Between the lines
Authors note: This collection is mostly just for any random ideas I get that might be fun to write out. I don't have anything planned specifically, but will mostly look for any fun interactions to write up and expand on if I can come up with anymore ideas. This particular short story idea came from thinking about all the crazy stuff you can do during school time and just what all this would look like from a normal student's perspective. I don't have any more plans for the idea or the student in question yet, but hey you never know when inspiration may change the destination!
Chapter 1: Perspective of a nobody.
Morning classes are the worst, Taro Tanaka thought to himself as he stared blankly at the back of the head of the student in front him. Hardly paying attention as the English teacher Ms Chouno explained some of the more complex rules to structured English writing.
Nothing was really sticking for Taro however, he had ended up resorting to just mindlessly copying down anything that Ms Chouno wrote on the blackboard while he stared off into space.
The soft sound of rain outside lulled the students in the classroom into a far more lethargic state as the lesson progressed, until the sudden sound of the P.A. spluttering to life roused the classroom to attention.
"Could Ms Chouno please report to the faculty lounge immediately?"
An oddly familiar voice rang out from the P.A. speaker, causing Ms Chouno to look up at it with an annoyed look on her face.
"Alright, I'm going to be stepping out for a few minutes so the rest of you better just study quietly until I get back." She told them before she made for the door of the classroom.
In less than a minute after she left, the classroom sprang to life. Some students moved around the room to chat to their friends, while others pulled out their phones to keep themselves occupied.
Only then did Taro dimly realise that he was still staring at the student in front of him, before he leaned back into his chair as he thought about what to do with himself.
He briefly considered simply putting his head on the table and taking a nap in the hope that class would be more tolerable when he work up. However he then realised that the subject of his blank gaze was actually doing something rather strange.
His notebook was put up in front of him like a wall to ward off anyone looking his way, and he was suddenly pulling some strange items out of his bag and fiddling with them as if he was attempting to make something.
Looking back at the boy in question, Taro suddenly realised just who he had been staring at the entire time. He had never interacted with him before and didn't even remember his name, even though they had been in the same class for quite some time now. But he still knew his reputation.
Taro watched as the rumoured delinquent transfer student finished making what looked suspiciously like a lockpick, before reaching down to put it back in his bag.
Perhaps there was some truth to the rumours after all.
Taro thought to himself as he watched the transfer student fumble in his bag, before pulling out even more strange objects. He had never really payed much attention to the many rumours that had plagued the transfer student ever since his arrival. They weren't really any of his business, but as he watched the transfer student pull a bottle of clear liquid that looked suspiciously like alcohol, a jar of black liquid that looked like it could possibility be motor oil, and a rag, he begun to think that perhaps he should've payed more attention after all. Not to mention that he had only just realised that there was a cat in the hollow part of the transfer student's desk, which strangely enough seemed to be watching everything that the transfer student did with great interest.
I think I need to report this to someone.
This thought crossed Taro's mind as he watched the transfer student expertly put together what he was pretty sure to be a Molotov cocktail. He briefly considered saying something to the transfer student himself, but no matter which way he looked at it, saying hey you shouldn't be making lockpicks and grenades in class to the obviously dangerous young man in front of him just didn't seem appealing at all.
Honestly Taro wasn't sure if his own legs would cooperate with him if he tried to stand up right now. Watching a classmate put together an actual dangerous weapon on his school desk had left Taro quite a bit disturbed.
His mind was racing as he tried to decide what to do next. He could tell a teacher, a responsible adult would know what to do about the problem. However he then realised that there was a chance that the knowledge of who tipped of the teachers might reach his classmates ears. It was too risky, he needed another plan. He considered telling some of his friends for a moment, but then realised that his new plan was even more risky then the first. There was no telling what the transfer student might do if he heard that a group of students ratted him out, and all it'd take would be one loud mouth in the wrong place for the transfer student to hear everything.
No, he needed to be discreet about this. He needed someone trustworthy to tell, someone responsible and brave enough to bring the matter to the teachers.
The answer suddenly came to him as the teacher finally re-entered the classroom, causing all the students to hurriedly put away whatever they were doing and return to their seats. Unsurprisingly, the transfer student had already put his stuff away and was lazily looking out the window as if he had never been making weapons in class in the first place.
But that was fine, Taro knew what he needed to do now. He just had to be patient and wait until after school, before he could put his plan into action.
- After school-
The sound of feet hitting the ground around him assaulted Taro's ears as he made his way towards the student council room. For once in his life, Taro was the one person moving against the crowd of people as all the students around him made their way towards the school entrance.
It was a strange circumstance for him, but Taro found that he just couldn't let go of what he saw. He was a simple high school student; he wasn't mentally prepared to be facing someone making Molotov's at their desk in the middle of class.
It wasn't long before Taro found himself facing the student council meeting room. By this point he was the only student left in the halls, it may have been overkill but he wanted as few people being able to link this back to him as possible. It was common knowledge that the student council only met at break times and only the student council president was committed enough to stay after hours.
Maybe simply using the crowd as cover to visit may have been better. Taro thought to himself as he looked at the door in front of him.
Well it's too late to back out now, Taro decided before slowly and silently opening the door to the student council room.
Taro wasn't sure why he was being so cautious at simply checking if the student council president Makoto was there. While a bit stiff in a nose to the grindstone kind of way, she was also the most reliable person that Taro knew of. Surely it wasn't strange for a student like him to seek her help considering the position she held in the school.
However the incident earlier had set him on edge and his instincts were like a cat ready to flee at a moment's notice.
Having only opened the door partially, Taro then stealthily looked around the door in search of the school council president. He found her sitting in the middle of the room, reading what looked like a magazine that had been laid down on the table while her hands were busy fiddling with something shiny.
Taro felt a sharp sense of relief fill his chest as he realised that his gambit had paid off. He was safe now, all he had to do was tell her what he had seen and she could handle everything from there. However that relief soon drained away as Taro got a better look at just what was happening in that room.
The thing Makoto was fiddling with just so happened to be a rather nasty and very illegal looking knuckleduster, which she was polishing as she pored over what Taro then recognised to be a copy of Blades, Knuckles and Bats. A weapons magazine that happened to be rather popular with delinquents, thugs, and gang members alike.
Taro backed away from the door, back into the hall in shock and horror. He had seen Makoto, the student who was president of the student council, top of the school in grades and all around good girl, reading a weapons magazine with a look of interest on her face as if she was simply reading a good novel or an interesting news article.
"Is this for real?"
Taro asked himself out loud in such a small scared voice that in any other situation; he probably would've started laughing just from hearing it.
"Ryuji, is that you skulking around out there?"
Taro heard Makoto ask from back in the room, causing him to stand up straight in a blind panic.
He couldn't handle this, he could hardly handle the fact that his classmate was making grenades in class let alone deal with the fact that the school council president that he looked up to may or may not be part of a gang.
Taro took off running, ignoring the shout of surprise that emanated behind him from what he assumed to be Makoto catching the tail end of his exit. He needed to find somewhere safe, somewhere out of the way where he could catch his breath and his thoughts to think about this. Perhaps if he pretended that he didn't see anything, then the two of them would leave Taro alone. It was a long shot but it might be worth it, however his panic continued to spurn him onwards as he ran out of school a at record speed that would've made the track team slightly envious.
As he ran, Taro remembered his friends telling him about a small out of the way coffee shop, the perfect place to lay low and hide until he could get his bearings again. It was a little out of the way but out of the way was just what he needed right now. He knew the location but he just had to remember the name…
That's right, Cafe Leblanc. Surely he would be safe there.