DAY 19: CHEESY ONE
Cheesy's been a fixture this semester, in that everybody's seen him but he doesn't stand out, other than the long relationship he had with Dirona, the Team Cleric, which recently came crashing to a halt when she broke it off. It broke Cheesy's heart and he can't even bear to look at her any more. But he's got friends in Jay and Justine (ironic considering THEY are also ex-lovers who can't stand each other, not to mention Jay used to bully him at the beginning of the semester), and most of the class considers him at least cordially, other than one or two assholes.
First person he runs into upon arriving at school is Frank. He says hello to him, and the two strike up a wide-ranging conversation.
In the classroom, he finds Jay.
He also sees the new guy, Joe, and has a brief conversation with him.
It's too early for class, so he puts his stuff in his homeroom desk and then heads out. Right out in the hallway, he witnesses Frank and Dei's argument devolve into another brawl. Cheesy's too timid to get involved and leaves quickly.
Back at the front gate, he's approached by Jay, who offers to let him copy his homework. Cheesy is grateful. They head for the library.
But looking at them, Cheesy's pretty sure Jay got most of these answers wrong.
He's approached by Dei, who offers him encouraging words about his sports efforts. He feels like a heel for running from her confrontation with Frank - but he likes them both the same and doesn't want to pick sides.
While he's talking to Dei, he's approached by the last person he thought would be talking to him - Dirona. Cheesy's still super mad at her, but he's too meek to do anything overtly hostile. He mumbles and flees the library.
Jay catches up to him (easily) and tells him to forget about it, cheer up and calm down. Cheesy becomes less upset.
He heads back inside, and is caught by Dirona in the breezeway again. She wants to talk to him about behaving properly in public. Cheesy's in no mood for this and tells her to leave him alone! After which he flees again.
Jay catches him again, and tells him if he wants to avoid Dirona he knows a good place. Cheesy follows him.. it's the Boy's Kendo changing room. Cheesy's not as sure as Jay about this, he knows as well as anyone that Dirona's not exactly shy about invading men's rooms.
Nevertheless, Cheesy stays there until it's time for homeroom to begin.
Morning classes go well enough. Lunch rolls around and Cheesy's ready for some grub. He sees Justine is really feeling down, so he tries to cheer her up and asks her to go to lunch. Dirona looks like she's about to object but they get away from her.
Over lunch, they have a really long talk. Justine is surprisingly easy to talk to. They become very relaxed in each other's presence.
Gusto tries to butt in, but she brushes him off.
Next thing he knows, Justine's giggling and hugging him.
Cheesy's not the kind of guy to press his luck when things are going well, so he's careful not to let his mind (or hands) wander too far into dangerous territory. When they finish lunch and head back downstairs, Tin Whistler's got scholastic encouragement for him.
They keep walking together, and pass behind the Gym where Justine stops to chat with Lana Karron. Frank gets into another fight, this time with Klew.
The result is predictable.
Cheesy and Justine stop and chat some more in the courtyard. He asks her about Jay, and she says they're not as hostile as they used to be. They're just classmates though, nothing more, nothing less.
They stop for a bathroom break, and of course, separate into their respective doors (though he almost accidentally goes in the wrong one).
Justine takes way longer than him in the can, so he goes for a walk around on his own, and soon runs into Ashburner X in the hallway. She's pretty nice so he says hello to her.
Turns out Ash is super pissed about something. Cheesy tries to calm her down, and has some success.
He sees Dirona headed his way, with some warning this time. To evade her, he ducks into the gym, then realizes that's as good as hiding in the open, so he ducks into the storage room.
It's only a couple minutes, and Justine finds him there, and tells him not to get so worked up.
She then proceeds to give him a reason to get worked up. Cheesy's ability to access, interpret and express information takes a temporary sabbatical.
Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately depending on your perspective), Cheesy is rescued by the bell signalling the end of lunch.
Afternoon classes also proceed well. Cheesy's feeling pretty good.
When classes come to an end, there's some kind of confrontation involving Dei but Joe won't get his enormous bulk out of the way in time for me to see what's going on.
Justine asks Cheesy to keep her company during practice. What's he gonna do, say no?
It's very hard for him to keep up with her, though. She's skinny and energetic, and he's... well, not. But it does give them some time together.
As usual, Cheesy's performance is probably the worst on the team. It gets him down.
After practice, Tin Whistler's also distressed about something. Cheesy bolsters his resolve.
As he leaves, he meets Dei in the hall and waves hello. She's got an odd look in her eye. Probably looking for Bones.
Almost immediately, Justine shows up too, but she's acting out about something.
She tells him to meet her at the classroom. What could she want there, so late in the day? But he agrees.
As expected, the place is empty when he arrives.
But he's not there long before Justine gets there too.
She approaches him and, to his (and my) great surprise, asks Cheesy to be her boyfriend. He nods in a manner somewhere between panic and eagerness. It pleases Justine.
She leads him out of the classroom, back down to the gym, and back into the supplies room.
There she puts a death grip on his neck and kisses him half to death.
Then her hands are going under his clothes. Cheesy's not home right now, please leave a message after the strangled whimper.
But just as things are getting mindblowing - Eve Stienman walks in and chastises them both. "Not in public." "Duh!" says Justine, "That's why we're in a STORAGE ROOM you little.."
Cheesy finally pipes up "Uhm.. there.. there's nobody home at my.. house?" So glad you could contribute Cheesy!
And it's off to the races.
Some time later, Justine Me is spotted leaving Cheesy's house, pausing for a goodnight kiss as she goes.
END OF DAY 19
Epilogue: Who's the most popular guy in school? Cheesy, that's who. Who knew he had it in him? Clean living and a forthright heart. In addition to the official romance and gittin' bizay with Justine, Cheesy's now regarded at 12 or above with Dei, Jay, Frank, Tin and Ash. It's been a heck of a day for him. There's trouble in paradise though, as Frank's regard for Tin is suddenly sinking inexplicably. Frank better be careful about his violent tendencies, Justine apparently found focus and drive after her defeat at Tin's hand, and she's back at the top of the athletics ranking again. The only person Raven Poe can even barely tolerate now is Kags - everybody else is 6 or below in her eyes now, even though Kags, Mind and Gusto are all actually very fond of her. Oh, and I corrected the erroneous sex count for Bubble and Shawn.