First Date Jitters

A/N: I ended up writing a long-ass chapter, so I decided to split it in between two parts, more info in the note at the end.

That Saturday

Baseball. America's favorite past time. One of the most popular sports in the US, alongside basketball and football. One of the oldest national sports in America. It was popular back to the Great Depression, where the only place Americans could go in trying times was the diamond-shaped field of legends. And it still is pretty popular with the folks from the US.

So you would think that I would be awake on the Saturday morning where I was supposed to go with Monika to a baseball game, right? Oh hell no. Hell to the freakin' no.

"Ugh," I groaned as I groggily lifted my right arm to my face, slapping myself awake. "What time is it?"

I reached over to the nightstand by my head and grabbed my phone, pressing the button to turn on the screen. My eyes widened when I read the time out loud. "It's already two-thirty in the afternoon?" I exclaimed as I forced myself to stand, "Holy shit, I slept through all morning!"

You see, the reason why I woke up so late was that, well, I was up until three in the morning playing video games with my buddies online. The only time we could play is when most of Japan is sleeping. So I forced myself to stay awake and then ended up sleeping throughout the morning.

And of course, I was planning to meet up with Natsuki today to tell her about Yuri. I was thinking of going in the morning before I go to the ballgame with Monika, but, well, too late now. Doing the math, if it is two in the afternoon, and it takes me probably thirty minutes to get dressed and to get something to eat, and it would take me about thirty minutes to walk to Natsuki's house, and assuming that I at least hang around that area for an hour to keep Natsuki company, I would be late to the game.

Damnit, I scolded myself, I should've gone to bed sooner. I don't think I can make it to Natsuki's house and back to my house to get ready for the game on time. Crap, this sucks.

I unlocked my phone and opened up the text messaging app. Tapping on Yuri's contact, I wrote "Hey Yuri, could you tell Natsuki I'm gonna meet up with her after the baseball game? Probably around 9:30-ish? I woke up late and I don't have time before Monika picks me up."

After a few seconds, Yuri replies quickly, saying "That is alright, Lee-san. I shall tell her as I am heading out in a few minutes." Thank God she didn't even question why I was going to Natsuki's.

"Thanks, Yuri," I texted before shoving my phone into the pocket of my PJs.

The smell of something savory filled my nose as soon as my foot landed on the final step of the flight of stairs leading to the first floor. The scent of fresh vegetables being steamed in a broth flooded the house and suddenly I was hungry.

"Ah, good morning, Sawyer," said Ms. Kobayashi.

"Mornin' Sawyer."

"Hey, Sawyer, good morning."

I groggily rubbed my eyes and groaned. "Mornin' guys," I said to the three people in the room: Mr. and Ms. Kobayashi… Wait a minute.

"Sayori?" I exclaimed as I looked over to the couch to see Ms. Kobayashi and Sayori sitting next to each other, watching TV. She was just wearing a simple T-shirt and a pair of jeans, looking as casual as usual. She grinned as I noticed her sitting there. "What...?" was all I came up with as I stood there dumbfounded.

"Mornin' Sawyer," she giggled as she stood up. I noticed her signature red bow in her hair slightly crooked, but it doesn't seem like she plans on going out anyways.

"G-good mornin'," I stammered, scratching my hand in confusion. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Well, for starters," she said, putting her hands on her hips with a prideful smile on her face, "I came here to see you because I was hungry. My parents were out of the house all morning, so I was starving. When I found out you were asleep, I was going to go wake you, but Ms. Kobayashi told me not to. But she let me stay here for a bit while Mr. Kobayashi makes lunch!"

"Yeah, I didn't let her wake you up because I know you stayed up last night with your friends online," explained Ms. Kobayashi. "You looked so peaceful sleeping in, I couldn't bear to wake you."

"O-oh, sorry about that," I chuckled nervously, "I must've kept you awake, huh?"

"Oh, no," said Ms. Kobayashi as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen, "You were quiet, you didn't bother me. It was Aiko who told me because he stayed up last night as well instead of going to bed. He refused to go to bed."

"I can't help it, can I?" whined Mr. Kobayashi, who was stirring some soup in a pot, "The deadline for the project is next week and my team isn't done yet."

"Well you should've started a month ago instead of procrastinating all October," Ms. Kobayashi said. "Honestly, you've haven't changed since high school."

"Sounds like someone I know," I muttered under my breath as I looked back at Sayori, who smiled sheepishly. She is quite the procrastinator. Not that I'm guilty of that myself, but it feels like every single assignment, she ends up procrastinating on. That dummy.

"And that's why I love you, Sena," said Mr. Kobayashi as he leaned in for a kiss, with Ms. Kobayashi playfully giggling. I looked away uncomfortably and blushed while Sayori chuckled at my embarrassed face.

"Alright, finish up with the soup, will you?" said Ms. Kobayashi, pushing her husband off of her, "I'm getting hungry. I would assume Ono-chan and Sawyer over here is hungry too, right?"

"Right!" I said, my stomach rumbling. Sayori nodded yes too.

"Alright! Almost done!" said Mr. Kobayashi, who was turning some knobs on the stove, "Give me a few more minutes. I've made more than enough for everyone here!"

Sayori and I helped set up the table before Mr. Kobayashi finished up with his vegetable stew. When he did finish cooking, the four of us ate. And not going to lie, it is a really good stew. I'm not the one to eat soup, but this one was very filling.

Later

After we ate to our heart's content, Sayori and I hung out for a few minutes, just messing around until around 3:30-ish, when Sayori left to go to the doctor's office with her parents. I used the rest of my free time to get ready for the ballgame later today. Monika keeps calling it a date, but I don't. For it to be a date in the first place, the two of us have to be dating. And we're not boyfriend-girlfriend, right? Right?

When I went upstairs, I changed out of my PJs and got into a fresh white Brooklyn Dodgers T-shirt and a pair of jeans. The Dodgers T-shirt had the word "Dodgers" on the front and "Robinson 42" on the back, a replica of the original jersey worn by the African American baseball legend Jackie Robinson. I don't wear it much, but I felt like it was the perfect shirt to wear today. I also grabbed a black hoodie from my closet since I saw that it was gonna get cold later today.

My phone vibrated in my pocket as I stood up from my bed. That must be Monika, I thought as I took out my phone to see a text message pop up. I read the name that was in bold. "Megan," was what it said. Well nevermind, that wasn't her.

"You ready to go on your date with your girlfriend?" is what she texted me. It's not a date!

"Yes, I am ready," I texted back, "But fuck off, it's not a date."

A second later, I get another text. "Yeah, okay," she replied almost instantly, "At least tell me if I'm gonna have a niece or a nephew in a year. I prefer a niece, by the way." Stop it, stop it, stop it! I know what she's implying and I don't like it!

"How about neither?" I said, just trying to get her to stop talking about her dirty-ass mind. Seriously, my sister is fucking weird sometimes.

"Oh?" she texted back, "You're gonna use protection? Alright." Oh, for the love of all things holy, she's thinking I'm gonna do the "thing" with Monika after the game.

"You think my ugly mug is gonna get laid?" I asked, just kind of desperate at stopping her from talking about this. I swear, she's like this at home too. She's always asking if I'm talking to any girls at school. It's like she wants me to get laid or something.

"Well, I wouldn't know," she texted back, "For all we know, you're probably packing." You know, sometimes I hate my sister.

"Okay, well," I texted, "I am going to put down this phone and not talk to you for the rest of the day. Go back to bed, you horny weirdo."

I plopped my phone on my desk and sighed, shaking my head. What am I gonna do with her?

I went downstairs to be greeted by Mr. Kobayashi grinning like a little kid with candy. He's been excited all day because he's a pretty big fan of the Yomiuri Giants, one of the teams playing off at the game today. He's probably very excited for me to see them in action.

"Hey, Mr. Kobayashi," I said, "You're awfully in good spirits today."

"Ah, Sawyer," said Mr. Kobayashi, holding a hand behind his back, "Just the person I wanted to see."

"Alright?" I said, nodding my head up and down slowly, "What's going on?"

"About the game that you're gonna see later today," he said, grinning.

"What about it?"

"Well, I, uh, I wanted you to take this with you when you go to the game," said Mr. Kobayashi, who held out his hand that was behind his back. In his hand was a baseball mitt that was a little worn and torn, but still in good shape.

"It's my old baseball mitt," explained Mr. Kobayashi, "I played baseball in high school and was pretty good too. I just wanted to take it with you when you go to the baseball game later."

"You played baseball?" I asked.

"Yep! Believe it or not, for a game that's referred to as America's favorite past time, it's really popular here in Japan," said Mr. Kobayashi.

"Lemme guess," I said, "You were gonna go big but an injury prevented you from making it into the big leagues, right?"

"Nah," he said, waving his hand, "Even though I pretty good at baseball so much that scouts were thinking about recruiting me for a team, I just… Well, I met my wife." Oh wow, he was that good?

I smiled at his little story of his. That sounds rather romantic. He could've made it big, but he instead gave it up for his wife. "That sounds really sweet, Mr. Kobayashi," I said, "You could've been a star on the field. I guess you're happy with your decision, right?"

"Of course!" said Mr. Kobayashi, "She may drive me crazy in her own special way, but… I can't explain it. You'll understand when you understand."

"Well, looks like I have a lot to look forward to," I said, smirking.

The doorbell rang a second after that, as if on cue. I looked over to the door and sighed. "Well," I said, "Looks like that's Monika about to pick me up. I'll answer the door."

I walked over to the door and took a deep breath, trying to remind myself that we're only going as friends. We're not dating. This is not a date. Don't get your hopes up, Sawyer.

I opened the door and my jaw instantly dropped. I don't even know what to say. I don't even know where to start. I just stood there, slackjawed as I saw Monika's attire. I guess I was way too shocked to see who was standing at the door.

"M-Monika?" I stammered as I gazed at what the girl with the big bow was wearing. Monika was wearing something I've never seen anyone wear, yet she looked so good in it. She was wearing a blue shirt that bore the name "Yakult" on the front, with a zero on the bottom right corner. The shirt was not exactly tight-fitting, but rather sort of hovering above her skin while still showing off her chest. The shirt cut off just above her stomach, exposing her midriff. She wore a black longsleeved shirt that also cut off just above her stomach. She wore white short shorts that seemed to fit just perfectly with a thin black leather belt to compliment it, showing off her hips.

She also wore her usual black thigh-high socks and a blue baseball cap with the letter "M" on it. Honestly, she looked both cute and sexy at the same time.

"Hi Sawyer!" said Monika, smiling, "Are you ready to go? My car is just over there." She jabbed a thumb towards the general direction to the road where a black Infiniti was parked. Someone was standing by the door, dressed in a black suit. I assumed that was Monika's chauffeur.

I stammered, still flustered from Monika's attire. "Y-yeah. I l-left my phone in my room, L-lemme get it first."

"Okay!" said Monika, "I'll just wait right here!"

I felt my heart beating out of control as if I was about to have a heart attack any second. Holy crap, she looks very fucking nice, I thought to myself as I tried to catch my breath while jogging up the stairs up to my room.

When I got to my desk, I paused to think for a second. I felt like… I don't know. I guess I've never seen a female friend dress up like that before. And why, anyway? It's not like it's a date or anything. She's not dressing up like that to get me to like her like that, right? Calm down, Sawyer, I chided to myself, trying to forget about it all, Don't get all excited. Especially down there.

Shaking my head, I grabbed my phone and checked it, pressing the power button to turn it on. A message appeared on the dashboard. It was from Yuri. "I have told her about your situation," she texted, "Natsuki says that she is fine with meeting at that time."

"Alright, thank you, Yuri," I texted back before running down the stairs.

"Mr. Kobayashi!" I called out as I was reaching for the doorknob, "I'm heading out! Tell Ms. Kobayashi I've already left!"

"Alright!" Mr. Kobayashi answered from somewhere in the living room, "I'll tell her when she gets back from getting the groceries!"

Opening the door, Monika greeted me with another bright smile. "Ready to go now?" she asked.

"Yep!" I replied, trying my best not to look down, "Shall we?"

When we got to the car that was parked just outside of the gate, the man in the suit opened the door to the car and motioned for Monika to get in. She hopped in and I made my way to the other side of the car and got into my seat right next to Monika. The doors shut and the chauffeur got into the driver's seat before driving away.

The seats of the car were a light beige while the rest of the car was jet black. There was a little tablet that was attached to the console of the car that had some sort of settings on it. At first glance, it looks like that console is meant for lights and music. In between Monika and I was a sort of armrest with cupholders at the end and a storage area for small purses. The armrest itself was made of dark glazed mahogany. Separating the driver and us was an absolute black tinted glass divider that looks custom-made for this car, the only thing that allows us to see the driver is a little slider in the middle. The car was like a limo except for it being smaller and the windows are not tinted.

I've never ridden in this car before. I have gotten a ride from Monika and her chauffeur, once when going to her beach house in Shimoda and once when I was on my way to the airport. Both times, though, we used a black Mercedes van because of baggage and the fact that we had the rest of the club with us. I did ride in Monika's other car, this time a white Subaru, but it was nowhere near as luxurious as the one we were riding in right now.

"So," I said to break the silence between us, "I'm gonna assume that you like baseball, right?"

"Actually no," said Monika, "I'm not really a baseball kinda gal. In fact, I'm not much of a sports fan in the first place." Wait, what? So what was the point of going to the game then?

"Really?" I asked, "Well then why the tickets?"

"Well," said Monika, crossing her legs while putting a finger to her lips as she paused to think about her response. Behind her, through the window, the busy city life of Japan bloomed, with pedestrians on the sidewalks trying to be faster than the slow traffic that is jamming the city streets. It's kinda weird that the two of us were sitting in the luxury of a car with a chauffeur on our way to a baseball game while people are walking until their feet hurt heading to jobs where they're busting their balls to get money at. Is this what being rich feels like?

"My dad won those tickets, right?" she asked. I nodded in agreement. "Well, I wouldn't just let them go to waste. These tickets cost a fortune. I also thought you would like it since you're American. And besides," Monika leaned a little closer to me, looking up into my eyes. Maybe a little too close. "I think it would be a fun experience. Just the two of us."

"Uh," I said, chuckling nervously. Shit, she's a little too close, I thought to myself, making sure I don't look down any further than her chin so that I don't look like a peeping creep. But with what she was wearing, it was harder than it looks. "I g-guess it would be a cool experience," I stammered.

Monika laughed and sat back up in her chair. "You know, you're so easy to make you flustered, it's almost funny," she said while chuckling.

"Well, I mean," I said, stuttering, trying to get my words out of my mouth, "What you're wearing doesn't help my case, you know."

"Oh," said Monika, smiling mischievously, "So you did notice. I'm kinda glad that you did."

"Yeah well I'm not blind," I replied, "I have eyes. I just… uh, how do I say this?" I gestured to what she was wearing. Monika looked down at her clothes and nodded.

"What?" she asked, "Do I look bad in this?"

"N-no!" I exclaimed, "N-not at all! You look good! I guess… I dunno." I shrugged my shoulders, giving up on trying to find my words.

"So what you're trying to say is," said Monika, grinning with pride, "You think I look cute in this, right? Or even better, you think I look sexy in this." She gestured to what she was wearing, leaning forward a little to show off her… erm… feminine looks. Hell, I've even just noticed that her socks were a little tight on her, pinching her thigh. I ended up looking away in shame.

"Alright, to tell you the truth, I've never had a female friend who dressed up like that," I said, "I just don't know what to say."

"Ah," said Monika, "So what you're saying is that I left you speechless."

"N-no!" I exclaimed, and then thought for a second, changing my mind. "Y-yeah," I mumbled, a little quieter this time.

Monika started laughing loudly like she always does when she gets me flustered, which is pretty much every time I see her. But you know what, I kinda don't mind it. She doesn't mean to make me completely uncomfortable, she's just trying to make herself comfortable, you know what I'm saying? And I kinda like a girl like that, someone who just makes herself comfortable with her friends. I guess that's one of the things I like about her. As a friend, of course. I'm not really looking into getting a girlfriend anytime soon.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, "Laugh all you want. Besides," I leaned in a little closer to make Monika uncomfortable as revenge at putting me in this situation in the first place, close enough to be able to smell her perfume, which had a slight citrusy smell to it, "If you leave me speechless, that probably means I like you."

This time it was Monika's turn to be flustered and speechless. I saw her cheeks blush like a tomato as her jaw dropped in shock at what I had just said. All part of my master plan. If she planned to leave me speechless by shocking me, I thought to myself, Then tell her something more shocking to leave her speechless instead!

Of course, seeing Monika like this was the best feeling in the world. Revenge feels really nice, especially if she's the one who gets the taste of her own medicine.

"Gotcha," I said with a sly smile and a wink. I win, I thought to myself. Monika huffed and giggled while relaxing back into her chair.

"Oh Sawyer!" exclaimed Monika, "I never thought you had it in you to say that!"

"Well hey, I can't take all of your punishments lying down, now can I?" I said smugly. Monika giggled even more and I felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

"But did you really mean it?" she asked, much quieter this time. And now that weight is back on my shoulders.

"N-no," I simply stammered, not because that was the answer, but because, to be honest, I don't even know the answer to that question. I don't know if I was lying or telling the truth. Jeez, all of this because I joined the Literature Club.

A silence soon descended upon us. It went on for a minute or two, but it felt like hours on end. And I dreaded every second of it because I feel so awkward now. "S-so driver!" I exclaimed, trying to break the silence, "How long until we get there?"

"We get there when we get there," he said in a gruff voice.

"And when is that?" I asked. The driver simply just grunted and shut the divider, shutting himself from the two of us. I looked to Monika and she laughed loudly. I laughed too and just like that, we were back to talking. Thank God I was at least able to have some fun for today before I go and visit Natsuki to tell her about Yuri.


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. Not really a translation note, but rather just a minor detail for those who don't know much about baseball. I mentioned that Sawyer was wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers shirt. Today, they're known as the Los Angeles Dodgers, but when Robinson was playing, it was still a Brooklyn team.


A/N: Alright, let's just get this over with. I was thinking of maybe trying to write longer chapters, maybe around 6k words at most. I thought it might be a good idea, writing a little more than the 3-5k usual that I write. Well, this chapter and the next chapter was supposed to be one chapter all together, but I ended up writing 8k words, going above my limit. That's why I decided to split it in two. Might not have been the best idea, but I had so much stuff that I wanted to write for Sawyer's "date" with Monika, so... yeah.

The reason why I put a 3-5k limit, for the most part, is that I wanted to keep things relatively uniform and consistent. The average novel chapter, after all, is around 3-5k (I know that there are exceptions, but I'm used to trying to hit that 4k). I also like to think of each chapter being a 22-minute episode in an anime. I found that the 3-5k range pretty much does the trick in filling up a 22-minute episode anyways.

I already have the second part ready to go. After this, I'll post the next chapter in a few days or the next week.