Great, now we have to talk about Gitan. He fancies himself another version of me, huh? Let’s see how he likes red string when it’s tied around his neck… I’m sorry.
I guess I shouldn’t feel threatened by a boy who only plays matchmaker with girls. One day he was in a particularly matchmakery mood, so he searched the classroom for any girl who might be in love.
He saw the warm smile on Masami and took note of her glowing skin. She was talking to Sahana and Gitan put two and two together.
When lunch approached, Gitan approached Masami before she had the chance to leave the classroom.
‘I sense love is in the air.’
Masami scowled at him. ‘Is that your idea of a pickup line?’
Gitan held his hands up with his palms facing Masami. ‘I wasn’t talking about love between us. I just sense some… interest between you and Sahana.’
‘Well, your senses are wrong.’
‘Then why do you look different than before? You look like a girl in love.’
‘It’s not love. Well, it is, but the friendship kind. So, because I’m supposedly in love, that means that the one I love is Sahana? I hope you didn’t break your hip trying to make that leap.’
Gitan couldn’t help but chortle at that comment. ‘You’d be cute together, is all I’m saying. You could simply be in denial over your true feelings. I must offer you some comfort. It’s not the 1970s anymore. Love between women is no longer a source of tragedy.’
‘Why don’t you go and bother someone else?’
Gitan took the suggestion to heart and went over to Fumie.
‘So, do your eyes have magic powers?’ Fumie glared at him. ‘Ooh, I sense a tsundere in our midst. What fun!’
Masami gave her an apologetic look before heading out of the classroom with her bento box. She was going to hang out with Kunie, have a few laughs and forget everything Gitan said.
They met up at the Home Ec room and Masami immediately got to work on a new, inevitably disgusting meal.
Kunie began gushing over the Takarazuka show as if Masami had not watched it with her.
Masami joined in with a smile. However, it didn’t take long for that smile to drop when she remembered the actor who had captured Kunie’s gaze.
It also didn’t take long for Kunie to notice that Masami had fallen silent and was whisking with the speed of a peregrine falcon on caffeine.
‘Something else on your mind?’
Masami finally slowed down. ‘Yeah. Gitan talked to me. He thinks I’m a lesbian.’
‘He thinks every girl is a lesbian.’
‘Well, he thinks I specifically like Sahana.’
Kunie blinked with wide eyes. She put on a smirk and leaned in closer, though not close enough to let whatever Masami was concocting reach her nostrils. She sat down on the high chair behind her and played with the bowl of fruit Masami had placed on the counter.
‘Do you?’
Masami didn’t look up, returning to abusing the poor mix in the bowl. ‘No way. She’s just a friend. What kind of person falls for their best…’ she looked up. ‘...friend?’ She said that last word on a strangled whimper.
Kunie was right in front of her. Kunie, the girl she got along with even better than Sahana. Kunie, the fun and confident girl with the most enviable wit. Kunie, the girl who, now that Masami thought about it, had really smooth skin and soft hair and… Masami looked down again, but not before noticing Kunie’s chest.
Clang! That was the sound of Masami’s bowl falling to the floor. Some of the mixture splattered onto the ground until it looked like a Jackson Pollock painting. The chef’s heart rocked back and forth inside her chest like a train carriage.
Kunie leapt off her seat and rushed to help clean up the mess.
‘So you do like Sahana,’ she finally said.
‘No!’ Masami shouted in a higher pitch than she had hoped for. ‘No, I was thinking about something else and got distracted. Damn it, I should have concentrated on making this.’
‘What were you thinking about?’
‘Uh…’ Masami couldn’t come up with a lie quick enough. ‘I’d rather not talk about it.’
‘Oh…’
Upon seeing the frown on Kunie’s face, Masami’s already fast heartbeat got faster.
‘Um, so that Takarazuka show, huh? Pretty… bodacious.’ Masami mentally swore at herself.
Kunie laughed but her eyes showed no signs of contempt. ‘Bodacious?’
‘Y-yeah.’ As Masami talked, she kept sneaking glances at Kunie’s chest. ‘That young actor was pretty good, if a little rigid in some parts. I think she’s a newcomer, but I have a feeling she’ll soon bosom- uh, blossom.’ Nice one, Masami. She gasped, looking at the now clean floor and the almost-empty mixing bowl in her hands. ‘What am I going to make you now?’
‘You don’t need to make me anything. Hanging out with you is enough.’
Damn it, Kunie, you had to make Masami stop working. The chef stood frozen with the big, fear-drenched eyes of someone about to be beamed up into a UFO. ‘What, did I say something wrong?’ Kunie asked. Masami shook her head like a wet dog but said nothing. ‘Okay… So, um, uh… Oh, how are things going with the cooking club? Is anyone still giving you crap?’
As if Kunie’s presence gave off a blinding light, Masami looked back down at her bowl. ‘No, it’s fine. Everything’s… fine.’
Kunie snatched Masami’s bowl and set it on the table before putting her hands on her shoulders. Meanwhile, I tied a piece of red string around Masami’s pinky finger as the poor girl trembled under the weight of Kunie’s affection.
‘Know you can ask me for help whenever you need to.’
‘I said it’s fine.’ Masami’s voice was a little sharper than she had anticipated. Kunie let go of her shoulders and lowered her own. Masami didn’t directly apologise but she did ask Kunie to continue talking about theatre. She didn’t add anything to the conversation, simply listening and trying not to think too much about how the other girl’s voice suddenly sounded like butter.
A saviour arrived in the form of the school bell, bringing a sigh of relief out from Masami’s lips. That sigh went back into Masami’s mouth with a gulp when Kunie continued talking to her all the way to the classroom.
‘Uh, see you,’ Kunie said, forcing a smile before heading to the back of the classroom. As soon as she sat in her chair, Masami slammed her forehead head onto her desk.
Meanwhile, I kept on looking at Kunie as she looked at Masami with melancholic eyes, hoping I would get a chance to tie Masami’s red string around Kunie’s finger.
Alas, this was not the right time. Their destiny was still unclear, even to me.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
