Chapter 2
Jin was running late, a natural state for him, and barely caught his first class of the day, Accounting 101. The professor was just starting lecture as he slid into a seat near the back and quickly rummaged though his bag for a pencil. There was movement to his right. Looking up, he saw someone he knew taking the seat next to him.
Namuki smiled mirthfully. "Looks like I’m even later than you."
Jin had been preparing for this meeting. Last night he had even rehearsed a speech. But he had been hoping to confront her later in the day. Namuki’s bravodo unnerved him and he reverted to staring.
"I want to talk to you after class." she said smoothly and turned her attention to the professor, who was speaking into the blackboard.
It was the longest class of Jin’s life, and he got nothing else out of it. He was intimately aware of Namuki’s every aspect: her scents, the way she fiddled with her pencil, and the curses she muttered under her breath whenever the lecturer used math. He tried to stop himself, but found he couldn’t help glancing at her. At one point, she began painting her nails. If he wasn’t dreading what she was going to say afterwards, he would have been quite amused.
Why did she have to start this whole mess in the first place? Had she not pulled that stunt earlier, they could have just been good friends. If only. . . Honesty forced him to admit he was also to blame; it was his wandering eye. He continued to puzzle out the situation, trying to remember his speech. It just got him more flustered. As class ended, he decided he’d just let Namuki do the talking. I just hope she doesn’t try asking me out again.
She stood and looked him squarely in the eye. Taking a breath, she began, "About what I did yesterday, it was a mistake."
Inwardly, Jin breathed relief.
Namuki continued, "I thought you were interested."
What? That’s not what I remember." he said defensively.
"I thought you were playing hard to get." Namuki shot back, "You were looking at me."
"I," Jin stopped himself. Escalating this to an argument was not what he wanted.
"I was, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it."
"You just like staring at strange women?" Namuki was giving him a peculiar look now.
"No! Look it was a boring class. I was almost asleep, my eyes just wandered, that’s all." Urk. That was a pathetic thing to say. "I’m sure you must have guys looking at you all the time." Oops, that was meant to come off as a compliment.
He was sure she’d slap him for that, but she actually seemed to relax. "It was a boring lecture, wasn’t it? I kept getting this urge to stand up and scream, just to wake up." She giggled.
Just like that, the tension was broken. "I am sorry I was staring at you. It won’t happen again." Jin smiled. This was one unusual girl.
"Darn right, I’m never attending that class again. I dropped it yesterday. Seriously Koishikawa-san, you don’t have to worry about me stealing you away from Rumi. It would be pretty stupid, considering that we’re roommates."
Jin wanted to know if she’d try it if Rumi wasn’t her roommate, but decided it was better not to ask. Namuki looked as if she wanted to ask something as well. Jin kept his mouth shut, waiting for her to speak,
"You’re not going to tell her, are you?"
"What, tell Rumi that you. . ."
"Yeah. Please don’t. It was a mistake, and I don’t want to have to change roommates already."
"Okay, but if it was just a mistake, Rumi will understand."
Namuki looked at him skeptically, "I think you have a lot to learn about women."
Jin found himself getting defensive again. "Rumi’s not like that. She’s very reasonable."
She shrugged, "Just promise me you won’t tell her."
It wasn’t a big deal, Jin thought to himself. Namuki’s request wasn’t unreasonable. He had purposely avoided mentioning the incident the previous night. But it felt uncomfortable to keep anything from Rumi. Nevertheless, he sighed and agreed not to tell. Namuki brightened considerably.
"Okay, that’s settled. I’m meeting Rumi for breakfast just now. Want to come?"
Jin looked at her, thoroughly disorientated. "It’s past 10:30. Isn’t it a little late for breakfast?"
"10:30 is a perfectly reasonable time for breakfast. It’s actually early by my standards. If I had my way, I’d sleep until noon every day."
Jin shook his head, grinning in spite of himself, "At least you and Rumi are on the same schedule."
"Oh I wouldn’t sound too high and mighty. My sources say you’ve been known to sleep through whole weekends."
"One time, and Rumi will never let me forget," he muttered dramatically. What other Jin anecdotes had Rumi passed onto her roommate?
They continued their banter as they walked out the building and Jin found himself warming to Namuki. She had her character flaws, impulsiveness coupled with a slight shallowness, but her witt and charm and charm more than made up for them. Still he found himself worrying about Namuki’s relationship with Rumi.
Not that he wanted to control Rumi’s life, but sometimes she could be too trusting. She seemed to think that her honesty would protect her. It had worked back home. But back home, where everyone was someone else’s cousin, karma wasn’t just an abstract concept but a tangible web of remembered debts and potential retribution. Here everyone was pretty much a stranger and wouldn’t necessarily be accountable for their actions.
On the surface, Namuki seemed extremely pleasant. The way she moved radiated confidence - small wonder Rumi stood in awe of her. But what kind of person would she be like to live with on a daily basis? Jin began to probe Namuki with questions, justifying it as protective boyfriend’s duty. Namuki gave willing if short answers.
She was born in a small Japanese city, raised in Hiroshima, had one younger brother, no pets, and had only been out to the country for vacations. Like himself, she was majoring in business, with plans to be an office lady for a few years and then marry a rich CEO. Jin found himself slightly disappointed. He had expected something more unique.
In a notably smooth manner, Namuki shifted the conversation and began asking him questions. Soon he found himself talking about his brothers, his dog, the family hotel business. This woman was obviously a much better interrogator than himself. Much, much better.
"Well, I’m getting a degree in business, but I before I settle down, I’d like to travel, maybe study abroad or something." it was a dream no one save Rumi knew. Why had he just told her, of all people?
She was looking at him intently now. What was she thinking of him? She opened her mouth and might have said something, had not Rumi suddenly popped up from behind Jin’s other side.
"Jin, Chiyako!" she sounded both surprised and happy. "When did you meet?"
"We have a class together." Namuki replied.
"Neat." Rumi reply enthusiastically and then added ruefully, "I wish I knew the people in my classes."
"Oh, you will soon enough," Jin assured her.
"Maybe, but they’re almost all guys." she complained.
"Really?" Namuki looked interested. "Maybe I should sign up. What are you taking?"
"Just the basics. Chemistry, physics, calculus-"
Namuki gulped, "Forget I mentioned it. And anyway, I wouldn’t want to date a nerd."
"You’re so evil, Chiyako," Rumi tried to look disapprovingly and failed. Her inability to hide her feelings was both a strength and a weakness, and one of the things Jin liked best about her. "Besides, they’re not all bad looking. I saw one who was quite cute." she giggled.
"Really," drawled Namuki, "What’s his name?"
"Oh, I couldn’t ask him that. I didn’t even talk to him."
"Admiring him from afar?" Chiyako teased.
Jin walked silently in-between them, just listening to their banter. He decided he liked Namuki. And Namuki liked Rumi. And Rumi liked Namuki. And he was getting one of those goofy smiles on his face. Oh well, he was walking between two very good looking women, it was only perfectly natural.
The Tennis Circle’s intro meeting was packed. Rumi looked about carefully but did not catch sight of either Chiyako or Jin. It didn’t concern her. Jin had never been on time for anything in his life, and Rumi’s experience with Chiyako indicated she was possibly even worse. Oh well, the meeting wasn’t officially starting for another fifteen minutes or so. Until then she could mingle.
Spotting a crowd, mostly women who looked fairly friendly, she was about to set off when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned and did a double take. Standing in front of her was the cute guy from her calculus class, the very one that Chiyako had teased her about earlier.
"What a coincidence," she said without thinking. Oops, didn’t mean for that to slip out. Jin was right, she was picking up Chiyako’s impulsiveness.
Luckily, he seemed to have misinterpreted her, "Yes, we’re in the same math class. I’m Matsura Youji."
"Pleased to meet you Matsura-san. I’m Yamashita Rumi." He was unmistakably cute and certainly not nerdy. Well, maybe he was a bit young, and he did sport a cowlick, but the overall effect was quite endearing. Already in her mind she was introducing him to Chiyako.
"Are you into outdoor activities, Yamashita-san?"
"A bit. I like hiking and swimming. Are you into outdoor activities?" Why did she always get a stilted conversation with strangers? Must be that old self confidence problem again.
"Oh yes. I was president of my tennis team in high school. And I’ve run in several marathons." He said confidently. Maybe a bit too confidently. Kind of full of himself, isn’t he?
"Really, I could never do that. I get tired just running for the bus."
Matsuura looked flustered as if he’d realized that he had been bragging.
"Actually I do too. For marathons I psyche myself up. And I couldn’t do it right now, I’m out of shape."
"Oh." she looked around for Jin and Chiyako.
"Anyway, I really want to join the club so I can meet more people. I don’t know anyone else here."
Rumi looked at him again. His voice carried less certainty this time. He was probably just nervous and wanted to make a good impression. She felt sympathy and a measure of friendliness towards him. Besides, he looked cuter when he was unsure of himself.
"Yes, I’m joining for the same reasons. Well, that and I don’t want to get fat." She laughed and he joined in, relaxing visibly. Again she looked around.
"Are you meeting someone?" he asked.
"Well, my boyfriend and roommate are coming to the meeting, but I suspect they’re both late." Yes, a voice inside her said, remember you do have a boyfriend. So what, another voice said, you can look at other boys. Chiyako and she had just recently read a magazine article that affirmed such urges were normal and even healthy.
"Oh, you have a boyfriend." he said, his voice lackluster.
Off in her own verbal chastising and justification, Rumi realized that she hadn’t heard what he said. There was something in his tone that made her look at him carefully. He seemed especially nervous now. Darn my scattered brain, what did he just say? She was about to ask him to repeat himself when over his shoulder she saw Chiyako making her way towards them.
"Oh," She pointed over his ear, "There’s my roommate. Come on, I’ll introduce you. Matsuura-san, this is Namuki Chiyako, my roommate in the dorms. Chiyako, this is Matsuura Youji, he’s in my calculus class." Rumi gave Chiyako a pointed look.
"Very pleased to meet you." Chiyako said. She gave Matsuura the once over and asked almost seductively, "So does this mean you’re smart in math?"
Matsuura took a second to process this. "Yes." he spoke slowly, and then repeated himself with more confidence, "Yes, math’s my favorite subject."
"Excellent," Chiyako practically bubbled. She turned to Rumi to explain. "Jin and I have decided that we need to form a study group for our accounting class to do homework together. Can you get Matsuura-san to join us? That way he can help us out on the hard problems."
"Chiyako, I just met him!" Rumi said, blushing slightly. Chiyako’s forwardness was fun to watch, but Rumi found herself caught up in the resulting discomfort all too frequently.
"Oh, I think a study group would be a great idea." Matsuura interjected quickly, "I used to tutor math in high school."
Chiyako smiled, "Great, I used to be tutored in math in high school. That’s how I used to get dates too." Her eyes darted up and down Matsuura as a devilish smiled played across her face.
This time both Rumi and Youji blushed. Rumi decided that she didn’t like the way this conversation was proceeding. This was not the first time she’d seen Chiyako pull the seductress routine with a boy.
Grasping for something to derail it, she spoke up with mock hurt. "Why didn’t you ask me to help you guys out. I’m in calculus too, you know."
"That’s what I asked Jin," Chiyako defended herself, "He said you’re great with numbers but when you try to explain them, you get your negatives confused and spend an hour looking for your mistake."
"That only happened once! I can’t help it if he never asked for my help again."
"I didn’t want to risk it again. I was more confused after your explanation."
Rumi jumped. Jin had somehow snuck up behind her. She tried to glare at him, and would have succeeded if he hadn’t tickled her. Boy, she wished her neck wasn’t so sensitive.
Introductions were once again made and before more could be said, the club’s president was calling the meeting to order. Jin asked Matsuura to join them and they found seats together, Chiyako managing to situate herself between both men. Sitting next to Jin, Rumi felt very much at the periphery. But then the meeting started, and it didn’t seem so bad. Besides, she had the distinct feeling the girl on her other side was checking out Jin, just as well that she was between them. Still it would have been nice to hear what Chiyako was whispering. After the first few minutes the president stopped mentioning useful information and started congratulating committee members and retelling stories about people Rumi had never met. Still, it seemed like the members had fun together and the price wasn’t too high considering the equipment they got access to. The club even organized a skiing trip, something that she had always wanted to do. Afterwards there were booths to visit and organizing sempais to meet. Overall, it was not a wasted night and Rumi discovered that she was looking forward to the club picnic scheduled for Sunday.
Still, it was getting late. The original plan was for Jin to escort the girls back to their boarding house. Unfortunately, it seemed impossible to decide when the escorting should occur. Rumi had had a long day, and was anxious to get to bed. Chiyako, on the other hand, showed not the least desire to depart. A hasty solution had Jin escorting them each in turn, which pleased no one. Luckily, Matsuura volunteered to stay and walk Chiyako home later. The new arrangement was agreeable to all.
"Matsuura-san really does seem nice," Rumi told Jin as they strolled home. "At first he seemed the bragging type, but I think he was just nervous. Wouldn’t it be something if he and Chiyako. . . Well they seemed to get along. I think what Chiyako needs is a kind boyfriend, it would settle her."
Jin smiled, "She told me she wanted to marry a older, rich man so that she could have fun spending his money after he was dead."
"Oh she just says things like that. It’s just that she’s never been in love. One of these days she’ll meet someone so special and perfect for her that she’ll fall head over heals. And then she’ll get married, have kids, and live happily ever after." Rumi found herself sighing after this prophecy.
"And you think that special someone is Matsura-san?" Jin looked at her dubiously.
"Probably not, but wouldn’t it be funny if it was? I really do wonder who Chiyako will fall in love with."
They walked on silently through the evening. As spring unfolded, the evenings were getting almost warm. Rumi looked forward to wearing her skirts, especially the new ones she’d bought on sale last fall. Chiyako had even offered to share some of her stuff, which was much more grown up than Rumi’s wardrobe.
"Rumi," said Jin softly.
"Mmmm?" replied Rumi absently.
"Don’t."
"Don’t what?"
"Don’t think too much about her affairs. I think Namuki-san is a very different person than you. I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in her relationships."
Rumi stopped and tried to puzzle out what Jin had just said. She gave him a confused look. Jin looked uncomfortable.
"I mean. . . Nevermind."
Rumi was even more confused, but she just nodded. If it was something important, Jin would have said.
At the dorm, they said their good-byes, kissing briefly.
The telephone was ringing when Youji returned to his apartment. He made a dash for it, but the line was dead when he picked up. It didn’t matter, he had a fair idea who had called. Quickly he prepared a cup of instant ramen, the only food he was really proficient at cooking and dialed a sequence which was all too familiar. The dial tone barely sounded once before it was answered. Just as he suspected, Emiko must have been perched by the phone.
"Where have you been?" was the first thing his younger sister demanded, "I’ve been trying to call you all evening!" Youji moved the receiver a inch further from his ear. Emiko had been speaking in exclamation marks since she’d hit puberty.
"I told you I was going to a sports club meeting." he defended himself.
"But it’s so late! What did you do all that time?" not allowing him to answer she jumped to her own conclusions, "I bet you met a girl, didn’t you?"
She was teasing him slightly, but Youji had a perfect comeback . "Actually I did."
"Really? I don’t believe it!" Emiko squealed. "It wasn’t the girl from you calculus class, was it? The cute one you were telling me about?"
There were times that Youji wished he confided less to his sibling. "Well, yes."
"I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!" she repeated, stressing each syllable, "Tell me about her, what’s her name? What’s she like? Huh, huh, How come you never answer me?"
"Maybe because you never let me get a word in edgewise." Youji encouraged his sister to be open with him; she was so shy around strangers. But he had to be careful not to let her take advantage of him too much.
"Sorry. I’ll listen now." Her voice toned down a couple of notches, and he could tell it took a concentrated effort on her part.
"Good. Well, her name is Yamashita Rumi, but before you get your hopes up, she already has a boyfriend."
"Bummer. Hey is he cute? — oops, sorry I’ll try to be quiet."
"It’s okay. Actually he’s very good looking. But there is some good news."
He waited for Emiko to jump at the bait.
"What, he has a younger 15 year-old brother?"
"No, Yamashita has a roommate. And before you ask, she’s incredibly good looking."
"Better looking than Yamashita?"
"Oh yeah. And she doesn’t have any boyfriends. And I walked her home. And we had a great conversation. She’s cool."
"Are you going to ask her out? What does she look like?"
Youji found himself playing twenty questions for the next half an hour. He didn’t mind, his family would reimburse him for the call. Besides, he knew that he missed Emiko as much as she missed him. The first week had been quite lonely. His rented apartment was quite spacious and grand, but he was finding that he missed having people about. Especially at night when it was all too apparent that he knew no one in this large city.
But now things were looking up. He had met Namuki Chiyako, and he was enamored.
It was Sunday, and Jin had decided that for once he’d be early. He had gotten up at 9:00 AM, a rare occurrence in itself, and then proceeded to get ready keeping a careful watch on the time. When he was done, he was pleasantly surprised to see there was still a half an hour until the picnic. Should he show up early and wait around? Maybe. Wait, wasn’t it a potluck, should he bring something? He called up Rumi to check.
"Well of course you should bring something. Weren’t you paying attention at the meeting?"
"Hey, they said a lot of stuff."
Rumi sighed, "Men." Jin made a mental note to tell her later how much of Namuki’s mannerisms she was picking up. "Look, why don’t you stop by the store and pick up a dessert of something."
"Is that what you’re doing?"
"No," Rumi’s reply was smug, "Chiyako and I are making potato salad. It’s American." she added.
"Is it complicated?" Jin had eaten Rumi’s cooking on more than one occasion. She wasn’t a terrible cook, but when she got overwhelmed she tended to mistakes, like the time she used baking soda instead of corn starch as a thickening agent in stir fry.
"It isn’t hard at all," Rumi protested, catching Jin’s implications. "Besides, Chiyako is doing it with me. We already bought the ingredients anyway. And. . .one of my professors said that cooking is just like experiments, and I’m great with those."
Jin debated what to say next. It didn’t matter, Rumi either knew him well enough to guess his thoughts, or she had been thinking along the same lines.
"I only set the chemistry lab on fire once, and it wasn’t even a big fire. Sensei said that he had heard of much worse." Rumi finally said.
"Okay, okay," said Jin apologetically. I only asked if the recipe was complicated. Who made the rule that when females were irrational, it was the males duty to apologize. "I’m really looking forward to trying it."
"Really?" Gosh, but she sounded sweet.
"Absolutely." he assured her, "I’m sure it will turn out great. I’ve got to go shopping now, see you at the picnic."
"Okay, we’ll see you there. Don’t be late." she added.
Jin hung up and headed out to the nearest grocery store. Finding the dessert section proved to be no trouble, but the prices surprised him. Did he have to buy enough for everyone? That would cost quite a bit. Maybe he could just buy one. Just as long as he showed up with something, right?
"Man," said a familiar voice next to him, "I thought the idea of a potluck was to eat cheap."
Jin turned to see Matsuura standing next to him.
"Maybe we could get cup ramen for everyone?" Jin suggested.
"Sure," Matsuura smiled, "I’ll bring the water."
Jin smiled back. He hadn’t had much time to talk to the guy at the meeting. Rumi had said he was nice, if a bit arrogant. But Rumi had very high standards for the way men were supposed to behave. To Jin, Matsuura seemed just fine. After all, guys had to show off for women, it was part of their nature.
"I know," Matsuura said suddenly, "let’s go in together on the purchase?"
It was a smart solution, Jin agreed. They spent some time selecting the desserts. Nothing too fancy, as they also wanted to partake of them. Many of the sweets looked to be for female only consumption.
Jin could have sworn they were still on schedule when they left the store. Apparently though, the walk to the park took longer than he realized. When they arrived the picnic was already in full swing, with Rumi and Namuki nowhere to be seen. And they told him to be on time.
It didn’t bother Jin. He and Matsuura were having a very pleasant discussion which they continued as they wandered the picnic grounds looking for the girls. Jin recognized how much he missed real male conversation. Back at home his family was dominated by men; he, his four brothers and numerous uncles and male cousins had constantly filled the house. Here, the only other guy he knew, his roommate, was something of an otaku, and hardly ever around. Over the past week, he had found himself spending most of his time with Rumi and Namuki.
The two were a lot of fun, but there were only so many conversations about fashion, shopping, and the female perspective that one could stand. It was the worst when they were scoping out men. I suppose I should feel flattered that they’re that comfortable around me, but hearing critiques of men’s posteriors is something I could gladly do without. And pointing out his gender didn’t help, then they wanted to get a "man’s" perspective. Jin knew enough to predict that an honest answer would not be appreciated.
With Matsuura he could talk guy style. It wasn’t just the subject matter of the conversation, although sports and cars did figure prominently. Girls weren’t, what was the term, analytical. Like the other day when he had dismissed a professor as a pompous windbag. Namuki had shot back that he was still fairly young and he was probably inexperienced. That lead to speculation about his personal life and before Jin knew it the conversation had shifted to acceptable ways to pick up a teacher.
Jin shook his head at the thought, and related the tale to Matsuura, who gave him a knowing pat on the shoulder.
"I have a kid sister myself. Emiko’s just great, but with her it’s just boys, boys, boys."
"Do you think our fathers had to put up with this?" Jin mused.
"Oh yes, they just didn’t find out about it until after they were married. At least we know what we’re getting ourselves in for. Today’s women are, what’s the term, more liberated. Like Namuki-san."
"Oh yes, she is most certainly liberated."
Matsuura’s voice took on a more serious tone, "What kind of a person is she?"
Jin looked up. So much for analytical conversation, Matsuura’s question could have only one interpretation. And Jin, despite finding he enjoyed Namuki’s company, still carried a trace of reserve from their first meeting. He was able to hide these feelings from Rumi, but a guy could get hurt by Namuki.
"Namuki-san has some growing up to do."
Matsuura-san looked confused, which made Jin feel guilty. After all, he didn’t really know Namuki. He tried to soften his judgement of her. "I don’t think she’s a bad person, underneath it all. It just that, you know, starting university and being away from her parents and all. . ." he paused and said honestly, "I think once she adjusts to college life she’ll settle down."
There, that didn’t sound to bad. Matsuura nodded enthusiastically and Jin wondered how he had taken it. It just wasn’t his place to pass judgement on Namuki. And he barely knew Matsuura. Better just to keep his mouth shut and let them work things out themselves.
The girls still hadn’t shown up when the first food items were served. Initially it was amusing, after Rumi admonishments that he should be on time. Half an hour passed, and the situation seemed less and less humorous. Finally, after an hour’s wait, Jin’s annoyance, started turning to genuine worry. Matsuura was less concerned, but agreed with Jin when he suggested calling the apartment.
The phone booth in the park was out of order, forcing Jin to walk several blocks to find a working one. It didn’t do him any good. Despite calling Rumi several days in a row, her number had slipped from his memory, and trying to recall it only made him more frusterated. Because they had only just moved in, information didn’t have their listing either. He returned to the park intending to inform Matsuura that he was going to look for them, only to find Rumi, obvious as everything, in conversation with Matsuura.
"So anyway, after all that trouble with boiling the potatoes, it turned out that we hadn’t even bought enough. Oh, hi Jin. I was just telling Matsuura-san why we were so late. You just won’t believe." That was all the acknowledgement she gave him before returning to her narrative. "So, anyway, I told Chiyako we should substitute rice, but she thought it would make a decent soup the way it was. It might have, if we had come straight to the picnic, but we needed to get disposable bowls and they were harder to find than you’d think. And then," Rumi sputtered into a giggling fit, taking several moments to recompose herself, "I guess we shouldn’t have let it sit in the sun. When we got back, it smelled soooo bad. You don’t even want to imagine. The entire apartment needed airing out. And then we still needed to get a food item." Rumi was laughing again, tears coming to her eyes.
The rational part of Jin’s mind told him he should be feeling relief right now. That there had been no way for Rumi and Namuki to get a hold of him. The explanation for their tardiness was standard Rumi catastrophe. And any anger against Matsuura would be even more unsound. Each of these points were logically sound, but together they did nothing to settle his emotions. If anything, they just made him angrier.
Later that night, after a long walk and a shower, it all seemed terribly silly to Jin. But at the picnic he couldn’t help getting more and more perturbed. While he never actually blew up at anyone, he made several sharp comments which caused Rumi to become more withdrawn. Matsuura also seemed distracted, although that could have been because of Namuki.
Namuki, in contrast to the others, was in her element. She had surrounded herself with no less than four gentlemen, with whom she was holding court worthy of a queen. Rumi seemed quite willing to avoid her roommate and Jin suspected that the day’s cooking fiasco had engendered more conflict than Rumi’s tale implied.
After the picnic, Rumi and Jin walked home, Matsuura accompanying them part of the way. Things remained civil while he was around. But after he left, all the evening’s accumulated frustrations that had been quietly simmering within in Jin boiled over. Without provocation, he snapped at Rumi, and she snapped back.
"It wasn’t my idea to screw up the salad." she shot back, frustrated.
"I don’t care about the salad." He growled.
"Then what? What are you so ticked off at?"
It wasn’t any one thing, and even at that point he knew it. But the urge to justify, to be self-righteous was strong, and at that moment Jin was weak, "I just don’t like you acting like Namuki-san, okay?"
Rumi looked taken aback. "What’s wrong with the way Chiyako acts?"
"Flirting with four guys is legitimate behavior?"
Rumi rolled her eyes, "There’s nothing wrong with flirting. Especially when you’re not dating anyone." This explanation irked him all the more since he had been telling himself exactly that all evening.
"There is, if you’re just leading them on."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that Namuki-san likes playing with men."
"You don’t know that, you barely know her."
"I know she was ignoring Matsuura-san pretty well. And that’s after she was so friendly with him on Friday!" His voice sounded harsh, even to his own ears.
Rumi glared at him. He could tell by the way she opened and closed her mouth that she could come up with no counter-argument. Finally she said in a steely voice
"I can walk the rest of the way home from here. Goodbye."
This last had been delivered in a high-pitched falsetto. She turned walking a deliberate pace around the corner. Jin stood his ground, listening to her footsteps as they sped up to a run.
He should have gone after her then. Apologized. Let her chastise him. But, he told himself, I just can’t. Or really, he just wouldn’t. It was his fault, some part of him knew that.
Lying in bed that evening, sleep evaded him. As he tossed and turned, the day’s event flashed by him unbidden. It had all begun so bright and promising. Where had it started to go wrong and what could he have done prevent it? Why had he gotten so mad? And why had he said all those things about Namuki?
Mulling that last question, he got the uncomfortable feeling that he knew. For all the awkwardness their first meeting had caused, secretly he had been flattered when she had asked him out for coffee. It hadn’t bothered him that she had later latched onto Matsuura at the meeting, but then she had been such an obvious flirt at the picnic. It hurt his pride to acknowledge that she couldn’t have meant anything by her earlier comments. Had some other guy looked at her, she would have done the exact same thing. Heck, if he’d tried to take her up on the offer she probably would have stood him up.
He should have known better, but it had been a blow all the same. In turn he had taken his anger out on Rumi. Jin spent a moment longer feeling sorry for himself, then sat up and shaking his head. Nothing could be done to change the past. He’d just have to make up for his mistakes. What to do?
Well, a simple apology to Rumi wouldn’t be enough. He’d have to think of something much nicer. Flowers? That would be a good start, and a date, a nice one. He’d have to find the right restaurant. Slowly he relaxed and lay back down. He still felt like a louse, but with such productive thoughts of planned reconciliation he was finally able to drift off to sleep.
copyright Kim Smuga-Otto 1999