Adrift

3

Aoi Chigusa ♂

The plan is evil, wicked, and just plain wrong. I saunter behind my group of friends and stay quiet. Maki, my girlfriend is at the center with Matsui-san. The guys surround them at the side, laughing and agreeing to everything Matsui says.

I hate that I have to be the bait. As much as I don't care about Hatsumomo and Ishiki, well I don't hate them, not at all. Man, this makes me sad to even be a part of this.

When we arrive in the classroom, the first thing I look at is Hatsu. She's at the back, staring at her phone screen because everyone's ignoring her. The plan is to sit between her and Ishi. I linger at the seat between Maki and stare at the place beside Hatsu.

"Come on, Aoi-kun. You're the only pretty boy who can do this," Matsui eggs on. I look at Maki, and she nods with a fake smile, I know that she does not like this either.

The classroom is not very spacious, there are over 50 desks, and you can't even walk in the aisle properly without bumping someone's seat. The blackboard is not clean, yesterday's cleaners forgot to wipe it with a wet rag.

"Stop stalling!" Matsui snaps. "Okay, whatever," I reply, irritated with all of this, I make my way towards Hatsu. She notices I come and faces the window beside her. Her hair bedazzled with hairpins, and she's wearing a pair of heart earrings. It is girly stuff, but I notice it because it makes girls cute.

"Hatsumomo-san, can I sit beside you?" I ask. I can feel my friends watching behind me, trying their best not to crack a laugh and reveal our plan. Her round eyes widen, and her cheeks flush in redness. I pity this poor girl. She nods repeatedly and bites her bottom lip. I give a tight smile and sit down at the seat beside her.

Matsui and Maki give me a thumbs up and grin. I ignore it and bury my face in my folded arms. The first step will be complete if Ishi sits beside me. A few minutes pass, and she hasn't arrived yet. It'll be two minutes until Ibuki sensei comes.

What do I expect from a student like her?

I bet her scalp hurt when she bleached it. Her hair is light blonde, light enough, I consider it white. What an idiot.

Ibuki Sensei arrives and greets the class. Everyone stands, bows, and greets him a good morning in unison. I look at the exit door as I hear the heavy steps of a student running late. I'm sure that's Ishiki-san. She enters through the entrance and bows towards Sensei.

"Why are you late again, Miss Ishiki?" he asks and taps a stick on his other palm.

"Sumimasen Ibuki Sensei, my brother sends me to school, and he's kind of slow in the morning," she answers. Some of our classmates snicker in response. I can tell that she's honest, but it's not the right thing to say. For the first 30 minutes of class, she stands behind, raising both of her hands as punishment. I can tell that she's used to it because her hands stay put in the air without shaking.

Ibuki is our English teacher. He's excellent enough that he doesn't even have a semblance of Japanese accent when he speaks. He snaps his stick on his desk when he gets disappointed. Mostly, by Matsui, who's got a rough pronunciation.

After a while, Ibuki gestures Ishiki-san to sit down. I can tell she's tired since she chooses the nearest seat, the one beside me. She resigns her upper body on her desk and heaves out a deep sigh.

"Oi, can I look at your book? I don't have mine yet," she asks, but it seems more like a command. I slide my book nearer to her side. She pushes her seat nearer to mine, and her head bobs to the right, making her blonde hair fall on my arm.

Matsui turns her head around and gives me another thumbs up. The task isn't that hard because Ishiki-san is very impolite and confident. I can feel Hatsumomo looking at us with a downcasted expression, her eyebrows furrowing down. Girl, calm down, this is nothing. I wonder what she has been feeling all this time when we used to hang out together with Maki.

Ibuki then announces he's giving an oral exam. Everyone flinches in their seat and flips pages in the book. The first ones to recite are the students in column one. Ibuki asks them a question, and most cannot deliver a fitting answer. He snaps his stick on his desk and taps his foot on the ground impatiently.

I can feel Ishiki-san's panic as her trembling hands flip the pages of my book. She looks at me and points at a question in the book. Ibuki's items are from the book, so it's relatively easy.

She points at #3, "How do you feel right now?"

I translate it in Nihongo for her, and she smiles. "Then what do I say?" she follows up a question. I shake my head and chuckle. Geez, this girl.

"Say, I feel shy because I'm near Aoi."

She grins and recites the line repeatedly, replicating how I say it. Japanese accent in her English is, well, tolerable. When it was her turn, Ibuki asked her the same question. She looks at me before answering it, and I nod.

"I feel shy because I'm near Aoi," she says. The class erupts in "Oooohs" and wolf whistles. Yeah, that's a killer. She furrows her eyebrows when she realizes something was suggestive and shoots me a glare. She sits down and slides her chair away from me.

Ishiki-san isn't the type that guys easily sway. I respect that.

I look at Maki, and she's happily scribbling something in her notebook. I smile and place my chin on my palm. A cute girlfriend like Maki is enough. I'm very fortunate.

When recess begins, some students stay together with their group. Ishiki-san and Hatsumomo head out of the room together, smiling ear to ear. How sweet.

Otomo, one guy in my group, sits down in front of me and reports, "I dropped the card in Ishiki's locker yesterday." Matsui gives him a 500 yen coin as an exchange. Maki holds my hand and kisses my forehead.

"You just have to stand at the rooftop and wait for us. That's all," Maki assures me. I say nothing and lean on my chair. She knows that I hate this plan but pretends it is okay.

You may wonder why Matsui's very influential. She's the class president and Principal Matsui's granddaughter. Crazy, right?

As the clock struck at 12, I immediately make my way towards the rooftop. When I arrive, there was no one. I could see the town on a tiny scale. I can see the shopping district nearby and the small village across it. The wind soothes and gives a cold feeling to what I thought to be my numbing hands.

I sniff the breeze and sit on the railing. Why didn't I hang out here often? It's so peaceful and quiet. I spread my arms and feel the wind passing my whole body.

"Oi!" Ishiki-san's voice disrupts my trance. On her hands is the pink card that Otomo gave her. I can see that he was mocking her with all the delicate designs on it. Before I could say something, Ishiki-san slaps my cheek with the card.

Damn, that hurt.

"You're a coward and an asshole." The veins on her forehead protrude, and her face flushes in redness, not in embarrassment but anger.

"You think I would like you?" I reply coldly. Her expression does not change, meaning she knows I don't. She places a hand behind my head and caresses my hair. I blink in confusion and squirm in disgust.

Before I could flick her hand off, she grips my hair. My head then sinks with the massive force of her hand pushing it. She strikes a raised knee that crashes towards my nose. Otomo and Maki, who just arrive near the rooftop door, widen their eyes and drop their jaws, followed by Hatsumomo, who covers her mouth.

I kid you not; it feels like my nose has dislocated. Warm thick liquid slides down from my nostrils. My vision blurs, and then the ground meets my back. I close my eyes and lose consciousness.

Ishiki-san, I'm both sorry and ashamed.

-

TERMS: 

Sumimasen - Formal Apology

Sensei - Teacher