Does My Romantic Comedy Need a Happy Ending?

Staring at the window, pretending to be in some kind of romantic music video. You know, a boy riding a train will suddenly make an eye-to-eye contact with a girl from the other side of the railway riding an opposite route. I heard a loud voice shouting at me and demanding a certain thing. He is eagerly handing me a piece of paper, is he not aware that I'm in a music video? What the hell is this guy's problem? "Hey, Lark! Get yourself together, dumbass. Get this paper and pass it at the back" "......oh right, sorry. I guess I'm still half asleep." The harsh reality hit me in the head really hard. I'm in the classroom at Luna High School, good thing Roy awakens me from my almost eternal dream of starring in a music video and finding the girl that will both build up and ruin my youth. "Ha! Imagining some sort of romantic scene again? Get a girlfriend already, seriously." "Like, seriously." Hang on right there, why do you need to emphasize the term "seriously"? I'm that hopeless romantic already? You're one of my closest friends, but sometimes, no, most of the time you're stating dreadful facts about me, can you please spout some good points that can uplift my almost dead self-confidence? "...it's not that easy man, I mean who will take me as their boyfriend? Zero looks, rotten personality, all I got is my elite sense of humor that can make even the grumpiest teacher laugh." What did I just say? Did I belittle my beloved self in front of this lowly creature? "Hey, man, don't be hard on yourself just because you got rejected by your first ever crush last year, there's still hope, we still have what? 3 years remaining here in luna high!" "Damn, that hits hard, thank you very much!" I guess it plays a major role on why I always doubt myself in getting a girlfriend. I got rejected by my first crush last year, she was my classmate, and we were really close back then. Her name is Jenna, she's the most charming girl in our classroom, and arguably in the whole Luna High. And expectedly, most of the guys, either junior or senior, adore her and want to go out with her. I mean, it's kinda staple for a guy to ask a bombshell girl to go out, right? But unexpectedly, she chose me.. as her best friend. Because she thinks a guy like me wearing glasses, has that unique sense of humor, is interesting, and a perfect tool to repel those guys who want to take their shot at her. Fast forward before we move up to 10th grade, the day of my confession arrived, or should I call it doomsday? I confessed my feelings for her, that I love her, that I always think of her, and other cringe stuff I could ever tell. "Sorry, Lark, I already have a boyfriend from another school..." Jenna looks down before she continues. "I didn't tell you because I don't want you to avoid me, after all, you're my best friend, right? She added and suddenly looked at me while wearing her cutest smile. After that, our relationship went cold as if winter hit our tropical country. We barely talk to each other personally and on social media. We gradually drifted apart. I guess that's the iron rule of rejection, awkwardness will always take over your relationship and will leave you hanging for the rest of your miserable high school life. But it was 1 year ago, and I've moved on already from that shameful experience. I'm still finding the right girl though that will paint my high school life with bright colors. *** The bell rang, signaling the start of our lunch break. Roy invited me together with our other classmates to eat lunch. Of course, I can't refuse because, without a doubt, they will call me antisocial, killjoy, or other terms that will wreck my image among other students. I think they see me already as one, though. “Oh sure, just a minute, let me fix my things first.” I hurriedly put all of my stuff in my bag and rushed into them. As we walked to the canteen, I received a message on my phone, and I was shocked. I thought my phone was only for entertainment purposes like playing games, taking pictures, and listening to music, because I haven't received any messages lately, except from my parents. I feel my heart pumping rapidly as I get my phone, why the hell am I feeling this anyway? Am I expecting a random message from an anonymous girl asking me out for dinner later? Hell no, it's practically impossible. I casually open the message, it's just a group message or what they called "GM" for short, it's from a girl named Johann. "Waiting for class dismissal is taking forever and I am so bored right now! Chat or text? -Johann" Oh, Johann, I knew this girl back when I was in 9th grade, she's from section 11, just beside our classroom. Anyway, Is she serious? She's purposely giving away her contact number to a large group of people because of boredom. Is she not aware of what might be the consequences of her risky action? And since when did I give my contact number to her? “Hey, Lark, we're here, stop clinging to your phone already and find us a seat!” Roy irritably said to me. "Yeah, I know that, I'm just reading a message from my mother." He is still unconvinced though, and to my surprise, Roy suddenly smirks. "Your mother huh? Oh please, I've known you since grade 8, stupid ass, you'll never cling to your phone that long if it is just your mother, now tell me, what's the name of that girl?" "Hey, the line in the meat section is getting longer, just go already and I'm gonna save us a seat!" "Okay, okay, calm down, I'm just messing with you!" And he leaves while still laughing because he accomplished his objective, to piss me off. Roy is a persistent, annoying, and immature guy that you will surely hate if you're not close to him, but still, he is one of my closest friends and when the situation turns from worse to worse, you can always count on him. I finally found a spot for us to eat just before Roy and the others buy their respective lunch, but seriously, with this crowd in the canteen, finding a spot is much harder than taking a random quiz that's not even multiple choice. While devouring our lunch, I sneakily get my phone from my pocket, making sure that Roy is not looking. The coast is clear, he is chatting with our classmates so I'm gonna get back to that girl. I casually type "Good morning, where did you get my number?" I'm not expecting her to reply immediately though, considering the amount of time that passed, in my calculations, she will reply in 2 to 3 hours. While cleaning my things up, my phone vibrates, and Johann replies! “Hi, there! Sorry 'bout that, I'm actually one of Tracie's friends, you know her, right? Roy's girlfriend. She's the one who gave me your number because I'm asking for some random contacts from her to kill my boredom.” I'm not expecting this kind of response from her, I thought she might find me creepy because of my text to her, but she elaborated on the situation to me! I must reply... "I see. Btw, my name is Lark, well, I think you already knew me though. Say, can I ease your boredom? I'm bored as hell too so I can be your Textmate for today if you want to." I'm wondering if she'll ever reply to that one, maybe she only did it to explain how she got my number. Nothing more, nothing else. But I'm determined to wait, I'll grab this golden opportunity of having a conversation with a girl. Maybe she is still busy doing some school stuff, but the bell rings again, signaling the best part of a normal school day, going home, yet not a single reply from her, I guess that's it? "Lark! Tracie's not going home with me today because of her club activities, let's go home together!" "Are you sure it's because of club activities? Maybe it's a different kind of activity bro." I'm just messing with him with that response. "Hey watch your filthy mouth, it's spitting some nasty stuff again, shut it up already and just go with me, I'll treat you to a coffee." "I'm just messing with you, I know Tracie will never do such a thing to you, let's get going then." While walking, I realized that I keep on checking my phone, and I'm not surprised that Roy notices it. "C'mon, tell me what's the name of that girl? I can help you a lot in terms of dating, you know." I'm still hesitant to tell him, I mean, she's not even replying to me and I'm still here waiting for her response, I don't know but something struck me and made me want to go out with this girl, it's totally weird. “I'll tell you in the coffee shop, so hurry up already…” “Sure thing!” We finally reached our destination, the coffee shop is the perfect place to talk about girls and dating, right? It meets all the requirements for having a conversation with your friend, relaxing ambiance, silence, privacy, and soothing music! Roy offered to order for us and let me find our usual spot in the cafe. “Hey Lark, I'll order for us, go sit on our favorite spot and let me lecture you a thing or two about talking and dating a girl, just give me a minute.” He went to the cashier while laughing, being overconfident with his "dating skills" again, annoying as usual. Just when I'm about to take my seat, my phone rings. I quickly checked it out and put an automatic smile on my face when I saw the name "Johann" in the notification bar. It somehow made my day and I don't know why I read the text and it goes like this... "Lark? I'm sorry for the super late reply! My teacher confiscated my phone because she caught me texting under my armchair while she was lecturing, hehe I was about to reply to your text, that's why I took the risk, even if I'm seated in front hahaha you should be happy about that!" I don't know what to say, is she serious or she's just messing with me? I swear to my 16 years of single life that if she replies within two to three minutes, I'll date her right away! I'm typing my response for her when... "Haha, okay..." I didn't even finish my first sentence, I accidentally hit the send button because Roy activates yet again his annoyingness and startled me, taking advantage of the pressure I'm feeling because of Johann's reply, triggering the most shameful reply in the history of my single life. "Oh sorry, Lark! You're so focused on your phone bro, are you talking to that girl already?" "You already ruined it, i***t!" "Damn, sorry bro, wait let me take my seat and we'll start dating lessons." Great, this is a nice introduction to how you handle your student in your "dating class", now I really don't know if this guy can really help me. Well, he has a girlfriend so he probably knew the basics of talking to a girl. Trying to compensate for my mistake, I immediately retype my response to her and also explain how I accidentally hit the send button but before I can even finish it, she replies again! "Hahaha." Now I know I messed up, even a single since birth like me knew that when a girl replies like that, she's not interested in you anymore, she thinks you're no fun to have a teenage conversation, she thinks you're too ignorant to even have a casual talk to a girl. To summarize, she thinks I'm boring. Keeping a conversation going is the last thing I can perform properly. I can't even keep a decent conversation with my friend for crying out loud, but I'm determined to pursue her. I have to consult Roy though, he's the only one that can help me right now, I mean I have no choice. "Roy, help me fix what you ruined, you see, her name is Johann, she's a friend of Tracie so I think you already know her, at least. How can I keep up this conversation? What will I reply with her laugh?" Before he opens his mouth, he sips first from his iced coffee while smiling, here we go with his annoying response. "Say, I'll be honest to you Lark, she's a hottie and she's kinda out of your league bro, but I'll still help you with it because you're my brother!" "But let me warn you first bro, rumors are spreading that she's a dumper." "And Tracie told me that the longest relationship she had was 2 months! Like damn, our summer vacation is longer than that s**t!" That's quite a revelation, there goes my shining ray of hope, eaten by the darkest and harshest truth. But I wonder, there is always that one prince charming that will change a girl's perspective of love, she can't be that kind of girl forever, there is a part of me that's begging to associate with her, to know her deeply. "It doesn't matter if she's a playgirl or something like that, for now, I just want to continue our communication through mobile." "But first..." "But first?" "Say the word, *'please'* " This is against my will but I have no choice, he's the only one I can approach without feeling awkward or feeling uncomfortable." "Please? I'm begging you." While wearing my serious, yet convincing face. "There's the magic word, I'll gladly help you, bro!" Roy stated jokingly. "If you wanna continue your connection with her, you need to know her hobbies or her favorites so you can open up an engaging topic bro." "Like for example, you can ask about her favorite series or anime, then watch it for yourself. After watching it, you can now have a decent conversation with her using the series or anime you watched as your main topic, you getting it bro?" "The technique is how you ask it naturally, as much as possible, don't ask her randomly or out of nowhere, it'll sure creep her out. Just be natural or be yourself." "Wow Roy, that actually makes sense. Are you a love guru or something? Tell me more man!" "Take it easy though! I'll teach it one step at a time, what I said earlier is just the first step, you need to accomplish it before I tell you the next step okay? So go ahead, bro!" "But how will I respond to her last message?" "Ask her what she's doing right now." "Got it." With full confidence and faith in my friend's advice, I quickly type my next message for her, starting a new topic or perhaps a new opportunity for me. "Hey, what are you doing right now?" "Oh hey, I'm about to go home, actually. I'm just finishing some stuff here in school." "Is that so? Be careful on your way ho-" I'm just about to finish my reply when Roy suddenly interrupts. "Hold it right there bro, ask her if she's alone and if she does, walk her home! Do it now man this is a golden opportunity for you." Roy hastily stated. Hold on a minute, I think I'm not yet ready on that level, I mean, we only started texting each other today, and I don't have any idea how to walk a girl to her home! I need some proper training before proceeding to that level and I'm dead serious about it. "Hell no! The awkwardness will surely devour us alive if I ever do that s**t, and come on, we only started texting each other." "Hmm you got a point Lark, oh well, just continue texting her 'til you get closer." "By the way, Lark, I need to go now, see you around lover boy!" Roy jokingly stated before leaving. I finished my interrupted reply a while ago and already sent it to Johann, but despite putting effort just to talk to her, there's still a part of me preventing me from assuming that she might actually be interested in a boy like me. That's why I'm not expecting too much from this. Alright, enough thinking too much and time to rejuvenate my whole body from our home. "I'm home, mom." "Oh great, Larky! Are you hungry? I baked some cookies!" My mother excitedly greeted me. Every time my mother returns my greetings, I always get that sense of security and instantly change my mood, making me feel relieved and well, happy. "I'll get some later mom after I finish my assignments, please tell Rence to spare me some, or I'll wrestle him to death." "Uhm, I'm not so sure about that, Kuya, but I'll try my best!" The one who butts into our conversation is Rence, my younger brother and the epitome of irritation, he never fails to give me a headache. His forte is irritating people and pissing them off. Alright then, time to finish all my assignments so I can slack off the whole day, maybe watch some anime or play video games, yes, that will be the perfect day in my perspective, but before I even touch my pen, a notification from my phone appeared. "Just got home! Sorry for the late reply." "Oh good, take a rest or something." I honestly still can't keep a decent conversation despite Roy's enlightenment for me, but I guess that's the normal response from a normal guy right? "By the way, be right back! I've got some work to do and it's stressing me out!" "Okay, take your time, same here. Don't stress too much though." Well, it's time for me to work too, I need to finish it all as soon as possible so I can have time for video games and anime! That's my motivation every time I'm doing something and it keeps me going! After nearly 3 hours, I'm finally done, it's 8:30 in the evening. I forgot to eat mom's cookies because I was so focused on answering questions, but I guess Rence munched it all already and it's dinner time, so never mind. Surprisingly, when I check the table, there are still some cookies left. That jerk is not that irritating after all, well, it will be my snack later. They're all asleep already, I'm the only one who stays late here after all, and that's the main reason why I am always late for class. I can't help it because I grew a bad addiction to anime and video games, it's part of my daily life already. I almost forgot, how's Johann doing? Is she still working? There's only one way to find out. "Hey, how's your work there? Not finished yet I guess?" "Oh hey, I'm already done. Say, can we walk to school tomorrow together? Just answer it with yes or no, okay? Thanks!" Did I read it correctly? A girl asking me to walk with her to school? I didn't think even once that it is possible to happen to someone like me, a nerdy like me, to be precise. I have watched a ton of romcom anime and I'm pretty sure this is a trap or something, but I'm judging too early, maybe she just wants a companion going to school, yes that's right nothing else, and nothing more. "Yes... I guess, but it's so random!" "Okay, thanks! Meet me at the coffee shop near the school at around 6:30 am okay? See you tomorrow. Night!" "Right, see you tomorrow good night." This will be the longest night of my life! I've never done it before. I wish I could drop dead right now! I mean, what if I say something and it creeps her out? Should I rehearse it so I can handle it properly tomorrow? That's ridiculous, Lark! Roy is probably asleep right now so I can't seek help from him. I'm on my own and it's stressing me out! Talk about being a hypocrite, preaching something about not being stressed inside your home yet here I am, about to die because of something a normal guy can handle.