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“Jiro! Jiro, Jiro, Jiro, Jiro, Jiro, Jiro, Jiro-” with each ‘Jiro’ came a poke in the arm. “Jiro, Jiro, Jiro-”
“Look, I’m trying to be polite, but if you poke me one more time, I will not hesitate to break your finger,” Jiro finally snapped.
Kaminari stopped poking. But he still looked at her as if he had a question.
Jiro sighed. “What?”
“Do… do you think dogs think in barks?” Denki asked slowly.
Jiro gave him a look that said ‘Seriously?’ with a sigh. “That’s what you wanted to ask me in the middle of class?”
“Well, it seemed like a good time, because Mr. Aizawa is asleep,” Kaminari stated.
“Why ask me?”
“Because you’re sitting next to me.”
“Mina’s next to you, too. Why not ask her?”
“Because I wanted to talk to you.”
Jiro slightly blushed against her will. “Well, I don’t know the answer to your question, why don’t you just work on something like we are supposed to do in homeroom!”
Denki finally shut up and went back to a page of homework he’d been procrastinating over. Jiro was already done with all of her work, so she was about to listen to some music on her headphones when she felt another tap on her shoulder.
“What is it now, Kaminari?” Jiro asked. He held up his page of math homework.
“Do you understand how to do this?” Kaminari asked.
“Yes, and you would too if you and Mina hadn’t been whispering to each other the whole lesson,” Jiro answered.
“So… Can you help me?”
“Why should I?”
“Because out of the people I’m sitting close to, you are the best choice.”
Jiro sighed once again, but decided to help the idiot anyway. By the end of class, he seemed to understand how the math worked. When she looked over his work afterward, he even got them all right.
“Wow, count me impressed. Guess you learn fast when you actually pay attention,” Jiro handed him his paper back.
“The way you explained it made more sense than the way Ectoplasm said.” (not me having to search up which teacher is the math teacher)
Finally, the school day was over, and Jiro had something to get ready for.
“So, who is this guy you’re going out with again?” Mina asked as she helped Jiro brush her hair.
“He’s a second year in general studies. We met at the school festival. He’s a music nerd,” Jiro explained.
“But you’ve only talked to him the one time, isn’t a date moving kind of fast?” Mina would usually be jumping up and down in excitement over her friend's dating. But if she were being honest, she was kind of hoping Jiro would go out with Kaminari, who had already told Mina about his crush on the girl.
“I’m surprised you aren’t more excited about this,” Jiro told her.
“It’s just… Do you even like him in that way?”
“Well, not really, I guess. But I’ve never been on a date before, and I thought it might be fun. I’ll just be honest with *date’s name* afterward about how I feel, and we can be friends. Simple.”
“Well, if anything goes wrong, don’t be afraid to call me! Now, I believe it’s about time for you to go.”
“Yep! See you later, Mina!” Jiro rushed out of the dorms, meeting her date outside.
“Wow, you look beautiful, Jiro,” he told her.
“Thanks,” Jiro replied. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”
“So, shall we get going?” *Date’s name* asked.
“Yep, lead the way!”
They headed to a music club, a place they would both enjoy. The place was wild, with a colorful dance floor, colorful lights, and amazing music all night long.
“So, what do you want to do first?” Jiro asked.
“Let’s head out onto the dance floor,” The guy said.
After a while of dancing together, Jiro realized her date had disappeared. She dismissed it, thinking he likely just headed to the bathroom or something.
Jiro wandered to the back, where there was a counter to get snacks. Jiro ordered some fries that she paid for herself (she is responsible and brought her wallet).
She finished her fries. Still no sign of *date’s name*. The club was now starting up karaoke night, so Jiro thought she might as well have some fun.
She signed up to do a song at karaoke. She was one of the first to sign up, so she was on stage pretty quickly. Sure, she was a bit nervous, but this crowd was smaller than at the festival. It shouldn’t be too bad.
Jiro was having fun singing on stage, and the crowd was singing along. It was on that stage that she finally spotted her date. He was in the back, talking with another girl. Soon enough, he was kissing this other girl, and Jiro was finished with her song.
She stomped off stage and right up to where her date and this other girl were kissing. It took a moment for either of them to see her.
“Um, who are you?” The girl asked rudely.
“The name’s Jiro. And I’m not here to talk to you,” Kyoka replied.
“Well, we’re both busy, so **** off,” The girl told her.
“Yeah, Jiro, what are you even here for?” Jiro gasped at the audacity of *date’s name*.
“Excuse me? You literally asked me on a date to come here!” Jiro retorted.
“You get a discount if you bring a date,” The guy shrugged. “You seemed like a good fit. Usually, though, my dates would have left by now.”
“You brought me here just to get a discount?” Jiro couldn’t believe her ears.
“Ooh, scandalous, babe,” The other girl smiled. She turned to Jiro. “Now get away from my boyfriend, he doesn’t want you.”
“You’re okay with him asking other girls on dates?” Jiro snapped back at her.
“He always ditches them for me anyway, since I’m much prettier than any girl he dates,” The girl shrugged. “Now get lost.”
“Fine! I don’t want to be here anyway!” Jiro stormed out of the club and began heading back to the dorms.
“Stupid jerk! I should have said no,” Jiro muttered to herself, her eyes watering from frustration and anger.
“No, don’t cry. That jerk doesn’t deserve these tears,” Jiro wiped her eyes, smudging mascara on her hand.
Her eyes, however, didn’t listen, and soon she had tears falling as she walked through the cold night, alone. It was getting cloudy. It was as if the weather was matching her mood, as it also began to rain.
Of course, *date’s name* has a prettier girl to go to. Compared to her, why would he want someone like me? Jiro thought to herself as she stared at the ground. I should have known the second I noticed he’d disappeared.
It was around 9 o’clock when she made it back to the dorms. The common room was empty, though Jiro could hear many of her classmates talking upstairs (they all just hanging out in the second-floor hallway, I guess).
“Eek!” Jiro flinched as she heard a slight scream and the sound of someone falling down the stairs. Now, at the bottom, was Denki Kaminari.
“Guess that’s one way to get down the stairs, Kamibabe!” Mina shouted.
“A painful way…” Denki muttered. He then got up and brushed himself off. It was then that he noticed Jiro standing by the door.
“Oh, Jiro, you’re back already? I thought Mina said you wouldn’t be back until-” Denki stopped. “Are you okay?”
“Huh, yeah, everything’s fine,” Jiro lied.
Denki walked up to her. “The mascara running down your face says otherwise.” His brow furrowed in concern. “What happened?”
“Nothing, everything’s fine,” Jiro said, trying to wipe the mascara away.
Kaminari put his hands on Jiro’s shoulders, getting her to look at him. “Jiro, I can tell there’s something wrong. I won’t force you to tell me, but if you need someone to talk to, please know that I’m here. For now, how about we go get you dried off? You’re soaked!”
“Could we just take the elevator to our floor? I don’t want everyone else asking questions.”
“Of course! Come on.”
Soon enough, they were on the third floor, where both of their rooms were. They headed to Kyoka’s dorm, where Jiro grabbed a towel and dried off before changing in the bathroom.
“Wouldn’t you rather go have fun with everyone else on the second floor?” Jiro asked as she sat next to Denki on her bed.
“Nah. I’d rather be with you,” Kaminari stated. “You seem like you need some company.”
Part of Jiro wanted to be alone. But mostly, she felt comfortable and safe with Kaminari there. Somehow, she found herself telling him everything.
“The date started out good, but after dancing for a bit, he just ditched me. I found him later making out with another girl, who is apparently his girlfriend. Turns out the place we went to offers a discount for people on dates, and he used me just for that.” Jiro hugged her knees, turning into a ball.
Kaminari looked ticked off to say the least. “That is no way to treat a girl, or anyone for that matter!”
“His girlfriend is much prettier than me,” Jiro continued. “I could see why he’d like her over me.”
“Do you like him?”
“I was hoping he and I could be friends, but after this, heck no. I don’t know why I’m even bothered about this.”
“You had a boy ditch you and go off with another girl. That would bother anyone, whether or not they like the boy. That’s just a s*** move.”
“I think I only said yes to him because I’ve never had a boy show interest in me like that. I thought maybe, for once, a boy would like me.”
Kaminari took a deep breath, trying not to just blurt out how much he liked her. Now was not the time for love confessions; it was the time for comfort.
“If that boy can’t see how great you are, then he doesn’t deserve you. And you don’t deserve to be treated like that.” Denki pulled a makeup wipe from some unknown pocket and began cleaning the mascara smudges still on her face. “You deserve so much better than that piece of ****.”
Jiro slightly chuckled. “Thanks, Kaminari.”
“You can call Denki, if you want.”
Jiro smiled. “Alright. Then, you can call me Kyoka, Denki.”
“Well, you’re welcome, Kyoka.”