(what to do when) under duress

Difficult Choices

Republished on: 3 / 17 / 16

It had been about a month since the eccentric introduction that came from Haruhi, and things have been rather uneventful, to say the least. She seemed to have made a lasting impact on the rest of the students at North High and has since been growing quite infamous. She joined one club after another, but never remained, claiming that it was too boring and ordinary for her to continue with it.

"You wouldn't believe the look the guy had on his face, [Nickname]! It was priceless!" Your blue haired friend laughed boisterously after telling her most recent story. It was about some guy who thought he could outsmart her in something. You weren't exactly paying attention, but from the looks of it, it was probably something funny. "What's the matter? You look like you've got somethin’ on your mind."

The two of you were currently seated under a very nice tree that was generous when it came to shade, and it was, in fact, break. You had brought a little snack to satisfy your hunger for a little while longer, but since Sayaka had neglected to bring anything, you were forced to share the little food you had with her. You expected for this to happen - as it always did - and made sure to pack an extra bento box when it was time to go and eat lunch. "It's nothing really. I'm just thinking. I guess."

"Really? What about?" Sayaka had begun to question you with a look of concern on her face. You were about to answer her, and say that it was just nothing, and you were probably just daydreaming. She seemed to have other plans, however. "Aww, no. Don't tell me you met a special someone over summer. You know what they say about Summer Love!"

"Well-"

"I won't have this! No one can marry my beloved, [Name]!" She leaned over and wrapped her arms around your form, hugging you tightly before she began to tickle your sides. "You're mine, all mine~!" You attempted to stop her in between your laughter and short breaths, but to no avail. Ahh, you were probably causing a really big scene!

Before you knew it, there was a flash, and it was then you realized that someone had taken a picture of you. Sayaka immediately stopped, and after your eyes recovered from the flash, you came face to face with a boy with dark, choppy hair, who was grinning like an idiot. You recognized him as Shou Furukawa, one of your classmates. "What the hell you creep! Don't just randomly take pictures of people!"

"I'm sorry, but two A class girls having a tickle fight in the middle of lunch is much too good to pass up~." Shou seemed unfazed by the fact that you just yelled at him, but once you stood up from your spot, you could've sworn that his face paled. He quickly raised his hands up in defense, "L-Look, I won't send them to anyone, okay? I'll keep them to myself."

"So you were planning on sending them, huh?"

"Eheh what? Did I say that? You must have heard wrong I-"

"You pervert!" You rolled up the sleeve of your right arm and pulled your arm back before your fist collided with his cheek, sending him flying all the way to the cosmos. You were certain numerous students were sending odd stares your way, but you didn't mind. There was one less pervert in the world, and that's all you cared about.

Turning back to Sayaka who was still seated on the ground, you found her with a hand hovering over her mouth, chuckling to herself in a mischievous manner. Even her eyes were twinkling with mirth! "What?" She laughed a little louder this time, but kept it to herself, saying it was nothing. You pursed your lips together, not really buying her lame lie, but didn't really bother her about it; it probably wasn't really that important anyway.

*  *  *

Classes weren't as tedious as you expected them to be, as, over the summer, your cousin couldn't stop whining about how hard high school was. Really, she set it up to make it seem like it was this big scary point in your life where no one would ever accept you because of how socially inept you were. In your defense, you weren't that socially inept, or at least, you hoped.

"Ehh..." Okay, now that you thought about it, you were pretty awkward, but not as awkward as some of the poor unfortunate souls out there. It wasn't really your fault really, your mannerisms were just different in a way that most find to be rather eccentric! Not as eccentric as Haruhi Suzumiya, though.

Ignoring your self-abusing thoughts, you stood out of your seat and stretched. It was now lunch time, and you pondered over whether or not you should go off and actually do something. Your eyes drifted around the classroom, taking note how most of the students were leaving to go buy their lunch or hang out with their friends outside of homeroom.

You could always go out and find Sayaka of course, but she said she was going to go find a club to join since it was a requirement. So if you did end up going off to find her, she wouldn't prove to be very entertaining since she was busy. There also were a few other sets of options you had in mind for today, but the choice had yet to be determined. It wasn't like time was ticking or anything, but you'd rather make up your mind before the day is over.