"I can't believe I'm stuck with you as a classmate! This is bullshit!!" Mina goes off at me about something I have no control over as we walk around the athletic field. PE starts with warm up exercises, and perhaps the most grueling for me personally is the half mile run. I was an absolute panting dog after that. Rimi had to take pity on me and let me drink from her Gatorade. She may perhaps be an angel.
"Oh would you stop complaining already?! I'm not even that bad a guy, you're just being a dick to me for no reason. If anything, the one perpetuating anyone's bullshit is you!" I spit back, starting to feel tired of taking this girl's crap. My teeth begin to grind when I feel Rimi's hand on my shoulder.
"Alright you two, let's not take this too far, okay?" Rimi tries to interject but Mina is having none of it.
"Rimi, hun, I love you, but this guy isn't worth the time of day." Mina gives Rimi a look of pure care and sweetness that would convince even the most cynical souls of her innocence.
"How can you even say that about me, we've known each other for less than a day!" I fire at her, feeling my spirit start to burn with righteous anger.
"I know your type, don't even pretend you aren't one. Some jokester looking for his chance to try and put his hands on some girl. You're disgusting." I grit my teeth. I don't like being called something so disgusting, but…I do have an issue with being too objectifying. Not being able to call her wrong hurts my heart. She may as well take my silence as victory, as she happily smiles and crosses her arms.
"That's an awful thing to say, Mina." Rimi suddenly calls her out. Mina looks to the other girl, surprised, and is only met by a sad face. "He's really nice. He listened to me vent and didn't complain once. I don't think a bad person would do that." Rimi speaks with such a sad, lost in a trance tone that it causes Mina's whole demeanor to change.
"No no, hey, maybe he isn't THAT awful. I'm sure even a few boys have one or two positive qualities. I can totally understand why you wouldn't hate him. He's funny, he's definitely funny." I find myself in a state of pure disbelief.
"You think so?" Rimi asks, giving Mina puppy eyes.
"Absolutely!" Mina says, not even looking at me as she does so.
"Good!" Rimi perks up, allowing Mina to sigh. She turns her head a little and winks, putting a finger over her lips. I feel my cheeks start to burn.
"Hey there, now how is my Miss Ryuga?" Without warning, a boy with black hair and red eyes wraps an arm around Mina, smiling a disgusting smile. Something about him makes me feel funny, like I've seen him before…oh…oh shit…he was the guy beating up that other kid. Suddenly, it feels like I'm caught in a nightmare. The last thing I want is to be anywhere near a kid like this. I start to try and sneak ahead when I notice his hand feeling around Mina's shoulder, and what starts as a desire to escape begins to shift.
"I'm not doing this today Miura. Get your hand off me." Mina says, grabbing his wrist and pulling him off, but he resists.
"Aw, come on, you wouldn't wanna get in trouble with my mom would you? Just let me hang out with my girl." He laughs a little, placing his hand right back where it was.
"I've never been your girl outside your dreams you stupid fuck." Mina spoke with no emotion, her hands clenching and shaking.
"Leave her alone already Miura." Rimi says.
"Hmm? Anyone hear something? Whatever it is, it better stop talking before it gets what's coming to it." Miura said with a seriousness that made my blood boil.
"How-" Mina is interrupted by something neither I or her could have expected.
"Don't talk to her like that!" I blurt out, and immediately, I regret it. Miura turns his full attention to me, cocking his head.
"Well, what do we have here?" He moves fast, his hand grabbing onto my hair and holding me still. "Hmm…I recognize you…oh! You're the little brat from this morning! I was wondering what your deal was. Turns out you're gonna be a real problem for me. That's really unfortunate, you know?" He begins to laugh at me as I try to pull away from him.
"Miura…please, just leave him be. He's an idiot who doesn't know what he's talking about." Mina says, her voice sounding annoyed and…worried?
"Shut up! Did I ask for your opinion?! Man, people talking out of turn really pisses me off. You get me, new guy?" Miura's smile turns devilish and I feel my spine start to tremble. "So, don't blame me too much for this." His fist slams against my cheek, and I fall to the ground, slamming my head against the dirt.
"Miura, stop it!" Rimi grabs onto him, trying to pull him away. Miura grabs onto her head, ready to share the violence with her, when his hand is grabbed by a dangerous looking Mina.
"If you try it, you won't like what happens." The threat is palpable, causing him to near instantly freeze up. For a moment, everyone is just like that, frozen in time, until he shakes Rimi off and pushes Mina to the side.
"Know your place." He mumbles, walking off. Once he's far enough away, Mina grabs onto my shirt and looks like she's close to snapping.
"You idiot! Do you understand what you getting hurt means?! Your grandma is gonna put the blame on me and guess what? She'll kick me and mom out, and we'll have nothing! We'll lose everything because you tried to play hero in a situation I had handled! If you were gonna come here just to make my life worse, then maybe you should have just stayed home, huh?! Why didn't you just stay home?!"
"Mina!" Rimi puts her hands on Mina's arms, stopping her in her tracks. "Mina, he was just trying to help. It's not his fault." Mina and Rimi stare into each other's eyes before Mina lets me go, walking off without another word. I sit up, watching as she leaves. I feel a hand on my head.
"Thank you Yuta, but I'm used to it. Besides, Mina is more than capable of handling a guy like Miura. You don't have to bite off more than you can chew." Rimi reassures me as I feel my cheek. However, something else is on my mind.
"He called her Ryuga…are all the other boys like that?" Rimi seems confused for a moment, but seems to catch on.
"Yeah. Everyone just sort of sees her more like a paycheck than a person. She used to be so much happier but…It's really gotten to her over time."
"Mina…" I whisper her name. Despite her mean attitude, I feel sympathy.
###
"Welcome home, Master Yuta!" I open the door to Mina smiling brightly at me in her maid outfit. I instantly fell in love with her all over again.
"...heh." I'm a fucking loser.
"Next time try not to stay out too late walking. Dinner will get cold. Now, come and eat." Mina worries for me with a gentle tone before leading me inside. Once at the dining room table, I'm served a plate of beef curry. The smell of it causes my saliva to go into overdrive.
"How was your first day, my precious little shit?" Grandma asks before putting some food in her mouth. I look over at Mina, who seems surprised by my gaze before smiling back at me.
"Not bad."