February 8th, 10:45 AM, Shizuoka High School, Shizuoka, Shizuoka District
A month has passed since that faithful day in January where Kazuhiko had assigned me to a task he deemed impossible. To make Natsumi Hinata, potentially the most beautiful girl in my class, my girlfriend, and before the end of the current semester as if the task is not incredibly arduous already.
Either that or I would have to serve his sad ass for one whole month.
Well, hell would freeze over before I’d even think about becoming his personal bitch, so I am chasing after her, for better or for worse.
And so far, the task does look impossible.
It’s not that she’s cold, or unfriendly, or evil, or cold. Wait, did I say cold already? Well, either way, she’s not, so don’t get the wrong impression. It’s just that she has this….unexplainable, untouchable aura around her. Everytime I tried to approach her and strike up a conversation, it feels like there are daggers pointed at me, ready to kill me the moment I say my first word. Maybe this is why that even Kazuhiko would be intimidated by her?
One thing’s for sure though…at this rate, I am so screwed.
But heyy, six days and it’s Valentine, the holy lovers day or something, right??? Maybe something good will come out of that day! Yes, yes, must be optimistic now!
I was meditating deeply concerning this matter during lunch today, and as usual, Kazuhiko was there to give me a second opinion.
“Holy lovers day? Boy, are you high on crack or something?” Kazuhiko responded when I told him about my plans for Valentines.
….Okay, not exactly the answer I was expecting.
“I’ll tell you what Valentine’s all about, dude, it’s about…THE CHOCOLATES!” Kazuhiko explained dramatically, waving his hands in the air. “I mean, let’s just face the facts right here and now man, chocolates are a rare commodity around these part, and Valentines is the only day when I can use my god-given talent to full use!”
I suppose by talent he meant a defective brain.
“Girls on Valentines will do their very best to buy, and or, even better, MAKE chocolates for guys all around the world, and it is only fair for us to APPRECIATE their effort and accept those chocolates….and sell them on the internet soon after!” Kazuhiko continued, sounding more and more like a deranged Adolf Hitler.
“…I am pretty sure that’s called exploitation.” I replied, bursting his bubble.
But he was not to be denied.
“NONSENSE!” He exclaimed loudly. “I mean, if someone gives you a present, and then you give it back, no matter for what reason, it’s impolite, right?! Chocolates are basically the same, I mean, there is this girl, who’s feelings are so strong for you that she would spend hours to get you that perfect chocolate, and you are gonna say NO? Who does that, really??!!”
“I am not so sure that selling those “perfect” chocolates is their idea of getting appreciated.” I rebutted his statement.
“Oh comeeee on, you have to look at the bigger picture here man!!” Kazuhiko argued. “I mean, okay, I sell their chocolates now, but I am gonna spend it on them again when I take them out on dates, right?? I am just circulating the money around to benefit the economy here!”
“Oh, whatever, it’s no use arguing with you and your crazy theories” I replied, exasperated. “I’m leaving now, see ya around.”
As I stood up and walked towards the canteen door, I can still hear his voice reaching out to me.
“YOU ARE ONLY DENYING IT CAUSE YOU KNOW IT’S THE TRUTH!!”
February 14th 2009, 6:30 AM, Shizuoka High, Shizuoka, Shizuoka District
And so the fateful day arrives. The weather has improved significantly since last January, the winter sky starting to disperse in favor of the spring sun. A sign of things to come, perhaps?
I certainly hope so; I need a bloody miracle if I wanna pull this off.
So what are my plans for this day you ask?
Absolutely NOTHING! I am just gonna let the winds of fate do their jobs. Not like there is much else I can do anyways, hell, I can’t even TALK to her, let alone give her a box of chocolates… And I am dead broke anyways, Kazuhiko had a point when he said that chocolates are a rare commodity, they are freakishly expensive! I didn’t even have enough money left in my wallet to buy a Snicker bar…
And as I walked into my classroom, looks like fate doesn’t like me much. In fact, I’d say it is giving me the proverbial middle finger. As you’d all know by now, my seat is placed directly beside Kazuhiko’s…who is a serial dater. In fact, serial dater would be an understatement, more like a chaining machine-gun dater.
Valentine’s Day Translation: Chocolate Rain
That was not an exaggeration, merely an expression of truth. His desk was filled with so many chocolates that you can’t even see the bloody desk. Heart-shaped, normal shaped, dog-shaped (yes, those exist, apparently), about every single possible variety of chocolate seemed to be present there. None of my classmates seemed to be surprised in any shape or form; Kazuhiko’s reputation precedes him abundantly.
Kazuhiko, however, did not look happy at all. He stared pensively at the enormous pile of cocoa in front of him. “What’s the matter, bro, thinking about how the hell are you gonna bring all these chocolates home?” I asked him jokingly. “This…this is terrible.” He muttered, almost inaudibly. “Wow, too much even for you, huh? Well, no worries, I’ll help to take some of this home with me!” I replied, not sure if I am supposed to be comforting a man who got more chocolates than a freakin factory. He suddenly turned around and looked at me in the eyes, his face painted with a severely pained and depressed expression. Suddenly, he grabbed my shirt and started yelling at me.
“DON’T YOU GET IT?? THIS IS NOT ENOUGH!!!”
“YOU CRAZY BASTARD, HOW THE HELL IS THAT NOT ENOUGH?” I yelled back at him, in an equally, if not louder voice.
“I-I-I…got 54 chocolates last year, Ken…this is…this is”
“THAT’S A CRAPLOAD MORE THAN 54, YOU OVERZEALOUS PRICK!”
“IT’S ONLY 68!!! 60 FRIGGING 8!! I EXPECTED 80, AT THE BARE MINIMUM!!!”
“YOU PSYCHOTIC MORON, HOW THE HELL CAN YOU GET 80 CHOCOLATES?? YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW 80 GIRLS!”
“SO WHAT??? MOST OF THESE CAME FROM PEOPLE I DON’T KNOW ANYWAYS!!!”
…..Our stupid banter continued for another 2 minutes or so, until I realized that our conversation was about as productive as trying to revive a dead horse. I kicked some of the chocolates that had rolled from Kazuhiko’s table to mine away and sat down. As usual, there were 3 boxes of chocolate in my desk. One from my sister, one from the lead vocalist of my band, and one from someone who has given me chocolates repeatedly for the past three years, but has never talked to me in person. Feels kinda weird to have an admirer, but whatever.
Speaking of my band, I haven’t jammed with them in a while… maybe I’ll do that in the weekend.
I leaned back in my seat and scanned the classroom for Natsumi. And as usual, she was sitting in her seat, directly in front of the whiteboard. Come to think of it, does she study a lot? Kazuhiko said her GPA is 9.1, does that make her some kind of study freak or something? From what I can see, all she does during class is space out and stare blankly at the windows... strange. Oh, and of course, she looks gorgeous today, her face basking in the morning sun. How can a girl that cute and pretty have a traumatizing past..?
Actually now that I think about it, I accepted Kazuhiko’s challenge…, but if I actually, by some heavenly miracle, manage to make her my girlfriend…
Then what?
Honestly, while I find her to be irresistibly attractive and cute, I know next to nothing about her. Don’t relationships require more than just physical attraction to work? For better or for worse, I am going to get to know her better, and not for some stupid bet I made with my friend 7 years ago, but simply cause I find her… interesting.
With that thought, in mind, I inhaled deeply and prepared myself for what was surely going to be a great school day!
7 hours later…
“I HATE SCHOOL!” I yelled out loudly, slamming my bag down on my desk. “I mean, COME ON, a surprise test on SATURDAY? And at VALENTINE’S? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?” Kazuhiko didn’t give a retarded reply as usual, his face incredibly grim and forlorn. Ever since this morning, he has been muttering “more more more” repeatedly, like a broken tape recorder. “Gee, you sure have a great timing for knowing when to shut up.” I commented sarcastically. I think he muttered something along the lines of “shut up, peasant” as a response. Seeing that he is not gonna be the best conversational partner right now, I decided to leave him alone and headed towards my favourite spot in the whole school.
I climbed what seemed to be a million steps before I managed to reach the exit door leading to the roof. I am not really sure why I like the roof, maybe cause it’s so deserted and barren, plus I get a real good view of the city from there. And it seems like I was not the only one who thought so, since someone was already there ahead of me.
And that person was none other than Natsumi Hinata.
Holy crap, has lady luck finally developed a thing for me?