Chapter 3:

She's Here

My First Love Tastes Like Glitter



I had arrived to a new conclusion. Iruka was, in fact, not a good guy.


When I turned up at the karaoke place, that murky-haired nerd was nowhere to be seen. His phone was on but he wasn't reading, much less answering my texts. Our school was certainly not your average small village campus: our grade alone tallied up to at least 150 students! So, considering the capacity of one room, there must have been tens of rooms reserved for us to use. How was I going to find him here? We didn’t think this through at all. I was justifiably going to put most of the blame on him though – he was way more experienced with group outings than I was.


As my image of karaoke gatherings was solely based on anime and movies, I was expecting a wilder vibe straight off the bat. In reality, the lounge was surprisingly quiet and trafficless. Though, I would’ve been lying if I didn’t mention the fact that the old-fashioned, sprawling one-story building was already a bit of a mood murderer in itself – the traces of time had indeed left their mark on the interior. The fitted carpet covering the floor was in need of some urgent patching and the entire hallway was wrapped in an atmosphere resembling the shade of a chain-smoker's yellowed teeth. Besides a couple smelly leather couches and a single vending machine to enable fateful encounters, there wasn’t much furniture around.


I muttered a few muddy words to myself and went on to advance down the hallway. My game plan was to open a door, any door, and leave the rest up to Lady Luck. After so many people had encouraged me to come, I was feeling surprisingly ballsy. The door didn’t even have to lead to the room Iruka was in, albeit that were the best outcome in theory. Actually, I was kind of hoping the room I’d end up in wouldn’t be his: I needed to save my luck for Neri-nee's ongoing revival banner after all.


I passed a couple intimidatingly loud or suspiciously quiet rooms before finding a door that seemed just busy enough for my liking. I obviously didn’t want to jump into the heartiest gang but there had to be enough people in the room for me to blend in smoothly. Unfortunately, the perfect door was locked.


This went on for a minute or so until I found any unlocked doors on the whole. And only after opening that one did it cross my mind: I could’ve tried to knock on those closed doors at first.


On the other side of the glossy oaken door, I was met with an unexpected sight of two gyaru-like girls. Dressed in uniforms completely foreign to me, they were making as much noise as a riot. Verily, it was a one-girl riot, given how the other girl in the room was sitting reticently on the black corner sofa, looking almost as disturbed as I was. The sound I heard at that moment was far from singing – the riot girl was, quite literally, screaming into the microphone. But even I, a young fellow raised strictly by idol music, was able to recognize the song she was trying to mimic.


It didn’t take long for her to notice me and once she did, she went silent immediately. There was only one thing protecting the three of us from getting eaten by the breathtakingly tense, uncomfortable atmosphere: the karaoke instrumental for Meorge Gichael’s Indiscreet Innuendo, now left alone to play its seductive melody.


“Are ya a bit lost dude?” the singer girl asked, as politely as one would in that situation.


Despite the comment coming from one person, I felt like I had just encountered an entire horde of hostile dogs. The image was amplified by the sheer amount of delinquent aura she and her bleached locks were radiating.


I hadn’t even considered the possibility I could run into students from another school! At least they were fellow students and not some drunken, middle-aged divorcees... My chances of survival were not non-existent.


The words that then came out of my mouth were like marbles under my feet – that’s how much I was struggling to get them out.


"Sorry, wrong room. For me, of course. I'm so sorry. You're not from Tanpopo High School. I’m sorry.”


"I wish, dude. My academic advancements ain’t that impressive”, the blonde delinquent girl laughed.


Her sudden burst of laughter was frustratingly obnoxious but it did make me feel less threatened. Still, I was ready to blast off all the way to the neighboring city from the sole, skull-splitting embarrassment. However, before my brain had finished giving the command of aborting the mission, the girl stopped me.


“Hold it right 'ere boy, ya look familiar. Are ya famous?" she said as she grabbed my hand and turned me around.


We were now very close, facing each other. With the extra help offered by her platform shoes, she was a bit taller than me. Her focused stare was burning a hole between my eyes – I asserted dominance by staring right back. I could tell she was wearing purple contact lenses. Unless she was an albino.


Her eyes lit up as she hit eureka.


"Wait, Mikarin?!" she yelled, right in my face.


Her breath smelled like a strawberry parfait. That fact combined with the observation of empty dessert containers lined up on the low table in the room, it was safe to assume she may have eaten more than one. As for the person she was talking about, I had no idea who he was – I assumed he was some heartthrob actor. But on the other hand, I would probably already have a girlfriend from this dimension if he was...


"Sorry, you have the wrong person”, I stated.


"Nah, yer definitely Mikarin! That dude Mecchon is obsessed with. Yer not going anywhere until she sees this. And stop apologizing, ya ain’t done anythin’ wrong”, she insisted.


The other girl, the one sitting on the couch, decided to open her mouth as well.


“She just said she’s on her way back. This’ll only take a second, won’t you keep us company until then?”


With lengthy, black hair reaching all the way to the seat she had taken, the girl seemed very well put-together. Compared to her flashy friend, her demeanor was a lot calmer. It was impossible to refuse a simple request coming from someone like that.


The room was blanketed by a silence more awkward than overestimating yourself during a self-assessment assignment. As I had agreed to wait for their friend, the delinquent girl had finally stopped pestering me and sat down. The couch would have been spacious enough for all three of us but I didn’t want to risk it, so I just stood there like a scarecrow. I had gained enough muscles at work to last surprisingly long in vertical position.


Every time a person passed the room without coming in, I could feel myself growing more agitated. What was this girl’s perception of a second?


But waiting was worth it. Once she finally arrived, I could wholeheartedly stand behind those words.


“Come on, Kotori-chan! You can’t just leave me hanging with a message like that, I ran here as fast as I could. What did you want to show me? I’m so curious!” a bubbly voice exclaimed.


Standing on that very same sill I had just a while ago stood on myself, was approximately 155 centimeters worth of pure bliss, panting from exhaustion. I couldn’t afford standards but this girl checked every single box I could’ve ever come up with. She was the girl of my dreams.


She was checking me out. I was checking her out. As our gazes collided, I was met with a pair of stunning eyes that were minty and kind yet just a little mischievous – exactly like Neri-nee's.