I make my bed and get to work on the essays I've been putting off, distracting myself from the whirling thoughts in my head about Togi in the room next door. As I finish my essay plan, the hours fly by, and my appetite grows.
"Could you please get the pizzas, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! My essay comes to a halt as Megumi's order reverberates down the corridor. I rise and walk down to the front door, welcoming the pizza boy as he removes the pizzas from the chilly night air. When I turn around, Togi is standing behind me, almost knocking the pizzas out of my hands.
"I was just wondering if you needed any help carrying the pizzas." He says this as he wraps his hands around mine, putting the pizzas in danger of falling- the worst tragedy imaginable.
He shuffles the bottom two pizzas out of my hands and into his arms in an awkward manner. He coughs awkwardly, "I just wanted to say that um I-"
"Is there any pizza?" I'm starvinggggggggggg! My brother yells, interrupting Togi and frightening the hell out of us. Togi withdraws his hands and resumes his walk back to the stairwell, looking sheepish.
"Night, um." He says this as he walks back up the stairs, leaving me in a trance in the entranceway.
"Good night." As he closes my brother's door, I whisper quietly.
"Megumiiiiiiiiiii, wake up!" I scream again, like I do every day before school to wake him up from his slumber. As he stumbles past me to the stairwell, a'morninguh' escapes his mouth, the door flings open. As he walks towards the kitchen, I call after him, "There's eggs on toast on the island." I take a seat next to him as he stuffs his face and thanks me with a wave of his hand.
"Humphumphummhummmhumpp," Megumi exclaims, his inaudible sentence obscured by his chomping and chewing, a piece of egg falling out onto the table, much to my annoyance. I react with a disgusted expression, which makes him giggle a little as I nudge my plate away from me, unexpectedly losing my appetite.
"I said, you're the shit lol, Curt says. And I had no idea you and Benn had a fight...that you won...when were you going to tell me this? Right before my eyes, my brother improvements are growing up too quickly." He feigns a heart attack while holding his hand on his chest.
"We're lab partners, of course. We were just talking and then there was a punch punch, pow pow, and he was knocked out on the deck.
Sure." Before raising his fist in the air, my brother laughs. Everyone now assumes I'm a bully.
"There he is, the big guy himself," says the narrator. Curt greets me with a fist bump as I start Physics - is it a tradition for all guys to bump fists? High fives are much gentler and more enjoyable.
"What's up?" I nod and return to my seat, expecting yet another surprise exam. As we both laugh and begin 40 minutes of silent hell, I groan and roll my eyes. Instead of tic tac toe, we're going to play hangman. The bell rings halfway through H, signaling the end of our game. We pack up and hand our test to the front of the class before exiting physics and exiting science hell.
"Come on, let's go get some lunch, I'm hungryggSggg," Curt says. Shocked, I follow him to the dining hall. I rarely eat here; not just this year, but any year - only coming here when the clouds decide to cry. Curt's saunter divides the hallway, his effortless charm enough to split the crowds, me trailing in his wake—slightly relieved not to be constantly bumped into by everyone.
We enter into the flooded hall, Curt seamlessly navigating through the crowds to the lunch line handing me a tray as he starts scooping some macaroni and cheese onto his plate. My food wobbles slightly as I ladle it onto my plate - I feel like it's moving slightly, almost like a slug - delicious.
"yowwwwwww! Megumi calls out as Curt and I approach the table, pulling us both into a bro hug at the same time. Togi sits next to him, winking at me before fist pumping both of us. "My younger brother is in the dining hall, and he is in school. It's nothing short of a bloody miracle." He laughs, and the table bursts out laughing. True, I was almost expelled from school due to my low attendance rate of 40%. I was almost free when my mother stormed into the office and defended me, insisting that I stay for the sake of my future. The good times when she was actually present.
". That sounds like a good plan, Christian? Megumi says, yanking me out of my daydreaming and sad reminiscing and bringing my thoughts back to the table.
"What was that? What exactly did you say?"
"Togi and Curt were just talking about how we should all go bowling tonight...surely... I mean, you don't have anything to do, lol. After that, maybe watch a movie or something "I think about the offer for a moment, scanning my mind for the most recent movies that have just come out - hopefully they like horrors.
"Ugh, I guess I could devour you guys in a game of bowling tonight." We all begin to laugh again. Togi winks at me from across the table, sending my heart racing. Subtly biting his lip, he casts us into a silent isolation, his green orbs as enticing as ever. When our eyes meet, it's as if time stops; yet he probably has no idea how much of an impact he has on me. How he turns me into a stuttering mess that can only manage a two-sentence conversation with him. A squeal from across the dining hall breaks our concentration.