Pocky Kiss

Monday, December 1st

I'm gonna be honest, I'm a kissless, hugless virgin. Well, maybe not hugless, but I definitely am kissless. I've never kissed anyone before, especially not someone of the fairer sex. Apart from my mother giving me kisses on the cheek like any mother to her son, I've never kissed anyone before.

Never have I thought my first real kiss was going to be due to a stupid game about Lady-and-the-Tramping a Japanese chocolate stick.

Monika was a mere two inches away from my face, our noses almost touching as she leaned over the desk to get closer. Her lips were pursed as she slowly got closer, nibbling the Pocky stick that the both of us were sharing. As she inched closer and closer, the more I could feel my heart start beating faster and faster. Alarm bells were ringing in my head as I realized that I had put myself into a hole that I can't dig myself out from.

It was Sayori's idea for us to play the Pocky game, which is essentially the same as playing a game of chicken, except instead of two people driving cars into each other and waiting for the first person to chicken out to avoid a crash, it's where two people take the opposite end of a Pocky stick and try to nibble their way to the other end without looking away or pulling away. If no one chickens, then eventually the two end up kissing. Like I said earlier: Lady-and-the-Tramp.

Funnily enough, it was Sayori who lost every single game. Not because she chickened out, per se, but because she ended up breaking the stick every single time. And she always manages to break the stick in a specific way so that she gets the part of the stick covered in chocolate. Something tells me that she just wanted to eat Pocky out of our mouths for some weird joke.

Though when she did it with me, she didn't break the stick. In fact, she just started chowing down on her end, getting closer and closer to me. She only lost at the very last moment because she pulled away. Funnily enough, she was as red as a tomato when she did. At least I won.

Now, here I am, slowly nibbling down on a Pocky stick that I was Tramping with Monika. I thought I was hot shit challenging her to a Pocky duel. I thought that Monika would chicken out, hoping that she did so I can at least have some sort of ammunition against her whenever she does tease me. But, to my dismay, she happily accepted. Not only that, she seemed dead set on winning, getting closer and closer to the point where our lips were about a centimeter away from each other.

At this point, I can hear Monika's steady breathing. I can feel her heat radiating from her face to mine. Looking down from her gaze for a second, I can see her cheeks blushing red. But her eyes did not share that bashfulness that the rest of her face clearly projected. Instead, Monika wore that same cocky look in her eyes that she always had whenever she would mess with me.

Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki watched on as Monika and I were stuck in a deadlock. No one has kissed someone today from these games. Not yet, anyway. From the looks of it, though, Monika and I were getting real close to kissing.

"Five bucks Sawyer chickens out," Natsuki commented.

"N-no way!" Yuri chimed in. "Monika seems like she will lose. After all, I know that she's never kissed anyone before and she will never make this time her first."

"And neither has Sawyer!" Natsuki quipped. "I mean, have you looked at him? There's no way anyone kissed that ugly mug."

I can hear you, Natsuki! I thought as I continued to slowly nibble my way down the stick, Natsuki's jeering only fueling my desire not to lose. It was me who challenged Monika to this game. If I chickened out, I'll be branded as the guy who pussied out because he couldn't kiss a girl.

Though, if my first time had to be with Monika, I wouldn't be opposed to it. After all, who wouldn't? She's hot, she's pretty, she's cool. Even though she's never done it before, I'm willing to bet she's really good at it even for a first-timer. Though, if my first time was with her, I know that nothing will ever top that.

Kissing, I meant. Not the other thing that I bet you're thinking about.

"But Natsuki," Sayori argued, "You slept with him, didn't you? That's gotta count for something!"

I almost pulled away just to chew Sayori out, but I forced myself not to. Instead, I put my attention back on Monika and the ever shrinking Pocky stick between us.

"S-Sayori!" Yuri stammered.

"W-we did not!" Natsuki exclaimed. "Stop telling people that I slept with him!"

"Then why did I catch you on top of him with your pants down?" Sayori asked.

I fought the urge to lose the game to get Sayori to shut her trap. Maybe it was obvious, because I could see Monika silently giggling.

"Sh-shut up!" Natsuki exclaimed some more, getting riled up at Sayori for even suggesting that we had copulated. "That was an accident! We didn't mean to do that!"

"It wasn't the first time we caught you two alone," said Sayori. "Monika told me that she found you two about to do it in the gym closet too!"

I slowly nibbled on the stick. I had to cock my head to the side so that Monika's nose didn't get in the way. I had hoped that Monika would've given in by now, but it seems like she's dead set on winning. And I am too. So fuck it. Before I could lose, I decided to finish this once and for all. If I had to kiss Monika to win, then so be it.

I just need a little more courage to-

"How about I follow you and Sawyer around next time? If you two are alone together, maybe I can catch you doing it?" Sayori proposed. "Who knows? Maybe I can join in and-"

Alright, that's it!

I wheeled around to face Sayori. With my fingers extended and joined, I pointed my knife-hand at her in anger. "For the love of all things holy," I seethed. "Stop telling people that Natsuki and I slept with each other! Because we didn't! I have never kissed anyone, let alone slept with someone! Just shut up about that incident already!"

An awkward silence suddenly befell on the clubroom. Sayori chuckled awkwardly as Yuri and Natsuki were taken aback by it. After a few seconds, the sound of laughing broke the silence. I look over and see Monika giggling quietly to herself as she finishes eating the Pocky stick.

"I win," Monika beamed proudly, smiling smugly as I realized I forgot about the game to yell at Sayori.

I exhaled, calming down after my little tirade. Meanwhile, in the corner of my eye, I could see Natsuki, her face beet red while Sayori continued to tease her.

"Oh, come on!" Sayori whined. "Don't be mad, Natsuki! I'm only joking!"

Natsuki huffed, crossing her arms as she looked away from Sayori. "I don't care if you were joking, Sayori! I'm still upset!"

Sighing, I stood up and went over to Sayori and Natsuki. I put my hands on my hips as I calmly explained to Sayori. "Look, Sayori. That's not exactly something you should joke about. Poor Natsuki over here is getting all embarrassed about the whole idea of her and I getting down and dirty."

"You could've phrased that better!" Natsuki yelped.

"Whatever," I waved Natsuki off. "The point is, you should probably drop that topic. Besides," I winked. "I'm still a virgin and I'm proud."

I heard Monika snort behind me as she listened to me chastise Sayori, stifling a laugh. "That's the first time I've heard a guy brag that he's a virgin," she said as she stood up, walking over to Sayori and I. "But Sawyer's right. You don't talk about such private matters so frivolously, unless the other party is willing. But it seems like our dear Natsuki isn't willing."

Sayori squirmed awkwardly, like a child being chastised by her parents. But she swallowed her pride and turned towards me. "If that's the case, then…" Sayori sighed. "I'm sorry, Sawyer."

I shook my head. "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Natsuki."

Sayori awkwardly turned to Natsuki, who was avoiding Sayori's gaze as she crossed her arms defiantly, her face still red like a tomato. "S-sorry, Natsuki," she stammered. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Natsuki huffed before loosening up, meeting Sayori's gaze as she dropped her arms and put her hands on her hips. "It's okay, Sayori," Natsuki said. "I forgive you."

The moment Natsuki forgave her, Sayori threw her arms around Natsuki, nuzzling her face into the crook of her neck like the puppy she is. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Sayori exclaimed excitedly.

"R-relax!" Natsuki stammered, flustered as she tried pushing Sayori away to no avail. I smirked as I watched the two platonically canoodle.

"Well then," Yuri finally chimed in as she watched from the sidelines. "Shall I make everyone some tea?"

Thirty minutes later

The rest of the club session was a breeze. None of us apparently did the assignment Monika had us do, which was write a poem like we always do. Then again, Monika herself forgot to write a poem too. So, instead of having our regular club meeting where we would recite our poems, we just spent the meeting lounging in the club room, reading and chatting while sipping the tea that Yuri made.

Other than the whole Pocky game incident, the rest of the meeting was uneventful.

I was in the back, helping Sayori pack Yuri's tea set in the closet. The two of us was planning to walk home together like we always do after our club meetings.

Come to think of it, in every single romance manga that I've read, the main character always makes the act of walking home with a girl sound like a rite of passage. It's as if it's as special as someone getting his rocks off with a girl. But with Sayori, it's just another day.

I've never walked home with a girl before I came to Japan, barring my sister for obvious reasons. I never was really close with anyone back home in Hawaii, let alone close to a girl. Maybe it's because I never put myself out there. This foreign exchange program was the first time in years where I was able to make some meaningful friends. Being with CJ and the triplets as we took Japanese language and culture classes together in preparation to our transfer to Japan got me to make friends with my fellow American exchange students. And now, look where I'm at. I'm in a club full of girls at this new school.

I could say it was all because of Sayori that I was able to make friends here in Japan. I was kind of worried that I would end up just trying to stick with my fellow Americans as they all split off into different cliques. If it wasn't for Sayori literally bumping into me, I wouldn't've met everyone else here.

I heard the door to the classroom slide open. "Takeuchi-san? Lee-san?" the person beckoned me and Monika. I stopped what I was doing and turned around. In the doorway stood Yamamoto-sensei, our World History teacher.

These past few weeks have been hectic for Yamamoto-sensei. Our previous homeroom teacher had recently gotten married, which led to her retiring from her position as a teacher. Yamamoto-sensei was the one who volunteered to pick up the slack, becoming our temporary homeroom teacher as the school looks for a new homeroom teacher to take over. But from the looks of it, I could tell Yamamoto-sensei seriously regretted taking up the mantle.

"What is it, Sensei?" asked Monika as she finished packing up her papers.

Yamamoto-sensei clutched the door frame as she tried to catch her breath. It seemed like she double-timed here from her office. "Oh, thank goodness you two are still here!" she exclaimed as she huffed and puffed.

"What's going on, Sensei?" I asked as I left the closet.

Yamamoto-sensei put on her puppy dog eyes as she pleaded. "Could you two help me out with something? Everyone in the office has already left and you two are the only people I know who's still on campus."

I looked back at Sayori. The two of us had planned to walk home together like we always do. But Sayori merely shrugged. "Go help her. Worse comes to worse, I'll just walk home by myself," she said.

I nodded as I walked over to the door, with Monika walking alongside me.

"We'll do it, Sensei," Monika said as she took out a set of keys from her pocket before rattling off orders like how a president in charge of a club should do. "Girls, I want everything cleaned. Dust off the desks, sweep the floors, organize the shelves, the whole shebang. Yuri, make sure the tea that we spilled earlier is cleaned up. Natsuki, help Yuri out with the cleaning. And Sayori," Monika tossed the keys to Sayori, who fumbled the keys a little before catching them, "You're in charge. Make sure everything is cleaned up and in order before closing up shop. If we're not back by the time you three are done, leave our bags by the door. Sawyer and I will pick them up afterwards."

"You got it, Prez!" the three girls said in unison as Monika and I walked off.

Once we left the classroom, I whistled. "Look at you, being a girlboss," I complimented her. "But should you really be leaving Sayori in charge?"

"Ah, don't worry," Monika said. "She's my vice president for a reason."

We followed Yamamoto-sensei through the halls. The school was pretty much deserted around this time. Most of the students and staff has already left for the day. The only people left are the few stragglers like our club and teachers still burning the midnight oil.

I could tell Yamamoto-sensei was a little peeved at the moment. Rightfully so, since she had a mountain of work piled on top of her for the past few weeks. After all, being a homeroom teacher in a Japanese school is a little more than just being the teacher of the first period of the day for that specific class. Homeroom teachers in Japan are also mentors and counselors for the class, often for their entire time in that specific school division.

Monika told me that the previous homeroom teacher, Takamori-sensei, was her homeroom teacher ever since she was a freshman. In fact, everyone in our class had been Monika's actual classmates since freshman year. The class stays together throughout high school, with the homeroom teacher being the leader of their class. And because Takamori-sensei had been with the class this entire time, she has built a rapport with the students, as well as knowing them face to face. She knew how to handle the entire class. Because she left, Yamamoto-sensei now has to pay catch-up in order to properly lead the class as a homeroom teacher.

"What do you need help with, Sensei?" I asked. With the amount of stress that she's in, I know that she's gonna need all the help that she can get. Sucks that the rest of her coworkers have already left for the day, leaving her behind to work by themselves.

Yamamoto-sensei sighed exasperatedly. "I just need help moving some print outs to the third floor office," she explained. "The printer broke on the third floor, so I have to use the one on the second floor."

"That's all?" asked Monika. "If you want, we could help you out with anything else. Anything to help you take the load off."

"N-nonsense!" Yamamoto-sensei stammered, shaking her head. "I don't want you kids doing my job for me."

"Are you sure, Sensei? Because if you need a big, strong man to help you out, then you can call on me!" I joked, flexing my arms like a bodybuilder before Monika playfully punched me on the shoulder to get me to stop.

Yamamoto-sensei shook her head, her messy bangs being shaken loose when she did before she fixed them. "I just need a big, strong man to ask me out, but you're a little too young for me," she quipped. Monika and I laughed along.

"By the way, Sensei," Monika cocked her head to the side as we followed Yamamoto-sensei downstairs. "Have you had any luck so far in finding a partner?"

Yamamoto-sensei sighed dejectedly as she looked down, shaking her head. "No," she said. "Sadly not."

"Aw, really?" said Monika as she quickly got in front of Yamamoto-sensei, leaning in towards her as she was coming down the stairs. "I thought someone as pretty as you would already have someone in mind."

I could see Yamamoto-sensei blush a little as Monika complimented her. "Oh, you flatter me, Takeuchi-san," she giggled. "But I'm not really that special. I'm not stunningly gorgeous, nor am I that fun to be around. No one wants to date a late-twenty-something like me. I'm not as young as you two lovebirds."

"Lovebirds?" I asked as I reached the bottom of the stairs, catching up to Yamamoto-sensei and meeting her gaze. "What do you mean, lovebirds?"

'Hm?" Yamamoto-sensei stopped walking, tilting her head to the side. "Aren't you two dating?"

I could feel my face turning red in embarrassment as Yamamoto-sensei asked.

"M-me and S-Sawyer?" Monika stammered. The two of us turned to look at each other and I could see Monika blushing just as hard as me. The two of us then looked away quickly, trying to hide our faces in embarrassment. "N-no! W-we're not dating!" she laughed, trying desperately to hide her bashfulness.

"Is that so?" Yamamoto-sensei wondered. "I thought you two were together. After all, you two are always distracting each other during class. You thought I wouldn't notice, but I did. I thought that your antics are just what lovers do."

"W-we're not lovers!" I stuttered, my face feeling hot as Monika and I were flustered over the thought of dating. "Trust me. I find her annoying and she finds me pathetic."

"That's not what Takeuchi-san had told me," said Yamamoto-sensei.

"Sensei!" Monika exclaimed, interrupting our teacher. "I-I think we've heard enough!"

Monika looked away from the both of us, her face almost glowing red in the afternoon sun streaming in through the windows.

Yamamoto-sensei laughed awkwardly, breaking the silence between us. "Aha, I understand," she smiled, trying to avoid any further confusion. "I'll drop that topic. It's not good for a teacher like me to make such assumptions about my students."

The three of us made it to the second-floor staff room. The lights were off in the room, with the only light source in the room being the slightly open window. The only people in the room was us, meaning that the only source of sound was coming from us. Our footsteps echoed through the room as we walked in.

Yamamoto-sensei flipped on the lights, revealing the printer in the far corner. It was still printing out copies of something. There's a pretty big pile of papers on the tray already. But it didn't look like much. In fact, if that's all what Yamamoto-sensei needed us to carry, then she could've done it herself.

"That's not it, is it?" Monika asked.

"Nope." Yamamoto-sensei pointed at two piles of papers on the floor next to the printer that was still working on a job. One of the piles of papers was as tall as the length of my legs, and the other was half that size. "I can't bring those papers up by myself. I'm wearing heels and if I try and carry them, I might fall and hurt myself going up the stairs."

I sighed, looking down at the large pile of papers. "Alright," I pointed at the papers. "Monika and I'll take the stuff on the floor. Monika, let's split it, make it even."

"No," said Monika.

"The fuck you mean, no?" I asked, turning my head.

"You carry the big one, I carry the small one," said Monika, smirking. "You don't wanna make a lady like me take a big load, do you?"

"Okay, first of all, don't rephrase it like that," I waggled my finger at Monika. "And second of all, what the hell? I thought you were the 'gender equality' type."

"Sawyer, I'm only all about equality if it benefits me," Monika cheekily grinned. "Besides, weren't you the one who said that you were a 'big, strong man' who could help us?"

I turned to look at Yamamoto-sensei, silently asking her if she found this absurd. Yamamoto-sensei merely shrugged, smiling along with Monika. "Hey, don't look at me. I'm a lady too. Why do you think I asked you, Lee-san?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes as I looked down at the stack of papers I had to carry. Getting on one knee, I knelt down and carefully picked up the stack of papers, trying to make sure they didn't fall. If they did fall, then I'd be here all afternoon picking them up. Somehow, though, I was able to rise from the floor, not dropping the stack, which was tall enough to block my view.

"See?" Monika teased as she picked up her stack of papers. "For you, it's too easy."

"You know, Monika, if it weren't for me holding these papers, I would strangle you," I quipped. "You're lucky I'm a little preoccupied at the moment."

As the two of us bickered, Yamamoto-sensei picked up the small stack of papers that just finished printing from the printer. When she started walking off, I followed behind Monika as we left the office, concentrating on not dropping the stack of papers I had in my hands.

Taking one step at a time, I slowly made my way up the stairs, following closely behind Monika as Yamamoto-sensei led us to the third-floor staff room. The only thing I could concentrate on was going up one step after another, going as steady as possible. Monika looked behind her to see me struggling to keep up with her, smirking as she carried her much smaller stack of papers. Damn her! I thought as I kept going up.

Yamamoto-sensei took the lead, with Monika following her and with me being the last in the stack. I, however, couldn't see Yamamoto-sensei due to the large stack of papers in my face. The only thing I could see going up was Monika in the corner of my eyes. So imagine my frustration when she stopped suddenly just as she neared the top of the stairs.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath as I bumped into Monika, trying to balance the stack of papers in my hands without tumbling down one flight of stairs. "Hey, what gives?"

Adjusting myself so that I could see ahead of me, I spotted Yamamoto-sensei with her back to the wall, her face red as she slightly hyperventilated.

"Sensei?" asked Monika. "Is something wrong? Why did you suddenly stop?"

"I-it's Tomita-senpai," Yamamoto-sensei stuttered. Her face looked flushed as her expression turned more flustered by the second. "He's just down the hall."

"What about Tomita-sensei?" Monika cocked her head to the side.

"Th-this is a little embarrassing," Yamamoto-sensei stammered, twiddling her thumbs. "B-but lately… whenever I see him, m-my face just gets so h-hot. I-I don't know why."

"Oh?" Monika smirked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned closer to Yamamoto-sensei. "I think someone's in love."

"M-me?" said our de facto homeroom teacher. "N-no. B-besides, I can't chase after a workplace relationship. My job is to be a teacher."

"Oh, you like him, alright," said Monika before she turned to me. "Doesn't she look like she's in love, Sawyer?"

I chuckled. It wasn't often that we would see our teacher devolve into a lovestruck schoolgirl before our very eyes. "She kinda does."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Monika. "Sensei, what's stopping you from making a move on him? You clearly like him."

"I-I dunno," Yamamoto-sensei turned her gaze away from Monika. "Just look at me! No one would take someone who looks like me!"

"Nonsense!" Monika excitedly exclaimed. "You're pretty cute, Sensei! You just need a little confidence. And a little fixer-upper. In fact…"

She turned to me and dumped her pile of papers on top of mine, taking me by surprise as I struggled to balance with the added weight. Monika then started to adjust Yamamoto-sensei's hair, which was a little messy after a day's work.

"Y-you don't have to do this, Takeuchi-san," Yamamoto-sensei protested. "I don't think this will attract him at all."

"It's worth a shot," said Monika as she finished fixing Yamamoto-sensei's hair. "And there. You look pretty good already."

"R-really?" asked Yamamoto-sensei.

"You do! Let me just…" Monika reached out to Yamamoto-sensei's collar before backing off. "Is it okay if I unbutton your top button?"

"Takeuchi-san!" exclaimed Yamamoto-sensei, clutching her small stack of papers tightly. "Why would I let you do that?"

"Trust me, with all due respect, you got a decent set of boobs. If you got it, flaunt it. Guys like it if you tease them a little," Monika winked. "There's a reason why one of my club members can never wear her blazer just right. Just ask Lee-san."

"A-are you talking about Sayori?" I asked. "She just wears the blazer she bought years ago."

"F-fine," said Yamamoto-sensei, a little more flustered than she already was as Monika unbuttoned two of her top buttons, which teased her cleavage a little. Well, Monika does know how to make a girl look hot… Wait, why am I thinking that? She's my teacher!

Monika took a step back after putting her finishing touches, smiling. "That's more like it!" she exclaimed. "Now, go and seduce the chemistry teacher."

As Monika hyped up our teacher, Yamamoto-sensei took a deep breath, gathering her wits before turning the corner. As soon as she rounded the corner, however, I heard her yelp in surprise as the papers she was holding went flying up into the air, floating down onto the floor like autumn leaves as she fell backwards onto her butt.

Monika and I both winced as we saw our teacher fall down. From where we were, it seems like Sensei had bumped into someone when she rounded the corner.

"A-ah! S-sorry, S-Senpai!" Yamamoto-sensei stammered as she rubbed the back of her head, her hair that Monika had fixed already coming loose.

"It's okay!" said a deeper male voice around the corner, out of sight from Monika and I. "Are you alright, Yamamoto-chan?"

"Y-yes, I am," said Yamamoto-sensei, slowly standing up.

"Looks like Yamamoto-sensei bumped into Tomita-sensei," whispered Monika.

"Why does this sound like the plot of a romance anime?" I wondered as the two of us watched.

Monika and I backed up a little, pressing our backs to the wall to hide ourselves. It wouldn't be good if Tomita-sensei caught us watching Yamamoto-sensei. We should be incognito while Yamamoto-sensei made a move.

"Here, let me help you," said Tomita-sensei. The shuffling of papers could be heard as he helped Yamamoto-sensei pick up the stack that she had dropped.

Yamamoto-sensei was frozen for a second, seemingly staring at Tomita-sensei as he helped the infatuated woman. Her face was bright red, her lips parted as she was in awe of the man.

"Are you really okay, Yama-chan?" asked Tomita-sensei as he finished picking up the papers. "You're awfully quiet right now."

Yamamoto-sensei snapped out of her daze, shaking her head as she quickly got to her feet. "Y-yes!" she exclaimed, a little too loudly. "Yes, I'm okay. It's just…"

Yamamoto-sensei glanced at us in the stairwell, as if asking us what she should do next. Monika merely just gave her a very enthusiastic thumbs up. Gulping, Yamamoto-sensei looked back at Tomita-sensei, standing back up.

"I… I wanted to know if…" Yamamoto-sensei stammered, struggling to get her words out from her chest. "If you were busy after work today."

Tomita-sensei chuckled as she handed Yamamoto-sensei back the papers. "As a matter of fact, I'm not," he said. "I was actually on my out right now. Why are you asking?"

"U-uh, well," Yamamoto-sensei laughed nervously. "I was wondering if you… wanted to… get some drinks later? Just the two of us."

"I'd be happy to," said Tomita-sensei. "Maybe once you're done with work, we could head to this bar nearby. I'm starving, so we should get some food too."

"W-we could go once I drop these off at my desk," said Yamamoto-sensei.

"That's all?" he asked.

"N-no," Yamamoto-sensei said before pointing at us. "I got them to help me too."

Monika tried to wave Yamamoto-sensei off, trying to tell her not to show Tomita-sensei that we were watching them. But it was too late. Tomita-sensei looked around the corner to see Monika and me.

"Oh! Takeuchi-san! Lee-san!" Tomita-sensei awkwardly smiled. "I didn't know you two were there! I'm sorry for holding you two up!"

"N-no, don't be sorry!" Monika laughed, waving him off. "We're just following Yamamoto-sensei!" She turned to me. "Let's go drop these off at Yamamoto-sensei's desk and leave these two alone, shall we?"

"Yeah, just help me out with this, will ya?" I asked, motioning to the giant stack of papers that were in danger of tipping over.

"Oh yeah, here," Monika took half of the stack, taking the weight off my shoulders before we left our teachers alone to chat a little, making our way to the staff room by ourselves.

The two of us quickly made our way to the staff room, dropping off the papers at Yamamoto-sensei's desk. I grunted as I placed my stack on the floor next to her chair, finally free of the weight on my shoulders. "Finally," I sighed. "I'm done. Fuck, that was heavy."

"Aw, tired already?" Monika teased, pouting playfully. "I thought you said that you were a big, strong man."

"Fuck you for not helping me," I quipped, glaring at Monika, who merely just shook her head.

"Wasn't my fault I was preoccupied with being Sensei's wingman," Monika explained. "It takes a woman's touch to make a man fall in love. Nothing that you could ever have done."

"For someone supposedly well-versed in feminine wiles, you're not very lovely yourself," I jabbed, elbowing Monika as I walked past her, going to the window and staring out towards the afternoon sun.

"Well, what do you look for in a woman?" asked Monika as she came to my side, her reflection in the window appearing in the corner of my eye.

I chuckled. "I dunno," I shrugged, "Someone who's friendly? Upbeat? Makes someone as depressing as me happier?"

"Kinda sounds like you're talking about Sayori," Monika commented.

I shook my head. "Nah, not Sayori," I sighed. "She's nice, but she's a klutz and a ditz. I'm the exact opposite. I hope."

"You shouldn't have your standards too high," said Monika. "Or else you'll never find anyone. Besides, I can see the two of you being together. After all, the two of you are always together to begin with."

"Trust me, I don't think we'd work out," I said, putting my hands in my pockets as I looked out the window.

Monika chuckled quietly. "Well, good news for you," she said, elbowing my arm. "You've got three girls to choose from, thanks to the club."

"You're making it sound like I have a harem," I rolled my eyes. "I'm a normal dude, not some generic main character in a romance anime. And if I am some main character of some story, then that story is probably just some shitty, edgy fanfic written by some schmuck who desperately needs to go outside and touch grass."

"You know what, that's fair," Monika sighed, putting her hands on her hips as she looked up at me. "And I doubt anyone would like to read that story."

"Screw you."

Monika then looked back out the window like I was, watching the sun turn the skies orange as it began to set over the horizon. A short silence befell on us as we looked out at the main entrance to the school. The only thing filling the silence was our steady breathing.

"Though," Monika muttered under her breath, barely audible at all. "If you don't choose one of them, then I wouldn't mind having you choose me."

"Huh?" was all I could manage to say before I felt something soft plant itself on my cheek. I froze, not knowing what happened for a second. At least, until I looked at the reflection in the window in front of us. It was Monika, planting her lips on my cheek. It was only a little peck on the cheek, but it felt like time had slowed to a crawl, prolonging this moment forever.

I could feel my cheeks turn red as Monika pulled away, a cheeky grin growing on her face as my hand instinctively went up to touch the place where she had kissed me. Alarm bells rang in my head as I tried to process what just happened. What the hell does this mean? Does Monika like me? No, no, no! She's probably messing with me again. This is just her way of teasing me like she always done.

I was speechless, unable to say a word as I stared at Monika in disbelief. Monika, however, merely smirked as she walked away, patting my shoulder as she walked by. "See you tomorrow, big guy," she said as she passed me.

Monika left me alone in the room, alone with my thoughts. Honestly, at that moment, I thought my brain had shortcircuited. I didn't know what to do from there. I was just completely blindsided by that kiss.

Many questions swirled in my mind as I thought about what I'm supposed to do with that information. However, one thing's for sure. I am not a kissless, hugless virgin anymore. I'm just a virgin.

Translation notes:

1. "Two people begin eating one Pocky from each end. The first person whose mouth comes off the Pocky or the other player gets to the middle first loses. If the participants end up kissing, it is a tie."- Wikipedia

Honorifics: (Underlined honorifics are the ones used in current chapter)

-san: Most common, 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 most commonly used at the end of boys' names to express endearment.

-chan: Feminine version of -kun.

Senpai: Superior/Upperclassmen.

Sensei: Master.

A/N: I'm alive. Somehow. Ngl, I've been stumped on this chapter for a long time. In February, I got up to the point where Monika says "I win" and straight up had a giant writer's block. I had this Pocky scene in my head and decided to finally use it, only to find myself nowhere to take the chapter's plot. Hell, I started an original story just for shits and giggles just because I was going nowhere with this chapter. It was only until a few days ago (since the publication of this chapter) when I suddenly had the greatest idea of reintroducing the two teachers that I have previously mentioned long ago in the story. Seriously, the last time I have mentioned a teacher in this story was back in chapter 26, with only a single line being said by the chemistry teacher. And the only time I've mentioned Yamamoto-sensei was all the way back in chapter 7. I didn't wanna introduce even more characters to this fic than I already have, so I decided to reuse them. And it worked out better than what I had expected, which is great. Also the fourth wall break nearing the end of the chapter, it sounded better in my head, but I still wanted to make the fourth wall break lmao.

Anyways, I wanted to post one more chapter before I ship off to some month-long training thing. With me starting nursing school in the fall once I get back from training, I might be even more slower on the uploads. Or maybe faster, since I don't think I'll be able to go out as often as I should. Regardless, I know I always say it, but I'm still invested in this story. I got a great way to wrap up the Natsuki arc, so stay tuned. Till next time.