Just a reminder cuz some of y'all are probably confused, Monika is Takeuchi-san, Sayori is Ono-chan, Natsuki is Nakano-san, and Yuri is Saito-san.
A/N: I made a quick fix, nothing too serious
I Need Coffee
"Hey, do you wanna hear a joke?" asked a voice in my head.
"Yeah?" I replied.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I awoke to the alarm on my phone blaring loudly like a siren. "Ugh," I groggily groaned as I reached my hand up to my eye to rub it. I yawned and stretched my arms out.
"Oh, son of a..." I whined to no one in particular about my dream. Well, rise and shine to another day here in Japan.
I got up, still pretty tired from last night. I stayed up pretty late again studying for a test and finishing a lab report that I procrastinated on. Man, I really gotta stop doing that. It ain't good for my health.
I went to the bathroom to freshen up. I looked in the mirror, taking a look at how screwed up my hair is. Good news, it's still there. Bad news, it's all messed up. I turned on the knob for the shower and waited for it to get warm.
In the meantime, I grabbed my toothbrush and put a small amount of toothpaste on the bristles. I stuck the brush in my mouth and hopped in the already steaming shower.
It was already a month since I started going to school in this country. It's currently May. I still go to school in June, but get off in July for summer vacation. That's when I'm coming back home to visit my home in Hawaii.
After showering, I got out, dried myself with a towel, and changed into my school uniform. Another average day, I guess.
I made my way downstairs and greeted the Kobayashi couple. Breakfast was served by the time I got down there, so I quickly ate it all before leaving to head to school.
Outside the house, I looked down the road to my left. That's where the school was. But I had one more thing to do before heading there.
I knocked on the door. Loudly. I had to make sure she was up. "Ono-chan! Are you up?" I cried out. A few seconds later, I heard the sound of footsteps thudding upstairs and the sound of a window opening. I stepped back to find the little bundle of sunshine leaning out of the window, her hair messed up, but her signature bow attached.
"I'm up!" she cried back. I've made it a habit to wake her up every school day and sometimes on the weekends since her parents are always out in the morning at work. She always oversleeps, so I've made it my duty to wake her up and wait for her before school.
I'm not annoyed with it. I'm perfectly fine with doing this. At least I learn how to be responsible for someone else so that when I have kids in the future, I would be ready.
I waited for her to get dressed and get ready for school. Usually, it would take her about ten to fifteen minutes to get ready. That's almost record time for a girl, I gotta say.
She opened her front door, her usual grin slapped on her face. "I'm ready!" She shouldered her dark blue bag filled with books.
We made our way to school. It was another bright sunny day and the walk was a breeze. The only thing that upset me was that the pink leaves of the cherry blossoms were not showing. I liked those leaves. They made the walk to school interesting.
It's not that Ono-chan is interesting, it's just that the scenery is back to what it usually should be. Oh well, there's always next year.
We got to school on time, as always. Ono-chan told me a couple of weeks back that she always manages to oversleep too much and arrive at school late last year. That dummy oughta get an alarm clock with a ship's horn as the bell. Is it because she just doesn't wanna get up?
I went to my locker to change into my white-and-blue uwabaki slippers. I replaced my slippers with my real pair of shoes. My locker was up at head height, so I had to bring my shoes near my face. I caught a whiff of my shoes. Oh God, the smell.
Holding in my gag reflex, I closed the door to my locker and shouldered my bag full of books. It was heavy because I don't put my books in my locker like the other students, but I didn't really care. After all those times I went with my older brother to the gym, this weight on my shoulder is nothing.
I walked alone to the classroom. In the hall and the classroom, students milled around, chatting with their friends about the latest gossip, the new RPG that they're gonna play, the answers to a test, et cetera et cetera.
I saw CJ just on his phone nearby. I walked over to the tall dude and said hello.
"Wassup," I said.
"Nothin' much," he responded, "What about you?"
"Eh, same old same old," I said as I leaned against the wall next to him.
"Anything new with the club?" he asked. I looked at him, wondering what he meant. When he winked and grinned, I immediately knew what he was talking about.
I clicked my tongue. "Asian girls ain't my type, bro. And I don't think yanks like me are their type." When I said yanks, I meant Yankees. In anime, Yankees are the blond hair, blue eyes character. It was supposed to be describing your average white guy, which I think is racist, ain't it? I don't really care though. It's just a stereotype.
"Oh, you never know," said CJ, "With your club, you can write a poem for them. Just write your way into their hearts."
"Haha, very funny," I rolled my eyes, "I actually didn't write a poem yet."
"Again?" asked CJ, clearly knowledgeable at the fact that I had done this before.
"C' mon, dude," I said in my defense, "I was working on the lab report and studied for that frigging test."
"...Yeah, that seems reasonable," he chuckled. Just as he said that the bell rang. CJ stood up and walked into the classroom. I followed.
Inside, the students were just talking with their friends or working at their desks. The teacher ain't here yet, so it's just free time. I walked over to my desk. I placed my bag at the foot of my desk and plopped onto my desk.
"Hey, Lee-san," a delicate, almost angelic voice called my name out. I looked to the source of the voice to find Takeuchi-san in her usual seat, pink pen in hand.
"Oh, hello Takeuchi-san," I smirked, "How are you doing on this beautiful Tuesday morning?" Cause I feel like crap from last night. Going at it like there's no tomorrow. God, that was so hard… Did I make that sound sexual in any way?
"Ugh, the usual," she said, "Tired. Completely pooped."
"Oh yeah, Tomita-sensei's test." Tomita-sensei (or Mr. Tomita) is our chemistry teacher. I took it in my sophomore year, but I sucked at it. I passed, but I passed with the lowest grade possible. I had the chance of either retaking biology or chemistry or taking physics, but I'm gonna take physics in college, so I chose to retake chemistry.
"Why today of all days?" she asked.
"Oh well, just do it, eh?"
"And the lab report just to rub salt in the wound."
Takeuchi-san rolled her eyes and groaned in exasperation. Even if that wasn't a classy move, I do admit, she still looks good doing it.
You know, if I had the confidence and the looks to ask her out, trust me, I would do it. The thing is that I had talked to other students around the school. Among all of them, Takeuchi-san's test scores and physical aptitude scores were the top three. On top of that, along with straight A's, she is the founder and president of a club that I happen to be in. Like I had said before, she's out of my league. I'm not even gonna try to be with her.
"Whatever. I'm just gonna take a nap in study hall," I said as I yawned. Just as I had taken my books out of my bag, the teacher walked in. Our class was about to begin. I'll just skip over the boring details of how our day went down.
Last period of the day: study hall
After a boring day, it was finally study hall. It's basically a high school version of recess. If only we had a playground. You could step out to the courtyard or to the vending machines or just straight up screwing around as long as you're not a disturbance.
Someone was playing the piano. I could tell the person playing the instrument was a couple of rooms down based on how loud it was. My brother and I shared a room. He had a keyboard in the room and he would play it. He also taught me a little bit of piano. Thanks to him, I'm able to identify the chords the person playing. The song that the piano was playing followed a repeating chord pattern, from the C chord to the A chord to the F chord to the G chord. I'm not gonna flesh out the details so that you won't be bored with this whole explanation.
I stayed in the room. Takeuchi-san stepped out for a bit, so CJ was sitting in her seat, working on his math homework. I took the opportunity to take a nap.
I started dreaming as soon as my head rested on the table. It was one of those what-if dreams. I guess it was because of my lonely life that I started dreaming about isn't totally BS and can actually happen. Some parts of this dream can be real. At least, I kinda hope it will be real.
The dream showed me glimpses of the possible future. I first saw me painting a big banner with Saito-san. The banner seemed to show the morning sun on one end and the night sky on the other. I looked back at her and noticed that she had some paint on her neck.
I felt my arms reach out with a hot towel, my hand gliding the cloth to the stained part of her neck, and massaged her neck to wipe off the paint. Saito-san seemed to enjoy it, with her eyes lazily closing as my handheld the warm cloth against her relaxed jaw.
My next vision showed me standing in the kitchen. On the table, there was a tray of cupcakes, adorned with pink and white frosting. The same colored frosting was also splattered against the table. Nakano-san was leaning against the wall next to that table, frosting on her face.
I felt myself go towards her. I put my hands against the wall and leaned over the girl, my hand gently wiping the frosting from her face.
Then, the vision stops and cuts to black. Slowly, I felt myself open my eyes. I saw that I was laid down in a bed. It was not my bed, from the looks of it, but I could tell I wasn't alone on it.
I looked to my right and I saw that familiar face of Ono-chan sleeping so peacefully. She almost looked like an angel. She wasn't wearing her bow or any familiar clothing, just a pink long-sleeved blouse that served as her pajamas.
Her eyes fluttered open and blinked out the tiredness out of her eyes. She met my gaze and smiled. We stared at each other for a second or two. Then, all of a sudden, a sound that sounds like a circuit shorting out blared in my ears. It sounded like TV static.
Her head seemed to pixelate a little, her eyes turned green and her hair turned brown and long enough to reach over her shoulders. In a flash, I saw Takeuchi-san's face replace Ono-chan's.
My eyes snapped open. The wooden desk that I was sleeping on felt rough. My cheek was on the cold, polished wood, a pool of drool dripping from my mouth. I lifted my head and rubbed my temples with the palm of my hand. I yawned and stretched my back, hearing it crack.
"Wakey wakey, eggs, and bakey," mumbled CJ in a deadpanned voice, who was still working on his homework in Takeuchi-san's desk. He didn't even look up at me. He stayed focused on his homework.
"Mmmnnn," I groaned, "How long was I out?"
"Bell's 'bouta ring," CJ said as he clicked his pen and started packing up, "You didn't get no work done."
"Yeah, can you just, like, text me the answers, would ya?" I asked. The guy was smart, not gonna lie. I would trust all of his answers to the homework. And, of course, I could always ask for help with these math problems.
"Naw, fool," CJ clicked his tongue, "You ain't gonna learn nothing if you ain't gonna put the effort into it." He finished packing up all of his things and shouldered his bag. "No pain, no gain, brother."
"Aight, calm down, Confucius," I joked. Just as I said that the bell rang. Students started filing out of the classroom, eager to go home. Except for me and CJ. I got the club, and CJ got the basketball team. Now, I just gotta wait for the president to start the activities for the day.
"Lee-san," beckoned a voice from the door. CJ and I turned to look who called out to me. In the doorway, Takeuchi-san stood, a box full of papers in her arms. It looked heavy from the way she was carrying it. Maybe I should help.
"Hey, Takeuchi-san," I answered back.
"My friend in the student council asked me to help them because they're shorthanded today. Sayori's also coming with me. Can you tell Yuri and Natsuki that there's no club meeting today?" she asked as she adjusted her grip on the box.
"Yeah, can do," I replied, "Also, do you need help with that?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."
"You sure?" I asked, "You look like you're having trouble with that." I pointed at the box that she was holding.
"No, it's fine, I got it," she quickly shot down my offer to help her. Well, if she doesn't want me to help her, I'll respect her word that she got it. Time's a'changin', you know?
"Oh okay," I said, nodding my head.
"Thanks!" she said as she smiled. She turned around and walked away, her skirt somehow dramatically swaying from the force of the pivot. I ended up seeing the point where her black thigh highs end. I don't know why, but I got a little excited. Did I just awaken a new fetish?
"Damn," muttered CJ, "And you stay after school with her." I looked at him. I grinned and shrugged my shoulders.
"I'm nothing compared to her, bro," I said as I looked away.
"Don't sell yourself out, man," CJ told me.
"Yeah, a'ight," I shrugged off his comment.
CJ clicked his tongue. "Whatever, man. I' ma head out now. Peace."
"Cya," I called back out to the tall dude walking away. I put my head down onto the desk, using my arms as a pillow, and shut my eyes for a second. I didn't even get any rest because a faint yet audible "hello" startled me awake. I looked up to find Saito-san hiding behind the door, the sun hitting her hair and her eyes, making them gleam.
"H-hey, Saito-san," I stammered, "You could come in if you want."
Reluctantly, Saito-san slowly removed herself from the door and walked in, looking a little nervous for some reason.
I have already deducted that she gets nervous around guys. Every time I or another dude walks by, I always see her shift in her seat or change her stance. Maybe it's the pressure between having an intimate relationship with the opposite sex in the teenage years that was getting to her. Holy moly, did I just turn into a psychologist with a couple of PhDs for a second?
"Wh-where's Monika and Sayori?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, here's the thing," I said, "President Takeuchi-san and Vice President Ono-chan are helping out the student council today due to them being shorthanded." Of course, you know that Takeuchi-san is the president of the club. Ono-chan is also the vice president, but that's really just an honorary title. Sometimes even she forgets that she's a vice president.
"S-so what of the club?" she asked.
"I guess it's canceled."
"Canceled?" said another familiar voice coming from the doorway. I looked at the doorway one last time to see Nakano-san standing there, a pissed/annoyed look on her face.
"Yeah," I said, "Just go home for today." I stood up, picking up my belongings, and began to walk out of the door. I walked past her. Nakano-san didn't budge, not even an inch. Then, she reached out and grabbed the sleeve of my blazer. "Nakano-san," I began talking, "are you okay?"
"What if I don't want to go home?" I heard a feeble voice squeak from her small form. I looked back at her as if she was crazy. What kind of sane person wants to stay at school any longer?
I wanted to say for her to just go home, but that might come off as rude, so I just kept my mouth shut. I turned around and gave Saito-san a confused look. She responded by returning with a worried face. Is it because there's something going on at home?
I needed to go home. I was exhausted and I need sleep. Staying up all night is not a good idea. I might even have to do it again for another exam tomorrow. But seeing Nakano-san like this genuinely made me feel like I had to do something for her. I turned to Nakano-san.
"Tell you what," I said, "You and I go to the nearest coffee shop and hang around there for the time being instead of going home. How about that?"
Nakano-san turned to me, her face a little red. Oh crap, did I just ask out Nakano-san on a date? She turned away to avert her gaze, obviously embarrassed.
"F-fine!" she aggressively stuttered, "At least let Yuri come along too so that you don't get any smart ideas!"
"S-sure," I stammered. I turned to Saito-san and asked her if she wanted to come. She ended up saying yes so the three of us went out together.
As we walked on the sidewalk, we stayed silent. I didn't know what to talk about. I'm assuming Saito-san didn't want to talk. I don't know if Nakano-san's still in a pissy mood, so I don't want to try anything at the moment.
We got to the coffee shop that was down the street. It looked a little homey. There was a couple of tables with metal chairs and umbrellas. I opened the door and held it open for the two ladies like the gentleman I am. Inside, it was a little dark. The walls were made up of dark brown polished wood planks. The chairs and tables were also wooden. There were two brown loveseats facing each other with a wooden coffee table in the middle. There was a couple of guys in suits in the corner, typing away at their laptops. Other than that, there any other customers. I guess this coffee house doesn't get a lot of business.
We headed to the counter. There were many delicacies, ranging from chocolate frosted donuts to strawberry and blueberry danish pastries. The barista greeted us and asked what we would like to have.
I spoke first. "I'll take one medium hot latte with sugar and a couple of pumps of chocolate. I'll also take a blueberry danish pastry."
"I'll have the taro bubble tea," said Saito-san.
"And I'll have the strawberry bubble tea.," Nakano-san spoke up. Bubble tea? I thought, They have bubble tea?
Bubble tea is a drink that had originated in Taiwan in the '80s. It's still pretty popular in Asia, with rising popularity back home in the States. I don't remember why it's popular. It probably was made by one of those hashtag challenges. Like the Tide pod challenge or something. Either that or it's because of K-pop becoming popular in America.
"One medium latte, taro bubble tea, strawberry bubble tea, and one danish pastry coming right up," the barista said.
"They sell bubble tea here?" I asked Saito-san.
"Y-yes," she replied, "Natsuki and I would come here on our way home every now and then to indulge ourselves with this drink."
"You walk home with Nakano-san?" I asked.
"Natsuki, Monika, and I live on the same street," Saito-san explained, "You and Sayori live in the exact opposite direction from the school."
"No wonder why I don't see you guys when on our way to school," I commented.
"Senpai, it's not like we'd want to see your face in the morning," Nakano-san shot that comment at me.
"Nakano-san," I said, turning to the short girl, "Ouch."
The barista returned with the two bubble tea drinks. The purple taro and pink strawberry drinks had little black pearls at the bottom. I had bubble tea before. Those pearls are just sweet and chewy delicacies.
My drink and pastry came a little later. My coffee, which was in a brown cup, had a sleeve around it to protect the drinker from burning his hand on the cup. The pastry came in a brown paper bag. After paying the barista, I grabbed both the coffee and the pastry and came over to sit down with the girls at the couches.
I set my coffee down onto the table and took out my pastry from the bag as I sat down on the couch across from the girls. They were sipping away at their drinks, Nakano-san a little more intensely. Saito-san was reading a book with both of her hands while drinking her purple tea. She took another sip as she flipped a page at the same time… Wait.
"Saito-san?" I beckoned.
"Yes, Lee-san?" she responded, not looking away from her book, "What is the matter?"
"You're smart, you know that?" I complimented her, trying to tease the quiet reader.
"W-what?" stammered Saito-san, looking away from her book. "W-what m-makes you say that?"
"Your drink," I said, pointing at her purple taro cup. She was indeed holding her cup. Just not with her hands. Her, uh, chest was holding up her drink, the straw conveniently close to her mouth. Right. I've been seeing more posts on r/anime about this challenge.
I remembered why it was being more popular in the anime community. The Tapioca Challenge. It first started with Japanese women on Twitter holding their drinks that way while they do something like check their phone or work at a computer, which I think is multitasking at it's finest. That ultimately led to a butt-ton of fan art on social media such as Twitter and Reddit. It's smart too, I guess.
"O-oh," Saito-san sputtered, clearly flustered. She looked away, embarrassed. "I f-forgot you were h-here. I-I don't n-normally do this around m-men and I-"
"It's fine," I said, holding up my hand up to tell her to stop fretting, "It's not at all a problem." I grinned. "Just making use of what you got." I took a bite out of my Danish pastry.
"Hmph!" cried Nakano-san, "And so what? You don't need those things to hold a drink! All you need is your hands!"
I turned to her. Swallowing the bite, I grabbed my coffee cup and leaned back into the chair. "And what if you're gonna read a book or check your phone? Who's gonna hold your drink?" I laughed loudly at my own remark. I had to take a sip of coffee to stop myself from laughing.
"Oh, shut it Lee-senpai!" Nakano-san pouted, looking away.
Alright, I admit it, I sound like a total asshole when it comes to Nakano-san. I don't even know why. My sadistic side comes out whenever I'm talking to her. It's weird. I always try to tick her off, even if she has a mean punch and a short fuse. I'm kinda mean to Ono-chan, but, well, it's because she's an airhead. We play it off as a joke, but I don't think Nakano-san's all too willing to agree. God, I really should be a little nicer, don't you think?
"Fine," I said, raising my arms up in surrender, "Your wish is my command."
"Hmph!" she huffed, crossing her arms. Was I a little too mean?
"Anyways," I asked, "do you guys come here often?"
"We come here once or twice a week to get some bubble tea with Monika. This place, despite it not as busy, makes the best coffee and tea in the city," said Saito-san.
"Yeah," I said, taking another sip, "coffee's not half bad, not gonna lie,"
"I'm glad you like it," Yuri said with a small smile. Seeing her face like that genuinely made me feel good. It reminded me of my younger sister. She never gives a big, toothy grin, more like a small, conservative smile. A smile full of innocence, a trait that I have lost a few years ago.
"It's a good place to hang out when you don't want to be at home anyways," Nakano-san said, finishing the last of the little black pearls in her drink and placing the empty cup onto the table.
"Speaking of," I said, putting my coffee next to her tea, "you didn't seem like you wanted to go home." I looked at Nakano-san, who shifted in her seat to a more comfortable position.
"Yeah?" she asked, "What about it?"
"I'm just curious as to why."
"Why do you care?" sneered Nakano-san.
"U-um," I stammered, "for a second, it looked like the thought of you going home troubled you more than staying at school, which is ridiculous in my opinion."
Nakano-san sighed, putting her elbows on her knees. "The truth is," she began, "I guess I can say it's because of strict parents."
"I know what you mean," I said.
"No you don't," she said, "I'm different."
We finished our drinks in silence after that. When we exited the shop, we parted ways, me going in the opposite direction than the girls. I don't know why, but I kept thinking about what Nakano-san had said.
That's what they all say. That they're different. Lemme tell you something. I've seen worse. I've been through worse. She may be different, yes, but she's never seen true pain. She's never seen what I've been through.
Sawyer quit thinking, I told myself as I felt myself falling again. Whatever. I'll just go home, do my homework, and worry about tomorrow.
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. Uwabaki slippers are a type of slippers meant to be worn inside buildings such as home, school, work, or any other building that does not allow the use of street shoes.
A/N: Hello guys! I'm back from Asia, suffering from jetlag and everything. When I was over there, I was actually working on chapter five out of boredom, so that was good. I ended up making four different drafts because they were all depressing. So, here's the fifth and final version. I kinda rushed through it this time, sorry about that. There was also a paragraph in this chapter about the piano, that was me just being a smartass musician. Let's just say the song from a certain game. Gonna cut this note short, see ya!
