My name is Malik. Malik Rahmani.
I'm 16 years old, and I study at Delau's High School.
Yesterday, I got into a pretty big fight with Johan. Most people would never speak to each other again after something like that… but even though I have a lot of friends, Johan is more than just one of them.
He's like the brother I never had.
Knowing him, he's probably still feeling guilty about what happened. I should tell him I'm fine when I see him again.
"Hey, Malik!"
"Hey, Lisa…" I said, looking away.
"Hm, you look bothered today. Did something happen?"
"Oh, no, nothing. I was just thinking about something."
Lisa is part of the gym I train at. She's actually the one who convinced me to join last year.
"Wait… what's up with all those bruises?! Did you fight? Who the hell did this to you? Tell me his name and I'll go ki—"
"Hey, stop! No need to worry, haha!"
She leaned closer.
"No need to worry, huh…?"
sigh
"Alright, I'll trust you this time. But seriously—how… no, who could've possibly done this to you?"
"Hm… if I tell you, will you let me go?" I said jokingly.
"Malik. Who was it?" she frowned.
I took a sip of my juice.
"It was Johan."
"Johan? From Class C?"
"Yeah. That Johan."
sigh
"You've gotta be kidding, Malik…"
I knew she wouldn't believe it—and honestly, I understood why. Who would believe that a regional MMA youth champion got beaten up by a guy who can't even average 10 out of 20 in sports?
I took another sip.
"Well, you know, Lisa… I got beat up pretty badly. Maybe I should focus more during training, haha."
She didn't laugh.
She looked upset.
"Malik, let's go see this guy."
She grabbed me by the hood.
"Hey! Wait—my juice! I didn't even finish it!"
Ah… sorry, Johan. Lisa can be pretty stubborn. I'd probably just make her angrier if I tried to stop her.
...
We arrived at the cafeteria and spotted Johan sitting alone at a table.
"That's the guy?" she asked, confused.
"In the flesh."
She walked toward him with a determined stride. I stayed back, watching from a distance.
It's not every day you get to see Johan interact with a girl who isn't my mom… or his.
BAM.
"Ack!"
Lisa slammed her hand on the table and leaned toward him.
"Hey! Are you Johan Vanderis?"
"Uh—Y-yes, I am. W-why do you ask?"
I couldn't hear everything from here, but Johan already looked flustered.
"So you're the one who beat up Malik, huh?"
"W-what? Who told y— I mean, what are you talking about?!"
Lisa sighed, clearly losing patience.
"Look, kid. Either you admit it, or I'm reporting you to the principal's office. Got it?"
"Wait—what?! Don't do that!"
Johan paused, glanced around, then sighed.
"…Fine. It was me. But who told you all this?"
"HAHAHAHA!"
Even from afar, I heard that laugh. Yeah… she definitely wasn't buying it.
"You? Beating up Malik?"
"Uh—hey—"
Lisa cut him off.
"Listen. Malik has been training at my gym for a year. He's already a regional champion. Since he started MMA, he hasn't lost a single fight. And you're telling me you beat him?"
"Regional champion?! He never told me that!"
Yeah… I didn't. I couldn't lose the last bit of pride I had left.
But it's pointless now. She already told him.
I moved closer to hear better. They were too focused to notice me anyway.
"Wait. Can you stand up for a second?"
Uh-oh. I have a bad feeling about this.
"Uh… sure."
Johan stood up.
"Take off your sweater."
"…Excuse me?"
She stepped forward and pulled it off him.
Ah… I knew it would end like this.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"Don't move! What do you think I'm doing?"
Whenever someone catches Lisa's interest, she can't help but analyze them. That's how she scouted me in the first place.
"Huh? Everyone says you're a bum, but you actually look pretty good. Great muscle balance… you're tall, solid… and your face—yeah, you're pretty handsome. Do you work out?"
Johan froze.
"S-stop touching me! W-what are you even saying?!"
Haha… looks like even the great Johan is weak when it comes to girls.
"Huh? Why is your face so red? Anyway, do you want to join my dad's gym? We just opened, so we've got plenty of space! And if you really beat Malik, you could even become our new ace!"
Hey… I'm literally right here, you know?
"N-no! I don't want to join a gym!" he said, frustrated.
"Then can I have your Insta?"
"Uh… s-sure. Here's my phone."
"Ha~ of course you agree now," I said, stepping in.
"Oh! Hey, Malik! Your friend is really funny, haha!"
Johan ran out of the cafeteria without even looking back.
"Oh… he's gone."
Guess it was too much for him. Still… I'm proud of him. That was a pretty good attempt.
"Ah… long way to go, Johan…"
"What are you saying? Anyway, he forgot his phone. Go give it back to him."
"Alright, chief~!"
"Quit joking and go, you punk!"
"Hahaha!"
Today, I learned something.
Johan can talk to girls after all.
...
"Haa… why was Malik there…? Did he hear everything?"
"Hey, Johan!"
Crap. There he is.
"Huh? Malik… did you—"
"Haha, yeah. I saw everything. I mean, our Johan talking to a girl? I couldn't miss that!"
I stood up and started walking. Malik followed right behind me.
"Uh… so what did she say? 'Oh, you're so handsome, Johan~?'" he said.
"Hey, shut up, dumbass!"
"Haha! You even got her Insta! Our boy is growing up!"
"Whatever, Mr. Regional Champ."
"Oh, come on, I was gonna tell you eventually… just, you know, the timing was bad."
Yeah. It really was.
"Anyway, here's your phone, loverboy. I'm heading to class. See you around!"
"Yeah… see you."
Love, huh…?
I don't know.
She was beautiful, but…
…whatever. It's probably nothing.