"You'd be surprised, Jun- Hold that thought."
Shou turned to the pretty woman, wearing quite the skimpy outfit and holding a tray, who had just asked what he'd like to drink. "Long Island Iced Tea, extra long, thanks, sweetheart."
It was unexplainable, but the casino blended classy and crude together in such a way, that it wasn't hard for even someone like Shou to break away from his generally composed, gentlemanly and polite mien, and get swept up in the excitement. Junichi was particularly to blame for this, since with him around, Shou was almost guaranteed a good night, win or lose.
The drink arrived in hardly any time at all, and while Jun set up the next round, Shou took a couple of large drags from the glass, all the while analysing the faces of the men that sat at the table. The man, Takashi, Jun had called him, definitely looked to be better off, whilst the other gentlemen appeared a little sour at the remark.
Perhaps it was true, and he really was bleeding everyone dry.
"I think my luck's pretty damn good today, Jun, my boy." he grinned rather wide. "Met a pretty girl at the Mochavine, who wants my number the next time we meet. I sure as hell need to go back and see her. Maybe you know her? April, pink hair, and the most gorgeous blue eyes."
He repeated, a little louder now. For all the gentlemen at the table to hear, "Lucky me, huh? If I scored a solid 10 this afternoon, there's no telling what'll happen tonight. Time to bet big, folks!"
---
Two rounds and another drink and a quarter down the line, though not as strong as the first Shou had, he was buzzing. If he was more in his senses, he'd have noticed Jake out of the corner of his eye and told Jun that he met a superstar. Instead, he caught the man off-guard with a fist bump when he came over, "Hiya Jake, and I haven't won much. Seems like the luckiest thing that happened to me today was meeting April. Oh, and you, of course!" he laughed under his breath, notes of the drinks still on his breath. "Ready to go two more before I'm done for the night. Who knows. Might win big, huh, Juniper?"
"Oh, this is Jake, by the way." Shou glanced between the two, blinking slowly behind his glasses before it clicked, "Wait,
of course you know who he is! You two did that song together that one time or something..." he trailed off.
"Anyway. Let's play!"
____________________________________
9:50 am
Sunday"Uuuuugh." Shou moaned his disapproval as he parked his car at the Shine Academy parking lot and, Romeo's leash in one hand and a coffee-to-go from the Mochavine in the other. Forcing himself awake like this wasn't uncommon, but it still hit him like a brick each time. Thankfully, Romeo was less energetic than Jinxie and easier to handle, so Shou had brought him with. Since the academy was not just a school, but in recent years had developed into more of a social gathering place, they weren't as strict on their no-dogs-on-grounds policy as they used to be. They still weren't allowed inside the school buildings, which was alright with Shou. He fastened the shepherd's leash to a bench located under a massive tree just a few feet from the entrance to the building Shou had to go into, and he promised the dog he'd be back soon with a little pat on the head.
10:45 amShou hated meetings that early in the morning. On a Sunday. He hated them immensely, but it couldn't be helped. They were held once in three weeks, for about an hour, to discuss the path of learning the professors must take with their students. Mostly just so everybody was on the same page, and nobody slacked off too much. It was also great to deliver notices directly to the concerned parties.
Most Sundays, it would just be coming in to check on the plants and animals for Shou, and deal with papers for who knows what.
As he was making his way to his office, located on the first floor (second, to you Americans) alongside the various labs and odd classroom or two, he happened to notice a very familiar girl with short black hair in the hallway. Through blurry eyes and hazy mind, or just no energy to spare in making incorrect assumptions and therefore awkward conversation, it was difficult to recognise her exactly from the back, and Shou had almost dismissed the idea, fumbling with the keyring he fished out of his pocket for the room that was his office.
The door clicked open quietly.
And it clicked to him who she was. Shizuka, a quiet girl but a brilliant, budding biology student and even his teacher's assistant.
...though he still did not have the strength to say hello. He hoped she'd be the one to break the silence that stretched between them, however.
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