Chapter 3: What is it With Guys?!

The whole group hung out at the snack bar the next day. Thakasha, of course, was naturally playing the guitar while her friends were also naturally talking about their 'dream guy'.

"I do wish I could meet Kaede Rukawa someday," Kairi sighed.

"Hello my friend we meet again..." Thakasha sang noisily with the guitar.

"Me too," Michiwa seconded. "Even if I could just touch him, it'd be absolutely a dream come true."

"Feels like forever..."

"Of course," Kairi added dreamily.

"Within my heart and memory..."

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?" her friends said in unison.

There was a confused jangle of strings and chords, then Thakasha looked up. "Why?" she asked, in a perfectly innocent face.

Michiwa sighed and threw up her arms. "What can we do to make you stop that awful noise?"

"It's not noise, it's what you call music," she replied. "And besides, it's better than your tu-tu-tu-tu-tu… and chitchat about Kaido Rukiwa or something like that!"

"Kaede Rukawa," Kairi and Michiwa once again said together.

"Uggh!" Thakasha threw up her hands in frustration. "What is it with you guys?" She hurriedly put her guitar on its case, and then stood up. "Better yet, let's go window shopping. We always get along on that one."

"Sure!" her two friends said happily. They went out of the automatic sliding doors and proceeded to the nearest spot where a display of various shirts and pants were hung on a window.

"Cool..." Michiwa remarked, smiling. The three girls started looking at the designs. Suddenly, in the reflection of the glass, Kairi saw Kaede Rukawa walking at the opposite side of the street.

"This is too good to be true! My dream guy's over there?"

"Your dream guy? Why, I see my future husband!" The blabbering kept on and on, until both girls decided to go across the street and at least talk. Thakasha, who was just following them from a sidelong view, was busy memorizing chords and positions from a chart. She walked with them, not knowing what they were doing.

Michiwa giggled, and when they were behind, she cleared her throat. Rukawa turned around. Kairi gave her best smile. She came closer and snaked an arm around the basketball player's neck. "Hi, my name is Kairi, and these are my friends. We were wondering if you could go with us."

Rukawa snorted silently and slid her arm off him.

Michiwa grinned at Kairi as if to say, 'You lose.' It was her turn to approach the mysterious hunk. Immediately, she ran after him. "Hi," she said breathlessly. "I'm sorry if my friend was so impulsive a while ago... but really, I just wanted to ask for advice about something."

Rukawa once again turned around. "Here's the best advice: Get lost." He glared at them darkly. Both girls gulped and swallowed, then immediately disappeared into the street, leaving Thakasha behind who was muttering, "Chord C#m, exactly like Bm, F#m..." and so on.

She walked back and forth, until she felt a piece of gum stuck on her foot. When she bent down to take it off, it was then that she realized she was all alone.

Except for Rukawa, who was staring silently at her, and who was half-expecting her to go away. Being the prankster she was, Thakasha growled, "What're you staring at?" then she stomped off, going over to her friends who had gone back window shopping and who were too scared to come back.

o0o

Rukawa stood in silence, half-mesmerized by the sight of the first girl who didn't drool over him. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, a bit surprised at the words thrown to him. That's the same girl at the snack bar yesterday, he realized.

Well, since there is nothing else to do, I just better watch a movie or something... it would help calm my nerves.

o0o

"Hey guys! Wait up!" Thakasha called. "Why did you all have to leave me alone there with some weirdo? Did I do something to deserve such a punishment?"

Kairi hesitated. "Well, we decided to… just not interrupt you after… after…"

"You know what?" Michiwa blurted out softly, "I still liked him, even though he was a bit… rude." She sighed dreamily. "That must mean there's still a chemistry between us two."

Kairi elbowed her. "You're not the only who still likes him. I—"

Thakasha rolled her eyes. "Who's 'he' anyway?"

Her friends threw up their hands in frustration. "Kash! We bumped into the cutest guy in town and you never even noticed?!"

"Yeah! You know what? You're missing out a lot."

"Missing out?! Cutest guy… my ass! What's his name again?"

"Kaede Rukawa."

"Oh, him again. Well, he doesn't know how to play the guitar and by the way, my brother is soo much cuter than him."

Her companions glared at her furiously. Sensing the growing tension, thakasha scratched the back of her head and gave a goofy grin. "Umm… why don't we just watch a movie?i heard there's a new one with some mysterious new hunk in the starring role."

Those words acted like magic. All at once, frowns disappeared, and the three friends went over to the moviehouse arm in arm.

When they got there, only exactly three empty seats were left, but were separated. Kairi and Michiwa insisted on taking the two which were side-by-side, so Thakasha had to sit on the one beside a stranger.

Sighing, she thought, Great, just when things were cooling down I have to spend the hour watching my friends enviously.