“Haaah.”

Inaba Motoyama sighed as she looked outside the window of her room. It was the first day of the school break and she somehow found one thing lacking in her life.

She knows within herself that she is the ideal woman but the question was, how is she the ideal woman?

The black haired youth cupped her chin and placed her other hand on her hip, appearing to be in deep thought.

She stood at five foot six which makes her taller and stand out more than her classmates. She’s also an athletic person and is part of a baseball team. Furthermore, she is popular in school as well and is quite beautiful herself. With all these qualities, one would think that she gets a lot of suitors flocking to her like rabid fans desperate to shake their favorite idol’s hand but it’s the opposite for her.

She clenched her fist and decided that she will get herself a boyfriend this time. No more will she have to spend the break alone with her two friends that do nothing but laze around all day.

I’ll definitely find a boyfriend!

With her new found confidence, she walked to the door and grabbed the knob. A sudden realization panged through her mind. What if they were turned off by girls like her and they wanted a more reserved feminine type?

She opened her closet and a wide selection of clothes appeared before her that are neatly hanged and folded in place. Upon examination, there wasn’t any feminine clothes to be seen as there were a multitude of jerseys that she bought in every game and an assortment of hoodies, sweaters, parkas and jackets. The only thing that can be considered as feminine are her camisoles and shorts.

She then went in-front of a full body mirror which was located in the corner of her room and cupped both of her breasts. They were soft, round and has the size of a regular grapefruit. She thought that with breasts like these, she can get any man that she wanted.

“Hmm… This is difficult.” Inaba muttered under her breath while closing the closet. She then sat on the edge of her bed and plopped her back onto the mattress. The white colored ceiling somehow calmed her nervous senses as she stared at it.

How do I get a boyfriend?

She knows how to approach the boys in her school and talk to them but the question now was how to keep them interested with you while talking.

Having to converse on nothing but baseball would seem pretty dull and the risk of it boring them to death was very high.

If I approach a boy out of the blue and say ‘hey, can we talk for a while?’ might be awkward but it might also brand me as a weirdo.

Truly, the process of initiating a conversation with a boy is a hard yet rewarding experience. But come to think of it, she didn’t have any problems with talking to her male teammates about the game.

Why can’t do it like I used to do in the daily practice runs?

Bzzt!

Her phone vibrated on top of the nightstand and powered itself on for a brief second before fading out.

She sat up and picked her phone, powering it up once again. The name “Shigure Urabe” appeared on the screen and the words one new message was below her name.

She inputted the passcode and touched the small yellow envelope icon, revealing the entire contents of her message that read.

[Oi, musclehead. Did you know that Erina confessed to Aoba?]

Musclehead? The nerve of this shut-in!

Inaba planted an irritated look on her face and pressed on the reply button. With the ungodly speed of her fingers, she managed to instantly compose her message.

[Huh? She confessed? When did that happen? And don’t call me musclehead, you vampire.]

Satisfied with her reply, she sent the message to her friend and placed her phone aside.

A few minutes later, her phone vibrated again while powering itself up before fading out once again.

Great. Even the shy girl has a boyfriend now while I’m still single. How did she do that?

Inaba picked up her phone, powering it up and looked at Shigure’s reply.

[Arent you in the baseball team? Your teammates have bulging muscles coming out of their uniforms and they only talk about gaining muscles after your practice sessions. You might deny it but you’re practically one yourself as well, dummy.]

Getting more irritated with her friend’s reply. She decided to call Shigure instead and let her have a piece of her mind.

“Hello.” a voice spoke on the other line.

“You didn’t even include the answer to my question on your reply, you modern vampire and stop calling me musclehead.”

“Alright, alright.” Shigure laughed. “Erina placed a love letter in his shoe locker and it went from there.”

A letter in the shoe locker huh? Not bad. I might give it a try.

Inaba nodded to herself and asked. “Do you know how did Shibata-san managed to place the letter on Aoba’s shoe locker?”

“Maybe she went to the school earlier than him, duuuuh.”

Shigure’s long emphasis on the word ‘duh’ made the black haired girl plant a more irritated look on her face.

Inaba wanted to scream but she inhaled and exhaled a few times before replying.

“Way to go, smartass. Of course, I know that. You...What- Nevermind.”

She could hear Shigure laughing on the other line and this made her more irritated than usual.

“If you’re just going to laugh at me, I’m going to hang up now.”

“No, wait.” Shigure still reeling from laughter. “Let me guess why you’re irritated right now. You want to have a boyfriend too, right?”

Inaba’s eyes widened in shock and almost dropped the phone on the ground.

“H-h-how did you know that?”

“I just do.” Shigure giggled to herself. “You wanted to be like Erina but you’re too scared.”

Inaba could feel the smugness from the way that Shigure talks.

She imagined herself at the back of the school, standing in front of her future boyfriend, uttering the words.

“I like you! Please go out with me!”

How wonderful, it would be.

However, her future boyfriend’s reply to her confession would be…

“I’m sorry, Motoyama-san but I already have eyes for X-chan”

(A/N: X-chan is the placeholder name for the crush of Inaba’s future boyfriend)

Or it could also end with…

“Are you okay with someone like me, Motoyama-san?”

The black haired girl giggled to herself as her delusions somewhat became out-of-hand after that. She snapped out of it within a few seconds.

“W-What are you saying, Shigure?! I d-don’t want to be like Shibata-san. I can do it myself!”

“Heh, really?”

“Of course. I’ll show you that I can talk to a boy that I like.”

“Yeah, right.” Shigure chuckled. The loud ringing of the doorbell echoed throughout the call and it prompted her to leave for a while. Quick, loud footsteps came approaching after a few seconds. “Sorry for the interruption. My delivery just arrived.”

“Oh, I bet it’s one of those figurines from that Magical Girl show that you’re watching. I wont be surprised if you find yourself in-love with a fat otaku someday.” Inaba jeered.

“Hey, watch it!” Shigure sighed deeply. “You know, I think the reason why you haven’t found a boyfriend yet is because your attitude stinks. But since, I’m a kind person and as your friend, I’ll help you with your problem.”

“You didn’t have to go that low.” Inaba remarked and rested her back on the bed. “So, its settled then. We can meet up right now to discuss this.”

“Hmm” Shigure hummed. “We can meet up at the café near the park.”

“Sounds good.” Inaba replied with a nod. “We should invite Eiko too.”

The line was silent for a few seconds and the rustling of what seemed to be bed covers was heard.

“Sure, lets invite her too. The more, the merrier.” Shigure said.

With that, Inaba disconnected the call, placed the phone aside and looked at the ceiling once again.

I wonder what should we talk about?

_

The blazing sun scorched the brick tiled concrete ground. It was a humid day outside as even the wind that blew had a hot feeling on it after it brushed on a passerby’s cheek. However, this was not the case for Inaba as she was nestled inside the café that they were meeting at.

The cold air from the air conditioning unit brought comfort to the numerous customers that were busy eating, drinking and socializing inside.

“Here’s a complimentary bread while you wait.” A tall blonde woman placed a plate of bread in front of the black haired youth.

Before Inaba could reply with a thanks. The woman left to service other customers.

The bread itself was elongated, thin and long. It also had a crispy crust and the smell of butter lingered through each of her nostril and stayed there.

The café itself had a modern, minimalist and at home feel to it. The relaxed ambience was popular with the customers.

The small golden bell on top of the brown wooden door flung backwards, emitting a soft chime as it was hit when the door opened.

A petite brunette haired girl entered the building. She had long messy hair and was clad in a black sweater, dark blue jeans and black hi top sneakers. Her blue eyes scanned the place like she was searching for someone and found what she was looking for.

She sat on the chair in front of Inaba and picked up the bread that was on the plate.

“Perfect. I was getting hungry from all that walking.”

“Jeez. Shigure, you pale as a ghost. When was the last time that you went out?” Inaba asked with a hint of concern on her voice. She looked at her friend and the first thing that she noticed was her pale skin complexion and the large black deposits under her eyes. “You really are a vampire.”

“Speak for yourself.” Shigure took another bite from the bread and examined the black haired girl in front of her.

Inaba wasn’t much different from her. She had short black hair that went past her neck and she was clad in a baseball jersey that did nothing but fully highlight her large breasts. She also had a tanned skin complexion and one might think that she was a gyaru at first glance.

The door opened once again and a tall blonde girl came inside. Her long hair went past her shoulders and she was clad in a white short sleeve shirt and gray denim shorts. She also had a cream sling bag that was strapped on her shoulder.

She sat on the chair adjacent to Shigure and Inaba while removing her purse, placing it aside.

“Have you placed an order already?”

“Not yet. I was hoping to do that once we are complete, Eiko.” Inaba replied.

“I see.” The blonde girl commented and raised her hand, gesturing for a server to come.

Both Inaba and Shigure looked at Eiko as she spoke. She was brimming with elegance and class. Truly, what can you expect from a girl who came from a rich family? She was tall, strikingly beautiful and a voluptuous body that most girls would dream about at their age.

The three of them gave out their orders and the staff that was writing it all down left shortly. 

_

“Nothing like a good meal to fill up the belly.” Inaba commented, leaning her back onto the chair and gently smacking her stomach.

“That gratin was so delicious.” Shigure chimed in eagerly.

“I heard that you want to spend this break with a boyfriend, Inaba.” Eiko took a sip of her tea. The cup made a soft clanking sound as its base touched the saucer. “Is that true?”

“Yes that is true.” Inaba replied. “I don’t want to spend another break being alone.”

“Truly, it is depressing when you have no one to be with. No one to cuddle and no one to touch.” The blonde took another sip. “Oh, how my heart aches for you.”

“Have you been reading that romance novel again, Eiko?” Shigure interjected. “I don’t know what you see in those things. There’s no way that a hot vampire guy will just appear out of nowhere and confess his love for you.”

“I could say the same for you, Shigure. There’s no way that a girl would accept to come home with you at your first meeting. Unless, she is a slut.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about Mahiru-chan like that.” Shigure scolded the blonde.

Inaba shook her head and sighed. “You’re supposed to help me get a boyfriend right?”

Both girls stopped arguing and looked at Inaba with a curious look on their faces.

“Do you have a crush on school?” Shigure asked. She didn’t want to waste time any longer and proceeded to ask the hardest question right away.

The atmosphere around them became tense and Inaba’s cheeks were flushing bright red after what the brunette said.

“I-i-I don’t actually.” The black haired girl replied sheepishly. “But if I were I to choose, it would be Ujisato Takeda.”

“Takeda-san, huh?” Shigure commented. “So you like the silent ones, eh?”

“Yeah and he’s got this mysterious aura around him too.”

“I have an idea that will let him speak first to you, Inaba.” Eiko interjected once again after finishing her tea. The serious expression on her face says it all that she has carefully thought about this.

“Oh?” Both Shigure and Inaba asked in unison with a curious tone of voice, they were eager to know what Eiko has planned for their first interaction.

The blonde girl planted an impish grin on her face. She was sure that this plan is fail proof as it was tested on many occasions.

“Its called the ‘I’m running late’ strategy.”

“What’s that?” Inaba asked, the suspense was killing her as she wanted to know what that idea is.

“You place a piece of buttered bread on your mouth or with a jam then you run towards our school, saying ‘I’m late, I’m late’ and you’ll bump into him in no time.” Eiko explained and continued. “You will thank me later, Inaba”

Shigure tried to suppress the laughter that was bottling up inside her. She thought Eiko would come up with a decent plan. As it turned out, her plan was straight from an anime or manga that she has seen. There was no way that it could work.

Meanwhile, Inaba on the other hand gave it some thought and it all played out on her head:

She left her house with a piece of toasted bread that she hurriedly took out of the microwave and a slapped a small amount of jam on it. Her alarm clock didn’t make a sound to alert her of the time.

I’m running late, I’m running late. I slept through it, thinking that my alarm would turn on but it was broken!

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Inaba Motoyama and I’m a first year high school student at Murasaki High in Yokaharu.

Bump!

“Ow. That hurts.” Inaba rubbed her forehead and slowly stood up. The bread on her mouth had fallen on the blazer of the boy that she bumped into and stained it with the jam filling.

The boy was seemingly not hurt and stood up afterwards dusting himself.

“Are you okay, miss?”

“Yes. I’m fine but my bread isn’t.” Inaba said with an embarrassed look on her face.

The boy laughed at her statement and told her that it was fine.

However, Inaba’s imagination was broken when Shigure stated that no person would be happy that their outfit was ruined by a flying toast.

“You’re right.” Inaba nodded at her statement. Nobody would be laugh at that and they will probably get angry at her for bumping into them.

“You underestimate me, Shigure.” Eiko smirked. “It’s a tried and tested method. If you want we could do a test.”

Shigure shook her head at Eiko’s suggestion. There was no need for a demonstration as it would certainly end up in a disaster.

“Well then… Let’s brainstorm ideas on how to initiate a conversation with a boy!” Inaba raised her clenched fist upwards with an “O!”

“O!” Both Shigure and Eiko said in unison, raising both their fists