Week Eight, Wednesday
Ayano wakes up a minute before her alarm. She can’t help but be upset by this, and then proceeds to feel happy because she can feel upset. Needless to say, she’s beaming when she steps out of her house that morning. The five boys notice immediately.
“You look positively radiant, darling,” Kizano says as he sidles closer, taking one of Ayano’s hands. “Did you have a pleasant dream?”
Ayano shakes her head. “I was upset today!”
Oko can’t help the confused, “What?” from slipping out.
“I thought being upset is, you know, saddening?” Aso asks.
“It is, but it was over something so trivial . And I realized I can be upset by small things now.” Ayano shrugs, the explanation obvious to her.
Osano sighs. “Aya, you’re one of a kind.” He looks unamused as he says this. The other boys nod along.
Ayano, for her part, just smiles, still on her emotional high. The walk to school is wonderful, in her opinion. To the boys, however, they’re too asleep to care.
When Ayano gets to school, she heads towards the incinerator. Aso ends up walking with her.
“Why are you heading back here?” Aso asks, and then he gasps. “Are you coming to the Sports Club? Do you want to join me today?” He’s practically vibrating, and Ayano slowly shakes her head.
“I’m going to the incinerator...for Osorō.”
Aso visibly deflates, his grin dropping as confusion takes over. “Why? Wouldn’t he rather be with all of his pals right now?”
Ayano shrugs. “I’ve been asked to tutor him, and I agreed. We picked mornings to study.”
Aso nods, his smile returning as quickly as it left. “That makes sense. Well, I’ll see you later, Yan!” He jogs off then, and Ayano turns the corner to see Osorō and his friends. Osorō, for his part, is watching Aso run off, glaring at the athlete.
“Osorō, you ready?” Ayano asks, and Osorō’s eyes dart to hers.
“Huh? Yeah, sure. Let’s go, princess.” Osorō follows Ayano’s lead, and the two head to the confession tree once more.
The next half an hour is spent going over formulas and breaking down equations. For the most part, Ayano is able to keep Osorō on track, keeping his attention on the textbook in front of them. There are times, however, when he manages to distract her.
“Sphere?” Osorō mutters to himself at one point. “Isn’t that a weapon?”
Ayano just blinks and moves on.
Then, a few minutes later, Osorō huffs, pushing the book away. “Geography doesn’t even make sense! There’s too many shapes!”
Ayano pauses, then responds with, “You mean geometry?”
Osorō blushes, but stands firm. “Yeah, geography.”
Ayano holds back a laugh, and Osorō sighs in disappointment.
Then, Osorō says the dumbest thing Ayano has ever heard.
“What the actual fuck is a triangle?” Osorō asks, and Ayano finally breaks down.
The lesson doesn’t continue any further.
Looking at Osorō’s smug expression, Ayano can tell that Osorō was making those comments just to mess with her.
She’s still amused, anyways.
The two spend the last ten minutes before class watching clouds pass. Ayano can’t help but be annoyed when the bell rings, and sighs before standing. Osorō huffs out a laugh before standing up as well.
They’re halfway to the building when Ayano asks, “Do you want to sit with me at lunch?”
Osorō shrugs. “Sure, princess. I was planning to come get you, anyways.”
“No, I mean on the roof. With my friends.”
Osorō frowns, but when he makes eye contact with Ayano, he sighs and relents. “Alright, fine. But don’t blame me when they run off screaming.”
Ayano laughs. “They won’t do that, trust me.” Then she pauses, and adds, “Musume sits with us, by the way.”
Osorō stiffens at that, but acts nonchalant. “Okay. Whatever.”
Ayano smiles. “Thank you, Osorō.”
She’s met with a scoff, and then they’re at her classroom. Ayano waves goodbye and heads to her seat.
As soon as Osano steps into the room, he spots her smile. “Aya, what did you do?” He asks warily.
“Osorō is joining us for lunch today,” Ayano responds, and Osano just sighs, smiling as if he expected the answer.
“Of course. Alright, Aya.” He pats her shoulder as he passes, then sits down at his desk.
When Kizano steps into the room, he spots her grin and just smiles back.
The next few hours pass by in a flurry of activity. Mido starts the day with a pop quiz, then proceeds to go through their lessons excitedly, not stopping to let his students catch up with their writing. When the lunch bell rings, Ayano can hear the whole class drop their pencils, ready for a break.
Osorō is already on the roof when Ayano, Kizano, and Osano make it up there. The delinquent leader leans against the railing, eyes scanning the courtyard. When Ayano is a few feet away, he looks up.
“Hey, princess,” Osorō greets.
“Hey, Osorō. Come on.” Ayano grabs Osorō’s hand and pulls him to her group’s spot, where everyone else is already eating.
When Ayano sits down, and Osorō follows her lead, the group falls silent.
Unsurprisingly, it’s Kokona who speaks up first. “Hey, you’re Osorō, right?”
Osorō eyes her. “Yeah, what of it?”
Kokona just smiles, albeit a bit awkwardly. “Nice to meet you! I’m Kokona. Yan’s told me a bit about you.”
He smirks at that. “Really? Like what?”
“She called you sweet,” Kokona says. Osorō blushes, then scoffs.
“I’m not wrong,” Ayano says before taking a bite of her bento. This causes Osorō to blush even more, and the group laughs. The rest of lunch goes by smoothly, and Ayano is glad to see Osorō getting along with her friends.
The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch, and Ayano walks beside Osorō as they all head to their classes. During the walk, Osorō leans closer to Ayano.
“Thanks,” He mutters, “for inviting me to join you and all.”
Ayano beams. “You can join us anytime, Osorō. I’m glad to have you around.”
Osorō blushes, but he doesn’t say anything.
The rest of the day goes by wonderfully. Classes are fast, cleaning time is a breeze, and the Drama Club runs through Check, Please three whole times. Ayano is proud to say that she’s memorized all of her lines already for the one act. Kizano is proud to watch her perform without her script.
All in all, it’s a happy, carefree day. And Ayano couldn’t be more grateful.
Notes:
Wow! I can't believe we've already hit fifty-five chapters! I'm glad that all of you have been able to put up with so many (◍•ᴗ•◍)
1122 words.