Spring Proposition

I was sitting silently in my classroom looking out the window as anyone naturally would, when they’re contemplating their life. Still daydreaming, I began drifting deep into thought about the events of a week ago- what led to them? I start to disconnect from the world, the sounds of the busy classroom gradually fading into white noise.

~

I turned 18 just a few days ago. I’m already into my last year of high school, but I still have yet to taste the youthful love that seems to define this time of life. I’ve played countless visual novels, seen a myriad of anime, read varying light novels; many of them portraying magical teenage love blooming throughout a school life filled with surprise and excitement. Despite the fact people tell me those depictions of love and youth aren’t reflective of real life, I’ve admittedly always wanted my life to be like that.

I’ve spoken to some of my friends about my concerns. One of them, Tendou Saitou, simply told me to not worry about it. He wasn’t worried about all that himself, considering the fact most high school romances fall apart. Rather than worry about love, he decided to put more focus on his grades and part-time work. He wanted to use youth simply to prepare for adulthood. Truthfully, I didn’t think less of him for it, and in fact, I respected his choice. I just concluded that he just has a totally different view on life and youth than I do.

My close family friend Tsukiyuki Fuyu also chatted with me about her views on youth and love. I assumed she was a bit more of a dreamer than Saitou, and probably could offer ideas or answers that resonated with me more. Ultimately, Fuyu just told me that I “have options” when asked. At first, I didn’t really grasp what she meant by that, until my thoughts drifted towards my best friend Hyoudou Rinne. I never really looked at her that way until that moment.

I liked Rinne a lot, we shared a wavelength and had each other’s backs for around a decade. I felt confident in her- if no one else, she could understand my desire for a romance that felt “magical”. I knew without a doubt she cared as deeply for me as I did her. After all, we’re childhood friends. We were set up to be together from the very beginning, right?

~

Rinne looked me dead in the eyes as I sat next to her on the rooftop. Classes had let out a few hours ago, and knowing she had after-school activities, I chose to wait for her to finish to have this time for just the two of us. Her serious expression colored by the setting sun was burned into my mind.

“...I can’t think of you like that, Yuuto.”

Admittedly, I didn’t expect this to turn out this way. I clenched my fist with resignation. “You’re serious, aren’t you..?”

“Yeah. Yuuto, there’s actually been something I’ve been keeping from you and everyone else for a long, long time. I’ve been on the fence about it for way too long, and I just can’t fool myself or pretend anymore. I need to tell someone. Since you’re someone I trust more than anyone else, maybe it’s best I tell you first, even if it might be a painful time to admit this.”

“Rinne, if I didn’t care about you enough to hear you out, I don’t think I would be confessing to you in the first place. Our friendship comes first. Don’t worry about the timing, I really want to hear you out if this is something you’ve had on your mind for a long time, since I’m your friend.”

“...I don’t think I like men. At least, I don’t think I like them romantically. My family, my other friends, and my peers just sort of, well, expect me to get a boyfriend. I wanted to live up to what was wanted from me. I thought about you, I thought about other guys, and I couldn’t see myself making it work out with any of them. For a long time I felt shameful for not wanting that, but now I finally think I accepted that I just can’t feel attraction to boys.”

All I could really offer in response at first was merely an “I see”. I was a bit taken aback by her statement, truthfully. It made sense, but I didn’t exactly want to admit to myself or her that I felt that way. The windy rooftop was silent as we stared at each other trying to convey our residual thoughts with our eyes and body language.

I accepted her, and I knew she could tell I had accepted her. We did have that kind of connection, even if she denied any romantic intent. We didn’t say much more after her admission. We merely watched the now-empty evening courtyard together, until she finally thanked me for my understanding and left me alone on the roof.

~

“Get up, Hiiragi.”

I awoke from my dream to a cold, pulsing pain in the side of my head. I realized I was once again dreaming about the scene that unfolded a week prior- until I was rudely awoken. As much as I‘m still a bit crestfallen over what happened, I kind of had bigger problems on my plate right now.

I’m sure there are much better ways to wake up than this.

My vision began to gradually come into focus. I could make out a figure that was standing to the side of my desk, crossing their arms while holding a ruler. The sight of that figure, that girl, it caused my eyes to roll into the back of my head. She wasn’t exactly repulsive visually, but rather the opposite. Her features; from her flowing silver hair and piercing sky-blue eyes to her clear skin and flowery scent were indicative of the fact that she was a woman of immaculate beauty. There was no doubt about that. The only issue, however, was the issue regarding the person who this appearance belonged to.

Takamiya Kisaki. She’s been in my class for nearly three years in a row, and over these long years I learned that she’s a total pain to deal with. She isn’t just a general nuisance to me as an overbearing peer, but also as the student council president. I’m sure she thinks she’s above me, as stuck-up as she is.

I finally responded to her.

“You think you’re not going a LITTLE too far, using a ruler and all? You can’t just use a rolled up magazine or something..?”

“I’ll consider it when you can at least show an iota of discipline in your studies, Hiiragi. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t on the cusp of failing your courses, nor would I have to wake you if you didn’t always doze off during our class time.”

“...Why exactly does that matter to you?”

“Your overall performance and disposition during school hours is not meeting our school’s expectations. Not only that, you are bringing our class average down, and as student council president AND our class representative, I cannot simply tolerate this without at least attempting to rectify it. It is my responsibility, after all, to help guide everyone here to a bright future. Starting today, I will need you to join me after school for tutoring, where I will monitor your progress personally. You do want to succeed after graduation, am I correct?”

“I’m really not that worried, I have options.”

“Your nonchalant attitude towards your work now will reflect on your behavior in the future as well. It isn’t a good habit to have. If I must convince you, I should also mention that you may be suspended, if not expelled over summer break if your grades don’t improve.”

“Wait, expelled!?”

“If you read the student handbook, that fact is spelled out very clearly for everyone. ‘All students with a GPA of under 2.0 at the end of the semester will be subject to evaluation which may result in, but not limited to expulsion.’ I’m aware your current GPA is a 1.76, which is below expectations to say the least.”

“How do you even know about my GPA?!”

“I was alerted about it and asked to assist you. I will uphold my responsibility as a role model for everyone else by doing my utmost to aid you in improving your grades through tutoring.”

“That’s so troublesome. I’d rather not, if I’m being honest. I didn’t ask for your help anyway.”

“You should be grateful I am going out of my way to help someone such as yourself who clearly has no regard for diligence and no work ethic. You’re beyond hope as far as I’m concerned.”

“Look, I don’t really wanna work with someone as high-strung as you either. I don’t need someone like you looking over my shoulder all the time. I have other things to do anyway, because unlike you, I have a life.”

“You say that, but I’m sure all you do is sit in your room and play video games and watch anime. You seem to talk about that instead of taking notes in class, after all!”

“All you do is read stupid philosophy books and act like you’re better than everyone else! Just because you use fancy words and get high scores doesn’t mean anyone likes you! I’m out of here, screw this.”

“You’re not leaving this classroom until I let you. We’re going to have this tutoring session if you like it or not!”

I tried to get up mid-sentence, but Kisaki reacted instantly to my movement. She put her foot on my desk and cornered me before I could get up. My sight ended up being obscured by her legs. Despite how much I hated this girl, I had to admit she had nice thighs. She was wearing tights to boot, which just happens to be something I’m particularly into.

But as if she could sense my perverted thoughts, Kisaki shot me a sharp glare as I was staring at her thighs. I looked away instinctively. My eyes aimed elsewhere, I finally glanced at the clock after all of the arguing. I noticed it was already after school hours- that I slept through the rest of my classes entirely.

Oh well, guess I’m already here. I suppose I don’t have any real plans today. I’ll humor her for today, maybe I can fix her and get her to loosen up a bit. She does have a nice voice and she is very pleasant to look at, so it could be a lot worse. Actually, she would likely make a really good girlfriend if she wasn’t so uptight, and maybe tried to read a light novel instead of all that classical junk. I’ll give her a chance, and find out if she’s more than she seems. If she manages to be easy to work with, maybe everything will go smoothly.

“Fine. I’ll work with you today. I’ll put my faith in you, Takamiya.”

“You’re finally starting to show some resolve. Good answer.”

Her face lit up slightly when I finally gave in to her. It painted her in a different light as I really got to get a good look at her smiling face up close. I had a little hope right then; that things would turn out for the better with her. I was honestly a bit thankful for the opportunity, even.