First Love / 初恋

It was an unusually intense sunny day in the city of Nagasaki. I was in the last term of my second year of high school, studying at Nagasaki Minami High.

I never was a girl of many friends. Don’t take this the wrong way—I'm not inherently shy, I just was never one to call everyone I share information with a friend. You could say I’m stricter than your average teenager when it comes to establishing friendships. However, I did have a trustworthy one. Contrary to me in the aforementioned aspect, she was a kind girl who sought to make new friendships in each year, with no particular numeric goal in mind. That was Yuu Nakano. We first met when we bumped into each other on our first day of high school, as if it was meant to happen. Not the most pleasant first impression, I'm aware. Well… what else can I say about her? I’m not very good at describing people—I know! Albeit kind, she was sloppy and unorganized. But more on that later.

Anyway, it was now January, and the final term had started. I arrived early that day, even before my friend—a systematically punctual student—did. Fortunately for me, I didn’t stand there waiting for too long, as Nakano arrived in less than half a minute.

As our distance shortened, I made myself seen for my friend.

“Hi, Nakano! I beat you this time.”

“Ahhh damn it, can’t believe I lost to my trusty companion.”

“You slacked too much, taking your victory for granted.”

“Fine, you won. But only this time, so enjoy it while you can.”

The two of us entered the school, heading for our homeroom.

On our way there we—

Yes, you guessed it. We kept bickering with each other.

“Promise me you won’t slack at Math. In the last term, I was forced to help you study, you know?”

“I know,” my friend responded in a rather slouchy manner. It was like she got bored by simply hearing that topic mentioned.

“Trigonometry isn’t all that hard, you just don’t pay enough attention to the teacher’s explanations. Cram schools don’t do miracles.”

“Can we switch topics already, please? Don’t torture me any further.”

“Come on, relax, I was just teasing you. I trust you. Just promise you’ll improve your Math grade this last term.”

“Yes. Oh,” something resurfaced to the forefront of her mind, “I nearly forgot. If you ever need help in badminton, don’t hesitate to ask for advice from the expert herself.”

A wild attempt to flex her own knowledge.

“Huh? Is that what we’ll be doing in PE this term?”

“Uh-huh. Well, it’s not just that, but it’s part of it.”

“How did you get your hands on such information?”

“Let’s just say I have my… sources.”

Uh oh. That look of hers as the sentence finished was pretty shady. “I’d rather not know what kind of sources she has…,” I thought, frightened at the idea of it. Did she hijack the transcontinental Flying Pussyfeet to get her hands on such valuable intel? No, that’s too delusional and far-fetched to bear even a single ounce of truth.

“What about the other sports?”

“Not telling you. It’s a surprise.”

“Will you tell me if I help you in Math?”

“No amount of blackmailing will suffice. My lips are tightly zipped.”

I replied with a discouraged “Alright”.

Cut to the lunch break of that very day, when we were eating next to each other.

“Oh… that’s a nice tamagoyaki you got there. Mind if I take some of it?”

“No, it’s all mine. Of course, in case you tell me all about the other PE sports, I can reconsider.”

“Not even a bit of it?”

“Not happening. Well, I guess you can have the scraps left after I finish.”

“Evil.”

I noticed someone walking in my direction. A female silhouette with lustrous long hair dyed purple. I instantly recognized her—a very well-known student. She addressed me.

“Natsuko, can we talk alone, just the two of us?”

“Huh? I mean, sure.”

I turned to my friend sitting beside me.

“I’ll leave my lunchbox in your care, ok?”

Nakano nodded in agreement. Realizing I was ready, that female student signaled our leave.

“Follow me.”

I’ll correct myself—that was not just a very well-known student, it was the popular among popular people in the student body. Top of the food chain.

I trailed right behind her, towards a more isolated place of her choice. She made sure to tell me when we arrived.

“This is it.”

We were standing next to an open door in an empty corridor.

She adopted a more serious tone, “So, Natsuko.”

“Yes?”

“I told you I wanted to talk alone. That’s because… I wanted to ask you out.”

“W-What?”

My heart fluttered that very moment. To be honest, I did look up to her. A fellow second-year student with mostly exemplary grades, part of the student council since her first year. To top it all off, I admittedly had a small crush on her. All the conditions had been met. The only step left was to say yes.

I rethought my answer to properly reflect my feelings. My spontaneous “What?” wasn’t a proper reaction. She did the same as well.

“Oh, sorry. Was all of it too sudden?”

“No, no. I just never had anyone ask me out… much less a girl.”

I couldn’t deny it right then and there. I was into women. I liked her. Just to confirm, I questioned her on the nature of her feelings for me.

“Do you like me? That… way?”

“Yes. I think… I’m in love with you.”

With my assumptions confirmed, my face’s skin tone shifted to a tomato-like color. Hers followed suit, however, unlike mine, only her cheeks turned red.

“I do. I w-want to go out with you!”

“Alright. Meet me tomorrow at 8 PM, at Kazagashira Park,” she smiled.

“Y—Yes!”

We both headed back outside. While she rejoined her friends again, I sat one more time by Nakano’s side. She remarked it was all pretty quick.

“Oh, you’re back already? And here I thought you’d take longer. At least then I could’ve had an excuse to eat the rest of your tamagoyaki.”

“Revealing your secret plans in front of the enemy? That’s very risky, you know.”

“As I said, I’d only resort to such extreme measures if there were clear signs you wouldn’t make it on time to consume the remaining tamagoyaki.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I ask what is it that you two talked about?”

“Yeah. To satisfy your curiosity… she asked me out!”

For a reason unknown to me then, my friend’s expression wasn’t a delightful one. It was as if she knew more than me. As if something was off and I simply wasn’t aware of it.

“Oh. Did you agree to go out with her?”

“Yes!”

Her mildly interested demeanor changed after my affirmative reply.

“Umm, is something wrong? You don’t seem very fond of the idea of me dating her.”

“No, it’s nothing. Well, good luck!”

“Thanks.”

“Say, do you like her?”

“Mhm.”

“That face of yours speaks louder than those words!”

She laughed, clearly aware I was in love with her—the most popular student. Sora Kisen.