Juuban Municipal High School
The class fell silent as the man walked into the classroom. He glanced around at them with a grin as he adjusted his bow-tie. "Good morning," he said cheerfully. "Your teacher had to call in sick today, so I was asked to be a substitute. Let's get to it, shall we?"
The substitute turned to the blackboard. As he lifted his hand to start writing, a boy walked in through the door.
The boy's blond hair shimmered like gold in the sunlight that streamed in through the window. His brown eyes glittered with intelligence as he glanced around the room. His mouth turned up in a half-smile as he took in the class.
Near the back of the room, Mina felt as if her heart were flipping in her chest.
"Wow..." Lita sighed next to her. "What a hunk..."
"Hello," the boy said in a warm, resonant tone.
The substitute turned. "Hello," he replied. He looked somewhat baffled by the boy's appearance. "Can I help you?"
"I just transferred to this school," the boy replied.
"Oh, a new student," the substitute said jovially. "What's your name?"
"I'm William," the boy replied.
The class greeted him with various levels of enthusiasm. Only Anastasia, sitting in the back, didn't reply as she examined the newcomer.
"I'm just a substitute, so for the moment," the substitute glanced over the seating chart. "Why don't you take a seat next to... erm... her." He gestured to the empty seat next to Mina.
William's brown eyes locked on Mina's blue ones. Her heart fluttered wildly, like a butterfly caught in a tornado, as she blushed. She was aware that she turned a slight shade of pink, but refused to break eye contact. William confidently navigated his way to the seat next to Mina. He sat before glancing at her.
"Hi," he said with a grin that would not have been out of place on a movie star. He reached out a hand.
Mina fumbled with her words as she reached out to take the proffered hand. "Hi," she managed to get out. "I-I'm Mina."
Where their hands touched, she felt as if little bolts of lightning were coursing from. "It's nice to meet you," William said charmingly.
"I-It's nice to meet you too," Mina stammered. Silently she cursed herself for being so awkward.
Lita was quick to introduce herself as well, almost bowling over Mina to shake William's hand. "Hi, I'm Lita," she said smiling. "It's really nice to meet you."
Behind Lita, Charlotte looked bemused. "Is it normal to be so eager to introduce oneself?" She murmured to Serena and Ami.
"This may be something to explain at lunch," Ami replied softly. "I would rather not miss the lecture."
The substitute interrupted before anyone else could speak. "Right then," he said cheerfully. he glanced at the manual. "So, Physics. Physics, eh? Physics!" He paused for a moment as he glanced around the room. "I hope you're all getting this all down."
Mina didn't pay attention to the rest of the morning. She was too focused on William. She knew the material she was supposed to be learning was important, but she couldn't tear her attention away from him. As if he were a massive magnet and she was but a paper clip.
Occasionally, he would stop writing to glance at Mina. Every time, she blushed and looked at the mostly blank page in front of her.
When they were released for lunch, Mina hesitated as her friends started heading out.
Serena looked back at her. "Are you coming, Mina?"
Mina nodded, trying hard not to look at William. "Go ahead without me. I'll meet you at the usual spot."
Her friends left. Mina glanced at William who was still carefully organizing his things. She felt suddenly foolish, knowing she wanted to speak, but unsure of what to say. Embarrassed, she shoved her things in her bag and stumbled across the room. Before she could make it out, she tripped on a desk and crashed to the floor in a manner Serena usually did.
As she started to get up, she saw a pair of feet stop in front of her. She looked up to see William standing above her. He knelt down, extending a hand to her. Flushing with even more embarrassment, she reached up to take his hand. In one fluid motion, he pulled her to her feet.
"Thanks," she murmured, unable to look him in the eye.
"You're welcome, Mina," he replied gently. "Are you alright?"
Her heart fluttered as he said her name. "Fine, I'm fine," she stuttered. Desperately she tried to think of something funny to say. But all she could think of was how close he was and that he still held her hand.
William rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, erm," he looked embarrassed. "I know I'm new and you don't know me very well but," he hesitated, as if searching for the words. "Well, what I meant was, erm, well," He paused again as if unsure of what to say next.
Mina's pulse quickened as she waited for his next words, all too aware of the faint spring-like scent that seemed to waft from him.
"Would you mind showing me around?"
Mina stared at him for a moment. "What?" She asked, dazed.
"Well, I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind showing me around. You know, since I'm new and all."
Mina hid her sinking disappointment well. Some part of her had desperately hoped he was going to ask her out. Which she knew was foolish. He was new and needed help. Besides, she told herself, he probably has a girlfriend already.
Mina swallowed to clear the bitter taste in her mouth before answering cheerfully. "Of course I don't mind," she said with a smile. "Come on, I can introduce you to my friends.
"... I introduced myself because he's a hunk," Lita said to Charlotte. "And you have to introduce yourself to the attractive guys before someone else can take them."
"Hunk of what?" Charlotte asked blankly. "And where are the attractive males taken?"
Lita rolled her eyes. "It's just an expression that means he's really handsome. And they aren't taken anywhere. It means they have a girlfriend."
"Like Darien," Serena interjected through a mouthful of food. "Though Darien is way better looking."
"Not really," Lita replied. "Darien is nice and all, but this William is real dreamy."
Charlotte looked befuddled. "Dreamy? Your use of adjectives for this individual are quite variable and seemingly arbitrary."
"Char, if you want to blend in, you need to talk more normally," Ami gently chided.
"Sorry," Charlotte said, looking mildly embarrassed. "What I mean is, I don't understand what you mean by dreamy."
Lita considered the question. "You know how sometimes something seems too good to be true? It's like a dream... except it's real."
"Ah," Charlotte replied. "He is so attractive that he seems surreal."
"Exactly!" Lita replied.
"So this 'William' is considered the most attractive male of your species?"
"That would be Darien," Serena replied while chewing furiously. "Sure, the new guy is cute, but he's no Darien."
"What?" Lita replied indignantly. "Are you serious? Darien couldn't hold a torch to this guy!"
Ami sighed in irritation. "Here we go again."
Charlotte watched, fascinated, as Serena and Lita argued. "Is this normal behavior?"
"Unfortunately," Ami replied.
Charlotte folded her arms. "I take it attractive is a matter of opinion?"
Ami nodded. "Everyone looks for something different in a person. Some people go purely on looks. Others try to find someone with similar interests."
Charlotte frowned. "If they're looking for different things, why do they compare?"
"There isn't really a reason for it," Ami said thoughtfully.
"Darien is the most handsome man in the world!" Serena snapped.
"He is not!" Lita yelled back.
"Well, I know how we can solve this once and for all," Serena said smugly. She reached over and grabbed the passing Anastasia by the arm, then pulled her into the group.
"Ana, who's more attractive, Darien or William?" Serena demanded.
Anastasia looked uncomfortable, but was saved from answering as Mina and William approached.
"So, Lita, he is what you consider attractive?" Charlotte said somewhat loudly as she examined William.
Lita blushed with embarrassment as she clamped her hand over Charlotte's mouth. "Put a lid on it will ya?" Lita hissed.
Charlotte squawked indignantly as she struggled with Lita. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry!"
Ami and Serena ignored Lita and Charlotte as Mina and William joined the group.
"William, these are my friends" Mina said, gesturing to her friends as she spoke. "Serena, Ami, you met Lita and that's her, um," she fumbled with the unfamiliarity for a moment. "Cousin Charlotte. "
William smiled at the group. "It's nice to meet you," he said cheerfully. He spotted the chess pattern on Ami's bag. "You're a chess player?" He asked.
"Ami is one of the best chess players in Tokyo," Serena announced.
"I wouldn't say that," Ami replied, looking embarrassed.
"We'll have to play sometime," William said. "I used to play in tournaments at my old school."
"What else did you do at your old school?" Mina asked.
"Well..." William said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I took a couple cooking classes, French, photography and I spent more time than I should have playing video games at the arcade. But I stopped playing those to spend time volunteering at the local soup kitchen."
Serena stared at William. "You gave up video games to help other people?"
William nodded. "Yeah. My dad took me to Sanya one day after I wasted almost an entire Saturday at the arcade. What I saw... well, it changed my life. From that day on, I decided to dedicate more of my time to helping those in need."
"Wow..." Lita sighed as her eyes took on a distant, dreamy look. "You're amazing..."
William looked uncomfortable as he responded. "Um... thanks."
The bell rang and the students started trudging back into the building. While the others went ahead, Mina and William lingered behind. "I really like your friends," he said as Mina led him back to the classroom. "They seem really nice."
"They're great," Mina said. They walked in silence for a minute before Mina spoke again. "So, when and where do you volunteer?" she asked shyly. "I want to help."
"You want to help?" William repeated. Mina only nodded in response.
William graced Mina with his movie-star smile. "That's fantastic!" He pulled a sheet of notebook paper and a pen from his bag. He scribbled something on it before passing it to Mina. "Here's the address. If you want, I can meet you at the entrance right after school and we can head over together."
Mina's smiled back as her heart did flips. "Great!"
"Great," William replied. The smile slightly fell from his face. He seemed nervous as he added.
"And if you want... maybe..." he swallowed. "We could go to dinner after?"
Mina felt as if her heart froze in her chest. Time seemed suspended as his words ran through her mind.
William looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, that was sudden. I can be really pushy when I want something. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything."
As if in a dream and lacking control over herself, she felt herself nod and speak. "It's alright. I would like that. But would you mind if we made it a double date with Serena and her boyfriend?"
William smiled brightly again. "Not at all! Are they coming to volunteer with us too?"
"Just dinner," Mina replied, biting her lower lip.
"Great! I'll meet you at the entrance when school is over. Wait, I already said that." William laughed nervously. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Mina said, blushing again. As they took their seats in the classroom, the only thing Mina could focus on was the clock as it slowly ticked away.
For her, school couldn't end soon enough.
