Little Tiger

Party

The boys suggested that I didn't let anyone know I was still in high school, which I agreed with. I didn't want anyone thinking I was still some child, so I wasn't willing to disclose that in the first place. Shigure was adamant about having me meet Francis and called him over as soon as we made it inside. His Japanese was good (I had been nervous about that considering how bad I was at speaking English), and we had a small conversation, which he didn't seem too interested in, before he got pulled into the crowd of people inside of his apartment. We came to the party an hour late because Ayame did not like partying when it was still bright outside. But everyone else, who came on time, didn't seem to mind that detail in the slightest. 

"Nice, right?" Shigure asked me after Francis had been entirely swallowed by the sea of people (there weren't that many people, but it felt like it).  

I tilted my head slightly, sort of offended by the lack of enthusiasm on Francis' part. Ayame and Hatori were standing behind us, probably gawking at Shigure's hand on my shoulder. At least, that was what I had imagined because our "secret relationship" was really stressing me out; I felt like everyone at that party could read our body language and know exactly what we had been up to. The part that was stressing me out the most is that we had only kissed, what would I be feeling after we had sex? 

"Here, Ko-Ko," Ayame said with a mischievous grin. He had disappeared for a moment, leaving the rest of us stranded in the foyer. It was sake in a tiny paper cup used for mouthwash.

I looked at it with my mouth hanging open. I'd never had liquor before and I was apprehensive about doing it in front of so many people. I was afraid of taking the shot too slowly or, even worse, grimacing after it. 

Ayame thrusted the cup forward, putting it directly in front of my face. "C'mon, Ko-Ko, I've got a chaser---" he said this in English, a term they must have picked up from Francis--- "for after---gets rid of the bitterness," he explained, noticing my confusion. 

 I took the cup from Ayame and peered into it for a moment. I knew better than to overthink it, otherwise I'd never be able to swallow it. My cheeks reddened as the three of them stared at me, waiting eagerly for my review on the sake. But just as I brought the cup up to my lips and knocked it back in one go, Francis slammed his hands down on Hatori's shoulders, suddenly reappearing from the crowd and forcing the three of them to turn their attention onto him. I gagged, wiping the back of my hand on my mouth, shuddering at the taste. Ayame was distracted when I grabbed the "chaser" (a glass bottle of lychee Ramune) from his hand and tore the seal off with my teeth, gulping it down to wash out the flavor of sake. 

"Japanese party is cool," Francis was saying, looking at the three of them with a toothy smile. The boys cheered in agreement and slapped his shoulders, ruffling his curly red hair. 

"We told you that Japanese drinks are good too!" Shigure said, yelling over the loud music. "No Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, or those other American founding father names." 

Francis laughed. He had a cute laugh, like a giggle. "Yes, yes, my brothers," he said, putting his arms around Hatori and Shigure. Francis was the type of American I always pictured; touchy, loud, friendly, bronzed from tanning, and perfect white teeth. I thought I was being stereotypical to imagine this, but I wasn't so sure now. I hadn't realized this when I saw him the first time, but Francis' pupils were so dilated his irises had been reduced to thin green rings. The room smelled like a skunk and now I understood why. 

"Next week we will have American-style," Francis shouted. "I'm talking: Tequila sunrises, Long Islands, Coronas, Vissels---" Shigure informed me later that a "Vissel" was Francis's nickname for Vodka, Soda, Lime--- "espresso martinis, and Simply orange juice chasers!" Francis said all of this in English. Even if he had said it in Japanese, I wouldn't have understood. I knew nothing about drinking.