The First Morning After/Transcript: Difference between revisions

NARRATOR: "Anyway, the track captain's probably first in her affections. But even as I say that, my mind is already snorting derisively. I'm just looking for an excuse. A reason for everything to go wrong. A reason to not try. It's not as if I've even seen the two of them together outside of track practice. And clearly he's never visited. Emi said as much herself. If they were close, surely he'd visit. I'm such a wuss. I ought to just go for it anyway, damn the consequences. That's what Emi would do, I think. Hell, I '''know''' that's what she'd do. Which is partially why I'm convinced there's no interest on her end."

NARRATOR: "She hasn't acted either. Maybe because of this track captain. It's possible she's got a bit of an unrequited crush thing going on. But who would be able to clarify their relationship? It sure as hell can't be Emi. She'd probably just laugh and ask why I wanted to know... and I'm not ready to answer that yet. Rin... Rin would probably just give me some cryptic answer or something. And then with my luck, she'd just ask Emi, who would ask me why I wanted to know, and I've already covered that problem. I wonder... Could I get away with asking the nurse?"

NARRATOR: "He seems pretty protective of Emi. I'm sure he'd know if something was up... And he owes me for not letting Emi know he forgot to tell me about her being ill, so he'll keep quiet. What if he asks me why I want to know, though? I can shake him off. Just say I'm curious as a friend. He'll buy that, won't he? Of course! That's settled, then. After the run, I'll talk to him while Emi's waiting outside the office."

NARRATOR: "Just like that, I feel some of the tension leaving my body. Emi seems to be bright and cheerful as usual, with no sign that she even was ill the other day, much less had a less-than-restful sleep. Still, I have to ask."

NARRATOR: "It's just a throwaway question. Small talk. The sort of thing people ask someone they bump into in the cafe while getting their morning coffee. But not for us. At least, not for me. I don't know if Emi realizes that I'm actually concerned about how well she slept last night, but the question does give her pause. After a short moment of what seems like her genuinely pondering this, she nods."

NARRATOR: "Emi laughs at my bravado, and we take off running. I keep a steady pace the whole time, breathing steadily. I still feel dead at the end, but at least I don't gasp like a fish out of water now. Emi is positively beaming after the run today."

HISAO: "Oh, how exciting."

HISAO: "Goodness, not pushing it a little too much today, are you? You did just have a cold, you'll recall."

HISAO: "I'm sure that comes in handy."

NARRATOR: "In what has become a familiar routine by now, he checks my blood pressure and my heart rate."

NARRATOR: "The two of us share a laugh."

NURSE: "Did she do okay today? Cold seemed to bother her?"

NURSE: "Of course I'm going to ask her too, but she'll tell me that she didn't have any problems, regardless of whether or not she did. So I'm asking you, because you're her friend and would probably tell me if she had trouble today."

NURSE: "Well, that's good to hear. I figured it was just a 24-hour thing. Emi tends to recover quickly from colds and the like."

NARRATOR: "I roll my eyes at his last statement and head out the door, motioning to Emi to go in. The whole time, I'm trying to keep from doing a celebratory dance. The two of them will never do anything like that. That's precisely the sort of thing I wanted to hear. I'm half-tempted to make some sort of a move on Emi right now, but I think the nurse would probably disapprove."

NARRATOR: "Besides, I still don't know exactly how Emi feels about me. I mean it's obvious that she cares about me as a friend, but something more than that? I can't be certain. Even so, I can't help but feel hopeful. I just need to figure out a good time to tell Emi exactly how I feel. That puzzle should keep me occupied for the rest of the day, at least."

<p style="text-align:center;">'''Next Scene: [[The (Real) Beginning/Transcript|The (Real) Beginning]]'''</p>{{Emi's Route}}