COTE: Villainkouji

Vol.1. Chapter 1.3: Lunch date

Chabishira sensei smirked in my direction, while clapping softly.

Horikita appeared in the corner of my vision, looking at me with a shocked expression and a little bit of respect? Like she's noticing me for the first time.

I pretended to be unconcerned and ignored the stares from my classmates.

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''I can't fathom that this is supposed to be the most prestigious school out there. Just look at the amount of disruption and tardiness the teachers are willing to overlook.''

''Oh, are we still talking about that,'' I sighed.

''Of course, we are still talking about that,'' Horikita scoffed. ''How can a school promise a bright future, if this is their education standards----''

I silently put on both my noise-canceling AirPods, and set the music volume to max.

I don't hate Horikita but I don't really like her either, which was one of the most socially normal things about me—nobody really liked Horikita. 

She was cold and snappy. More than that, she had a brash, grating attitude, and she would speak her mind regardless of others' feelings.

In other words, she acted like the bullies, but without any of the strength or charisma to back it up. This all suited me fine, because she had the one quality I most desired in a school acquaintance—she likes to listen, and didn't much care if I paid attention to her or not. 

I noticed her stop talking, maybe she saw the AirPods.

I could feel her staring at me so intensely that it could be mistaken for a glare. Was she upset with me or something? But, based on the expression on her face, she didn't appear to be angry. She'd undoubtedly want to talk to me later, so I ignored her for the time being.

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Just as class ended, I stretched my arms.

Okay, everyone should be heading to the cafeteria for lunch, but for my little investigation today, I'm going to need a cute social gal.

While Chabashira-sensei was explaining the points yesterday, the only people who appeared to be suspicious were me, Horikita, Koenji, and a girl named Matsushita Chiaki.

I would have invited Horikita to join me for lunch, but based on our previous exchanges, she does not plan to get along with anyone, so I am forced to ask my prisoner.

While everyone was getting up to go to lunch, I strolled up to Kushida's already formed friend group. Which was impressive given the short period of time. As expected of her, building such a close-knit group so fast.

"There's my girl," I called out to Kushida while waving my right hand. She seemed caught off guard when she saw me. My eyes then flickered to the three other girls as they stood there in shock. "Or should I say girls?"

I believe their names were Mei-Yu Wang, Kokoro Inugashira, Kayano Onodera.

"Huh!" Kushida steps back.

''Relax, I was just joking around. It seems humor is not one of my strong points. And that's precisely why I must master it.''

''Wait, arent you the guy that got the full marks in everything?''

''A-Ayanokouji r-right?''

''Yeah, the one and only. But let's talk about that some other time, I'm sure we will get plenty of opportunities. Right now I'm in need of your little blonde friend here. You ladies wouldn't mind if I borrow Kushida for a bit, would you?''