Friends [Natsuki x Yuri]

03

Natsuki stared at the table as the teacher droned on about algebraic equations and fractions and other useless things.

Just 10 more minutes until her torture ended. 10 harsh, long, unforgiving minutes of nothing but maths. It was killing her slowly, inside and out.

She laid her chin on the desk sullenly, folding her arms underneath it as she zoned out, staring at the clock on the wall as the seconds ticked away. It made her feel kind of light-headed, just staring as the hand ticked around endlessly.

“Miss Natsuki? Could you answer this question please?” the teacher asked, causing Natsuki to snap her head up instantly.

“Uh, uh, yes, sir!” Natsuki looked at the board. She blinked. She blinked again. She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her eyebrows. “Uhm…”

“You were paying attention to the lesson, right?”

“Um… Maybe?” she answered uncertainly, shrugging.

The class laughed, making a red flush creep across Natsuki’s face and neck. She looked at the question once more, then around at the classroom. “Um… Is it… Is… Um… No. I, um, I don't know, sir…”

The teacher frowned, then sighed. “Natsuki, you really need to make sure that you pay attention, because this knowledge will be very important for your future!”

Natsuki nodded half-heartedly, slumping back down to rest on the table. Yeah, right. Like pi times x would be helpful when her father beat her and starved her.

She was uncomfortably aware of the snickers she had gained from the other students. Fixing them with a glare, she shoved her book in her bag quickly as she watched the clock tick closer and closer to the end of the day.

The bell rang, signalling Natsuki's release from hell. She grabbed her bag eagerly, swinging it around to rest on her shoulder. Barging through the crowd of students carefully placing their notes in their bag, she swung the door open, hearing a satisfactory thwack as it hit the wall. It probably left a dent; good, she'd left a lasting impression on this maths class.

Gripping her bag straps with her slim, petite fingers, she ran to the Literature Club, eager to chat, read and share poems with everyone in the club. It was her favourite part of the day, the safest place of her life, the place where she was closest to being the truest person she could be.

She didn't care about the weird glances she noticed the students fixing her with, her mind being set on getting to the club as early as possible. She wanted to read manga, and chill with the club members, before she was forced to endure through more hell - only, that hell was a secret that nobody knew about.

She swung open the door proudly, marching in, her hands on her hips sassily as she noticed Monika already in the clubroom, shuffling through some papers at a desk. She looked up, her brown hair flicking up slightly as she smiled warmly at Natsuki, chuckling slightly.

"Energetic as ever, I see," she welcomed, as Natsuki threw her bag on a desk and grabbed a chair, dragging it to the closet.

"Lemme guess, the manga's been moved again, hasn't it?"

Monika rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I'm only doing what the teacher asked me to!" she defended herself weakly.

"But the top shelf?" Natsuki asked rhetorically, standing on the chair and reaching up. Damn it; even with the chair, she could barely reach her precious manga.

"Hey, Natsuki, make sure you don't kill yourself!" Monika called out, worried. "I'm just going to do something quickly!"

Natsuki nodded, even though Monika couldn't see her, as the door clicked shut.