it's not a date

Ping!

<< I did some detective work, KBO is closed for good… (T⌓T) >>

Ping!

<< I guess I’m going to have to find a new karaoke place. Wanna help me with the search? >>

Ping!

<< If you’re not too busy that is … (˃ᆺ˂) >>

When it came to texting, Hanako was a typical girl. Lots of messages were full of stars and emojis. For the first time in my life, I had to put my phone on silent mode so that I could focus without the constant pings.

I turned my phone on to see three missed messages from Hanako. I’d just left my math exam feeling, knowing I had aced every last question. I had more studying to do, but I was still banned from the library until next week.

We both needed a new base of operations. Me, to study and Hanako to sing.

<<Sure, it will be easy with both of us. >>

<<Ok, let’s meet at the station after school at 3:30 >>

I sent her a thumbs-up emoji.

3:30? She didn’t have clubs or cram school? The thought was foreign to me. When I was in high school, I usually didn’t get home until after the sun went down.

I hadn’t noticed until a moment later that my hand was trembling. Meeting a girl after school? I was eighteen, and I’d never done that before. I needed to get home and shower!

* * *

I arrived at the station at precisely 3:30, as promised.

I was dressed in a white shirt and jeans, with my backpack slung on one shoulder. I caught a glance of my reflection in the window. I couldn’t help but try to fix my messy bangs, but I gave up after the wind kept pushing them back.

I never cared about this stuff until now.

“It’s not a date,” I hissed at my reflection.

“Daiki!” I heard a voice behind me.

Hanako bounced over to my side, dressed in her navy and pink uniform, carrying her cardigan in her arms. She had white bows in her hair today.

Seeing her smile made my heart swell in my chest. Every time I was close to her, my entire body felt funny.

“Sorry, were you waiting long?” Hanako asked.

I shook my head. “No, just got here.” I knew that was the polite thing to say, but it was the truth, too.

Hanako looked up at me. I was only a bit taller than average, and she came up to my shoulder. She was so cute.

“Great!” She smiled. “Well, let’s go.” She whipped out her phone, showing me a notepad document with at least a dozen different addresses written down. “We have some work to do.”

We spent the next few hours going through her list of affordable karaoke places. The budget was the first thing on her mind, then she would consider the booths and customer service.

There was no shortage of options in Tokyo, but location and price kept her list short.

I felt like I was in that weird American show that my mom used to watch. Home Hunters? Something like that … My mother (a real estate agent) said it helped her practice English listening, but I think she just liked to imagine what life would be like living where huge 200 sq. meter homes were considered average.

By rush hour, we were half done with the list, and none had met her expectations.

“I don’t get it,” I admitted. “A lot of them were nice. Let’s be honest, KBO wasn’t exactly a fancy place.” I sighed, leaning against a bench.

“It needs to have the right feel,” She said.

I wrinkled my nose. The only ‘feel’ that KBO had was labor law violations and sticky floors. If it had not been for her sweet siren song calling me back, I would have never set foot in that place again.

“I guess it can’t be helped,” I sighed with a shrug. “Ok, what’s next?”

Hanako was silent, looking across the street.

“Hm?”

I followed her eyes to see two girls across the street. They were wearing the same school uniform as her. More girls from the Tokyo Girls Arts Academy.

The pair saw us. One whispered to the other, and they both laughed.

Hanako went bright red. “We should get out of here,” She said.

“Wait!” I grabbed for her sleeve as she dashed off. I fumbled and grabbed her hand instead.

Hanako stopped mid-step and looked at me.

I was frozen. My heart was pounding. The warmth from her hand snapped me out of my trance.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, letting go.

I looked over my shoulder; the two academy girls were gone.

Hanako set her shoulders. “Come on, we still have a lot more places to see.”

“Did you know those girls?” I asked as we walked.

Hanako bit at her bottom lip. “Not really,” She whispered.

I definitely hit a nerve there.

“Nevermind,” I said to clear the air.

It only took a few minutes to reach the next karaoke bar. It was down a side street, with a bar and lounge on the first floor and private karaoke booths in the basement. The sign was bright yellow.

★CHIBI STAR KARAOKE★

The mascot was a cute chubby star with round black eyes and a smile.

Hanako’s face lit up. “It’s so cute!” She squealed.

Well, they had the marketing down, at least.

“Come on, I have a good feeling about this place!” Hanako said.

I followed her downstairs, letting her inspect the amenities and equipment.

There was a guy standing in the reception area. He was middle-aged, with a haircut and fashionable suit that revealed he was probably going through some sort of mid-life crisis.

“Welcome, welcome!” He said.

Hanako chatted with him about rates and stuff. I didn’t really pay attention until I heard Hanako gasp.

“Really, open mic?” She asked.

The man nodded. “Yeah, every Thursday, we do open mic night.” He looked her up and down - a little too slowly. “You’re from that arts school, yeah?”

“Uh-huh!” Hanako nodded fiercely.

“I could tell,” The man said. “Well, you’re welcome to come sing here anytime.”

Something about him made my stomach turn. It wasn’t the smell of cigarette smoke or the wrinkles in his outfit - no, it was something in his eyes. The way he looked at her made me nervous.

“Well,” I said. I gently put my hand on her shoulder. “We should get going.”

I gave her a pointed look, but she was too busy seeing stars to notice.

“Come sing for us on Thursday!” The man called after us as we walked up the LED-lit stairs.

“I will!” Hanako said.

Well, at least I knew what I was doing Thursday night. I wasn’t going to let Hanako out of my sight with this guy around.