Mismatched

I Wish I Were Todo...

The principal and my family had left me no other choice. It was time to right this wrong.
After school was done for the day, I decided to pay a visit to Hera's family in person so that I could apologize to Hera in person. Sure, I was shitting myself, but it was gonna happen one way or another.
After completing a round of my favorite game, Soulcalibur VI, I slipped on my favorite sneakers, placed my wallet in my back pocket and headed downstairs from my room.
"Mom! Dad!" I called to my parents. "I'm going to Hera's!"
"Not without me, kiddo!" my dad immediately said. "Not without me! Someone's gotta make sure DaShawn doesn't kill you. Plus, I feel like this might end up being hilarious."
"Dad!" I said, annoyed. "Rude! Plus, before you ask, I'm not gonna tease her! Not in front of her family, anyway..."
He rolled his eyes and returned upstairs. And as soon as Dad got dressed and came downstairs from the master bedroom, we headed out to visit the family for the very first time.

Later, outside Hera's house, as Dad rang the Ring doorbell, I was feeling hella nervous.
But Dad could tell, and wasn't having it. He decided to torture me and pulled me around so I was in front of him.
"Who is it?" came the voice of Mrs. Nguyen from the speaker.
"It's the Davises," Dad answered. "We've come to visit you and your daughter."
I heard the door unlock, and as I watched, the door opened to reveal that it was actually Hera who opened the door. She had on her glasses. Hera beckoned me and Dad into the house. And she made sure, after we wiped our feet and cleared the doorway, to close the door behind us.
Minutes later, after we all got settled around the living room table, Mrs. Nguyen came upstairs after what sounded like she turned on the dryer in the washroom and joined us at the table.
"In the dean's office," I said, "I was told to apologize to Hera, sir and ma'am... madam? Anyway, I specifically told her, word for word, 'Hera, I'm sorry I insulted you on your love of anime and Japanese culture. I didn't realize just how much I hurt you inside. I didn't think that it would go so far as to actually hurt you.' Or something like that. And, I was also told by our principal, who happens to be half Japanese, that our classes would be switched to put us both in the same classes."
Seconds after I finished my sentence, Hera reached across the table and slapped me across the face. Dad held back a chuckle while Hera's dad looked at her with pride.
"Ow!" I exclaimed, holding my stinging cheek.
"That's for all the years of you fucking with me!" she said sternly, finally speaking.
Mr. Washington, who was way less scary-looking than he sounded, he was about my height and had no muscle mass, turned to me. "You deserved that. That little speech you just said was absolute bullshit. What, did daddy force you to say that? Well too bad, I'm not satisfied, and neither is Hera!" he turned to her. "Perfect hit, honey!" He high fives his daughter before turning back to me with a glare. Dad just watched on.
I cleared my throat. "I'm not gonna lie, sir. To be honest, I've been bullying her since eighth grade..."
He shot up from his seat but was yanked down by Hera.
"Do you realize that you could have led my daughter to committing suicide with all you've done?!" Mrs. Nguyen yelled. "We could've had you expelled from high school for it!"
"Well, she's still alive, so..." I tried to hide my guilt with a failed joke.
Suddenly Mr. Washington grabbed me by the collar, causing my dad to stand. "Are you fuckin kidding me? Do you know how many times Hera came home, moody and sad because of your bitch ass? Suicide isn't a goddamn joke! How dare you?" He shouted.
"I KNOW!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, on the brink of tears. "I would NEVER want a classmate of mine to kill themselves, especially because of me!" Everyone watched as they spilled down my face, I could no longer look Washington in the eye.
"I just don't like talking about suicide, that's all." I mumbled.
Washington looked up at my dad before pushing me back against the couch with a huff.
Hera decided to break the tense silence. "I know you're a horrible actor, so those tears must be real. I'm not forgiving you, but it's good to know you've got a heart in there somewhere."
I didn't expect any of that to come out of that girl's mouth.
"Thanks I guess... nerd."
Her parents snapped their heads at me. "Woah! It was a joke! Ever heard of humor?"
More silence. Disappointed silence from my dad, angry silence from her parents, and nerdy silence from Hera.
"...Anyway, I know we've still got like two hours but... how about that date?" I awkwardly asked.
She nodded, shrugging. "Dope, but I'm driving your car."
"What? Like hell you are!"
Dad suddenly tackled me to the ground, snatching my keys from my pocket. "Here you go!" He said, tossing them to her in a way that was actually pretty cool. What, a secret basketball player too? Damn!
"I still don't like this..." her mom said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, that little punk doesn't deserve our Hera! But I suppose it's fine, it's not like you're marrying her or something, heh..."
"Well then let's blow this dump!"
"The hell did you just say about my house?" Washington said. I sprinted to my car, Hera following.
As soon as we got in the car, with me in the passenger's side, oddly enough, Hera started its engine.
It felt weird not being able to drive my own car.
I decided to try to make small talk with Hera. "So, tell me, Hera," I said, "what's your sign?"
She ignored me.
"Tough crowd. Anyway, do you pour your milk before your cereal? Because if so, this will never work. It's kind of a deal breaker for me."
She ignored me again.
"Still nothing? Jeez... Um... Would you still love me if I told you that I shower with my socks on?"
That third question made her break. "What's with the dumbass questions? God! And I don't love you! Do you ever shut up? It's almost impressive how annoying you are."
"Hey, I was just trying to lighten the mood! Wait, you don't love me? Then why ask me on a date? I could be at home right now, you know!"
She stopped at the stoplight and grinned evilly. "Don't you worry about that just yet, JJ."
I cringed at the nickname. "Please, don't call me that..."
Her smile faded. "Right, I'm totally gonna respect the guy's wishes who literally bullied me for years. Not a chance in hell, JJ boy," she snapped.
"And I had to miss out on my NASCAR for this?" I mumbled. "This is such bullshit..."
"Now THAT'S bullshit right there! You and I both know that you really wanted to watch MHA!" she said. "Besides, that tough guy act you put on every day is see through! You're soft as baby shit!"
"Shut the hell up, ya damn nerd!" I yelled again.
"What are you, Bakugou now?" She looked over at me, but I didn't say anything. We all know I'd be Todoroki, only he is worthy of being compared to me. Just saying. "Yeah, yeah, fuck you, too."
And from that moment on, we were both silent until we arrived at the restaurant.