“You guys kissed?!” Noémie shouted, so loud that every other customer in the bubble tea shop turned around to give us the stink eye.

“Shut up!” I pleaded, embarrassed.

When I was finally able to charge my phone after I got back home that morning, I turned it on to a tsunami of messages from Noémie. She’d gotten really worried that I wasn’t answering her texts, so I offered to meet her, and she took me to the bubble tea shop she’d mentioned. Now I was telling her everything.

“What did you do next? Don’t leave me hanging like that!”

And she was way too invested in this story.

“To be honest, I was really taken aback. So I picked up my stuff and ran away as fast as I could.”

“What?!”, she shouted again, and I buried my face in my hands from embarrassment. “You’re telling me he kissed you, and you ran away without saying a word! Do you have no sense of romanticism? Poor guy probably thinks he scared you off!”

“But he kinda did!” I tried to defend myself. “Who just randomly kisses people like that?”

“How was it at all random? You have feelings for him, don’t you? Your body language was probably screaming ‘kiss me’ in that moment!”

“What? No, I don’t have feelings for him! He’s been clinging to me since we met, and he’s really annoying, and… and…”

… and just thinking about him made me nervous, just the way I felt when I was at his place. I took a sip of bubble tea to try and calm down.

“Wow, okay, tsundere girl,” Noémie teased. “You’re falling for the guy so hard you might break a bone. Should I call an ambulance?”

She managed to get a smile out of me despite the fact that I was an emotional mess.

“What should I do?” I asked.

“Well, this is quite the pickle you find yourself in. First, you should text him honestly about the kiss to reassure him – maybe even call him. You can call him in front of me if you prefer,” she winked. “Now, in my opinion, this is way too early to get into a relationship with him. You met him on Tuesday ; it’s only been six days, you know? Can you be sure you really know him?”

“I spent an entire day with him and felt fine the entire time.”

“Of course you would. Abusers don’t show their true colors on the first date – not implying he is, but I just want to make sure you stay safe.”

“You’re being way overprotective. Aoki’s a perfectly straight up guy.”

“Ha! We’ll see about that. I’m going to start a little investigation about him,” she smirked. “I’m not going to let you date some guy that never even said a word to me without at least looking him up.”

She took out her phone and started typing. I don’t think I had a say in the matter.

“What’s his last name again?”

“Moriyama,” I answered.

As she typed, scrolling up and down, her smile progressively disappeared from her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Did you find dirt?”

“No,” she replied without looking up.

“See? I told you he was fine,” I said, but her expression was really starting to creep me out.

“I can’t find anything,” she mumbled. “It’s like the guy doesn’t exist.”

“You do know not everyone is like you, right? Some people don’t have social media.”

“Sure, but I can’t even find his middle school diploma¹. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

“I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill, to be honest. Are you that desperate for reasons to dislike him? He might not even have been in France when we were taking the exam!”

“I guess I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt,” she sighed.

I really didn’t understand why Noémie was so determined to prove to me that something was wrong with Aoki. Maybe if I introduced him to her, it’d clear her doubts.

“So, will you help me with the text?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

Thankfully, it worked ; she put down her phone.

“I think a call would convey your feelings better! And I’d get to see you two interact…”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘my feelings’?” I stammered.

“Aren’t you going to confess? That’d be the easiest way to clear up any misunderstandings!”

She was smiling again. I guess she had more in common with Aoki than I thought ; they were both easy to cheer up, and enjoyed seeing me embarrassed.

“You never said I had to confess!”

“Have you ever heard of subtext?”

I sighed and took out my phone.

“Fine, I’ll call him,” I said.

“Ooh, I can’t wait!” she exclaimed.

Noémie started staring at me, impatient. I dialed Aoki’s number, then waited.

And waited.

Voicemail.

“Wow, the poor guy is so traumatized that he won’t even pick up,” Noémie joked.

“He’s the one who traumatized himself!” I retorted.

“Maybe running away from him destroyed any chance of you two getting together…”

“Stop it!”

Suddenly, my phone’s screen lit up. Noémie immediately stole it from me.

“Hey!” I protested.

“Oho! If it isn’t a text from Prince Charming himself! Let’s read it…”

“That’s private!”

“Hmm… ‘Sorry, busy today. See you tomorrow.’ Ah,” she sighed, “I was expecting something saucier… Well, at least he sent you a heart.”

“What?!” I shouted, and once again, every customer in the bubble tea shop turned around to give us the stink eye.

“See for yourself,” she said, handing me my phone back.

The text read just what Noémie told me. I got nervous again.

“Why’d he send me a heart?”

“Girl, if you don’t think he likes you at this point, then I’m sorry to declare you legally blind. He literally kissed you!”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

We kept bickering for a while before we decided to go back to our respective homes. Noémie asked me for Aoki’s phone number – I didn’t really know what she was going to do with it, but she promised me she wouldn’t contact him, so I gave it to her. Maybe she’d use it to further her investigation ; after all, she was kind of a technology wizard.

The following morning, I was so nervous I felt like I was going to throw up. Who knew when Aoki was going to show up? Math class was the last period of the day, and I hadn’t ever seen him attend any other class.

I certainly didn’t expect him to be waiting for me in front of the school’s entrance gate before class even started.

----------------

¹ To graduate middle school, French students have to take (and pass) a final exam named the “brevet des collèges”. Much like the high school graduation exam, it spans multiple days during which they are tested on nearly every chapter of every subject. The results of this exam are published in the newspapers and online.