More than Best Friends?

Chapter 22 - When They First Met

"This hallway is where the clubs meet!  We have an art club, a singing club, a band club...  there are also sports clubs, which also go outside and play games!  Do you want to join one?"

"Maybe...  I don't know..." Henry muttered, "I'm not really good at any of those things..." He frowned as he peered down at his loafers.

"That's okay!  Everyone is good at something," Pe said.

"Pe-chan!" a girl called to Pe from across the hallway, "Do you want to have lunch with us today?"  She motioned to a small group of other girls heading outside.

"No thank you, I'm showing my new friend around our school!"  Pe answered, signaling to Henry and squeezing his hand.  He blushed; she already saw him as her friend?

"Okay, maybe later we can go sing karaoke in Shibuya!" she offered.

"Okay!  See you later, Miyu-chan!" Pe said, waving to the group as they walked toward the school courtyard.  After the girls left, Henry felt his stomach growl.  He pointed to his abdomen and softly tugged at the hem of her sleeve.

"Oh, you're hungry?  Let's eat now then!  I know a nice spot outside!," Pe said, leading him to a large maple tree.  They sat in the bright green grass beside each other as Pe happily munched on her bento and Henry nibbled at his sandwich.

"Do you like it here so far?" Pe suddenly inquired.  He swallowed the bite of food he was taking and turned to her.

"I guess so...  It's different than what I'm used to," Henry answered, scratching the back of his neck.

"Will you tell me about where you used to live?"  Pe asked, tilting her head curiously at him. He gulped; what was he supposed to talk about?  His old life in London was so mundane, she wouldn't be interested in something like that, would she?

"Well...  School was... boring.  A lot of things were too easy for me so I was never really interested," he began, "And I don't know what I want to do, but there was too much... pressure on school.  In Britain, people have to go to school until they're eighteen."

"Wow, that's so interesting!  Here we don't have to go to high school, but many people choose to," Pe chimed.  He was stunned; she thought something he said was interesting?  "I think I want to be a teacher, so I should probably stay in school for a while."

"What makes you want to be a teacher?" he asked, "A lot of students don't seem to like school..."

"I want to help people," Pe said, "And everything relies on education.  If there weren't any teachers, we wouldn't know how to do anything."  She smiled at him.

"I guess if teachers make things fun, then people would like learning more," he said, looking up at the sky.

"That's what I want to do, I want to make learning fun," Pe said, clenching her fist in determination.  A small smile made its way onto Henry's face. She was so caring, even if it was only his first day in the class, and she seemed kind outside of the classroom too.   "Maybe I will study abroad and teach in another country!  Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Maybe.  I hear that a lot of people who want to be teachers do that."

"What if I study in Europe?  You'll show me around, won't you?" Pe tugged at Henry's shirt sleeve.

"Yeah," he smiled, "Definitely."  She beamed at his response and started to laugh. He chuckled with her and knew that this would be a day to remember.

~*~

A few months after he had first transferred to East Horizon, Henry noticed that he would feel a strange warmth in his chest whenever he talked with Pe.  After consulting his older brothers and browsing the Internet, he concluded that he had begun to harbor a crush on her. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but how was he supposed to do that?  He thought about saying it in her native language to be more romantic, but the thought of butchering the pronunciation kept bothering him. It was just one sentence, but if he said it incorrectly, it might end up sounding like something completely different.   He had also considered writing his feelings in a note and leaving it in her locker, but there was a chance that he could put it in the wrong box, or that she might misunderstand what he was trying to say.  After thinking about it for about a week or so, he came to the decision that maybe he should just tell her in person after all.