• Warning: Nothing important this chapter!! More like comedy

 

• Side: Shizuka Tsukihara

 

“Mika, what do boys like for a present?”

 

I asked the dumbfounded friend of mine, who dropped her box of juice on my desk.

 

It was almost time for Toru’s birthday, I have given him a present before, for his birthday. But that was when we were lovers, and I bought a bookmark for him, considering his love for books, but he would accept it no matter how bad the present was. That was because...well, he was my boyfriend, after all.

 

“Is it someone you like?”

 

Mika regained her posture and asked me with serious eyes, she’s kind of creeping me out right now.

 

“No, it’s for a friend.”

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

She didn’t seem convinced, I flicked her on the forehead and asked again.

 

“You’re Toru’s friend, right? I’m buying a present for him.”

 

“Don’t tell me...you have a crush on him?”

 

“I should ask Evelyn instead.”

 

“No wait! Well, the last present I bought for him was a pair of reading glasses. I mean, he likes to read...a lot.”

 

I nodded my head, indicating that I know his severe love for books, but I didn’t know which books he had bought, and didn’t want to buy the same.

 

“Let’s go shopping this afternoon after school. Now that you remind me, I need to buy him a present as well.”

 

“Sure.”

 

“We will be celebrating his birthday the day after tomorrow, you should come too!”

 

“I’ll come if I have the time.”

 

I asked my manager to reduce the shoots in my schedule, I now needed to work on the days I’m free, and can ditch them now and then.

 

“I’ll help you. But I want a reward to compensate for the time spent.”

 

“What do you want? I’m not a prostitute.”

 

“Am I that lewd?”

 

“Apparently yes.”

 

She pouted with her eyes sparkling, I have a bad feeling about this.

 

“Can you dress up as a man?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I want to go shopping with a handsome man!”

 

“Take your boyfriend with you.”

 

“Eh, I want to see you cosplay as a man!!”

 

I tried to refuse the offer, but it was hard when your friend was salivating over how you would look as a man. I don’t get Mika’s tastes.

 

“Fine, it will be better as well, as it won’t attract attention.”

 

“Yes! Let’s do this after school.”

 

Mika looked at me with seducing eyes, I kind of regretted what I had just promised.

 

.

 

After school, Mika brought me to a changing room in a shop in the mall. She had prepared everything. 

 

Mika tore off my clothes (I didn’t refuse, okay, maybe a little), bound my chest and put on shoulder pads. At last, she handed me a white suit and told me to put it on. Then we braided my hair into a ponytail. I was a bit taller than average for a girl, so it’s about the average height of a man. 

 

You may say that I looked like your perfect, handsome foreigner, as I had sapphire eyes. I was even shocked by how much I resembled my father.

 

“Shizuka! You look sooo...handsome.”

 

“...”

 

I put on gloves in a butler style, it seemed like Mika liked this kind of attire the best. 

 

“From now on, you’ll be called Tsukihara-san!”

 

“Ahaha, I hope no one mistakes me as my father.”

 

“No way, your father’s already forty.”

 

No. The fact that my father looked so young freaked me out as well. Apparently, my mother was attracted to that side of him.

 

We visited a clothes shop first.

 

“Tsukihara-san, try this on!”

 

“...”

 

I tried it on, the ladies in the shop couldn’t help but stare at me, I finally understood the trouble my father had to go through. Mika linked her arms in mine, and we continued strolling around the mall. Not noticing that two idiots were following us the whole day.

 

(Shizuka finally settled on something, but I’ll get to that later)

 

• Side: Toru Nakamura

 

It was a refreshing morning, the birds were chirping and the sun was peeking from behind the clouds. 

 

I looked at the very depressed and sullen Eiji. Then I looked at Akio Shin, who displayed a pitiful face. In short, both of them gave out an aura similar to when someone important to you died.

 

We arrived early today. Shizuka and Mika, the all time slackers, were nowhere to be seen in the vast and empty classroom.

 

I decided to break the ice and sort out the elephant in the room.

 

“What...exactly happened to you two?”

 

They looked at me with dead eyes, that’s bad, I could hardly see their soul anymore.

 

“Mika...she…”

 

“Oji-Chan, I mean Tsukihara-san...he…”

 

“Please calm down, both of you.”

 

I was honestly freaked out by how they were acting. 

 

“Mika cheated on me!!!”

 

“Tsukihara-san cheated on Shizuka’s mother!!!”

 

“Haaa?!?!”

 

This was news to me, I couldn’t help but scream out, earning a few glares from my classmates.

 

“Wait, there must be some kind of mistake.”

 

Eiji tapped away on his phone and showed me a picture. In the picture was a guy with silver-white hair and sapphire eyes. And the other was a short girl with pink hair, they were chatting away happily in a family restaurant. I came to the conclusion that…

 

“They are definitely cheating.”

 

“I know right?”

 

Eiji felt like he was about to break apart on the spot. Akio tried to comfort him.

 

“Love is a very short path. Once the path ends, people walking would go apart.”

 

Eiji countered.

 

“Don’t creep me out, playboy.”

 

“I’m a playboy because I want to practise for my loved one.”

 

“Your personality is twisted.”

 

“Rude?”

 

I sighed in exasperation. I’m sure Tsukihara-san wouldn’t cheat on Shizuka’s mother, so I asked again.

 

“What else did they do?”

 

Eiji tried to think about it.

 

“They went to clothing shops together.”

 

“That doesn’t mean they’re cheating…”

 

“They linked arms with each other.”

 

“Now that’s definitely cheating.”

 

Eiji wrapped his arms around his head and murmured lines from the bible. Akio asked.

 

“Why don’t you ask the real person?”

 

“I...don’t know.”

 

“I’ll help you ask.”

 

Akio was kind of curious about this whole thing. After spouting out that sentence, me and Eiji’s faces turned into a somewhat scary scowl.

 

After a while, the two girls walked into the classroom together, chatting as well. Akio freaked out when he noticed Shizuka’s scary glare.

 

“On second thought, I can’t do it.”

 

“Let’s do it together.”

 

“...don’t drag me into this…”

 

I was reluctant, but they forced me to go anyway. They slammed both their hands onto Shizuka’s desk, startling the both of them. Shizuka gave us a murderous glare, and we all shivered.

 

“What do you three idiots want?”

 

“Shizuka...listen to us.”

 

Their tone turned serious, and even Shizuka was surprised by their sudden shout.

 

“Your father...he cheated.”

 

“This is no time for jokes.”

 

“No, it’s true. Right? Nakamura? Nakamura?”

 

I had gone back to my seat and was reading my book, I noticed that they were glaring a hole into my head. But I ignored them.

 

“Look at this!!”

 

Eiji showed both of the girls the picture they showed me a minute before. Shizuka furrowed her eyebrows.

 

“Ah that’s...that’s me.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Eiji Haru, do you have that little trust in me?”

 

“Wait, I don’t get the situation here.”

 

“Shizuka dressed up as a man.”

 

The classroom fell silent after the loud conversation of the four stars of the highest caste. 

 

Result:

 

Mika did not speak to Eiji for the rest of the day.

 

.

 

This chapter is merely for fun…

Just to inform you that Toru’s birthday is on 15th April.