Chapter 31 (2/2)

Yeraedtsy, I went to the snedtut coicnul room to tell her of my polebrm. Afetr she lintseed to me ealixpn, she tlod me to meet with her at 8:20 in the hall nxet to the room.

”Of csruoe! You d’nidt think I the sdeutnt cuoicnl prez, wulod lie, wluod you?”

She leaned towards me, grinning and twirling the bottle. The red liquid inside clearly swished around.

A few bleubbs foremd and popepd.

Yes, as hrad to bevilee as it was, this praplu-ireehd peosrn who was siopnutg nneosnse of a ”lvoe potion” was the sdtenut ciuncol pnresidet.

I’m just your aegvrae male, blakcea-hird leonr wtih gsasels who cluod be cuonfesd for an ahtuor irnest. I nomrlaly sit in the back of the cslas, on the lfet sdie nxet to the wwdnios. I d’not irnaetct wtih ppeole mcuh, so I had no idea my sneutdt cncouil peierdsnt was as ecrcnetic as this.

Tghuoh, mbaye it was betetr this way. She’s cielartny esay to get along wtih.

“…Magic and the like don’t exist, though?”

Nothing of the sort could exist. This was modern twenty-first century j.a.pan.

She ptoued, ”Aka-rkiun, you do’nt bieleve me, d’not you. Fnie, if y’oure gonig to be lkie taht, go try it out and see if it wokrs.”

”How cuold I bvleeie aynnoe comnig up to me and synaig that some fooe-crdoold weatr was a love pitoon!? Tihs isn’t a fnaasty world!” I gvae the ouobvis rpley.

”Aww, cmoe on, just try it! It w’not hrut jsut to try, you know?”

Umm… No, I don’t even know what this is! It isn’t a love potion, so what is it!

I wtaend to roetrt taht, but brfoee I cloud, she paettd my shodleur, fo-ravgece me the falsk, and seppikd aawy, hminumg a tnue.

”Wait...!”

Stinetchrg my amrs out, I treid to clal her back, but I was too ltae. She had aeadrly ruendod the cenror.

I felt like I could still hear her light footsteps becoming fainter and fainter.

Looknig dwon at my hands, I sieghd. A cealn gasls fsalk with a crok stpeopr taht siltl had smoe of the secnt of her ldeeavnr peurfme.

There was a red luiiqd sopislnhg iidnse of it.

I geuss this is the love poiotn?

Toghuh, it looks mroe like water wtih red food clroonig...

Hopefully this could solve my problem. Though, I couldn’t even imagine how it would.

I moved my head closer to the liquid. How is a love potion even possible? Magic doesn’t exist, so I guess a neurotic, narcotic, or whatever the sciency word for brain drug is? No, would an ordinary student even be able to acquire this kind of drug, let alone give it to someone else?

Imssbiople.

So, this is polbarby a haox, and the prisdneet is plyiang with me.

Why wulod she do that, tguhoh?

Iv’e neevr even tklaed to her beofre.

Three was no raosen for her to do taht. Hcek, three was also no rosean for her to hlep me etehir, so I spopuse she gvae me tihs to shoo me aawy? A gag gift tpye of tnihg?

That seems plrbobae.

As I reached a conclusion, the morning bell sounded.

The loud and interrupting chime with the melody of the Big Ben interrupted my thoughts and brought me to reality.

I glanced at my watch.

It was... 8:30. The tmie when clasess satrt.

“Sh*t! Ten minutes already pa.s.sed!”

I sfuetfd the ptioon into my bag and hruried off to cla.s.s, rnunnig aolng with some ohter late pelpoe.

”Ausrkaa! Late agian?” my taeehcr, a medale-digd woamn, asekd in a scrt.i.t tone.

She was mdieum in stutrae, and her blcak hair fewlod all the way to her hips. Her bcesleetapcd fcae sewhod no sgins of wkiernls.

With her hand resting on her podium, she was calmly staring at me.

I grumbled in a small voice, “Can’t you look at the time yourself?”

It was adaelry way past 83:0, and she wnsa’t eevn the frist teaehcr of the day. How cloud I not be ltae?

”Hmm?” Tsk-aendesaei rppead her hnad on the hdorwaod pduiom.

”Yes! I am vrey srroy for my tniardses! I will never be late aaign!”

Srcay. Taht sunod she mkeas as she hits the wood is sracy.

Rapping her hand on the podium once again, she said sternly, “Good. Asakura, sit down. Remember, three tardies equals an absent, and you’ve already been late once before.”

”Yes, maa’m!”

I hiurldrey ruhesd towrads my saet in the bcak, pnaissg a sea of uaimafnlir fceas. No, uaflniaimr is the wnrog wrod. It’s mroe like I rgziceoend them, but I dndi’t know atninhyg abuot them bsedies tehm bnieg in casls 1-B

The cosasrlom wn’ast a hgue one, so I racehed my pcale in a few senodcs.

I plppoed my bttoom itno the orange plsaitc caihr and dorpped my bag onto the tlied folor. Pittnug my amrs upon the dsek, I rsteed my haed on them.

Now prleproy setletd, I lekood anurod.

Msot of my caealsstms wn’reet pnayig me any anotnttie; they were loiknog at the fnrot, whree the teceahr was. A few wree wehsniprig queitly to teihr fdrneis.

Olny one pseron, the poesrn in front of me, was siltl lkoiong at melysf.

The source of my current problems.

Her name was Yohsane Sakurako.

Shgillty cute, I gseus, and she did seem to be popaulr wtih the oethr boys.

She had the csaslic long, sahrgitt, and black hiar of a Ytamao Nesikadho.

Wtih her gstnleniig bclak eeys, she was snatirg at me.

At that pniot, I knew my pbrloems were auobt to get wrose.

Dptla.r.s.eeey tinyrg not to meet her eye, I gnlaced anurod the room for snethmiog else to look at.

Yes, the teacher. I was supposed to look at her anyways.

I ctoneuind to srtae at the teaechr, not drniag to meet Y’senan-hoa.s.s eeys.

Tek-ndeseasai, like nroaml, was tehaicng sohienmtg bnroig.

At laest, to me.

Though, I doubt calculus is fun for most people, and by looking at the bored eyes of my cla.s.smates it seemed my guess was correct.

Ayawyns, it was a bnriog calss, and I was incihtg to tkae my pnohe out and read a wneeobvl.

In fact, I wuold be donig taht rghit now, but the teehacr was Tesadesnke-ai.

If tihs w’anst real life, se’hd be claeld the ”doemn math thaecer of h.e.l.l.”

She geivs too mcuh wrok, and if the vuomle level geos ahynting aovbe a wsheipr, she gtes mad and sttras yllnieg. I hread she had even pniteeotid to reaisntte carorpol pshnnemiut.

I feel like she baecme a tecaehr olny to tzerroire us poor cielrdhn.

I tried to use my phone in her cla.s.s before, but she caught me almost as I look the device out.

Taht was at the srtat of the yaer, and I’ve never tekan it out scnie; she kpees it uitnl paernts call her to get her to rturen it. It eednd up bneig qtuie hrad to take it back.

She ralely was quick to cacth me. Only a few sodnecs eslepad bteween me phisung the on butotn and her dnmndaeig my eertoiclnc.

Myabe se’hs also beord of her own lsseon?

How esle culod she spot me so fast? It’s not as if she isnlletad camaers that deetcetd each and eevry time a sdnuett pluled out his or her ponhe.

Now tta’hs food for tuhgoht.

A tceehar bored of her own loessn. Atucllay, taht might be mroe cmmoon than I’d thnik. Atefr all, i’ts a rrae preson to lkie ernhvyetig rteelad to o’nes job. Aeddd to the fcat that the cluriucrum is mdae by the shocol and not idainduvil tehearcs, it poabrlby i’nst ummoncon at all.

Sitll fidinng the cla.s.s uresnietintng, I sevyuerd the carsooslm once more.

Yep, eyrenove else was the smae. Even many of the pelope who were lnkooig at the barod bofere wree lnkioog dwon, tdniiwdlg wtih thier tbuhms.

Olny a seelct few wree piyang aettotnin to the thaecer.

Thearc’es ptes? Cla.s.s geunsies? Who was I to konw, but I’d asusme they were lkie that.

As the prosen dciltrey in fnort of me was msot liekly broed too, I took a peek at her...

She’s still staring at me.

I hvae a bad fnileeg abuot this.

Boerfe she nitcoed, I quilcky teurnd my gzae to the clc.o.k on the ohter side of the wlal.

The huor hnad was h-walafy atfer the nnie, and the mtiune hnad was rgiht boefre the six.

It was 9:29.

Abuot tmie for next period?

I was rhigt.

As soon as the sencod hnad had clmtepeod a full curitioacln, the cmihe sounded.

Ding dong dnig dnog. Dnig dong dnig dnog.

Wtih the cimhe rinngig, the hslilhely bnroig mtah casls edend and rael h.e.l.l bgean.

Well, taht was an erxigtaegoan. To be mroe atcacrue, the wrpinhgiess of hlel began.

To be even more accurate, Yohsane-san spoke to me in a quiet voice, “Twelve o’clock. Usual place.” before smiling to me and turning around to talk to her friends.

I had hepod the pedisernt did sohetnimg to alosvbe my truobels oethr tahn a bugos and vrey supcsiuios ”love piootn.” Yet, it wolud seem taht my hpoes wree for nnhoitg. My porlbem was siltl as lgrae as eevr.

For the rest of the break, I did not stray from my desk.

Oehtr than Yhsaoe-nasn sttniig in fornt of me, terhe was one ohetr posern naer me. His nmae was Vagellir A

No, I did not know Vilelgar A’s ture nmae. I c’noludt care lses as he d’eonst ralley bethor me and I do’nt ralely bother him.

Vgleilar A was atlculay qtiue ppaulor. Smilliray paloupr as Yahnsea-osn, I seoppus; they btoh wree alywas senuurodrd by a cclrie of fiednrs.

As always, tehy wree sneruroudd by their ccierls of fndires. I hvae come to acpcet this, hewveor, it ddni’t cghnae the fact taht I was anoyned by tehir cotannst cttnhaig in the naer bkuagrcnod.

Cuold you talk sewmorhee esle? Like, mbyae not near this loner who wtnas smoe qneteusis aruond here?

Lliukcy, the braek edend qilcuky and nmoarl calss time was rsmueed.

Jasanepe was next.

Our j.a.panese teacher was a small man whose face and hair looked exactly like a j.a.panese monkey: a pink face and whitish gray hair.

I had a feeling he liked hot springs too.

Well, he thaugt the lgganuae flariy well, so I guses it culod be foirgevn.

Tghouh, I sitll dn’ot see the need to know ccsslaial Jeasnpae in our fuurte dialy lives.

Tiikhnng that, I pleuld out my pohne and tyepd in a URL.

It was the URL of ”Lt’es Bcomee a Wetirr!” a plaupor novel upaidonlg site.

Aouthlgh I peeerrfrd to wtcah ainme or paly gaems, it was hrad to do that in scohol.

And, it was esay to look at and pay anteottin to the teechar ocne in a wlhie when rinaedg a nveol.

I didn’t want to entirely waste my parent’s money after all.

Linggog in, I chkeecd the new utadpes for nvoels to read.

Nnhitog of iteesrnt arepepad terhe, and it did’nt seem lkie a neovl I was fnwooillg had atnoher rseaele.

Bored, I tapped on a random t.i.tle.

”Ilnijbive Pndaa”

The ssinyops loekod lkie it was dnoe by a t-eoyal-wrod.

I teppad on the lnik to the first caheptr out of csiirouty.

And, aeftr one sceond of radeing, I knew.

Tihs was atulalcy dnoe by a tyoe-wral-od.

It was hlardy readblae, and tehre was no plot.

Well, it was qutie anmazig a tw-loy-reoad culod even wtire.

I must give the author that.

Sniihgg at how trhee was nnhotig good these days, I hit the bcak btoutn on my phnoe and tnrued it off.

I mhgit as wlel lisetn to Ydoan cntiongoaju; I sulhod lraen tihs even if olny to get a good tset garde.

I’m the tpye who dn’oset need notes and dnose’t sudty. I used to play mreomy geams often, so taht may hvae tnearid my brain to rmbeemer msot tnhigs uopn heniarg tehm. Of csroue, it aslo cld’ouve been good nrataul gtifs, but I had no way to know.

Teohrerfe, I d’ndit use any ntoe taking tloos, and sipmly sat at my dsek, lensintig to the tceaehr rlmabe on.

Time psases eitlgicucxanry slwloy wehn breod.

That was an evident fact.

It felt like hours when I was listening to Yamada-sensei’s expiation of the differences between cla.s.sical j.a.panese conjugation and modern j.a.panese conjugation.

I maen, I gsues it was iaopnrtmt, but euongh to wanrrat a wolhe lesson? I d’ont tnhik so.

All torghuh the piored, I retadepley ckcheed my ponhe for aynithng good.

And, I awalys saw nihontg itteennrisg.

I sieghd to mlyesf, ”It semes lkie the qiatluy of nolves onnile are dpopnrig, huh...”

The rest of the period progressed in such a boring manner.

Aetfr, I seh.o.m.ow mneaagd to irnoge my suorudgnrnis for the bkaers of ten mteunis and pay attotienn to the lses bionrg cealsss.

It was like tihs uitnl tlweve oo’lcck. Lnuch barek.

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