Scheming

He’s not getting anywhere. Shinta looked across the table at his starry-eyed fan.

“What’s your name again?” he asked. The fan girl perked up.

“Rumi,” she said.

“Right, right,” he said. “Rumi.” His band gave her strange looks. Why was she here? Rumi tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I really like you,” she said.

“Hm?” Shinta asked. Rumi quickly shook her head as her face turned bright red. Shinta frowned and rolled his eyes. This again? How low was he going to have to humor this crush? Oh well. They had work to do.

“Listen,” Shinta said. “Did you make the post?” Rumi cleared her throat.

“Yes,” she said. She pulled out her phone. Shinta looked at her screen. They were trending alright. Just not in a good way. Shinta frowned.

“What the hell is this?” he asked. Rumi looked nervous.

“Uh… most don’t know who you are,” she said. “And the others…” He snatched the phone out of her hand. The scrolling made it worse. Shinta gritted his teeth. He threw the phone across the table.

“Hey!” Rumi shouted as she caught it.

“Damn it!” Shinta shouted. Snow and Kenta looked at each other. Oh no. Time or another rant.

Rumi just sat by and listened. This man was rarely happy. She still kept trying.

“Are you okay?” the girl asked. Shinta glared at her. Rumi quickly went quiet. The vocalist sighed.

“No,” he said. Shinta buried his head in his hands. Snow and Kenta said nothing. It probably not a good time to tell him. The waitress came back with their food.

“Thank you,” Rumi said. She stuffed a fry into her mouth. Shinta lifted his head.

“No,” he said. His groupie looked up at him.

“No?” she asked. Shinta stood up.

“I won’t let it go out like that!” he shouted. He shook his fist in the air.

“We have to keep trying!” Shinta shouted. His band nervously laughed. Rumi stood up.

“Yeah!” she shouted. He took her by the hands.

“Will you help me?” the vocalist asked.

“Yes!” his fan cheered.

“Thank you!” Shinta said. Rumi’s face turned bright red.

“I love you!” she shouted. Shinta said nothing as he drew back his hands. Meanwhile, Snow and Kenta looked nervously at each other. This was getting out of hand. They had to tell him the truth. This had got to stop. They couldn’t do this anymore.

Meanwhile Shinta’s phone rang. The vocalist sighed and hung it up.

“Who was that?” Rumi asked. Shinta rolled her eyes.

“No one,” he said.

“Oh,” she said back in a small voice. They sat down and resumed eating.