Confession

Dachi: Hey can you meet me on the roof
Dachi: after skool plz
Dachi: *school
Saori: All of us?
Dachi: just you
Prez: who?
Rika: ( ・∇・)
Me: Dachi this is the group chat
Dachi: Eh??????????????
Dachi: just Saori should come only.
Dachi: The rest of u don’t come
Dachi: See you guys @ club.

Once the final bell rang, Dachi sprinted out of the classroom. I hope things go well with him.

I see Rika running towards me. “Kazuma-kun, hurry up, we don't want to be late.”

“For club?”

“No, for Dachi’s confession.”

“So you want to eavesdrop.”

“Noo, I think watching a confession can be beneficial. Plus, if things go wrong, we can support him.”

“Good point. Let’s go.”

The two of us headed to the roof. We looked through the door window and saw Dachi and Saori sitting next to each other.

“Looks like we just made it,” I said.

“It’s too bad we can’t hear what they’re saying.”

“Perhaps this could help.”

Wait, that voice! We turned around and saw Prez standing right behind us.

“What are you doing here Prez?”

“To eavesdrop, like you two.”

“Whaaat?”

“Ito, I’m the president of a Japanese literature and animation appreciation club. One member asked another to meet them alone on the school roof. You do realize this is a classic textbook confession.”

“How are you going to listen in?” Rika asked.

“With this app. I planted a few bugs around the school. Don’t worry, I only activate them when needed.”

“This has to be illegal.”

“Research.”

“So Prez do you think Saori will accept?”

She chuckles, “I’ve known Saori, ever since we were young. We’ve always been inseparable.”

We could hear sounds coming from her phone.

“That’s why…”

“Saori, I like you.”

“The answer is obvious.”

“Dachi…. I”

“She loves him too.”

Rika burst through the door.

“You did it Dachi! Congratulations!!!”

“Tanaka!” Prez and I shouted.

“Wait, how did you…of course, Prez is involved.”

“We, we’re just curious, that’s all,” said Prez.

“Midori, Dachi asked me out!”

“I know I saw…I’m happy for you two.” She smiles halfheartedly.

“So now that you two are a couple, what are you guys going to do? Go on dates, share spaghetti, kiss?” Rika asks.

Their faces began to blush.

“Uh???”

“Um???”

“Tanaka you can’t rush love, it takes time to develop. Even after a confession. Remember that.”

The girls continued to talk among themselves. Dachi and I leaned against the roof fence.

“See that wasn’t so bad,” I said.

“You say that now, but watch when it’s your turn.”

We both laughed.

“So, how was it?”

“Probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done. It’s not even the words that are the problem. It’s the what-ifs. Your mind really is your greatest enemy. I feel so relieved now.”

“Ah hem,” Prez said. “I don’t recall canceling club today. Let’s head down.”

Back in the clubroom, things feel off. While Prez is doing her usual reading, Dachi and Saori seem tense.

“You would think after confessing they would be all lovey-dovey with each other?”

“Well they were just friends before and now they’re suddenly a couple. No wonder they’re nervous. Maybe they need help breaking the ice.”

“So an ice breaker.”

“Prez!” We shouted.

“Could you not sneak up on us?” I asked.

She shrugs.

“Well Ito, aren't you going to help them break the ice.”

“Me?”

“You suggested it.”

I sighed. Me and my big mouth.

The three of us headed over to their table.

“Hey, what’s up?” Dachi asks.

“How did you guys meet?” I asked.

“And when did you realize you were in love?” Rika added.

They both looked back and forth.

“Well, we first met each other last summer in a volunteer program at a hospital. The program involved spending time with patients.” Saori said.

“At the time I was in my last year in junior high, while Senpai was a first year. The program itself was only for two weeks, but you could stay longer if you wished. My mom kind of forced me to stay.”

“For me, I stayed because I enjoyed it. At first, we were pretty distant with each other, but once the volunteer group size decreased we started to get to know each other more. We would sometimes see the same patient together too.”

“I was pretty sad once school started since that's when the program ended," said Dachi. "I wanted to hear your laugh, see your smile, and hear your voice. You’re actually the reason why I decided to apply to Kosei High and this club, since I hoped to see you again. I guess I liked you from the very beginning.”

“Dachi, that's sweet. Actually, I think I can pinpoint the day I started falling for you. It was during the time we were taking care of a young patient with early onset dementia. Every day they would cry knowing that they would eventually forget everyone. Then one day you told her you will dye your hair pink, so she’ll never forget you. I thought it was a joke but you follow through.”

“Yeah, I remember her. Even when she eventually forgot my name she still remembered me as the guy with pink hair. Sadly, she passed away sometime last year. Even now, I still can’t find it in me to dye my hair back. Oh well, I like it pink anyway. I feel like a shounen protagonist after all.”

“Now that I think about it, how does Dachi get away with pink hair?”

“Oh, you have Midori to thank for that.”

“Once Saori found out he was coming to our school. She begged me to pull some strings. So I did.”

Rika’s phone begins to ring.

“Oh, it’s papa, I’ll be right back.” She stepped outside.

“Now my turn, how did you and Dachi meet Kazuma?”

“Us? Well, we were both in our 5th year of elementary school. I recently transferred to Dachi’s school as my mother thought attending a public school would help me understand people of different backgrounds.”

“Too bad Kazu was such an annoying show-off back then.”

“Really?” Saori asked.

“Yeah. Back then, I would always flaunt my family's wealth and connections. It didn't help that I was also starring in an upcoming film called Kid Judo. I kept boasting about how I was a master of judo.”

“That’s when things got really irritating. So I decided to challenge Kazu since I was learning judo at the time.”

“Which I lost. But I just couldn’t stand it. So I kept challenging Dachi.”

“After a while, I felt bad that Kazu was losing every time. So I started to teach him some techniques. Man, I never seen anyone so stubborn.”

“Unfortunately, the movie didn't do that great. And all my classmates who once adored me, shun me instead."

"Hmm, isn't that movie considered a cult classic now?" asks Prez.

"Ironic isn't it."

“I was so pissed! I even called out our classmates for being hypocrites. It was on that day I declared that Kazu and I would become best friends. From then on, we hung out every day. I even learned that Kazu was a massive anime fan, even though he would deny it.”

"I can't believe we actually became close."

“So what happened?” Saori asks.

“One day, there was an anime signing event going on. We both wanted to go early before all the good merch was gone.” I said.

“Back then, I didn’t care much about studying or school, so I told Kazu why don’t we sneak out during lunch.”

“Foolishly, I agreed. Unsurprisingly we were caught by the police. My father forced me to transfer schools as my grades were also suffering, and he even forbade me from contacting Dachi. Other things happened too.”

“Though, I am grateful for Kazu's dad. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have started taking my studies seriously.”

“Which led you to rank first in our recent exams,” Prez said.

“How did you…?”

“Rika realized she scored seventh instead of tenth,” Saori said.

“Naturally I hacked into your records. There we saw your true test results."

“Ah, that's awkward.”

“Not really, thinking about it now, you’ve always been bright.”

“Thanks, Saori!” Said, Dachi.

“Sorry about that. What did I miss?” Rika asked.

“I’ll tell you later. I said.”

We all laughed.

Once again, it’s just me and Rika. I took a deep breath. Okay, it’s time to bring up the kiss.

“Hey, Ta-”

“Oh, I almost forgot here.”

She handed me a shampoo bottle.

“It’s my shampoo. Remember, you said you liked the smell of my hair. And I said I was going to get you some.”

“Oh yeah, I remember now. Thank you.”

“No problem. Oh, there’s my ride. See you.”

I guess I’ll bring it up another day.

That night while showering I decided to use Rika shampoo. As the sweet coconut smell filled the room I suddenly came to a realization.

“Shit, I’m screwed.”