I've been feeling something strange lately. Every time I go to school I always feel something is odd. Actually, I'm also not sure why I still diligently go to school. For some reason, it feels like I'm being watched. I noticed that some of my classmates occasionally glanced at me, especially when I was outside of class. Every time I go back to the dormitory, I always take an alternative route that is not used by many people but for some reason, some girls from my class started to take the same road. It felt as if I was being followed. I don't know if this is related or not but some decided to approach me right after the class ended.
"Nanahara-san, can we talk for a bit?" Satonaka—our class rep in all but name—suddenly talked to me before I left the class. Normally this girl would just leave me alone, but I seem to have done something that has caught her attention.
"What do you want?" I said. I realized some of the students around me were staring at us. The girls among them started whispering to each other as if displeased with the way I spoke to their beloved class president. Ugh, this is why I don't like popular people. One little mistake and everyone hates you, although in my case I think they just didn't like me from the start.
"I just want to talk for a bit, just the two of us...can I?" Satonaka was still speaking in a friendly tone. Unlike the girl from the other day, I don't feel the fakeness behind it. She didn't look as suspicious as Kurose either. Unfortunately, I have no interest in talking with her. When she approached me I saw that Kurose also glanced at me, don't tell me he's behind this. He knew I wanted nothing to do with him so he asked this girl for help.
"Sorry, but I don't have time for you, I have to go..." I ended the conversation while walking out of the classroom accompanied by the stares of several people who started to sneer. Unexpectedly Satonaka chased after me.
"Wait,...Nanahara-san. If you really can't talk right now, then how about we walk together? I also feel like going home earlier today..."
I stopped in my tracks and sighed. "Did Kurose tell you to do this?"
"...Um...what?"
I immediately turned to face her. "Which part of what I'm saying that you don't understand? We hardly ever talked before this and suddenly you wanted to walk with me? It must be because of what happened between me and those class D bitches right? Kurose must have told you. I've told you guys again and again that I want nothing to do with any of you. My patience is running out, so you better go back to Kurose and tell him that he will taste my kick if he keeps bothering me,"
Some of the students who were passing by started to stare at us. Some even stopped to look around out of curiosity but soon continued walking when they saw my eyes glaring at them. We've attracted attention but so be it. Let them know I am already fed up with all this.
The girl in front of me was stunned to hear my threat. I hope she gets the message and doesn't come near me again. Unfortunately, before I could turn around, this girl still dared to speak. Apparently, my warning is still not rough enough.
"You're right, Kurose-kun asked me, and he did it out of concern. You must remember what happened to him after the midterms, right? We just don't want something similar to happen again. Trust me, we just want to help—"
"I never asked for your help," I cut her off while turning away. "What happens to me is my own business, now please just let me be."
After saying that I got up and left Satonaka who was trying to call me but I didn't care. I don't know what kind of face she makes as I walk away, nor do I want to know. At least this time she's not trying to chase me again.
I walked and walked on in a hurry. I want to get back to my room and get my mind off all this nonsense. They started to make a fuss about that time, even though it was none of their business. What the hell is "for the good of the class?" In the end, you just don't want to run out of pocket money, do you? Even though some are as kind as Satonaka, I'm sure that when the time comes, she will definitely prioritize herself and her friends over someone like me.
I'm tired of everyone acting like they care. People who can say they want to help you are just a bunch of hypocrites, or spoiled children who have never experienced any kind of trouble in their entire life, or you could say a group of people who are so blessed that they can pity others. I don't need all that. I don't want their sickeningly fake pity.
I took a slightly different detour than usual. Today I don't want to meet anyone. Unfortunately in an isolated place like this, I only had limited path options, which was why I ended up following the same path again. Since I went home early, at least I wished the streets were a little quieter.
"Tch...this is sucks..." I cursed while kicking a pebble near my foot. Ahh...damn, I want to punch something.
***
Today is not as hot as yesterday. I want to quickly get to the dorm but I do not speed up my pace. As I walked, I pondered a lot. Everything seemed to be repeating itself...as if I was looking at a recording from the past.
Despite all my efforts to pull away, bad luck didn't seem to want to let me go. I'm starting to wonder, why can't they just let me mind my own business? It's not like anyone will be harmed if they stop and leave me alone.
Even in a school with a closed environment like this, it still wasn't enough to spare me from all this bullshit. Right now my room is the only comfort zone I have. When I started to approach the dorm I thought at least I could unwind for today. I think it's about time I—
"Are you...Nanahara Mari-san?"
Of course...of course, this will happen. Lately, I can't even go home in peace. Ever since I came here, I've been constantly confronted by strange people. First, some idiotic guy trying to seduce me, then that bastard Kumoi, then Kurose, and lastly a bunch of jealous girls. This time it was a man with an incredibly haughty face. My goodness, is it too much if I just want a peaceful life?
"Yeah...you're the one, right? Come with me for a moment, I want to talk to you."
"Fuck off!" I tried to ignore this person and continued walking past him.
"Whoa, you talk so rudely. It seems that Class C is filled with thugs," the man chuckled. "You'd better listen if you still want to stay here. A few days ago you were having a fight with Class D, right?"
Did this person come to avenge them? Or maybe he was just giving a warning? Well, I don't care. I kept walking and the man could talk all he wanted.
"You made them bleed, aren't you afraid they will report you?"
"Report me!?" I stopped and glared at him. Even though I want to ignore him, but those words make me snap for some reason. These people are truly ignorant. "Those three are the ones who came to me and accused me of all sorts of things! They were the ones who slapped me first! Just report it and they will be kicked out too."
"That's not what they said," the man smirked at me. "And probably won't be believed by the teachers either."
"They can ramble as much as they want, but that's the fact. They outnumber me three against one."
"But they are the ones who get hurt more. I know you guys from Class C are violent people, but my gosh you really beat them up. Your reputation isn't that good after all, who do you think you'd trust more? Two injured girls or a certain thug who had a history of beating people up?"
This guy was acting like he already had the upper hand. He reminds me of that bastard Kumoi and it pisses me off. I really want to punch this guy. "Who are you? Their classmate?"
"Me? No, I'm from class A. Normally I wouldn't want to get involved with kids from class D, but the girls asked me for a favor, and because I'm kind, I said yes."
So that's how it is. Even though they seem to have a crush on a senpai named Fujiwara, now they're seducing students from other classes to do their dirty work. They are truly a bunch of lowly bitches.
"You understand now? How about you apologize to them? That way we don't need to involve the teachers and you can go about your day peacefully afterward."
I sighed. "As a class A student, you are quite stupid."
"...What?"
"Are you aware that you're being used? What do they give you? Did they pretend to cry and beg you? Telling a sob story? Or maybe they opened their legs for you?" as far as I know each class is supposed to compete against each other, so why else would he bother helping other class students? As a class A student this person is disappointing. He shouldn't act so arrogant in front of anyone.
"That's none of your business," he said with a twitch of an eyebrow after hearing what I said. "The point is you are in trouble now. You should stop being cocky and apologize properly to them..."
"What if I don't?"
"Then you will be expelled from this school..."
"You think I'm afraid of expulsion?" at this stage, getting kicked out wouldn't feel so bad. I'm also starting to get sick of this place. Of course, I have no intention of resigning just like that, but if I do get kicked out, I'll make sure these people learn a valuable lesson.
"Heh, of course, you said that. You punks think you can solve everything with violence. Hey, just so you know, your life will be ruined if you keep acting like that..."
"Blah-blah-blah, you've said enough Mr. class A students. Just so you know, my life is bad enough already. Beating up a bastard or two won't make it any worse."
"You want to resort to violence? You may be a thug who often bullies weak girls, but in the end, you are just a girl yourself, and I can do karate."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, come to me anytime, I'll show you—UAGH!"
This bastard fell to the ground clutching his stomach. Heh, karate my ass. He couldn't even dodge my kick even though I attacked him from the front. Pathetic. I dropped my bag on the ground and approached the bastard.
"D-damn it. What are you doing?"
"You said you know karate, so I thought you should at least be able to fend it off. It's a shame because it looks like you're just all-talk."
"Y-you think you can get away with this? Your class points will be deducted for committing violence."
"I never cared about class points. I just want to live quietly and you trash always get in my way. Now stand tall like a man for I will make an example out of you."
I walked closer to him and the man immediately sank in fear. "Do not come closer!"
He tried to stand up with great difficulty then ran away from me. What a pussy. He's been acting like everything is under his control and now he ran like a coward.
At first, I considered letting him escape. But the next second I was chasing that bastard instead. These people will never learn. If I just leave them be, they will come back again. That's what always happens to me again and again.
They always judge someone even though they don't know anything about them. They made tons of wrong assumptions about me and accused me of many things that I never do. When I fought back against them I was the one at fault, even though they were the ones asking to be beaten. No, I'm tired of all this bullshit. I will beat up this bastard and then take some pictures to share around school later. Hopefully, then everyone will learn to stop bothering others.
The man ran through the street behind the mall and shops. The path he took was almost the same as the one I usually took every morning. In other words, the paths that are less crowded by people. He might be looking for a place to hide but that would be a big mistake. If he wanted to be safe, he should have gone to a crowded place screaming for help. Maybe he didn't because he didn't want anybody to know that he fled from a girl. It's embarrassing for him, but whatever the reason, it works in my favor.
I chased him until he disappeared at an intersection near an electronics store and a cafe. The road on the left leads to the park while the right one leads to the mall. If I go straight...uh, I kinda forgot but if I'm not mistaken I will find a baseball field. Where is he going?
I saw that in one corner of the intersection, there were three students who were talking while drinking canned drinks. For some reason, one of them seemed to be stealing glances at me, but at that time I didn't pay much attention to it.
"You looking for someone?" the guy suddenly asked me. I was a little surprised by it and so did his friends. They seemed confused to see him suddenly talking to me.
"Is he a short black-haired student? If so, I see him running that way" he pointed to the road on the left.
"Are you serious?" I asked.
"Yeah, if you don't believe me, just ask my friends. You guys saw him too, right?"
"Y-yeah...we did see a guy running this way..." his two friends answered hesitantly. They're not lying to me, are they? Ah never mind. I didn't have any clues so I just followed their directions. Besides, if I linger too long the bastard might get away.
I immediately ran down the road to the left and when I got to the park I walk around once and found no sign of the bastard. Some of the students who were in the park started looking at me curiously but I ignored some of them. I questioned several people and none of them claimed to have seen the person I was looking for.
Damn it! He got away. He might have taken a shortcut before reaching the park or it could have been the other guys who had been lying to me. Maybe they were actually his classmates who tried to save him. When I returned to the intersection earlier, they were not there. Tch! Now I feel like a fool. Just watch out if we meet again, I'll kick them in the groin. Now maybe it's time for me to go back to the dorms, but then I remembered my bag that I left earlier.
***
Luckily my bag was still where it was when I left it just now and no one approached me while I was walking towards the dormitory. When I got there I immediately took off my shoes, threw my bag on the chair, and immediately throw myself to the bed. A lot has been going on lately and I'm a bit mentally exhausted. I hope my fridge still has enough stock so I never have to go out again.
As I lay down, I began to contemplate everything that just happened. After being kicked by me, the bastard may report me to the faculty. The three bitches from back then will probably report me as well. If that happened then I would most likely be summoned to the teachers' office for questioning and possibly expelled as well.
Considering what's gonna happen, maybe I should stop coming to class too. Class points might be reduced by that and Kurose will lecture me again, but so be it. If I was going to be expelled then there was no point worrying about all that.
For the first time in months, I also thought of my parents. They will be very surprised when they hear that I have to change schools again. I might have to be scolded to the fullest, but in the end, after sending me to another school, they would just sigh in disappointment and then sink back into their work again. Yes, exactly like what they've always been doing. Well, to hell with all that. Let them rant, let them lecture as long as they want, let them say all they want behind my back. After all, in the end, it would all be the same so there was no point for me to worry about it. Yes, for now, it's better if I stop thinking. Right now I just want to lie down without having to think about anything.
***
I'm sorry for the very slow update. I was moving to a new place also the new term has begun in college I've been quite busy with a lot of things. I hope next chapter wouldn't take too much time to write. I hope you enjoy it, see you next time.