Jun packed his things and stood up from his desk as the class ended. It had been an especially grueling day of English, and he was exhausted. He would never understand why the language had so many exceptions to its rules. It was impossible to keep track of which words followed what. Still, he felt like he had done well on his exam. Apart from two unusually complicated sentences, he was sure he had translated the paragraphs accurately. In any case, he would find out how he ranked next week. Jun stifled a yawn as he ambled down the hallway. He still had some studying to do for his Business and Commerce class, so he headed for the library. As usual, the room was filled with students working on various projects and reading for their classes. He managed to find an empty seat near a window in the corner and sat down to work. He had only spent about thirty minutes going through his lecture notes when his cell phone went off. It buzzed against the wooden table, earning Jun a furious glare from a nearby student. He dipped his head in an apologetic bow towards the boy, and then checked to read the new message. It was from his friend, Koji. [i][b]Meet me by the tower at 9:30[/b][/i] Jun checked the time. It was 8:46 at the moment, so he could finish up his studies first. He stared at the cryptic text message for a moment longer before he put his phone away. He wasn’t surprised that Koji didn’t give him any details. He always loved to surprise Jun with spontaneous plans, whether or not he would enjoy them. His surprises never caused any harm, so it wouldn’t hurt to humor his friend one more time, right? -- “You’re late,” Koji frowned at Jun in mock offense and tapped his watch with a finger. “It’s 9:37.” “I showed up, didn’t I?” Jun rolled his eyes. “True,” Koji shrugged and wrapped an arm around Jun’s shoulders, guiding him down the road. “Come on, then. The others are waiting for us at the bar.” “Wait,” it was Jun’s turn to frown. He slowed his step. “A bar? You know I don’t drink, Koji.” “Oh come [i]on[/i],” Koji let out an exasperated sigh. “Live a little. You’re young, and the world is your oyster. You can’t stay in your safety box forever, Jun. Besides, it’s not like I’m asking you to get wasted.” “I guess so,” Jun said uncomfortably. “Fine, I’ll go with you.” “Ah, look at that,” Koji grinned and tousled Jun’s hair in a fatherly manner. “My boy’s growing up.” -- “One more over here!” Koji called out to the bartender. He downed another shot of gin while the others cheered him on. Jun closed his eyes, trying to stop the room from swaying. He hated alcohol. He never had a high tolerance for the stuff, and he was already feeling severely tipsy. He disliked feeling out of control like this, but the slowness wouldn’t go away. Someone clapped him on the shoulder and he opened one eye to see Kenta’s mischievous grin. His friend’s face was almost as flushed as Koji’s was. “Hey, Jun,” Kenta said in a voice low with melodrama. “We’re gonna take this party somewhere more fun.” “I can’t imagine a place more exciting than this,” Jun drawled. He shook his head. The alcohol was making his mind hazy. He didn’t feel like his regular self. Had he always been this sarcastic? He suddenly couldn’t remember. “Oh, you just wait and see,” Kenta’s grin widened and he grabbed Jun’s arm, lifting him to his feet. He dragged him towards the door where Koji was leading the others out to the street. Jun staggered drunkenly, leaning heavily on Kenta’s shoulder. He didn’t recognize this area. Koji was guiding the group down a dark alleyway that opened up again on an empty road. On the other side was a row of old buildings. Most of them looked abandoned, but one had windows that were lit with a dim red glow. Koji glanced back at Jun and smiled wryly. He was planning something. Jun knew he should have been wary, but he just smiled back. Curse that incessant drunken fog. The group stopped outside the door of the red-windowed building and Koji stepped forward to make an exaggerated announcement, “Men, behold. I have brought you here today to celebrate my good friend, Jun.” He swept his hand out dramatically and the others hollered their approval. Jun just swayed on his feet. “Tonight, I have deemed him ready to take his next step into manhood. Tonight, he will sleep with his first woman.” [i]What is he going on about?[/i] Jun’s unease returned. Koji went on: “I’ve even done him the courtesy of reserving a beautiful American girl, since we all know how he wants to get involved with foreigners.” He paused while the others laughed. “Oh, and I went ahead and made reservations for the rest of us with the other girls as well. You can thank me later.” The others hollered again and Koji opened the door for everyone to come inside. The low-light had a strange effect on Jun’s eyes. Everything was washed in red. It made him even more disoriented than before, and he could only stand and watch as Koji approached a well-dressed man at the back of the room. The two exchanged words for a moment and his friend offered the man what looked like a large sum of money. Afterwards, the man gestured towards a door at the back of the room and exited through a different door off to the right. Koji came back to the group and approached Jun with his ever-present grin, “After you.” He held out a hand towards the back door. “Your innocent beauty awaits.” Jun hesitated. This didn’t feel like a good idea. The whole atmosphere of the building made him uncomfortable. It seemed so… dark and secretive; not at all the kind of place he would want to sleep with a woman. But… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. It was just one night, after all. He made his way to the door. On the other side, there was a narrow, red-washed hallway with three doors on either side. Five of them were labeled with different titles. Jun racked his brain to remember what Koji said. Innocent beauty, right? That was the title on the farthest door on the left. That must be the room Koji had reserved for him. Jun opened the door and stepped inside. The room was lit in red, like everywhere else in the building. The only piece of furniture was a bed, and on top of that bed was a girl. Jun stared at her for a moment, his depressed mind processing her features slowly. She was a beautiful Caucasian girl, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and she was wearing an elaborate kimono. He wondered if that was Koji’s idea. His friend was always poking fun at his traditionalism. Jun stood in the doorway. He suddenly realized he had no idea what to do. Was he supposed to get right to business or talk to her first? A flush rose to his cheeks that had nothing to do with his intoxication. He swayed against the doorframe and cleared his throat awkwardly. “So… how does this work?” Jun’s words were slightly slurred. He frowned. The girl was American, so she probably didn’t understand his question. He attempted to repeat it in English, but he couldn’t remember the grammar. His sentences came out broken: “How this go? You do something? Or me?”