Love in times of cholera.

Yumei rolled on her bed, drenched in sweat, babbling things that not even she herself could understand. She had the most horrible of nightmares.

The beads of sweat trickled from her forehead to her neck, she was sweating in such a way that it seemed as if she was cooking in an oven, but no. Yumei was lying on her bed.

-No ... no, tell me it's a lie. Yurisa, tell me it's a lie. –She was muttering, but in the dream, she was screaming it.

Promptly not only sweat ran down her cheeks, tears also added to her nightmare.

-No!!! –Yumei woke up screaming, crying uncontrollably.

Her father, who had half her tie on, ran to her room to see what was wrong with her. Seeing her clutching her pillow and sobbing, he was quite surprised.

Yumei hadn't woken up like that since she was a child, on one occasion she dreamed of how a monster ate her favorite stuffed animals.

Ringo walked to the train station, yawning, Juro waited for his friend's arrival on a lamp post, drinking coffee.

-It shows that you waste energy, why are you like this now? –Juro asked him.

-Why isn't teacher Aimi coming today? –He cried.

-Go, Go. You have me, is that not enough? -Juro smiled and spread his arms.

-It's not like I'm in love with you, friend.

-Hey Ringo, don't be so cutting. Say thank you that you have friends. -Juro lowered his arms.

-Tch. Anyway, we're going to miss the train.

In the academy, Professor Tadashi talked with some students about the theories of social change and historical materialism and how it could be related to a centralist committee in power.

-Marx affirmed that the class struggle is the engine of history. In the case of the academy, its engine would be the power struggles between the Reds and the Conservatives. We may now have a centralist committee, but now the fight will take place as part of the balance leans more.

-Ohhh.

Ringo changed his indoor shoes while listening to Juro and Kazumi's conversations. He kept getting nervous but not as nervous as on the first few occasions.

Friday was the day he hated the most as he did not see "his little one" something that was ironic, since Aimi was bigger than Ringo, but he was taller than her.

You could hear something bad happening in the next hallway, several knocks sounded on the lockers, as if they were being beaten violently.

Eiji was screaming incessantly just like Yurisa, who was running towards Ringo.

-Go, you have to run, she wants to kill you! -Yurisa sputtered.

-Who wants to kill me?

-Ringo!!!

-Ow mom. Well here a cup was broken and everyone to their home. –Simply, he closed his locker and ran to lock up the first room he saw.

The voice could not be distinguished by him. It was from a woman, but the scream had been uttered with such fury that it was not human; It was from a demon, a ghost, or whatever it was less than a sixteen-year-old girl.

Ringo locked the key, knocks on it began to rumble violently, scaring him, almost pulling his heart out.

What exactly was happening? Why out of nowhere did someone want to beat him to death? He hadn't made Aimi angry, who might be the only one who could get angry like that.

As it was glued to the door, a hand hit it, unlocking it. Yumei had her eyes ablaze with red-hot flames, plus her hair was standing on end.

-Leave ... for dead, hijo de la gran verga.

-W-what does that mean? ... Yumei, let's sit down and talk, what happened?

-Who gave you permission?

-Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?!

-Who gave you permission to marry Professor Aimi?!

-What?!

Yumei dreamed that Ringo and Aimi were getting married in a big church. She looked superbly beautiful in her wedding dress.

The two were going to go on their honeymoon to France and then to a Caribbean island for at least two years.

Her heart was so broken that she thought the dream had been real ... hence the desire to kill Ringo.

In sociology class, Ringo had a black eye and Yumei had bruised knuckles on her right hand.

-I hate my life. -He mumbled.

-At least he didn't kick you in the… well you know. –He encouraged Juro.

Yurisa was deeply embarrassed, as was Eiji. Yumei still wanted to hit Ringo, even though she knew it was all a dream.

Juro now thought of blackmailing Ringo, threatening him that if he did not do such favors or lend him x amount of money, he would show Yumei the photos where he and Aimi had breakfast together. That girl had proven herself to be a potential killer.

-I think I should teach you to fight. Even a girl gives you a beating. -Tadashi sighed.

-I really hate my life.

-You are barely living, what are you worrying about? Bad when you realize that your life is a failure ... that your love life has gone to hell ... that no one of your students takes you seriously ... God I think I'm starting to have an existential crisis.

Ringo only touched his eye a little to let out a groan of pain it caused him. The swelling was on the rise and his hopes of looking good with Yumei were on the decline.

She avoided him with all the efforts in the world, he had not done anything wrong ... and still paid for the broken dishes. Eiji tried hard to make Yumei see that it was just a silly dream and that she shouldn't be upset with Ringo for something he didn't even do.

But she also got upset with Eiji thinking that he was defending Ringo.

-Ok, this is the part where I ask you why that dream bothers you so much. –Eiji questioned, trying to understand his girlfriend.

-You'll be mad if I tell you, so be warned.

The truth is that Yumei, despite being a woman and having a boyfriend, felt an attraction for teacher Aimi. Everything about her was beautiful to him, even if she did not reciprocate him, it bothered him that she had a partner.

Eiji explained that to Ringo… and boy were they both confused.

-Seriously? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

-Well, now, girls like Yumei are a little crazy. I don't care that she feels attracted to the teacher, it's just normal. What does bother me is that I acted as if I didn't exist.

-And don't forget to say that she treats her as if she were her girlfriend.

-Well said.

Juro was sitting with Ringo in the cafeteria, since it was recess. Yurisa was pulling Yumei's hand to sit with her.

That was the day they both ate with the boys, and that was an agreement that Yumei herself decreed as "Inviolable".

But her anger prevented her from fulfilling that obligation that she had thrown on her shoulder.

-You have to come, a deal is a deal! -Yurisa sputtered.

-I'm not going to eat at the same table as him, let's eat at another! -Yumei demanded.

-We're going to eat at that damn table like we always do, so shut up and do it!

Yurisa forced Yumei to sit next to Juro, she knew that if she put him next to Ringo surely, she would end up hitting him.

-If you want I can… -Ringo would be interrupted.

-Shut up, maldito traidor de mierda. –Everyone opened their eyes at Yumei's comment.

-No good, she said it was painful when she met new people ... I think she already has a lot of trust in us, don't you think friend? –Asked Juro.

-What does that mean?

-Something tells me that you are not going to like to know ... it is a very strong rudeness.

-Yumei understands that it was just a dream. It didn't happen in real life, it just didn't happen!

She threw water at his face straight from her bottle, frowning. Could see in all the muscles of her face that she felt extremely angry.

Ringo was practically in love in the time of cholera. Yes, Yumei's anger, rage and fury could only be summed up in one word: cholera.

Every second of the day, she watched him furiously, wanting to kill and beat him, for that "betrayal" he did. They say that friends don't steal the girl they like, that's why Yumei felt so angry and, to some extent, humiliated.

Juro took the opportunity to take advantage of what Ringo had done to him in the worst moments, such as when he pushed him against Kazumi or when he left him in very uncomfortable situations with her.

A letter appeared taped to Yumei's locker upon departure.

Some "anonymous" had mentioned her in the back of the academy, in one of the corners of it since it was a very discreet place and where nobody went.

-What did you want to see me for? -She asked. -And who are you?

-I have some information that should interest you. My name doesn't matter, I just want you to take this. - That "anonymous" gave him an envelope. –Don't open it until you're home, close the door and have several tissues on hand.

-Tissues? ...

The envelope contained the photos that Juro took of them that day, they were all very compromising. There was nothing that could not be suspicious.

That, being real, broke Yumei's heart into many pieces, who swore to charge it dearly and with interest.

Saturday morning, everything looked perfectly shiny, the cold air was rushing like God intended and it wasn't that hot. With the rainy season past and autumn having arrived, things could only get better.

Ringo was walking towards the restaurant where he was going to meet Aimi. He decided to stop by her half an hour earlier to talk about something when it was time to leave.

Being in front of her house, Aimi would take out the garbage. Her hair was misaligned, she wore sandals, shorts, an apron and no makeup. She was like every woman when she woke up one weekend.

-Good morning, Aimi. –He greeted. She blushed just at the sight of him, put down the garbage bag halfway, and ran home to lock herself. -What?

Ringo arranged the garbage where it should have been and rang the house bell. Even for him that was strange.

Aimi leaned out of the window, had written in a notebook: "Get out." To communicate with her, Ringo put on his cell phone: "I will not, today is the day we are going to have breakfast."

"I'm upset with you, how the hell do you come up without telling me?!"

"I just wanted to talk to you, does that bother you?"

"You're an idiot, I'm all messed up and you ask me to open the door for you dressed like this."

"I don't see anything wrong with her, I'll wait for her out here."

"If you don't leave, I'll pour you a bucket of water."

"Do it, I already said I'm not going."

And just as it had been in those messages, Ringo sat at the door of Aimi, who saw him through the window full of indignation and anger.

She was also going to keep her word, so from the patio of her house to the door she carried a bucket with water. When opening the door, Ringo did not turn around, so when the water was discharged on his back, he let out a scream that was heard throughout the block.

-And get the hell out of it! –She sentenced, closing the door, to lean on it.

-God! What's wrong with you, did you go crazy?! I just wanted to talk a bit about where we were going! And you receive me like this?!

-You are a man and you wouldn't understand. For women, it is a monstrous crime to be seen without fixing.

-That's the most ... -A stream of cold air hit Ringo's back, making him sneeze. -Aimi open the door for me, please!

-What happens? -She asked, concerned.

-It's cold here!

-Sigh. God, okay I'll let you in. Putting her hand on the doorknob, Aimi thought twice. Convincing herself completely, she opened the door for Ringo, blushing.

-Thanks for that, but ... -Aimi tossed her apron at his head.

-Do not look at me. I'll take you to the bathroom to dry off.

Both, student and teacher, climbed the stairs that would take them to the bathroom that had the shower. She took him by the hand and indicated where the steps were so that Ringo would not trip.

Feeling his hand was difficult for her. It was cold and wet and dry on the knuckles, quite unlike hers, being smooth and smooth even down to the nails.

-Are we there? -He asked.

-Shut up. -She ordered.

Already in the bathroom, Aimi gave Ringo a towel to get out immediately. He stripped off his shirt, squeezing it in the shower, then toweling himself off, which smelled nice of gardenias.

Ringo sniffed it slightly, detecting that wonderful smell, smelling it more and more until he inhaled it almost like a drug.

His surprise came when he realized that it was not the towel he was smelling… if not Aimi's bathrobe. Ringo couldn't suppress a scream that was heard again up to the Sakura tower.

Aimi ran straight to the bathroom to see what was going on, yanking the door open. Ringo was huddled against one of the walls, flushed in the face and sweating cold. She also blushed when she saw the boy shirtless.

-W-what happened to you? -Told her.

-Nothing! Nothing happened, I just had a somewhat pleasant surprise!

-You screamed like they were killing you, exactly what did you do?

-Nothing, I swear I didn't do anything bad or stupid!

Aimi began to search the room, throwing her robe at Ringo so as not to see her bare chest. He blushed more.

-Put that on. What the hell did you do?

-It's just that ... I just saw a cockroach next to the toilet. -Aimi turned pale and stiff as a corpse. -Is something wrong?

She didn't answer anything, she was in the same position as hearing that. Ringo put on the robe and then took Aimi's hand, feeling cold as the hand of death.

He snapped him fingers in front of her to see if she would react… but nothing, Aimi didn't even blink.

-You is okay. -She squeezed Ringo's hand to the point of hurting it.

-Get me out of here… -She whispered, being barely audible. -Charge me, please, but get me out now.

Ringo did as her teacher asked her, taking Aimi in her arms and carrying her out of the bathroom. She was not very heavy, Ringo was very weak and that is why he barely managed to get her out of the bathroom with all his efforts.

Aimi was terrified of cockroaches, so hearing that one was in her bathroom made it look like she had seen death himself.

From going to love in the times of cholera ... Ringo now went to the times of fear of cockroaches.

He understood Aimi's terrible fear of cockroaches, trying not to laugh so she wouldn't hate him or something.

Risa was also terrified of them, so nothing was strange to her.

-All fears are supposed to come from somewhere, why are you afraid of cockroaches?

-When they made fun of me for my tastes ... once some bastards really went overboard. -Aimi clenched her hands. –And they put a cockroach on my head.

-Wow ... that's being unhappy.

-That's why my fear, aren't you afraid of something?

-A certain lunatic girl who has tried to kill me since she dreamed that you and I were getting married, do you think?

-What were we getting married?! –Aimi blushed.

-Yes… do you see my black eye? Yumei did this to me because she dreamed that we were getting married.

-I thought Dai had done it to you or something like that, haven't you fought?

-Not at all.

-That being the case, I'll go get some tea so you don't catch a cold. –Aimi approached Ringo, taking his chin to see his black eye. -Did you ice yourself?

-No. They didn't put anything on me.

-Then I'll have to play doctor with you ... don't think that wrong! So stay that way.

Aimi was opening the door of her room, which was very curious.

She had quite a few more shelves with her otaku things. The curtains were pink, revealing the wooden floor that creaked slightly with Aimi's feet. Her bed had brown velvet bedspreads, with a gallery of the same color and curtains that covered the same gallery.

You could tell she was money, plus another bathroom that had a bathtub that Aimi used to use for her stressful moments.

Lately, she used it more than usual.

There was a little rabbit and teddy bears on the bed, Ringo was curious to see them. Each one had the same gardenia smell as the bathrobe, concluding that this was the smell of their perfume.

But no, actually that smell was from the bath salts that were on the side of the tub in the bathroom that was located behind a door in Aimi's room.

Upon entering the room, she looked at Ringo with her stuffed rabbit.

-It's very cute, right? -She asked.

-I liked the bear better, but this one also has its charm, did they give them to you?

-My teacher from France. My father burned all the memories I had of him… he wanted to force me to forget him.

-He clearly didn't make it. You did well not to leave your father ... unfortunately you did not count on him sending you abroad.

The tea was mint, it was quite hot and they could still drink it, without much trouble. They were only careful not to burn their lips and tongue too much.

Ringo was still wearing her bathrobe, Aimi even found it funny to see him with that red silk on his body, almost as if it were already his from yesteryear.

Her name was edged with gold thread: Aimi.

-Forgive me for throwing water on your back ... I think I got too excited. –She asked.

-No. The truth is that I live with women, so I understand that you do not like that I have seen you without fixing. But there is a detail: you look just as pretty with or without makeup, with or without being combed. I'm a minimalist, I don't need to dress up too much, and I'm not even combed

-But you are men… it's different. Still, thanks for the compliment.

What Ringo thought but didn't say for obvious reasons was:

-The only thing I do wish is that she has that lipstick that makes her lips look so cute that it makes me want to kiss them.

When Ringo's shirt was more or less dry and the tea had finished, the couple decided to go to the restaurant.

She always asked for something different for every Saturday that she went to have breakfast at that place. He, for his part, always asked for the same thing: a big cup of coffee and a ham sandwich.

The talks were about the hit to Ringo's eye and how Yumei had almost tried to kill him while Yurisa and Eiji avoided it.

Aimi had taken out her cell phone to take a picture of Ringo as he struck a boxing pose. When they saw her, they both laughed as it seemed as if the boy had actually boxed.

-And at least you won it? –Asked Aimi, to play along.

-Of course I did, I gave a real beating to my rival although in the end the judges stole the fight from me.

-Oh if you. You sure didn't hit a single hit. -She laughed.

-Yes, Yes. Not for nothing my nickname is: the Japanese Stallion, since I am just as good as Rocky Balboa.

They both returned to Aimi's house as they talked more about what had happened on Friday and what new events would happen on Monday.

A play had been announced by the committee to "culturalize the academy with a play that portrays history."

Juro and Kazumi were going to participate for sure just like Yurisa. The one who was not very sure of participating was Yumei, since she was not very good at memorizing more than songs. She could compose the soundtrack for the play together with Eiji.

-See you on Monday, Aimi. –Said Ringo.

-Until then. –She returned, kissing goodbye. -Can you come to eat tomorrow?

-The day I cannot eat with you is because I am truly disabled, count on my presence.

After a smile, they both turned towards their houses. Aimi entered her house throwing her bag to go to the living room where a drawer took out a pack of cigarettes, and then lit it, giving it a fairly deep blow.

She had taught herself to smoke with her college classmates, she even learned how not to leave the slightest trace of the smell of it.

She put the cigar in a luxurious glass ashtray, and then took it to the bathroom where the tub was located, putting it in the drawer where a plant rested and the bath salts in a glass jug.

She turned on the taps so that the water was warm as she removed her clothes, undressing and playing music to calm herself, continuing to smoke her cigar, which then became two and then three.

Her shower had lasted about half an hour, in that time, Aimi smoked five cigars until she almost burned her fingers on the filter.

She had been given a vice to relieve the stress caused by her work as a teacher.