~*~Act 1: Introduction~*~

I creep into the classroom during lunch break, biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud. I take a quick look around. The classroom is empty – thank God. Kiyoteru-sensei must be in the bathroom or something.

I walk quickly over to his computer and press the button to turn on the monitor. I waste no time in getting to the point of my prank – I hit the ctrl, alt, and down arrow keys. The monitor goes dark for a moment, then comes back up again with everything upside-down.

I giggle maniacally and turn the monitor off again before stealing out of the room.

"Gumi-chan!" I hear my friend Rin call when I walk back out to the roof. "What took you so long?" She waves me over.

I run back over to her and our other friends Miku and Luka. "You'll see," I reply with a sly wink, settling myself down between Teto and Rin.

"Aww! Why can't you just tell us, Gumi-chan?" Teto complains, taking a bite of her French bread. "I wanna know nowwwww~!"

"Shut up, Teto," I snort. "You'll see in class."

"She's right." Luka says, lowering her voice and glancing around. "We can't run the risk of that teacher's pet Miku hearing us." She looks at something. I follow her gaze, and my eyes fall on Miku, the teal-haired pigtailed nightmare, who is glaring at us suspiciously. Particularly me.

"See? She's staring at us." Luka says.

Rin rolls her eyes. "Gumi-chan, you're just afraid of being caught."

I laugh. "Afraid? Me? Watch." I turn to Miku, adjust my goggles on my head, and flash her a cocky grin. She smiles back for a moment and looks away. "Heh. See? She's just a clueless, friendly, stupid little simpleton."

"Whatever." Rin says.

I see Miku stand up and walk over to Kaito, a blue-haired guy a grade above us. "Hi, Kaito-kun!" I hear her say cheerfully. She hugs him.

Rin's face turns bright red with embarrassment and anger. "That ... that freak!"

I look at her strangely. "What'd she do?"

My golden-haired friend makes a strangled noise in the back of her throat.

"Oh, Gumi-chan," Luka sighs dramatically, flopping her arm around my shoulders. "Rin-chan is hopelessly in love with Kaito-san. Isn't it obvious?"

"H-Hey! I'm not!" Rin protests, but her face turns even redder and she can't seem to meet our eyes.

I giggle. "Heh. I see how it is. It's okay, Rinny! We'll support your love! Kaito-san will never fall in love with Miku if we can help it! Right, Luka-chan, Teto?"

"Right!" they chorus.

"For Rin!" I say, pumping my fist into the air.

"For Rin!" they echo, copying my movement.

Rin groans, but I can hear her trying not to laugh.

When we go back to class, I'm surprised to see Kiyoteru-sensei and his bag are gone. In his place, there's a pretty woman with purplish-brown hair, tan skin, and violet eyes. She's looking at the computer screen with a perplexed expression.

I bite my lip, stifling a giggle. This is perfect. This... this substitute teacher has no idea who I am! She won't be able to punish me for this prank!

"Oh, hello, class," the woman says distractedly, looking up at us. "I'm afraid I'm having a slight problem with Kiyoteru-san's computer. The screen appears to have been flipped upside-down."

Rin looks at me with wide eyes. You didn't! she mouths.

I nod smugly, mouthing back, I so did.

A boy with long purple hair tied back in a ponytail moves forward. "I can fix it, ma'am," he says in a deep, smooth voice.

I stare at him. Kamui Gakupo-san! my brain screams. I'm totally crushing, though none of my friends know yet. Thank God. I don't need them teasing me, too!

The woman blinks up at him. "You can?"

"Yes, ma'am." He leans over and presses a few buttons on the keyboard. Moments later, a smile lights up her face. "Thank you, young man. Your name?"

"Gakupo-san." He flashes her a handsome grin, and I feel the corners of my lips turn up slightly as if in reply, even though he wasn't addressing me.

"And to all of you, I'm Lola-sensei," she says, standing up. "Please take your seats now, everyone."

I'm tempted to grab my chair and say, "Where do you want me to take it to?" But that'll get me in serious trouble, so I just sit down.

Piko, the guy who sits next to me, shoots me a foul look. He's a silver-haired boy with mismatched eyes that I've known since we were kids. He writes something on a scrap of paper and pushes it over to me.

Ahem. You totally did that, Gumi-chan. I know you did.

I scribble a reply, then give him a charming grin as I pass it back.

Really? I hadn't noticed, Piko-kun.

He rolls his eyes and crumples up the paper.

I'm at my locker getting ready for my last class when Gakupo approaches me.

"Hey, Megpoid-san." He leans against my locker, looking down at me with a smirk.

"Hi, Kamui-san," I reply, closing my locker. "Ya need something?" My heart is pounding, but I keep my voice casual.

He leans down closer to me. "You were the one who played that prank with the computer, am I right?" he asks.

I swallow. "Yeah," I say in an I-don't-care kind of way. "What of it?"

"Nothing." The violet-haired boy leans in, so close that our noses touch. He smiles before continuing. "Troublemaker girls are my type. And it helps that you're cute, Gumi-chan." He lifts one hand to gently rest it against my cheek, tilts his head, lets his eyes slide shut, and brushes his lips against the corner of my mouth. The contact sends tingles through my skin.

My face feels like it's on fire, and I'm sure that it's as red as Meiko's favorite party dress. I feel like all my senses are in overdrive. I find myself staring at his long dark lashes, curled up on his cheeks, and realize I can't seem to look away.

Gakupo steps back, opening his eyes, and grins at me. He pulls a slip of paper out of his pocket, hands it to me, winks, and says, "See you later, Gumi-chan." He strolls away on his long legs, going away down the hallway, his purple ponytail swishing behind him.

I stare after him, eyes wide, gripping my books tightly to my chest. He called me Gumi-chan! And he gave me his number!

HE KISSED ME!

A smile slowly spreads over my still-red. I have to bite my cheek to keep from squealing. He kissed me! That means he likes me!

I run away from my locker, heading for my next class. I want to get this last one over with so I can tell Rin, Luka, and Teto about Gakupo.