Josh

Ch 6

Throughout the rest of the school week, things had been the same as they always are. The only changes may have been that Mei now approaches me more. She doesn't say anything, but she comes around quite frequently. It's really weird to me that she is making her crush so dang obvious. Oh, well.

Today in class we are reading out poems that we found with research. They are only supposed to be picked by us studebts, and our teacher must grade if we can find a deep sort of meaning within our poems. So far I feel like my poem is crap compared to the others- Especially since I had to translate it from English to Japanese, and I am still bad at clear translations.

When I had to go up and present, I felt as if I was stumbling over my Japanese too much. But my classmates and teacher seemed to understand me quite clearly, so I dismissed my thoughts. After explaining the meaning to my poem, I took my seat. I could feel eyes on me.

Later on that day when I was headed toward the tree me and Taka occupy during lunch period, my arm was grabbed by someone unseen in the halls. I was pulled into a janitorial closet with whom I found out was Hanamiko Mei. She looked at me with a bashful smile yet her grip on my arm was a bit painful.

"Hello, Kuma-San," Mei greets me. I don't know if she realizes she is hurting me. "I have a confession I need to tell you."

"Yes, Hanamiko?" I ask, while knowing what she is most likely wanting to talk about.

Mei looked around us as if she suspected someone was spying in on our conversation. Then she leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I. . . I really like you, Kuma-San. I wish to be your girlfriend."

For a moment I am silent. I try to pull my arm away so I can leave. "Alright. But I don't want to date you. I don't like you that way."

Her face fell. Her already hard grip on me seemed to increase. My arm was starting to go numb by now. "What the heck do you mean?"

"I don't want to be your boyfr- Ow, Ow, OW! You're hurting my arm!" I cry out in pain. It feels as if she is now digging her nails into my skin, replacing the numb feeling with pain.

"Why not?" Mei questions. "I'm a very pretty girl. Good at studying, too. So why not?! Oh, you probably don't know good when you see it!" She was screeching now, but that was nothing to the pain I was feeling. Then in one sudden motion, I heard my arm crack and everything turned black.
_ _ _ _ _
"Josh? Wake up, buddy. Come on. Wake up."

I slowly open my eyes, only to shut them back as a blinding light finds way to them. I let my vision adjust before I look around and see I am in the nurse's office. My whole left arm hurts so badly that I want to cry.

"Hey, buddy," Taka says from his spot beside me. "We found you passed out in the janitor's closet. An ambulance is coming so the hospital can take care of your broken arm."

"Broken?" I ask. Then I look and see that my left arm looks like one of those twisty pasta noodles. I screamed. No wonder it hurt so bad!

"Josh, Josh!" Taka tried to get my attention so I could calm down but it wasn't working at all. He let out a sigh and mumbled an apology before he leaned in an- can you believe it- pressed his lips down onto my own until I was quiet.

I stare up at him with wide eyes as he is pulling back from the kiss. He smiled sheepishly at me and now I can feel a deep warmth taking over my face. This is so embarrassing. Not only had my best friend, a boy, just kissed me, but that had been my first actual kiss! Taka, of all people, should be knowing that.

"Taka." I say quietly. I put a hand to my mouth so he wouldn't have access to repeat his actions.

Luckily, at that moment, the paramedics made it to the school and have walked into the nurse's office. They look at how bad my arm is and exchange nervous glances before I am escorted out to the ambulance. I lie back in a stretcher as the paramedics begin giving me medication for the pain and try to ask about what they thought was a fever, but was honestly just my blush lingering.
_ _ _ _ _
The cast was horribly bulky. It was itchy underneath it, too, but I really couldn't do anything about it. But it's holding my arm bones in their correct places, and it's my favourite colour, so I may think less about how I don't like having the cast.