask me a little nicer?" Megumi wriggled her nose in disgust.
"Yeah, I think it's only right. This will be our last high school dance," Miki put her hands on her hips.
"Fine…I'll ask you in the nicest way possible I can think of. And only because you deserve it," Tai reluctantly smiled.
"Yay! I'm so excited! I can't wait!" Megumi clapped her hands in glee.
"Heh heh, me too…," Tai nervously muttered to himself.
"Wow, no offense to you but you kinda look like dog shit," Davis grimaced.
"How am I supposed to not take offense to that?" Izzy glared up at him.
"I literally said no offense! Besides, what are you doing here in the cafe?" Davis pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
"Hiding from Rina. I'm sorry, I won't go on," Izzy shook his head as he typed on his keyboard.
"Tsk, whatever she did, it must be messed up if you're in here," Davis snorted.
"Hey guys, what brings you by?" TK walked over to the table with a carafe in his hands.
"Hiding from Rina," Davis shrugged.
"What did she do?" TK winced.
"She was the criminal mastermind behind this horrible, horrible matchmaking quiz and she hired me to fix the results! Apparently, when she originally generated the results, nobody was actually matching up with each other, and that upset quite a few people," Izzy tapped a pencil against the tabletop.
"Are you sure about that? Cause Catherine and that guy that Mimi hates have been schmoozing it up. They've been talking in French throughout my entire shift. Bisou bisou," TK stuck his tongue out.
"Hey, didn't Mimi say she matched up with that guy? What's his name?" Davis asked.
"That's what she said, but that's not who she matched up with," Izzy bit his lip in frustration.
"Oooh, then who was it? Why did she act so weird?" Davis gasped.
"It doesn't matter. But regardless of the fact, I was able to fix the formula into something a little more consistent. However, I think people will be even less happy with the results. While some of the results stay the same, others change drastically…for example, Teeks, I don't think you want to have siblings who date each other, do you?" Izzy asked.
"Wait, what?" TK gasped.
"Let me see! Oh my god…does this mean Sora and Matt would be a good match?" Davis smirked.
"No! Destroy that! Right now!" TK shrieked.
"I'm trying to find a way to manipulate the data, so it stays true without completely changing everything…but if I do that, then other things happen, like this," Izzy showed his laptop screen to the boys.
"Matt and Tai. That works for me. You gotta admit, it kinda makes sense," Davis shrugged.
"Dude, just because my mom is gay doesn't mean we're all gay," TK rolled his eyes.
"I still think I like the Matt and Tai version," Davis said.
"I guess you're right. And that's only because Matt and Sora seems a little too close for comfort for me. Maybe once upon a time when our moms weren't planning on getting married, but we're in different times now," TK frowned.
"Well, thanks for your input. It's quite helpful…," Izzy sighed.
"I think this is our queue to go," Davis bit his lip.
"Here, on the house," TK filled up Izzy's coffee and tip-toed back to the bakery counter.
"Sometimes I wish I never even got involved with that dumb love quiz. It was supposed to be for fun," Mimi crossed her arms.
"I think you're more upset about your results than I am, and at least you got matched up with someone. I didn't get a match at all. You must really hate this guy, don't you?" Sora shook her head.
"It's not that at all. He's a really nice guy, it's just that-"
"Nice? Are we talking about the same guy right now? Or did I miss something?" Sora scrunched her eyebrows together.
"Uh…yeah, totally! He used to be nice, it's just weird now. You know? Anyways, I'm late for…that thing that you have to be on time for? Catch ya later!" Mimi sprung up from her chair and ran off.
"Weird…," Sora sighed as she rested her feet on the chair next to her.
*vrrrroom*
"Great….please, can you give me a break today? I'm just not in the mood," Sora groaned.
"You know what? If it were anyone else, I would have written them a ticket, but I'll give you a pass. Is everything okay? You look like you could use some help," Joe tucked his notepad back in his shirt pocket.
"I don't know if you'd be able to help me out with this, but has anyone ever said that you were impossible to pair up with? Like nobody would ever go out with you?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, that's pretty much every day of my life. I would like to say I've gotten used to it after a while, considering I only put myself in more situations that cause people to continue and say those type of things to me, however it still hurts the same," Joe shrugged.
"I'm sorry," Sora sheepishly said.
"Don't be. You're probably one of the few people who are nice to me, or even stick up for me occasionally," Joe said.
"Really? That can't be true," Sora shook her head.
"It is," Joe nodded.
"I'm really sorry, Joe. I'm sorry you put up with that," Sora said.
"Hey, it comes with the job," Joe flicked his plastic badge.
"You're funny," Sora let out a small laugh.
"Hey, this may come out of left-field, but why don't we do something outside of the mall one day? I feel like we're always here, maybe we should do something…different?" Joe awkwardly asked.
"Are you asking me out?" Sora gasped.
"I-I-I…just hanging out? Nothing major!" Joe cringed.
"I'd love to hang out. Here's my number," Sora pulled the notepad from Joe's shirt pocket and scribbled inside of it. "Just text me, I'll be at work until closing."
"Okay, that sounds good. I'll see you around," Joe smiled.
"Oh my freaking god, I have to tell someone…," Mimi silently gasped as she hid behind the pretzel stand.
"Tell someone what?" a young boy with spiky, brown hair peeked out from the counter.
"Nothing! I was never here!" Mimi shushed the boy and snuck away.
"But I thought you were supposed to take over for my shift. I clock out in a few minutes," the boy softly said.
"Hey Iz, what's going on?" Tai walked into the store.
"Hey," Izzy glumly lifted his palm, not taking his gaze off of his computer screen.
"Earth to Izzy, what the hell's going on with you? You're more focused on that computer than normal," Tai frowned.
"He's doing a project for Rina. That's all he's been spending his attention on," Angie shot Izzy a dirty look.
"I'm sorry, Ang. I'll fix this," Tai nodded in acknowledgement.
"Please. I don't know how he could run this place by himself, I'm trying and it's hard! No wonder he bitches all the time," Angie huffed.
"I'll get this kid back to normal soon. Come on, Ginger Spice. Let's go to the back," Tai grabbed the laptop from Izzy's hands and pulled him into the stockroom.
"Hey! I was busy!" Izzy snapped out of his trance.
"Yeah, looking at boring spreadsheets! Your coworker is close to having a crap attack cause she doesn't have any help out there. What the hell are you doing for Rina that's so important, anyways?" Tai scoffed.
"I was trying to help her fix these results for her stupid lovematching quiz, however, I'm not happy with the results. Every time I think I cracked the formula, there's always something…," Izzy sighed.
"What seems to be the big issue?" Rina snuck up behind the boys and grabbed the laptop.
"I found several formulas that could possibly work, but they still have some flaws. I'm sorry, Rina but I think you should scrap the entire test. It's absolute trash," Izzy shook his head.
"Interesting…," Rina clicked at her computer.
"All of this is borderline psychopathic anyways, you're just breaking hearts for fun and monetary gain. Do you get a kick out of this?" Izzy rubbed his temples.
"Did I hit a nerve or something?" Rina smirked.
"No. I just think this whole love matchmaking thing is stupid in the first place," Izzy sighed.
"If you say so….but you're not as much of a lost cause as you think you are. Otherwise you wouldn't spend so much time on this project, proving…wait, what exactly were you trying to prove?" Rina squinted her eyes.
"Why would she lie to me? I mean, I don't care really…but why did she lie? Is she embarrassed of me? I guess I would be too, if I had to be matched up with me. I just don't understand," Izzy shook his head.
"What are you talking about?" Tai asked.
"His girlfriend, you dingbat," Rina shook her head as she typed away at her keyboard.
"You have a girlfriend?" Tai gasped.
"No. She's talking about Mimi. But like every other version of this dumb spreadsheet, we're matched up. Like we're supposedly statistically compatible, but I can't change it to make it false," Izzy frantically ran his fingers through his hair.
"Alright, it's clear as day she doesn't like you like that. But do you like her like that?" Rina asked.
"I like her as a friend. I consider her a close friend," Izzy said.
"Then I have a simple solution. Delete row, delete row. That takes care of it. Now that's done, happy?" Rina shut her laptop closed.
"Somehow, it almost gives me the same feeling like when you cheated on a test. You get what you wanted, but it doesn't feel as good," Tai frowned.
"Hey, I took off my rose-colored glasses off a long time ago. I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you torture yourself like that any longer. I'm not crazy about you, but you kinda look like dog shit," Rina put her hand on Izzy's shoulder.
"You're not the first person to say that to me," Izzy sighed.
"Well, you did your job…kind of. I feel like you did a lot of dicking around, so I think this is more than generous," Rina handed Izzy a thin band of $100 bills.
"Thanks…I think I need to go home. Can you do me a favor and get Yolei actually show up? Angie needs help," Izzy sighed.
"Sure," Rina nodded.
"I'll take you home, bud. Let's go," Tai gently nudged Izzy.
"Thanks," Izzy grabbed his hoodie.
"Ugh…uh…mfffh….," Mimi grumbled.
"Hey, what's up with you?" Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Gah! You scared me!" Mimi shrieked.
"I scared you? You're scaring me! You look like you're trying to hold in an exploding diarrhea bomb," Matt exclaimed.
"Cause I kinda am!" Mimi grunted.
"Okay, don't let me stop you! You know where the bathrooms are," Matt backed away from her.
"No, not a literal diarrhea bomb! Like a secret that I don't think I'm supposed to know! And I need to tell someone!" Mimi screamed.
"Damn, I wanna know! Now you've got to tell me," Matt grabbed Mimi by her arms and shook her.
"Okay, but I'm only telling you because if I don't, the closest stop is the intercom in the mall office and I need to spill the teeeeaaa!" Mimi shrieked.
"Then spill it! What is it?" Matt gasped.
"I saw Sora flirting with the nerdy mall cop!" Mimi squealed.
"You mean that jerkwad who keeps giving us bogus tickets?" Matt grimaced.
"Yep, that guy…," Mimi slowly nodded her head.
"Are you sure? That can't be true!" Matt winced.
"It is! I saw it with my own eyes!" Mimi protested.
"When was the last time you went to the eye doctor?" Matt asked.
"Matt…," Mimi whined.
"Hey, just trying to get my bases covered!" Matt asked.
"Hey, aren't you two an unlikely duo. What are you guys up to?" Sora approached them.
"I could say the same-"
"Ahem! We were just running into each other! Nothing else, right?" Matt glared at Mimi.
"Totally…mmhmmm," Mimi awkwardly nodded.
"Okay. Since you guys are being weird, I guess I'll just go back to work," Sora shrugged.
"We're not being weird, right?" Mimi nervously laughed.
"Sounds a bit like self-projection, don't you think?" Matt winced.
"Whatever, bye…," Sora shooed them away and walked off.
"Oh my god, you almost blew our cover," Matt slapped Mimi's wrist.
"Shut up, I was being cool! You're the one with a problem," Mimi smacked Matt back.
"What the hell…I think I probably should tell someone," Sora hid behind a fake plant as she watched Mimi and Matt slap each other's hands. She waited until the coast was clear and tip-toed her way to the cafe.
"Hey Sora, what brings you in today?" Kari smiled.
"I think Matt and Mimi have been secretly going out with each other and I almost caught them," Sora blurted out.
"What?!" Kari accidentally dropped a glass carafe to the ground.
"Whoa, watch where you drop that thing!" Zoe shrieked.
"What the fu-" TK gasped.
"I'm sorry, I think I just disassociated. What did you say?" Kari shook her head.
"No, you heard her correctly. Don't need to repeat it," TK made a face.