The Eccentricities of Haruhi Suzumiya

My Date with Time Pt.2

It was three days until the School Formal and we were severely underprepared. Haruhi had only drawn out rough drafts of the SOS Brigade promotional posters and quickly got to work at her desktop computer trying to perfect them.

It was as if Asahina had made the others aware of the fact I was planning on asking Haruhi to the formal, and had asked them to arrive slightly later to the clubroom to allow me more time, as they all arrived perfectly timed with each other 15 minutes later.

None of us had anything to do with helping the club get ready for the formal as Haruhi had taken control over the poster making and other than that, there wasn't too much else we could do. We couldn't read Haruhi's mind nor could we share the same vision she had for the promotions. I was stuck playing a board game with Koizumi while overhearing Haruhi give Asahina very specific instructions as to what kind of dress she should be looking for in order to attract attention. From what I could hear, it seemed like she wanted to use her as a primary marketing tool once more, but for once had no desire to have her wear an outrageous costume but rather to have her choose a dress bound to attract male attention. However I'm sure Haruhi would find that Asahina would look stunning in any dress of her choice.

While Haruhi was distracted, Koizumi took it upon himself to discreetly ask me the question that everyone in the room was probably wondering- whether or not I was taking Haruhi to the formal as my partner. Once I told him that it was official, a look of relief swept across his face.

"Well thank goodness. If you weren't the one to ask her, I would have been forced to do it myself and well, let's just say you're more suited to the job."

More suited? I highly doubted that.

Koizumi looked me in the eyes and maintained his quiet voice. "You know how Miss Suzumiya views me. I wouldn't want to overstep my boundaries and cause more problems."

"Who are you taking then?" I asked, slightly irritated.

Koizumi glanced over at Nagato who as usual was seated in her corner chair engrossed in her latest book. I see he decided to keep things uncomplicated and partnered up with our fellow SOS Brigade member. It was probably for the best anyway.

Koizumi smiled as he moved his game piece to make his winning move. "I for one am looking forward to seeing everyone dressed up all nicely."

I wasn't excited for the Formal, but upon it's mention, I couldn't imagine any of these three girls dressed up as though they were going to the ball to meet their Prince Charming and that thought alone shone a new light to the situation. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

Upon the date of the formal drawing unsuspectingly closer and closer, I still hadn't put much thought into what I would actually be wearing. I guess I had an old suit that I wore a year or so ago for a relative's wedding that I could use. It was simple, black and nondescript, surely there couldn't be too much for anyone, particularly Haruhi, to complain about. The most I could do was give Haruhi a phone call one night to ask if she had chosen a colour dress yet so that my tie could match at the persistent requests of my mother who kept dropping hints about wanting the two of us to look nice together in a photo, as if that would happen.

"Huh?" Came her reaction to my question over the phone. "How should I know what colour it's going to be, I haven't found a single dress I've liked yet!"

The thought of Haruhi out shopping and trying on dresses for a formal was a strange one. I doubted that she would be like other girls and go out with a group of friends at her side for feedback, she probably went alone and scowled at all the dresses that didn't meet her standards. Unless she was going with Nagato and Asahina in secret.