The three girls are walking together in the hallway to head home after Chi had finished communicating things out with Jetroharu.
"I guess we ended up resorting to apologizing to him." Jana said.
"Maybe he's different from the other delinquent guys after all." Rain tries to change her mind after hearing what Chi said about their conversation.
"Again, that's why I like him. " Chi smiles as she looks at the direction she's walking.
While their steps took forward heading downstairs, Jana looked at her side where she could see the campus ground. Upon looking, she noticed someone familiar as she squinted her eyes to take a clearer look
"Hey, wait, is that Jetroharu talking to a girl?"
The other two girls also stopped. Chi's eyes widened.
"Huh? He is? Who is he talking to?" Her eyes immediately pointed to the direction of which Jana was looking.
"Isn't that -"
Jana and Rain stared at each other after realizing who the person was.
-
"Me and him?" Nikee didn't know what the question was for, she was left dumbfounded by her sudden appearance.
"Yes. Why are you with him? I saw you giving something to him. " Chi looks at her earnestly with eyes glaring straight right onto her.
Reading Chi's expression, Nikee remembered what Jetroharu had told him.
"That girl likes me. I am uncomfortable around pretty people."
She got annoyed remembering it because after that statement, he told her that he prefers to study with her because she's a plain ass nerd.
"What did you give him?"
Just from these words alone, Nikee realized that she seemed to like him alot but she doesn't understand why this concerns her.
"Those are my notes. He asked me for it."
She knew it's not what Jetroharu asked for but the notes were written by her so she thought that would also work as studying with him.
"Notes? He asked you for your notes?" Chi's eyebrow furrowed from the thought of it.
"If that's all that you want to talk about, then I'm going-"
Chi pulled her arm as she was not answering her question properly.
"How did you guys get close that he asked you about that? Are you even telling the truth?" Her eyes were scowling in disbelief.
"We were never close. He should be the one you're asking about that, not me. "
Nike shoved her hands away from her grip and passed by them when Chi made the way open without noticing because her mind suddenly became deserted.
"She's right, Chi. We shouldn't trust her after all, so we should just ask Jetroharu" Jana looked at her.
"It's kinda weird, too. This is the first time I see them talking to each other." Rain said while looking at the both of them confused.
Chi's eyes we're still fixed on the floor while mulling over the idea of Nikee lending her notes to him for the first time.
-
As soon as Jetroharu got home and saw how welcoming the bed was for his tired body, he immediately threw himself on it after removing the bag from his back.
"Ah." He was looking at the ceiling as the mushy futon embraced his exhausted body.
"Instead of thinking that way, why not just prove to her that you are nothing like what she thinks of you ?"
Jetroharu smirked from remembering the words Kazu had given him, he knew well what it meant, he knew well it would mean that he had to impress her to prove her wrong.
"Me? Impressing her? I don't even like that nerd to begin with."
"She'll definitely regret her first impression of you and that will ease your hurt ego."
He continues to stare onto the ceiling pondering about what his friend meant. "Damn it." He rose from his bed and sat as he folded his legs. He took his bag beside him and opened it. The extra notes she gave him appeared right away just after he had zippered it open.
"How am I supposed to study this with just myself?" He looked at it in dismay.
-
Meanwhile, Kazu is laid down on his bed, teary-eyed while laughing his ass off as he watches something on his phone.
His laughter was interrupted when a notification came up on his screen, a message from someone he wanted to ignore.
"Tsk. What is his problem now?" He just slides the notification away.
"Anyways", he continued the disrupted laughing session, but the moment he slid it off, another new message popped up, when he did it again, new messages kept appearing.
"This guy seriously-". He tried to read the message from the notification.
Oi, I know you're seeing my messages on your notifications right now. Why are you not replying!? You're watching lewd stuff right now aren't you?
"Man, what a pain in the ass. Just because I'm bitchless doesn't mean I watch it often. " Everytime Jetroharu ignores his messages, this is what he always says and it's been proven effective in taking Kazu's attention.
He tapped on the notification to see what he's all worked up about.
Have I ever told you that she just gave me her notes then she just ran away? How am I supposed to understand this shit alone?
-
"Why is this blockhead ain't replying?-"
After dozens of spams, Kazu had finally noticed him and received a reply.
Ask for her social media account.
"Ask for her account!? This dude got screw loose or something!?"
Jetroharu replied to him immediately but after a few minutes of waiting, he never received any message.
"Freaking reply, idiot. "
He waited and was left hanging all night.
-
New morning took place, Jetroharu had come early looking like he wasn't able to have a good sleep overthinking of the next plan he should do. Although he appears to lack sleep, he was eager to find that person among the sea of students walking with him.
When he activated his eagle eyes as he raised the heel of both of his feet, he had finally found his target and ran as fast as he could to chase the only spiky haired guy among the normal hairs of students surrounding him. It's like finding a pufferfish surrounded by tunas.
As this guy walks peacefully yawning as he goes to the entrance, he suddenly felt something heavy weighing on his shoulder.
"Hey, Kazu. "
His eyes widened from the chilling voice.
"I see that you left my messages unseen last night." A scary aura came out from the angry man beside him and engulfed Kazu the moment this man side eyes him with a strong glare.
"Ah, that. I suddenly slept, so I forgot to reply.-" Kazu was shaken up.
"You're making excuses now?" He leered as his grip get more firm on Kazu's shoulder.
"Ah!" Kazu had found his way out of this situation and pointed to a certain direction.
"Isn't that Nikee? Let's go ask for her account now!" He ran immediately to escape but Jetroharu was able to reach for his arm before he could move forward. His anger had cooled down when her name was mentioned, instead it left him disconcerted.
"Are you in your right mind right now!? Didn't you understand what I messaged you yesterday!?"
He shoved Jetroharu's hand and moved both of his hands onto his shoulder.
"Look. We're asking for it because you need her help."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to ask for her account. Didn't you know what that shit means?"
Kazu withdrew his hands on his in confusion.
"You're putting an issue on this? You said you don't like her, but why are you thinking that asking for her account equates to that?"
"No. We're talking about what she thinks of it, not the other way around."
"Dude, you can't be kidding me. How could she think of it that way? We're clarifying that it's nothing like that- "
"I don't need her account. I need her to study with me." Jetroharu had found his resolve. He's not doing something she can easily misinterpret.
Jetroharu walks past him leaving Kazu at a loss for words.
"He's really damn hopeless." He whispered to himself.
"Fine. If you say so." He follows him from behind knowing damn well Jetroharu won't be able to keep his words.
-
The classroom as usual is filled with noises from students talking about topics unrelated to school. Amidst the clamor, Nikee is the only one who finds herself at peace while minding her own business as she listens to the music from her earphones.
She was reading the notes written on her notebook, seemingly unbothered, but this disappeared when a tall assertive guy suddenly interrupted her solitude.
"Oi, Mickey. These extra notes of yours aren't helpful at all. " A pile of paper covered the notebook she was reading. As soon as she looked up who the person was, her morning was ruined.
All the students turned their heads to their direction due to Jetroharu's loud voice echoing in the room. The whole class' attention suddenly gravitates toward them as they can see the tension between the two. Chi was also not an exception.
"If you want to make those notes useful, then go teach it to me. "
Nikee looked at him unforeseen from his action. She never thought he could talk to her like that in front of the class. The minute Kazu had seen Jetroharu coming to her unprovoked, he walked towards them to prevent any more confusion.
"Ah, Nikee, please excuse us for a sec. "
Kazu pulled him away in front of her.
"Dude, what are you doing? We should be talking to her alone, not in front of our classmates." He told him in a low voice because the students were eavesdropping.
"I don't think we'll be able to settle it when we talk alone. So I'm taking this rare opportunity now that she's here and the teacher isn't. Who knows? She might be going everywhere again."
He walked away in front of Kazu to head back at Nikee who's caught off guard, she tries to not mind the attention and focus back on studying.
"Oi, don't go back there, calm your nerves first." Kazu was panicking again.
When Jetroharu was about to go back to talk to Nikee, Wei had arrived in the room and saw the agitated atmosphere. He checked where this was coming from and saw that they were looking at Jetroharu and Nikee's direction. The view he saw made him uneasy as Nikee looked like she was feeling uncomfortable. He suddenly dashed towards them and blocked Jetroharu's way.
"Oi, Jetro, stop that." He tapped his hand onto Jetroharu's chest.
"The class rep's busy, you should talk to her after class." Wei's icy-cold gaze pierced through his senses. He wondered where this look in his eyes was coming from.
"Ah, Wei! Goodness, you're here!" Kazu exhaled in relief.
Jetroharu looks at Wei confused. His serious stare, his hand on his chest, and his infuriated voice, the body language is leaving him muddled. To his decision, he removed the hand on his chest and shifted his gaze to Nikee who's pretending to be incautious of what's happening.
"I'll talk to you after class, nerd." Then his eyes turned to Wei.
"Wei, what's with that? 'm just trying to talk to her."
"You could clearly see that she's busy. Even if it's a small talk, you can just save it for later. It's also rude to just interrupt her like that. "
"Told ya, Wei gets me. We're both gentlemen." Kazu folded his arms with an assured voice, as if making Jetroharu the bad guy.
"Is there something wrong about me approaching her? I was just talking to her."
"There's nothing wrong about approaching her, we're pointing at the "way" you do it." Kazu added.
The teacher had finally arrived in the class which made everyone move in silence.
"Everyone, go back to your seats and we'll continue our lesson yesterday."
Jetroharu looked at his back.
"I really hate it when a conversation is interrupted when a teacher comes in."
-
The class had dismissed, the students were bringing out their lunchbox and some were headed to the canteen.
"Oi, Let's go to the canteen today." Kazu headed to Jetroharu's seat.
"Where's Wei?"
"As usual, sleeping during break time."
Jetroharu checked towards Wei's seat, he's sleeping again during break time. He may have worked overtime again. After looking over Wei's direction, his eyes shifted to the opposite side where Nikee was seated. She's not there.
"Let's go." They both headed out the room.
-
The canteen was filled with chatters from different people as usual, mixed with the roaming smell of random foods that were being sold.
Jetroharu and Kazu are carrying their trays with the food they ordered. They were finding chairs to sit on, luckily it didn't take much long.
They took a seat and placed their food on the table with the trays on the side. Shortly after they started eating, three girls went to sit with them.
"Huh? Chi? Are you guys eating with us?" Kazu asked as he munched his food.
"Is it okay?" Chi's lovely face makes it hard to refuse.
"Ah, yes, yes. It's totally okay." Kazu welcomed them without hesitation.
All of them ate their food as they shared the same table.
Chi was in front of Jetroharu which made her go peek on his face from time to time. Looking at him like this didn't make her fully satisfied because he never looked at her and was just munching his food while chatting with Kazu. She felt ignored for some reason, her presence seemed invisible to him.
"Uh...Jetroharu." She finally made a move to talk to him.
His gaze finally turned to her as he chewed his food.
"Did the teacher ask you to just study with the class rep instead of me?" She was itching to ask this question since yesterday.
Jetroharu chokes on his food after hearing the question cause it was obvious that he would never do that.
"What are you saying? I would never do that-"
"Then it was your own initiative to study with her instead of me?"
Jetroharu closed his eyes as he gulped on his food, which afterwards, he looked back at Chi again with his expression seemingly sterned.
"Why do my choices matter to you anyway? You shouldn't be angry. It's not like you and I have something special and all." He stressed.
Chi's expression had become disgruntled that she couldn't help but stand up from her seat.
"So she's special to you?" She calls out, eyes filled with doubtfulness.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" His eyebrows furrowed.
Chi ran away from them followed by the other two girls.
"Where are you going, Chi?" Jana called her from behind.
Kazu felt shaken up again from Jetroharu's never ending assertive gesture.
"Bro, what did you do? You shouldn't have said it like that-"
"Her feelings are getting out of hand. It's necessary for me to say it." He made it clear.
"Dude, I know that she likes you, but you could have worded it differently."
"I'm sure this is nothing surprising to her. I have always been straightforward with what I wanna say. She'll understand what I mean."
Kazu let out a sigh.
"You're really damn hopeless." Kazu continued his disrupted eating.
"Anyway, you'll come with me to talk to that nerd after class."
"Huh?what gives!?" His words took him by surprise again.
"I can't communicate with her well. I feel like it's the same old shit that will happen whenever I talk to her alone."
"What same old?"
Jetroharu took a bite before he could answer.
"She ends up doing what she wanted without listening to me-"
Kazu giggled out of nowhere.
"Oh, understandable."
"Huh!?" Jetroharu looks at him daringly as if he was picking a fight.
"I said yes, understandable. I'm coming with you, geez." He raises his hands in defense.
If Kazu was in Nikee's shoes, he would do the same.
-
The women's bathroom this time again is filled with voices of three girls comforting each other.
"Chi... You might have just misunderstood him." Jana's fingers trailed on the strands of her hair.
"He never said that she's special to him. " Rain said in consolation.
"I just can't seem to think that way when he chose her to be a study partner over me." Chi says as she washes her hand, soaking the tears that came from her eyes.
"Chi, she's literally not on the same level as you. How could you think like that?" Jana moves her face closer to her side.
"Didn't you see what happened a while ago? He approached her as if he's demanding something. Like, with such audacity? Is she being bullied or some sort?"
Rain's words took Jana by surprise.
"Oh, I didn't think of it like that at all. What do you think, Chi?"
Their gaze turned towards Chi who's looking at herself in the mirror,
-
The two guys who have finished eating sighed in satisfaction.
" Wa! Today's food was good." Jetroharu touched his belly in contentment.
"Yea, it is. Let's go back now." Kazu wiped his mouth with a tissue.
"Wait, just a few more minutes. I ate a lot." He rubbed his belly.
"Dude, we're gonna be late!"
"It's only a few minutes. We're not gonna be late."
"Then I'm leaving you-"
Jetroharu did not make him when he pulled his arm. He transferred the hand on his belly towards the top of the table and made his back straight, looking composed.
"Say, you seem good with your words. How'd you do it?"
He looks at him straight in the eye, waiting for a proper answer.
"Huh?" Kazu was lost by what he meant for a second.
"You can communicate well. How do I apply it with that nerd? So I can make her agree with me."
Kazu smirked when Jetroharu was hit by a realization.
"You're finally eager to get advice from me huh?"
"Now, you're trying to twist my words again-"
"Just be nice to her."
His eyes widened. That thought never came to his mind because Nikee never did the same. He was giving back the same energy she gives, so the idea of being nice to her never entered the conversation with himself.
"Do that and she'll be nice to you. And you two will be able to understand each other."
"I told you, I don't need her to be nice to me. I just need her to study with me-"
"That's the point, If you want her to study with you, then be nice to her. Didn't you know that when she agrees to study with you, that's her being nice?"
He's unable to reply. He thinks Kazu might have just assumed things in his own perspective but grasping his impression of Nikee, he might never know what her real intentions are unless they talk properly, which is impossible to happen.
"So let's go back and go practice it when you talk to her." Jetroharu pulled his hand away and joined Kazu as they walked out. He was left mystified in his consciousness.
-
Nikee was seen walking back to the classroom together with the other two on the opposite side by coincidence. Nikee and Jetroharu noticed their eyes glancing at each other for a second which she immediately averted out of annoyance.
As soon as she entered the classroom followed by the guys at her back headed onto their seats, she announced something in the class.
"Everyone, our teacher won't be able to attend today due to an urgent meeting. So, she asked us to make a review of the past lessons to be passed today. No review paper, no attendance. I was asked to be in charge. So please do your review quietly." She asserted.
"Um, at least make us talk with each other while doing the review?" One student complained.
"Aren't you too inconsiderate? We have no teacher anyways. Don't be a killjoy again." Another student joined which the other students collectively agreed.
Instead of being quiet, the students turned her down once again. The class noise continues to ring in every corner. They never saw her as a class representative in the first place, but an attention seeker who's at the top of the class who always ruins the fun.
Jetroharu noticed the class' behavior towards her and was immediately reminded by what Kazu had told him.
Just be nice to her
"What's the point of that?" He wanted to dismiss the thought but the answer in his head appeared fast.
That's the point. If you want her to study with you, then be nice to her.
It was at this moment that he wanted to take this chance to change her mind.
"Everyone." he stood up from his chair, and called them out loudly without notice.
The whole class suddenly turned their attention to him, including Chi who was just beside him looking at him unexpectedly.
"Although she wasn't voted in by the whole class, she's still the person whom our professor trusted to be in charge, show your respect for damn once."
Nikee initially thought this was the only time he interrupted to make the class pay attention to her, but this was actually the second time he did this. She was just staring into the teacher's table trying to hide the fact that she was startled by what he did.
"Listen to her and be quiet."
Nikee slowly looks at the class reaction followed by the confused gaze on her eyes shifting to him, making her think twice of his intention for the first time.