Friday, 4/15
Ren was just waking up when he saw his phone. He read the text from Makoto.
She called me Ren. It's probably because she felt bad. If she calls me Ren on Tuesday, then I should tell her not to worry about what she said.
He read the text again. He didn't know why.
I have to start thinking about those requirements. An official name? I can make something up. A teacher to sponsor us? Hopefully Kawakami will agree. And four members. Maybe I can convince Ryuji. Maybe Ann. But then there's a spot for one more. Makoto? Nah, she's busy enough. I'll have to figure something out. Time for school.
Ren got ready for school and left.
Ren was waiting at the entrance to the schoolgates. Classes had just ended, and he had agreed to meet Ryuji after school. But Ryuji was 5 minutes late.
It's not like he's getting extra help from a teacher. What could he be doing?
Suddenly, a girl walked up to Ren. A girl who wasn't Ann or Makoto. She wore a white sweater paired with the school uniform skirt. She had black hair in a ponytail. There were several nasty looking bruises on her face and her legs.
"Excuse me, but are you Ren Amamiya?" The girl asked. Her voice was quiet.
She could just be here to ask my kill count. But there's an honest look in her eyes.
"Yes. Who's asking?" Ren tried to be friendly but not too friendly.
"My name is Shiho Suzui. Ann's told me about you. She said that she was hoping you two could be friends. I've heard the rumors and wanted to make sure that you aren't a criminal."
"Nice to meet you, Suzui-san. Thanks for speaking with me rather than assume the rumors are true." Ren smiled.
Ann hasn't told me about her yet. I should ask her tomorrow.
Shiho looked over Ren. When she was done, she smiled.
"You certainly don't look like a criminal. Be nice to Ann, okay?" Shiho said as she turned to walk away.
Ren noticed the bruises again.
I have to ask about those bruises. They look terrible.
Ren stopped her.
"Suzui-san, I know we just met, but are you alright? Those bruises don't look normal."
He said.
Shiho's eyes widened for a second, almost as if she was remembering something. Then they went back to normal, but she wouldn't look Ren in the eye.
"I play volleyball. They're just bruises from practice. That's all. Thanks for your concern."
Ren put a hand on her shoulder.
"You never answered if you were alright, so I'll ask again. Shiho, are you okay?"
Shiho looked at him and had a look in her face that was thankful yet nervous.
"I, um, have to go."
Shiho left. Ren wasn't able to stop her this time.
Now I need to talk to Ann about her.
Ryuji came down the stairs and walked up to Ren.
"What kept you?" Ren asked.
"Nothing. Let's go get beef bowls." Ryuji said dismissively.
"It wasn't nothing if it took you this long." Ren said.
"You really wanna know?"
"If I didn't, would I be asking?"
"Fine. I was taking a shit."
"Ah. Sorry I asked."
"You should be, man. Let's forget about it and get some food."
The beef bowl shop was easy to find, even if Ryuji was leading Ren there. Going to the shop consisted of Ren taking his normal train to Shibuya and then just walking down central street.
The beef bowl shop had a standard interior. Two u-shaped counters took up most of the space. Customers sat on the outside of the counters while employees made the food on the inside of the counters. It looked simple enough. Ren and Ryuji chose to sit at the counter with the least people at it.
"So man, what do you think you're gonna get?" Ryuji asked.
"What do you recommend?" Ren responded.
"The normal beef bowl is pretty good. That's what I'll be getting."
"Alright. I'll go with that."
The employee at the counter took their orders and quickly got them their food. They paid when they were served. It was the last of Ren's money.
At least I'm working tonight.
Both Ren and Ryuji tore through their meals. They said nothing to each other until they finished eating.
"Damn that was effin' good. What'd you think?" Ryuji asked. There was still some food in his mouth.
"It was good. I'm glad you chose this place. You still want to know what happened yesterday?" Ren said.
"Of course. Don't leave out any details." Ryuji said as he swallowed what food was left in his mouth.
Ren nodded but knew he would have to.
"Well, we started off just studying normally. But I was trying to get under her nerves." Ren looked up at Ryuji to gauge his interest in this part. Ryuji was already on the edge of his seat. "Everytime I would ask a question, I would use a strange name for her. Makoto, General Niijima, Miss President."
Ryuji's mouth was wide open in amazement.
"Did it piss her off?" He said.
"Not until I got to the final name. I called her babe." Ren said while smiling.
"And?! Did she flip out?!"
Better to just say "yeah" rather than tell him what actually happened.
"Hoo boy. You should've seen her. She was pissed. But that's not the craziest part." Ryuji was about to fall out of his seat from leaning forward. "While I was walking back to my apartment building, I noticed her following me. I asked her why she was following me, but she was confused. She said she was going home." Ren put more emphasis into the last sentence, obviously delivering it as the punch line of his story.
"I don't get it." Ryuji said.
"We live in the same apartment building, Ryuji." Ren said disappointedly.
"Dude! For real?! That's crazy. You don't know how lucky you are. But she is kinda stuck up."
Oh, I think I do.
"I guess I am pretty lucky. And no, she's not stuck up. Now that I told you my story, it's your turn. What's gone down with you this week?"
"Eh, not much. Just that castle shit. Not much else."
Oh yeah. Kamoshida called him the "Track Traitor." I still need to ask about that.
"About that. If it's not too personal, what'd Kamoshida mean when he called you the Track Traitor?" Ren said. He tried to read Ryuji's expression while he said it.
Ryuji sighed before he started his story.
"Last year, I was on the track team. Everything was going great. My grades were bad, but I had running. It was something that I uh, what's the word? Excelled at. Then Kamoshida came. I guess he thought that the track team was taking away from the volleyball team in some way. He convinced Kobayakawa to fire the coach at the time and make himself the new coach. He began running us like crazy. It was almost impossible to run as much as we did. It was abuse. I got angry with him a few times, and that's when he saw his opportunity. Somehow, he found out some bullshit about my family. He then made fun of me during practice about it. I flipped out and hit him. He broke my leg and called it self defense. He then convinced Kobayakawa that he should dismantle the track team because of what I did. Kobayakwa did it, and now the former track team members blame me. Ever since, I've been Ryuji the track traitor and delinquent instead of Ryuji the runner. It sucks. But at least you're taking the spotlight away from me." Ryuji was angry just explaining the story.
Damn. What do I say to that?
"I'm happy to take the spotlight, Ryuji. And I'm happy I met you. You're one of the only people who's been genuinely nice to me. And you're not Ryuji the delinquent. You're my friend Ryuji."
I can't deny the cheesiness of what I just said. But Ryuji won't care. That's what matters.
"Thanks man. You wanna tell me about your assault? It's only fair." Ryuji said.
I can't. But it would be a dick move to not tell him after what he told me. I'll just give a quick summary.
"I stopped a drunk guy from forcing himself on a woman. He fell, blamed me, called the police, and got me arrested. Apparently he's pretty powerful because he forced a quick trial and got his name removed from all of the official documents. I was given probation instead of time in juvenile hall, so I guess I got off easy."
Ren hadn't told the story to anyone in Tokyo.
Should I tell Makoto? Nah. I should wait. I'll have to tell her if we keep studying. I'll have to tell Ann as well.
"That's bullshit! Rotten adults are scum!" Ryuji was yelling.
Ren quickly tried to calm him down.
"Chill, dude. A beef bowl shop is not the place to rage against the machine."
"Eff that. What happened to you should be a crime! It just pisses me off."
I wouldn't have told him if I knew this would happen. Think, Ren, think. How can you calm him down?
Ren thought back to his text with Makoto.
I need four members…
"Hey Ryuji? You know what calms me down?"
Ryuji paused his meltdown to listen to what Ren had to say.
"Gardening." Ren said.
"Aw dude, what does gardening have to do with-wait. Did Miss President approve your club?" Ryuji said.
Success!
"Kinda. I need four members, a teacher, and an official name." Ren said.
"What do you have so far?" Ryuji asked.
"I count for one out of four members. I think I have a name. That's it."
"Can I be your second member? I don't know shit about gardening but I could use something to do."
"Of course you can join. Any ideas for members?"
Ryuji thought to himself.
"There's this kid with blue hair. His name's Mishima. I think he's in your class." He suggested.
"Pass. Everytime I look in his direction he shields his face." Ren said dismissively.
"I also don't think he'd have time anyway. He's on the volleyball team. I heard a rumor that he's pretty much Kamoshida's lapdog. But besides him, I got nothing."
"Alright. Thanks for joining. I'll let you know about the other members once I get them to join. I gotta get to work now. Wanna hang out Sunday?" Ren said.
"Can't on Sunday. I have to help my mom around the house. We can figure something out for next week. Good luck at your job."
The two stood up and exited the beef bowl shop. Ryuji went home. Ren went to Yongen. It was time to get to work.
Ren opened the door to an empty Leblanc. After a few seconds, Sojiro came down the stairs in the back with a rolled up apron.
"If you're gonna work here, you're gonna need an apron." He said as he tossed the apron to Ren.
Ren unrolled the apron revealing a design that he dreaded. The apron was plain white, except for the middle, which read "World's Best Dad!" in bright red.
"Consider it your salary for today." Sojiro said.
I'm gonna starve if I don't actually get paid.
"Um, Sakura-san, I mean Sojiro, I would be willing to do some actual work if I was able to get paid."
Sojiro looked Ren in the eye.
"That apron not enough for you?" He had a condescending tone.
"No, I love it…" Ren was struggling from saying he loved it and the fact that he was asking for money. "But I don't have much access to food at the moment. I was kinda depending on being able to feed myself from this job."
"Tell you what. If you help me out tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday until your actual next day of work, I'll feed you. If you do your job." Sojiro said.
Doesn't sound like there's much room to negotiate.
"Deal. But do I have to wear this apron?" Ren asked.
"You make better coffee when you wear an apron that represents yourself." Sojiro said dismissively.
"If you say so. So where should I start today? The tables are already clean and there are no customers to serve." Ren said.
"Well, you're working less for Leblanc, and more working for me. That means you do what I say. Even if it's not related to making coffee. Got it?"
"Got it."
This isn't what this was supposed to be.
"Lucky for you, there's nothing to do today. We'll be making coffee." Sojiro said.
The two went behind the counter and Sojiro explained the basics of coffee making to Ren. He then told Ren to make him a cup of coffee. Ren did as he was told and was actually able to produce a cup of coffee. Whether it was good or not was up for debate. Sojiro took a sip.
"How is it for a first try?" Ren asked. He had hope in his voice.
Maybe I'll be good at this.
"Terrible. It has the wrong kind of bitterness to it. Here's what you should have done."
Sojiro proceeded to use the same ingredients as Ren but made slight changes to the process. He handed Ren the new cup of coffee. Ren tasted it.
Wow. That's pretty damn good.
"We're done for the day. Let me get you some curry to go with the coffee." Sojiro said.
Ren sat down at the bar and waited for his curry. Sojiro began preparing it when he spoke to Ren.
"So Ren. How's Shujin treating you?" Sojiro didn't look at Ren as he spoke.
Junpei told him where I was going to school.
"It's fine, I guess. The other students could be better. So could the teachers. So could everything else. But every high school is like that, right?"
Standard answer. Hopefully he'll finish my curry soon so I can eat and leave.
"Not mine. Hoo boy. Let me tell you, high school was fantastic back in my day. We used to…" Sojiro began.
Oh fuck. What have I done?
Ren tried to tune Sojiro out but still caught a few snippets of what he was saying.
"...found out my teacher was a maid…"
"...vibes were killed. It was wiggity wack…"
"...slammed the door open and started yelling 'BABY BABY BABY BABY!' It was crazy…"
Some of this stuff is pretty interesting. Maybe I should be listening.
Sojiro handed Ren his curry.
"There's my story. Once you're done eating, you can go. Make sure to come tomorrow if you want food." He said.
Ren devoured his curry. He handed a clean plate back to Sojiro.
"Thanks, Sojiro. I'll see you tomorrow."
Sojiro nodded and Ren left. While he was walking back to the station, he saw a woman walk into leblanc. She had the goth aesthetic nailed, but that's not what Ren cared about.
THIGHS. THIGHS. THIGHS.
Ren gave her the name Thighs.
Not like I'll be seeing her again. What does it matter what I call her? It's not like I'm calling her Thighs to her face.
Ren went back to the station and went home for the night.
He came home to a giant bag of cat food leaning against his apartment door with a note attached. It didn't actually say anything. It just had a few doodles and incomprehensible scribbles on it.
Motherfucking Junpei. At least I can feed Morgana good food now.
Saturday, 4/16
When lunch began, Ren initiated his mission. He had to convince Kawakami to sponsor his club.
I should keep my expectations low.
Ren walked up to Kawakami's desk. She looked up at him expectantly. Ren put on his polite voice.
"Hello, Kawakami-sensei. As you may know, Principal Kobayakawa is requiring me to engage in extracurricular activities at Shujin. But because of my leaked record, the chances of me joining a club are low. So I'll be starting a club. And I would -"
"Stop. I'll sponsor it."
"I know that you aren't fond - what?" Ren was shocked.
"I'll sponsor it. I don't wanna know what it is. It'll be good for you to do something that isn't spending time with delinquents." Kawakami said.
Little does she know that she is sponsoring that exact thing.
"Thank you, Kawakami-sensei." He said pleasingly.
As soon as school ended, Ann turned around to talk to Ren.
"So what do you want to do?" She asked.
She's obviously got something she wants to do.
"What do you want to do?" Ren replied.
"Crepes it is, then!" Ann said cheerfully as she stood up. "Let's get going."
The two arrived at the diner in Shibuya and sat at a booth.
"So what are you gonna get?" Ann said. There was energy in her voice that wasn't there when Ren last spoke with her.
I hate to be a buzzkill, but I have no money.
"I won't be getting anything." Ren didn't want her to ask why.
"Why's that? This place's crepes are soooo good!" She replied.
Dammit.
"I… um… am a little low on money." Ren was embarrassed.
I shouldn't be this embarrassed. It's not like I'm getting crepes with Makoto. It's just Ann.
"Oh that's fine. I'll buy one for you!" Ann said.
Ren wasn't about to turn down free food.
"Thank you, Ann."
Ann ordered crepes for both of them. Once she was done ordering, her phone beeped. She held it up and read whatever text came. Her energy immediately drained and she was left with a frown on her face.
I should press her about this.
"Ann, is everything okay?" Ren said. He leaned forward.
"Um…"
I won't let this go like with Shiho.
"Ann, you can talk to me. Seriously."
There was still reluctance in her eyes.
"It might feel better to talk about it with someone." Ren added.
"Well, remember how I told you I wasn't dating Kamoshida? That's not entirely true." She finally said.
How do I respond? I can't support that but I don't want to alienate her.
Ann could see the conflict in Ren's eyes.
"Hey! Don't get the wrong idea! It's not like I'm doing it willingly." She said.
What a relief.
"Have you gone to the police? Or told your parents?" Ren struggled with the last part.
Parents can be uncaring.
Ann shook her head.
"That's the thing! I can't. He says if I don't date him, then Shiho loses her starting position on the volleyball team. Oh I'm sorry you don't know Shiho. She's-"
Ren cut her off.
"I met her yesterday. I got the impression she's your best friend. Am I right?"
"Yeah you're right. Volleyball is all she's got and I don't want to take that away from her. But now Kamoshida is pushing me more. He wants me to go to his house."
I can almost see Ryuji standing up, slamming his fist on the table, and yelling 'That effin asshole!'
"Don't go. You shouldn't even be considering it." Ren said.
"I know, I know. But Shiho-"
"Ann, you can't think like that. You would be hurting yourself if you went. Talk with Shiho about it. Maybe you two can figure out how to get out of the situation." Ren said.
Hold on. Shiho was covered in bruises when I saw her. And she's on the volleyball team. Could Kamoshida be taking out his frustration with Ann on her? Shit…
"You're right. I'll talk to her on Monday." Ann said as she typed a message into her phone. She put it down.
I'll assume that she was turning down Kamoshida.
The crepes arrived and Ann immediately cheered up. Ren let her eat her crepe in silence. He took a few bites of his crepe and it was actually pretty good.
I have been getting some delicious handouts the past few days.
The two finished their crepes. Neither could decide whether to continue their conversation from before or to change the subject.
I should lighten the mood. She already has a plan for what to do next.
"Hey Ann, could I ask you something?" Ren said.
Ann made a cautious look.
"It's nothing related to Kamoshida." Ren said as he smiled.
Ann nodded.
"You wanna join my club?" Ren finally asked.
"...What? You're starting a club? For what?!" She said loudly.
People really forget about anything to talk about clubs. Huh.
"The Student Council President told me that the principal wants me to engage in school activities. Because no clubs would accept me, I'll be doing some gardening. I could use some help."
Ann laughed when he mentioned gardening.
"Sure, why not. You have enough members? Or is it just me and you?"
Ren smirked.
"You want it to be just us?"
She laughed again.
"No. Just wondering. So who're the other members?"
"Well, Ryuji will be in the club. Maybe you two could catch up. We still need a fourth. Any suggestions? Ren asked.
"Can Shiho join?" Ann asked back.
"Of course. We can ask her on Monday together."
Ann smiled at that.
"Yeah! Let's do that."
They hung out for a little longer, and decided to part ways.
Three out of four. Almost there. Hopefully Shiho joins. She was nice. If she doesn't, I have no idea who will be the fourth.
Ren went to work out at Leblanc.
Shiho sat on a bench in the courtyard doing her homework. School had ended a few hours ago, and volleyball practice had just ended. I would walk to the station if my legs weren't so sore. Hopefully they'll feel better by the time I finish my homework, she thought.
She was still working when Mishima walked up to her. She heard him coming, so she looked up and smiled at him. He met her smile with a look of fear on his face. He had fresh bruises. Shiho's smile dropped.
"Kamoshida wants to talk with you in the faculty office, Suzui-san." Mishima said. The fear was in his voice as well.
Shiho winced.
"Did he say why?" She managed to say. The fear began to take over.
"No. Just to go and see him." Mishima left once he finished.
Shiho sighed. If I don't go, I'll be kicked off the team. Then what'll my parents think of me? I can tough it out. It can't be worse than a few bruises, she thought. She packed her bag and made her way to the faculty office.
Sunday, 4/17
Ren awoke to his phone ringing. It was Ann.
"Hello?" He said groggily.
"Ren? It's Ann. Somethings wrong with Shiho. I asked her to hang out but she said she just wants to stay home and think. This doesn't sound like her. And she's stopped answering my texts! I don't know what to do!" Ann said. There was much more urgency in her voice than usual.
I don't know Shiho nearly as well as Ann does, so why is she calling me? Am I the only other person she's on good terms with? Jeez. That doesn't matter though. Shiho is what matters right now. What if she just wants to stay home for a day? I've had those days. But she had those bruises. And Ann was worried if she didn't go to Kamoshida's house that he would punish Shiho. Could he have punished her? No. No way. That would be too quick. Then again, I've only been at Shujin for a week. What do I know about Kamoshida's abuse process? I'll just tell Ann to try and talk to Shiho about what's going on. If that doesn't work, we'll talk to her tomorrow.
"Ann, calm down so we can think about this. What I think you should do is keep trying to talk with her. If you aren't able to talk with her today, then we'll talk to her tomorrow. Sound good?"
Ann took a deep breath over the phone.
"Yeah. Sounds good. I'm sure it's fine." She said.
"If it's not, then we can talk to her and solve the problem." Ren said.
"Right. Thanks, Ren." Ann hung up.
Did I handle that well?
Ren was about to get ready for school, but he realized it was Sunday.
I'm gonna take a much needed break.
He went back to bed, but left his ringer on.
Ren opened the door to an empty Leblanc yet again. Sojiro was behind the counter cleaning dishes.
"Let's get started."
They jumped right into Ren's coffee training.
"Today you'll be drinking whatever you make, so now you have more incentive to make it good." Sojiro said.
Sojiro saw Ren gulp.
"Don't worry. It can't be that bad of coffee if it's made at Leblanc." He added.
Ren started his coffee, making sure that he did what Sojiro showed him. He finished the coffee and poured it into his mug. He went around to the side of the counter and took a seat. He expected curry. But first, he had to test his coffee. Ren took a sip. It actually wasn't bad.
"Well?" Sojiro said.
"I think I'm a fast learner." Ren replied.
"I'd hope so. If you weren't, I'd have fired you. Let me get you some curry."
Ren didn't say anything as he waited. Sojiro broke the silence when he handed Ren his curry.
"Ren. Tell me why you decided to learn to make coffee." Sojiro said.
To make money to pay for my fatass cat.
"It's what this job entails right?" Ren asked while he ate his curry.
"I thought you'd say that. You see, if you didn't want to be learning to make coffee, you would have found another job. It's not hard to find work in a city like this. So I'll ask you again. Why do you want to learn to make coffee?" Sojiro said. He was staring at Ren, analyzing him.
It seems like he has a specific answer in mind. I should give him that answer. But what is it?
Ren took a second to think about what he knew about Sojiro from their time together.
He seems to consider himself a ladies man. He enjoys cooking and coffee. Maybe the two go together?
"For the women." Ren said. No amount of confidence could make him sound cool while saying it.
Sojiro laughed at him.
"Suit yourself. That's what I'll be teaching you about from now on." Sojiro said.
At least I'll be getting paid to listen. I might even learn a few things.
"I had a feeling that's what your true answer would be. So I called a friend of mine to help out." He added.
Uh oh.
A minute after Sojiro said that, the bell at the door rang. Ren looked over and saw the person he least expected.
Thighs.
"Hey Sojiro. What's this thing you wanted me to help with? I don't have much time you know." She said.
The Thighs can speak!
Sojiro gestured to Ren.
"This kid wants to learn how to talk to a woman. I thought it would be good for him to have some practice rather than just hear about it." He said.
I can't talk to Thighs! How would I focus?
"A worthy cause. I'll help. But only if the kid agrees to help out at the clinic." She said.
Ren was too lost in thought to reply. Sojiro hit his shoulder. Ren regained his focus.
"Hm? Oh sure." He muttered.
The woman smiled. "Then let's get started."
Sojiro had the pair sit across from each other in one of the booths.
"Alright Ren. Go." He said.
"Just go? Is there no prompt?" Ren asked.
"Your prompt is that there's a beautiful woman sitting across from you. I'll be over there listening. If you do poorly, then you're fired. Now go." Sojiro said as he took a seat at the bar.
Ren gulped when he looked at the woman. She smiled.
Her legs are hidden under the table. You can focus. You got this, Ren.
Ren deepened his voice before he said his opener.
"Hey. What's your name?" He asked. His attempted suaveness was cringeworthy, but the woman didn't laugh.
"My name is Tae Takemi. And are you Ren Amamiya? I've heard so much about you." It was obvious from her voice that she was teasing him.
I hope that she's not talking about the rumors.
"Indeed I am. Only good things, I hope." His voice was going back to normal.
This will be easier if I just calm down and be myself.
"Unfortunately, they are all good. I only like bad boys." She was still teasing him.
Ren heard Sojiro chuckling.
She's got me in a corner.
"That's good. Most of the things people say about me are wrong." Ren said.
"How so, Renren?" She said in a sexy voice.
What the fuck? Is this how Makoto felt when I changed her name? I can't respond to that.
After Ren was silent in thought for about 20 seconds, Tae began rubbing her leg on the outside of his leg..
Motherfucker. She knows me too well.
He took a quick glance under the table. It was obvious and Tae noticed it. She didn't seem to mind. Or maybe she was pretending not to mind.
THIGHS THIGH THIGHS THIGHS THIGHS.
"Did I lose you, Ren? Let's change the subject. What interests you Ren?" She said. Ren was too focused on her legs to notice that she toned down the sexiness in her voice.
"I, um, I like, uh, thighs." He said. He didn't realize that he said that.
Sojiro laughed and went up to the attic, but Ren didn't notice.
"Oh?" Tae raised her eyebrows.
"Shit! Um, I meant that I am interested in…" Tae stopped rubbing her leg on his.
There was something about a clinic. Is she a doctor?
"I am interested in uh, anatomy." Ren said.
"You are? Did you know that I'm a doctor?" She leaned forward.
"I guessed." Ren replied.
"I don't like men who guess. I want a man who knows what he wants." Her sexy voice was back.
"I know what I want." Ren brought back his attempt at a suave voice.
"And what's that?" Tae was fully leaning into her sexy voice.
"It's-" Ren began, but Tae began rubbing her leg on the inside of his leg.
He made another obvious glance under the table.
THIGHS THIGH THIGHS THIGHS THIGHS.
"Thighs!" Ren blurted.
Ren could hear Sojiro laughing from the attic.
"I can tell. Come and see me at my clinic on Thursday. Have a good evening, Ren. Give Sojiro my regards." Tae stood up and left Leblanc. Sojiro came back down the stairs.
He can't fire me for that. There was foul play. Granted, foul play was welcomed but it was still foul play.
"You're not fired. Go home and think about how badly you failed." Sojiro said. Despite his harsh words, there was kindness in his voice.
Ren stood up, composed himself, and left.
What I learned: To fluster people, rub their leg under the table.
Ren laughed at his own thoughts.
It's not that funny. I'm just so happy.
Ren got back to his apartment and went to bed.
He was unprepared for what the next day would bring.