Kabedon: Part 2 of A Tanabata Story

Chapter 5

It started with a look—several of them in fact—but it was the first one that caught Junko's eye. It was a vacant, glassy-eyed expression that one only saw on the face of confused idiots or teenage boys in love—not that there was a difference. Junko watched the boy ignore his goofy friends on the crowded park bench, laughing like a bunch of monkeys while he drooled in her direction.

He was a gaijin, so of course he stood out from all of his Japanese classmates who had gathered around the park to eat their lunches. Tall—ish with short, wavy, sand-colored hair and hazel eyes, he was reasonably good looking when he wasn't drooling. An actual drop of drool quivered on the edge of his lip. When it escaped his open mouth, he seemed to jerk awake, looking around in embarrassment, only to notice Junko for the first time.

Of course, he wasn't looking at me, Junko thought. No boy ever did, especially when she sat next to Miyamoto Miko, the living boy magnet. When she stood next to her, Junko truly was invisible.

Realizing he'd been caught, the gaijin flushed and turned back to his friends.

Junko laughed. It was the funniest thing she'd seen the whole boring class outing. She had to tell Miko. Junko poked Miko in the side. She jerked with a startled yip and nearly fell from the stone planter on which they sat.

It had taken days of encouragement from Junko, some positive responses from the student council and a number of teachers, and then—after some redemptive gameplay in volleyball—Miko's mood had finally lightened.

Though Miko had been dreading going on the school field trip in her tiny group of two, she seemed to be enjoying it. She repeatedly surprised Junko with flashes of those rare carefree smiles that transformed her cool beauty into a warm adorableness.

"Junko-chan!" She laughed in playful accusation, recovering from the poke. "Why did you do that?"

"It looks like you caught a new admirer." Junko pointed her chopsticks at the gaijin's back.

Miko frowned at the improper gesture, then followed its direction. "What?"

"The gaijin."

"Jun-chan! You shouldn't tease like that."

Of course, Miko wouldn't believe her. Beautiful, smart, athletic and rich—Junko glanced at her large breasts—endowed with everything a girl could ask for...how could Miko be so oblivious? How could she mistake everyone's intimidated awe for rejection? How could she think that no one liked her when she is the idol of the entire school. 

Junko chuckled, ignoring a faint whiff of irritation and clutching at the cheerful atmosphere they shared. "I'm serious. He was staring at you and drooling." She poked Miko with a finger, trying not to put too much of her feelings into it. "Actual...drool...came out of his mouth."

Miko looked at her suspiciously. "No..."

If she had one, her only fault was her inability to understand how other people saw her—that and her drive to live up to impossible expectations. What have your parents and teachers done to you?

Junko watched her anxiously watching the boys. "It was gross," Junko said.

"I don't believe you."

At that moment, the gaijin again turned around to sneak another look at Miko. Miko stared back quizzically.

"Staring and drooling, drooling and staring...the whole time we've been sitting here," Junko muttered over Miko's shoulder as the two locked gazes. "You've always wanted a big slobbery dog. Why don't you ask him if he'll go home with you as your pet? I'm sure he'll say yes."

With an uncharacteristic squeeling laugh, Miko spun and gave Junko a playful shove. The red-faced gaijin whirled back to face his friends.

"Aw! I think you embarrassed him," Junko said in mock sympathy.

七夕

After lunch, The students gathered in their assigned groups to spend the rest of the day touring the temple and the surrounding smaller shrines in the park. Miko leaned close to Junko and spoke softly. "He wasn't really looking at me the whole time, was he?"

"I told you he was."

Miko scanned the mob of students, smiling as she caught sight of a sandy-colored head poking above the sea of straight black hair. "There he is!"

When the students were released, the gaijin's group of boys sprinted away, ignoring the teachers' shouts to slow down.

"Let's follow them!" Miko grabbed Junko's hand and hurried after the boys, who had nearly disappeared down the wooded trail. At each spot that the teachers had designated as culturally significant, the boys would pause just long enough for a waiting teacher to stamp their log sheet before tearing off again.

Junko wheezed after Miko, pain jabbing into her side. "Can we slow down?"

Miko paused. Shading her eyes, she rose on her toes to peer across the park. "I think I see them down by the duck pond." Tireless, she took off again.

"Slow down!" Junko began to resent Miko's long athletic legs as the girl practically skipped down a steep zig-zagging path. The path led to a narrow, arched, wooden bridge that crossed a small stream which flowed into the pond. Junko panted. "They're going to see us if we get too close."

At the bridge's other end, the boys skid to a stop and shouted to each other, realizing they had already passed that way. They spun about and sprinted back.

Miko, following too close behind, lurched to a halt, her forward momentum standing her up on her toes. For one breathless moment, she and the gaijin stood nose to nose, staring into each other's wide eyes.

"Konnichiwa," Miko gasped breathlessly.

"Uh, hi," the gaijin blurted out in startled English. Then, with an embarrassed smile that even Junko had to admit was kind of cute, followed up with the hint of an apologetic bow—little more than a ducking of his head—and a "Sumimasen..." His eyes never wavered from hers.

"Ie. Daijoubu da," Miko whispered, telling him No. I'm OK. She stared after him with her own dumb expression as he slipped past her on the bridge. The cringing line of boys followed, apologizing as they tried to pass her on the narrow bridge without brushing against her. Unnoticed, they might as well have been invisible.

Junko would later decide that this was the point where Miko was well and truly hooked.