High School. 3rd year. First Day
7am.
"May I take this seat?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I know for a fact that you're going to annoy me to no end for the whole class if I let you."
"Oh."
Silence.
"No I won't."
"Yes you will."
"Come on, Nat."
"I said –"
"Mr. Vengua, classes have already started! Now will you take your seat, there's a vacant one right in front of you for goodness' sake!"
A grin.
"Tough luck for you, DONat."
"Dammit."
8am
"So."
"Great. And here I thought you weren't gonna annoy me. At least I had an hour of peace."
"Oh, you're such a riot DONat."
"Stop calling me that."
"Ah, I see. You want a new nickname, then?"
"No, I don't want a new one and I never wanted one."
"Pity. And here I went and thought up a new one."
Silence.
"You wanna hear it, don't you?"
"Shut up, Don. And I don't wanna."
"Hehh, admit it. You WANT to know."
"No I don't."
Pause.
"Okay fine, I do. What is it?"
A grin.
A whisper.
"Joy."
"DAMMIT, that's not new at all! And –"
"Hehe, disappointed that it wasn't new at all? Interesting.."
Gritting of teeth.
"You didn't let me finish!"
"Aykey, G'morning class."
"Oops, English is starting…"
"Ugh! Dammit all!"
9am
"DONat, my dear!"
"Shut up and watch who you're calling dear."
"Oh, okay. I'll watch you."
Silence.
"Dammit Don, I did not intend for it to have a literal translation."
"Oh shut up and let me watch you. This is the first time you've given me permission to actually observe you. At least give me 5 minutes to do so."
"Did you not hear what I just said? And did I just hear you tell me to shut up?"
"…"
"…I'm going to get refuge in the girl's restroom."
"Wah, nooo my authorized observation –!"
10am
"Have you ever paid attention in class?"
"Yeah, of course! There was that one time…that…and…then…but…well…"
"Ha! You haven't!"
"No, I have! I always listen when you recite so I hear bits of the lesson as well!"
"Honestly…"
"Well, have you ever tried not to pay attention?"
"Of course! Like, when…um…they were…so…"
"Seriously, DONat?"
"No! One time I, um, pretended to just look outside the window during AP class!"
"…"
"I had my eyes glazed over and everything!"
"… pretended."
"They never even found out!"
"You know what, how about you and me make a pact?"
"What sort of deal…"
"You have to not pay attention for at least 10 times this year! At least! No pretending!"
"Fine! But then you have to take notes in every single class this year, and I mean every single ONE!"
"You know what, maybe we shouldn't do this…"
"Don't be such a wimp, Don!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Good!"
"Good!"
"Miss Sucgang, Mr. Vengua, I see that neither of you have started on the activity yet!"
11am
"That time in chemistry class was sooo counted on my not-to-pay-attention record."
"Yeah, whatever. Just so you know I'm not backing off of this challenge."
"Yeah, and just in case you haven't realized as well, I haven't backed off either."
Silence.
"Ugh, I can't understand anything in today's lesson."
"Woah woah woah. Time out. Ms. Workaholic doesn't understand a lesson? Has the world ended? No, that can't be, England's eyebrows are still thick and bushy…"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"England's eyebrows?"
"What? How can a country have eyebrows? It's a mass of land."
"…you haven't watched APH yet, have you?"
"What?"
"… I pity you."
"Whaaa – why you –"
An aimed punch.
A spectacular dodge.
"You're missing a lot in your life, DONat."
"Shut up Don. My life is not gonna be composed of countries with unbelievable eyebrows."
12nn
"So. Wanna grab lunch?"
"I don't wanna go to the canteen, Don. We're approximately one fifty meters away and I'm too lazy to go through that sweaty mass of people."
"There's a reason why I have my butler with me to school, you know."
"There are times when I respect you to an extent, Don, and this is not one of those times. In fact, I think all my respect for you just flew out the window."
"Did they have a parachute then, to land safely at the bottom?"
"… I wonder how I had acquired respect for you to begin with."
1pm
"So…there's a ball this year, I heard…"
"Yeah. 3rd years and older, near Valentine's Day."
"Who're you going with?"
"Maan Ariate."
"You mean that sometimes lethargic mostly hyper airheaded friend of mine? Get a life, Don."
"Who're you going with, if you're going at all?"
"For your information, I'm going with Fritzgerald Marc Nuestro."
"Ah, the Kisay's Lazy Boy of the Year. So when're you going to ask him?"
"What- what are you saying?"
"When. Are. You. Going. To. Ask. Him. Must I repeat myself again, DONat my dear?"
"I- When are you going to ask Maan?"
"Oh, really, DONat? That's your comeback?"
"Just answer the question."
"Well-you- I asked first!"
"Oh, really, Don? That's your comeback?"
"You know what? Fine. Since you asked-
"Whatever. If you really want to know-
"I haven't asked her yet."
"I haven't asked him yet."
Silence.
"So…"
"You know, I don't think I really want to go."
"Yeah, me either. I mean, all the good looking girls are taken-
"Excuse me?"
"What? I said all the good looking-
"Well then, seeing as I'm not a girl,or good looking, at that, then I might as well ask Fritz after all!"
"Wha- oh, come on DONat, I was just-
"See you around. Or not. Seeing as I'll be at the ball…"
"Really? Come back- you know what? Fine. Maybe I willsee you there, with Maan!"
…
"Must those two be so dramatic, Matt?"
"I don't know, Denzel, I don't know."
"I'm hungry, Magboo."
"You've just eaten, Denzel."
"Why are you even at our classroom, both of you?"
"Oh, hey Lyra."
"We wanted to hear what Don and Nathalie were talking about."
"And that concerns you…how, exactly?"
"I don't know. Why ask stupid questions, Lyra?"
"Oh, I don't know Denzel. Maybe because it's not normal for people to suddenly trespass into other people's classrooms and then take other people's seat?"
"Oh. This is your seat?"
"Oh no, it's not. Really, do you even have a brain? Or do you just tend to have selective memory loss every once in a while?"
"Hey, knock it off you two –"
"Shut up, Matthew."
"Yeah, shut up Matt and watch your girlfriend or something –"
"I don't have a girlfriend."
"Pity."
Silence.
"I'm hungry, Matt."
"Just shut up, Denzel."
"Will both of you get out of my seat already?"
2pm
"So how was your summer? Still being the workaholic that you are?"
"It was fine, thanks. And no, I was not a workaholic, thank you very much."
"Yeah, right."
"Shut up. What about you? Did you study some or just waltz around your manicured lawns, prancing away and playing all day?"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you have a go at our wonderful lawns."
"Pff. So, you didn't study at all?"
"Of course I have. A lot more subjects this year, can't let you beat me now, can I?"
"No, you can't, but it's too bad I will…"
"Dream on."
"I don't dream about you, Don –"
"As opposed to the rest of the female population –"
"Yes, you can hear their shrieks from across the school grounds, you must certainly give them nightmares, I-
"Wish you could be as wonderful? Sorry, but-
"Oh, really, Don? Could you get anymore full of yourself?"
"It's not being 'full of yourself', it's appreciating what you have, and pitying those who don't have it."
"Sod off."
"No can do, we're both classmates this year, right?"
"True. Well, let's go, there's a pair activity and I don't want someone troublesome as my partner –"
"Yeah, me neither."
Silence.
A sound of rustling paper from a drawlot box.
Silence.
An eventual sigh.
"Don, why are you following me?"
"Me, following you? I'm just going to my workstation –"
"As am I-
"Because I, unlike you-"
"Because I, as dissimilar to you-"
" – have drawn number 7."
" – have drawn number 7."
"Oh, how do we get caught into these situations, DONat?"
"I don't know, and stop smiling, I hope I can convince the teacher to let me change partners-"
"Heh. Good luck with that. Better yet, I'll watch you attempt that."
Silence.
"Oh, but what are you doing, Mr. Vengua and Ms. Sucgang? Well, since you two seem to be enjoying each other's company, I see it fit for you two to be partners together for the rest of Quarter."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Dammit."
"Muahahaha."
Silence.
"Lovely, a whole Quarter of this. Absolutely splendid…"
"Oh, shut up, Don."
3pm
"Don!"
"Oh, Justin. Funny seeing you here at the 3rd year corridors. Don't you have classes?"
"Yeah we do, but Sir Tancorbits has bowel problems so I went out a bit."
"Hmm. Seems like a lovely teacher."
"Anyways, that's not what I came here for."
"Obviously. People normally don't stop by just to enlighten others about their intestinally-challenged teachers. So, what's your purpose?"
"You see, I have a sister."
A raised eyebrow.
"And I am not an idiot."
Justin made a face.
"Check again. But anyways, you see, you seem to enjoy pestering my sister and annoying her to no end."
"And your point is?"
"Point is, only I can annoy my dear big sister so back off, you snooty rich dude, and run back to your snooty rich daddy and snooty sissy of a butler, and bug someone else. We've had it."
"…sorry, but I claim the rights to bug dear darling DONat so you back off, little brother."
"I am soo not your brother. And I never will be."
"Tuh. I now vow to prove you wrong. Someday, you will be."
A moment of revulsion for Justin.
"Ewwww –"
"Justin, what are you doing here, Sir Tancorbits is already going back to the classroom and is halfway there."
"Oh, hey CK. Mind if you take your twin brother away to class now?"
"Sure Don."
"Blecchhh, no I will not be your brother –"
"What are you talking about Justin, let's go –"
"Gahhh –"
"…was that CK and Justin just now?"
"Hey DONat. Yeah. Your siblings are so cute."
"…whatever. What were they doing here? And why's Justin acting like that?"
"Oh, just some boy talk."
"Oh."
4pm
"Finally!"
"I second that. I've never felt so relieved just because classes have finally ended."
"Hahaha."
"At least I can go home and rest now…"
"Yeah, today had too much fun, from us being classmates, to seatmates, to partners for the whole Quarter..."
"Gahhh don't make me remember those horrifyi–"
"What are you talking about, those are very good pieces of good news~!"
"Agghh noooo, the stress is unbearable –"
"Nyahaha this is sooo going to be my year!"
"Shut up Don, just shut up."