The Starting Line

February 21st, 2017

[Yunyun]: Welcome to the group

So is this about Kenzie from run club

[Yunyun]: Yup

And we're helping you write the confession text here?

[Yunyun]: Yup

[Ray]: Why does she still go to run club so often even though she has exams soon?

[Yunyun]: To get fit for me, obviously

Yeah, fit enough run away when you confess to her

[Ray]: So that’s why you’re asking her out on text!

Big brain

[Ray]: Big brain

[Yunyun]: Shut up Rob you’re here to support me

[Yunyun]: Ok don’t actually shut up but like help

Fine
I’ll show you the parts of the ground she stepped on in run club?

[Yunyun]: Thanks

High schoolers can get up to all sorts of shenanigans when it comes to another person’s crush. We’d exchange screenshots. Send messages with the intent of espionage. Maybe open messenger on someone else’s laptop to send weird texts to their crush.

On the evening of February 21st, Ray texted me about the script that he was writing with Yunyun for a confession to Yunyun's crush, Kenzie. Apparently there was a small group chat were preparations were being made.

Within our group of friends, it was semi-common knowledge that Yunyun had a crush on Kenzie. She was an outgoing girl in the year above. Ray and I acquainted with her, because we would frequent the same after-school run club, and she had also sold me a cup of tofu some time back.

I was interested in this affair, as it was someone else's drama and not mine, so I asked to join the group chat and offered to help.

The group chat was brimming with activity that night.

Before I had the chance to make any meaningful contributions, Yunyun sent the text that we he and Ray had been putting together, then blitzed the group chat with messages like

[Yunyun]: I ACTUALLY DID IT

and

[Yunyun]: I'M SHAKING

and

[Yunyun]: ADFSADF I'M SO SCARED #!$#@$!

And then I watched him go through the trials of facing rejection in real time. It was spectacular.

[Yunyun]: She's like constantly going online
[Yunyun]: I think she's telling someone about it

[Yunyun]: She still hasn't sent anything today yet
[Yunyun]: @Ray how long did it take when you asked your gf out

[Ray]: Well she was silent for quite a while but

[Yunyun]: How long is a while?
[Yunyun]: A Day?
[Yunyun]: A week?

Eventually, he was politely turned down, so over the next few days, I tried to make myself useful by keeping him company over text and during lunchtimes. Despite Yunyun’s worries, his friendship with Kenzie seemed to stay intact.

I started talking with Yunyun a lot more, though he would often bug me about Kenzie because I occasionally communicated with her over Snapchat.

March 19th, 2017

On March 19th, I participated in a charity half-marathon, which a friend called Sachi convinced me to join. Back at run club, Kenzie told me she would be running it as well. Yunyun and Kenzie's friends were helping out at the venue as volunteers.

Upon arriving at Disneyland Resort, where the marathons would be held, I found Yunyun, dropped my bag off with him, and met up with Kenzie at the starting line. The clouds suggested that there would be a slight drizzle. I had wound dressing on my left kneecap thanks to a wild game of ultimate frisbee I’d recently had.

“It’s too early for this,” I grumbled.

Kenzie tried to uphold my will to maintain consciousness. “You can’t waste all of that practice from run club!”

Although it was 7AM and I was groggy, the run wasn’t so bad, except for the signal. I repeatedly tried to open Pokémon Go to no avail while jogging. It almost felt like a waste of legwork because I could have hatched a lot of eggs in that distance.

Despite being a girl and having much shorter legs than me, she ran pretty quickly. Just a minute after I crossed the finish line, she came bursting through as well.

“You made it!” I cheered.

Now that the sunlight was more prominent and I wasn’t in a rush, I noticed that Kenzie’s face was really flushed, but still adorned with a bright smile. Despite her short stature, she stood out. Between deep breaths, she asked me, “How was the run?”

“I’ve…uh,” I paused, both to catch my own breath and to bring attention to the terrible pun I was about to make, “run out of energy.” Before she could react any further than narrowing her eyes and preparing a sarcastic expression, I added, “It was alright.”

Kenzie then stared at the wound dressing on my knee, and asked, “Even with that knee? Are you really okay?”

To which I responded, “It’s just a scratch. I’m fine.”

We walked back to where Yunyun and the other volunteers were, and I unpacked my box of snacks.

“You want my banana?”, I said to Kenzie, while looking at Yunyun.

“No thanks, I have a bigger one,” said Yunyun.

“Wasn’t asking you.”

We gazed into each other’s eyes, mentally challenging each other’s bananas in a separate plane of conscience.

“Sure, thanks.”

Kenzie broke our trance by accepting my banana.

I stayed with the volunteers and gave them a hand, because I felt like it. Kenzie stayed as well. At some point, it started drizzling, and people put on raincoats. Kenzie and I noticed that one of the volunteers was wearing a raincoat that had a penis drawn on it, so we quietly snickered at it together and I got a photo of it.

Yunyun complained, "Did it have to start raining?"

I said, “Yeah, Disney-ds to stop.”

Yunyun looked at me with his lip hanging in disgust.

I continued, as if he'd prompted me, “Any further rain might make Disneyland Resort to emergency measures.”

“Bruh –”

Ahh, the sweet sound of Yunyun’s faith in me disappearing.

I joined all the volunteers for lunch after the event. On the way, Kenzie sent me the group photos that were taken at Disneyland Resort, and I sent her a picture of someone wearing a penis-stained raincoat. We ended up at a place called Toast Box. I sat with Yun, Kenzie, and one of Kenzie’s friends.

Kenzie’s food arrived earlier than everyone else’s. It came on a plastic tray. She just sat there across me, not touching her food. This gave my eyes ample time to register everything on the tray that was losing its optimal taste because it wasn’t being consumed as soon as it was served. The tray contained a plate with a jam-filled toast, which had been cut into nine slices. The toast had a piece of butter on it. A small bowl holding a hot spring egg sat next to the plate of toast, letting the toast know that it wouldn’t grow old alone.

Eventually, I looked at her and asked, “Why don’t you eat first?”

“It’s fine, I’ll wait until everyone else gets their food too.”

“…Mmkay.”

We sat quietly, waiting for everyone’s tray to arrive. My tray came next, but I decided to follow Kenzie’s example.

The sitting continued for another 15 minutes or so.

True to her word, she didn’t have a single bite until we all had our food served.

There wasn’t much to do afterwards, so everyone took the train home after lunch. Kenzie and her friends hugged whenever one of them got off. Eventually, because we lived on the same line, it ended up being just the two of us near the end of the journey back home.

We stood opposite each other. She was slightly facing her left, as if she wanted to be able to register what was in front of her, but not seem like she was staring at anything or anyone in particular. I read somewhere that females have greater peripheral vision than males. What a convenient biological trait for combating awkwardness.

Peripheral vision aside, I wasn’t much different. I silently leaned on the wall and didn’t attempt to make conversation. To me, being able to be comfortably quiet with someone was a sign of friendship. I was trying to convince myself that this was the case.

“So, you live on this line too…?” She said.

“Yup. Just four stops from your station.”

The train continued moving.

“Do you have my number?”

My eyes jerked upwards.

“Uh. Wait.” I fumbled with my phone. “I don’t think I do.”

I handed my phone to her and she input her contact details on my phone. I added, “If I had your number earlier today I probably would’ve called you to find you.”

“Then you can call me next time. If there is a next time.”

“Sure.”

Having abandoned the comfort of the wall I was leaning on, I stood around in front of her until the train arrived at her stop.

She turned to me, waved, said “Bye!” and walked off.