Confrontations, Conundrums and Daily Life

The following day went smoothly, and we could all return to school by 10 AM. Classes then resumed as usual, and soon enough we were all back into the normal states of school, with everyone either paying attention and doing stuff in class or pretending to and sleeping shortly afterward.

I stared out the window again, pondering about all the little things in life. So much has happened, yet as it disappears into nothing but a blank memory, I feel sort of saddened by the thought, but relieved at the same time. Haven't my days gone by like that when I was alone?

There's always more room for change and improvement. That's the thought I'm going to retain for now. After all, I did enjoy the school trip with my friends. It was tiring, but an experience that I also haven't had in a very long time. I'm glad that I chose to attend this school trip.

I also wonder about what could've gone wrong. It's possible after all, for a singular moment to change everything that revolves around the trip. It could've happened at the start, and chances are it also could've happened right towards the end. I'm thankful for it not happening because I was able to leave Kyoto with a pleasant memory.

Yet at the same time, I also wonder about how long it will take for us to fall apart as a group, and return to being strangers. Would I be satisfied with my life if I did that? Would my adolescence become naught, a memory I wish to forget?

Life can be so complicated. Small events can stir a major uprising, and large events can dissipate with the drop of a hat. Even as my thoughts wander aimlessly in my head, I find myself coming up with all these opinions and conclusions. There really is no end to it.

"Oi Yoshimitsu!" 

I was suddenly startled by the whims of reality. Yelling from the position of the classroom door was Satsuki, who apparently rushed up here to greet me.

"Wait, it's recess time already?" I asked, just to confirm as students were running out of the classroom like kids.

"Yeah! Which is why I came up here to get you." 

"I guess my mind wandered too far to notice again."

"Your mind always wanders around, doesn't it?" Satsuki said with a doubtful expression.

"I guess it kinda does, yeah."

"Well! I'm gonna get to the point now since everyone's out of the classroom."

"What did you come here for?"

"I wanted to talk to you! Just me and you."

I've been aching to know for a while now. Why is she so attached to me? Should I prod her about it? It's weird since she's always dragging me out to all sorts of places. I guess I'll ask her about what she always wants from me.

"I'll commit to chatting with you. I have an important issue to ask you about anyway."

"Works for me!"

We sat down at the nearest desk and then began the discussion. I'm gonna get straight to the point.

"Satsuki, why do you cling to me so much?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Satsuki asked, tilting her head.

"It's been bothering me for a while now. We've only been friends for around a month, yet you always come to me with various requests. Has your family been bothering you again? If so, do you require my attention?"

"Yoshimitsu, you're kind of creeping me out right now."

Oops, might've gone overboard on the questioning.

"Ah sorry. It's just that your behavior pattern kind of stumps me."

"It's fine. I guess I should address that as well." Satsuki said, standing up and looking at the window. 

"Yoshimitsu, the fact that you didn't avoid me all the time makes me very happy, you know?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I love everyone in our little friend circle; Mayu, Yuta, and even the wacky Darpan. But the person I trust the most, in the end, is you."

Upon hearing those words, three thoughts came into my mind. One, literally anyone else in our friend group would be more trustworthy than I am. Two, I'm nothing but incompetent when it comes to being a friend, 

"So why me?" I asked, out of confusion.

"That's because... you accepted me. I barged into your household to run from my family, and though it was scary how you reacted, you trusted my story without a moment's doubt. I guess you could say instinctively, I chose to trust you."

So that's why. I didn't know that I played such an important role in her life.

"Now I guess I understand."

"You do right? Thanks again for welcoming me to drop by your home anytime. Maybe I'll make another visit after school today!" Satsuki said, brightening up her smile.

This is embarrassing, but...

"You can... come anytime you want I guess. I've been seeing you as a younger sister that drops by every now and then since the day I started welcoming you. Thanks for waking me up for the school trip the other day as well." I said in a shy manner, but hopefully it wasn't too obvious.

"Hahahaha! That's such a weird way to look at it. You really have poor socialization skills, don't you?"

Man, oh well.

"Alright Satsuki. You can drop by today if you want. It's a good opportunity since I'll be cooking dinner today."

"Hehehe, got tired of eating cup noodles?" Satsuki said, smirking at me.

"Look man, I still have my part-time job and it doesn't pay much, so I spend conservatively."

"Well! That's all the more reason for me to join you tonight. Maybe I'll help out at your part-time job as well... It means more time away from my family, after all!" Satsuki said, cheerily.

"You really shouldn't be cheerful about being this distant from your family. Then again, considering your past, I am in no position to say that." I said, shaking my head.

"Hehehe! That's right! Know your place, dog!"

That was a bit harsh and uncalled for.

"Well, recess time is almost over. You'd wanna head back to your class by now." I said, pointing at the classroom clock.

"You're right! I'll see you later then, big brother~"

God, please don't say that. Satsuki then left the room, and fellow classmates returned to their desks. The day then resumed, and I returned to the cycle of listening in class and staring out the window.

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"Alright! Listen up class, we are going to play a small game in today's mathematics lesson!" Mr. Tanaka said, directing our attention. It was the last period, so everyone was completely drained and out of energy. Perhaps this small game would boost our morale. "Please divide yourselves into groups of 3, in which I'll explain the game rules afterward."

"Yoshu! Would you like to team up?" Mayu said, tapping my shoulder from behind me. I completely forgot that she did math high level as well. We only share two classes, and I don't really pay attention to any of my peers during lessons, so I guess you could sort of say that I never knew that she was in my class.

"There were a lot of people asking me to be a part of their group, but I feel like if the deep-thinking Yoshu teamed up with me, we'd be an unstoppable team!" Mayu said, clapping her hands together.

"I guess we could team up. Who will be our third member though?"

"Hmm..."

"I'll join your team."

An unfamiliar voice approached us from the back. It was intimidating and slightly unfriendly.

"Oh! It's Brock! Thanks for helping us out, Brock! Oh wait Yoshu, I guess I should introduce you to Brock." Mayu said, in response to the tall figure behind us.

"That much is unnecessary. I will introduce myself. Mr. Suzuki, my name is Brock Feinstein. I came to Japan to study martial arts. My father was an American raised in Japan, and so I've returned here to experience what he had. I've lived here long ago while I was a child, but I moved to Chicago not long after graduating primary. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Brock introduced himself, and prompted me to shake his hand. He was a tall and muscular person, reminding me of an American warrior.

"I'm Yoshimitsu Suzuki. Just Suzuki would do fine; there's no need for any honorifics."

"Very well, Suzuki."

Just as we finished forming our group, Mr. Tanaka ordered us all to sit in our groups in various parts of the classroom. We were then refreshed on the topic of Trigonometry and Geometrics, mainly focusing on the application of Radians to the trigonometric rules. He then began to talk about the rules for the game:

"Alright listen up! Now that you have all been refreshed on the topic, you will all take turns answering questions. I'll be writing down a question on the board with each turn. Each member will then take turns representing their group and finish the question that I've written on the whiteboard. If you get the question done right, your group receives a point; but for each unfinished or incorrect question, you will be deducted a point. If everyone answers correctly, last place will have their group lose a point. The group with the most points at the end will win a bag of candy, so I hope you all are ready and prepared for this!"

"Sounds exciting! Right, guys?" Mayu said, looking towards me and Brook.

Using a competition to instill motivation within us students to unconsciously study by solving problems on the board, huh? I guess that's a valid way to get us students to practice solving math problems. It's actually going to be quite effective, but I'd bet that the noise and commotion that comes out of this competition is going to be quite loud, and there will be members chatting within their group while they wait for their turn, so it might not be that effective after all.

Then again, it's good to have some form of entertainment every now and then. I guess I'll try my best to solve those problems. Sugar is nice, after all.

"Alright! The first question is..." Mr. Tanaka said, writing on the whiteboard. As he did that, we all picked our first representative and braced for the signal to do the question.

"Yoshu, you go first, okay?" Mayu said, directing me to go forward.

There are 5 other teams, so 5 opponents. We're on Team B. As long as I don't come last and solve the problem, I'll be fine. I also won't have to use that much brainpower for the first question, since it's likely going to be easier.

"Write 60 degrees in Radians!" Mr. Tanaka announced, and everyone rushed to the board to put down their answer.

This is simple. π is 180 degrees in radians. Dividing π by three would give us 60, hence the answer is π/3. I wrote it on the board quickly, and was 2nd to finish. I guess someone can write faster than me.

"That was quick. I condone your intelligence, Suzuki." Brock said in his serious manner.

"It was nothing. It's a relatively easy question. Looks like you're up."

"I shall prove to Miss Asano that I am competent." Brock said, placing his fist to his chest.

"Yeah sure buddy."

We then continued in order, and eventually the game reached its final question. "Evaluate tan90" was written on the board.

"I got this!" Mayu said, rushing up to the board to fill her answer. It was as clear as day; you either know the answer or you don't. As everyone returned to their seats after filling in the answer, Mr. Tanaka spoke.

"That's right! It's undefined! With that, the winner is..."

Tension built up. Everyone was wondering about who would win the candy. People were staring straight into the teacher's soul, yet he remains as calm as death, unwavering in his counting and incrementation of the scores.

"Team C with 9 Points! In second place, Team B with 8 points!"

Shucks. Looks like we didn't win. We did screw up one question after all.

"Looks like I was the one who screwed up. I apologize for my failure." Brock said, kneeling down. "There was one question that I didn't understand, and I failed to take note of the range of the unknown."

Oh, the hard question with the varied range of x. I guess I can't blame him for that then. More importantly, why was he kneeling down?

"Come on, stand up Brock. We're not your masters, so be more informal, okay?" Mayu said, smiling.

"I suppose you are right." Brock said, standing back up.

"Well, I congratulate the winners, and to everyone who gave their best. Have a good day. Class dismissed!" Mr. Tanaka said, pointing at the clock.

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Seems like school was nothing but normal again today. Aside from the little math competition I had, I believe that today was where everything went back to normal. I would return to my little home, and I guess this would be where everything would return to being dull and simple for me.

Leaving the school premise, I couldn't help but think about everything that's already happened the past 3 weeks. It was one hell of a crazy ride. To think all of this would start simply because I chose to interfere upon hearing Mayu yell. It's weird, the way fate works in the dark.

I always thought I'd be left alone eventually, with nothing to care about, and no one to tend to. It's different now, though. I remember that I've made friends. That I acquired new experiences, to enrich my life. To end the cycle of being grey and dull. I guess stepping away from being the man with no presence and influence does help with the boredom that plagues me. To live my adolescent life to its fullest. In the end, it's all about stepping out of your comfort zone, to do things that you ordinarily wouldn't do. I guess this time I did it purely for entertainment.

As famous novelist Mark Twain once said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did." I believe that through learning and understanding the daily life that revolves around the world now, has made me less fearful of what could happen. Some people do say to regret things after you've done them. Besides, it would've been pitiful and sad if I only remembered a blank and boring high school life.

That's why, I'm going to start living it properly. No matter what life throws at me, I'll throw it back at life and face it forward with the people around me. That's how human beings thrive, right? And if I ever do find myself doubting those around me again, I'll just have to hang out with them more. It's really the only way to go through with it.

"Oi Yoshimitsu! You ready to go home?" Satsuki said, waiting for me at the school gate as I walked down the front stairs.

"Yeah. Let's go then; I've got a great chicken dinner in mind for tonight."

"I'll be counting on you to whip up something delicious, big brother!"

"Please stop calling me big brother."

"But I basically visit the house every other day, don't I? Maybe I'll start working part-time at the convenience store nearby as well..." Satsuki said, with a grin on her face.

"It would be a nightmare to be working late night with you."

"It'll be fine! Not like my parents would care anyways, since they want me out of the house as soon as possible. OH! Maybe I'll just move in..."

"Please refrain from making such a funky and daring joke, or my poor heart will not be able to handle it." I said, nearly choking at what she said.

"I'm serious though!" Satsuki said with a frown. "It's mutually beneficial, isn't it? You get a helper who is a cute and adorable junior around the house, and I get to live off of you without needing to see my parents! It's beneficial to the both of us!"

"No. Give it more thought, and unless you absolutely must stay over at my place, I will not permit you to slumber at my residence."

"Aw... Oh! Would you look at that, we're back already!" Satsuki said, as she ran towards the building.

"You really are a troublemaker, you know?" I said, shaking my head.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind.

"NO WAY BRO LIAM'S LIVING WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND!" Darpan yelled, pointing at me and Satsuki.

I have multiple questions right now, such as how he got here, when he got here, and why he got here. But more importantly, it will be a hassle to clear up all the misunderstandings that Darpan has right now, so I'm going to pretend that he's not there, and send him a proper email addressing the circumstances.

At least, that's what I intended to do... Until Satsuki made it even more troublesome.

"That's right! I'm dating Yoshimitsu ♡" Satsuki said, leaving me in utter terror and panic. Seriously, why did she even add the heart symbol?

"OHMYGODNOWAYBROHECODEDITTOHAVEAPERFECTLIFE" Darpan screamed speedily, as his yells echo through the neighborhood.

"God, Satsuki, I'm actually going to strangle you."

"You can't strangle me! That's a criminal offense!" Satsuki said, crossing her arms.

"I'll deal with your shit later. For now, I'm getting Darpan here to go home."

I then directed Satsuki to the apartment, explained the situation to Darpan and returned to the apartment. Of course, even though I explained the situation, he probably didn't get a single thing, and will return to spreading this rumor. Perhaps I should shut him up forever...

"If you're thinking edgy thoughts again you better think again, big brother." Satsuki said, disrupting my line of thought.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me big brother!?"

God, what a pain. Maybe making friends was the wrong decision after all. My mental energy is being drained so much; is it even mutually beneficial anymore?