A Coffee Crowd, Pt. 1

Some days had passed since Minoru’s declaration of trying to find some peace. Unluckily for me, I couldn’t ponder upon it much because half of my weekend was just me in bed. Laying there. Wasting. I was struggling to really comprehend or even register what was going on at home. But alas, I’m not here to make anyone really feel sorry for me, or anything. I too share the same goal as Minoru. As if we were akin to something much bigger than ‘family.’ I don’t know.

Wednesday afternoon.

If you must insist, the temperature was around 18°C. Once again, I was treated to the classic Nagoya weather of… clouds. Just a field of clouds in the sky. Can someone or anything harvest them already? Let’s reap the rewards of sunshine? Come on. Even I'm frustrated about this and all I do is just stay at home all day.

Silently, I sat on my chair, just staring at the worksheet. I must’ve scared Saeka off successfully because she wasn’t mocking me or anything. She’s just there, doing the work at factory efficiency.

The merry highs of the first days of school have long dissipated into nothingness. School was back in action. Which is okay. Not every day has to be ‘action-packed.’ I’d rather just take in the stillness for what it is. Minoru too, was just sitting there with his pen, just… doing the work. He seems to be taking this seriously. Good for him.

What does it mean to be a ‘normal’ kid? Can someone even explain normalcy? Let’s go and focus on a related problem. Central tendency. What is the most useful measure of central tendency? Is it the mean? Mode? Median? Any of the other means? The answer is, it depends. And as such, normalcy can be described in the same way. Is being normal the most typical or the average?

It’s all based on your answer.

But you want to know my thoughts, I assume. Sadly, I just don’t really care about the definition of normalcy. I get Minoru’s sentiments, I really do. But the truth is that being ‘normal’ is stupid. You will never be normal. Why does anyone want to be average? It’s a view that I think is bordering on ignorance. What I want to do is function without being a pain to anyone. That’s it.

It was unnatural for a high school class to be this quiet near the end of school. A brush of silence. There would be intervals where people would speak, but that hadn’t happened in minutes. Just work. It wasn’t even a punishment. No lecture too, just sheetwork and the teacher on her laptop. Very hands-on. I took a deep breath and just continued writing.

“You done Honzo?” A mute voice came from Saeka. She appeared to be done, as usual.

I might as well not lie. Honesty is the best policy. All in good faith.

“Nope. I’ve just been staring at the paper.”

She responded, “I don’t blame you, but you should do your work.”

“I agree.”

There it goes, I have to put my head down.

With each question defeated, the boss killed, and a new question to conquer, I started to ponder again. And then I realized it wasn’t important. At least finish the work and I can ponder at home. God, I hate learning about geography. Oxbow lakes. Oxbow lakes. That’s the only thing I will ever remember from this forsaken subject. No disrespect to anyone who does geography, but I particularly hold quite the disdain for your choice of study and science. Sorry!

Finally, I saw the teacher, Akino-sensei, start the dismissal ceremony. We all handed our papers towards the windows, my side, and then we all pushed our row’s work in front. Sensei said she’ll mark it, and those who get the top five can get some mochi! That’s quite nice. I had to move up six papers, three times. My hands touched 18 students’ work. Mathematics!

Ok, I don’t know why I did that.

My seating position was presidential. I sat with an aura of calmness. Ok, I lied. I sat slouched with my hands, seemingly about to detach from my arm due to the way it dangled from the edge. Each person beside me, except for Saeka, did something similar. She was the one that sat with grace… strangely enough.

“You may all leave now.” Akino-sensei’s strong voice signified what we were all waiting for. We were a bit early, but I could tell Akino-sensei was too tired to stick to the rules.

I stood up, grabbed my backpack, and was about to leave without a sound until I was approached by Mai and the ‘misc’ group. By the way, if you thought I was being mean to them by always referring to them as that - it’s literally what they call themselves. This group included Mai, Shibuya, Yamaki, and sometimes Kaede Nakamura from Class C would join them. Matter of fact, Nishi-chan has walked home with them too. Not really ‘Misc-group’ behaviour, but I think they called themselves that to mess with people.

Miscellaneous. What a funny way to describe yourself. Wait! I just realized! They called themselves that because all of them have a different style! Or I’m just overthinking. Yeah. That’s the more likely part.

Sometimes I wish I was closer to them, actually. But I’ll just let them be.

Wait. Why did I go into such thoughts over Mai walking up to me? She didn’t even say anything yet.

“Hey, Honzo. Wanna walk with us? Saeka, Tatsuya, and Minoru are coming too.”

Wait what? I thought Mai didn’t like Saeka?

“If you’re wondering, me and Tatsuya have been cool for a few days now, we kind of squashed whatever we had,” Mai responded cooly.

No one told me about this! That’s nice, I suppose. Good to hear.

I spoke. “Sure, Mai. What’s this about?”

“Just wanted to walk as a big group, that’s all.”

Within the corner of my eye, I could notice Yamaki giving a faint smile. Shibuya looked like she was blushing. What’s going on? This is a prank by Mai. I thought we were friends, but clearly not.

“There’s clearly something fishy about this… but alright. I don’t mind tagging along.”

Yep. No shame in being a tag-along.

Our group from Class 2B left the classroom. Mai invited Sayako and Yusuke too, but Sayako said she had to attend the swimming club, apparently, it was to be the second time she swam in three weeks. I was wondering if she was fitting that alongside her ‘responsibilities’ as an official member of the Culture & Travel Club. I suppose they just weren’t swimming at all. Yusuke? Well, he decided to go with us but he had to be home by 16:00. I’m sure he can just run it when we randomly loiter in some spot by the street.

As for me? I walked behind all of them. I was assigned the role of the guardian of the group. Okay, I just wasn’t feeling sociable. Let’s count how many people there are, so far. There was the lovey-dovey couple, so that’s two. Mai, Yamaki, and Shibuya, so now 5. Then me and Yusuke.

7 people.

That’s… certainly getting closer to a crowd, I think I’ll say.

The sun shone to the side. Its aura was stunningly beautiful. Literally. I could feel the warmth attack every single skin cell that wasn’t fortunate to be in the shade. Don’t worry, skin cells, I deeply empathise with your pain. Considering, you’re me. Just one cell specifically adapted with this single purpose. Imagine being a cell and your role is to be expendable in the integumentary system. Saddening, is it not? Don’t worry, skin cells. You’ll be freed soon. The UV radiation will free you from your thankless job.

Did I just make a whole backstory for skin cells?

Guess I did. I can be wholly strange at times. My backpack had slanted to the left side, as my right shoulder decided to take a break. You know, such weight in my backpack such as a ‘water bottle’ or ‘empty bento box’ all clearly strains my muscles.

By the time we got to the reception hall, the others were already waiting. In addition to the seven, we now had Nishi-chan, Kenji, and Nakamura-san. Look, we have clearly formed an organised crime group, and are now going to take over racketeering and various illegal activities. Our criminal competence was best shown by Saeka, who once apologised to a konbini clerk for paying for the same thing twice. Incredible.

Chatter awaits. If I wasn’t annoyed by trying to tone out the school’s voices, I’d now have to tone down my own friends in this 20-minute walk.

Let’s see here, the misc group were chatting away with Nishi and Nakamura-san, and snippets of the conversation did break through the filter.

“What if humans had gills? I heard that we used to have gills!” A somewhat gung-ho Yamaki said, with her subtle voice still striking my ears.

Kenji, Yusuke, Saeka, and Tatsuya were talking about what had transpired today. It’s not really interesting. Just some small fighting over a girl in Class D. I couldn’t care about their side. If your homeroom isn’t in the science block, then you’re like a whole other species to me. Although, I would say it was funny seeing all that in the canteen.

That left me and Minoru, together. The third party. Makeshift therapy duo. Personally, I’d rather we just walk in silence, but Minoru decided to be chatty. He just had to have this personality on.

“So, where do you live Honzo?” Minoru asked.

“I live around Takabata Station. You could even say I live there if we’re stretching it. But yeah, I’m only 20 minutes away from school.”

Minoru nodded. “I see, that makes waking up and sleeping easier.” He gave a slight laugh.

“Yeah, it does. How are you getting home?”

“I’m taking the train.”

I’m so proud of you Minoru! Like you’re my son! It warms my cold heart that some have independently decided to take the trains. I love the subway. Hopefully, you can tell that I hate buses. Facts. Buses are for the weak and fools. Big vehicles are horrific. They should be banned for infringing on my human rights. When is the UN going to do something about this travesty? No one weeps for us victims.

Okay, maybe I’ve clearly stretched it to an uncomfortable point. I don’t like buses.

“You have a manaca card?”

“Yeah, I do.” He pulled it out from within his coat, but he did it in such a way that I was unsure whether he was going to pull out his wallet or just shoot me broad day. Maybe I’m just a really anxious person.

Suddenly Nishi-chan joined us.

“Hey, Takanishi-san.”

“What’s up Honzo and Minoru-san! I gotta say that you guys are getting so close, that people are shipping you. Well, the fujoshi, at least.”

I wish Sayako was here to back me.

“Nishi-chan, that is demonstrably false. Firstly, one could look at my eating habits. I hate sausages. You could assume the same in my private life.”

“I saw you eat a hotdog a week ago? Surely, they’re similar.”

“They’re not similar, and second of all, I like someone who, let me be clear, is a girl.”

“That’s nice Honzo, but I don’t think it’s mutual. Kidding!”

Nishi-chan’s both lit up and showed anger. I think she was fearful that I liked someone else. If I told her I lied, it would be all over. Small tidbits of admiration are not really the same as crushes, I feel. I’m not really obsessive. I do like Nishi-chan, to be fair, but no way am I saying that in front of so many people. My life would be gone.

Let’s stop for a break. An intermission. As the group stopped near the coffeehouse, a sudden eureka eeked into existence. Everyone must’ve shared the same idea but were too afraid to say it. I’ll stand up for their voices. For the group. For us.

“Guys, why don’t we just go inside the coffee shop?”

The Pastel Princess was the first to speak. Her eyes were almost cartoonishly widened. Maybe her eyelids decided to do that on her own? “Perfect idea, Honzo! You guys wanna drink coffee?”

Everyone agreed and chatted away. Into the coffeehouse, we go. I totally didn’t just say that because I wanted to speak to others and stop talking to Nishi-chan. Who, by the way, kept looking at me from every direction.

I suppose the conversation will continue from there.