Work Text:
“This homework sucks !”
Ryu groans as she reads complicated paragraphs for her English homework. As much as she likes school, this subject makes her life more complicated. From hard-to-pronounce words to stupid rules of grammar, why people consider English as the most common language in the world?
She stares at the same answer sheet for almost an hour. Although her mom Amelia left a delicious dinner on her table, it isn’t enough for her to fill up the paper with reasonable answers.
Until Amelia knocks the bedroom door and opens it. “Sweetie, your friend Tadashi is here.”
Tadashi? Ryu sighs at her mother mentioning his first name. She drops her pen and sits still on her chair. Why is he around at this hour, she thinks. When her narrowed eyes move to the left side, she sees the black-haired teenager wearing a comfy hoodie. Occupied on his left hand is a full plastic bag, making her feel suspicious.
“Yamaguchi-kun,” Ryu starts to talk, “what are you doing here?”
“You have a hard time in English.” Tadashi places the plastic bag on the desk and opens it. “Here’s your snacks. I hope you like it.”
Ryu furrowed her eyebrows. “But I already eat dinner—”
“Just eat them. You told me reading makes you hungry,” Tadashi teased her. Ryu sighs and gets crackers from the plastic bag.
As Ryu opens the pack and eats from it, Tadashi places his chin on her shoulder. He peeks through the homework, analyzing its topic. He also looks to the girl’s eyes, noticing a red blush painted on her cheeks.
“I will do your homework today.” Tadashi picks up the paper and Ryu jolts from her position.
“Yamaguchi-kun, you can’t do that! It’s so unfair to my classmates who work hard on their homework—”
“I just want to help you, Ryu.” Tadashi pouts his lips and hides the paper on his back. “It seems your face is red. Don’t play around, Ryu. ”
Ryu doesn’t move from her spot as she hears her first name. Is she dreaming? No, this can be Tadashi mocking her around. He has a soft heart for close friends, of course, but he can be unknowingly intimidating sometimes.
Tadashi reads the homework carefully and explains, “the best way to answer this is Romeo and Juliet is about forbidden love. They live in rival houses with a bunch of swordfight and family drama. Because of that, they love each other secretly and sneak out to get married.”
Ryu gasped. “That’s it?”
“Nope. The ending is tragic. Their plan of escape didn’t work.” Tadashi returns the paper on the desk.
“But how can I write that!?”
Tadashi smirks. “A date will do.”
Ryu replies in a low voice, “what?”
“If you agree to go on a date with me, I will do your work tonight.” Tadashi moves a chair closer to her. “If not, I will say good luck with your grades.”
Ryu groans. She looks away as she gives him her pen to hide her reddish face. “Fine then.”
Tadashi smiles and writes on her homework. He considers this as a big win.