(07/21/10)
Saturday, around 8 PM…
We were all crammed inside Mutsuhito and the atmosphere was very tense.
In particular, Minako was strangely quiet.
Maybe it was because I kissed her out of nowhere.
Now it dawned on me that it probably wasn't a great idea to kiss her, especially since I had a steady girlfriend…
"So… uh…" I began.
"Um… bestie… don't take this the wrong way, but why'd you kiss me?" she asked.
I stammered and said: "I don't know…"
"Ah…" she said, "So… you were jealous that Quan was talking to me and you decided to kiss me to make him go away." She said playfully.
My mind immediately went to red alert. I did the most practical thing to do at that moment.
I kept quiet.
"Yeah… right… what a dumb idea…" she mutters, "Never mind that..." she said.
"Yeah, dumb idea…" I said absent-mindedly, "As if I want to kiss YOU."
Too late to realize what I said, I looked at her and she had an angry face on.
"Well, sorry for the obvious joke. Forget I said anything!" she said angrily.
"Hey, look, what I meant is that I'd rather kiss you than Quan, that was a compliment!" I said.
"Truck!" Junpei shouted and I immediately swerved away from the eighteen-wheeler truck.
Akihiko and Junpei were hugging each other as they screamed.
"Goddamned truck drivers…" I muttered.
"And that's suppose to make me feel better?!" she said angrily.
"Well, yeah! I meant nothing by it!" I said.
"You damn liar!" she said, "You obviously meant something by it!" Minako snarled.
"CAR!" Akihiko yelled.
Junpei covered his eyes.
I swerved away from the car with an annoyingly nauseating speed.
"Christ, that was crazy!" Junpei screamed.
"Look, that was a joke, okay?" I said.
"That doesn't seem like it!" she said.
"Goddamned it! Can you two idiots please stop arguing while our lives are in danger?!" Akihiko said.
"That's it!" Minako said, "Get out!" she said.
"But…" I said, "We're in the middle of the highway…"
"OUT!" she said.
I stepped out.
She drove away with Junpei and Akihiko.
I had to weave through rush hour traffic and lost one of my sneakers to a stray dog before arriving home.
Minako was waiting there and I knew that confrontation was unavoidable.
"What the hell was that all about, eh?" she said.
At that point, I was ready to explode but I kept my cool.
"Nothing! Why are you making this such a big deal?" I said.
"Big deal? BIG DEAL?!" she shook with anger, "You only kissed me and said you didn't want to!" she said, "I'm sure that's NO big deal!"
"Hey, I didn't mean that!" I said.
"I'm sure you didn't!" she yelled and went in her house.
I wanted to follow, but a voice inside me said, give her time.
So, because I didn't want to go home since I felt a bit guilty, I decided to crash over by her porch.
Leah brought me some MRE's (Meals Ready-to-Eat) she packed (she's a weird one…) and I stayed by her door, so I don't miss her, because knowing her, she'd come over by my house whether we were friends or not…
As I munched on the MRE's, I started to notice why soldiers call them Meals Ready-to-Expel, Meals Rejected-by-Everyone and Meals Rejected-by-Everyone…
The Frankfurt's were awful and some of it tasted stale, but I ate it as I was hungry.
By and by, I fell asleep.
I woke up prematurely by 3 AM because of the garden sprinklers and found that someone had placed a blanket on me.
I tried to think of who did it, but since I felt really sleepy, I fell back to my peaceful slumber.
My next awakening was much less pleasant.
It was morning, 8 A.M. and I was still dozing off by Minako's front door while she brought a vegetable basket with her.
Minako toppled over me and we fell off her porch stairs with a cry.
Luckily, she wasn't hurt because something soft and squishy had broken her fall… that soft and squishy thing would be me.
"What the hell…" she groaned as she examined her hand which she thought was bloodied, but was actually just wet with tomato mush.
"Ooooh… I think I broke something…" I said and picked something out of my back, which was a carrot.
"Dude, what the freak were you doing there!?" she said.
"Sleeping by your porch." I said it casually as if to say oh, I took a glass of water off your refrigerator, no biggie.
"Oh yeah… I forgot about that." she said, "I mean, WHY were you sleeping there?" she said as she picked up the unspoilt, unbruised crops.
"Because…" I was then speechless because now that I think of it… what WAS I doing, sleeping on her porch?
"No reason. So you wouldn't be mad at me." I said.
"Why would I be mad at you?" she said.
"Yesterday, for being a jerk…" I said as I helped her pick up the crops.
"Oh… well, you know that was just yesterday, right?" she said, "I realized I might have overreacted…" she said.
"Yeah…" I said, remembering my walk home.
"And besides, you were my first kiss, homie!" Minako said, punching me in the shoulder.
"Really?" I said, suddenly self-conscious if I did it properly, because I was a little bit out of practice.
"Best kiss ever!" she said.
"Shhh!" I said.
"Hey, no use doing that, home-boy, since about fifty five people in that party saw you sucking my face."
"I did not suck your face!" I said, "Wait, what?" I said.
Then, I realized that she was correct about the part where people see us kissing.
"Oh crap… I'm toast!" I said, "I'll have to leave town… change my name… "
I then thought of several names, until Minako snapped at me.
"Don't worry. No one will rat you out…" Minako said, "How many people know about you and Yukari?" she said.
"Just the three of us… I think."
"There! No need to worry, bruv!" she said.
"Yeah I guess…" I said, "Anyway, do you know who put a blanket over me?" I said.
"I did…I don't know why, but I placed a blanket over you..." she said.
"I hope that blanket wasn't contaminated with smallpox or leprosy or something…" I said.
"Much worse!" she said with a crazy gleam in her eyes.
"What?" I said, fearing ANYTHING worse than smallpox or leprosy.
"My Aunt's blanket!" she said.
"Noooo!"
Later, we went at my house.
Junpei and Akihiko were at the living room, watching TV.
"Where have you been, Minato?" Akihiko said, "We haven't seen you since last night!"
"I slept over Minako's house." I said.
"Lucky." Junpei mutters.
Akihiko looked at him.
"Hey, I was talking about this guy!" he point to a Wheel of Fortune contestant.
"Anyways, Leah's out back, if you want to make her cook something…" Akihiko said.
"What's she doing there?" I said.
"Building us a swimming pool." Junpei said.
"A swimming pool?" I said.
"Yeah, believe it or not, Leah, Junpei and I were watching a Discovery Channel special about Swimming pools…"
"Don't ask." Junpei said.
"And Leah got all excited and said she'd make one herself at our backyard." Akihiko said, "She said she'd finish it in a week or so…"
"She thinks she can make a swimming pool in a week?" I said incredulously, "Were you guys high when you were watching that show?" I said.
"Nope." Akihiko said, "And personally, I think she CAN do it."
"I'm with you, Senpai!" Minako said, "Right, Minato?"
"Nada." I said, "Scientifically, Theoretically and clinically impossible."
"That makes the two of us!" Junpei said, putting his arm by my shoulders, "I bet you two five thousand yen that Leah won't be able to make it in a month."
"Deal!" Minako said, "My home-girl Leah would do it in five days flat!"
"Let's see!" Junpei said, as we went out back.
Leah was digging and she seemed pleased about it.
"Like diggin' a foxhole in the desert!" she said.
Minako cooked up some stew and we ate it in Leah's construction site.
(07/23/10)
Today, I paired up with Yukari as we looked at our scores.
Top Ten, 12th grade
1. Minato Arisato
2. Rio Iwasaki
3. Yukari Takeba
4. Minako Arisato
5. Fuuka Yamagishi
6. Quan Lao
7. Pinky Lee
8. Yuko Nishiwaki
9. Kenji Tomochika
10. Junpei Iori
"I don't believe it!" Yukari said.
"Yeah, I know! Junpei on Top Ten for the second time?" I said, "He must have been holding out on us with some sort of cheat-sheet or something…"
"Not that!" Yukari said, "Cato's not on the Top Ten." She said.
"And…?" I said suspiciously.
"Relax… He's always talking about how smart he is, but that jerk can't even be smart enough to be in the Top Ten!" She said and I was glad she wasn't ribbing on Minako for once.
"I know…" I said.
"I'll have you serfs know that grades do not measure one's intellect." Cato said.
"Cor blimey!" Minako said, jumping away, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Hmph! If you fools don't mind, I need to be somewhere else!" he said, "No one in this second rate school could possibly out-smart me!"
Minako went beside us.
"Hey Bestie!" she said, "Sup, Yuka-tan?" she said.
Yukari seemed slightly annoyed, but she was nicer than she was.
"The ceiling, Mina-Chan." She said.
She looked at the scores.
"Awesome!" she pumps an arm, "Top Five, bitches!"
"Hmph!" Ekoda said behind us.
"Sorry, Mr. Ekoda!" Minako said.
Ekoda walks away.
"Anyways, I don't see that fool Cato here…" she said.
"I know, right? He Just left… first time I saw garbage walk itself out… " Yukari said.
"Yeah! That jerk's always rabbiting about how smart he is!" Minako said.
"Ohmygosh! I just said that!" Yukari said, touching Minako's hand.
"Yeah, like, if you're so condescending, make sure to back it up!" Minako said.
"I totally hear you!" Yukari said, "Wanna get something to drink?"
"Wizard." Minako said.
"What?"
"I mean, sure." Minako said.
"You don't mind if I borrow your Bestie, do you?" Yukari said.
"And you wouldn't mind if I mooch off your Girlfriend, do ya?" Minako said.
"Please, knock yourselves out." I said.
They went to the cafeteria holding hands like old friends.
Kenji whistled beside me.
"Hard being the popular guy isn't it?" he said.
"COR BLIMEY!" I jumped, since I got that habit from Minako, who lived in London before, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry." Kenji said, "I was waiting for Rio… she's powdering her nose in the rest room."
"I see… and what's wrong with Minako and Yukari hanging out?" I said.
"Well, your ex-girlfriend and your girlfriend hanging out?" Kenji said, "Bad idea."
"As if you ever had any girlfriends!" I said, "And to set the record straight, Minako isn't my…" I said, remembering our little stint, "Yeah, I guess…"
"Too bad you don't have my prowess in relationships…" Kenji said.
"Sure I don't." I said shaking my head.
"If you're lucky, I might be able to share some notes with you…"
"If I live to be a thousand…" I said.
(07/24/10)
For the first time, Yukari and Minako and I walked home together.
We went in our backyard and it wasn't looking good for Junpei and I, since Leah was already laying out the pipes for the pool.
(07/25/10)
Closing day.
We had summer vacation, but Ms. Toriumi gathered all of the Badminton Club members, including our new members, Pinky and Quan.
"Guys, before we all go home, I'd like to remind you all of our upcoming Sports Meet, like last year, and all of you are required to come back, even Kenji." Ms. Toriumi said.
Kenji whispered beside me, "What was that suppose to mean?"
I shrugged.
We were all sorted in our respective categories; most of them are in singles, while there were only three in the doubles category, Me and Minako, Kenji and Rio and Quan and Pinky.
We went home.
(07/26-28/10)
Thursday- Saturday…
We did our normal practices, while most of us were already great friends, Pinky and Quan were obviously and hopelessly out of place, so, taking pity on them, Minako and I decided to talk to them.
They were eating energy bars.
"Wassap?" Minako said.
"Uh… nothing much. You?" Quan said, very much confused.
"Well, we just decided to talk with you guys." I said.
"How nice!" Pinky said, suddenly taking an interest in me, "You're a nice guy… I like nice guys…" she said in a sultry voice.
"Uhhh… thanks… but I have a girlfriend, so…" I said.
"All the better!" she squealed.
Suddenly, Pinky seemed like Risette, though she had pinker hair…
"Why'd you guys move?" Minako asked.
"Well! Cato's such a jerk!" Pinky said, "He's not at all nice!" Pinky said.
"Amen to that." Quan said, "And I'd like to apologize, in behalf of Pinky and I, for being jerks to you two…"
"Apology accepted." Minako said, "Now, let's see if you two can beat us at doubles!" Minako said.
"Sure!" Pinky said, grabbing my arm, "We can take 'em, Minato-kun!"
"Hey, he's MY partner!" Minako said.
"Awww!" Pinky said, "Exchanging partners makes things spicier!" she said.
"Seconded." Quan said.
"Fine!" Minako said.
We played a vigorous round, which ended in a draw.
(07/29/10)
Sunday…
We had half-day practice today and we (Me, Rio, Minako, Kenji, Pinky, Quan and Yukari) all decided to chill at my place.
To my surprise (and Junpei's), the pool was finished and operational.
Hell, I'd even go as far as to say it was the best pool I've ever seen, and trust me, I've seen many a pool.
I forked over 5000 yen to Minako.
"How is it possible that you made an amazing swimming pool in such a short amount of time and with little to no experience?" I said incredulously.
"Uh uh!" Leah wagged a finger, "That's all correct, 'cept the experience part… It was like digging a foxhole in the desert…" she said wistfully, "And to hide from sandstorms, you HAD to dig like a madman, in my case, a madwoman, so, yeah." She said.
"But how-" Yukari said.
"Need to know basis… don't ask, don't tell." Leah said.
We all left it at that as everyone went home to grab their swim-wear.
(07/30-31/10)
Monday and Tuesday…
We practiced some more and chilled out at Quan's uncle's ice cream shop.
They sold the most delicious gelatos I've ever tasted.
We felt pretty much refreshed.
(08/01/10)
Last day of training…
I trained with Minako and the gang (now including Pinky and Quan,) and I was surprised to see Yukari there.
"I have a surprise for you…" she said.
"What?" I said.
"Ta-da!" she showed me two tickets.
"What are these?" I asked.
"Why, only two first class tickets to DisneyLand in Hong Kong! We can tour the city and on the seventh, we can have our monthsary!" she said.
"I didn't know there was a DisneyLand in Hong Kong…"
"So did I, but its there." She said.
"Let me see that…"
I examined the ticket and to my utter horror, it was tomorrow…
"Oh boy…" I said.
"What's wrong?"
"Well… you see, the day of our flight conflicts with my Sports Meet…" I said.
"Well, you can postpone it…"
"That'd take a horrid amount of paper work and… how exactly do you postpone an inter-school Sports Meet?"
"Beats me. But you need to go!" she said.
"Yukari… I can't just do this…"
"Please. You kinda sorta promised me last year…" She said it with such a pleasing voice that I agreed.
"Fine."
I swear, she used charm-speak on me.
But I needed to tell Minako.
I went to her.
"What did Yuka-tan say?" she said.
"She bought me first class tickets for our Monthsary to go to Honk Kong…" I said.
"Wow!" Minako said.
"Yeah, wow, but the flight is tomorrow!"
"Damn! Can't you just cancel the flight?" she said.
"That'd take a horrible amount of paperwork! And how in the hell do you cancel an international flight?" I said.
"Beats me… but if it's important to you, then sure, no problem." She said as she tried to smile valiantly.
I smirked and went off.
At night, I packed my things and slept early, but hard to do that since I had a lot on my mind.
I fell asleep as soon as I took a few tablets of Benedryl.
(08/02/10)
I went with Yukari at the Airport and I felt sullen about it.
Then, as I sat at my seat at the airport, I knew what I had to do.
"Sorry, Yukari, but I need to go." I said.
"Oh, sure, the bathroom is down the corridor." She said.
"No, not that…" I said, "My team needs me." I said.
"Really? I thought we talked about this…" she said.
"I know, but…" I said, "I made a promise and I can still fulfill it without anyone getting hurt." I said.
She looked at me.
"Minato, you've really gone out of character… you've changed."
I felt angry.
No one idiot can say that I've changed because I am who I am.
No one else.
"I haven't changed for anyone, Yukari, and would I seem any bit interesting if I become the zombie I was last year? I was resurrected and you want me to be a corpse? Sorry, but I haven't changed at all, Yukari." I said.
I looked her straight in the eye.
"I grew up."
She studied me for a few seconds.
"You've changed… for the better." She said as she hugged me, "And I'm so happy."
I hugged her back.
"Now, you need to go." She gave me a kiss, then slaps me.
"Ow!"
"Be sure to be there by August 4, okay?" she said.
"Promise."
"I love you." she said, handing me my gear.
"Sorry, honey, but I love you too." I kissed her and dramatically jumped off the plane.
Literally, as it was about to close.
I took my gear and ran to the Meet like a bat out of hell.