Okay, Everyone!
After the exchange meeting
"So," I asked, "how's Japan for you all?" We were already in the country for a little more than a week.
We were all talking outside the classroom after our little exchange student meeting that we were set to have every Wednesday. CJ was inside doing some extra work that he didn't get done during class. I was talking to three other exchange students. All three girls were wearing the school uniform that everyone was supposed to be wearing here in this school. All three of them also were wearing identical pairs of Ray Bans. They looked like nerds, but good looking. I find it kinda… hot… in my opinion.
All of us met during the exchange program. Because we were going to spend a lot of time together, we all decided to take the time to get to know each other a little. The cheery Kaylee loved playing varsity volleyball and soccer, while carefree Rose likes to take long walks on the Hawaiian coastline. Finally, there was the calm and quiet Zara, who puts the two girls on a leash.
"I. Totes. Love it!" exclaimed Kaylee. She fixed a lock of blond hair that was in her eye.
"Okay, okay. Calm ya ti-" Rose began to say, her red hair gleaming in the afternoon sunlight that streaked through the nearby window.
"Woah, woah, woah. We're at school. You can't say that," explained Zara. She shook her head, her black hair swinging from the headshake.
"No one's watching. Knock yourself out," CJ walked through the door. He also was wearing the school uniform that everyone wears.
"Hey CJ! Wassup?" I gave him a fist bump. He returned the gesture, then walked over and stood next to Kaylee.
"Nothing much. Basketball practice today." CJ smiled.
"And lemme guess. Those three gonna watch?" I asked. I pointed at the three girls who flanked the tall student.
"You betcha!" exclaimed Kaylee. She pumped her arms up like a cheerleader.
"Kaylee always ends up dragging me everywhere," sighed Rose, "so I guess I'm going."
"I'm bored anyway," said Zara, "might as well, ya know?"
"What about you?" asked CJ.
"No, brother. I already joined a club," I grinned.
"A club?" asked Zara, "Which one?" She cocked her head to the side as if to be questioning me.
"The Literature Club," I replied.
"Isn't that the club with a lot of girls in it?" asked Rose.
I pointed to myself. "Only guy in the club."
"Sawyer's a playa!" exclaimed CJ.
I winked. "Well, I gotta get going. They're probably waiting for me right now.
Outside
The room where the Literature Club was held was all the way across the campus, which is a pretty big school. It would usually take the average person about five minutes to cross the whole school.
It was a nice day outside. My route to the clubroom took me outside to the courtyard, past all the wooden benches and pink falling leaves of the sakura trees. In a way, it is a very calming experience to watch the leaves fall from the tree. It gives Japan its little aesthetic.
I was walking pretty fast to get to the classroom. I didn't really give any heed to my speed because I had things on my mind. I wonder how my brother is doing back in Honolulu. I worry about him a lot, even though nothing's happening there. I just don't really know why.
My brother was in the navy. We lived near the Pearl Harbor-Hickam naval/air base in Honolulu. He flies fighter jets there as a pilot. That sounds fun, to be honest. I would do that, but I have to focus on my school work first.
"You're in no rush, you know that right?" someone whispered in my ear. I turned around to see the little cinnamon bun smiling at me, her hands clasped behind her. My thoughts dissipated as if someone had swiped their hand in a cloud.
"Oh, hey Ono-chan," I said to her in English. Wait, why am I speaking English to her?
"It's not morning, silly!" she exclaimed. It's not morning? What do you mean by… Ohhhh, okay. I'm an idiot.
"O-oh. Um, konichiwa, Ono-chan," I put my hand up the back of my head, grinning an embarrassed grin.
"Ah, it's okay. I know you were just trying to say hi in English," Ono-chan put her arms on her hips like Superman. She shook her head as if she was understanding my mistake.
Ahead of us, there was a fountain with a figure of three dolphins leaping out of the water. Their mouths spurt the clear liquid into the pool below. Inside of the fountain was a bunch of coins. They probably used those coins to keep that fountain going.
"How about we sit down for a little bit," suggested Ono-chan. She decided to take a seat at the edge of the spewing fountain. I sat down next to her. "So what's on your mind?"
"Nothing much," I said, "Just thinking about my brother. I just miss him."
"Homesick?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, putting my elbows on my knees and leaning forward, "I guess I am already missing home."
"I wonder if my parents get homesick," Ono-chan said.
"Hm? What do you mean?" I asked.
"They're always out of town on business. Both of them work as partners at this one pretty famous anime company."
"Does that mean that you're always alone at home?" I asked.
"Not anymore! I can just ask you to keep me company!" she exclaimed.
Me? Alone with a girl at her house? Uh oh. This is not good! What do I do if she asks me? Do I say no? Oh, that would sound rude. What if I say yes? Then now what? Do we, I dunno, do "it"? Or do I just hang out with her like how I do with the boys?
As I tried to rack my brain to find the best solution, Ono-chan spoke up.
"So tell me about your brother? What makes him so special?" she asked.
"Oh, him? Ah, he's, like, ten years older than me. The best big brother there ever was. Played football together, went to the beach and asked out girls together, worked out together, did everything together."
"He's… older?" Ono-chan asked.
"Yeah. Ten years. Why?"
"Because," she put her pointer fingers together, "um, hehehehe." She smirked suspiciously.
"Don't tell me you're into…" I looked at Ono-chan's guilty face. She tried to avoid eye contact by looking the other way. "Oh, Lord, he already has a fiance for Pete's sake. He's getting married during summer vacation when I'm coming home for a little bit."
"Just kidding, I'm not that kind of girl." Ono-chan winked at me.
"Speaking of which, what about you? Any guys?" I asked.
"I had a friend whom I've known for a very long time. He used to be like you! He always went down to my house to make sure I'm awake, walked to school together, and even joined the Literature Club even though he's the only guy."
"Oh yeah? Where's he now?" I asked.
"He's… somewhere," Ono-chan stared off into space for a second, dropping her usual nature for a bit. She then looked at me and smiled, "He'll be back! I just know it!"
I really should stop talking about guys with her. Sounds like it's a sensitive issue for her. I'll just lay off on the asking for now.
"So what about you?" asked Ono-chan, "Any girls on your mind?"
"U-um, no. N-not really," I stammered.
"You sure? C'mon, be honest. I know you're eyeing those girls in the Literature Club," Ono-chan teased, "You got Yuri and Natsuki as the dynamic duos, and you got Monika as the popular smart girl."
"N-no, I'm not!" I replied quickly. Ono-chan laughed.
"Hehe! Let's just go back to the club. Natsuki's probably getting hungry," Ono-chan stood up. I followed her.
"Nakano-san? What do you mean?" I asked.
"She wanted some cookies from the bakery down the road, but she forgot her money again. I wanted to go down there to smell the food, so I volunteered to get her cookies. She's waiting for me now." I just noticed that in her hands was a small bag. It was probably the cookies that Nakano-san wanted.
"Well, we shouldn't keep the Pink Piranha hungry," I joked. I remembered that remark that guy had said when I first encountered Nakano-san.
"Pink Piranha? How did you find out about that nickname?" asked Ono-chan.
"I, uh, heard it somewhere. Why? Is something wrong?"
"Um, nothing. I was just wondering. Nothing is wrong with that," Ono-chan smiled.
"O-okay then."
At the clubroom
The walk to the Literature Club took us some time. We had some small talk on the way, but nothing much. We passed the gym. I peered in and saw the team playing basketball. CJ, of course, was much taller than them, with him having the upper hand. Quite literally, I might add.
When we got to the club, I opened the door. Ono-chan walked in and gave the cookies to Nakano-san, who took it and quickly started wolfing it down. Saito-san was sitting in a desk near the front of the classroom while Takeuchi-san was working nearby. I walked in with a spring in my step.
I walked up to the hungry girl to greet her. "Hey, Pink Piranha," I waved.
Nakano-san put the cookie onto the desk and straight up tackled me to the ground. She was over me, her arms nearby my head and shoulders. Her legs have been wrapped around mine so I couldn't move them. Second time having a girl on top of me. I have to ask, is this the lucky pervert clique that I see in anime all the time?
"What did you call me?" Nakano-san growled through gritted teeth. She had her eyes closed, but I could tell her eyes were filled with anger.
"Pink Piranha?" I squealed in fear. Nakano-san drew back her arm, her small hand clenched tightly into a fist.
"I-is Pink Princess any better?" I squeaked. She opened her eyes, her pink eyes flared up in anger. I put my arms up to my face and braced for the hit. "Not the face! Not the face!" I cried out.
"Natsuki, I think he gets it," giggled Ono-chan. I looked at the girl, who was laughing out of control. Wait, did she set me up? She told me that there was nothing wrong with the name.
"Fine," grumbled Nakano-san. She stood up and grabbed the cookie that was resting on her table, nibbling it bit by bit.
"I guess you ain't you if you're hungry," I said to no one in English.
I stood up and apologized to Nakano-san. Don't call her that unless you want her to throw hands.
I also said hi to Takeuchi-san and Saito-san. They were watching whatever was going on but didn't bother to say anything. Nakano-san is scary even if you are not the target.
"So," said Takeuchi-san, "Let's get down to business. Does everyone have their poems?"
I reached into my bag and pulled out the red folder that I had for my poems. Every day, we're supposed to write a poem and read it to everyone in the club. I've written poems before, but it was a long time ago. I decided to try my hand at this again in this club.
Everyone else pulled out their poems. Nakano-san grabbed a folded piece of paper from her inner jacket pocket. Saito-san took out her poem from her purple one-inch binder. Takeuchi-san took hers out of her bag. And of course, Ono-chan pulled out a paper ball out of her pocket. She must've had made her poem last minute. That dummy.
"Okay, everyone! Let's share our poems to each other," suggested Takeuchi-san, "Since Lee-san is the newest club member here, let's let him have the first choice!"
Oh crap, I have to choose one of the girls to show my poem to?
"U-uh," I stammered, "I'm fine with you guys choosing. I don't wanna make a choice."
"Well, then!" exclaimed Ono-chan, "I'll choose Lee-kun!"
Nakano-san ended up picking Saito-san. Takeuchi-san, on the other hand, decided to make last-minute tweaks of her poems. Ono-chan hands me her crumpled piece of paper.
Her poem was called Dear Sunshine. It seemed pretty short for a poem that you had all night to write. I would've guessed that she had written it on short notice, such as this morning before she left her home or during class.
The handwriting was still kind of neat. Or at least, it was legible enough to read.
This is what it said:
The way you glow through my blinds in the morning
It makes me feel like you missed me.
Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed.
Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes.
Are you asking me to come out and play?
Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?
I look above. The sky is blue.
It's a secret, but I trust you too.
If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever.
But you weren't there to wake me up this morning.
The only thing that woke me up was the smell of food.
By the way,
I want breakfast.
Kinda cute, in my opinion… if you had written it in five minutes. But, for five minutes, that's a pretty good poem, even for me and my slow brain in the morning.
"It was good," I said, "But did you write this last night?"
"N-no," Ono-chan stammered. She did a sort of gesture where she put her index fingers together. "I wrote it this morning." She grinned. "Hehehe," she giggled.
I took my finger and touched her forehead. "Boop," I said, "It's not a good idea to procrastinate. It can be the first symptom of 'senioritis'." I remembered at a seminar with a college student that I had attended is to stay on top of your game, especially in the senior year. He had used the word "senioritis" to describe the laziness of a senior in high school since it was the year where they can have it easy. The moment you get lazy, you lose your will to keep that grade up.
"Although, it was good," I said, "But I do have one question. What did you mean by when the sun wasn't there?"
"Well, um," Ono-chan seemed to pause for a second before explaining what it meant, "My blinds were down and weren't letting any sunshine come in. I only woke up because I left a note on the door for you to come in and make breakfast."
Before you say that I am a home invader, Ono-chan had put a Post-It on her door, saying for me to come in and make breakfast for her. She had left the door unlocked (which is kind of stupid to do even if crime rates in Japan are low) and allowed me to come in and wake her. She is kind of demanding like a child, but she's still my friend. Of course, I should help her. Besides, cooking is fun.
"To be honest," I said, "I wrote mine in the middle of class. I forgot to write it last night as well. So here you are." I handed her my poem. I called it Discover the Stars. This is what it said.
"From the tallest of mountains
To the deepest of seas,
We have grown up in a world
Where we can witness everything.
From the highest of the skies
To the lowest of canyons,
We have evolved into a race
Where we can explore the world.
In fact, we have explored the world.
Well, most of it, anyway.
And now we look up at the night sky,
The clear blue day.
Oh! how beautiful the Sun,
A burning star in the sky.
Oh! how beautiful the moon,
Who only dared to stop the Sun's rays every so often.
Oh! the magnificence of Jupiter,
The might of Mars.
Oh! the significant insignificance of Pluto,
The grace of Venus.
We have created vehicles,
Ships, cars, planes.
From the invention of the wheel
To the creation of the rocket.
Now we may soar through the skies
And discover the stars."
"That poem," Ono-chan said, "It was good. For a beginner." Her cheeks went red like a tomato, her posture shrinking like a small animal. "I think I kind of like it."
"Did I really do good?" I asked.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed, "For a beginner, I think it was good!"
"Really? I just came up on it on a whim," I said.
"I have to ask though," said Ono-chan, "Did you write it for anyone here in this club specifically?"
"What makes you say that?" I asked. I put my hand to my chin, rubbing my jaw with my thumb and forefinger.
"Well… The line that said 'To find love behind that door, Just to give you my pen and writing' sounds like you were going to try and find love in this club by writing to a member."
"U-um," I stammered, "I d-didn't mean anything by that! Albeit, I was thinking of the club, but I wasn't planning to find love by writing!"
"Oh," said Ono-chan, her voice a little quieter than usual and her smile dropped, "I just asked because a friend of mine was doing that last year. He tried making poems for each girl here, making them all really happy."
"He… sounds like a nice guy. One who wanted to see other people smile," I commented, "I would like to be like him."
"It's my job to keep everyone happy, you know that, right?" Ono-chan grinned from ear to ear.
"Though," she reduced her toothy smile to a smirk, "he really was the one who kept me happy."
"Heh," I said without putting much thought into it, "Well, I can make you happy now." I used my hand to adjust a lock of hair that was about to fall into my eye. While doing that, I got that lock of hair into my eye by accident. I closed that one eye, doing some sort of winking gesture.
Ono-chan didn't say anything. She just turned redder and redder. God, how red can she be? She nervously giggled… as if someone had said something romantic in a charismatic way.
Wait… Wait… Wait. Wait. Wait, wait, wait! My eyes widened at the sudden realization at what I had just said.
"I, uh, didn't mean anything by that!" I stammered, trying to make her understand that I didn't mean to say it like that.
Takeuchi-san must've been listening in to our awkward conversation because she called time and we switched partners. I showed my poem to Saito-san and Nakano-san, who both said that it was better suited for Ono-chan. I thanked them for their feedback and read their poems. As I had expected, Nakano-san's poem was simple while Saito-san's was elegant. I really think that they are polar opposites attracted to each other.
I then showed my poem to Takeuchi-san. She noted that it was good for a beginner and gave her feedback.
"Well, here's Monika's writing tip of the day!" she announced to me, "When you are writing a poem, be sure to keep the same rhythm in mind. If you have trouble, take up a percussion instrument such as piano, keep up with the tempo and beat, then try and add words to the beat. Soon, your poem will sound a lot like a song!"
Well, that is true. Poems should follow a general rhythm. Percussion instruments usually can keep a beat and a rhythm. My poem needs a little work with the rhythm, but I would say that it is kind of good.
"Thanks, Takeuchi-san. I'll put that tip to good use!" I replied. She smiled, closing her eyes in the process. Not because she's Asian, but because her smile is large and radiant.
"Not a problem!" Takeuchi-san held her hand up limply, her thumb on her middle finger and her index finger pointing outwards. "I haven't read Sayori's or Natsuki's poems, so you can hang around until everyone has read everyone's poems!"
I smiled and thanked her again for the tip then sat down at the desk next to Saito-san.
"Hey, Saito-san," I said to the quiet girl, who had her nose buried in a book. The jacket looked a little familiar. It kind of looked like…
"H-hello Lee-san," the purple haired girl stammered softly. She adjusted her hair with her hand, her face red from embarrassment I think. I really think she's shy around guys.
"What'cha reading?" I asked.
"I-it's actually the book that you were looking at over at the library. The Portrait of Markov." Saito-san closed her book, leaving her finger at the page she was on and showed the cover to me. The book cover had a red eye around a red background. The name "The Portrait of Markov" was written in New Times Roman.
"I actually haven't gotten around to check it out at the library and read it," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Well," said Saito-san, opening the book back open, "I just started reading. Would you like to read with me? We can share the book."
"S-sure," I stammered. I brought my chair closer and grabbed one end of the book while Saito-san grabbed the other. Every time we wanted to change the page, Saito-san brought the previous page to my direction, my thumb gracefully catching the thin piece of paper as it came down. We continued reading the book for the rest of the club.
Every now and then, I looked back at Saito-san. Her calm expression always scanned the book as fast as possible. Her lips were pursed every time there was a dramatic part of the story.
The story itself ain't even half bad. It was about an AI program named Markov stuck behind the walls of some sort of computer. It kept trying and trying to get to the real world, into our reality, only to be deleted by its creators in its third attempt.
When this one scientist named Vasily tries to bring it back, the AI only ends up deleting itself. Now, whenever Vasily had a few minutes to talk to the program before committing seppuku every time it was revived, he tried to convince it to not kill itself. Meanwhile, every time Markov deletes itself, scary things start happening to Vasili's coworkers. Some go insane after an all-nighter while working with a computer, while others have their tech shut off for no reason and when they restart their devices, all they see is a red eye that would not go away. I don't know how it ends, but it is a pretty interesting book.
When the afternoon sun started going down, the room turned orange. Saito-san closed the book and put it away. "So, how do you like it so far?" she asked.
"It's pretty interesting."
"R-really?" I could've sworn I saw Saito-san's ears perk up like a dog hearing his name, "Well, I guess I can give you this then." She pulls out another copy of The Portrait of Markov.
"Another one?" I asked.
"Yeah. I happened to order two from Amazon by accident. I brought both of them to school, hoping to give one to someone. So, here I am, giving you my second copy!" She held out the book to me. I gladly accepted it and smiled.
"Great!" she said, shouldering her bag, "I should get going now. I walk home with Monika and Natsuki."
"Alrighty! See you tomorrow!"
"I hope we can talk about the book some more!" she called back, exiting the doorway of the club and walking with Takeuchi-san and Nakano-san, who was waiting outside for her.
"Well," I turned to Ono-chan, who was packing up her stuff as well, "Shall we get going?" I asked.
"Yeah," the deredere girl replied, "Let's."
Honorifics: (Underlined honorifics are the ones used in current chapter)
-san: Most common, it is an all-purpose suffix that can be used in any situation where politeness is expected. Basically the titles Mr. Ms. etc.
-sama: This suffix is one level higher than "-san" and is used to confer great respect.
-kun: This suffix is commonly used at the end of boys' names to express endearment.
-chan: Feminine version of -kun.
Senpai: Superior/Upperclassmen.
Sensei: Master.
Translation notes:
1. When Sawyer says "Oh, hey, Ono-chan", that was supposed to be a play on words. The Japanese way to say "good morning" is ohayou (gozaimasu). With saying the words oh and hey, as well as the first part of Sayori's last name, Sawyer ends up saying ohayou No-chan when school was out for the day.
2. Konichiwa means "good afternoon" or "hello".
A/N: Konichiwa, pendejos! Just a quick word. First, I am in the middle of the testing season at school. First testing season of high school, and it already makes me want to commit delete myself. I hate my IB program and my AP class. I just took that AP World History class and I didn't even finish that shit. Too much work. I'm merely writing this fanfic at the moment to keep me calm. In July, I will try and pick up a steady update schedule, but this time, I'll update sporadically. The reason why in July is because I'm gonna be going away for a whole month to some third world country with shit internet so I won't post anything for the time being.
Next, if you have noticed, I have made my own poem for Sawyer. I wrote that in five minutes. I never write poems, so please help me if you want. If I just grab a poem from the internet, I'll let you know here in the A/Ns.
I'm 'bouta head out. Peace.
A/N: I made another poem because my original one was garbage. I made this one a while ago and decided to put it here.
