As he had expected, Y/n failed the math test miserably. All he could answer confidently of twenty questions were five, and he had to guess everything else. He couldn't even review their lessons beforehand as their math class was right after English class, which had them create a 500-word essay. Now, all he could do was accept the fact that he could do nothing about it.
Y/n buried his face onto his desk with a loud thud, lamenting the miserable test he had just taken. His grades were going to take a bad hit from it, and had he not fallen asleep, he might've been able to salvage it. Well, not everything was bad news, though. Thankfully, their science class came after lunch since it was the last one for the day, so he had enough time to review during their break. He could also study during their recess, which was right now.
While Y/n laid his head down, he felt a tug on his uniform's sleeves, so he tilted his head just enough to look at the person who did so. He was relieved to see it was their president, Ai Sato, sporting a worried look on her face. He half-expected it to be met with Mizuki's shit-eating grin, but this was better.
She wore their school's uniform for females which consisted of a white blouse with a blue ribbon paired with a closed, black, two-buttoned blazer. The skirt was a dark shade of grey, and she wore a pair of black shoes with a few cute stickers, ones she presumedly put herself.
"Are you alright, (L/n)?" she asked him with furrowed eyebrows, "You don't seem too well. Is there a problem?"
With a smile on his lips, Y/n sat up straight and shook his head dismissively, saying, "Nah, it's nothing."
Silence fell upon them as Ai scrutinized Y/n for a while, who relented with a few reservations, "Hmm, that's good, I suppose. I guess this is how you usually react after failing."
Y/n raised a brow at her, "Who said I failed? Don't just assume anything. I'm relaxing."
"You undoubtedly failed," Ai responded briskly. "Have you forgotten we've known each other for quite some time? You are normally like this when you fail anything since 7th grade. I am not assuming; I am deducing."
Damn, right on the mark. He was surprised Ai just guessed that easily since no one else he'd known for a similar amount of time could. It was scary how observant she was, not gonna lie.
"However, if I did make a mistake in my judgment," Ai reassured Y/n, tucking a stray strand of her brown hair behind her ear and smiled as she ducked down to his level, "please know that I am here to help you."
Y/n silently stared at her face for a few moments and sighed in amusement, "Sure, Sato. I'll take note of that. And thanks, I guess."
"You are welcome," she responded, "I shall take my leave now. Although, before I do, where is your necklace?" she pointed at his neck, which laid bare without the accessory resting on it. "It almost feels wrong to see it missing. Perhaps you forgot to bring it?"
"Ah," Y/n rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle, "I still have it with me," he dug into his side pockets and showed it to her. "A certain jackass just told me I look like a priest with it, so I removed it."
"Hmm," she cupped her chin as she stood her full height, "I disagree. You look more handsome when wearing it," she casually said with a blank look. "But it's your decision."
Y/n, caught off-guard by the sudden comment, stuttered and blushed, "Wha- O-Uh-Thanks?"
She simply nodded and headed for the room's exit. Although, before she did, it was weird how she seemed to glance to his left past him.
While Y/n was still frozen up from the sudden compliment he received, he heard a snicker from behind. Whipping his head toward the direction of the sound, he was met by the sight of Mizuki grinning at him ear to ear. Whenever she had that look on her face, he knew she was up to no good.
"Ooh~ Did I walk in on something?" the corner of her lips twitched upwards, her right brow raising in amusement. "Does our local priest have the hots for our dear president?!" her voice was louder than needed as she pretended to gasp.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! And no, I don't!" Y/n dashed to Mizuki and covered her mouth within the blink of an eye. His chair clattered loudly on the floor from his sudden movement, making the few students left inside the room turn towards them.
How fast is this motherfucker? Wasn't he just sitting?! Mizuki thought as Y/n covered her mouth and her nose accidentally, making it hard to breathe. She was like, a good few feet away from where he was sitting! He was close to the middle row while she was in front of the door in the back of the room!
Unfortunately, the damage had been done as a few of their classmates who stayed behind looked towards them. If Y/n was lucky, this wouldn't become an issue, but because the dumbass in his hold screamed that out, it was likely it will.
"Hehe, nothing to see here!" Y/n awkwardly smiled at them, trying to defuse the situation. Although, with Mizuki kicking and squirming around while he held her, it looked like something worse was happening.
No matter how hard Mizuki tried removing his hands from her face, he didn't budge. She was starting to feel lightheaded as she couldn't breathe, and he didn't even realize it. He was looking somewhere else! So, she figured out the next best course of action in a desperate situation:
LICK HIM!
When Y/n felt something wet and soft hit his palm, he immediately removed his hand from Mizuki's face and glared at her, "What the fuck, Mizuki?! Why did you lick me?"
Letting out a few coughs, Mizuki supported herself with a hand on her knees and used the other to flip him off, "AGh, ASK THAT YOURSELF!" She looked at him eye to eye with a frown, still supporting herself, "I could barely breathe, asshole!"
From behind Mizuki, Jack suddenly walked into the room and lost his smile once he saw the two idiots fighting again.
"What are you doing?" the brunette asked with his hands on his hips, causing both of his friends to look at him.
"It's her fault!"
"Y/n assaulted me!!!!!"
Both of them answered at the same time and pointed at each other accusingly.
"... My god," Jack facepalmed and sighed, "Could you two act like your age for once? It's disappointing how this is a daily occurrence, especially for you," he targeted Mizuki specifically.
"WH- Huh? How is it my fault now?!" Mizuki defended herself.
"You're usually the cause of our problems. Now, say sorry, both of you," Jack demanded them.
While Y/n had no problems with that, their female friend had a different opinion.
"Ugh, do we have to?" Mizuki cringed at Jack. He was acting so much like her mother whenever she scolded her and her siblings, and she hated that!
"Yes," Jack affirmed, "Now, say sorry."
"What are you, my mother? Hop off my dick, bro."
Jack smacked her in the back of the head with more strength than intended, and tears threatened to spill from the corner of her eyes. She held the spot that Jack hit and started sniffling, still looking down at the wooden floor.
"That hurt..." she said with a shaky voice.
"That did sound like it hurt," Y/n looked at Jack with a wry grin. There was an underlying tone of amusement in the way he said it, but Jack didn't notice as he looked panicked, "What're you gonna do now, oh wise one?"
Y/n knew it wasn't as easy as that to make Mizuki cry, so it was amusing to see Jack start panicking when she started sniffling. Jack felt the need to comfort the sobbing girl in front of him, but he didn't know what to do.
Y/n eyed the clock above the chalkboard and left Jack to deal with Mizuki. About ten minutes had passed since recess started, so he exited the room to go to the cafeteria. He navigated himself through the halls and down a few flights of stairs, occasionally bumping into people. He did say sorry when accidentally hitting them. After all, he wouldn't want to leave a bad impression on his schoolmates.
A little more walking and the sight of the cafeteria greeted him, and he felt around his pockets for his wallet. Once there, he waited in line and bought a few chips and banana milk as a drink, which was one of the best ones he'd had yet. There was something about a banana being mixed in with milk, and he was thankful to whoever thought of that.
After a bit of searching, he found himself a table for the taking. Finally, he mused while setting the stuff he bought in front of him. He swiftly pulled out his phone and opened the lecture their teacher gave him to start studying, but there was a loud group of fifteen or so boys in the middle of the cafeteria.
How annoying, he thought as he eyed the group. Couldn't they keep quiet? He expected some noise, but not something as loud as they were, just his luck. Now that he had a good look, they were... arm wrestling? Though it didn't appeal to him, he understood why they would do something as stupid as that. After all, it feels good to rub how strong you are on your friends's faces when you win against them in anything. Tests of strength, however, were pointless to him. He was sure he could beat everyone in this school even while asleep.
Although, I wanna feel like them for once... his gaze shifted to one of longing. He honestly felt jealous of people who could enjoy something as simple as that. But when you know what the outcome would be without even starting, it takes away the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you get after such an activity.
Y/n sighed and finally started reading to, hopefully, at least pass his science test, unlike the last one. After a few minutes or so of being absorbed into the lesson, he felt a loud tray thud onto his table, prompting him to look up.
There, in her full, tiresome glory was Mizuki with a satisfied look on her face, a tray full of brownies, donuts, and candies in front of her. Jack followed closely with an annoyed look on his face when they both sat down.
"Heh, looks like your plan worked?" Y/n laughed at Jack's misfortune.
"YUP! This dumbass over here really thought I was about to cry," she pointed at Jack to her left using her thumb. She bit into a brownie and said, "Offered to buy me whatever the hell I wanted, so I took the chance!"
"She fooled me," Jack said with an unamused expression and faced Mizuki. "And could you please stop talking when you have your mouth full? It's disgusting."
"Nuh uh~" Mizuki responded.
"Your fault for being gullible, Jack," Y/n continued to read while eating his chips and drinking his banana milk.
Y/n continued reading in silence while Mizuki, who wanted to pester him more, opted to annoy Jack instead. In the middle of reviewing, though, he felt a person standing behind him.
"May I join you?" the girl with a familiar mop of brown hair asked politely, a banana milk in hand.
"Hm? Sure, why not?" he responded.
"Thanks," Ai sat beside him, her usually deadpan expression was graced with a small but noticeable smile. When Mizuki noticed her sitting beside him, she paused from bullying Jack, who was thankful she stopped.
"Eh? Who invited her over?" Mizuki asked, not realizing how rude it sounded. "Wassup, pres? Ya need something?"
"Hello to you too, Kawaguchi," she gave a courtly nod at the redhead despite her tone. "I saw your table had a spot, so I went here. I hope you don't mind."
"Nah, we don't! Right, Jack?" Mizuki asked the less-than-enthusiastic male, who agreed.
Ai observed the trio silently as she held the beverage in her hand, all the while maintaining prim and proper posture. Mizuki started slapping Jack lightly, and Jack sneered at her but let her continue. He still felt guilty, even if he got fooled by her since he unintentionally hit her with more force than he liked.
Most of the time, Ai had her eyes glued onto the male beside her. She loved the way his brows furrowed and how his nose scrunched up whenever he seemingly couldn't understand something, and when he did get it, he'd briefly smile and snap his fingers, only to go back to reading silently again.
He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, evident by his presumably failed math test, but he undoubtedly tried his best every time. Her thoughts couldn't help but drift to when she first met the group she sat with.
When they first met, she thought of Y/n as the same as most boys their age; careless, rigid, and useless. After all, back in 7th grade, Y/n was the loner of the class. Sure, he did make acquaintances, but he rarely joined in on groups for some reason. He rarely talked, too. It was as if he felt like he didn't belong with others. Usually, Mizuki would be the only one by his side, and when her friend groups wanted her to hang out with them, she'd pick Y/n over everyone else every single time.
Speaking of Mizuki, she was wild back then, even more so than now. She looked like the textbook definition of a "gyaru," and Ai felt bad that she thought the girl was a bitch at first. To her surprise, though, Mizuki was probably one of the sweetest girls she knew if she looked past her habit of swearing. She gave her whole lunch to an unfortunate kid back when they were grouped together for a dance in PE during 8th grade and practiced at a nearby park, even if Mizuki acted like she didn't want to. Nobody even forced her to do so, and she was the one who noticed the kid in the first place.
Jack, two years ago, was a new transferee in their school. Nobody thought wasting time on a clueless foreigner like him was worth it, but Y/n and Mizuki didn't share the same opinion. That was the first time she saw a massive shift in Y/n's demeanor with the way they helped him get accustomed to Japanese schools. He undoubtedly stepped out of his comfort zone.
How fantastic their friendship is with one another... she thought with a melancholic expression. Unfortunately, she could never have something like that.
Y/n noticed Ai spacing out beside him with a sad look on her face, so she tapped her shoulder, "Yo, is everything alright?"
Ai shook her head free from her thoughts, and offered a smile at Y/n, "Ah, it was nothing."
Y/n was about to ask more, but then screams erupted from the direction where the large group of boys were.
"AHA, DUMBASS!" one guy slapped the back of the loser.
"That was so bad!" said another.
"You couldn't even move him an inch!" A third one said, cackling.
"Get out of here, bro," said a fourth guy, standing lazily behind the winner.
Mizuki's eye twitched with annoyance as she looked at the group, "ARGH, they're so loud! Someone should really get them to shut the fuck up." As she got an idea, she faced Ai and suggested, "Hey, pres! You should totally go over there and stop them."
"No," Ai refused, making Mizuki deflate, "I have already tried. They said they would only stop under one condition."
"And that is???" Mizuki asked.
"To beat Watanabe in arm wrestling."
Mizuki froze up with a "GeH!" as she comically hit her head on the table. "But, like, isn't he the strongest dude on the basketball team?! Why would they even suggest you to do that? Those fuckers!"
Y/n zoned in on the group in the middle of the cafeteria and suddenly stood up, surprising the other three with him. Jack tried asking him what he was going to do, but he continued heading for the boys gathered around.
Once he stood in front of the group, one guy alerted the others, "Yo, new challenger approaching!" he faced Y/n and offered him a handshake. "Sup, bro? Wanna have a try at it?"
"Yeah, arm wrestling, right?" Y/n acted clueless, a tiny grin on his face.
"Yeah, gotta beat Watanabe over there," he pointed at the guy sitting in the middle with everyone around him. He was massive for their age. His shirt was bulging from the muscles underneath it, and he was easily twice Y/n's size. He was probably half a foot taller than him since he was the center of the basketball team. He didn't care, though.
"You in? You gotta pay up first, though. The winner gets the accumulated sum of money. Got a thousand yen to spare?" the guy in front of him questioned.
"Hm, sure," Y/n shrugged before paying and went to sit on the opposite side of Watanabe who offered to dap him up. He took it, of course. Y/n's eyes wandered onto the pile of money beside him, and Watanabe grinned at him.
"Like what you see? Gotta beat me first, tiny," he taunted Y/n, but he didn't let it get to him. Mizuki's insults were worse.
Watanabe went and placed his arm on the table, shortly followed by Y/n. "You ready?" the bigger male asked him.
"Yup," Y/n responded.
They grabbed each other's hands and one of the guys acted as a ref and started a countdown. Once he said, "Go!" Watanabe pushed with all his might. Another easy wi-
Y/n's arm didn't move. In fact, he didn't even look like he was struggling. No matter how hard he forced it, he couldn't push him.
Y/n started to push slowly, and Watanabe's arm was easily pinned down on the table. The loud group was now silent at what they had just seen, gawking at the male who beat Watanabe of all people.
"Thanks for the money," Y/n took all of the yen piled on top of each other and headed back to their table.
Watanabe couldn't believe he lost, but he let him be. After all, he was a dick, not a sore loser.
Ai, Mizuki, and Jack were also shocked by how easily Y/n beat him. Once Y/n was back in his seat, Mizuki looked at him, and back at Watanabe, rinse and repeat. "Did... did that just happen? Tell me I'm not crazy."
Jack and Ai shook their head, confirming what she just saw was real. "Okay, not even gonna question it."
Y/n was satisfied with the outcome. The bell rang, signaling recess had finally ended. The group started walking to their classroom, not a single one mentioned what had just happened on the way back.
The rest of the day continued as usual, and Y/n thankfully didn't fail his science quiz since he reviewed for it during lunch. Now, all that was left before they had to go home was homeroom.
While they waited, Y/n and his friends grouped up at the left-most corner at the back where Jack's seat was. Mizuki asked for his necklace and he gave it to her as she fiddled with it.
"How do I look?" Mizuki flipped her hair as she wore the white-jade beaded necklace.
"Like... you," Jack responded.
"Yeah, same answer," Y/n added.
Mizuki deadpanned at their answers and blinked twice, "Wow, thanks. Nice feedback. Woo," she lethargically cheered.
With a sigh, she removed it and gave it back to Y/n, "I'm surprised you even let me wear it, to be honest. I don't think I've ever seen you give it to someone else."
"I trust you enough to wear it," Y/n said as he wore it now. His comment touched Mizuki's heart, but she wouldn't admit that.
"Why was it important to you again?" Mizuki wondered, "Uh... grandpa's gift, or something?"
"Close. It was my grandpa's, given to me by my grandma," Y/n told her, eyeing the door once in a while to see if the teacher was there. "I've told you plenty of times, it's his charm against spirits."
"Oh yeah, I forgot 'bout that," Mizuki shrugged.
Jack tapped both of their shoulders and signaled for them to go back to the seats once he saw their homeroom teacher walk in, and they both left him. Once their teacher, Mr. Godou, was in front of the class, he started writing something on the board after putting down his belongings.
Purpose, Y/n read in his mind.
"Class, today we won't be using homeroom like we usually do. I'll take this time to talk about purpose," he faced the class, dusting off his hand from the chalk. "If I ask everyone here in class, how many do you think would be able to tell me what their purpose in life is? To those who think they can with confidence, raise a hand."
He let a few seconds pass by, and only silence ensued. Not a single hand raised, and not one tried to do so.
"As expected," he faced the chalkboard again, writing another word: Life. "A favorite quote of mine about the purpose of life is from Pablo Picasso: The meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to give it away."
He glanced at everyone from the corner of his eye and noted that everyone looked interested in the topic. He couldn't help but smile that he picked a topic that was good enough for his students.
"But, let's focus on Purpose in particular for now," Godou encircled the word on the board, "could someone please try to define it?"
A girl raised her hand, and he called for her to give her definition, "According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, purpose is an objective, effect, or result aimed at or attained."
"Hmm, thank you for that, Suzuki," he made her sit down, and he supported himself up by putting both hands on the table. He leaned forward slightly, "Anyone else?"
Seeing as no one else raised a hand, he continued talking, "Personally, this is how I would define purpose."
He began writing the kanji for compass, fuel, and anchor on the board, "These set of words may seem like they don't have any meaning, but let me expand on them. Compass, fuel, and anchor," he pointed at each word.
He began talking once again, "Purpose is the compass that guides our journey, the fuel that ignites our passions, and the anchor that grounds our souls in meaning. That is what I would define purpose as," he concluded.
Y/n was listening intently from the beginning, but now he was even more interested. He didn't know his teacher could be that philosophical, but hey, that was a nice surprise.
Godou sat down on the teacher's chair and scanned everyone's faces. While some people looked like they didn't care anymore, a select few were engrossed in it.
"I want everyone to think about what their purpose is for today. I don't expect anyone to have a definitive answer by the end of our class, but hopefully, this helps," he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and began reading the book he had with him.
A few of Y/n's classmates started talking around him, but he took the time to think about what his teacher just said.
Purpose, huh? What an interesting concept, Y/n thought to himself, staring blankly at his table.
I wonder... what is my purpose?