“Hana!” a woman’s voice behind us called, “sorry for making you wait.”

As I look over where the voice came from, coincidentally saw the guy who helped me this morning. He’s going down the stairs with one of the guys he was with.

Ha-chan knows him, right? From what I’ve observed, if Ha-chan knows someone, she’ll start a conversation……but unexpectedly, she didn’t even move. More like: she was stuck in place.

The woman who called for Ha-chan seems to have noticed the boy and has called him instead.

“Yuri—” Ha-chan tried to call her, but she has already called him over.

As they saw us, both Ha-chan and the guy were speechless.

Aren’t they good friends? Or the guy that we were talking about earlier isn’t the same person.

“I’m sorry Ai-chan, I’m going home now. I suddenly remembered that I have to do something.” Ha-chan said as she walked away hastily.

I wanted to stop her, but something told me that this is more complicated than I imagine.

The girl we met up with noticed that Ha-chan is nowhere to be seen, “Where’s Hana?” she asked me.

“She said that she had some urgent stuff she needed to do and left.”

“Oh, then—” as she was about to say something, the guy also left in the opposite direction. His friend tried following him, but he didn’t let him.

“Where are you going Hiro?”

His name is Hiro. I’ll keep that in mind.

“Sorry, I also remembered that I had to do grab something in the classroom.”

“But—” she was speechless with the current event.

I was also speechless. It was now me, the woman and his friend standing in the main entrance.

Moments of silence lasted for a couple minutes between the three of us. The girl, apparently known as Yuri, was deep in her thoughts, probably trying to process what had just happened while the guy, Hiro’s friend, is being awkward around us, or probably just me.

What am I supposed to do now? I don’t know what just happened.

“Do you have any idea what just happened?” she asked the both of us.

“I don’t know.” I answered.

He stutters a bit but also answers that he doesn’t know too.

She went back to her thoughts.

I made eye contact with the guy. It felt awkward.

A few more hours passed by; it felt like hours, but in reality, it’s only been a few minutes since the event.

“Yoshikawa-san, did you do something again to Hana?” she asked aggressively.

Yoshikawa? I think I’ve heard that name before.

“I­—I……”

She scoffs at him, “When will you ever learn?”

He was silent.

“I didn’t mean it.” he whispered as he left the school.

I’m so confuse right now.

“I was really hoping we could go somewhere today.” the girl mumbles to herself.

As she was about to leave, I remembered why we were there in the first place. Ha-chan invited me to eat ramen with a friend. Which means eating with this girl.

“Um! I’m sorry for stopping you, but I wanted to know your name.” I tried to break the ice.

“Ah, umm…...” she looked around as if she was confused why I was talking to her. She was genuinely confused.

“I— eh…… Remember? We were about to go somewhere with Ha-chan? You’re friends with her right?”

Her whole-body flinch as I said the word Ha-chan.

“Ha-chan?”

“……Hana.” I said as a way to tell her who I was talking about.

“Yeah, I know.” she said in a passive-aggressive way.

Eh!

“I’m sorry.” I instinctively said.

“Urk, I didn’t mean that.” she mumbles to herself as she avoids eye contact.

Silence……

I don’t know how to handle her.

“I’m Yuriko Aoki.” she said as she changed into her outdoor shoes.

“Aoki-san.” I said as a way to confirm it, “You can call me Isla. I don’t really like being called Scott honestly. It sounds like a guy’s name.”

“Ok, I’ll call you Isla-san.” she said conservatively, but she was trying to give more eye contact as she says it.

I nervously chuckle.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who was that guy?”

He face turned sour, “Yoshikawa Hinata.”

Yoshikawa Hinata……...

“Is he related to Jotaro— I meant, Yoshikawa Jotaro senpai?”

I really need to get used to the names.

“Yeah.”

“……. I also have another question, if you don’t mind.”

“Sorry, I don’t want to answer anymore question about him.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry.”

“I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow Isla-san.”

She was about to leave but, “Hey, since we were about to go somewhere with Ha-chan, I was wondering if we can just go with just the two of us instead?”

She thought about it for a few minutes, “Sure. Where are we going?” she said with a cold tone.

Is she mad? I think I messed up!!!

“Oh, um…… we were about to eat ramen, so ramen?” I took out my phone to search for a nearby ramen place.

“I know where she meant. You don’t have to search for it.” she starts walking.

“Oh! Okay.” I followed her.

We arrived at the place after a few minutes of walking.

I slurped the ramen like crazy. The noodles weren’t just noodles, they had a distinct taste to them. The broth had a strong chicken flavor that mixes well with all the spice and the beef. The beef was tender and is thick. Just by squishing it, juice will come out. Let’s not forget the vegies mixed in with the bowl. I don’t really like vegetables, so not much I can say for them. No matter where you are, if you don’t like vegetables, you won’t like it forever.

As I was about to finish my portion, Aoki-san had already finished her bowl. I finish mine seconds later.

“That was delicious!” I said.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it!” the owner said with a big smile on his face.

“Thanks for the food chief!” I complimented him.

“Come back anytime! Tell your friends about this place.”

“I will.”

We left the shop with filled bellies.

“So, where should we go next?” I asked, filled with excitement.

“Hmm, the sun’s going down already. So, we should probably go home for now.” then she realized something, “Oh…… I can’t eat dinner now.” she mumbles in a cold tone.

Ah! Shoot! My uncle’s going to be mad at me too. It was worth it anyways!!!

“Don’t worry, it’s a worth it sacrifice!”

She looks at me then scoffs.

I don’t know if she’s slowly opening up to me, or if she hates me.

“By the way, how long have you known Ha-chan?” I asked a question about Ha-chan because she’s the middle ground between us.

“Since middle school.” she answered but with another question, “how close are you and Hana for you to call her in a nickname already?”

Oh shit! I forgot she gets triggered whenever I call Ha-chan, Ha-chan.

“Um, well, it kinda just happened.”

“Tell me.” she insisted in a freezing tone. I shivered.

“Well, okay. We were just joking around after we introduced ourselves, I told her she should use my first name instead. Then suddenly she teased me and said Ai-chan, in short for Isla. I jokingly said that she can use the nickname, but she seriously started using it. So, I made a nickname for her too.”

“Tch.”

Did she just flick her tongue at me? Am I going to die?

“Please don’t kill me.” I whispered under my breath.

“Ah! I’m sorry for that.” she apologized.

I nervously laughed it off, “Anyways, thanks for taking me to that shop.”

She cracked a little smile, “Sure.”

That’s the first. I’m honestly glad that she looked like she enjoyed herself.

“Next time we should have Ha-chan join us.”

“Sure.” This time she didn’t mind me calling Ha-chan, Ha-chan.

“I’m going this way.” I said pointing to where my apartment is.

“I’m this way.” she said pointing to the opposite direction from my house, “I’ll see you at class tomorrow.”

“See you.” I waved goodbye as I started walking home.

Siiiiiiiiigh, what a first day this is!

“Hana!” a woman’s voice behind us called, “sorry for making you wait.”

As I look over where the voice came from, coincidentally saw the guy who helped me this morning. He’s going down the stairs with one of the guys he was with.

Ha-chan knows him, right? From what I’ve observed, if Ha-chan knows someone, she’ll start a conversation……but unexpectedly, she didn’t even move. More like: she was stuck in place.

The woman who called for Ha-chan seems to have noticed the boy and has called him instead.

“Yuri—” Ha-chan tried to call her, but she has already called him over.

As they saw us, both Ha-chan and the guy were speechless.

Aren’t they good friends? Or the guy that we were talking about earlier isn’t the same person.

“I’m sorry Ai-chan, I’m going home now. I suddenly remembered that I have to do something.” Ha-chan said as she walked away hastily.

I wanted to stop her, but something told me that this is more complicated than I imagine.

The girl we met up with noticed that Ha-chan is nowhere to be seen, “Where’s Hana?” she asked me.

“She said that she had some urgent stuff she needed to do and left.”

“Oh, then—” as she was about to say something, the guy also left in the opposite direction. His friend tried following him, but he didn’t let him.

“Where are you going Hiro?”

His name is Hiro. I’ll keep that in mind.

“Sorry, I also remembered that I had to do grab something in the classroom.”

“But—” she was speechless with the current event.

I was also speechless. It was now me, the woman and his friend standing in the main entrance.

Moments of silence lasted for a couple minutes between the three of us. The girl, apparently known as Yuri, was deep in her thoughts, probably trying to process what had just happened while the guy, Hiro’s friend, is being awkward around us, or probably just me.

What am I supposed to do now? I don’t know what just happened.

“Do you have any idea what just happened?” she asked the both of us.

“I don’t know.” I answered.

He stutters a bit but also answers that he doesn’t know too.

She went back to her thoughts.

I made eye contact with the guy. It felt awkward.

A few more hours passed by; it felt like hours, but in reality, it’s only been a few minutes since the event.

“Yoshikawa-san, did you do something again to Hana?” she asked aggressively.

Yoshikawa? I think I’ve heard that name before.

“I­—I……”

She scoffs at him, “When will you ever learn?”

He was silent.

“I didn’t mean it.” he whispered as he left the school.

I’m so confuse right now.

“I was really hoping we could go somewhere today.” the girl mumbles to herself.

As she was about to leave, I remembered why we were there in the first place. Ha-chan invited me to eat ramen with a friend. Which means eating with this girl.

“Um! I’m sorry for stopping you, but I wanted to know your name.” I tried to break the ice.

“Ah, umm…...” she looked around as if she was confused why I was talking to her. She was genuinely confused.

“I— eh…… Remember? We were about to go somewhere with Ha-chan? You’re friends with her right?”

Her whole-body flinch as I said the word Ha-chan.

“Ha-chan?”

“……Hana.” I said as a way to tell her who I was talking about.

“Yeah, I know.” she said in a passive-aggressive way.

Eh!

“I’m sorry.” I instinctively said.

“Urk, I didn’t mean that.” she mumbles to herself as she avoids eye contact.

Silence……

I don’t know how to handle her.

“I’m Yuriko Aoki.” she said as she changed into her outdoor shoes.

“Aoki-san.” I said as a way to confirm it, “You can call me Isla. I don’t really like being called Scott honestly. It sounds like a guy’s name.”

“Ok, I’ll call you Isla-san.” she said conservatively, but she was trying to give more eye contact as she says it.

I nervously chuckle.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who was that guy?”

He face turned sour, “Yoshikawa Hinata.”

Yoshikawa Hinata……...

“Is he related to Jotaro— I meant, Yoshikawa Jotaro senpai?”

I really need to get used to the names.

“Yeah.”

“……. I also have another question, if you don’t mind.”

“Sorry, I don’t want to answer anymore question about him.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry.”

“I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow Isla-san.”

She was about to leave but, “Hey, since we were about to go somewhere with Ha-chan, I was wondering if we can just go with just the two of us instead?”

She thought about it for a few minutes, “Sure. Where are we going?” she said with a cold tone.

Is she mad? I think I messed up!!!

“Oh, um…… we were about to eat ramen, so ramen?” I took out my phone to search for a nearby ramen place.

“I know where she meant. You don’t have to search for it.” she starts walking.

“Oh! Okay.” I followed her.

We arrived at the place after a few minutes of walking.

I slurped the ramen like crazy. The noodles weren’t just noodles, they had a distinct taste to them. The broth had a strong chicken flavor that mixes well with all the spice and the beef. The beef was tender and is thick. Just by squishing it, juice will come out. Let’s not forget the vegies mixed in with the bowl. I don’t really like vegetables, so not much I can say for them. No matter where you are, if you don’t like vegetables, you won’t like it forever.

As I was about to finish my portion, Aoki-san had already finished her bowl. I finish mine seconds later.

“That was delicious!” I said.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it!” the owner said with a big smile on his face.

“Thanks for the food chief!” I complimented him.

“Come back anytime! Tell your friends about this place.”

“I will.”

We left the shop with filled bellies.

“So, where should we go next?” I asked, filled with excitement.

“Hmm, the sun’s going down already. So, we should probably go home for now.” then she realized something, “Oh…… I can’t eat dinner now.” she mumbles in a cold tone.

Ah! Shoot! My uncle’s going to be mad at me too. It was worth it anyways!!!

“Don’t worry, it’s a worth it sacrifice!”

She looks at me then scoffs.

I don’t know if she’s slowly opening up to me, or if she hates me.

“By the way, how long have you known Ha-chan?” I asked a question about Ha-chan because she’s the middle ground between us.

“Since middle school.” she answered but with another question, “how close are you and Hana for you to call her in a nickname already?”

Oh shit! I forgot she gets triggered whenever I call Ha-chan, Ha-chan.

“Um, well, it kinda just happened.”

“Tell me.” she insisted in a freezing tone. I shivered.

“Well, okay. We were just joking around after we introduced ourselves, I told her she should use my first name instead. Then suddenly she teased me and said Ai-chan, in short for Isla. I jokingly said that she can use the nickname, but she seriously started using it. So, I made a nickname for her too.”

“Tch.”

Did she just flick her tongue at me? Am I going to die?

“Please don’t kill me.” I whispered under my breath.

“Ah! I’m sorry for that.” she apologized.

I nervously laughed it off, “Anyways, thanks for taking me to that shop.”

She cracked a little smile, “Sure.”

That’s the first. I’m honestly glad that she looked like she enjoyed herself.

“Next time we should have Ha-chan join us.”

“Sure.” This time she didn’t mind me calling Ha-chan, Ha-chan.

“I’m going this way.” I said pointing to where my apartment is.

“I’m this way.” she said pointing to the opposite direction from my house, “I’ll see you at class tomorrow.”

“See you.” I waved goodbye as I started walking home.

Siiiiiiiiigh, what a first day this is!