She starts the conversation.

Just as you start thinking that it might be nice to talk to Ms. Fujiwara a bit, she speaks to you first. “Mr. Walker, I’m somewhat aware of your situation here at Hayes. Do you have anyone who can come pick you up or take you to the doctor?”

The very first person to come to mind is Emma. She’s been there to help you so many times. However, as much as you hate it, asking her is not a good idea. Stupidly enough, the second person to come to mind is Mia, and asking her isn’t a good idea for the exact same reasons.

…

Oh. Right. Your brother’s here. Though there’s a high chance he’ll be busy. Well, if he is, you can then say you’ll ask Emma since your brother, your only family currently in town, is busy.

“My brother just came back from Japan for a couple of weeks. I’ll ask him.”

You take your phone and call your brother, expecting it to go to voicemail. However, the idiot actually picks up.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Is the first thing he says.

“I had a small accident and sprained my ankle. The school nurse says I should go to the doctor. Are you busy right now?”

“Not right now, but I have a meeting in a couple of hours.” He tells you.

You sigh. “Would you mind picking me up? It’s hard to walk right now.”

“Sure. I won’t be able to take you back to your place, though. You’ll have to ask one of your girls.” He says, and you can practically hear him grinning through the phone.

“That’s fine. Thanks. You know where the school is, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Don’t die yet.”

You hang up and take the opportunity to check on Ms. Fujiwara’s score.

-Fujiwara, Anzu-
Affection Score: 36

Huh. A part of you hoped there was a love and/or lust score, and although it makes complete sense that there isn’t either, it’s a little disappointing. Come on, don’t be getting conceited here, Walker. Even with the app, it’s not like women are falling at your feet.

Ms. Fujiwara waits until you put your phone away before asking with a kind smile “Your brother was in Japan?”

“My whole family is.” You tell her. “My dad runs a construction company and my brother works with him, so my mom and my little sister went with them when business opened up there.”

“You didn’t go with them?”

Urgh. Hard question. “It’s… complicated. It’s not that I don’t get along with my family or that I didn’t want to go, but my dad decided I had to keep studying here… for some reason.” You sigh.

You catch Ms. Fujiwara giving you a sympathetic smile. “Does he do that a lot? Deciding things for you, I mean.”

“All the time.” You smile wryly. “I swear, the only ones who can convince him of anything are my mom or my little sister.”

The nurse chuckles, and you can’t help but think that she looks extremely cute doing it. Those rosy lips curled into a smile can heal the heart.

“Well, at least he’s not here to boss you around, right?” The way she says it and her smile full of understanding make you think that she might have to deal with something similar.

“Yeah. Despite everything, I’ve been able to do what I wanted.” You laugh with her. Before remembering your upcoming trip, that is. “I’ll be visiting them during the break, though. I’m not really looking forward meeting him.”

“That bad?” She frowns, but smiles trying to encourage you.

“Kinda? I’m probably making it sound much worse than it is, but it’s still a pain.” You sigh. “But I don’t want to bore you with my rant. I was actually wondering; did you live in Japan before you settled here?”

“I was born here, then lived in Sapporo since I was 14 till I was 22. Then I came back here.” She tells you with an easy smile.

“Did you immediately find work here at Hayes?”

“Pretty much.” She chuckles shyly. “It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but my mother knew the headmistress and introduced me. Oh, but I got the job because of my own qualifications! Don’t get that wrong!” She looks at you with such an earnest expression that makes her look even cuter.

…

Calm down, Walker.

“I don’t doubt that.” You assure her, chuckling and shaking your head. “And if you don’t mind me asking… how old are you?”

“Guess.” She dares you with a smirk and crossing her arms over her chest.

“Honestly? If you hadn’t admitted to already be older than 22 I would’ve said 20. So yeah, 22.”

“Close. 23.” She laughs.

“You look a lot younger.” You offer with a sheepish smile.

“I get that a lot, and I’m thankful.” She chuckles. “A lot of people say that Asians don’t seem to age, and I won’t complain about it.”

“You said you lived in Sapporo, but I’ll be going to good ol’ Tokyo. Do you have any tips?”

She puts her index finger on her chin as she thinks. “Do you speak Japanese?”

“Uh… I know a few words. I can introduce myself, at least.” You grin shyly.

You watch a lot of shows in Japanese, so you know a bit, but you wouldn’t by any means say you understand or speak the language.

“Then try to be with someone who does speak it when you go out, if possible. Of course, you’ll find many types of people anywhere, but they don’t really like foreigners over there.” She grimaces apologetically. “But other than that, I’d suggest you try as many different dishes as you can. To this day I still miss some of the food.” She chuckles.

“Noted.” You nod.

She also explains to you a few of the most common customs, personal space and a few other things you're glad to know are not as exaggerated in the show you watch, though apparently some of them are.

“Should I pay attention to honorifics when I talk to people?”

“Yes, yes you should.” She nods. “But since you brought it up, I assume you’re already familiar?”

“Generally speaking, yes. Would I get away with calling everyone –san?”

“I think so.” Ms. Fujiwara laughs. “Even some couples keep calling each other with the suffix –san out of respect, so that’d be fine.”

“Should I call you Fujiwara-san, then?” You tease innocently.

“You could, but that would remind me too much of my parents.” She chuckles. Man, she’s in a good mood. You’re glad you’re able to keep her entertained for a while.

You talk with her for a while longer as you wait for your brother. When he finally calls you, telling you he’s waiting outside, Ms. Fujiwara calls for someone to help her with the stretcher.

“Wait? A stretcher? Isn’t that a bit much?” You ask.

“We’ll follow standard procedure, Mr. Walker. I’m not risking making your injury worse.” Ok, she’s back in professional mode.

The person that comes to help is… none other than Ms. Miller, who happened to be passing by.

“What happened to you?” She asks with a worried frown.

“I… I tripped.” You admit with some shame.

Thank god almost everyone is in class right now and not seeing you being carried off in a stretcher, wheels and all, for something so silly.

“You ok there, Dave?” Your brother asks, though he doesn’t sound very concerned. At least someone understands this is too much. He’s waiting next to his car and… well, it’s probably not his car. He probably rented it, because you don’t think he bought a new car just for the two weeks he’ll be here. Then again…

“I’m fine.” You answer.

“That’s good.” He nods. Ms. Miller and your brother help you get into the co-pilot seat while Ms. Fujiwara gets the stretcher out of the way. As soon as you’re comfortably seated, you hear words that make your body feel cold from the inside out.

“Good afternoon, Miss. I’m Jonathan Walker, David’s older brother. Are you one of the teachers here?” Jonathan asks Julia. His voice is smooth, polite and inoffensive. And you just know, due to years of seeing your brother do this, that he has his eye on her.

…

And that he’ll get her.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Julia Miller, Hayes’ P.E. teacher.” Julia answers professionally.

“Miller? Isn’t one of your friends’ last name also Miller?” He asks you with amusement.

“…Yes.” You answer without any enthusiasm. You try not to let it show, wanting very much to avoid looking like a kid throwing a tantrum.

“Oh, then you’ve met my sister already.” She says, surprised.

“Happened to see her when I paid David a surprise visit.” He chuckles. “She seems like a really nice girl.”

“Really?” Julia chuckles. “I’m surprised. That’s not usually people’s first impression of her.”

“Hey, this might not be the best time, but I’m new in town. I wanted to ask David to show me around, but, well…” He grimaces as he trails off, eyes darting to your leg. “I was wondering if you’d like to get together one of these days. Maybe you could tell me how David’s been doing in school since he won’t tell me much.”

You want to scoff and click your tongue, but you restrain yourself. Why? Hard to say. Maybe you just don’t want to seem petty. Still, he’s using you to pick up a woman.

Emily’s sister.

…

Julia.

…

…

Let it go. You have no right to get jealous. There’s nothing between you and Julia. Only a few hypothetical talks with the girls of you getting together with her. Though you did tell her mother you’d take her from her.

…

Yeah, in retrospect, you were upset and said a few things you probably shouldn’t.

You look up at Julia from your seat and see her turning to you as well. When your eyes meet, you turn away reflexively.

You can’t help the feeling of annoyance growing in your gut. Annoyance 100% directed at yourself.

You hear Julia giggle softly before she answers. “You know what? Sure. I’ll be really busy during the next couple of weeks, but I can make some time.”

“Really? Thanks! It means a lot to me.”

They exchange contact information before they part. The teacher and the nurse wave goodbye as you leave in your brother’s car. You happen to catch Julia’s gaze and your eyes lock together even as your brother drives away.

She’s smiling widely at you… and you’re not sure, but you could swear you saw her winking at you.

That makes your heart skip a beat.

“That went well, didn’t it?” You brother says.

“Next time you try to use me to pick up girls I’m ratting you out.” You say, looking out the window to avoid looking at your brother.

“Hahaha. Sorry about that.” He laughs. “I just couldn’t let a woman like that go, you know?”

“Sure.” You really don’t want to talk about this.

“The nurse was cute, too, but I’ve seen too many Asian girls lately.” He chuckles.

You let your brother speak without paying attention to him. Instead, you involuntarily start thinking.

Again, you have no right to get jealous of him asking Julia out. They’re both free to do what they want. Just because you know Jonathan is looking for a relationship with no commitment doesn’t make it wrong. Who knows, maybe that’s what Julia wants, too? She did accept, after all. That wink was probably directed at your brother, not you.

Why would you even get jealous? You have 5 wonderful women already. Your dream, the harem you always wanted is a reality and even better than you could have ever imagined.

So why does it bother you so much that your brother is going after Julia?

…

Of course you know. It’s because you’re a greedy bastard and had your eye on Julia as well. But that’s it. Jonathan has never failed to get any girl he wanted and this will be exactly the same.

Better stop being an idiot and focus on your own life.

After the doctor sees you and Jonathan leaves for his meeting, Emma picks you up. Of course, she notices your mood and asks what’s wrong. You don’t like to lie, but you just tell her you’re tired.