Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate

Chapter 30 - Crush

My eyes fluttered open before the alarm rang.

I disliked being pulled out of my soothing, comfortable sleep, so I was used to waking up a few minutes prior. The biological clock that slumbered deep inside my body wasn't at all accurate or dependable, but my morning routine on the ship was already carved into my very conscience.

To my surprise, I hadn't been the first one to wake up.

Mako-chan, Yume-chan and Tsube-san were already awake, which was rather strange, as they would usually snore and turn in their beds until the alarm clock did its job. Even then, it was custom that they slapped on the snooze button for the traditional 'just five more minutes' plea, whereupon they wriggled around and dozed off again.

This time, they called out to me as I moved.

""Good morning, Class Rep.""

"Honami-chan, good morning!"

Their voices sounded different from usual, but I was too tired to narrow their change in behavior down to the most obvious reason. Instead, I was assured that they were just excited about how the new exam would play out and whether they had been chosen as the VIP of their group.

"Good morning everyone. You are up early." I rubbed my tired eyelids and sat straight before a yawn escaped my lips. "This has to be the first time that I don't have to drag you all out of bed, huh?"

Three joyful laughs rang through the cabin.

The girls pointed at the soft, warm and comforting object my arms had embraced with wide, teasing grins on their faces. My own grew beet red in response, as I realized that they must have seen my embarrassing and defenseless sleeping posture in which I embraced the stuffed animal Ayanokouji-kun had gifted me for my birthday.

"Mhhh..."

This low hum was all I could muster as I pushed my blazing face deep into the panda's fluffy head. My eyes began to tear up a little, not out of sadness, but because of the troublesome thought that they must have looked at me as I smiled like an idiot while I grabbed onto the soft toy that still smelled like him.

In my imagination, at least.

"Well, well Honami-chan. Now we finally know why you are always the first one to get up. You are lucky that we are all deep sleepers or we might have discovered this adorable side of our precious Honami-chan much sooner. Gosh, this cute scene is just too much to handle. My heart can't take anymore of this."

"You're the worst!"

A squeal slipped my lips as I threw myself backwards.

The mattress made multiple loud squeaking sounds as my burning hot fingers grabbed onto the comfortable, thick blanket, which I soon pulled over my person in order to conceal the crimson coloring that crept along my skin. My body gave off a searing heat, which gathered underneath the comforting layer of cotton. This sudden increase in temperature became too much to handle, forcing me to slip out of my hiding place.

We were dragged back into reality by four loud ringtones and the shrill sound of my alarm clock. The latter kept echoing through the room until I pushed my arm forward to pressure it into silence. I sat up, hugged the panda with both my arms and legs now that everyone had seen it anyway, and grabbed my phone from the bed.

"Let's go through them together."

""Yay!""

Everyone was excited about the announcement, so we had decided to look at each message with the four of us. There might not have been any deeper meaning, or any convoluted strategy involved, but it was always nice to spend such fun times with my classmates. We only had three years together, which was why we would enjoy them without regrets.