Guess That Makes Us Even

A Chance of Happiness Chapter 7: Guess That Makes Us Even

“Say, whaddaya think our English teacher is gonna be like? Deep and brooding like Chino-sensei? Terrifying and energetic like Kimura-san? Actually, considering those two options I think I’d prefer it if they were just normal…”

“Who knows, either way they’re gonna be our homeroom teacher too.” said Jin, pointing at his schedule.

“Seriously?! What if they’re completely nuts?! We’re gonna be stuck with them for two whole periods?! What if they’re… they’re…” Vernon’s meltdown went on an intermission as he looked at the schedule. “Eric? That’s not a name I’m used to seeing.”

“Could be American.”

“That’s… that’s actually kinda cool. Having an American teach us English seems like it’d be an interesting experience.”

“It’d be rather impressive too. I’ve never really considered someone from another country teaching students their native language. If he’s teaching here that means he’s likely fluent in Japanese too.”

“Mannn, talk about unfair. He’s probably SUPER hot too. How can a guy even compete against someone who’s smart enough to be fluent in multiple languages AND have good looks. I can barely manage a single one.”

“Well, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.”

“Seriously?! His popularity is probably gonna skyrocket with the girls and guys.”

“Probably. But take a look.” Jin showed the schedule to Vernon again. “Looks like he’s taken already.”

“Suzume Conway…” Vernon did a double take to make sure he read that right. “He’s married?!”

“Looks like it. She’s our Japanese teacher and the other homeroom teacher for the first years.”

Jin looked over to see Vernon’s clearly jealous expression.

“That’s… totally… not… fair! She’s probably a total hottie too! This guys got everything! Even if he’s married it’s not like he won’t have eyes on him, I won’t even get noticed!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t…”

“Maybe I shouldn’t overthink this…” Vernon began muttering to himself.

“You should just–”

“Maybe he’s not as hot as I’m imagining him.”

“Come again?”

“If he’s married and not to the standards of the students then maybe he won’t gain as much attention. But then again, if he is married there’s always a chance he is.”

Vernon continued to mutter to himself.

“You’re impossible.”

“No, what’d be impossible if this guy was good at sports too! What if he’s good looking, bilingual, married, AND good at sports! Then I’d really have no chance. But what if–”

“Vernon…”

“Not now! What if I’m getting too ahead of myself? Maybe he’s not good looking or bilingual or–”

“Vernon!” Jin raised his voice, snapping Vernon out of his thought process.

“What?!”

Jin pointed in front of them.

(IN ENGLISH) “Welcome, are you two here for 4th period English?”

Vernon froze as he looked to see where the voice came from to see a young man with black hair, wearing glasses that covered his dazzling blue eyes.

“Crap, he’s hot.” Vernon blurted out.

The man tilted his head, slightly confused. “Well, thank you young man.” he replied, speaking in Japanese.

Jin quickly elbowed Vernon, snapping him out of his trance.

(IN ENGLISH) “We are. Nice to meet you.” Jin bowed.

“Very good! Welcome to English class. My name is Eric Conway and I’ll be your teacher for the semester. You two are the first to arrive so feel free to take any seats you’d like. Grab a half slip on your way in to fill out your namecard.”

“Sure.” Jin quickly grabbed Vernon by the arm, dragging him into the classroom.

“I have NO chance.” Vernon sighed, showing a defeated expression.

“Shut up, you idiot.”

“B-b-but you saw him right?!” Vernon stammered. “He’s like one of those perfect good-looking guys I see in my rom-com animes!”

“Agreed, too bad he’s married.” a voice came from in front of them.

Jin quickly turned to see a girl with light brown hair sitting cross legged in front of them.

“Right?!” Vernon continued, unconcerned by the fact someone just joined the conversation. “Hell, if he wasn’t married and he asked me I’d–” he paused, turning as he recognized the voice of the person who joined the conversation.

“By all means, feel free to continue, Ichihara. Don’t stop on my account.” The girl smirked.

“Oh, it’s you, Fujimura-san.” Vernon sighed.

“You could just call me Ayaka, you know. After all, we’ve known each other for so long.”

“Probably too long, honestly.” Vernon sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Oh don’t be like that, it wasn’t all bad. Besides I just wanted to see how yo–”

“Y’know what you’re right, it wasn’t all that bad. At least while you weren’t around I had some peace and quiet.” Vernon cut her off.

“Hey!” Ayaka raised her voice, seemingly offended.

“You’ve been basically treating me the same way your girlfriend treats Jin ever since you two started hanging out together. Speaking of, I don’t feel daggers staring me down from anywhere in the room, I take it Ms. Dai’s not around?”

“It wasn’t– ugh! Forget it! Just shut up you idiot.” Ayaka quickly turned around to face the front.

“Oh? What’s wrong? Did I–” Vernon stopped as Jin jabbed him in the abdomen. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“I think you should stop.”

Vernon shrugged. “What did I do to deserve that?”

Jin pointed at Ayaka as the bell rang.

“You went too far.”

“Huh? But she started–”

“Did she?”

“Of cou–” Vernon stopped himself.

Vernon thought for a moment, frowning as he realized his mistake.

“Welcome to English class everyone, I’m happy to have you all here.” Eric called from the front of the room. “My name’s Eric Conway, and I’ll be your teacher for the semester. I look forward to working with you all. First and foremost, as some of you may be wondering, yes, I’m from overseas. America specifically. I moved here last year and this will be my first year teaching here at Chiyofumi High. Since you all are first-years, we’ll be learning together and–”

“Excuse me!” a girl in the front raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“I had a teacher earlier and she had the same last name as you. Are the two of you married?”

“Erm, yes, we are. My wife teaches Japanese here. She–”

A series of defeated sighs swept through the room, as if crushing news had just been delivered.

“Ah, um, well if you all could fill out and put up your name cards, I suppose I could answer a few questions and introduce myself.”

A “few” questions quickly spiraled into the entire class period being turned into an investigation into whether or not he’d eventually become single. To many’s dismay, it was highly unlikely. The class seemed to fly by as Jin, Vernon, and Ayaka sat in silence despite the investigation going on around them.

Finally, the bell rang, breaking the awkward silence and putting a stop to the ongoing investigation.

Eric sighed, looking a little tired. “Ok class, that’s all the time we have for questions. Please grab a class syllabus on your way out and we’ll resume tomorrow. Preferably on a different subject. You’re all dismissed.”

Ayaka quickly grabbed her bag and began to leave the room.

“Fujimura!” Vernon called out, tripping over one of the legs on his desk, but Ayaka didn’t stop.

Jin helped Vernon up and the two headed out the door after her.

“Wait! Aya…” Vernon called as he stumbled out the door. “... ka”

Jin and Vernon looked around but didn’t see Ayaka among the crowd of students leaving the room.

“Crap.” Vernon placed his hand on his forehead. “Guess that makes us even. You’re not the only idiot who speaks before thinking.”

“You’re seriously keeping score? You should–”

“I know I know. We’ve known eachother for a long time, I’ll figure something out.” Vernon sighed. “I’ll call you later, alright.”

“Sure.”

As Vernon walked away he turned back to Jin. “Just… don’t say anymore stupid things today or get into trouble. It’s only the first day.”

“Same to you.”

“Fair… that’s fair…” Vernon sighed and waved as he began to walk towards his next class.