168 replies to this topic

[SyrianSugar]

This is a great start to your sequel Midget7! Keep it up! <3

[midget7]

Hello!! I thought I'd copy and paste a part of my reply to Rxse here, since it's something I'd like to make clear to everyone reading

 

I know that you guys are a super diverse bunch which is so wonderful!! I really want the young people reading this to feel represented in some way, so I've been making a conscious effort to include a diverse main cast. I've honestly found it pretty challenging, because there's so much I don't know, and the last thing I want to do is be offensive or perpetuate stereotypes. So, if you see anything inaccurate or offensive -- please call me out!! I'm obviously not a professional writer, so if you guys could help me out on this by pointing out any mistakes when you see them, I'd be super grateful!!

 

 

HAPPY NOISES

ITS HERE

OMG ITS AWESOME

ITS BETTER THAN I EXPECTED

im gonna love this and you can't stop me midget7

 

Thank you lilhams!! <333 It makes me super happy that I surpassed your expectations HGBF helped me to sorta figure out what I was doing in terms of posting stories on here so I wanted to learn from my mistakes and make this one as put-together as I could

 

 

Omg I love how it is so professional! *follows"*

 

Thank you honeycomb!

 

 

 

OMG,this is fantastic!I'm obsessed in story writing and I'm currently working on a book,but this AMAZING and waaaaay better than my story! 

 

Ooh nice to meet a fellow writer It's awesome that you're writing a book, and don't put yourself down!! I'm sure your book is fantastic, and keep going, because you'll only get better the more you write Thank you so much for reading <3

 

 

 

KOTLC????

 

and omg prati

ahhhh

 

this is so gooooodddd <3333

 

Yeee Prati (I love her and just had to include her -- glad you like her too!!!)

 

 

 

It's a book series! xD Sorry to derail the topic, haha.

 

Oh, interesting, and same, haha.

 

Oh xD It's a good name! I personally like it, I think it suits his character ( Sorry to the innocent Fintan's out there! )

 

Don't worry, you didn't derail the topic at all, and I love hearing about new book series

 

Hehe, I like the name Fintan too!

 

 

 

This is amazing! Love the character profiles

 

Thank you so much, mlelmon, I had way too much fun making the character profiles xD

 

 

 

KOTLC is the shortened name for Keeper of the Lost Cities~

It's a fantasy book heh 

 

SMH Alis we were talking about this on discord

 

(also the series isn't done yet so I'm not sure if he turns out to be 100% bad either 0-0 lolll)

 

Thanks for telling me what KOTLC stands for, Jellie I was so stumped! I'll have to check it out -- it sounds exciting!

 

 

 

MIDGET I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS OMG

It sounds like a real book I would pick off a book shelf, I'm not even joking! It sounds so professional and I love how understandable Kai is - I'm already attached to him! I can tell how much effort you have put into each of the character's personalities, and I love it!

 

I feel like its so realistic, and your use of amazing descriptive words has me needing more! (that's your cue to post another chapter >:( )

I also love how much research you have put into the Japanese culture, its easy to tell that you put in a lot of effort to include some culture appreciation! 

 

I honestly love this story so far, not to mention the amazing pictures and descriptions of each character! My favorite part was how they each had different handwriting that look like it would be theirs! They're all so pretty!! <3

 

The only piece of advice I have for you is to keep writing, you're doing an amazing job! 

 

This reply made my day, Rxse. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such long and thoughtful comments <3 

 

It makes me so happy that you like Kai -- I'm attached to all of my characters and I really hope that there's something in each of them that readers can relate to

 

It was so much fun to research Japanese culture -- it's such a beautiful and unique country. Ngl, most of my research came from watching youtube videos xDD But I did really want to include culture appreciation and try to include non-white characters who aren't just "token" PoCs. I care a lot about representation and it's a pet peeve of mine when I see an Asian character whose entire family behaves like a stereotypical White family and it's obvious it was written by a White person who did no research lmao. So it's something I've been trying to improve on since HGBF, by making a conscious effort to include a diverse main cast. I've honestly found it pretty challenging, because there's so much I don't know, and the last thing I want to do is be offensive or perpetuate stereotypes (if you see any -- please call me out!!) But I've been trying my best, and I'm happy the cultural appreciation is coming across

 

All the picture credit goes to Cameorntheraison I'm glad you noticed the handwriting hehe. I had a ton of fun experimenting with the kind of handwriting each character would have. Ironically, kai's handwriting looks the most straightforward, but I found it the hardest by far! Everyone else's was sort of just my own handwriting, but modified, whereas his was completely different!

 

 

 

READING OVER THE CHARACTER PROFILES AGAIN AND AM OBSESSED WITH AKARI

 

I AM ALSO OBSESSED WITH AKARI

 

I'm soo excited for you to meet her

 

(She's lowkey just me, but great at makeup and not socially incompetent )

[midget7]

The replies were across two pages -- sorry for double-posting!

 

This is a great start to your sequel Midget7! Keep it up! <3

 

Thank you so much SyrianSugar!! And thank you for your endless support over what has literally been years of writing stories. It means more to me than I can express

[midget7]

Chapter 2 - Curry

Kai

 

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” Prati said.

 

Kai shrugged one shoulder.

 

“Hey, it’s alright. I love talking! I can talk plenty for both of us.”

 

Prati kept to her word about the talking. By the first lesson, she had rambled about all the teachers on Kai’s timetable, and even some others— “The drama teacher Mr Brightside’s a riot when he’s in a good mood. He’s got beanbags in his office and like, a shrine for Tom Cruise. I mean, talk about a major celebrity crush.” She also shared her dream of becoming a professional Taekwondo fighter, her multiple failed attempts at becoming vegetarian, and an odd story about how she helped steal a hamster from its abusive owner in the middle of the night and had to defend her best friend against a drunk paedophile on the bike ride home. Kai wasn’t too sure if he’d understood that last one correctly, but he nodded along, pulling what he thought were appropriate facial expressions, and Prati seemed satisfied enough.

 

The lessons were as agonising as he had anticipated. His tenuous knowledge of conversational English didn’t even begin to cover the words used in lessons. Mitochondria? Tectonic plates? Forget it. The teachers gave him written handouts to follow what being said, but the rōmaji made his mind reel. He was used to reading kana, not these Roman letters. It wasn’t long before he gave up entirely and drew little Totoros in his homework diary. To his surprise, the teachers didn’t berate him for it. Instead, they seemed to just leave him alone. As though, by joining secondary school in Year Eleven, he was already a lost cause.

 

Kai didn’t know exactly how to feel about that, but he drew sad Totoros instead.

 

Prati took him to the canteen for lunch. To his initial excitement, there were trays of sushi in the fridge. But, when he peered more closely, they looked soggy, deflated and filled with something mysterious that was definitely not fish. “Yeah, it’s the school’s attempt at being multicultural,” Prati explained, noticing his reaction. “Overpriced and dodgy as heck. If it’s anything like their tandoori chicken, I would steer clear.”

 

He took her advice and chose the pasta, then found an empty table to sit at, with space for the two of them.

 

Prati followed him until a couple of students waved her over to their table, and Kai’s heart sank. Of course she had other friends. It was silly to think that she would choose to spend her lunchtime with him when she was only obligated to show him to his lessons. Prati looked between them, torn. “My mates are over there,” she said apologetically. “You can come sit with us or, I mean, if you’re happy to just stay here...” Her face brightened, as though she had just come up with a brilliant idea. “Curry!” She exclaimed.

 

Kai frowned in confusion. Prati had bought two slices of bread with ham in the middle. (It seemed like she had given up on her vegetarianism again.) And, though his English wasn’t amazing, he was fairly certain the word for it was sandwich.

 

“Prati!” another girl said in reply, and bustled over. She had silvery eyeshadow that made her eyelids shimmer, sharp winged eyeliner and dark brown hair, tied up in two Sailor Moon space buns with long, flowing tails.

 

“Curry, this is Kai,” Prati said, and the Sailor Moon girl gave him a spritely wave. “Would you mind sitting with him? He’s just moved here from Japan and won’t talk to anyone. I think he understands English but... I dunno. Maybe he’ll say something if you talk to him in Japanese?”

 

Curry snorted. “Bold of you to assume I can speak Japanese.”

 

“But I thought you are Japanese?” Prati cried.

 

“Half Japanese,” she corrected. “And the only Japanese I know is from watching anime.”

 

Huh. That explained the Sailor Moon buns.

 

“Well, that’s still more than me!” Prati steered Curry around the table. “Go on, sit your arse down. The poor thing’s had to listen to me ramble all day. He could do with a change in company.” She took a glance down at Curry’s eyelashes and blurted, “Your makeup looks great today, by the way.”

 

“Prati, I wear this exact same look every day, until the teachers force me to wipe it off. You’re just saying that ‘cause I’m doing you a favour,” she said, exasperated, though Kai didn’t miss her smile.

 

“Yeah, well, it looks great every day, then,” Prati said, patting Curry’s space buns. “Have fun, Tikka Masala.”

 

Prati said goodbye to Kai and left to join her friends—a freckled girl with two, ginger plaits and a boy with a mischievous face and brown, curly hair—neither of whom Kai had seen before.

 

Curry sat opposite Kai, fidgeting with her plastic tray—she’d braved the questionable sushi—before clearing her throat and saying, “Um... kon’nichiwa?”

 

Kai cracked a smile. “Kon’nichiwa. Hajimemashite.” Hello. Nice to meet you.

 

“Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Akari desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.” Nice to meet you. I am Akari. Please be nice to me.

 

“Akari?” Kai said in surprise.

 

She laughed. “Did you really think my real name was Curry?” Then her eyes widened and she put a hand to her mouth. “Sorry, that was English!”

 

Kai tried assuring her in Japanese that he could understand English, but Akari just gave him an uncomprehending stare.

 

“This is too hard,” she said at last. “Hold on, I have an idea.” She pulled a phone out of her green blazer pocket. The case was sparkly pink with old, peeling Hello Kitty stickers on the back. Not exactly inconspicuous. Kai looked around for teachers, worried.

 

“It’s okay,” said Akari, noticing his expression. “I’ve had loads of practice—I’ve only ever had my phone confiscated once, and that was when I was actually using it to do my homework. Go figure. Also, we stole the school WiFi password.” She typed in a few things, did some scrolling and clicking, then presented the screen to Kai. It was Google Translate.

 

“Go on,” she said. “Type whatever you want.”

 

To Kai’s gratitude, she had even installed the Japanese keyboard. He laughed at the genius of it all.

 

Kai: So your name is Akari, but your nickname is Curry?

 

Akari: That’s right! Because Akari sounds like A-Curry. How are you finding your first day?

 

It took him a while to answer that one.

 

Kai: It’s been hard. I can understand a lot of what people are saying but I don’t like to speak so everybody just thinks that I’m mute.

 

Akari: Why don’t you like to speak?

 

Kai: Because my accent is so bad. It’s embarrassing.

 

He didn’t mention the teasing and mocking, and the anxiety that roiled in his stomach at the mere thought of talking aloud to anyone.

 

Akari: You should go for it. I’m sure your English is way better than my Japanese.

 

After he had read the message, she took the phone back and typed something else.

 

Akari: I’m sorry you’re having a hard time. I can’t imagine what it’s like to move countries. I’ve lived here my whole life.

 

Kai: You said you were a hāfu? Did your parents meet here?

 

Akari: Yep, half Japanese, half Vietnamese. My parents met at a Chinese takeaway in London. At least, that’s what my dad tells me. Weird, right?

 

Kai: I think it’s cool. I’m a hāfu too. My dad is from England. We lived in Kyoto until he needed to move here for work this year.

 

Akari: Do you like it here?

 

Kai: It’s... alright. The food isn’t as nice, though.

 

He’d been stabbing absent-mindedly at his tomato pasta, wishing that he’d eaten more for breakfast.  The stuff was limp and tasteless, and there was a red, watery liquid pooling at the side of his plate that he was trying to pretend did not exist.

 

Akari: Tell me about it!! I can’t believe I’m eating school-dinner defrosted cucumber sushi with a knife and fork. My Japanese ancestors have probably disowned me by now.

 

Even when everyone around them had left, and the catering staff were wiping down the surrounding tables, their Google Translate conversation continued, fuelled by Akari’s love for anime and Kai’s childhood (okay, teen) obsession with Studio Ghibli. She answered all of his questions about Mordley and, in return, he told her about life in Kyoto. He couldn’t help but notice the wistful look on her face as she read his messages.

 

Akari: I wish I could visit Japan. Especially Osaka. That’s where my mum was from.

 

Kai: You’ve never been?

 

Akari: No. My dad doesn’t want to go back there.

 

Kai wanted to ask why, but decided against it. The smile had disappeared from Akari’s face, and she was rolling a grain of sushi rice between her fingers, eyes lowered. It seemed to be a sensitive topic for her. So, instead, he typed:

 

Kai: Maybe if my family moves back to Kyoto you could come and visit?

 

As soon as Kai passed the phone over, he immediately regretted it. He’d met this girl barely an hour ago and now he was suggesting that she travel across the world to his hometown—what was he even thinking? But Akari broke into a wide grin.

 

Akari: Oh my God. YES. Take me with you.

 

In dismay, Kai noticed the time on her phone. Lunchtime was almost over. It had been so long since he’d had a proper conversation with anyone, albeit over a translating app, that he’d forgotten the feeling of never running out of things to say. They had to wrap it up soon, but there was a question that had been nagging at Kai’s brain for a while. He hesitated, before typing it anyway.

 

Kai: Do you feel like you fit in here?

 

Akari blew out a sigh and furrowed her eyebrows for a while before typing.

 

Akari: In a lot of ways, yes. In other ways... no? It’s hard to find friends I can properly relate to when the only half-Japanese, half-Viet person I know is my brother. It’s like I’m stuck between two identities, and neither one is enough. My friends know the British side of me, but they see me as Asian. My family knows the Asian side of me, but they see me as British.

 

Her reply left him dumbstruck. Kai found himself reading it over and over again. Somehow, his experience living in Kyoto had been identical. Even there, he’d never felt like he’d fully belonged. The part of him that was English had made him a hāfu, a foreigner in their eyes. And yet, now, in England, it was the Japanese half that was foreign.

 

At his silence, Akari took the phone back anxiously.

 

Akari: Does that even make any sense? I hope Google Translate isn’t twisting what I say so it sounds like I’m writing an essay about flying flamingoes or something...

 

Kai: Sorry, I was just in awe because it felt like you had seen into my soul...

 

Akari: Finally, someone gets it! It’s okay, though. I’m used to it. I’m sure you’ll get used to it here too soon enough.

 

Kai: I hope so. Anyway, thanks for spending your lunchtime with me.

 

Akari: No problem, my friend. It was fun! I’m glad I met you

 

 

 

Notes~

 

Did anyone spot the two character cameos in here?? 

 

And, important question: Kai x Akari. Just friends? Or something more? What are your thoughts? ;)))))

[lilhams~uwu]

 

Did anyone spot the two character cameos in here?? 

 

And, important question: Kai x Akari. Just friends? Or something more? What are your thoughts? ;)))))

 

 

FERNE AND JERRY

anyways

i actually don't know them at all so i feel awkward shipping them. o-o

[Jellie]

FERNE AND JERRY
anyways
i actually don't know them at all so i feel awkward shipping them. o-o

I was thinking the same thing

mayyybe akari can set him up with prati ;)

[willa]

UGH MIDGET I LOVE ITTTTT

hmm i dont really ship akari and kai (yet) since i dont know them that well, but I can see where it might be going hehe

[Bananna]

Amazing!      

[midget7]

I hope everyone is having a lovely Easter (if you celebrate it)

 

FERNE AND JERRY

anyways

i actually don't know them at all so i feel awkward shipping them. o-o

 

Yeah, good job for spotting them!!

And I totally get that! I forget that you barely know the characters, whereas I am here writing this story and relentlessly shipping everyone haha.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing

mayyybe akari can set him up with prati ;)

 

Ooh I like your thinking, Jellie xD

 

 

UGH MIDGET I LOVE ITTTTT

hmm i dont really ship akari and kai (yet) since i dont know them that well, but I can see where it might be going hehe

 

Aw thank you Rxse!! <3

 

 

Amazing!      

 

Thanks Anna

[midget7]

Chapter 3 - Muji

Kai

 

Akari walked Kai back to his form room, which was just as well because, so far, the school had felt like an endless maze and he had lost his sense of direction since the first lesson. Prati swung herself around the doorframe to greet them, but overshot it and almost body slammed into the wall.

 

“So? How did it go?” she asked, once she’d righted herself.

 

“Great, actually! Right, Kai?” Akari said, to which Kai grinned and flashed a thumbs up. “He’s a real chatterbox over Google Translate. I think we hit it off.”

 

Prati rolled her eyes. “So much for you knowing Japanese, then, Curry.” Though her tone was light, Kai didn’t miss how her eyes dropped to the floor and her grin vanished for a split second afterwards.

 

Suddenly, an ear-splitting bell pierced through the air, causing Kai to jolt. Akari yelped. “I need to run. My form room’s on the top floor. I’ll see you guys around. Bye, Kai!”

 

Kai gave her a wave goodbye and watched her run down the corridor, her Sailor Moon hair swooping behind her. In his periphery, he saw Prati’s eyes on him, although she averted her gaze as soon as he turned back around. “Come on,” she said, returning to the classroom. “We’ve got registration now, then I need to take you to your EAL worker.”

 

Prati had her back to him, so Kai couldn’t communicate with his expression of confusion. “E—?” he began.

 

Finally, Prati turned to him, a vague look of surprise on her face. He realised it must have been because it was the second time he’d spoken aloud all day, and the first time without being pressured into it by—what had Prati called them?—‘twats’.

 

“EAL,” she repeated. “It stands for English as an Additional Language. You get meetings with the support worker every week. She’s this really nice Afghan woman—speaks, like, five languages. She’ll probably help you learn English and stuff.”

 

The EAL support worker, Mrs Zafar, had a friendly face and rose-coloured hijab, but her warm smile did not do anything to settle the crashing waves in Kai’s stomach. He was starting to feel glad, for both of their sakes, that he had barely eaten any of that tomato pasta for lunch.

 

You can talk to her. She won’t bite.

 

Malicious laughter echoed in his head. The nattō, falling to the floor. Eyes pulled back. I’m sorry, I’m solly...

 

Kai did not utter a word when spoken to. Mrs Zafar remained patient; if she had formed any judgements from his silence, they were masked behind an air of professionalism. “I’ve spoken to your dad on the phone,” she said. “He tells me that you understand spoken English, but you’re very shy. I can see what he means now. But I need you to just try for me, okay?”

 

Kai nodded reluctantly, but, as soon as Mrs Zafar pushed a list of words in front of him to dictate, his throat sealed off, vocal cords refusing to function. He stared at the first word, ‘Boy’, breath quickening, as though if he stared hard enough, the word would just magically pronounce itself. Sweat gathered on his palms and he wiped them down his lap.

 

Mrs Zafar took the page away. “Not to worry,” she said, kindly. “Why don’t we start with some spelling, instead?”

 

That wasn’t quite so bad. As Mrs Zafar read out a different list of words in a slow, crystal clear voice, Kai tried his best to write them down. He was convinced that he got a large proportion of them wrong, but when they went through corrections, there were fewer than he’d expected. “This is a really good start, Kai,” Mrs Zafar said. “A lot of EAL students come to Mordley High without knowing any English at all, but you already know a lot. Which definitely makes my job easier.”

 

She handed him the page of words to dictate again. “You’ve shown me how good you are at English. I know you can do it.”

 

With a newfound confidence, Kai took a deep breath and spoke the first word. “Boy.” He cringed at the sound of his own voice, but Mrs Zafar only gave him an encouraging smile.

 

“Well done!” she praised. “And the next one?”

 

Kai tentatively made his way down the list. “Table. Door. Apple. Cat. Food.” He froze.

 

‘Sorry’. The next word was ‘sorry’.

 

Mrs Zafar must have mistaken his silence for confusion, because she said, “Repeat after me. Sor—ry. Sorry.”

 

Kai shook his head vigorously. “No,” he said, his voice trembling on that single syllable.

 

She studied him for a moment, hazel eyes narrowed in thought, then swept the page away. “Well done, Kai. We’ll carry on next session, okay?”

 

Kai wasted no time in stuffing his things into his schoolbag.

 

“Kai, have you spoken in English to anyone else today?” Mrs Zafar asked, curiously.

 

He thought about it, and realised that he hadn’t. Unless his name counted, or the letter E, but neither of those were English words. He debated lying, but figured that she would never believe him if he did, considering how badly their first session went. So he shook his head.

 

“I want you to speak in English to at least one person before the end of the day,” Mrs Zafar told him. “It doesn’t matter who it is, or what you say. It could be one word. But I want you to try. Alright?”

 

Kai nodded immediately, though he didn’t plan on following through; he just needed to get out of the classroom as fast as possible before the mortification smothered him. But, before he left, he saw Mrs Zafar jot something down on a piece of paper. Probably writing him off as a lost cause, Kai thought bitterly. He was too curious not to look, however, and read the words upside down: ‘Social anxiety’ followed by a question mark.

 

The two words meant nothing to him, and were gone from his memory by the time he reached his final lesson of the day.

 

Kai felt optimistic about his maths class. Numbers, he could handle. They were friendlier than words, he thought—they didn’t lie, or have double meanings. They were universal, reliable. Familiar. Maybe this would be the one subject where he wouldn’t be lost behind an impenetrable language barrier.

 

The maths teacher handed Kai an exercise book and directed him to the desk in the back corner of the room where another boy was already sitting. He looked familiar, with dark, sun-browned skin and wild curls, though Kai found him hard to place amongst the multitude of new faces he’d seen today. The boy looked surprised to see Kai, as though he had expected to be sitting alone. But he didn’t hesitate to shuffle his things to the side, leaving half the desk clear. “Did you move up a set?” he asked cheerfully. “I haven’t seen you before—“

 

He was interrupted by the sound of a scraping chair, and a head turned around from the desk in front. “He’s new. Don’t bother talking to him. He won’t reply. Probably doesn’t know any English.” Kai recognised the blond hair and eyebrow piercing and narrowed his eyes. Fintan.

 

The desk partner looked equally suspicious at Fintan’s comment, and turned back to Kai. “Do you know English?” he asked.

 

When Kai responded with a nod, his desk partner gave a friendly smile. “So you’re just quiet, then? It’s okay, I get it.”

 

Unsure of what to write at the front of his exercise book, Kai so peered over at his desk partner’s, who slid his book closer so that Kai could copy. At the top, in spiky handwriting, he’d written:

 

Jeremiah Adams

Year 10

Mathematics

Dr. String

 

One part of the information confused Kai; weren’t they in Year Eleven? He turned to face Jeremiah, who was preoccupying himself with tipping his chair back as far as he could without toppling over. When Kai caught his attention, he grabbed the desk and hauled himself back with a clatter.

 

Kai pointed the nib of his pen at the number and raised his eyebrows at Jeremiah, who simply said, “Yeah, I’m in the year below,” before continuing to swing on his chair.

 

Great. Just great. At least, when the previous teachers had zero confidence in him, they had been discreet about it. This teacher, Dr. String he supposed, was blatantly seating him with someone a year younger. And who acted like it, going by the childish chair-swinging. Trying not to feel put out, Kai focused on filling out his own exercise book:

 

Kaitō Takada

Year 11...

 

It felt odd writing his name in rōmaji instead of kana, and having Jeremiah’s eyes trail his hand movements felt odder still.

 

When he was done, Jeremiah repeated, “Kaitō?” It was amusing how he pronounced it ‘kite-toe’, the consonants thick and clunky, but, at this point, Kai knew better than to laugh at other people’s accents.

 

“Kai,” Kai said. He preferred his nickname.

 

“Kai?” Jeremiah attempted, his pronunciation much closer this time, and cracked a smile when Kai gave him a thumbs up. “Nice to meet you, Kai. I’m Jerry.”

 

Jerry. Yet another name he knew he couldn’t pronounce correctly. It was too close to ‘sorry’. This time, Kai’s silence was weighed with guilt. Jerry had tried saying his name, but Kai couldn’t bring himself to do the same in return. Why was he so hopeless?

 

Dr. String, directed them to a page one-hundred-and-twelve in the textbook, and Jerry had already flicked through and located the page by the time Kai had translated the number. A collective groan ensued from the class, but internally, Kai was delighted. The exercise was just pages of algebra. No English required. He could solve these equations in his sleep.

 

Determined to succeed in something for once, Kai applied every ounce of his focus. The questions were straightforward, and he finished the entire exercise while the rest of the class were still working and chatting lazily. Unsure of what to do next, he let his eyes drift over to his desk partner’s work. To his surprise, Jerry had already completed the exercise and moved onto the initial questions of exercise two. Kai was begrudgingly impressed. Perhaps he’d been wrong to assume that the Year Ten would be any weaker at maths than the others. In fact, perhaps the opposite was true; he was a year ahead because he excelled in it.

 

“Should we mark exercise one?” Jerry asked, noticing that Kai was sitting aimlessly. At Kai’s agreement, he shoved his cracked, plastic ruler as a bookmark and turned to the answers at the back of the page.

 

“Did you get question fourteen right?” Jerry asked, biting on his pen. Kai nodded; he’d got all the questions right. Jerry skimmed over Kai’s working and tutted. “I read my own handwriting wrong. My zeroes look like sixes. How are your numbers so neat?”

 

Kai shrugged a shoulder and gestured at his black Muji pen. They were his favourite pens to use; the ink always flowed effortlessly. Jerry looked like he was squeezing the life out of a half-chewed, blue biro that was on its last legs and should have been binned a while ago. It was no wonder his numbers looked erratic. After some deliberation, Kai rummaged through his pencil case for a spare Muji pen and offered it to him.

 

Jerry raised his eyebrows, bemused. “Is this a magic pen that will fix my awful handwriting?” But he took it anyway and drew an experimental sheep in the corner of his page, the lines smooth and pigmented. “Woah. Okay, I’ll give it to you. This is a good pen.”

 

Both of them had finished and marked the second exercise by the time Dr. String called for everyone’s attention. He pointed at a problem he had written on the board. “Working in pairs, I want you to give this challenge question a go. In the past, only a few students have ever got it right. Anyone who answers it correctly gets the ultimate prize.”

 

“What ultimate prize?” Fintan called out, arms crossed in front of his chest.

 

“The personal satisfaction of finding the solution to a difficult maths problem,” Dr. String answered, much to the students’ dismay. “Now, get on with it.”

 

The chunk of looming text on the whiteboard made Kai’s head spin. After reading it through once, only fragments of it made sense to him. A second and third attempt helped him piece together more words, but he was still left perplexed. He slumped back in resignation, feeling useless. Jerry would just have to do the question by himself—he was probably smart enough.

 

“Here.” Jerry tapped a pen to his exercise book. He’d made a crude sketch of what looked like a cloud or sheep. Or maybe a lopsided flower. “We’re at this fancy hotel, which has a swimming pool shaped like a twelve-petalled flower. No clue why. Seems impractical. Anyway, water’s flowing into the pool through a pipe, at this rate. We have to prove that the height of the water in the swimming pool is given by this equation here,” he said, while annotating parts of the diagram.

 

It occurred to Kai that Jerry was trying to explain the question to him. A part of Kai wanted to tell Jerry not to bother, but another part felt a boost of confidence. If Jerry seemed to believe that Kai had something to offer, then maybe it was worth trying.

 

When Kai peered at the wobbly drawing, confused, Jerry grabbed his water bottle and tried again, this time, using his new prop as a demonstration. Finally, it all clicked. They were modelling the depth of water in the swimming pool.

 

“Do you understand, now?” Jerry asked, expression hopeful. Kai nodded, and Jerry let out a small cheer. Their small victory didn’t last long, however, when the pair realised that they still had yet to answer the question.

 

After wracking his brain, Kai still had no idea where to begin. From the noise level, and snatches of conversation about pizza, it seemed as though most of the other pairs had already given up. Kai decided to give it a rest and settled his chin on his hand, waiting to see if his partner had better luck.

 

Jerry was a fidgeter. He had to stop himself from chewing the Muji pen several times, while Kai sat, watching in amusement. From the scribble snaking its way through his working, Kai figured that he had also made little progress. But, despite all this, the determination in Jerry’s eyes was unwavering.

 

It struck Kai that his eyelashes were dark and curly, just like his hair. They arched upwards in elegant semicircles, like ocean waves, almost touching his eyelids. It was oddly fascinating; Kai was pretty sure that his own eyelashes sloped downwards.

 

Suddenly, his wandering thoughts took a wayward turn. Semicircles. The flower petals. That was it! This wasn’t just an algebra problem; it was also geometry. Kai gave Jerry an urgent nudge and drew the swimming pool carefully in his exercise book. He sectioned it into a regular dodecahedron, with semicircles attached to each face. Then, he divided up the dodecahedron into twelve triangles. If they could calculate the area, they could find the volume. And, finally, the depth.

 

“Kai, you’re a genius,” Jerry gasped.

 

The semicircle prompt was a catalyst and, after page of frenzied working, their minds somehow working in unison, they finally ended up with the same expression as the one on the board. In celebration, Jerry offered a balled up fist, and Kai bumped it happily.

 

“Well done, you two,” Dr. String said. He rewarded them each with a little gold star sticker, which Kai found absurd (but, secretly, he was delighted). In his excitement, he barely noticed the school bell ringing. Jerry had already bundled up his things, and was ready to leave.

 

“Thanks for letting me borrow your magic pen, Kai,” he said, before making for the door.

 

Looking down at the desk, Kai saw that the Muji pen had been placed beside his exercise book. He hurriedly grabbed it, and raced after Jerry. But he was too far behind—he wouldn’t reach him in time.

 

Heart in his mouth, swallowing down the irrational fear that possessed every fibre of his being, he called out, “Jerry!” The ‘r’ sound was all wrong, but Jerry turned around anyway.

 

“Kai?” he said.

 

Kai pushed the Muji pen into Jerry’s hand.

 

“But, it’s yours?” Jerry said, confused.

 

He’s not getting it. Why isn’t he getting it?

 

Kai drew a deep breath.

 

I want you to speak in English to at least one person before the end of the day. It doesn’t matter who it is, or what you say. It could be one word. But I want you to try...

 

“I—I want you to have it,” Kai said.

 

The ear-to-ear smile that broke out on Jerry’s face put most of Kai’s nerves to rest.

 

“Wow. Thanks, Kai. I’ll put it to good use—make sure I don’t get my zeroes mixed up with my sixes from now on.” He looked reluctantly at the clock. “I should go. My older brother gives me a lift and gets mad if I keep him waiting. But I’ll see you next lesson, yeah?”

 

“Okay,” Kai said. “See you later.”

 

A few pesky butterflies remained, as Kai watched Jerry disappear amongst the swarm of eagerly retreating students, though they may have been there for another reason entirely.

 

 

Notes~

 

I have no idea how obvious I've been here, but this chapter is what I like to call the spawning of the love pentagon I promise that romance is coming very shortly ;)) And also, an overdue change in character POV So please stay tuned!

[lilhams~uwu]

OH GOD I LOVE THIS CHAPTER

YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH THIS MEANS OEKREOR 

i don't know why i like it, it's just really awesome lmao

keep up the great work as always midget!! <3333

i think i know where this is going

[Jellie]

XDDDDDDDDD

 

I love itttttttttttttt 

 

It's aMaZiNg!!!

 

I have no idea if this is just me, but I don't really like the Muji pens XD

The ink takes fOrEvEr to dry, and it comes out a lil scratchy sometimes...

imo lol obviously kekeke

most people love it

I guess I just hate smearing ink lolll

[Thatfuzballufound]

This should be published omg! I love it sooo much   

Umm.. I am starting to ship jerry and kai, idk if I am right but idc!   Edit: oh its a love pentagon 0-0, oml this is gonna be crazy    

Edited by ~sweetlikehoneycomb~, 06 April 2021 - 05:09 AM.

[luvkeylinn]

Oh my gosh Midget!! This is amazing!! I love this sm!! <33

 

I can't wait for the next chapter!! 

[midget7]

OH GOD I LOVE THIS CHAPTER

YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH THIS MEANS OEKREOR 

i don't know why i like it, it's just really awesome lmao

keep up the great work as always midget!! <3333

i think i know where this is going

 

Thank you so much ^_^ I loved writing it too!!! I think it was my favourite to write out of all the chapters I've posted so far For the longest time, I knew I wanted Jerry and Kai to meet in a maths lesson and communicate perfectly in numbers and equations like the nerds they are xDD

 

Oooh I'd love to know where you think this is going It's so fun to read people's predictions!! If you don't mind sharing, could I ask that you put it in a spoiler?

 

 

 

XDDDDDDDDD

 

I love itttttttttttttt 

 

It's aMaZiNg!!!

 

I have no idea if this is just me, but I don't really like the Muji pens XD

The ink takes fOrEvEr to dry, and it comes out a lil scratchy sometimes...

imo lol obviously kekeke

most people love it

I guess I just hate smearing ink lolll

 

Ah, you caught me out, Jellie! I think it's time to reveal... ***This chapter was sponsored by Muji***

 

Jk jk I have to confess, I've never used a Muji pen in my life. They just seemed too expensive to be worth it xD Muji was the only japanese pen brand I knew off the top of my head, so I figured that Kai would be familiar with them, and assumed the pens would be good going off how popular they were haha. I don't doubt what you say, though -- they're probably overhyped. Hopefully, for the sake of fiction, you can imagine in your head that they're good pens ;)

 

And thank you for leaving such a sweet reply!!

 

 

 

This should be published omg! I love it sooo much   

Umm.. I am starting to ship jerry and kai, idk if I am right but idc!   Edit: oh its a love pentagon 0-0, oml this is gonna be crazy    

 

Hehe this comment made me so happy And you're right, I have a lot of love-related drama in store ;))

If you're curious about the love pentagon, one of the ships is already revealed in the "prequel" to this story, HGBF (link in the first post of this thread). I won't spoil it here, though, in case you'd rather wait and see

 

 

 

Oh my gosh Midget!! This is amazing!! I love this sm!! <33

 

I can't wait for the next chapter!! 

 

Thank you so much luvkey!! (And, off topic, but I'm obsessed with your pfp )