When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was check my phone for new notifications and messages. This was part of my regular morning routine.
I had four new notifications.
The first was from our class group chat, which I usually leave to check later when I get bored, the second was from my best friends' group chat, which I always check as soon as possible, the third was from my volleyball team's group chat, and the last was from an unknown number.
An unsaved number, huh? Who could it be? When I opened the message, I immediately recognized the sender from the first few lines. It was a guy from the soccer team. Everybody knew him.
The message read: "Hi cutie, it's me, Ryo, the hot guy from the soccer club! I didn't ask for your phone number back then, so you might be surprised that I'm texting you like this, lol. I was wondering if you wanted to go to karaoke this weekend? lol Like, just you and me? ;)"
Ew... The hot guy? Did he really just call himself hot? And how did he even get my number?
Deciding to ignore him, I went to my friends' group chat, which was called "Besties Forever". I know, I know, a cheesy name, but I thought it was cute.
There were three people in this group chat: me (Emi), my childhood friend Hana, and Rika, our classmate and a friend we made shortly after entering high school.
The message I saw in the chat immediately piqued my interest.
Hana: "Good morning, I need your help guys! So, there's this guy I know and he asked me for some advice. He wants to ask his crush out on a date, but he doesn't know where to go. Since I'm not very good at this kind of thing, can you please help me out? Give me some suggestions."
This message was sent by Hana only 10 minutes ago.
She woke up and immediately posted in the chat group? That wasn't like her.
Me: "I want to go to France, hehe."
Hana: "Huh? What? What are you talking about, Emi? France? Uh… Did you sleep well last night?"
She replied almost immediately. I guess she was still in bed, glued to her phone.
Me: "Well, doesn't that sound romantic?"
Hana: "Lol. I mean, for a simple date? Are you serious? Or are you just messing with me right now?"
Me: "Sorry to confuse you, hahaha. I saw a movie last night and it's still stuck in my head. It was a movie set in Paris. It was so romantic! The lights of the city and the atmosphere, ah! Paris is just so romantic!"
Hana: "I mean... yeah, I guess? But I need you to take it seriously! I'm asking you for a simple place to go on a date!"
Before I could reply, the text "Rika is typing..." appeared on the screen.
Rika: "Wooow!!! A question about romance from Hana? How rare! Oh, and by the way, I think Italy is more romantic!"
Hana: "Hey, not you too! Be serious guys! Like, where would you like to go on a normal date? NORMAL!"
Rika: "Sorry! Give me a minute Hana! I'll have to think about it. You rarely talk about romance, so I have to take it seriously!"
Hana: "Sure! Take your time, lol. I'm interested to hear your answer! What about you, Emi? Do you have any other suggestions, other than travelling to other countries?"
I could almost hear the sarcasm in the last few lines of her message.
Me: "Lol. You want me to be honest? Well… I wouldn't mind just a simple date. An arcade, or just a cafe, whatever, really."
Hana: "Really? You? That sounds so boring though."
Me: "Hey! I'm trying to give you a serious answer!"
Hana: "Well... Doesn't really seem like it!"
Me: "What do you mean, lol? You're the one who just asked for a normal place to go on a date, so I'm giving you normal places to go on a normal date."
Hana: "Yeah... But... I mean, those are the obvious answers. Isn't there a more special place you want to go on a date?"
Me: "Not really?"
Hana: "I see… Well… I just thought you were tired of simple dates or something…"
Me: "Why? You make it sound like I've been on a lot of dates."
Hana: "I mean, you definitely have more experience than me. Besides, there are a lot of guys who are interested in you. Don't they usually ask you out on dates? I'm sure they've asked you out to karaoke and stuff like that."
Me: "Well, I was never interested in those guys, I guess?"
Hana: "Ah… I see, I see. But still, isn't it boring to just go to a cafe, a movie, etc.? Isn't that kind of lame?"
Me: "Why? To be honest, I'm more interested in the feeling than the place. Going to a cafe and a movie sounds good. I mean, if I already like the person, then it wouldn't matter, right?"
I didn't realize how serious and honest I had become, even though at first I just wanted to joke about it and tease her.
Hana: "Yeah, I totally get it. But that's not what I meant. What if it's the other way around? What if you like someone and you want to improve your chances with them? You don't really know if they like you back or not, so you want to surprise them in some way."
Me: "Ahh... I see now. I guess I was trying to look at it from the wrong perspective. Hmmm… Well, I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it then..."
Hana: "Oh my God."
Hana: "You're totally useless..."
Me: "What the hell? You are the one who asked me to be serious lol! And when I try to be serious, you call me useless?"
Hana: "Sorry, sorry, lol, I'm just surprised that neither of you thought about it until now, you know?"
Me: "What? Did you expect us to give you a straight answer right away?"
Hana: "I mean, yeah... You both have more dating experience than me. So I figured you already have the perfect date in mind. Like something very romantic."
Me: "Well, other than a simple date, nothing comes to mind right away... I think this guy is just overthinking it, to be honest."
Hana: "You think so? Ugh… well, maybe you're right…"
Me: "I mean, Rika hasn't answered the question yet. Maybe she has better advice?"
Hana: "Yeah, you're right. Where is she? Did I break her with my question or what lol?"
Me: "Rika? Hey! Where are you? You're not looking for an answer on the internet, are you?"
Hana: "Maybe she's away from her phone or busy. Let's wait a bit."
Me: "Okay, while we're waiting for her, tell me... what about you, Hana?"
Hana: "What do you mean?"
Me: "Don't play dumb now. What kind of dates do you like? Hehehe."
Hana: "Me? Why are you asking me? I asked you because I couldn't give him any advice myself... If I had the answer, I wouldn't have asked you, lol."
Me: "No, no. That's not fair. You have to answer too. Aren't you the one who said it was just a simple question?"
Rika: "Yeah! I agree! Come on, you must have something in mind!"