19 Pinky Promise
As the Midterms came along, Zayd had done all the necessary preparation in his revision. Zayd felt confident in doing quite well without studying.
A lot of the time in Middle School, Zayd was able to get away with doing no extra work. Although that was the case, as time went on, he would need to do more work if he was to want to succeed. Content would become increasingly and more complicated. Meanwhile, tests became more application based rather than memory-based.
However, as Zayd walked into School with these thoughts in mind, he thought to himself.
'What if I can fight as my job? If I'm good at it, I can make so much money. I'm already learning right now. Alongside that, in the future, when I retire from fighting, I could even open a Dojo!'
Somehow, Zayd felt that his future became very uncertain.
Multiple choices of where to go to learn and a plethora of possible occupations confused Zayd.
'What do I even want to do?'
Originally, Zayd wanted to go for something that he thought he would enjoy and pay a lot of money. However, things were not that simple. He narrowed down the choices he could go for but realised the years he would put in would be immense. Lots of jobs went out of the equation when training came to mind.
For example, a person wants to become a doctor. Not only do they have to have good enough grades to get into Medical School, but they also have to pass with a decent grade. And then they go for residency at a hospital. At the hospital, they learn their speciality. The whole process takes approximately ten to fourteen years to finish.
That was a lot of time, and Zayd was uncertain whether he would possess the drive to go through the process and come out on the other side triumphant. It was so much time wasted, whereas, in other careers that were high paying, Zayd would not have to waste his youth not doing the job he wanted to do.
It was not that Zayd had kakorrhaphiophobia, the fear of failure. It was laziness. Zayd did not think he could maintain the work ethic required for the role, and it was an uncomfortable feeling.
It discomforted him greatly, and thus his thoughts went towards an area that always boosted his mood, fighting. Zayd was still young, and the option to fight professionally was a dream job for a child when he was still in the single digits.
Entering the classroom excruciatingly early, he found himself being alone.
Taking out a book, Zayd felt the silence was perfect at this moment. Today, the weather was perfect. Iridescent beams poured into the classroom via the windows. As Zayd was sitting beside the windows, his figure became illuminated by the warm light emanated by the sun.
May had already begun, along with the new month, Midterms also.
---
Zayd's silence finally got disrupted not too many minutes after he had sat down.
Minoru entered the room alone. Seeing Zayd, she saw him look up at her.
She smiled unknowingly, and Zayd smiled back. Zayd looked picturesque at this moment as his mild western features mixed with the Japanese seeming to be perfectly aligned.
"Hey stranger," Zayd was the first to speak.
"Hi, Zayd-san," Minoru replied as she giggled at the unfamiliarity of the situation.
It was the first time she spoke to Zayd at School. Being with her friends all the time, she did not wish to talk with Zayd in fear of spreading more rumours. By now, rumours spread through the whole School Zayd was the person in the viral video.
It seemed silly, but she was still young after all. Zayd had different intentions behind not speaking to her. To him, it was a mixture of focusing on Midterms along with something else that was inexplicable.
"We haven't talked since we got those gourmet burgers," Zayd said.
"Of course, that's how you remember the day. You're honestly such a foodie." Minoru laughed as she remembered the face he made that day.
"As if I'm the only one. Do you not remember your face that day? You bit into the burger, and it was like your soul left your body!" It was Zayd's turn to laugh at Minoru. He took great splendour in her flustered appearance.
"I couldn't help it! The burger was too good!" As Minoru refuted Zayd's statement, she drooled as her mind drifted off temporarily.
"Look! You're drooling!" Zayd said as he stealthily wiped his drool with immense speed so Minoru would not notice.
"I... can't deny that." Minoru gave up on attempting to deny the accusations after the irrefutable evidence that dripped off of her bottom lip. She wiped her drool with a tissue she pulled out of nowhere.
"Hey Minoru~?" Zayd said tentatively.
"Yeah?" She didn't notice he had not used san after her name.
"After Midterms are over, can you take me to some other place like when we went to the burger place?" Zayd said what was on his mind.
"I guess so?" Minoru replied, not so sure.
"Promise me!" Zayd said as his eyes lit up at the prospect of future opportunities to eat delectable delights.
"I promise. Happy now?" Minoru asked.
"Can you promise me something else too?" Zayd said with more confidence this time.
"It depends on what you're asking for."
"Can you promise to show me some of your Karate?" Zayd's eyes ignited as he peered directly at Minoru's eyes.
Under the intensity of his gaze, Minoru gave up on refusing.
"Yeah, I promise to do so too."
Zayd stood up and walked towards Minoru.
"Zayd-san?" She said as he surprised her by their sudden proximity.
"I want a pinky promise." Zayd held his pinky out as the childish part of him that he forgot about had come out.
"Okay. Alright," Minoru said as she held her pinky finger out.
'You already held my hand, so this is nothing.' She thought to herself.
"I promise to show you a place that has some great food. I also promise to show you some Karate. But, only after Midterms are over and done."
"Okay thanks," Zayd said. He sat on the desk beside her as they conversed.
