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It was Tuesday, February 14th… commonly known as Valentine’s Day. Teruko and her brother Xander were walking to class.
"Do you think I’ll get anything from David?" Xander asked nervously, fidgeting with the box of chocolates he held behind his back. Teruko rolled her eyes.
"You two have been flirting since school started," she said, her tone exasperated. "I’ll give you fifty dollars if he doesn’t confess."
Xander’s face reddened, but he said nothing. "…Let’s go to our lockers before class starts."
"Ha! Checkmate, bitch!" Teruko said. "Teruko one, Xander zero."
He elbowed her. "Shut it. Come on, let’s go to our lockers."
"So you can check to see if David’s given you a confession letter yet?"
"I said shut it!"
When they arrived at their lockers, Teruko was met with a surprise. There was a bouquet of small purple flowers stuck in her locker, the ribbon tied to the left.
"Oh? Looks like somebody’s got a secret admirer," Xander teased. Teruko felt her face heat up.
"They got the wrong locker, most likely. That’d be just my luck."
"Uh-huh. Sure," Xander said, a smirk tugging at his lips. She lightly punched him in the gut, successfully shutting him up.
When she examined the bouquet more closely, she noticed a small note on it. She was about to unfold it when she realized Xander was staring at it over her shoulder.
"What are you looking at?" she asked. Xander squeaked and dropped into a squat.
"Nothing!"
"Shouldn’t you check your own locker?" she asked him, looking down at his mock-terrified face. Xander picked himself up and did as she said.
Teruko unfolded the note. It was written in neat handwriting that she’d recognize anywhere. After all, she had several study sessions with the person in question, even using their notes for tests.
Dear Teruko,
I’m not sure how to say this. I’ve drafted this about a million times even though I should probably be working on my essay.
These flowers are New Englamd asters. Their scientific name is Symphotrichum novae-angilae. They symbolize love, faith, wisdom, and color. I got them because they remind me of you.
I don’t know if you even like girls, let alone me, but since it’s Valentine’s I thought I might as well confess.
(To be honest, Whit pressured me into it, haha.)
Anyway, feel free to ignore this or pretend you never read it. I hope you have a nice day.
-Min
Teruko glanced back at Xander, but he wasn’t looking at the note—at least, not her note. He was wholly absorbed in a letter, presumably from David.
Good. She didn’t need him teasing her about Min.
On a whim, she stuck one of the flowers—asters, Min had said—in her hair.
When she got to class, Min was staring at her, cheeks reddened. Teruko sat down at her desk, which was right nest to Min’s.
"…I guess you saw my letter," she whispered. Teruko nodded.
"I did," she replied. "Can we talk about it after school?"
Min nodded, a smile blooming on her face. "Yeah, that sounds good… I never finished my essay, you know."
Teruko laughed. "You, of all people, not getting homework done? We’ve still got some time before class starts. You can probably finish it."
"Alright, I’ll try," Min said. She pulled out her headphones and laptop, and got to work.
Teruko tried to watch Min work for a bit, but not only was essay-writing boring, but she could feel a pair of eyes gazing at her.
She turned around to see Whit, sitting at the desk behind her. "Soo, looks like you’ve got a girlfriend now?"
"Nothing’s set in stone yet," Teruko mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
"C’mon, you could at least thank me!" Whit said indignantly. He let out a huff of air. "Whatever! I was asked to give this to you."
He handed her a heart-shaped box. Teruko wrinkled her nose. "You’re nice, Whit, but I don’t like guys."
Whit rolled his eyes. "I told you, it’s not from me! I was asked to pass it on to you. Besides, I’m dating Charles."
"Oh, right," Teruko said. "Well, thanks… I guess."
She opened the box to see an array of chocolates inside. They were expertly decorated, one of them even seeming to have a cute chibi version of her face on it. She almost felt bad eating them.
She pulled out one with a heart decoration, but was shocked when underneath the candy was a small piece of paper. Typed out in a standard font, it read, Happy Valentine’s Day.
Teruko popped the candy in her mouth, surprised by how good it tasted. Whoever had made those knew their stuff.
She looked at the chocolate version of herself again, and pulled out her phone.
Teruko: Did you make these chocolates for me?
Teruko sent a picture.
Rose: What?
Rose: What makes you think that?
Teruko: I saw you in the kitchen with Hu yesterday making chocolates. Nobody else here is as good at decorating food as you.
Rose is typing…
Rose is typing…
Rose is typing…
Rose: It wasn’t me.
Teruko: Damn, that’s a shame.
Teruko: If it was, I would have asked you to talk to me after school.
Rose is typing…
Rose is typing…
Rose is typing…
Rose: So you’re not mad?
Teruko: Nope. Talk to me after school.
Rose liked a message.
Teruko looked up from her phone at Min, who was chewing her lip while adding a citation.
Two confessions in one day…
And she didn’t really want to reject either of them.
Yikes. What a mess.
When the morning’s classes were over, Min breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let me guess, you got an A+ on your essay?" Teruko asked.
"Just an A."
Teruko snorted. "You’re ridiculous."
As she was walking to the cafeteria, she felt a sharp tug on her arm. She turned around to see J, his hoodie pulled down as far as possible, presumably to cover his beet-red face.
"J? What’s up?" Teruko asked.
"I need to talk to you. Alone," J said. Before Teruko could react, he was pulling her into an empty classroom. Oh, G-d. If this was what Teruko thought it was…
"Are you hiding from Arturo again or something?" Teruko asked. J shook his head, grinning smugly.
"Nope. I kicked him in the balls hard, got him sent to the nurse’s off— Wait, that’s not the point!" J seemed to be becoming more flustered the more he spoke. Teruko just stood there, waiting for him to get to the point. "Ugh! Fucking— Go out with me, Teruko!"
…Yep. She was right. J had brought her here to confess.
Weirdly, she wasn’t really… opposed to the idea? J was loud, and rowdy, and kind of annoying, but… Teruko liked spending time with him.
The only problem was that she already had two confessions.
"J, I…" Teruko began. "Can we talk about this after school?"
J’s eyes widened, as though he was trying to figure out whether that was a rejection or not. He seemed to settle on an answer eventually, pumping his fist. "Hell yeah!"
He then ran out of the room, leaving Teruko behind.
She sighed.
When Teruko entered the cafeteria, Xander excitedly greeted her. "Teruko! Guess what! I have a boyfriend now, and it’s David!"
Teruko ruffled his hair distractedly. "Good for you. I got three confessions."
"WHAT?!"
Xander groaned once Teruko was done explaining, resting his head on the table. "Hmph, you always have to one-up me."
"You don’t even have feelings for anybody in our class besides David."
"Fair."
About then, Teruko noticed Eden’s presence. "Um, Teruko!"
"Eden?" Teruko replied. Eden was blushing as she pulled something from her pocket—a pocketwatch with something engraved on the back.
"I made this for you…" she said, seeming flustered. "Um, I hope you like it!"
The engraving was a heart.
"Wow, Eden, this is really cool," Teruko said, holding the cold metal in her palm. "Do you want to talk after school?"
Eden squeaked. "Th-that would be great!"
She then ran away.
"Damn, make that four confessions, then," Xander said. Teruko sighed, popping another one of Rose’s chocolates into her mouth.
"And I don’t want to reject any of them… What the hell am I gonna do?"
On her way to afternoon classes, Teruko was stopped once more.
"Teruko, can we talk real quick?" Hu asked. Teruko shrugged.
"Why not?"
Hu smiled. "Great! I just wanted to give you these."
She handed Teruko a small bag of chocolates. They seemed to be a different type than the ones Rose had made.
"Ah, Hu…?"
"I’m aware that Rose, at the least, gave you some as well," Hu said. "But I don’t mind sharing you. I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s."
She turned away and left.
"W-wait, talk to me about this after school!" Teruko called down the hallway.
Geez…
During class, Teruko was passing notes with Veronika as she often did, when she was surprised by the contents of one.
I think we should date, my sweet Teruko! What about you?
Teruko had to bite back a scream when she saw it. First Min, then Rose, then J, then Eden, then Hu, and now Veronika?! Since when had she been this attractive?!
She hesitated writing a response, in part due to feeling Veronika’s intense gaze fixed on her.
Can we talk about this after school? she ended up writing. Veronika’s response was quick.
Of course! In that case, I’ll simply make a list of horror films that I’d recommend to you!
PLEASE DON’T.
"Whit," Teruko growled once school was over, kabedoning him, "I know you’re behind this."
"Behind what?" he asked innocently. "The oodles of girls confessing to you? What makes you think that has anything to do with me?"
"Because you’re the Ultimate Matchmaker, dipshit!"
"I might have encouraged them a bit, but it’s not like I can make feelings happen out of nowhere," Whit said. "Geez, love potions aren’t real, Teruko! Where’d you get that idea!"
"Shut up! There’s no way that six of our classmates like me! My luck has always prevented stuff like that!"
"Seven," Whit said boredly, examining his nails.
"What?"
"Seven of our classmates like you, not just six. Don’t tell Arei I said that, though, or she’ll beat me up."
"Wh— AREI TOO?!"
Eventually, Teruko corralled all seven girls from her class to the rooftop.
"Hey," she said awkwardly, unsure of how to say it. "So, uhh, apparently you guys all have crushes on me?"
"…Yeah," Min mumbled.
"And I kinda really like you all too, so I don’t want to reject any of you… So maybe you could all just, like, share me?"
"Isn’t that cheating?" Arei asked. "You gonna be two-timing— sorry, seven-timing us?"
"Actually, as long as all persons involved give their consent, it’s not cheating!" Veronika interrupted.
"Yep," Hu confirmed. "It’s just polyamory."
"So… Are you guys okay with that?" Teruko said.
"Does that mean I can date multiple people too?" Rose asked.
"As long as everybody involved consents!" Veronika repeated.
"Cool… Then, I’m fine with it," Rose said.
"It’s fine with me!" Eden said cheerfully.
"I don’t mind," Min said, stroking some hair out of her eyes.
"Sure," J said. "Arei, that means we can date."
Arei flinched. "Huh?! Are you asking me out?!"
"Yeah."
"…Okay, whatever, let’s do this poly armory thing," Arei said, blushing.
"Polyamory," Hu corrected. "I believe I’ve made it clear that I don’t mind, as has Veronika."
"Yep! All’s good on my end!" Veronika said.
Teruko breathed a sigh of relief, and then took turns kissing her new girlfriends.
Xander was cuddling with his new boyfriend David when he got a text from his sister.
Teruko: I got bitches.
Teruko sent an image.
The image? It was of Veronika, Min, Arei, J, Rose, Hu, Eden, and Teruko on the school roof.
They were all flipping off the camera.
Xander screamed.
"X-Xander?!" stuttered David, concern on his face. "Are you okay?!"
"Teruko got bitches," Xander whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek. "She got bitches."