The classroom had been completely converted into a dressing room. There was a rack full of colorful shirts and a variety of skirts and shorts – some from the girls' own closets, some sewn by Hara herself – slipping off the hangers. The chairs and tables were scattered, and all kinds of make-up and jewelry boxes sat there, waiting to be used.
Hayami stepped over a pair of dangerously high and incredibly impractical cream-coloured stilettos – how on earth do you walk in those? – and made her way to one of the chairs and sat there quietly, glancing around.
Bitch-sensei, the star of the show, was applying her own make-up while Kurahashi did her hair, gushing about the film and roles. Everyone else was doing more or less the same; braiding, chatting, applying lip gloss, and such.
Other than the peach-haired girl, only Hazama seemed disinterested, her messy black waves falling over her pale face as she read an undoubtedly blood-chilling novel.
Hayami was supposed to be doing her own make-up – Kataoka, the director's, orders – but since everyone was so busy and payed her no heed, she decided she could easily get away with it.
"Girls!" Fuwa said loudly to catch their attention over the ruckus. "Let's get changed! Go, go, go!"
"Wait," Hayami said quietly, raising a finger.
Everyone stopped in their tracks immediately. She rarely talked or gave an opinion, so when she did, her word was gold.
She got up calmly and grabbed one of their air guns loaded with anti-sensei BBs and headed for the closed windows. She could feel everyone's eyes on her back as she opened them with a little too much force.
Okajima and Maehara jumped in surprise, and she raised an eyebrow coldly, holding up her gun.
"You"–she pointed it at Okajima, who was sweating–"should be setting up the cameras."
"And you"–she pointed the gun at Maehara, whose eyes were wide–"should be getting ready in the teacher's lounge with the other boys."
Without waiting for a reaction, she slammed the windows shut again and pocketed the gun. She could tell they're gone. She smiled a little.
Everyone stared at her.
"What," she said. It didn't sound like a question.
Kanzaki blinked. "H-how did know you that they would–?"
She laughed a little, taking out the gun and tossing it back to where it previously was. "Honestly? I would have been surprised if they didn't." She skimmed through the script – Fuwa's work. Hazama occasionally helped, but hated the idea of an incredibly clichè romance film, so it was scarce – one last time.
The story was, technically speaking, based on Bitch-sensei and Karasuma-sensei and their class, minus the giant yellow octopus who doubled as a teacher and target. In fact, assassination was removed completely from the plot. It was kind of disappointing.
It was about a beautiful young woman named Iris Marjanovic, previously one of the most famous models, who unwillingly became a teacher to a reject class, and ended up falling for the professional P.E. teacher who seemed oblivious to her charms.
Hayami didn't have any lines for the particular scene they were about to shoot. All she had to do was have a fake conversation with Chiba in the background. Easy.
While the movie was supposed to be a part of an assassination plan, they haven't actually fleshed-out the plan yet. It was irritating. Hayami's hands were itching to grab a handgun and practice sniping.
She got up and left the room. No one even noticed; they were so preoccupied.
Her eyes found her way to a certain boy. His black hair covered his eyes as always. She'd caught glimpses of his eyes before – brown or red or a little bit of both – and he seemed to spot her at the same time, because he waved her over.
She joined him under the shade of the tree, sitting on the grass, which tickled her legs a bit but she didn't mind. All they had to do was sit there and pretend to talk. Not much work, really.
They sat in silence, and she was acutely aware of the tips of their fingers touching and their knees brushing as she observed the scene.
Okajima and Mimura were setting up the cameras, and Kataoka seemed slightly stressed as they looked for good angles. Isogai looked utterly confused, unsure of whether to help her or not.
Itona, as always, was apathetic. He was sitting on a patch of grass, making the final tweaks to his camcopter. He had attached a cell phone to it, where Ritsu was in charge of filming and he in charge of steering.
"This is stupid," she said.
He chuckled softly. "Yeah. I feel like the assassin part should've been kept, it would've been more interesting."
"Koro-sensei prefers extremely clichè romance though."
He smirks a little, toying with the hem of his shirt. "We all know he would prefer something racier."
Should any other guy (except maybe Isogai or Nagisa) have said that, she would've punched them in face. Hard.
But because he was Chiba Ryuunosuke, she just chuckled and gently punched his shoulder. "That would have to be a deal breaker on my part."
They were quiet for a few moments before he tilted his head slightly to one side and said, "Look there."
She followed his hands to stare at a fluffy, white cloud that seemed to be in the shape of a cat. "It looks like a cat."
He smiles fondly, and it makes her heart skip a beat. "Hmm… no. To me it's a rose."
She laughs a little and tilts her head. "If you look at it this way, I guess–"
He presses his lips together, and she stops mid-sentence. "You know, it's a little weird." She stays quiet and he stares at the grass, counting the blades. "I don't get why I can't seem to be able to talk properly to anyone but you."
She sighed a little, throwing her head back and looking at the sky. "Tell me about it."
He grins, back to his playful mode. "Okay, how about that one"–he pointed at another cloud–"look me in the eye and tell me it doesn't look like an airplane."
She turned to him, and it's a little terrifying that she always manages to lock eyes with him even when his bangs act as a curtain. She said, very seriously, "It doesn't look like an airplane."
After a moment, they burst out laughing.
"Seriously, though, Chiba. It's more of a dolphin."
He shrugged. He began to trace a pattern on the back of her hand, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't feeling little shocks of electricity. It's just so clichè to feel like that - the butterflies, the increased heartbeat… but it's just so endearing when Chiba does it.
(She'd rather shoot herself than admit it, but she kind of, sort of likes it.)
She familiarizes herself with the pattern and sucks in a breath through her teeth.
She followed his gaze (or at least, tried to) to another cloud in the sky.
He turns and she catches another flash of his eyes, fleeting but beautiful. It makes her breath catch.
"It's a heart," they said at the exact same time.
"Cut!" Kataoka yells, and they both nearly jump, creating an extremely visible distance between them. They stare at each other in slight shock, mouths slightly agape. They were so busy talking that they didn't even realize filming had begun.
Fuwa walks up to them like she's trying not to smile, her hands on her hips with a knowing look in her eyes.
"You two," she tutted fondly. "While you're my OTP and all that, you're kind of overpowering the main couple of the movie, 'ya know? Just"–she winked a little–"turn it down a bit, yeah?"