Ye old Willow

Part 16 Date

“I want you to continue ignoring her.”

“Won't that make things worse?” He asked.

“Don't worry, Don't worry Its all part of the plan.” Zachariah prodded. His smile abnormally wide.

How the heck will this make anything better. Kazuki panicked as school that day started. He had a hard time treating the mob of people around him, with indifference as he did the day before. They only wanted to greet him into the school and his reason for ignoring them faded completely away when Ayla was found out.

The only one he found easy to annoy was his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Greer, and she was the only one he could not ignore. It was tiring for him to answer all those pointless questions she asked during class. If you don't know the subject your teaching, consult a textbook not a student.

Her quistions started to become more and more vague as class went on. The topics of them, being less and less related to the subject at hand. It eventually got to the point were he just stopped answering.

The kids around him giving him looks of approval. They at least noticed the teacher's tyranny. Ayla didn't even glance at him. Her gaze pointed out towards the window. Every time he looked over at her he felt a slight pang in his heart. He wanted her to see him. Did he put her through this?

As he ignored the teacher for her third executive prompting towards him, Mrs. Greer smiled pleasantly as she said, “Kazu, please go to the office. To receive your referral. I will be with you shortly.” She sounded abnormally happy.

Many of the kids twitched as she said referral. Most of them knew how seriously the school treated them. Just getting two was license for an expulsion. This was only his second day. He would not be able to last.

An appropriate number of the guys in the class, moods brightened. In return a dark cloud seemed to appear over the girls. Ayla clicked her tongue as a mimic of her brother. An irritated sensation rising up her chest.

“Now when break time comes around, “ Zachariah said in a cheerful manner, “I want you to apologize directly to her.”

“Then why am I supposed to ignore her in the first place. Isn't apologizing earlier better.”

Zachariah shook his head, “You have a lot to learn about the human heart.”

“...?”

Ayla went looking for Kazuki, it wasn't because she wanted to forgive him for ignoring her. She just felt-

Kazuki tapped lightly on her shoulder. She spun around to face him, her face lightly red, from having the very person she was trying to find, find her first.

His blush outmatched hers and his voice came out kinda scratchy and hard, as if he couldn't find the right words to get out of his mouth, “I-I'm sorry for ignoring you. I Didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I actually felt that was the right thing to do. I know now that it was stupid.”

“After you apologize I want you to run away.”

“Run away? Why?”

“I want to know If your stupid enough to follow instructions made for you to fail.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Kazuki stood his ground waiting for her to reply.

Ayla still didn't understand why he ignored her in the first place. So as a result, “No. ”

“She won't accept the apology.”

“What? Then what do I do?”

“Well if it was me, I'd move in for the kill. But Don't worry, just make it up to her by saying this-”

Kazuki shuffled his feet slightly, “I'm really sorry. Can I make it up to you?”

Ayla was about to object, but before he could Kazuki held out two tickets. “I got some tickets from an acquaintance of mine. He said girls enjoy things like this.”

Ayla examined the tickets closely. They were to a ballet. Honestly speaking she did not enjoy such things, she was more geared towards going out to the movies with her brother and watching things explode.She took another look at the ticket, noticing a small detail. “I guess it'll be okay.”

His face lit up in joy, “But-” she added, “I don't want to go to a ballet.”

Kazuki looked at the tickets as if he did not know what do with them. Deciding to set them on the nearby table.

The ringing of the bell disturbed them, and they headed to different classes with a weak farewell on each their parts. The only class they shared was their homeroom, as a result the only time they would be able to see each other would be break and lunch.

Zachariah smiled as he walked over to pick up the tickets. Not one person noticing his presence. He was skilled in what he did. He examined the tickets closely chuckling to himself. The expiration dates on each of them three days past.

He pocketed the tickets. No one had to know right?

“Then you need to prepare well for your date.”

“Date? I thought I was apologizing?”

“Didn't you know? When you apologize to someone you need to take them on a date. That's just how the world works.”

“Why does this sound like your lying to me?”

“...”

Ayla stepped into her class, and was immediately surrounded by a mob of girls. Excited and questioning looks on their faces. “How?” they all asked in synchronization.

“How what?” She replied, pushing her way past them to her desk.

The one with her blond hair tied back into a ponytail answered for the group, “How did you speak to Kazuki? He's so quiet. We were starting to believe that it would be impossible to get to know him.”

Get to know him, she wondered, or devour him?

She felt it would be better for her to remain quiet. You know, for Kazuki's sake, not because she didn't want them to approach him.

“Do you know how to prepare.”

“Prepare?”

“For the date.”

“You need to prepare?”

Zachariah shook his head disapprovingly, handing him a a copy of Heated Nights, a bad romance novel that topped sales for a while. “Their should be a date scene in their somewhere.”

Kazuki nodded.

It wasn't till Kazuki left that Zachariah wondered, can that boy handle lemons yet?