Meanwhile, across town in the university area, Denny was extremely happy.
Well it was now that he'd just taken the exam, because although it was written, the professor had corrected them all immediately before proceeding to any oral questions, and Denny had walked out of university with his first and hopefully not last full mark, despite the fact that until a few hours before he was so anxious and worried that he was praying for another blackout, or blizzard, or whatever could take him out of that situation.
He was even considering dropping out of university and applying for a full-time job at Corona.
The passed exam had postponed his decision, and after leaving the university, hopping around unable to hold back his joy, he was sharing the news in the family and on the Corona Crew group chats.
As he scrolled through his contacts to call Max, however, a sudden idea occurred to him, very strange for him.
Above his brother's name, in fact, he had saved the number of Mathi Yagami, the boy who theoretically he should have invited for a date.
Denny hated calling people, always afraid to disturb, and he much preferred texting, but driven by the euphoria of the moment, it almost came naturally to call him.
After all, they had to get organized for the 17th, if Mathi still wanted to. As the phone rang, though, Denny started thinking about what he was going to say to him. Maybe Mathi was upset that Denny hadn't called him yet, after all it had been several days.
Maybe he should have just texted him.
Dang it! It was better if he stopped! What was wrong with him?!
But before he could hang up the call, a cheery voice answered.
“Hello, who's speaking?” he asked.
Denny told himself that he still had time to end the conversation, but Mathi seemed happy, perhaps it was better to answer. After all, sooner or later he would have saved the number, and surely he would have remembered that once Denny had hung up on him. It would have been too embarrassing!
“Hey, I'm Daniel Sleefing. You gave me your number at Corona. ...are you Mathi?” he asked, just to be sure, even if the voice sounded like that. He couldn't be sure though, since he'd only heard it once.
“Dan! Finally! I was looking forward to your call! How are you?” Mathi asked cheerfully.
“Oh, great! I just took an exam. Full marks in Private Law!” he informed him, unable to hold back his satisfaction! It had been a long time since he felt proud of himself for something. He mentally cursed himself afterward for bragging. Who knows what Mathi thought of him now!
“That’s amazing! You study Law?! How cool! I just took a horrible physics exam. I barely passed. How was your exam?” Mathi's enthusiasm and his interest on the other side of the phone eliminated any negative thoughts from Denny's mind for a moment.
He had every right to be proud, after all. It was a perfect score.
Perhaps it was insensitive of him to mention it to someone who had barely passed, but he seemed interested, and… wait a minute.
“Did you just finish?” Denny asked, curious, starting to look around.
The university area was large, but all the buildings were quite close to each other. Maybe he was still around.
The only familiar face Denny saw was Norman's, sitting on a bench eating a sandwich and rereading some notes. He had an exam himself that afternoon, so Denny decided not to disturb him.
“Yes, I just left and I was heading towards the dormitory… why?” Mathi asked, confused.
“No, I mean… I'm just outside too… if you want we could…” the proposal died in his throat.
He barely knew him, he couldn't offer to see him without even the slightest notice. And also Mathi had an exam on the 17th, surely he had to study like crazy. He couldn't waste time with Denny. He had been really stupid to call him.
“What a nice idea! Where are you? I'll join you! So we can plan our date” Mathi encouraged him, warming his chest.
He really had a gift for reassuring Denny.
What incredible luck to have known such a person, and not a pervert, criminal, madman, undercover secret agent intending to use him to obtain information or whatever.
Okay Denny's imagination was probably way too vast, but there were a lot of stories going around.
Wait… maybe he was really dangerous.
But if they saw each other in a place full of people and Denny investigated a bit he would surely get a better idea of Mathi.
“I’m in front of the law department. But if you want I'll go where you are” Denny answered, trying to remember where the dormitories were.
“Too late” he heard Mathi's voice coming from two different places, and he turned to find him in front of him, smiling and with the phone still to his ear.
His hair was tied back, he was dressed in casual clothes ill-fitting for an exam, and he oozed vitality despite his not-so-great grade, at least in Denny's opinion.
“Oh hello! You were fast” he commented, trying not to think about how good his hair looked like that.
Geez, why were all the boys he met so much more attractive than him?!
Er… not that he found Mathi attractive, it was more an objective consideration.
And maybe it was he who was really insignificant as a person.
“I was really close. You know… I'm really glad you called me” Mathi smiled at him, closing the conversation and putting the phone back in his pocket.
Denny did the same.
“I didn't disturb you, did I?” he wanted to be reassured, pulling his gelled hair back in concern.
“No, in fact you had fantastic timing. We are already connected” Mathi gave him a wink which made Denny blush slightly.
“Well… I… so…” now that he had him there, talking didn't seem so easy anymore. Denny avoided his gaze and started looking around for a topic of conversation. Luckily Mathi seemed to sense his difficulty, and continued for him.
“I didn't know you were studying law, it must be challenging. Are you in the running to become the next Phoenix Wright?” Mathi inquired, observing the law building.
Denny brightened, and whirled around to look at him, excited.
“Do you know Phoenix Wright?!” he asked, surprised. His friends weren't big video game lovers, and he hadn't been able to get anyone interested in that particular title, one of his all-time favorites.
“Of course! It's an amazing series. Even if you're more like Apollo Justice, maybe. Herr Forehead” Mathi poked his bare forehead, and Denny snorted, waving his hand away as if he were talking to an old friend.
“You must have at least one guitar to play Klavier” he pointed out, making him chuckle.
“I’ll settle for being Trucy then” Mathi gave up.
"Why Trucy?" Denny asked, confused.
In response, Mathi raised a hand to Denny's ear, and when he brought it back, a coin had appeared out of nowhere.
“Magic” exalted the cheap trick with almost shining eyes.
“I’m amazed” Denny put a hand to his chest, sarcastically. It was the basis of prestidigitation. Even a child could have done it.
“Besides, I stole your phone” Mathi then added, casually, showing Denny's phone with his other hand, who jumped, and felt his jacket pocket sincerely surprised, and also a little worried. In fact, there was no telephone.
“How did you do it?” he asked, impressed.
That’s it! He knew it! It was too good to be true. The mysterious Yagami was a thief.
“Magic!” Mathi enunciated, in a sacred tone, picking up the phone as if it were Simba from The Lion King, and then returning it with a laugh to the owner.
“Okay… it was admirable. But don't steal anything from me anymore” Denny made himself promise in a whisper, pocketing the phone again and closing his pockets well.
“Promise. Don't worry, I'm not a thief. But magic and video games are my great hobbies” Mathi explained.
“I love video games too” admitted Denny, a little embarrassed.
It wasn't really a serious passion, after all, and he didn't share it with anyone, so he avoided talking too much about it.
“And you also know much about them, it seems. What are your favorite games?” Mathi began to ask, starting to walk aimlessly around the building.
“Oh, well… the Pheonix Wright series, Danganronpa, Professor Layton… All investigative games where you use your mind, but also…” Denny began to answer, following him.
Conversing mainly about video games, but also discussing other hobbies, university, and other matters, Denny didn't notice the time passing, and only realized it was well into the afternoon when the phone rang in his pocket.
It was Max.
And it was nearly four in the afternoon!
“Wow! It's late! I have to answer, and I have to go to the Corona,” Denny explained, throwing an apologetic look at Mathi.
“And I have to go to study because I have an exam in a few days. Text me about the date when you can, okay? Or call me. When you want, You won't disturb me” Mathi winked at him, and started walking towards the dormitories.
Denny waved at him with his free hand as he lifted the phone to his ear with the other to answer it.
“Hi Max. Sorry, I didn't call you right away but I had… some things” he greeted his brother.
“Congratulations, little brother! I knew you'd do great on your first exam. I just read the message. I'm really proud of you” Max didn't seem in the least annoyed that Denny hadn't called him, and started asking him about the exam, about the professor and showering him with compliments.
Denny allowed himself the luxury of bragging a little, and smiling, a lot.
When Max ended the call because he had to get back to work, promising him a free sandwich to celebrate, Denny started walking towards the bar, unable to stop smiling.
An exam that went great, a much more pleasant conversation than he'd expected, and a call with his brother. A truly perfect afternoon. Denny couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so happy and relaxed and carefree.
Sadly, it wasn't meant to last.
Thinking of Mathi, he quickly realized that he had discovered so many things about him: he loved magic, video games, pizza and was a full-blown otaku. He was studying computer engineering and was in his final year. He lived far away, he would only stay in that city until he graduated and he hadn't met many people. He'd even claimed that Denny was his first friend since he'd moved there to attend college.
Denny had felt very sorry for him. After all, he wasn't such an interesting first friend, quite the contrary. Surely Mathi could have had much better.
Wait a moment… friend.
Denny's chest warmed at the thought that a boy like Mathi would consider him a friend, and that's when his thoughts reached a dangerous zone.
Because he started thinking about the ‘date’, and realized that he hadn't told him about it, and that he had to set it up, and he didn't have a clue how to set up a date, especially a fake one.
Wait a minute… they had met and walked around, could that count as a date? No, Mathi had expressly told him to inform him of the details of the date, so that afternoon could not be considered as such. And surely Amabelle would have wanted to know, and would have followed him. So he couldn't do something too friendly but take him to a place where both couples and friends could go.
Maybe at the bar? No, too corny, and then the whole Corona Crew would gather to spy on him. It would have been embarrassing.
Pizza place? If they went on the 17th they'd catch kids' night, since it was Thursday.
Paranoia began to eat away at his brain, making him mumble softly to himself as he thought carefully about it.
Cinema might have been an idea, but there weren't any interesting films scheduled, and they hadn't talked about films, Denny hadn't the slightest idea of Mathi's tastes.
It was when he entered the Corona, and his eyes met the old-fashioned arcade machine placed there more for decoration than for patrons to play, that Denny had the perfect idea.
And his mood soared again, especially when his brother brought him his favorite sandwich and Roelke, who passed by carrying some ingredients, complimented him and even offered him a free coffee.
He took advantage of the break and the relatively free afternoon to lay out a plan of action, one that not even Amabelle could spoil.
Comments (0)
See all