“Hi Hiro… want to hang out later after school?” A girl who just got out of the ladies room wearing a short denim skirt with red lipstick painted on her lips spotted him instantly from the crowd asked him as he passed by. Obviously she was flirting, something that happens often to him but also… pass up every time.
“No thanks Nagasawa-san. Got a lot of work to do later.” He trudged on the hallway as his best buddy Ikuta Toma caught up with him and saw Masami give a pout.
“What’s up with that man? That was NAGASAWA MASAMI!!! Couldn’t you just give her the time of the day? I would jump these six floor-building just for her to ask me out.” Toma gave a backward glance at Nagasawa then gawked at Hiro with an unbelieving look. As usual Toma was exaggerating things again. Everytime he passes up an opportunity to hang out with girls his friend just can’t get over it.
A guy like Toma with those looks would never get caught alone on a party or even in the cafeteria. While he was the ultimate popular guy, Hiro was the woman-hater kind of guy. How they got to know each other? Through their major and their most favorite thing… art.
Toma was majoring in digital graphic art design and so was he. Right now they had the first period with the most torturous professor according to most of the art major students. It was Professor Fujiki Noahito, the dreaded professor. He tried avoiding the subject for three whole years because of the rumors he heard but since he was a senior and it was a compulsory to take Fujiki’s subject he had to enroll it. Unbelievably though, now that he’s taking the class, his impression of the professor has changed. He liked him as a teacher, because he was full of insights and he doesn’t just see an art, but he looks at the history behind them, he sees the mood of the artwork, feels the artist’s feelings and most of all he believes in what he teach.
They entered the room and took the seat in the middle row. The middle row was the safest place to be. If you’re in front, Prof. Fujiki would size you up and drill you on the things you know, if you seat on the end row, he would notice all the things you do and call you down to be a sample for any task he had prepared specifically just for the back row people. Then the humiliation begins if you are dumb enough not to understand his mind. That’s why both he and Toma try to be as early as they could to find a good sit in that class. He may like Fujiki as a professor but he wasn’t up to any of those unnecessary things.
A couple of minutes later the professor came in and class started. Prof. Fujiki was discussing the history of how contemporary art came into existence in the early eighteen hundreds when a sharp knock came at the door. He walked towards it and opened the door to see who dared to disturb his class. It was the guidance councilor and they were talking about something that he couldn’t hear.
“Do you think they’re going to cancel this class for the whole year? That would be great if that ever happens. I get to have more free time to finish my layout for our senior project.” Toma whispered to him gingerly as they both looked over the door. Hiro wouldn’t want that class to be cancelled that’s for sure.
Other students started murmuring because the Prof. and the councilor were taking so long on what ever they are talking about, and then Prof. Fujiki turned back at them and gave out a cough to clear his voice and silence them off.
“You are going to have a new classmate for this semester. Apparently I wasn’t informed that a new student would be transferring and is going to take this class. And because it is known to all of you that only TOP Students get to enter MY CLASS I hope you give room to this transfer student and let her feel at home.” After saying this Prof. Fujiki walked out of the room.
“Whoa… he said she. It means the transfer student is a girl? I’d like to know her.” Toma’s radar went on haywire when he heard the Professor say “she”, instead of a “he”. Their class mostly consisted of male population and a few female who either where punk-rock-goth induced or the Lolita type which was way out of his friend’s league. That’s why he wouldn’t be surprised if all of the other guys in that room were anticipating for a REAL girl this time.
The door opened and the professor walked in with a girl behind him.
Hiro almost fell off his chair as soon as he discovered who the transfer student was. This whole event was all beyond his imagination that he thought he was dreaming.
“Her name is Yu Aoi, she is twenty one years old, a transferee from Prague University and studied there for three years, her major is drawing and I have seen this child’s work hung on Prague and Paris art competitions and she had won several prizes, yet she’s still modest about it. Treat her well class…” he looked at Aoi after saying these things and motioned for her to take a sit, ”As for you, you may take the sit at the back since that’s the most unoccupied sit in this room.”
Aoi walked towards the back of the room and caught sight of him, then gave him a genuine smile just like yesterday that made him want to smack his head on the desk. It was so stupid of him to say that she was an elementary student and why didn’t he notice that accent she had? Initially he thought it was a lisp of some kind. Upon hearing this things from the professor, a sudden inferioty swept through him that actually made himself feel ashamed for acting like an ass to a twenty one year old girl who knew more in art than he probably did.
It was one thing to hate girls, but to look like a fool with all the things he just said and done… he felt like a total idiot.
Trying to ignore her presence he casually stared ahead of him as Toma nudged his side, “Hey, the new girl just smiled at me. I think sshe looks really cute. She’s small though and looks more like a twelve year old, but she definitely looks pretty, especially with that smile.” His friend nodded towards Aoi’s direction.
Hiro just shook his head and wanted the earth to eat him up as quickly as possible.
……………………………………
As soon as the class ended, Hiro quickly got out of his seat as fast as he could, he didn’t even bother waiting up for Toma. He felt the need to get out of there ASAP. Unfortunately Professor Fujiki didn’t think so.
“Hiro, I have to talk to you about something.” Prof. Fujiki motioned for him to go to his table, while he glanced at Aoi who was about to go out of the room with Toma following suit behind her.
“I saw your layout ideas for your senior project. Are you sure those are the things you’re going to use?” he looked at Hiro with doubt in his eyes.
“Uhm… yeah. Those are the ideas that have been coming to me lately.” He told him with a bit of uncertainty in his voice which the Professor took notice of.
“I’ll give you two weeks to consider this Mizushima… art is not something you just lay out for people to praise. Art is your mark in this world, so make use of it. If you believe in soul or heart or whatever crap other people call it, use that instead of your head. You’re head is for thinking. While this…” Prof. Fujiki pointed at his own chest, “…is for feeling.” The Prof. went back on to rummage through the stack of papers in front of him, “You may go now,” He said without even looking at him.
Hiro walked out of the room reluctantly as he gave a side glance towards the professor. He didn’t really grasp the concept of the “heart for feeling” but he would probably understand it more later on.
When he got out of the room, Toma was there waiting for him with Aoi at his side.
“I waited for you dude, I wanted to introduce Yu Aoi to you personally.” He grinned ridiculously at him while moving his eye brows up and down.
“We know each other.” He motioned to Toma as he pointed at Aoi.
“You know each other? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Toma gaped at him while Aoi hid a smile.
“That’s because I’m not her keeper, and I don’t go around telling people I met a girl. Especially a girl who looks like a twelve year old and not even bothering to tell me she’s twenty one and of legal age to smoke, drink and get married.” He said plainly, without even looking at them.
The three of them were walking along the hallway through the cafeteria, which he knew Aoi had no idea where they were actually going.
“Do I hear a sound of bitterness in your voice, Mizushima? I guess I also don’t go about and tell people I’m twenty one! Who would believe it anyway?” She gave him a smirk as Toma chuckled.
“That’s right Hiro. No one would believe her even if she tried convincing that person. There’s nothing wrong with not telling your age.” Toma put an arm on his shoulder and gave a shrug.
“Just let it pass, coz if you don’t you’ll just end up making your life a living hell. I know you hate girls, but you have to suck it up, coz this girl here,” he took Aoi’s shoulder and moved her up in front of him for Hiro to see, “is going to be your partner at the internship.”
Hiro stared at Toma in shock. All he could think of was that his future has suddenly gone bleak. While he was wishing with all his might that the floor would just open up and swallow him, Aoi just stood there with the brightest smile he had ever seen in his entire life.
……………………………………
How she got to be his partner in the internship was beyond his thinking. He glanced to his side as he worked on the layout in the computer before him, Aoi had a sketch pad and a Mac laptop in front of her… she’s been sketching and erasing for hours ever since they got to the office building for their internship.
When she was introduced to the people in the building which consisted of male employees and interns, he noticed that she immediately felt at home the second she knew everybody’s name and all of them treated her well instantly. This annoyed him because on his first day everybody on the building gave him a hard time, and the reason was, “It’s for an initiation process for a newbie like you.” The first three days of work was pure hell for him, but things got better after that.
So the initiation thing did not work for girls then. Wouldn’t it be weird if he made her life like hell in the office? As soon as he thought of this a couple of his seniors went to his side and said, “Hiro, I heard she’s your classmate? You better treat our little princess well or else you’ll answer for us. She’s just what this company needs,” a tap on his shoulder was given and a small bow for Aoi as they left them on their respective tables.
“What did they just tell you?” Aoi asked him in a whisper.
“They told me that if you don’t work well you’ll be thrown out of the building like there’s no tomorrow.” Smirking at her, he left her standing with eyes wide open as he proceeded to his own table and started working on his assignment.
It was almost time to get out of work, he glanced back at Aoi and tried to sneak a look at what she’s working on. Their boss gave them their assignments earlier but he never got a chance to see what Aoi’s assignment was.
The clock on their table buzzed saying its time to get off work. He closed his computer and heaved a big sigh of resignation for his layout ideas, while Aoi was still sketching something.
“Yo…” he called out.
“For the second time my name is not Yo. I would really appreciate it if you called me Yu rather than Yo.” With this remark she slammed shut her sketchbook and looked at him sizing him up.
“What?” she suddenly asked.
“Eh?” he looked at her confused.
“You just called me didn’t you? What for?” she asked in an irritated tone.
“What’s with that attitude? I was just going to offer a ride since you asked for one this morning you might as well need one right now, so I’m offering one with all of the goodness of my heart… but of course with a price.” He smiled at her smugly.
“The price is?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.
“You’ll have to show me what you’ve been working on the whole afternoon.” He grinned mischievously at her.
“Ah… so you’re actually curious.” she gave him a sly smile.
“No I am not showing it to you and NO I don’t need a ride from you. Your good friend Ikuta Toma offered me a ride home, since he’s going to the beach this afternoon and he works just under this building. He’s so nice, why can’t you be as pleasant as him Mizushima?” she shook her head and packed up her things then left without looking back at him.
That womanizer… even hits on this kid? What’s wrong with that guy? He never really understood Toma’s taste in women, because it always varies. Toma’s motto in women is probably “the newer the better”. Looking at the door where she just disappeared, he thought of who Yu Aoi really is. There was nothing about her that he actually knew of.
He walked over to her table out of curiosity, it was relatively empty because she was new but he noticed earlier she was unpacking things from her bag and placed it on her table. There were two frames, set on Aoi’s table, one where there were family pictures of a 6 year old Aoi with her dad and mom who was carrying a baby in her arm. The other frame was a cartoon of a boy grinning goofily. It was drawn in a funny way that the eyes were huge and the teeth were exaggerated but it was a cool drawing that any artist would seem to appreciate its complexity. A signature was written on the edge, “aYu-2000”.
~~~End of Chapter 2~~~
Words from me:
Gome ne minna san... the picture looks kind of really depressing ne? ill "probably" change it when i have the time. i had this certain mood while i was actually making the image, the back ground, and even when i was thinking of the story line, *Spoiler* so you might already guess how the whole thing could turn out... but then again it still all depends on my mood. lolz... hopefully you guys would still like the next chapter. ja ne ^_^v
ps.
your comments would be much loved. you can go to my xanga site to leave your comments if you don't have a winglin account.
www.xanga.com/biniBningPunkista
sankyu! ~_^v
my other stuff:
stay with me- http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/biniBningPunk1stay with me for better or for worse (sequel)- http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/biniBningPunk3
more than friends- http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/biniBningPunk2
kiss a beautiful stranger- http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/biniBningPunk4/
the unknown- http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/biniBningPunk
innocent kiss- http://winglin.net/fanfic/dhen_shaneen
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