6/15 Instance: Like a Puppy on a String

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: current


Hisako: Hisako looked up from her writing as the announcement was given for the class to search for partners and her face dropped; it wasn't so much that she disliked working with others, more that she felt she worked better alone.

Hisako: The class around her started pairing up, a few people looking to her and giving her waves of acknowledgement also. She smiled and waved back, standing before spotting a familiar boy in the class sitting alone...

Julian: Julian could safely say he hated pairing up with people for projects, mostly because he didn't have this tendency to pair up with anyone. He was always the kid that ended up with whoever was left. Heaving a sigh, he remained rooted to his seat as he looked around the classroom and considered his options, his gaze eventually meeting the Japanese girl's across the room, the one that had kissed him in the kitchen...

Hisako: Approaching him, Hisako waved, smiling and sitting down beside him, "We are partners.", she affirmed with a little nod, placing her books and bag down on the table beside him.

Julian: Watching her, wide-eyed, as she crossed the classroom to take a seat next to him, Julian dumbly nodded along with her as she confidently stated their partnership, a small smile playing on his lips while he stuttered out, "O-okay..." Gulping, he looked down to the text in from of him, "Sooo, where would you like to begin? Or is there any way you'd like to divide this up? Or...?"

Hisako: "As long as you don't make me do all of this then....", she shrugged, "Shirimaseeeeen....ah, I know; I will list the areas we need to cover first.", she clicked her pen, jotting down notes in Kanji on her page.

Julian: Julian somewhat hesitantly leaned over, trying to decide what a proper distance to keep between them was, especially because some people were weird about personal space. However, she'd kissed him in the kitchen, so... He didn't really know what to make of that, but he was pretty sure he should be thinking about this project instead of watching her scribble down notes.

Julian: Then, he realized he was staring, flushed, and averted his gaze to the paper, automatically blinking, "Um..."

Hisako: Pausing, Hisako sighed, turning to him, "What, you were not paying attention?", she sighed, "Bakkano, Juuuuuulian."

Julian: "No, no... I-I was," he insisted, quickly adding, "Mostly." Because it'd be a lie if he said he'd been paying attention the entire class. Biting down on his lip, he hesitantly offered, "I can't really... I can't read Japanese..."

Hisako: "Obviously I will write English for you, bakka...", Hisako groaned, "Also why were you just sitting here alone?"

Julian: "Well, I wasn't really alone... until people got up..." Julian weakly protested.

Hisako: "So, you did not even look for a partner?", Hisako turned to him, "Why?"

Julian: Shifting a bit uncomfortably in his seat, Julian fidgeted with the pen in his hand, idly tapping it against his notepad, "I hadn't really gotten up to yet," he shrugged, "Then, when I did look around, you were looking at me, so... Yeah, we're partners."

Hisako: Hisako sighed again, "You will never make friends if you don't talk to people. You have to be more confident; aren't you a man?"

Julian: "Last I checked?" Julian answered as he resolutely stared down at his desk, wanting to protest that he could make friends and would've gotten up to find himself a partner. The problem with protesting that was he wouldn't be able to back up his argument because he had just been sitting here, dreading trying to find someone.

Hisako: With a little laugh, Hisako shook her head, "Forget it. Here...", she tapped her paper, having translated the Kanji into English, "The presentation will need to look mainly at these four things. You have the chapters bookmarked?"

Julian: "Of course," Julian answered as he leaned back over to study the notes she'd made, worrying his lip for a moment, "About the presentation..."

Hisako: "Nani?", she blinked.

Julian: Julian blinked right back, "What?"

Hisako: "Exactly!", Hisako giggled, "I just said 'what', but in Japanese. Sorry, sometimes I can't help that..."

Julian: "Oh..." Now, he felt stupid because he should've been able to guess that from her questioning tone. "Anyway, about the presentation, I'm not ver-- I mean, in case you haven't noticed, I-I kind of suck at talking to people, so I, um... I might be a, uh, nervous wreck beforehand..."

Hisako: Snorting, Hisako nodded, "Oh, Julian, you are soooo useless.", she laughed, "Ok, I will give the presentation too."

Julian: Letting out a sigh of relief, Julian shot her a small, grateful smile, "Hopefully not entirely useless though, right?"

Hisako: Hisako nodded, smiling back at him, "So, Juuuuuuuullian...", she leaned closer, arm on the table, chin in her palm as she did so; "Tell me about Juuuulian."

Julian: "Well, um, I'm from California, but I've lived in New York for the past year," he started, pausing to think of whether there was anything exciting to him, "I have an older brother, I like the beach, I have telekinesis, uh... I don't think fishing is all that bad," he gave a shrug, "I went out to the lake and fished with Walt the other day, and it was pretty cool." Except for the part where he'd fallen in the lake.

Hisako: "Walter, Waaalter...", Hisako hummed, looking around as she tried to place the name, "Oh! He is the roomie of Cortez-san.", she nodded, "So, you are friends with him? He is....how is it Cortez-san said..."

Julian: "He seems like a pretty cool guy, so I'd like to think we're friends, yeah," Julian replied as he considered her, brow furrowed, curious as to what Fabian had said.

Hisako: With a shrug, Hisako smiled, "Well, Cortez-san's girlfriend still thinks I am a horrible bitch, so it doesn't matter.", she tapped her cheek with her fingers as she looked Julian up and down, "So....you don't like anime or video games?"

Julian: "He dates, um... Cecilia, right?" He hoped that was right because it meant he was retaining people's names. At the question, he paused and gave another light shrug, "It's not that I don't. It's more I never really got into them?"

Hisako: "Nani!?", Hisako gasped, "How!? Anime is the best thing in the world! Obviously original Mangas are better but how do you not got into them!?"

Julian: "I don't know," Julian shook his head, grinning slightly at how appalled she was, "I'm assuming you're really into them though?"

Hisako: "Obviously I am!", Hisako sighed, "Julian, you never speak to people and you don't even know good anime or manga?", she shook her head, "I guess we can't be friends after all!", with a mock sigh, she flicked a hand through her hair, folding her arms and legs and looking away.

Julian: Julian simply stared blankly, eventually blinking a few times before his expression dissolved into a pout as the words processed, "But, but..."

Hisako: Smiling slyly, Hisako turned to him, "There is one way....but you have to do everything I say, ok?"

Julian: Despite not being sure about the smile she was giving him, he found himself nodding, "O-okay?"

Hisako: Hisako laughed aloud, covering her mouth with a hand, "You are so loyal! So loyal and obedient, I like that...", she giggled, "...ok, then. You must watch all the anime that I give you to watch, ok? Otherwise......"

Julian: "Otherwise you won't take pity on me?" Julian supplied with a slight grin because what she was offering was far less awful than what he thought it might be, "However, I think I can handle that task..."

Hisako: "Otherwise I will make you present all of our work.", Hisako nodded, "And I will make you do it all too. And keep my notes in Kanji so you can't read them!", she grinned back, sly as before, "You have to be my loyal little lapdog, Juuuuuulian..."

Julian: "You could never be so cruel," Julian stated with a melodramatic gasp, feeling a bit more at ease as he returned her grin.

Hisako: Turning away and shaking her head, Hisako rubbed her nose with a finger, "You do not know me, remember, Juuuuulian?", she winked, "Nameru ja nai, Juuuulian!"

Hisako: Her expression became a little more serious, "No, really. I would do it."

Julian: As he took in her serious expression, his grin slowly faded, and he gulped. Okay, so he totally believed that she would. Reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck, Julian stuttered out, "S-so, that, uh... th-that anime.... Were you just g-going to give me a list, or...?"

Hisako: "I will give you the DVD of all of the ones.", Hisako affirmed, "And I should tell you, this is one of the first things you have to do, not the last one...", she tapped his hand, "You have to work hard for my services, you know..."

Julian: Looking down at where her hand met his, the motion causing him to have to stop idly tapping his pen, Julian felt his face heating up, and her choice of words didn't help this matter. All he managed in response was, "Oh."

Hisako: Hisako nodded again, tapping his hand once more with her finger for good measure, "Good! First you will watch Black Rock Shooter and Outlaw Star, ok?", she went back to her notes, humming a tune to herself.

Julian: "Black Rock Shooter aaaand Outlaw Star," he mumbled to himself as he scribbled down the titles in his notebook. He wouldn't remember them if he didn't write them down. Once he'd accomplished that, he gave a nod, "Okay. So, this project, we should probably work on it a bit more before class is out, yeah?"

Hisako: "Desho.", Hisako nodded, eyes still on her notepad as she jotted things down, "You will need to mark the chapters for each of these list things."

Julian: "I believe I can handle that," Julian commented as he looked over the list and began to flip through the text, searching for post-its to act as a bookmark.

Hisako: With another nod of affirmation, Hisako smiled, glancing to him just once with a playful look on her face. She laughed dryly despite herself, once more going back to her notes. He was cute, like a tiny marionette puppy. She liked that.