(y/n)'s POV
for two years now, i haven't really smiled in class. sure, i have people tight-lipped smiles, genuine smiles. but i haven't really opened my mouth. i make sure i never talk too loudly, keeping my mouth as closed as possible when explaining how i solved a problem. the slight lisp i had i hid quite well, not slurring my words like most people did after they got braces.
it's not because i'm not happy, or because i'm a Debbie downer and hate fun. i love having fun. just. . . not in front of my classmates, 's all. at home with my family, i'm as loud as can be, yelling at my older brother because he hit me with a water bottle. or talking to my dog in the high pitched voice he loves so much.
in middle school, after i got my braces i was teased ruthlessly. train tracks, metal mouth, teeth in jail, brace face. at first, i just laughed and rolled my eyes, brushing it off. but it just kept going and i got tired of it. i got more reserved around my 'friends', who joined in on the teasing whenever they got the chance. i never opened my mouth too wide, or got too heated in a class debate.
now i'm in high school, and the kids around me couldn't care less about my braces. or, that's what i thought. in my first year, i was teased again by my new 'friends', and even a couple people i've never met before. it was tiring, and i got even more reserved. in my second year, i barely spoke in class, and i just. . . stopped laughing. stopped smiling. no matter how hard that was around Kuramochi.
Kuramochi Yōichi. he was known as the class clown. he was a former delinquent. part of the school's star baseball team. i admit, when i went and watched the teams games in the summer, my eyes never really left Kuramochi when he was on the field. he was quick; calculated. he was the MVP in my eyes.
i think it's became a game to him; telling me jokes about anything and everything. i'm not sure how he comes up with them all, but i don't think he searches them up. they're always on-the-spot kind of funny. like, if he told it at any other time it wouldn't have been half as funny as it was in the moment. i smiled at the jokes; smiled until my cheeks hurt. but i never opened my mouth. i never laughed out right. because i knew, if he caught sight of my braces, he would then direct his jokes at them. it would be torture. having an actually funny person make fun of you would be torture. because i wouldn't know whether to laugh or not.
well, up until now, i haven't really laughed at his jokes. but this one was just too stupid. just too stupidly funny. it was the kind of funny where you don't know why it's funny, but it's such a knee slapper and you end up wheezing in your seat. maybe it was the atmosphere he told it in; a completely calm, warm atmosphere. it was unexpected, and maybe that's what made it so funny. no one brought up jokes, we had previously been silent. the class was quietly doing math work. no one was joking, no one made that much noise. just the soft whispers of people helping their friends solve different math problems.
"do you want to know my favourite tea joke?" Kuramochi said suddenly, nudging my arm with his. i looked over at him, eyebrow raised.
"go on," i mumbled, looking back to my page. i could work and listen. it couldn't disrupt me that much, could it?
"what do you call a healthy dinosaur?" he questioned, tapping my shoulder so i looked him in the eyes. i shit you not, this kid deadass looked me in the eyes and said, "Tea-Rex." he said it in the most serious voice, i couldn't help but let out a sudden snort, my mouth opening so i could smile widely.
i was wheezing in seconds, silently slapping my knee. "that was so stupid," i said breathlessly. i took a deep breath, trying to stop my laughter. he beamed at me, his eyes widening slightly when he saw my braces. i stopped immediately, slapping a hand over my mouth. here they come. i awaited the incoming jokes, turning my head back to the front. i stared down at my papers, my mind in a blind panic. my shoulder slumped, and i squeezed my eyes shut.
