You look around the circle of friends for a moment, then sit back and cross your arms.
"We'll all go. That way we're all in it together. And we can try and figure out any changes we need to make when we're there." Everyone listens to you and there's a sigh from Erika.
"A team effort. I like it." Akane flashes a thumbs up. Erika leans against your side a little, then sighs again.
"I still think this is probably a bad idea but at least we'll all be equally involved this way," she admits. You can see a ghost of a smile on her face, though, so you take comfort in the knowledge that she'd just back out if she really didn't feel like it.
"Great! I'll get the note written," Mari says with her usual beaming enthusiasm. You have no idea how she has so much energy all the time but you're glad she does, because God knows there are some days where you just want to stay in bed all day. You clap your hands together and give another firm nod.
"Alright. Maybe wait until the second week of the term? First week might be a bit too hectic to really go full speed at this." Murmurs of assent and as the planning fades the room slowly breaks into lazy chatter about the summer and the upcoming fall term. And, as always, exams, especially since you, Mari, and Akane are all supposed to graduate in the spring. It's a lot to worry about and the concern over your plan eases some as you focus on other stressful things. Like your mom. Who you don't want to think about right now. You figure avoiding her (and the topic) will be better than venting right now. Plus you don't want to ruin everyone's lazy afternoon so you just bottle that shit right up for the rest of the weekend.
The first week of school is.... a bit hectic. There's a lot to do to get back into the swing of things and you have summer homework to hand in and club meetings to get organized again and plans for the fall and study groups. It's a lot! Your lunch group has grown though, with the inclusion of Akane at least a couple days a week and you're feeling pretty good. You have great friends, a girlfriend... you just wish that school wasn't so rough right now. It's all a lot to take in and your head is fairly spinning by the end of the week and you're grateful to see the weekend come. After a restful weekend (and dodging your mother by being out of the house as much as possible) your little group meets in front of the school bright and early Sunday morning.
As usual, Mari seems chipper and wide awake. Again, you wish you knew her secret. You still feel sleepy and ill rested--you've been having trouble sleeping the last week or so since the camping trip. Erika is still waking up, but Akane seems relaxed and fairly confident. Your tail twitches and you try to contain the nervous motion. You glance towards the entrance of the school and rock up onto the balls of your feet as Mari rummages in her bag.
"...I hope we're ready for this," you murmur. Erika scoffs at you.
"This was your idea, Hanako."
"Shhhhhh. Don't be rude to your senpai."
"Oh, so now I'm a kouhai instead of Eri-chan?" Erika plants her hands on her hips and you cough, your cheeks coloring as Akane gives the pair of you an amused glance and Mari stifles a laugh.
"You two are cute," Mari says, holding out a neatly sealed envelope with Satou's name writting across the front. It's even sealed. You blink and take the letter, turning it over in your hands.
"...Wow, you went all out," Akane says with a low whistle.
"Well, I wanted it to look nice. If you got a note about how someone wanted to confess to you, you'd want it to be nice, right?" Mari says with a smug grin. "Let's go!" You blink as she heads off towards the entrance of the school and you hurry after her.
"Wait, now?" Erika asks.
"Yeah, of course!" Mari replies with a wink.
"Um, what if a friend asks about it though?" Erika says with a furrowed brow. "We don't want to put him in a weird spot."
"Ah, she has a good point," Akane says from her position trolling at the tail end of the group. "What if they ask to see it?"
"I've been watching him come to school all last week," Mari says. "He always shows up alone."
"Okay, that is both impressive and kind of stalker-y," Akane replies.
"Point is, we can handle this, okay?" Mari says as she pulls the door open and the group of you face the shoe lockers. You turn the envelope over in your hands for a moment as you step up to your own locker and start to change your shoes.
"I'll do it," you say quietly as other students bustle around you. You have to stop and take a few breaths as anxiety creeps it's way up your spine and then down into the pit of your stomach. Deep breaths, Hanako. You close your eyes and then creep down towards Satou's locker, trying to look nonchalant. As you reach it, you pause to look around, make sure no one is looking at you, then hurriedly shove the envelope through the slots in the front and scurry off. The others join you a moment later, all of you loitering at the base of the stairs and waiting to see what happens. You're too anxious to look and so keep your back to lockers, trying to look normal as you make small talk about homework with Akane and Mari. Erika, in front of you, suddenly straightens.
"He's here." You don't dare look so you just focus on keeping yourself from looking too nervous.
"He has the note..." Akane's voice hisses.
"What's he doing?" You ask. You resist the urge to bite your lower lip because right now you're afraid it might draw blood.
"He read it..." Mari says, glancing at Erika. "He just... folded it up and put it in his pocket and walked off. He didn't even react to it."
You let out a breath and some of the tension goes out of your shoulders, though you have the feeling it won't be gone until this thing is done with. As the group begins to split up to head to classrooms, you shrug at everyone else.
"I kinda expected a reaction..." You say. Erika shrugs back.
"He's probably just stoic. You know how boys are. Let's forget about it until tomorrow, anyway? I gotta get to class." You wave at her as she parts ways with you and then head off to class yourself. Despite the admonishment to forget about it, the anxious waiting for the next morning doesn't... really do you any good. You can barely focus on your classwork and sleep the next night is even worse than usual. Still, you manage to drag yourself into school early again to meet your posse at the same spot next to the stairs so you can stake out Satou's locker.
"You think it'll work?" Erika again, always the pessimist.
"I mean, we'll have an answer one way or another," Akane points out. Then everyone shuts up as Satou comes through the door. You try not to stare but it's hard to avoid, so you focus instead on looking at a notebook and pretending to be checking homework. Satou opens the locker, takes out his school shoes and sits down to change. So far you haven't seen a sign of any of the color you'd asked him to wear: red.
"...I think that's a no, everyone," Mari says ruefully. Then Satou pulls off his shoes to reveal hideously bright red socks and you have to clamp a hand over your mouth to stop from squeaking in shock. It actually worked. Holy crap. The small group of girls around you seems to vibrate with barely contained energy. You're pretty sure the four of you could power the city for a day based on how much jittery excitement is in the air. As Satou moves passed you and head sup the stores, you turn to look at all your friends with wide eyes.
"...What do we actually do with this information...?"
[ ] The Set-up: Shove Sato and Jesse together somehow and see if nature takes its course. No way it can go wrong.
[ ] Talk to Satou: See what he has to say after you reveal yourselves as the senders of the note. Finding more out about what he's looking for (or isn't) might help
[ ] Talk to Jesse: Tell Jesse and let him decide how to handle things from here. It's his choice whether or not to say anything.
[ ] Other: Write-in. Subject to QM veto.
