Nico leaned back in her chair, feet propped up on the desk in front of her and a smirk on her face as she regaled the story of her most recent escapade. It had been a big one this time, full of danger and risk and just the right amount of cleverness to pull it off. Lesser delinquents would have shied away at the plan, too scared of retribution. But not Nico. She was the queen of the detention hall, after all, and she planned to show it.
She finished telling her story with the ease of a natural performer: "I grabbed everything I could and jumped out the window, and while they managed to catch me after not too long, they didn't see me take this." A quick glance around the room confirmed that the teacher had yet to arrive, and Nico pulled the magazine out of her bag, waving it grandly in front of her younger companions. "Who knew that the teachers read this kind of material? Really, they should be glad I took it. No way would they be able to keep their jobs if the chairwoman found out. I just did them a service."
Nico tossed the magazine carelessly onto the desk and listened with pride to Rin and Honoka's praise. They were good kids. Very loyal, very friendly; the type of kids that probably shouldn't be in detention at all. The worst they did was fall asleep in class on occasion and come late to school. That's why Nico had taken them under her wing, teaching them all the different ways to bother the teachers and get in trouble. Someone needed to take over her role as the terror of Otonaki after she graduated, after all.
And then there was the fourth member of Nico's crew. Nozomi would have been the perfect candidate if she wasn't also a third year. She was smart and cunning, and perfectly willing to mess with people. She hadn't been around too much lately, choosing to con her way out of trouble in order to spend more time with her straight-laced girlfriend. Nico couldn't get mad at her for it, especially since it meant that when Nozomi did get caught, it would be one hell of a story.
The door creaked open, and Nico jumped to shove the magazine away. She glanced up to see what poor fool was stuck watching them today, grinning when she saw that it was the laziest teacher in the school. He'd fall asleep in 15 minutes, guaranteed. After that, Nico was free to do whatever she wanted. And boy, did she have plans for today. It was the end of the week, and Nico was in the mood for a party.
Nico tapped her fingers mindlessly on the desk, going over all of the details. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the new comer enter the room until she felt an elbow jab her in the arm.
"Look, look!" Rin whispered, ignoring Nico's glare and pointing towards the front of the room. "She's in my class!"
After deliberately rubbing the sore spot on her arm so that Rin would hopefully remember to rein in her strength next time, Nico followed Rin's gaze and looked at the girl standing awkwardly next to the teacher. Oh. Now this was an interesting development. Nico let out a low whistle and leaned forward.
Bright red hair, deep purple eyes, and a tall, well-endowed figure. If Nico had a type, this girl would fit it to the tee. She looked nervous, her body tense and her eyes flitting around the room. Nico knew everyone that had ever stepped foot into detention, but even if she didn't it would be no trouble to peg this girl as a first offender.
"What do you know about her?" Nico asked, and she listened intently to Rin's report. Nishikino Maki: the only daughter of two doctors, smart, a great pianist, and overall a model student. So what was she doing in detention? Well, there was only one way to find out.
Maki sat down awkwardly in one of the desks, her shoulders hunched as she avoided people's gazes and ignored the whispers flying around the room. Nico watched her silently, waiting impatiently for the teacher to nod off. If she played her cards right, this could be an amazing opportunity.
The seconds ticked by slowly. Honoka and Rin were engaged in a whispered debate about food, and Maki was still sitting stiff and silent in her seat. The minutes passed with no change until finally, finally, the teacher's head drooped forward and his soft snores reached Nico's ears. She waited a heartbeat longer before sliding silently out of her chair, waving to Rin and Honoka to tell them to stay put.
Nico meandered down the aisle with a careless air, knowing that everyone's eyes were on her. They were waiting, watching, wondering what she was going to get up to this time. Maki was the only oblivious one. Nico smirked, stopping inches away from the back of Maki's head. She leaned down, carefully, silently, and let out a small puff of air.
"Ah!" Maki jumped, spinning around in her seat and clutching her ear. Her eyes narrowed quickly when she spotted Nico doubled over in laughter behind her. "What was that for?"
"Oh, man, you went like a foot in the air! That's the funniest thing I've ever seen! You practically flew!"
Maki gritted her teeth. "I said, what was that for?"
"Calm down, calm down." Nico waved a hand lazily and hopped on top of Maki's desk. "I just wanted to mess with you a little. You look so bored over here all by yourself, after all, so I thought I'd give you some of my Nico Nii charm to liven you up!"
"I don't need to be 'livened up', thank you very much." Maki leaned back in her chair, getting as far away from Nico as possible without leaving her seat. "If you haven't noticed, we're in detention. This isn't the time for games."
"Are you kidding me? This is the perfect time for games! Old man teach over there is conked out, so we can do whatever we want."
"And when he wakes up? He'll see that you're fooling around and he'll give you another detention."
Nico's eyes widened slowly in mock surprise, her mouth hanging open. "No way. Really? He will? Oh, no, what ever will I do? Another detention! What an awful thought!" She dropped her act and sniggered. "Good thing I already spend every day here, right? I'm practically untouchable. I'll give you points for effort, but you gotta try harder than that Maki."
"I'm not trying to do anything! I just want to get through this detention and forget about it. I don't know why you keep bothering me."
"Well, if you really want detention to be over so badly – although I don't know why, I mean, I'm here after all, and what's better than that – but if you really want it I suppose I can tell you the secret to make it end sooner."
"And what's that."
Nico leaned forward, grinning when she saw Maki swallow hard as the space between them shrank to only a couple inches. "Skip detention with me."
"What!?"
"Come on! You're hot, I'm cute, and we're both bored as hell in here. Let's go on a date."
Maki flushed a bright red at the statement, her mouth opening and closing helplessly. "No," she finally spit out, glowering at Nico. Her angry expression was met with a smirk.
"What, is Little Miss Perfect scared of getting a grand total of two detentions?"
"I'm not scared of anything!
"Yeah? Then skip with me."
"I don't want to."
"Ouch, Maki, what a harsh way to treat a girl. I'm fragile, you know? You have to let me down gently."
"Just go away."
"Fine, fine." Nico hopped off the desk and stretched, looking at Maki out of the corner of her eye. "Scaredy cat."
That was the last push Maki needed. She stood up roughly, shaking the entire desk and growling at Nico. "I hate you," she said with a glare that would have killed lesser souls. She grabbed her bag and stomped out of the room without another word. Nico winked at Honoka and Rin watching from the back row and sauntered out after her with a big smile.
It was party time.