In a Love Letter

Lunch time and a Book

Today is another day of eating lunch in loneliness' embrace, or at least that's what I thought before a gyaru walked up to me and sat on Aishi's seat.

"Y'know I seriously pity you."
She says but she doesn't even try to hide the disdainful smirk plastered across her face.

"I believe a proper greeting is a hello. So hi, how are you?"
I said before taking a bite of a tomato. Today's lunch is vegetarian, huh?

"Well, you wanna know why I say so?"
She completely ignored my greeting.

It looks like she's trying to build tension by holding back her words while bearing a wide, malicious grin.

Oh well, since I was bored anyway, might as well humor her.

"Oh? Do tell."
Ah, there's onions here as well.

Her expression cracked for a moment, probably not expecting me to act so nonchalantly about this but she quickly composed herself to utter the words she was holding back.

"Oh, I was just kinda thinking, isn't the girl sitting beside you kinda gloomy-lookin'? Like she brings the mood all the way off. I can see some people really wanna get close to you but you can just smell her bad vibes from across the room."
She said with a half-joking half-condescending tone.

I can smell your cheap perfume struggling to barely conceal your B.O. but you don't hear me complaining about that, do you?

Well, of course I couldn't say that. These gyarus come in groups and if I offend one, I become the enemy of all of them. Instead, I tried a more polite tone.

"I don't think Aishi has bad vibes. I'd say we get along pretty well for seatmates."

I smiled with a look that wanted to say 'I would like to immediately distance myself from this interaction now' but this gyaru didn't get the hint at all.

"Get along with that? Uhh no, I wouldn't even last a second near that presence."

She said while making a disgusted expression.

"Can you tell me what exactly is so bad about her?"

Well, now I'm a little interested. I want to hear what other people think about Aishi.

"Ugh have you even seen her? She looks so dead inside. Just looking at her makes me depressed. I haven't even gotten a full glimpse of her face cuz she always walks with her head down. And not to be mean or anything but when our eyes accidentally meet, it almost looks like I'm starin' into the eyes of a dead person! Not just quiet, but creepy too."

She said while shaking her head like she was trying to shake off a thought that popped up into her mind.

Fuck, there's gingers in my food.

"I think Aishi's eyes are pretty though."

I especially like the way she looks at me like I'm dead to her, aka the way she normally looks at me. Am I masochist for that? Ehh, probably.

"What's so pretty about eyes that don't even have a spark of youth? Not to mention, she doesn't even have facial expressions most of the time but pulls out a smile as soon as somebody talks to her. Isn't that obviously just phony behavior?"

Huh, what a coincidence. I personally think bullies are the ones with the most 'phony behavior' as you call it. Again, I didn't say that because I still want to live.

"But I think she's pretty no matter what face she's making. Whether it's fake or not doesn't change my perception of what's beautiful."

After all, you don't go looking at fake flowers and thinking that they're ugly. Even the Yan-chan covered in blood was, in its own gruesome way, beautiful.

"Hah? Why are you so defensive over that girl? Don't tell me you're into her or something?"

She asked me with a mocking but kinda curious tone.

"Yeah, I am into Aishi."

I said that just in time when Aishi opened the door. She looked towards me for a second, and I smiled when our eyes met, before she made her way towards her seat. But it seems the gyaru hasn't noticed her presence yet since the unnamed gyaru was still busy being in a frozen state of shock. Come on, if you're gonna ask somebody they're gay then at least expect that they might actually be homosexual.

Ah damn it, there's no more tomatoes.

"Wait what? But aren't you both—"

"Excuse me."

"KYAHHHHH!"

Poor girl couldn't even finish her sentence before she was jumpscared by Aishi. Screaming like someone died in front of her while jumping out of the seat, falling on her ass in the process.

Everyone's attention was directed towards the girl on the ground while Aishi, ever the nonchalant person, just sat back down on her now unoccupied seat, book in her hands.

The unnamed gyaru quickly got back up on her feet, oh found some more tomatoes, dusted off her skirt and was batting her eyelashes at me while vaguely gesturing to Aishi as if to say "see!"

Of course, my heart was already given to Aishi long ago so I completely ignored the gyaru's flirtatious advances and turned my attention to the person sitting beside me.

"Aishi, what book are you reading?"

Well, before she could even answer, I already leaned towards her to take a look at the pages. Aishi didn't shy away at all, in fact, she even adjusted the book's position so I could have a better view. I looked at a particular spot on the open page and my eyes were graced with the words—

"Choke me, Daddy."

And then I choked on the food in my mouth.

I retreated back to my own seat in surprise. I felt my cheeks burning up and made a guess that they're probably as red as the tomato I choked on just now.
While I looked at Aishi like I was looking at an alien lifeform, 'Scandalous!' was the only thought running through my head.

"I didn't know you were like that, Aishi. Bringing a book like that to school..."
I said in a quiet whisper.

She remained quietly reading, but I could see the corner of her lips twitching like she was holding in a laugh.

After taking a moment to calm down, I finally faked a cough and asked her—

"So... What's the book called?"

She side-eyed me like she wasn't the one that brought the book here in the first place.

===============================

This wasn't even planned but oh well.
Update tomorrow maybe? Or the day after that. Depends on my mood but some time this week.

I don't know how people are still stumbling upon this book but it has reminded me that I have a book in making so here's a chapter.