[07/01/2017 3:56 PM: um senpai? where is everyone?]
[07/01/2017 3:57 PM: im at the newspaper clubroom but the door is locked]
[07/01/2017 3:57 PM: we meeting up somewhere else no one told me abt???]
[07/01/2017 4:15 PM: no]
[07/01/2017 4:16 PM: ok then where r u?]
[07/01/2017 4:33 PM: beep beep earth to senpai]
[07/01/2017 5:28 PM: Is everything OK?]
With a deep sigh, Yosuke looks at his phone underneath his desk as the bell signals the arrival of lunch break. It has been a long week already, and it is only Tuesday. With a slow exhale, he leans back in his chair, observing his classmates leaving their desks, producing their lunch boxes or heading out to the school cafeteria and flocking together into their usual cliques. In the front of the classroom, the usual battle begins. A boy with flashy brown hair stands up, and immediately, a half dozen or so girls scuttle up to him, trying to get his attention.
He doesn’t get it. Naota Shinomiya is a sleazebag. A superficial egomaniac who fell to the top of the class’s social hierarchy on charisma alone. Shinomiya is no bully — unfortunately, as that would make others see him for the scum he is — but he knows the right words to put people in their place and isn’t afraid to use them. Yet he can get away with anything. Yosuke could stand up and tell the girls Shinomiya has been passing around a “hot or not” ranking in their secret “boys only” messaging group, and they’d probably start defending him. It’s not fair.
But Shinomiya must be doing something right. They enjoy his company. They forgive him when he breaks their hearts. And so, as soon as the king leaves his throne room to go buy lunch, Yosuke follows behind him.
Yosuke: (he clears his throat) S-Shinomiya-kun! Uhm… a moment, please?
Shinomiya: (He turns with some surprise) Yeah? What’s up. Don’t make me miss the yakisoba sandwiches, man.
Yosuke: No, eh, I wanted to get a yakisoba sandwich, too, so… wanna go together?
Shinomiya: No, (he laughs to himself) that’s okay. I’ve got my people and you’ve got yours, right?
Yosuke: Oh, eh… Why are you walking on your own, then?
Shinomiya: We’re not glued together, y’know. Did you want something or are you tryin’ to pick a fight now?
Yosuke: Well, it’s just like… Yeah, we don’t have much in common, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from each other, right?
Shinomiya: Sounds like you wanna get something from me. I don’t think I’ll ever need to… write a newspaper article? Whatever.
Yosuke: Wait, wait wait wait, you’re… good with girls, right? I just need to know… If you had to, um, apologize to a girl. How would you go about it?
Shinomiya: (He pauses for a second in shock, then bursts into uproarious laughter) Oh! Our Nishioka-kun’s finally growing up! Ha ha! (His laughter calms down) I see how it is now. Right, I remember now, you got to show our new blind beauty around on the first day back. (He puts an arm around Yosuke’s shoulder conspiratorially) What’d you do, make a move on her while she was holding onto you?
Yosuke: W-What? No! I’d never do something like that; This is more of, like, a more fundamental thing, right? I, uh… Like, what if you really hurt a girl’s feelings?
Shinomiya: (He waggles his finger, clicking his tongue with a sly grin) Now listen and I’ll learn you somethin’ good. Girls are all looking for a strong guy to take the lead. They don’t want pansy emo shit like a tearful “sorry.” (He says it in a mocking high voice) That’s girl stuff. You understand?
Yosuke: Eh, things don’t exactly end well when I take the lead…
Shinomiya: That’s the problem right there. Girls can smell it when you’re not confident. And that goes double for a girl like her who needs a guy to take the lead!
Yosuke: I told you it’s not Yamano, dude… I’m not sure if senpai’s into, err… alphas.
Shinomiya: Uh… are we talkin’ some kinda femdom situation here? I don’t need to know that stuff, Nishioka-kun…
Yosuke: W-What? No, I’m not saying it’s a… (he all but mutters the word) sex thing, it’s more like… Senpai’s a bit of an acquired taste, you know?
As if on cue, the door the boys are passing by slides open, and out comes a frumpy-dressed student, her gaze aimed at the wooden floor, buried underneath a veritable mess of curly hair, though her ears sharp as ever.
Koharu: … An acquired taste?
Yosuke: S-S-Senpai! I-I wasn’t talking about you, you know! I was talking about—
Koharu: Whatever. (she flashes Yosuke a brief glare before brushing him aside, heading off in the opposite direction)
Yosuke: (he holds out his hand) W-Wait!
Shinomiya: (Slightly wide-eyed, he takes a moment to process what happened) Eh? Shirahara? Serious?
Yosuke: Uh… Yeah, serious? She’s… She’s… (he mutters) cute…
Shinomiya: You sure, dude? She’s not super high up there in my books.
Yosuke: High up where? D-Do you even know her?
Shinomiya: (Shrug) I’ve seen her, haven’t I?
Out of all the bad ideas Yosuke has ever had, asking this guy for romantic advice may have been the most hare-brained one. He clenches his fists, trying not to glare at Shinomiya’s vacant, dismissive smirk.
Yosuke: (he sighs) Well… Guess I’ve got nothing to fear from you, then. Not that I expect senpai to be interested even if you do feel like picking her up.
Mitakihara Original 