On the long-awaited acceptance announcement day, when we found out that we both received not only admission permission but also scholarships, I took the crossbar I’d had for many years and wrote the same sentence repeatedly on its surface with a permanent marker.
Liam, won’t you go to prom with me?
Episode 7+
One chilly day, I received an invitation from Leda and went to her house. These days she was busy preparing for the GED, so we couldn’t meet often, and seeing her after a long time, her clearly haggard appearance was noticeable and my heart felt bad.
“I always don’t know why I’m like this. I get impulsive and commit something, hurt others, regret it, and end up hurting myself too.”
Leda was regretting the disaster-like results brought about by her hasty confession.
When Leda said she would come out to everyone the day before the Halloween party, should I have stopped her instead of supporting her? To make excuses, Leda isn’t someone who doesn’t do what she’s set her mind to, and I never dreamed she would come out in such a way. Being rushed to resolve her grievance, without consideration for the other party, Sophia…….
……’Consideration for Sophia.’
“You and I have only done terrible things to Sophia.”
I did something terrible to kind Sophia, blinded by jealousy. When Olivia suffered such humiliation and her locker became a mess, Sophia was the first to move.
“That’s why you’re being punished now. But you…… No. I’m being petty again. Can’t get my head straight.”
Leda said that and said she wanted to apologize to Sophia but was afraid to contact her.
“Then you haven’t tried yet?”
“Yeah. When I asked Alice, she’s dating Virgil?”
“Yeah. Are you getting along well with Alice again?”
“What’s there not to get along with her about? She and I…… have annoying personalities. Since we’re people who already knew that about each other, there’s nothing about getting along well again, just…… Yeah. But Olivia became close with her again, so I became close with Olivia too. That’s funny. She and I, we contact each other really often?”
Olivia with a layer of pretense peeled off is a quite attractive friend, Leda said, then sighed, perhaps thinking of Sophia. I quietly placed my right hand on one of her shoulders, and she said while trying hard to hold back tears.
“Why do I never have anything work out? Auditions keep failing, and with the person I like…… It’s really fucked up.”
“…….”
I couldn’t dare say anything to Leda. If Tchaiki had told me to break up last summer, I would have faced a similar situation to Leda now. What would I do in such a situation…… I can’t even imagine it because it’s painful. Impossible.
“Sophia said to me. ‘You’re like someone born to hurt others.’ Those words, I keep thinking of them when I’m alone.”
“Leda.”
“That was the first time I knew what it meant for the heart to hurt. How good would it be if I could reset everything just with a repentant heart?”
Leda asked that and wiped the slightly protruding tears with her index finger.
“Oh, and I declared war on Alice. That I’ll take the lead role next time. Then she said she won’t lose.”
Leda changed the conversation topic while trying hard to smile. I could only give Leda formal talk like this slump will soon pass and Alice and such aren’t even your match, nothing more.
“The University of North Carolina, right? The school you and your boyfriend got into.”
“Yeah……. Why?”
“I’m going there too. I’m going to follow you and your boyfriend everywhere and ruin things to my heart’s content.”
“That’s a bit troublesome…….”
Since Leda is someone who does what she says, I expressed genuine trouble.
“Can’t the three of us just hang out and have fun together?”
“That’s not bad either.”
Leda said that and sent me home with the reason that she had to continue listening to the GED lecture. That night I wrote in my diary about Leda’s college plans, and Tchaiki said school life would become even more fun with Leda.
* * *
“Hey, look, the gold digger and attention whore are passing by.”
“Haha, crazy bitches going around together.”
One day, ahead of a friendly match, I was having a meeting with team members when Hazel and Blair—Hazel regained her friendship with Blair after breaking up with Olivia—didn’t stop giggling and mocking when they saw Olivia and Alice.
“……What’s so funny?”
I stopped talking about tactics and asked Hazel and Blair.
“Are you laughing because the lice living in your pussies are making you itchy?”
When I asked that, several other team members started snickering, and gaining strength from that sound, I imitated Alice’s wit as much as possible and played the clown.
“You guys stick together every day under the common trait of being sluts. So why are you laughing at them?”
“This son of a bitch…….”
When Blair raised her hand as if to hit me, I dodged it slowly and provoked her.
“Whoa, just kick me instead. I know you scratch your pussy and don’t wash your hands. What if I get lice from being hit by that hand?”
Blair or Hazel wouldn’t be a match even if the two attacked together, but I deliberately made exaggerated gestures and acted scared.
“Wahaha!”
When the team members started laughing at them, both Hazel and Blair showed signs of slowly shutting their mouths. I gave them a final warning.
“Don’t make other noises during tactical meetings. Isn’t it a game even if it’s a friendly match? I’d like you to have a more serious attitude. If you keep being like this, I’ll have no choice but to tell the coach.”
“……Fuck.”
“So are you going to listen or not?”
“Fine, so stop blabbering and continue talking about tactics.”
With the intention of reconfirming the hierarchy within the team, I continued the tactical briefing while firmly gripping the shoulders of Hazel and Blair, whose momentum had somewhat broken. And when the meeting ended, I received a one-line DM from Alice.
Alice
Not bad.
Followed by a line from Olivia too.
Olivia
I told you not to worry about my business
* * *
A few nights before the prom party, I came home and there was something like a large shopping bag next to Ted lying asleep on the bed. When I stared at it, Ted woke up and told me with a proud smile to check what was in the shopping bag. I took out the item as he said, and could tell it was a suit that fit me perfectly.
“Where did you get this, with what money, how?”
“I bought it with money I saved while working. You have to look the coolest to Tchaiki on prom day.”
“……What?”
“You even consulted me about worries regarding that kid, so why that reaction?”
“No, it’s just……. Yes. I should look the coolest that day.”
I smiled at Ted and turned on my smartphone to write in the diary telling Tchaiki to look forward to prom day. But since Tchaiki’s diary entry was already there, I checked that first.
I’ll be the one to ask you to be my partner on prom day, so just wait at home.
The one line Tchaiki left at the end of the diary was enough to make my heart flutter to the point of almost bursting. How is he planning to ask me to be his partner to make such a grand announcement? I could die from how cute this is.
* * *
Tchaiki’s prom date proposal was cuter than I imagined. He densely wrote on the crossbar he said he’d used for three years, asking me to go to prom together—how could I refuse this proposal? Far from refusing, I couldn’t allow even a moment’s hesitation.
“I’ll go. Anywhere you want to go.”
“……Thank you.”
Tchaiki spoke shyly, then put me in the car and went to the school gymnasium where the party was in full swing. There we greeted friends—Nathan who came with Juliet, or Virgil who came with Sophia—and drank punch together, listened to music, and talked about this and that.
“It’s a shame Leda isn’t here. She was always the star of the party.”
“I know.”
“But right now Charlotte, Olivia, and Alice are all at her house. They say they’re going to eat snacks and watch Netflix all night. Going to prom and such is a waste of time.”
“That sounds more fun than here?”
I said I thought so too, then spread both arms in front of Tchaiki as if showing off and asked, how is it?
“Ted bought me this suit.”
“It suits you well.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“I’m not good with words. But…… it suits you well. Ah, did I already say that?”
When I smiled watching Tchaiki ramble, a very slow song played and a somewhat sticky, dense atmosphere was created. I caught that moment, took Tchaiki’s hand, and gradually moved to the center of the ballroom. Then while receiving the softly pouring lights, I embraced Tchaiki’s waist and danced, then whispered with my lips close to his ear.
“I’ll ask a little differently this time.”
“Mm?”
“Cheick Rowan.”
