At lunch the next day, Takeda came skipping to my classroom and chimed, “Excuse meee, is Konoha here?”
The class was instantly abuzz. I stood up quickly.
“Oh, there you are!”
Takeda waved at me. And oh man, the stares.
“Uh, come with me.”
“Huh? Uh, all right.”
I practically ran into the hall and around a corner and kept going until there was no one else around. When I asked her what she wanted, she looked up at me, a grin splitting her face.
“I waited for Shuji outside school this morning, and I gave him that letter you wrote for me.”
“Really!”
She’s quick. I tended to be listless, if anything, so her energy levels really impressed me.
“My heart was beating so fast! Bump-bump, bump-bump! I gave the letter to Shuji and asked him to read it, then I made a break for it. I didn’t hear a word my friends or the teachers said after that. All I could think about over and over was, ‘I wonder if Shuji read my letter! I wonder what he thought!’ ”
“Th-then what happened?” I was practically on the edge of my seat.
“I couldn’t think about anything else and I could barely eat my lunch, so I went to the archery practice hall. And Shuji was there, and—”
“Whoa! And then what?”
Takeda flushed with happiness and threw out a peace sign.
“He thanked me for the letter and said he really appreciated it! He said it was too sudden to be girlfriend-boyfriend right away and we should start slow.”
“That’s great!”
I felt like I could jump for joy right along with Takeda.
“Yeah! Shuji said he’s never gotten such a cute letter before and it made him really happy. This is all thanks to you, Konoha. You really deserved to win the Adatara Literature of Love competition!”
“Ahaha… all I did was throw something together at lunch, really.”
“No, I mean it! I think that letter really cheered Shuji up. So I promised I would write him letters every day from now on.”
“What?” I asked stupidly.
Every day…?
Takeda grabbed my hands, and when she spoke, her voice was bubbling over with trust and reverence. “I know you can handle it, Konoha! You can just throw something together at lunch.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Starting the next day, Takeda would run to my class as soon as first period was over.
“Good morning, Konoha! Your letter was a huge hit with Shuji yesterday! You really are amazing. You’re a genius. I bet you wind up being an author!”
“Ha… um, you’re too kind. Here’s the one for today.”
“Oh wow, thank you! I’ll copy it in math class next period. I hope it makes Shuji happy.”
“Yeah…”
My smile was a little strained.
✦ ✦ ✦
Tohko giggled and informed me, “You had it coming. Now there’s no choice but to stick with little Chia to the very end. Right, Mister Distinguished Author?”
She was straddling the fold-up chair, a paperback in one hand, looking up at me crookedly with her clear, teasing black eyes.
The book was The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
“But you were the one who forced me to work with Takeda in the first place. And you were the one who set up some weird mailbox in the school courtyard without permission, too.”
“I didn’t force you, I recommended you. I said you would write wonderful love letters for her and listen to her seriously. Besides…” Tohko flopped her thin body forward and the chair screeched. Her pink lips cracked into a smile. “I wasn’t the one who told her you wrote the letter in your spare time. That was you.”
“Urk.”
Tohko closed her eyes rapturously. “Oh, I hope little Chia’s romance goes well! I wonder what kind of report she’ll write for me. Will it be like a fluffy strawberry shortcake smothered in whipped cream? Or will it taste like chocolate infused with a dash of orange liqueur? I wouldn’t mind something like a mille-feuille with loads of custard packed into crispy pie crust, either….”
She never thought about anything but her treats. Her fantasizing must have made her hungry because she tore a page from The Great Gatsby and started to crunch on it.
“Mmmm, so good. Fitzgerald has a really snazzy flavor. I feel as if flamboyance, glory, and passion are dancing a waltz in my mouth, like I’m eating glittering caviar with champagne at a party. When I bite into it, its delicate skin pops, and a fragrant liquid spills into my mouth. The main character Gatsby is so innocent, I can’t stop rooting for him.”
Wasn’t that story about Gatsby getting jerked around heartlessly by Daisy, his former lover and another man’s wife, until it destroyed him? I wouldn’t call that “snazzy.” More like running over with pathos. But I suppose everyone interprets literature differently.
“Oh no!”
Tohko suddenly cried out as if the world were coming to an end. She twisted her face into a frown, her forehead crinkling.
“This is awful! I borrowed this book from the library, and I just accidentally ate it!”