“Uggh! I said get away from me, creep!”

Jon winced as the brunette track club member in the ponytail Masu was talking to slapped him across the cheek hard enough to knock him off his feet. Yet another attempt failed. As she stormed off in a huff, Masu slowly got up and limped back to Jon and Takeshi, who were both sitting in the grassy field adjacent to the track.

“You opened with one of your pick up lines again, didn't you,” Jon guessed immediately.

Masu groaned in embarrassment before slumping onto the grass dejectedly. “I thought it might work this time.”

“And what did I tell you about that?”

“Rule number four of Jonathan Hyodo’s guide to the fairer sex!” Takeshi recited, pushing up his glasses. “Pick up lines as conversation starters are for romcoms and pornos only!”

“But that one was really good!” he protested.

“That so?” Jon challenged. “Well, let's hear it then.”

Masu put on that same doofus look he used while he was talking to that girl. “Hey, baby. Was your mother a beaver, because damn!”

Jon cringed; that one physically hurt. “If you ever want to get within ten feet of a woman some time within this decade, do not ever say that in front of anyone ever again.”

He collapsed onto the grass dejectedly. “I can't help it! I try to do what you tell me, but I just end up blurting something out to sound cool.”

“It's because you’re nervous,” he explained. “I keep telling you guys you've got to practice what you say before going in or you're gonna freeze up and fall into bad habits.”

“Easy for you to say.” Masu sat up. “You're Mr. Tall-Buff-and-Handsome after all. This shit comes second nature to you.”

“Yeah! You’re like the second most popular guy on campus, Little Bear!” Takeshi added in a derogatory way. “Next to that Finn Albrecht guy from the junior class, you’re the man all the girls wanna sex up around here.”

“Looks don't mean anything without confidence. Finn draws attention from girls because he acts like he couldn’t care less whether they notice him or not,” he replied.

Truth be told he wasn’t entirely sure if Finn did care. He’d seen that blonde pretty-boy on campus a few times and he always struck Jon as being somewhat stuffy. Something he found to be off-putting.

“You've got to learn to play to your strengths, like how Finn does,” he continued.

“I thought that's what I was doing.”

Jon shook his head. “By opening with a line like that, you've told her two things.” He held up two fingers for emphasis. “One, that the only thing you find interesting about her is her body. And two, that the only thing you really want from her is sex. That kind of approach may work on a very rare few, but most women just find it creepy.”

“I still don't get how complimenting a woman’s figure is a bad thing,” Takeshi chimed in.

“Yeah! I mean...just look at the girls' track team! Those skin-tight shirts, those red booty shorts…” Masu was practically drooling. “Don't they deserve to know just how hot they all look?”

Jon sighed before rubbing his temples wearily. They still weren't getting it.

“There is not a damn thing either of you can say about their bodies that they haven't either heard from twenty other guys or thought about themselves,” he stated matter of factly. “Whether they admit it or not most of those girls down there know they look good. You pointing it out first thing isn't flattering. It just comes off as desperate and pathetic.”

“So what do we do?”

“It's okay to compliment their looks. Just don't lead with that. Instead, talk about something they're proud of. Something they've worked hard on.” He motioned towards a girl who was busy practicing the pole vault. “See that girl over there? All the other women have been jumping around from station to station. But she has been drilling that same exercise over and over again since we sat down. She's probably worked very hard on it.”

“Damn, I didn't even notice that,” Masu admitted.

“Probably because you were too busy undressing her with your eyes,” he commented bluntly. “I bet if you went up to her right now, smiled, and complimented her form, she'd talk to you.”

“If it's that easy then why don't you do it?” Takeshi challenged.

“Yeah! Show us how it's done!” Masu demanded.

Jon sighed before shaking his head in disbelief. “Fine, if it'll get you to listen for once.” He stubbed out his cigarette and stood up, tossing the butt in the trash before making his way over to her. Masu and Takeshi, meanwhile, watched on eagerly. The girl practicing the pole vault rolled off the landing matt and wiped the sweat from her brow before going to a nearby water bottle and taking a healthy sip.

“I wish I could be that water bottle,” Jon heard Masu mutter to Takeshi with his heightened senses, causing him to roll his eyes. Those two really were hopeless.

She noticed him approaching at which point he offered a charming smile. “Hey, I don't mean to bother you,” he spoke to her in Japanese. “I just saw you were practicing and I wanted to ask you, is that as easy as you make it look?”

She gazed at him curiously before breaking into a small smile. “No, it's really not. It took me a long time just to even get over the bar without knocking it over.”

“Really? In that case, I guess my next question would be when can we expect to see you at the Olympics and should I ask for your autograph now or are you gonna charge?” he asked in a playful manner.

She covered her mouth to suppress her giggling, her cheeks turning slightly red. “No no, you've completely got the wrong idea. I'm really not that good. At least not compared to some of the other girls.”

“Could have fooled me,” he spoke honestly. “From where I was sitting, it seemed like you really know what you're doing.”

She blushed a little deeper. “That's really sweet of you to say...” She peered at him as if searching for a name.

“Hyodo, Jonathan,” he introduced in Japanese, offering his surname before his given one.

“Pleased to meet you, Hyodo-San. My name is Chiyako, Honami,” she introduced herself with a polite bow. Her smile faded slightly and she fidgeted in place while casting her eyes to the floor. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do you really think my form looks good? I've been practicing really hard for regionals, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough to even qualify.”

He could hear her heart beating at a mile a minute. So maybe he was cheating a little by using his heightened senses to gauge her reactions, but he was trying to prove a point to those bozos.

“I wouldn't worry if I were you,” he assured her. “I'm no expert, but I can usually tell when someone's been practicing at something. You've got a certain confidence in your form, even if you don't quite feel it. If I were a judge, I'd be impressed by what I saw.”

Her eyes lit up and she beamed. “Really?! Thank you!” Her smile glowered somewhat as a thought occurred to her. “Wait a minute...you're not just saying all this because you think I'm cute are you? Because if so you're wasting your time, buddy. I already have a boyfriend.”

He chuckled lightly and shook his head. “If that's the case, then your boyfriend is a lucky guy. You're a very talented woman, in addition to being incredibly pretty.”

“Oh well...if that's the case then the truth is...I uhhh...” Her face turned scarlet. “Listen, I've gotta go. But maybe we can talk again sometime?”

He nodded curtly. “I’d like that.”

Honami quickly made her excuses and bolted. While he hated having to put her on the spot the way he did, he'd be lying if he said he didn't derive some twisted pleasure out of getting a girl worked up like that.

Having successfully proven his point he made his way back to his two dumbstruck friends. “Well? What did I tell ya?” he asked, switching back to English. “It's as simple as that.”

“I can't believe that actually worked,” Masu responded incredulously.

“But why didn't you get her number? She was like putty in your hands, man,” Takeshi asked with a somewhat disappointed expression.

Rather than explain that she was already seeing someone, Jon decided to use this as a teaching opportunity. But before he could speak, someone else did it for him.

“Because that would have defeated the whole purpose. She would have known he had ulterior motives for complimenting her and questioned the sincerity of his words.”

Masu and Takeshi both jumped at the sound of a female voice speaking behind them. They both turned around to see none other than the gorgeous girl from the bar. She was wearing a red blouse with a white skirt that complimented her figure incredibly well.

This had marked the second time today that a student had managed to completely catch Jon off guard. Jon’s buddies both turned white as a ghost as their jaws hit the floor. One overly dramatic yell later and the two were collapsed on the ground, much to her confusion as well as Jon's embarrassment.

“Masu, do you see what I see?” Takeshi asked in hushed disbelief.

“Shorty’s even hotter than she was at the bar. And in that outfit, she's practically bursting out of her top, yo.”

Jon groaned in exasperation. “I apologize for them. I really do.”

She laughed in a bubbly voice. “It's alright. I know they're harmless.”

“Of course we are,” Takeshi cried, throwing himself at her feet.

“Please tell us his secrets,” Masu begged. “How do we score a hottie like you?”

“Will both of you shut up?” he demanded through gritted teeth.

“It's okay, Jon. Seriously.” She assured before leaning down towards them like small children. “Now Takeshi, I believe it's your turn.”

“Huh?” He stared up at her. “My turn for what?”

She smiled at him sweetly. “To go talk to one of the girls down there. Masu and Jon have both had their turn. Now it's yours.”

Jon was completely floored. How long had she been standing there listening to them? But more importantly, how long had he not noticed?

“Ummm…” Takeshi turned beet red. “I don't know. Maybe I should just standby and continue to gather data.”

She gave him an annoyed frown whilst placing her hands on her hips. “You're never going to get any better if you don't try. Now pick a girl and go talk to her.”

Sweat began to accumulate all over his brow. Takeshi nervously wiped it away before wiping his glasses. He then scanned over the group of girls practicing before finally pointing towards a blonde who was jumping hurdles.

“Nice choice. That’s the captain,” Miya noted with an impressed tone.

He blanched. “W...Wait! I changed my mind!”

“Nope.” She began pushing him towards the captain of the track team’s direction. “You made your choice. Now go tell her how awesome she is at jumping hurdles.”

“But...but…” He planted his feet into the dirt as best he could, all to prevent her from nudging him forward.

“Come on. You’ve got this,” she assured him. “Be confident in yourself.”

“O...okay.” He swallowed down his remaining nerves. “I’ll try.”

“Remember, Takeshi! Rule number three!” Jon called out to him as he slowly made his way towards the hurdle area.

“Rule number three. Eyes above the neckline at all times,” he chanted to himself as he made his approach.

The captain of the track team was busy chatting with two of her teammates after having just finished her last run. The moment he was within eyesight her eyes were on his. Takeshi froze like a deer in headlights.

“Can I help you?” she asked somewhat taciturnly.

“I...uhhh…” he stammered nervously. “I was just…”

“Well?” she asked, clearly weirded out by his behavior.

“It’s just…” His eye contact broke and his face turned completely red.

She rolled her eyes and turned to leave, making it only a few steps before he spoke again.

“Wait!” he called.

She turned around while asking in a somewhat annoyed voice. “What?”

“I wasn’t ready!” he admitted, hanging his head shamefully. “I wanted to tell you I thought your hurdle jumping was really good, but I froze up when I saw how pretty you are. Can I please try again?”

For a moment, she looked shocked and Jon was worried she was gonna slap him. But when he saw her lips curve into a smile, he knew it would be alright. She chuckled lightly and turned away before walking back to join the rest of the team. Takeshi sighed dejectedly before returning to the rest of the group.

“That was great!” Miya put her hands on his shoulders once he returned, beaming with pride.

“It was?” he asked while looking up at her in confusion. “But she didn’t even talk to me.”

“No, but you made her smile,” she replied. “She’ll remember that. You probably made her day.”

“You think so?” he asked hopefully.

Miya nodded. “Trust me. As a fellow girl, I know that she appreciated it. Maybe she didn’t feel like talking, but you definitely got her attention.”

His face brightened. “Alright! I did it!”

“Nicely done, Takeshi,” Jon added. They had a long way to go, but it was at least a start.

As Takeshi and Masu celebrated their first successful attempt at speaking to a girl without offending her, Jon’s attention shifted to Miya. He caught himself smiling at her without thinking about it long enough for her to turn and catch it. She returned his affectionate smile with one of her own. He coughed before turning his head away and scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Thanks for that,” he finally said. “That nudge was probably just what he needed.”

“It was no trouble,” she replied before locking her fingertips together behind her back. “Sooo, do you think they would mind if their teacher disappeared for awhile? Maybe to go walk around the main quad?”

His smile faltered for a moment as his hesitance returned. Regardless, he found himself nodding to her request anyway.

“Hey, guys! Imma dip out. You two have learned enough for today.”