Week Six, Tuesday
When Ayano wakes up in the morning, it feels like a normal day. This is partially due to the fact that Ayano always goes through the same morning routine, and partially thanks to the lack of texts from anyone. Not seeing Otohiko’s name first thing in the morning does wonders for Ayano, and when she steps out to see her five closest friends, she believes that it will be an average day.
The day becomes even better when Taro and Uekiya join the group on the walk to school. Ayano finds herself watching the two interact. It’s interesting, seeing the two go back and forth in their conversations, teasing each other lightly. It’s cute, like a little dance that only they know the steps to.
Osano catches Ayano staring, and nudges her, trying not to laugh at her mesmerized expression.
“One day, you’ll be setting them up, too,” He whispers in her ear, and Ayano laughs. Osano beams at the sound, and the two fall into an easy banter for the rest of the walk to school.
When Ayano gets there, she plans to go straight to the Student Council room. She’d like to, for once, be able to see her friends during lunch. She misses being around them.
But her plans aren’t as straightforward as she had hoped. As she rounds the corner, she finds herself being knocked over, again, by a certain clumsy nurse.
‘ It’s always someone running into me. I can’t meet anyone nowadays without getting knocked down. ’ Ayano thinks to herself, unsure if she should feel annoyed or amused by the fact.
Mujo cuts off her thoughts with his apologizing. “Oh, not again! Ayano, I’m so sorry. Oh my, let’s get you to the office so I can make sure you’re okay. Oh, I need to stop rushing around…”
As he talks, Ayano stands up, brushing off her uniform. “I’m fine, but if you’d like, I’ll head to the office with you.”
Mujo smiles at her gratefully. “Oh, thank you! Come on.” He leads her through the halls, unaware of the fact that he nearly ran into three more people on the way to his office. Ayano just sighs, making a note that she may have to keep an eye on him.
When they get there, Mujo instructs her to sit on a cot, and is quick to check her over. As she already said, Ayano is fine, but Mujo seems to be more relieved after knowing that he didn’t harm her.
Once Mujo says she’s good to go, Ayano stands, checking the clock. There’s still enough time in the morning that she can get some work done, thankfully. Ayano waves goodbye to Mujo, and he does the same, before turning around to check something.
Ayano almost laughs when she hears him mutter, “I could’ve sworn I left the syringe in here. Where did I move it to…”
When Ayano gets to the Student Council room, the other four are already in the room, discussing something. Ayano sits down by the cabinet, and gets through a few documents before she’s interrupted.
“Ayano?” Kuroko says, and Ayano looks up. “We just wanted to let you know that we’re going to talk with the Headmaster about the stolen knives. Would you like to join us, or can we just take your report?”
Ayano looks back to her two and a quarter stacks of papers, and smiles at the girls. “You can just take my report. I’d like to finish this stack today.” Ayano points to the quarter stack, and the four girls nod before leaving the room.
The bell rings just as Ayano puts away the last paper. She grins, proud of herself. Tomorrow, she’ll start on the third stack, and hopefully that won’t take too much longer.
In class, Mrs. Fuka keeps the class busy by assigning them textbook readings and assignments, then continues to pack away her stuff. She’s almost done, and by the time the bell for lunch rings, Ayano can only spot school-bought supplies in the room.
“Come on, Aya,” Osano says, taking her hand to drag her out of the room. “It’s time for lunch.”
Ayano lets Osano pull her to the roof, smiling the whole way up. Beside her, Kizano just rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning as well.
The whole group seems to be here at lunch today. Riku and Kokona are whispering to each other, and when Ayano arrives, Kokona gasps.
“Yan! Did you hear?” Kokona asks.
Ayano shakes her head. “Hear what, exactly?” She sits down next to Kokona, who’s practically shaking from the excitement of sharing the news.
“Riku just told me this, but Shozo broke up with Musume!” Kokona practically shouts the last bit, and everyone turns to listen.
“Wait, didn’t they just start dating a week ago?” Taro asks, confused.
Riku nods. “They did, but Shozo said that he broke up with her on Saturday. She was too rude to everyone else during their date.”
Osano sighs. “They went to a restaurant, didn’t they?” He hands Ayano a bento as he asks.
“They went to a sushi restaurant.”
“Did she insult the chef?”
“She insulted the chef.”
“That explains it.” Osano goes back to eating. “She’d never be able to resist looking down on someone who had to make food for her to get paid.”
“Or anyone, if surrounded by so many people,” Kokona adds in, blushing when everyone turns to look at her. “I’m not wrong, don’t give me that look."
Kizano just blinks. “You’re not, but weren’t you and Ayano the reason he dated Musume in the first place?”
Ayano nods. “Yeah.”
“Why did you set them up, if you know how nasty Musume is?” Amao asks, confused.
Kokona blushes more, but speaks. “Well, actually…” She looks away. “Let’s just say I owed her one, okay? My dad was indebted to her dad, and she got hers to back off if I could help her get a boyfriend from the Drama Club. She thought Shozo was the cutest-”
“And Shozo is willing to give anyone a chance. We thought Musume might change, and become a better person, if she and Shozo stayed together. And if she couldn’t change, Shozo would figure it out and leave her,” Ayano finishes calmly. Kokona shoots her a grateful look, glad that her old job didn’t come up in explanation.
“That makes sense...I suppose,” Oko says at last.
Osano just rolls his eyes. “Can I point out that, by doing this, Musume practically bought a boyfriend?”
Everyone laughs at that, and the subject is changed. Kokona seems lighter, no longer hiding some of her past from her friends. Ayano is glad to see her like this, and glad that she seems to, finally, be free of Musume.
But afternoon classes pass, and Ayano is pulled out of the class by Hana as soon as the bell rings.
Hana leans close to Ayano, eyes alight with mischief and a need to gossip. “So, Ayano, did you, like, hear about Musume?”
Ayano nods, forcing herself to frown. “Yeah, I heard that Shozo broke up with her?”
Hana giggles. “Yeah, he totes dumped her on Saturday. Right at the end of their date, too.” She leans in closer, practically touching Ayano. “And did you know that Musume skipped today?”
“Really?” Ayano hadn’t seen the ganguro-inspired girl all day, but didn’t really care.
“Yep! I think it’s because she’s so upset. She’s probably crying her eyes out right now.” Hana giggles again, and she winks at Ayano. “I thought you’d like to hear. Bye!” Then she walks off, probably going to find the rest of her little group.
Ayano walks back into the classroom and starts wiping down desks. She listens to the sounds of her classmates cleaning around her, and her short conversation with Hana drifts into the back of her mind, irrelevant to her.
When cleaning time is over, Kizano is quick to lead her out of the classroom. Aso catches up in less than a minute, and the three head to the gym.
Club time passes in the blink of an eye, and the Drama Club runs through the play perfectly. Everyone is excited by this, and talk of Saturday is increased. Some of the members contemplate throwing a party after their performance, but nothing is guaranteed before they all reach the gate.
Ayano walks home with all five of her friends, happy that the day has gone so well. By the time she’s done with her nightly routine, nothing has gone wrong. It’s just an average day.
In all honesty, Ayano should’ve been worried about just how normal the day has been. But she just goes to sleep, unaware that today was the calm before the storm.
Notes:
It seems that Musume's relationship didn't last long...She must be so sad, considering that she clearly ditched school. Poor girl.
1488 words.