My Crazy Competition

Tobias 1514 September 27, 2046

I puffed my chest out as Sora and I approached Grant-kun and Demont-kun. For the past month now, we had gone from bitter classmates to die-hard enemies. Despite the best wishes of our parents, the three of us could just not get along. It was bad enough in the beginning, but now it was on the verge of violence.

“Now, gentlemen, you are indeed aware of why I have called us here today?” Demont-kun asked as he glared at Sora and me. I knew full well the reason but wouldn’t say it. “It is for a very simple reason. The woman known as Kano Niǎo has been a great source of conflict between us. I say it is time to end it.” Oh, you finally want to end it, you Baggett eating twisted mustache? You don’t even know when this started.

Tobias 1037 August 15, 2046

I wonder how our first kiss will go. I think as I sit in class. With Sora set in his relationship with Suki-san, it was only a matter of time before I would be able to make my move on Niǎo-san. I smiled at the thought of finally being able to embrace her. “GoKegawa-kun!” Akeno-sensei calls in a harsh tone.

“Uh yes,” I respond, snapping to my feet.

“Is my history class boring, you GoKegawa-kun?” she asks.

“No, not at all, sensei.”

“Well, if you feel confident enough in your understanding of Meje restoration to be daydreaming, you must not mind taking these books to the teacher’s lounge for me, would you?” she says, patting a tall stack of thick books on her desk.

“No sensei,” I say meekly as I grab the book and head out. Sigh, what a pain, I think as I carry the books down the hall. I drop them off and decide to stretch my legs and take the long way back, passing the vending machines by the entrance as I do so. I put my coin in and select an orange tea. In passing, I’ve heard g that Niǎo-san’s favorite flavor is orange from Sara and Suki-san, so it’s nice that we have that in common. I’m about to pass by the shoe lockers when I see someone out of the corner of my eye. On instinct, I sidestep behind the lockers. Who else would be at the lockers? I wonder as I hide behind them. I peek around and see it’s Grant-kun. He’s standing there holding a letter of some kind. He takes a deep breath and places it in the open locker. He quickly closes the door and begins to speed walk down the hall. I again peek over to the locker he was looking at and notice that it’s left partially open. Well, this is gonna be interesting, I think, as I approach the locker. “Kano Niǎo,” it reads. What would he be putting in Niǎo-san’s locker? I open and read the paper.

“My dearest Niǎo-sama, I beseech thee to meet me behind the school this day at 1600. I have something most dire to express to thee and will be awaiting your arrival. Yours dearest A.” OH! MY! GOD! It’s a love letter. He’s planning to confess. My mind is abuzz with ideas on what to do. Do I leave it? Do I take it? What will she do? Why would he do this? Eventually, I come up with only one solid option. I take out my pen and change the time. Sorry, Grant-kun, but you’re gonna stand her up. I mean, there’s no way you’ll wait until 1800 to see her, will you? I close the locker and rush back to class.

Tobias 1245 August 17, 2046

“Do yah know what happened to his majesty? O’ve nevah seen his so down befoah.” Cook-kun asks as the bell signals us to shift classes. I can’t blame him for asking. The usual prime and proper Grant-kun had arrived to class looking like death. His blonde hair was uncombed, and his piercing blue eyes were as blunt as a spoon. He avoided speaking except for roll call, and even then, he didn’t so much speak but croak like a frog.

“I don’t know,” I say as innocently as I can.

“I’m almost worried about him. Someone said they saw him waiting behind the school yestahdie. Probably to confess to some girl,l but she nevah showed.”

“Oh well, can you really blame her? I mean, she would have to date Grant-kun.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone, but I hate to see him so down,” Cook-kun says, concerned.

“Hey, this is Grant-kun we’re talking about; I’m sure he’ll be up to his old tricks soon enough.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. Well, I’ll see you at practice.” He grabs his bag, and we head out. As we split up, my thoughts lingered on if I did the right thing. I can’t believe he’s so torn up about it. What if they had met? Would she of rejected him? These thoughts and more linger in my mind as french begins. What would I’ve done if they’d started dating? What if someone else tries something? What if-

“Tobias GoKegawa!” Monsieur Genet says, harshly snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Ah yes?” I say as I hop to my feet.

“I know the poems today have been very moving, but now it’s time for you to share yours.”

“Oh right,” I say as I grab it out of my binder. We’ve been wrapping up our studies on french poetry and had to write a poem about something important or life-changing. I’d decided to write mine on the trip to Guam. I wrote of how the sun-baked yellow beaches blended well with the deep tan of every person on the island. How seeing a smile on everyone’s face made me feel like I was home even though I’d never been there. I finish by noting that though the Tokyo skyline may cast shadows far, they could never move me like the leaves of the palm trees swaying in the breeze.

“Very good. Your pronunciations have improved considerably throughout the class.” Monsieur Genet praises. “Now Louise, let’s hear yours.”

Demont-kun stands and begins his poem. He begins by describing a bird with eyes like emeralds piercing his heart, how the tender care to her feathers makes him confident that she would build a nest to fit for Napoleon himself. He says before he could not understand how the Gauls could face the legions of Caesar, but that she fills him with the courage to face down the whole German blitz. The bird he met not long ago that flew in from the far-off land of tea and porcelain. Wait a minute. He’s talking about Niǎo-san, I think. But why? How is he speaking so calmly? Won’t everyone else know who he’s- no, they won't. I realize. The classes are split. I bet nobody else in this class knows about her. But when and where did he meet her? She’s not in his class and the only time I’m not around her in English and Fr- they must have English together. That’s the only time I don’t share a class with one of them.

“And with luck, this bird will be sitting in my cage this very day. For I plan to catch it so one may steal it away.” Demont-kun says, finishing his poem. Wait today? As in the plans to confess to her today? I panic at the thought. How can I stop it? Perhaps he plans to ambush her after class or after club? I can’t let that happen. I excuse myself from the classroom and ponder how to handle it. I can’t just find her and take her away. That’d be way too obvious. It has to be someone other than me. Suki-chan? No, she and Sora have plans… Guess I’ll have to call in a favor from Sara. From the bathroom, I text her saying it’s urgent. She’s curious why she has to keep Niǎo-san from Demont-kun, of course, but I buy her off with the promise of juice.

From the window, I watch as Sara manages to stay with Niǎo-san and doge Demont-kun. When I pass him next in the hall, I can’t help but make a bit of a twisted grin. He stops and looks back at me, his face a mix of astonishment and disgust. “So you want to play it like that, you bargain-bin Puerto Rican? Fine then I shall stomp you like Francis II at Austerlitz,” he says boldly as he strides off with a huff. I, too, walk away but pull out my phone as soon as he’s out of sight. “Ausderlitz” I type into the search engine, trying to figure out precisely what he meant by that.

Tobias 1516 September 27, 2046

That’s how the fiasco started. We both began to sabotage each other, and soon Grant-kun found out what the two of us were doing. For a while, he acted as a mutually destructive entity to both me and Demont-kun. But once he saw me shooting ahead, he joined Demont-kun. Saying, “She’s already rejected me. I don’t care if Louise wins. I just want you to lose.” And so, with Sora’s help, we’d come to a standstill. No one made any progress, and now Demont-kun had called Sora and me to a cease-fire.

“So you’re finally ready to give up?” Sora asked in a proud tone.

“That depends on your willingness to make a wager,” Grant-kun says with a sly grin.

“And what is this bet?” I ask

“The terms are straightforward. The sports festival is in 2 weeks. With how the classes are split up, we will be on separate teams. The wager is simple. The losing team will back down from Kano Niǎo and allow the winners to make a proper confession. Furthermore, if she accepts, then the losing party will accept the relationship and make no attempts of sabotage. Bygones will be bygones, and we shall make nice while our fathers are around. Seem fair?” Demont-kun asks, raising an eyebrow. I stand and contemplate this for a movement. But Sora’s hothead answers for me.

“We accept,” he says confidently. Shaking Demont-Kun’s extended hand. What you fool, I wasn’t done thinking it over. I think, but it’s too late.

“Excellent. May the best man win,” Demont-kun says as he and Grant-kun turn to leave.

“This is the chance we’ve been waiting for,” he says, slapping me on the back. “There’s no way those nerds are gonna be able to beat us.”

“You do realize both of those ‘nerds’ are leading members of sports teams, right?” I ask. He looks at me, a bit confused.

“Wait, really? They don’t look like it.”

“No, but they aren’t just gonna be pushovers,” I say.

“Ahh, don’t worry so much. Hey, why don’t we stop by your father’s gym for some extra workouts before sports day?” he asks.

“Um, I’m not sure tha-”

“Oh, relax, it'll be fine. Bring your gym clothes, and we’ll stop by after school,” he says, rushing off before I have time to protest.

“Ahh… Sometimes I wonder if suki-chan is pulling blood from his brain.”

Sara 1513 September 28, 2046

“We should do the cheering squad.” Kano-chan declared to Iori-chan and me as we’re walking to club.

“Huh, you wanna do the cheer squad?” Iori-chan asks

“Yes, I would like to be one of the leaders of the cheer, like I’ve seen in the American movies,” Kano-chan says in a deliberate tone.

“I don’t know,” I say hesitantly. “I don’t really want everyone staring at me.”

“Yeah, I’m with Sara-chan on this one,” Iori-chan says in agreement.

“But that is the point. People will look at you while you do the cheer. Better yet, Iori-chan, you can get to cheer for Tetsu-kun and be his prize when he humiliates the school bully.” Kano-chan says without a hint of sarcasm. Iori-chan seems to think it over for a moment before blushing a bit.

“Just think he’ll win the race, everyone will be cheering for him but no one more than his darling Iori-chan,” Kano-chan says while circling her. “He’ll pick you up in a princess carry and may even kiss you there in front of the crowd.” Iori-chan begins to grin very happily, imagining it. “Come on, Iori-chan, you know you’d like the be princess carried by Tetsu-kun.”

“Well….. It would be nice….”

“Yessss, and he’ll claim you as his woman in front of the whole school. Think of how manly it’ll be.” Kano-chan goes on, further convincing Iori-chan.

“Now hang on, we can’t join just for that,” I say, trying to snap Iori-chan out of it.

“Ohh?” Kano-chan says as she stares at me with her serious chibi eyes. “But Sara-chan, isn’t there someone you’d like to princess carry you?” she asks, circling me.

“What, no nobody at all,” I say, definitely trying to block out the image of Tobias-kun carrying me like that.

“Are you sure? Nobody you’d like to carry you like a bride?” A bride? My mind is instantly filled with images of Tobias-kun and me at our wedding. Cutting cake, exchanging rings, saying “I do.” I’m lost in thought as Kano-chan continues. “Imagine if being on the cheer squad is what got him to finally notice you?” she says.

“Ok fine, We’ll do the cheer squad.” I finally say. “But not for that reason. I mean, Sora and Tobias-kun are going to be participating, so I have to cheer for them, right.” Kano-chan and Iori-chan both jump and double high five.

“Let’s go sign up now,” Kano-chan says as she and Iori-chan speed walks down the hall. It’s not like being princesses carried is that big of a deal or anything, I think as I begin to follow after them.