Let's Get to Know Eachother!

A Chance of Happiness Chapter 19: Let's Get to Know Eachother!

Jin and Vernon sat in their homeroom class, waiting for the bell to ring.

“She said yes?! Really?”

Jin nodded. “She did. Though, she seemed rather awkward when we talked.”

“To think, the dauntless actor Mina-san feeling awkward about something. Not something I’d typically expect from her. But I guess we’ve been learning a lot of new things recently. What about Kazuto-kun? Heard anything from him yet?”

“No, not since yesterday.”

“Hmm, well he’ll come around. He definitely wants the best for Mina and if this can help her then he’ll definitely be on board.”

Across the room, Mina and Kazuto walk into the classroom together.

“Speaking of…” Vernon raised his hand as if to wave but Jin grabbed his hand and lowered it.

“Not here.”

“I told you they were fine with it. Trust me. They’re going to be seen with us eventually, why wait?”

“Why wait for what?”

Jin and Vernon turned to see Kazuto standing beside them with Mina at his side, who appeared to be slightly nervous. Whispers seemed to crowd the room as the rest of the class watched as a seemingly normal interaction occurred between the most unlikely of people. Kazuto took a brief look around, noticing the eyes on them.

“If that offer is still open… we’d like to accept.”

“Absolutely!” Vernon sprung out of his seat and hugged Kazuto. “Strange to call it and “offer” though.”

“Um, Ichihara-kun.”

“Oh right, sorry, we’ll work up to it.” Vernon apologized, letting go of Kazuto.

Kazuto looked away, slightly embarrassed. “No, it’s fine. It just… took me by surprise.”

“Are you two… really ok with this?” Jin asked as the three turned to him.

“We are. And we both agreed to this.”

“Gosh, you really need to loosen up a little! No need to be so formal Kazuto-kun!”

“Um…” Mina began. “Thank you both…” she bowed, having a slightly anxious expression on her face.

“Of course, Mina-san! Don’t think anything of it! Also…” Vernon learned over a bit to make sure he made eye contact with Mina. “Smile a little! It doesn’t take much, and it’ll make your day just that much better!” he laughed.

“Is that so…” Mina smiled, looking more at ease.

The whispers continued throughout the classroom, and eventually, the rest of the campus. However, the thing about whispers is, if you don’t really pay attention to them, you can’t really hear them.

“So… what do we do now?” Kazuto asked.

“What do you mean?” Vernon titled his head, slightly confused.

“Well… now that we’re… friends…”

“Well technically, we aren’t yet.”

“Huh?!” Jin, Mina, and Kazuto simultaneously reacted.

The four of them met in the fitness center once again, sitting in the same circle they were in yesterday, only the circumstances were far different.

“Alrighty, now that we’re all here we can begin.” Vernon began, giving an intense look as he looked at everyone. “Let’s get to know eachother!” he yelled, throwing his hands up.

“Did you really have to make it sound like we were rejecting them earlier?”

“Oh come on Jin, it has to be dramatic doesn’t it?”

“No! No it did not!” Mina yelled, seemingly angry.

“Hm? What did I say?” Vernon scratched his head as Jin and Kazuto gave him blank stares.

“Well…” Jin began.

Earlier that day…

Jin, Mina, and Kazuto sat in their physics class working on their worksheets. However, Mina’s head was facedown on the table.

“Um… Yuriko-san…” Jin looked over at her, but she didn’t move.

“She’ll get over it.” Kazuto told Jin as he continued to work. “She’s just angry about Ichihara-kun’s phrasing.”

“I thought I felt my heart drop inside my chest! It sounded like he was going to reject us!”

“Oh… is that so…” Vernon looked at Mina nervously as she was still angry. “Listen, I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

“Hmph!” Mina turned away as if she was pouting.

Vernon looked shocked in defeat as his apology was shot down.

“It seems like you two already get along just fine.” Kazuto smiled.

As the four sat in a circle, they began to get to know eachother.

“Seriously?!” Vernon yelled as he stuffed a portion of rice into his mouth. “An olympic runner?! That’s awesome!”

“T-Thank you…”

“What… made you want to be a runner?” Jin asked shyly.

“Oh…” Kazuto paused to think for a moment. “I think it just had something to do with the feeling I got from being on the track. Having people watch me run and feel inspired to chase after their own dreams made me feel happy.”

“That’s… amazing…” Jin smiled, seemingly at a loss for words.

“What about you, Rento-kun?”

“Oh… I…” Jin looked down slightly. “...haven’t really thought about it.” he finished, showing a slightly depressed expression.

Across from him, Mina looked at him curiously, appearing to be the only one to notice.

Shoes squeaked across as most of the class was playing basketball. Jin and Mina sat on the sidelines in the bleachers.

“Is everything alright?” Mina leaned forward and turned to Jin, who was slightly hunched over next to her.

“What? Oh… yes, sorry. I was just distracted.” Jin nodded.

“Something on your mind?”

“Nothing to worry about.”

“But it’s clearly bothering you.” Mina persisted.

Jin looked over at her, quickly remembering that it was highly unlikely he’d be able to hide anything from her considering how perceptive she was.

“I just… wasn’t sure how to answer earlier…”

“When Kazuto asked you what you wanted to do?”

Jin nodded. “I’ve never really thought about it. It’s just… a lot to think about.”

“So even you can feel stressed sometimes.”

“Hm?”

“You just seem… very calm.”

“I guess I probably just do a better job at hiding it than most.”

“That makes two of us.”

“It does worry me though. The pressure of deciding what to do with my future, and all the possibilities it could hold… worries me a lot.”

“That… makes two of us.” Mina gave a light smile.

Jin and Mina began to exit the gym as class was coming to a close. Preparing to head back to the locker rooms.

“Um… Rento-kun…” Mina stammered, fidgeting with her hands.

“Yes?”

Mina tensed up slightly, starting to walk a little stiffly. “Well… um… tomorrow… Hirata-sensei said we’d be choosing groups of four for our upcoming group project. And I was wondering… if you maybe wanted… to be in a group together.”

The question surprised him as the thought never even crossed his mind.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m sure you could probably do the project all by yourself if you wanted to but I thought maybe I’d ask to see if maybe you wanted to work together because… you know…” Mina paused, frantically searching for words to form sentences with. “... two heads are better than one and with four you’re practically halfway to being a hydra and… erm…” Mina paused, slightly red from embarrassment. “... science is… super… tough…”