Plastic Taste { Joji a.u. }

the one where they tour his campus

Emi had gotten up early, putting on a pot of hot water only to realize that the teabags in their hotel room hadn't been restocked.

She didn't mind, grabbing her key card and leaving the room to search for a maid or to ask the front desk for a few. 

No maid in sight, Emi made her way to the front desk. 

A woman with deep red lipstick and the cleanest haircut she had ever seen smiled brightly at her. 

"Good morning, miss. How may I help you?" 

Emi felt a little heat rush to her cheeks. She didn't look nearly as clean cut as this woman, so she felt a little embarrassed. 

"Good morning," Emi smiled. "The room I'm in is out of tea packets. Do you know where I could find some more?" 

The woman's eyes widened a bit as she nodded. "Of course! There are free tea packets just across the lobby in the dining area. They are right on the table in the back of the room." 

Emi nods, making her way to the dining area. 

As she walks in, she spots Sota, sitting fully dressed in front of a cup of orange juice, looking nervous. 

She approaches his table with caution. 

"Good morning," 

He immediately snaps to attention, relaxing a little when he sees it's her. 

"Morning," He replies, rubbing his hands on his thighs. 

Emi observes him for a moment before raising the back of her hand and laying it gently against his forehead. 

"You're a little warm, are you okay?" 

He blinks at her for a moment, seemingly lost before responding, "I'm okay. I'm wearing like three layers. I'm nervous, is all." 

"You're nervous?" She asks, lowering her hand. 

"Yeah. I just." He looks forward, taking a deep breath. 

"This is a big opportunity and I don't want to give a bad impression." 

Emi smiles, placing her hand on top of his head gently. 

He raises his eyes to look up at her. 

"Just be yourself. You've got this, they're going to love you." 

Sota looks between her eyes for a few seconds as an unreadable emotion takes over his features. 

Sota suddenly reaches forward, wrapping his arms around Emi's waist, gently nuzzling his head against her stomach. 

"ありがとう。" ( Thank you. )

"いえいえ." (  Of course. ) 

Emi gently pats the top of his head. 

Haru, who watches from the entrance of the dining hall, slinks back, heading back to the rooms. 

~~~ 

Emi unlocks the door to find Haru awake, sitting in the bed scrolling on her phone. 

She squints at Emi and Sota as they walk into the room. 

"Where did you two go?" She asks. 

"Dining hall." Sota replies, walking over to her bed and flopping down on it, ruffling the bag in his hand.

Haru reaches forward and pokes Sota's temple, causing him to bat away her hand. 

"We brought muffins," he says, raising the bag and setting it in her lap. 

Haru perks up, diving in to see what kinds there were. 

After each person ate their muffin, Sota went to the bathroom, taking off the t-shirt that he had under his button up, readjusting his clothing until it sat on his body in a way that he found pleasing and presentable. 

Emi and Haru stand together as he steps out, tossing his shirt onto Emi's bed, straightening his sweater one more time before looking between them and asking, "How do I look?" 

"Hold on," Haru says, stepping forward and ushering him to lean down. 

As he leans forward, Haru reaches up and readjusts his hair gently. 

"There," She says warmly, backing up. 

"Perfect." 

~~~ 

"Oh my god," Haru says aloud, her eyes gazing over the gigantic campus in front of them. 

"This is a whole town!" She yells, turning back to look at Sota. 

He gulps. 

The tour seems to go by in a blur, taking no time at all for them to be ushered by a woman at the front desk to a student resident who gives them the whole tour, from dorms to classroom buildings, hang out spots, the library, cafeteria, dorms the gymnasium, sports courts, and finally, finally, the baseball field. 

The coach meets them there. 

Emi and Haru stand back, trying not to chuckle amongst themselves at the serious air that takes over Sota. 

He gets a certain way whenever he is talking to a senior on the field, the blatant respect and seriousness exuding through him. 

He looks like a professional, Emi thinks. 

The coach lets Emi and Haru sit on the sideline bench as he throws a couple test pitches to Sota, observing his technique and how well he does under short notice with little warm-up. 

Then, he tests how well Sota can pitch. 

It's an assessment that goes extremely well. The coach is pleased by what he sees, and Emi and Haru look over at one another, knowing that this is definitely the next step in his career, that this is something that is more achievable than any of them ever thought it was. 

They are so proud of him. 

As the tour comes to an end, and they begin to head out to grab something to eat before they head back to the hotel, they walk across a courtyard where a few photography students seem to be working. 

They try to make their way past quietly, but it proves impossible as soon as the main photographer spots Sota. 

"Excuse me," she calls out. "Would you mind if we took your photo? It'll only take a minute." 

Sota glances at Emi and Haru, who both push him forward. 

They instruct him, having him sit in a stool in front of a set background. 

As they're getting ready to snap photos, a gust of wind causes a few leaves from a nearby tree to fall, dusting it's contents across the set. 

One, conveniently lands atop Sota's head. He moves to take it off, but the photographer stops him. 

"Keep it there," she says, "It's landed perfectly." 

Sota glances over at Emi and Haru, who are doing their best to keep their laughter to a minimum, clinging on to one another. 

He looks away quickly, not wanting to break focus. 

As soon as the picture is taken, he glances over to them again, laughing along with them. 

"Are you a student here?" The photographer asks. 

"Uh," Sota pauses for a moment, removing the leaf and glancing over at the girls. "Not yet." he smiles. 

"But I will be."