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41.93% My Adolescent Romantic Comedy Is Incorrect As I Had Logically Proven / Chapter 13: Totsuka was adorable when you call him by his first name.

Kapitel 13: Totsuka was adorable when you call him by his first name.

It was two weeks before the midterms.

A straight-laced male high school student is someone who stops by a family restaurant on the way home so he can study for a bit. No TV, no internet, no family members to distract them. I happened to stop by a cheap restaurant on the day the teachers visited the city education department, which meant school had ended early and club activities were cancelled.

I was doing easy work, just writing out English words over and over.

After some minutes, I finished taking notes and looked around my surroundings as I downed my cocoa. That was when it happened.

"Yukinon"

I winced. What are the odds that some else had that nickname?

"Yukinon, sorry we couldn't go to Saize," said a girl. "We'll have a Milan-style rice pilaf next time, okay? I also recommend the Hamburg steak with vegetable salsa, though…"

"I don't particularly mind where we go. They all do the same thing," said another girl. "Come to think of it, is Hamburg steak even Italian cooking, I wonder?"

If the content of the conversations did not tip me off, the familiar voices did. Damn it, I picked this place because I heard my sister mention it and thought it would be a good place to dodge the club mates. Saize is cheap, has large tables, private booths. The best place to study in relative peace (when you have earphones), it was on the same level as small, quiet coffee shops.

"Oh!" one voice exclaimed.

"…ah," the other voice said.

"Damn," I groaned.

The three of us saw each other's faces and gravitated towards each other. When I say gravitated I mean more like they came over to my table.

"Hikki, what are you doing here?" Yuigahama asked. Eyes woman, can't you see for yourself and deduce a theory.

"Studying…" I stated with a drawl.

"Ooooh, didn't expect to see you here. Me and Yukinon were gonna study here a bit… so, um, wanna join in our study group?" Yuigahama said as she looked back and forth between Yukinoshita's face and mine.

"Yukinon and I," I said in an attempt to educate her on grammar, the only thing I was going to help her with today.

For a moment, Yuigahama cocked her head slightly, dumbfounded at this development, but she put it out of mind with a "'kay, it's decided!" and rushed over to my table.

Wait what the?

Did, did she just misinterpret my correction of her grammar as I wanted to join her study group?

This is what happens when you try to help people. Crap happens to you.

Well if I have to study with them, I am going to need a refill of my drink, preferable with alcohol. I don't actually drink not because it is illegal but because if every small thing an annoying person did drove me to drink, I would be dead of liver failure by the age of twenty.

As I helped myself to a new (non-alcoholic) drink at the self-serve drink bar the others joined me, and as we were taking them back to our table, Yukinoshita eyed the unmanned counter fixatedly. She held her cup in her right hand and, for some reason, a small coin in her left. After a pause, she said, "Hey, Hikigaya-kun. Where do you put the money?"

"Pardon?"

Was she pulling my leg? Did dearest Yukinoshita-san really not know how a self serve drink bar works? Just what kind of sheltered upbringing did she have?

No seriously what kind of upbringing did she have? I knew next to nothing about her, for obvious reasons but if she was a daughter of some important person I would making it my number one priority to avoid her at all cost. Nothing goods come from hanging out with important people. Envy, greed, pride, sloth, gluttony.

"Nah, you don't need money. Imagine it as a buffet only for beverages."

"…Japan is quite the bountiful country," Yukinoshita said with a dark smile on her lips, expressing emotions I didn't understand. As she spoke, she gave up her position in line for me. And then she watched me earnestly as I filled my drink. The machine let out a hum as the hot milk was poured into my cup, and Yukinoshita watched it all happen with sparkling eyes.

I was speechless. Just to make certain I wasn't mistaken about what I had just seen, I set my cup under the espresso machine while I was at it. When I pressed the button for cocoa, she let out a quiet, "Oh, so that's how you do it…"

With a shaky hand, Yukinoshita filled her cup with the drink she wanted, and the three of us returned to our seats together. It was about time for our study meeting to begin.

"'mkay, let's start."

At Yuigahama's signal, Yukinoshita and I promptly put our headphones on. Earphones help when cycling as you still need to hear the horn of the car about to kill you. Headphones help when you want to drown out the world.

Yuigahama looked at us with a horrified look on her face. "Huh?! Why are you listening to music?!"

"You see, you're supposed to listen to music when you're studying, blocks out the noise." And a certain high pitch screech from a particular person in our class.

"Indeed," said Yukinoshita. "The fact that I'm concentrating when I'm blocking out noise is excellent proof of its positive effect on my motivation."

Yuigahama banged her fist on the table. "That's not how it works! Not at study meetings!" she protested.

At Yuigahama's reaction, Yukinoshita put a hand on her chin in a gesture of deep thought. "So what do you propose we do at this meeting?" she asked at length.

"Uhhh, work out what's gonna be on the test, ask questions on what we don't know… 'course, we'll squeeze in some breaks, and afterwards discuss stuff, and then exchange info. And… we'll chat for a bit, I guess?"

"That's just talking the whole time." I summarised, intrigued at what she was said. Is that how 'normal' people study these days, no wonder my sister was failing. Sometimes I would about what I am missing out on by being a misanthropist. It's a pleasant feeling when your beliefs turn out to be correct ones.

It was a study meeting without a single bit of study. Wouldn't you call that a waste of time?

"Studying has always been a solitary activity in and of itself," Yukinoshita said, as if realising something. I nodded in agreement.

Yuigahama scowled at the idea of studying right from the get-go, but when she saw how intent Yukinoshita and I were on studying silently, she let out a resigned sigh and got to work.

And in that way, five minutes passed, and then ten, and then an hour.

Curious at how they were doing, I shot them a glance, I saw that Yuigahama had her face scrunched up slightly and she kept stopping her hand. Yukinoshita, on the other hand, went on solving maths problems without so much as a murmur.

Yuigahama turned her gaze to me and spoke up as if she couldn't handle the intense concentration anymore. "Er, um… so about this question…" she asked. I pulled my headphones off to hear her better.

"The Doppler Effect, huh…" I said. "I don't know much about it since I'm dropping sciences, ask Yukinoshita."

Pass the buck, good times.

Yuigahama closed her textbook and notebook in resignation and slurped her iced tea through her straw. When she held up her glass and looked around. She seemed to lock on to something.

My interest piqued, please tell me she did not just spot her squad and I was going to lose my slice of peace.

I looked in the same direction, and standing there was a girl dressed in a scruffy sailor uniform. It was my little sister.

My little sister Komachi was standing in front of the register, smiling cheerfully. Next to her was a boy in a middle school uniform.

A boy.

I had stood up from my seat without realising it just as they were leaving. I paused for a second to rationalise what I was doing standing up. Nothing came to mind so I sat back down, ignoring the stares of my two companions.

Yuigahama spoke up. "So, uhhh, was that your sister just now?"

"Yes."

Annoyingly it took me a couple of seconds to get my focus back to studying.

"She might've been on a date!" Yuigahama suggested.

"Maybe."

Please drop it, we are supposed to be studying.

"She's cute so it's no surprise she'd have a boyfriend, right?"

"Focus. We are meant to be revising. What does it really matter if she does?" I might have said that sharper than I had intended.

Yukinoshita took off her headphones and glared at us. "Please stop yelling insipid statements. I heard you even with my headphones on just now."

"Yukinoshita has a point, I'm going back to my English work." With that I jammed my headphones on and turned up the classical music until it blotted Yuigahama out.

Perhaps I should ask her when I get home.

Nah, we have drifted apart too much for me to ask her such questions.

A sense of mild regret washed over me. It was then crushed by the distraction of studying.

***

It was break time, but I couldn't catch a break.

The classroom buzzed with chatter. Louder than the safety max volume of my headphone. Get the cheap ones I thought, no need to spend extra for noise cancelling I thought. Everyone and their dog had been released from the shackles of schoolwork, and now they were all talking familiarly with their friends about their plans after school and what they watched on TV, yadda yadda yadda. Their words went in one ear and out the other.

I got the feeling that today the chatter was even livelier than usual. In all likelihood, it was because the teacher in charge of homeroom had announced that we'd be picking our own groups for the "workplace tour". Even though there would be a longer homeroom than usual the day after tomorrow to decide the groups and where they'd be going, my classmates were one step ahead. The conversations weren't so much along the lines of "where are you going?" as it was "who are you going with?" Nearly everyone in the class was making special plans to be with who they wanted.

That much was obvious. School wasn't just a place where you took classes. At its heart, it's a microcosm of society, a miniature garden populated by every type of human being on this earth. And so in high school people have their wars and disputes through the form of bullying, and just like any stratified society high school has a clear social hierarchy. Of course, since it's a democracy, the theory of strength in numbers applies too. The majority - and those with the majority of friends - rule.

Without my music and the background noise too loud for me to start reading to drown it out, I had to watch the behaviour of my classmates with my chin resting on my hands.

Eventually the background noise became whitewashed which result in my line of sight dimmed and I began to nod off. Before I could reach Morpheus' embrace, I was shaken awake by a small pair of hands. When I lifted my face blearily, Totsuka Saika was sitting on the seat in front of me.

"Morning," Totsuka greeted me with a small smile.

I stirred. What a face to wake up to. Instead of my ugly mug in the mirror in the morning.

There was silence for a moment as my mind slowly rebooted. "So what's up?" I asked.

"Nothing much…" he replied. "I just thought I'd say hello since you were there, Hikigaya-kun… was I getting in your way?"

"Nah, not in the least. Actually, I'd love for you to talk to me for four-to-six hours a day."

"In that case, I'd have to be with you all the time, you know?" Totsuka laughed cutely, putting a hand over his mouth. And then, as if realising something, he clapped his hands together and scrunched his eyes shut in request. "Hikigaya-kun, have you decided where you're going for the workplace tour yet?"

"Yes but I am fighting for it," I said.

Perplexed by what I said, Totsuka peered down at my face and cocked his head slightly. I caught a fleeting glance of the space between the collar of his gym clothes and his collarbone and turned my gaze away inadvertently. How could he have such beautiful skin? What kind of body soap was he using?

"Ahh, basically what I mean is that I have asked for a questionable place so the teachers may not let me go therefore I don't care where I go if I can't have my first option," I answered. "Anywhere besides my home is all the same to me. Equally worthless."

"Oooh, sometimes you say such big words, Hikigaya-kun." I don't recall saying a single difficult word, but Totsuka made a sound of amazement, as if my words had made a deep impression on him.

I tried not to squirm in delight in my chair.

Barely managed it.

"So… you've already decided who you're going with, huh?" Totsuka Saika peered into my eyes hesitantly, but with unmistakeable insistence.

I had no idea what to make of what he had said. His words seemed to have a kind of "I want to go with you but since you've already decided, what a shame, huh?" vibe to it.

That was enough to put me on guard. He was very popular therefore why would he want to come with me?

So I answered a question with a question.

"Have you decided who you're going with?"

"M-me?" Dumbfounded at having his own question thrown back at him, Totsuka's cheeks went red. "I've, um, already decided." He covered his eyes slightly and peeped at me sideways for my reaction.

Evidence, thou art a bitch.

Meh, that's life, I guess. Totsuka was a tennis club member, which basically meant he had his own special community he belonged to and it was inevitable that he would have connections. It was obvious he would have friends in this class.

Friends.

I glanced around the room to see who was watching us converse only to spot Hayato and his gang.

Hayama Hayato was surrounded by three guys and he was beaming, just like he usually did. Pretty much everyone was happy to call him Hayato, and Hayama was willing to call them by their first names too.

Sadly the cake was a lie and so were their interactions. Their performance was just as scripted. They just wanted to suck up to each other. Survival by being in a pack, classic psychology.

The experiment: would calling someone by their first name change your relationship with them?

"Saika."

When I called out Totsuka's name, Totsuka said nothing. He stiffened. His eyes went wide and he blinked two or three times, his mouth agape.

See what I mean? It doesn't make you get along any better. Usually, calling someone by their first name when you haven't earned the intimacy would just piss them off. Like, when Zaimokuza called me 'Hachiman', I blatantly ignored him.

I figured I should probably apologise to Totsuka for now. Wouldn't want him angry at me. "Ah, sorry about just now…"

"…I'm so happy. It's the first time you've called me by my first name."

"I just… what…?"

Totsuka smiled broadly at me, his eyes somewhat clouded with deep emotion. What the hell?

Totsuka looked up at me and cleared his throat. "So, um… can I call you Hikki?"

"No way in hell."

No, just no. Right now, there was only one person calling me by that highly revolting nickname, and if it caught on I'd be screwed. Seeing how I refused to budge, Totsuka looked somewhat disappointed for a moment, but then he cleared his throat and tried again. "What about… Hachiman?"

DING DING DING!

The noise resounded in my ears.

"Say that again, please."

Totsuka smiled vaguely, perplexed at my nonsensical request. He looked cute even when he was troubled.

"…Hachiman," he said shyly, watching for my reaction between his fingers.

"Hachiman?" he said questioningly, tilting his head slightly.

"Hachiman! Are you listening to me?" he said crossly, puffing out his cheeks.

Seeing Totsuka's slightly angered expression was enough to bring me back to my senses.

"Uh, uhhhh. Sorry. What were we saying again?" I pretended I was spaced out, but actually I was writing a mental note about the results of my experiment.

Conclusion: Totsuka was adorable when you call him by his first name.


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