Wasabi groaned, rubbing his temples as he walked into the auditorium. Everywhere he looked, it was crowded, and he knew in a few minutes it would be hot ad sweaty. He just couldn't fathom all the body germs that would soon be going around once people actually started sweating. It made his skin crawl, to be honest. In fact, he could feel the pits of his sweater begin to dampen ever so slightly, and he knew he was going to regret having worn it if he had known it was going to be so packed in the auditorium.
"Honey, get a load of him."
Wasabi turned to the sound to see two girls sitting a few seats away. One was tall, wight annex skin and blond hair, wearing an adorable ensemble of pink and yellow. The other was short, with spiky black hair that had purple streaks. She wore what poked like a bike messenger's outfit, with a pair of basketball shorts over black and purple leggings, a great jacket over a white t-shirt. She was popping gum, the bubble big enough to block her face from view. Wasabi blushed, suddenly acutely aware of his attire.
Are they looking at me? Wasabi brushed back his brown dreadlocks, which he had tied up with a green bandana. He let his eyes hover on them for a moment, straining to hear what they were saying. The blond girl was drinking something out of a cup; he assumed it was coffee, since it seed every girl in San Fransokyo was drinking the stuff these days.
"You have a crush, Go Go?" he heard the blond ask her friend, and Wasabi blushed even harder, his temples pounding.
Was he hearing correctly?
A crush? On him, of all people?!
As he was trying to listen, the burly man deflated at this Go Go's next words:
"Am I not allowed to point out a guy without it having to be a crush? I mean come on!"
Well, that settled it. Wasabi sighed, deciding then to follow their gazes. Because it seemed that they weren't staring at him, so they had to be looking at someone else, right? He scanned the crowd, narrowing his eyes at possible subjects until he saw him.
He had walked in, mixed in with a crowd of other students. The boy was tall, wearing a grey cardigan over a white t-shirt, matched with brown pants and green sneakers. Slung over his shoulder was a brown messenger bag, and a black baseball cap was on his skull, black hair poking out from underneath.
Yup, Wasabi thought, it has to be him. They definitely like him. His suspicions were confirmed at their reactions when he approached them, and Wasabi cringed- not because of those girl's obvious crushes on the other boy, but Wasabi had realized an unfortunate thing: if he didn't find someone to sit with, and soon, that meant he was stuck with the only person he talked to at the moment…
And said person had decided to burst into the room as loudly as possible.
"Who's ready to change the world?!" Fred jumped into the room, startling a nearby group as he pumped his fists in the air. Wasabi slapped a hand to his forehead- that was the usual Fred, always making a scene. Wasabi tried shrinking back into an empty nearby chair, but there was none.
Fred was, quite frankly, an extremely annoying kid, and Wasabi did not want to have to inexact with him for the duration of the orientation ceremony. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, that's exactly what happened.
"Hey, Wasabi!" Fred called, jogging over to greet him, "How's it hanging, buddy?" Wasabi fought the urge not to groan out loud as he forced a polite smile, nodding his head in Fred's direction.
"Hey…. Fred!" he said with false cheer, the muscles in his face beginning to twitch, and it had been way, five se seconds at most? Along with the urge to groan, Wasabi struggled not to gag as Fred caught him off-guard, wrapping him in a big bear hug. The stench wafting from the kid's clothes was terrible- and that was putting it kindly, unfortunately. Wasabi stole a hick glance back at the girls from the corner of his eye.
The other boy and the blond girl were chatting away, the short girl looking rather bored as she snapped her gum. Fred's voice bought his attention, Wasabi kindly trying his best to focus on what he was saying.
"Dude, this year is gonna be so awesome!" Fred exclaimed, playfully punching Wasabi's arm. Wasabi rubbed at the spot, making a mental note that he would have to burn his sweater later. Sure, it was mean o think such thing, but Fred wasn't exactly the cleanliest of people.
In fact, Wasabi was sure Fred hadn't ever learned what the word hygiene meant, let alone the word clean. His hair, which was always slapped under a green beanie, was greasy, the brownish-blond strands looking almost like congealed spaghetti. The ends were also split and frizzed to no end, like he had just stuck his finger into an electrical socket. His clothes always had some sort of mysterious stain on them; thankfully today was not the case, but Wasabi knew one was bound to show up over time.
"Is it now?…" Wasabi said uneasily, his smile faltering as Fred nodded.
"Of course! I get to hang out with my best bud every day! Doing science- WOO HOO!" Fred chuckled, snapping his fingers at Wasabi, "Isn't that great?" Wasabi raised an eyebrow in disdain- how did Fred manage to get into this school? Last time Wasabi checked, all Fred did was sit around and read comic books. When did he ever take science seriously at all?
"I'm sorry, you have friends?" Wasabi couldn't help but joke, a twinge of guilt building in his gut. Fred gave him a confused glare, plopping himself down in a nearby seat. Wasabi followed suit- he may as well, considering there were almost no seats left in the theater. He was acutely aware of staring, multiple eyes digging into his spine; he realized this was due to those two girls, the ones he had thought were talking about him earlier. Looking over, Wasabi saw the three of them had gotten comfortable, the girls sitting in their general vicinity throwing daggers.
Geez, Wasabi thought, girls can be harsh…
"Very funny, man," Fred clicked his tongue, breaking through Wasabi's thoughts, "Anyway, how was your summer?" Wasabi was caught off-guard by such a casual question, clearing his throat as he pondered n answer.
"It was good, it was good," he replied, "I opened up a sushi shop, so that's been going pretty well." Fred nodded, splaying his fingers as if he were a therapist listening intently to a patient, pursing his lips in perfect imitation of the practice.
"Sounds rad," he said, "I'll have to come by and try some one day. What's the address?"
Wasabi hesitantly pulled out a slip of paper and a pencil, scrawling the directions in neatly swirled cursive before giving it to him. Sure, he didn't really like Fred all that much, but business was business, after all. Coughing into his fist, he asked, "So, how about you? Do anything fun?"
Fred shrugged, "Eh, i guess. Went to Cancun, then Germany. Visited my parents at the family island for a few day…." Wasabi couldn't help but notice a sort of sadness creep into Fred's eyes, the slight hanging of his head at the mention of his folks. It was quickly replaced with the child-like intensity they always had as he grinned, swatting his words away a if they were a fly, "The usual thing, nothing fancy. I'm just excited they actually let me come in, you know?"
Wasabi hadn't noticed the lights had dimmed while they were talking, nodding as an older man walked in, greeted with a spotlight and polite applause. Thankfully, Fred shut up long enough for him to hear the man as he began speaking, his voice echoing as he coughed into the microphone.
"My name is Robert Callaghn, although that would be Professor Callaghan to you all," the man opened, grinning at the garnered laughter from a corner of the audience. Wasabi grinned along with everyone went on to talk about the school.
Now was his chance to sneak a peek at those two girls. He did so as discreetly as he could, and he heaved a sigh. The short girl was looking possibly even more bored than before, still chewing and blowing bubbles with her gum. The blond girl, however, was eyeing the other boy with curiosity, before turning her attention back to Professor Callaghan as he spoke up on stage. Wasabi let his gaze fall on the boy.
He was looking at the Professor with excitement, his mouth spread into a cocky, crooked grin. Te look on his face showcased how happy he must have been, because Wasabi couldn't tell if the kid had just won the lottery or if he was sitting at an orientation ceremony for college. And now that he was getting a good look at him (even if it was dark), he could see the boy was fairly younger than those around him.
Weird, Wasabi thought, quickly turning back around in his seat as Professor Callaghan left the stage, receiving uproarious applause from the students. The lights made Wasabi blink, his pupils having dilated to get used to the darkness. Dots of color danced in front of him a he rubbed his eyes, trying to get used to the now brightly lit atmosphere. Fred followed him as he pushed himself up out of his set, heading for the exit.
"Man, that speech was awesome," Fred said, Wasabi nodding in agreement.
"Sure, sure…" he trailed, not really paying attention to what he was saying. All he wanted was to get out of the crowded auditorium and get some fresh air- maybe lose Fred in the process. Yes, it was a terrible thing t think, but the kid was kind of like a leech, with the way he was always hanging around, sometimes popping up out of nowhere. He felt the sweat on his clothes get even worse as he made his way outside, sundays beating down on him. Wasabi wiped at his forehead, feeling his skin burn with heat from under the soft clothing material.
"So I've basically got like, no schedule, which is weird, because I applied for some of the classes and everything-" Fred began, his voice fading as Wasabi tried blocking him out, his eyes flitting in every direction. His shoulders stiffened once he noticed the blond girl stealing a quick peek at him from over her shoulder, quickly turning back as she helped her friend with a pair of roller blades, then walking off with the other boy.
"- but then I said 'Leaf me alone, I'm bushed!'" Fred came back into focus, on the verge of tears as he delivered the punchline to a joke Wasabi obviously missed, nor did he care about. Fred wiped at his eyes, shoulder jerking with laughter. "Ah, man… but anyway, I'll definitely stop by your sushi shop sometime. Hey!"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, come in anytime," Wasabi licked his lips, nodding in earnest. He really didn't want to talk to Fred anymore- why couldn't this kid take a hint?
"Not that, no," Fred shook his head, "I was saying that there was this cafe nearby, I think it was called 'The Lucky Cat Cafe' or whatever, but we can hang out there on weekends, you know? Like, grab a bunch of friends and chat over donuts or something." Wasabi took a minute to process Fred's request. It was really quite simple: have a chat over donuts and coffee and be done, part ways. Wasabi had to admit, it sounded nice, and even though he didn't like Fred all that much, maybe it was worth a shot. Besides, Wasabi thought, if we're with other people as well, how bad can it be? He shrugged, Fred grinning like a Chesire cat.
"Sure, why not?" Wasabi agreed, "Sounds fun." Fred gave him a thumbs up as they walk down the building's main pathway that lead to the curb. Students were getting into rows of cars, light reflecting off the hoods. A dinky red fire hydrant sat on the street corner, next to a tall yellow stop light post. His own car, a small brown Volks-wagon minivan, sat two cars away from where they stood. Wasabi felt Fred watching him as he dug around his pocket for his keys.
"Great!" Fred said, "I'l bring my friends- you'll like them. Honey Lemon and Go Go, they're cool chicks." Wasabi chuckled, giving Fred a sly smile. He wasn't one to talk to girls, and if he did, they were usually through chatrooms and online social media.
"You have friends who are girls?" Wasabi asked skeptically. Fred shrugged, gesturing to himself.
"What can I say?" he said, "The ladies just can't resist this!" Wasabi laughed as Fred blew a raspberry. "Nah, I'm just kidding. But you'll like them, they're cool." Wasabi jingled his keys triumphantly as he pulled them out of his pocket, the metal deliciously cold against his sunburnt skin. As he began walking to his car, he noticed Fred still standing there, idly rocking back and forth n his heels. Wasabi stopped, knowing he was probably going to regret asking.
"Hey! You want a ride home or something?" Wasabi called, thankfully relieved when Fred shook his head, tossing him another thumbs-up.
"Nah, it's cool!" Fred called back, "My friend said he'd come get me. Thanks for the offer though, that's awesome!" Wasabi smiled, shaking his head as he waved goodbye, ambling to his car. Climbing ingot eh driver's seat, the engine purred as he start fit up, fixing his rearview mirror before peeling off the curb and onto the street.
This year, he deeded, was going to be a good year. And Fred- being a nuisance as usual- was not going to hinder that.