Komi Komi Literature Club!
Chapter 29: The Guys' Sleepover
"Hey, big brother! What are you doing?" Hitomi, Tadano's younger sister, asked curiously, noticing that her brother seemed to be more focused than usual on cleaning their room.
"Hm? Oh! I'm going to be having a friend over while you're having your sleepover." Tadano answered simply.
"Eh? You're having...a friend over?" Hitomi asked, a hint of surprise present in her tone.
"Why do you say it like that, huh?" Tadano asked.
"Oh no it's nothing, I just wasn't aware that you had any friends." Hitomi said with a giggle, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Uh huh," Tadano scoffed at this and continued to arrange the room. "He's actually from America."
"What?! An American friend?!" Hitomi exclaimed in surprise. She was more interested now, but she still had her own arrangements, and now she was realizing that she wasn't going to meet her brother's new American friend.
"Mhmm!" Tadano answered with a smile, "He'll be staying in here, so do you mind if I use your bunk tonight?" He asked politely.
"Eh...why did you invite someone cool over the one day that I'm supposed to be gone, you jerk?!" Hitomi yelled at him, almost ready to smack him on the head...
Alex looked down at his phone again to confirm that he had the right address. Even now, he still wasn't used to going around the city. He started making his way up the stairs of Tadano's apartment building, all the while staring down at his text messages.
"Man, why couldn't he live on the first floor?" Alex muttered to himself. He finally reached the top of the steps and made his way to the door. He took in a breath and knocked on the door, taking a moment to fix the straps of his backpack.
"Hello, Alex! I'm glad you could make it! Please, come on in! Hm? What do you...have there?" Tadano asked curiously, leaning over to look at a plastic bowl that Alex had in his hand.
"Oh, remember how we were talking about, uh, cooking and stuff a while ago? Well I made this myself! I'm kind of an infamously picky eater, haha, so I figured this would be a good compromise. I made some for both of us." Alex explained.
"Oh wow! Thank you! What did you make?" Tadano asked.
"Pork chops and white rice. Here," Alex handed him the plastic bowl as he walked into Tadano's house now. He closed the door behind him and removed his shoes at the door. "I also brought over my playstation so we can play some games." He added.
"What? Really? You brought your whole console over? That's so cool! Thank you!" Tadano said appreciatively. He was excited now to hang out.
"Haha no problem, I used to do this all the time back home. Can I get some water?" Alex requested.
"Oh yes, of course! I'll serve us some cups so we can eat." Tadano said, making his way to the kitchen. Alex nodded and sighed to himself, taking a moment to stretch his back.
"Ahh ok, alright, so if you've read the Komi manga like I have, you know that occasionally, occasionally, we'll take breaks from Komi to chill with other characters and catch up on them...so yeah, that's what I'm doing right now. Leave me alone." Alex said.
"Hm? What did you say?" Tadano asked from the kitchen.
"Nothing! I was just stretching! My back's been kinda hurting lately and I'm not sure why. I'm getting old," Alex joked with a chuckle, walking into the kitchen. "I like your place, by the way! It's nice. Way more orderly than mine." He complimented.
So Alex and Tadano sat down to have dinner. Alex's food was, perhaps unsurprisingly, quite different than what Tadano was used to having. It was good though! He enjoyed it. Once they were done eating, they set up Alex's playstation on their television and played video games for awhile.
"Man, I haven't hung out with anyone like this in awhile." Tadano said.
"In what way? Like having a friend over to play video games, or just like hanging out in general?" Alex asked.
"Having a friend over like this. I think the last person I had stay over was...Naijimi, and that was back in middle school." Tadano recalled.
"Ah yeah, Naijimi, heheh...what a character, huh?" Alex chuckled and shook his head a little.
"Yeah, tell me about it. So tell me, Alex, how are you accustoming to things here in Japan? Are you enjoying it?" Tadano asked, glancing over at him.
"Mhmm. It's different, haha, very different, but it isn't all bad. There's things I like and things I haven't quite figured out yet." Alex answered.
"Oh? What things do you like?" Tadano asked.
"Well, I like living in a place where you get all 4 seasons in a year," Alex laughed gently. "Where I used to live, it felt like summer 9-10 months out of the year, and it never snowed. I can't wait for winter to come." He said with an excited smile.
"Oh? Well, the weather is already starting to cool down now. It will only be a matter of time." Tadano said.
"Ah, it's gonna be great, man, I can't wait. I can finally bust out my collection of jackets and hoodies." Alex said with a nod.
"Oh? Jackets and hoodies?"
"Yeah. I have a collection of them." Alex said.
"You...collect jackets and hoodies?" Tadano asked, "What a strange thing to collect." He thought to himself.
"Yeah! I have like this double-decker clothing rack in my room where I hang them up. I'll have to show you a picture or something. I have like...30 of them." He said with a chuckle.
"What? That's so many!" Tadano said in surprise.
"Yeah, haha, it is. It's my thing," Alex laughed. "It's pretty bad. My clothing rack can't even hold them all. I have to use bungee cords to keep it from falling apart."
"He has a clothing addiction." Tadano thought to himself, "You'll have to send me a picture."
"Yeah! Definitely! I guess I'll have to keep 'em in good condition. Clothing here runs in different sizes too." Alex pointed out.
"Oh? Really?"
"Yeah! Everything runs smaller here! A medium here is like a friggin extra-small back in America!" Alex said a little more passionately.
"Oh wow. What other things are different in America?" Tadano asked curiously.
"What other things...? Uh...public transportation. There's more of an emphasis on walking and taking the train. I mean, everyone still uses cars, but it's more for long distances, not just going through the city, you know?" Alex described.
"Ohh I see, I see. So, in America, you drive everywhere?" Tadano asked.
"Yeah, you kinda have to, you know? Everything's too far apart to walk." Alex explained.
"Ohh...that must take a lot of gas." Tadano commented with a chuckle.
"Oh bro, don't even get me started on gas." Alex shook his head.
"Haha, sorry, sorry! I've never met anyone from America before, so it's really interesting to hear about!" Tadano said with a bright smile.
"Oh haha well I'm glad my mediocre experiences interest you." Alex said in a joking manner...
Now that it was starting to get late, Alex and Tadano retreated into the bedroom. Tadano climbed onto the top bunk where his sister usually slept, giving up his spot for Alex to sleep in. Alex chuckled as he rolled into the bottom bunk.
"Ah man, a bunk bed. I haven't slept in one of these since I was 10." Alex said with a chuckle.
"Haha. I've never slept in the top bunk before. My sister has always claimed the top spot." Tadano said with a chuckle.
"Oh yeah? Well how's the view from up there?" Alex asked with a chuckle.
"Heh, it's nice." Tadano answered.
"I can see my house from here," Alex said in a higher-pitched voice. Tadano scoffed and chuckled at this.
From below him, Tadano heard Alex's phone go off, interrupting the conversation. Alex chuckled to himself, "Ha, sorry. I don't usually leave my sound on." He said to Tadano as he responded to the message.
"Oh, you're fine. Is everything okay?" Tadano asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah! Yeah, it's just Monika texting me." Alex answered with a little chuckle.
"Oh, Monika? That's the girl with the green eyes in your literature club, right?" Tadano asked.
"Yeah, yeah! You met her, right? No wait, you did! You came to the club meeting that one time!" Alex remembered.
"Mhmm, yes! Monika, Yuri, Natsuki, and Sayori, right?" Tadano recalled.
"Yeah! I'm actually surprised you remember all of their names. That's impressive, man." Alex said.
"Ha, thank you, uh, it's nothing really. I'm just good with names." Tadano chuckled bashfully.
"Well yeah, Monika's my girlfriend." Alex said.
"Huh?! Really?! Wow!" Tadano exclaimed. This made Alex chuckle again.
"Do you wanna try sounding a little more surprised, buddy?" He teased Tadano.
"Ah! Sorry, haha, I just wasn't expecting you to say that! But that's good for you! I'm sure you two must be very happy!" Tadano said with a laugh, still nervous from Alex's teasing joke. He didn't want to come across the wrong way.
"Haha yeah, it's good, man. How did you like being there, by the way? I don't think I ever asked you." Alex asked now.
"Hm? In the literature club? It was nice, I enjoyed it. They're all really nice." Tadano said with a smile.
"Yeah, haha, cute too, right?" Alex said with a chuckle just to get a reaction out of Tadano. It worked too. Immediately, he got flustered.
"Eh, erm, I mean..."
"Oh come on, man, it's not that big of a deal to admit all the girls are cute." Alex rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Eheh...well, I guess not."
"Real question is who is the cutest though? Care to weigh in?" Alex asked with a smirk.
"Aha...well...I guess...Komi is..." Tadano answered slowly.
"Well, we know that's most peoples' answer. I'm curious what you think of the other girls: Yuri, Natsuki, and Sayori – I'm not including Monika because she's mine and she's the best and I'm biased." Alex joked.
"Eheheh, uh...well...Yuri was the girl who offered me tea, right?" Tadano asked in a quieter voice.
"Oh? The shy girl with long, purple hair who just so happens to be a little taller than average?" Alex described.
"Um...yes...her." Tadano scratched his cheek and chuckled awkwardly.
"Sounds like somebody has a type, buddy." Alex teased him further.
"...maybe."
"Haha, hey, nothing wrong with that. There's this girl I met from your class recently...uh, name starts with an O. Brown haired girl, super chill." Alex described.
"Onemine?"
"Yeah! Her! She's great! She's been super friendly." Alex said with a smile.
"Brown haired nice girl?" Tadano asked, "Is that a type?" He asked.
"Ha! Yeah! Didn't even think about it like that!" Alex laughed. Tadano chuckled and shook his head. Alex was a strange one, but he was always happy and laughing, and that made him enjoyable to be around.
"Well that's good. I'm glad that you're adjusting to things at Itan High so well. It sounds like it's a big adjustment for you." Tadano said.
"Aw man, you got no idea." Alex said with a chuckle...