Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to their respective owners.
A/N: I'd like to inform you that this is a side characters and OC-centric story. So please don't be confused if your favourite main characters won't be appearing much.
WARNING: This chapter contains frequent timeskips.
And also very slow updates.
TARGET ON!
"Class E Time"
"Yamazaki... Jenny-san?"
"Here."
"Good! Next, Yoshida Taisei-kun?"
Miki slumped in her seat, which was conveniently at the very back of the classroom, with her arms crossed and head lowered. Her copper blonde waves, which she has recently started to pull up in a high ponytail, managed to find a way to fall around her face, thus temporarily obscuring her facial features from a frontal view.
Maybe it's a bad idea to straighten my bangs only. She briefly acknowledged the long and thick stresses that covered her right eye because of her position, at the same time blowing away a shorter lock that tickled her nose.
As the young teacher in front of the class continued to talk, Miki's crimson eyes discreetly swept across the classroom, silently observing her new classmates from the back of their heads. She recognized some of them, when they were being scorned and laughed at by their former classmates while she waited for the private discussion between her parents and the chairman to finish.
Some of the students she recognized are seated at the front: the girl with ash brown hair in a low ponytail and a guy with ginger ombre (presumably dyed) hair, then in front of her: the girl with dark twin braids and another with wavy peach hair. They all had their heads lowered like everyone else.
Subconsciously, she suddenly felt her heart tightened when she took notice of their lifeless forms and downcast expressions, mirroring the ones she witnessed yesterday.
Well, save for the bulky guy that was seated two seats on her right. Like her, he was leaning behind his chair, slightly tilting it backwards, but his hands were stuffed inside his pockets instead. Rather than the forlorn expressions on her classmates' faces, this one looked more disinterested and a little annoyed. Unlike the rest of her classmates, he seemed to have already accepted his fate of becoming a misfit in their school.
He's brave, I'll give him that, Miki silently mused, but a little stupid if he thinks that everyone else here is as goal-less as he assumes...
Also, she surveyed how her classmates were seated, if we take note of how the seating plan was arranged according to gender, I'm supposed to be sitting next to him. She narrowed her eyes at the teacher in front of them, I wonder why Yukimura-sensei made me sit away from him.
Yukimura Aguri is a young teacher who has been teaching Class E students for a year now. Miki could easily tell how very passionate she is when it comes to teaching and she is somewhat touched that, despite the gloomy atmosphere inside their classroom, the young teacher is very encouraging and still beaming at them.
However, she sweatdropped, another thing about her bothers me...
"Is there something wrong?" Aguri asked once she realized that no one among the class was listening anymore.
"Sensei," a voice rang out. Miki glanced at the familiar guy with the ombre hair. Maehara, i think that's his name, she mentally noted.
"What's up with that shirt?" He asked. Instantly, Miki's eyes flashed towards the teacher's mentioned shirt once again. She could clearly see what was on the teacher's shirt but couldn't make out on what the character even is.
Wait, is that a pickle? She squinted her eyes at the green, whatever creature that is, character on the shirt. Or a cactus? And what's a flower doing on its head? Is it supposed to be a hat or actually its hair? But what are- ah no, those ones are meant to be hands... I think.
Giving up, Miki leaned on her desk, resting her head on her palm. Whatever that is, it looks very out of place. The green is way too vibrant compared to the pastel-coloured flowers and the neutral background just makes it even worse on the inconsistency. Just what of wacko would think that design would sell good?!
"I like the design! It's cute!" Mildly offended, the teacher protested. "Right?"
No one agreed.
Her tastes in fashion are just as out of place, Miki sweatdropped. But if she likes it then there's no stopping her...
When the first period ended, Aguri briefly left the classroom to prepare herself for the next class. Although the classroom is still fairly quiet, soon after, some students began to move out of their seats and towards their group of friends.
Miki herself didn't bother to move from her seat, seeing that both Chiba and Sugaya, who she can actually consider as her friends, are seated near her. Okajima, on the other hand, was already with another group he seems to be friends with.
"So, what do you think of our new teacher?" A voice asked suddenly. Miki assumed that it came from the small group of girls that are gathered around the front seats.
Another girl replied, "I like her!" Miki was slightly taken aback at how bubbly her voice is. "She's so nice!"
"Heh, don't be fooled," the bulky guy beside her suddenly spoke up, which caused most of their classmates to look at him in an instant.
Miki shifted in her seat to face him properly. She raised an eyebrow and felt her mouth moving on its own, "'About what?"
"That teacher," the bulky guy turned to her, "It would only take a while before she'll start mocking us like the misfits we are," he leaned even further in his seat, "That whole 'nice teacher' thing of her's gotta be nothin' but a front."
His words instantly dampened the mood in the room even further, some classmates immediately lowered their heads while others turned away.
Miki, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes at the response and sighed. "If that were the case, then what's the point of her even tolerating us?" At that moment, she knew that everybody were already looking at her. She calmly returned each of their gazes and made herself continue.
"We're the End Class, dude," she felt her jaw clenching in pure discomfort when those words came out of her mouth. "Teachers won't get fired for belittling us, heck, they're even expected to actually treat us that way."
She then sent a pointed look at the bulky guy, clearly directing her next words to him especially. "The same goes for Yukimura-sensei. Her putting up a front absolutely made no sense when she's already expected to treat us like trashes. She's only gonna drain herself if that were the case," she shrugged. "Which, I think, is just a foolish move."
"So you're saying that she's... genuine?" A rather feminine voice hesitantly asked.
Miki turned to the source of where the voice came from and found herself locking eyes with a short girl with wavy ginger hair and green eyes. "Of course she is," she gave the girl a comforting smile, which was then brightly returned, "the most genuine adult I've ever met so far..."
Her smile faltered a little bit but she immediately brushed it off.
"Think of it this way," her eyes roamed over her classmates who were all attentively listening to her, "Someone in this school actually cares."
She patiently watched how her classmates' expressions started to brighten as the weight of her words began to gradually sink in. I know it wasn't much, she smiled bitterly, but with all what happened yesterday, her jaw tightened, they need this.
Sighing deeply, Miki turned once again to the bulky guy, who hadn't given any signs of response at her earlier words. "Look," she started strongly, "I understand why you're doubtful. I mean, after all, those adults back in the main campus are never a good example of what a good teacher should be like."
Following her words are muffled laughs from their classmates who are still listening, even the bulky guy allowed himself to scoff at her blunt insult towards their old teachers.
She lightly smiled reassuringly at them. "Just take it easy."
The dark gloomy atmosphere inside the classroom was soon lifted, even by just a little, and almost everyone went back to their previous business, as if the earlier incident never happened. For a few moments, Miki and the bulky guy just kept their gazes at each other, until the latter groaned in response and turned away from her. Rather satisfied, Miki shifted her sitting position and let herself relax in her seat.
"Hey"
The same gruff voice, but a bit more toned down, called out to her.
"Hmm?"
She turned to him a little, noticing at how much he discreetly stole glances of her. "You just transferred here, didn't you? You passed the entrance exams." He stated pointedly. Again, Miki felt a few prying eyes on them.
"Yeah. That, I did." She sighed.
"Then how'd you get in this class?"
Miki just shrugged. "I didn't finish the first semester at my old school, so I repeated my third year."
He snorted at her answer. "Then why'd you choose to study here when you'd know you're gonna be dropped in this hell?"
"Dunno. Not my choice to stay here." She replied shortly.
The bulky guy didn't respond after that, thus abruptly ending their conversation unsatisfactorily. This guy... Miki sighed, is surprisingly hopelessly awkward for someone this rough...
"Say... Teresaka-kun, was it?" The guy barely grunted in response.
She quickly let her eyes survey his entire built physique for a moment. "I've been wondering, actually. You're much bulkier than most guys your age... An athlete perhaps?"
Terasaka frowned. "Nah. The closest thing I could ever do a sport is when I do street ball."
"Gym, then?"
"Yeah, I had a membership at Akatsuki's." He replied which caused Miki to turned to him more attentively. "Oh, could it be the one near Cyberia?" She asked once more.
Nodding at her mutely, Terasaka also asked back. "Yeah, why'd you ask?"
"I'm planning to sign up for the whole month. I haven't been getting any proper workout lately since I moved out." With a light shrug, Miki replied. She casually ran her hands through her fringes before putting them behind her head.
Terasaka mildly grunted. "Suit yourself then, uh..."
"Miki."
"Right, Miki..." He trailed off before whisking his head away.
That's the second time... A bit annoyed, Miki rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Geez, just how awkward can you get?" She muttered loud enough for the bulky guy to hear. Surely, she got the reaction she wanted from him. Terasaka quickly turned back to her, obviously angered, with veins popping out on his head.
"I'm not!" He loudly barked, fist threateningly clenched. "I don't even wanna talk to you in the first place! You're the one who's making it awkward!" He pointed an index finger at her almost accusingly.
Unfazed by his sudden hostility, Miki blankly stared at the finger. Slowly, her eyes made their way to his face. "Oh, I'm sorry..." Terasaka was slightly taken aback with how her sharp crimson orbs bore through him, almost threateningly.
"But what got you so worked up, big guy?" Miki grinned faintly at him, as if challenging him. "I'm just making an assumption, which is my fault, I know. So no need to get defensive, I don't even know if that's the truth or not."
No response.
Got him. With nothing else to say, Miki nonchalantly waved him off before letting herself relax in her seat again.
"Wow, she got you on that one!" A blonde guy, probably one of Terasaka's friends, mercilessly teased the guy.
Miki soon tuned out the conversation going on her right, barely missing Terasaka snapping at him. She turned her head back at the front of the classroom, only for her calm crimson eyes to meet with panicked silver ones.
"You're out of your mind." Sugaya stated, eyes still wide and full of panic.
Miki just simply brushed off his concerns with a shake of her head. "Oh really..."
The bell rang, signaling the end of the fourth period as well as the start of lunchtime. The moment Aguri left the classroom, almost immediately, all the students started to put away their belongings, mild chatters resonated the once quiet room.
"Still, you're out of your mind," Sugaya repeated while they are taking out their boxed lunches.
Miki rolled her eyes at that. "Am most certainly not," she shortly replied before moving her desk next to Sugaya's. "Yeah, sure I talked back to him out of habit, my bad, but it's not like what I said was wrong," she sat down, arms crossed with an eyebrow quirked, "Isn't it?"
"Well," Sugaya started, sheepishly scratching his head. "I wasn't saying that you're in the wrong here but rather..." he trailed off, desperately side-eyeing Chiba who sighed vehemently.
"That was reckless of you," Chiba finished for him as he sat down next to Miki.
Miki turned to him with a look of indifference. "And why is that?" She asked. "Is it because he's big, strong, and likely to physically hurt me because he's one of those stereotypical delinquents in this school? And that he has the freedom to do so now that we're in this class?"
Chiba just stared at her and despite not giving her any signs of response, Miki could clearly tell that what she said was exactly what he is thinking.
"He isn't the first and most definitely not gonna be the last bulky delinquent I'm ever going to encounter." Forming a stern frown, she hastily explained to them.
And with that, they dropped the issue.
"You're surprisingly talkative all of a sudden," Sugaya observed midway through a topic about their interests.
Closing the lid of her tumbler, Miki replied flatly, "That's because I actually have something to say. And I'm actually quite invested to where this conversation is going so far, so let's keep at it."
"That's another thing for me to be surprised about," Sugaya mused, "I never thought of you as an art enthusiast. It's uh..."
"I don't look like it?" Miki asked, which earned her a nod. "Dancing is a form of art," she stated as a matter of fact, "I dance."
The new piece of information must have been vital as it earned her a united 'oh' from both Sugaya and Chiba.
"That's... more likely," Sugaya commented, "What forms of dances do you do?"
Miki leaned back on her seat. "Quite a number, if I had to be honest."
"We still have ten minutes before lunch break ends," Chiba informed, clearly urging her to continue.
Sighing, a slight smirk formed around the blonde's lips. At the same time, she crossed her arms. "I taught myself to dance," she started, clearly proud at that fact, "from watching street performances my sister takes me to whenever I used to go home from school."
"Wait, you never took classes?" Sugaya suddenly interrupted.
"Not back then," she answered. "At first, I was completely interested with both hip hop and," a chuckle, "break-dancing that I really wanted to be able to do something like what I saw there. Luckily, my room is large enough for me to practice in. So I locked myself in there, mimicking some moves I saw, practicing again and again, until I just... got it. After that, I branched out."
Miki paused for a bit, recollecting her thoughts as she closed her boxed lunch. "I've done contemporary for a while then I went for popping and locking, also house, voguing, waacking, shuffling, and lyrical partner dances when I started middle school." She listed, counting everything with her fingers. "The only rather well-known forms of dances I've never done are classical ballet and jazz funk. I would actually need to take classes on those but it's too pricey."
"What about... Capoeira, was it?" Sugaya asked.
Shifting in her seat, Miki shook her head. "Too much strength needed in the upper body to pull off. I'd rather not risk it."
Sugaya nodded his head in understanding. "That makes sense." Then he suddenly chuckled, "I'm kinda excited to see you dancing. From they way you explained how you learned, it kinda sounds like you're really good at it!"
"Don't get your hopes up," Miki fondly rolled her eyes, "But I might give you a show though, someday."
Sugaya grinned. "Can't wait, then."
Chiba, who was quietly listening to their conversation the whole time, suddenly noticed someone from the corner of his eye. "Miki-san..." He called out to the blonde.
"Hmm?"
"I think Yukimura-sensei is looking for you," he gestured to the slightly opened door, where the said teacher is trying to peek in.
Miki turned to where he pointed and found herself locking eyes with the teacher.
The moment Miki noticed her, Aguri almost immediately opened the door. "Ah, Yamazaki-san! May I have a word with you for a few moments?"
"Oh sure, sensei!" Miki instantly stood up from her seat. She quickly turned back to the boys apologetically. "Sorry, but can you move my table once lunch ends, please?"
"We got this, no sweat," Sugaya waved her off.
Chiba nodded at her. "Take your time."
Miki nodded back at them, "Thanks." She followed the teacher and left the classroom.
"I'm sorry for bothering you at this moment, Yamazaki-san. You seemed to be getting along with your classmates. I kind of felt bad for borrowing you for a moment," Aguri said when they entered the faculty room. "Have a seat," she gestured to the vacant seat next to hers.
Miki sat down with her as followed, "It's not a bother at all, sensei. I'm sure the others would understand," she reassured the teacher.
"Alright", Aguri pulled out a pen and a small notepad from her desk. "Unlike with the rest of your classmates, I haven't received your grades from your previous school year just yet. But I need to have a firm grasp of your abilities so that I can prepare my lessons better after this."
Miki nodded in understanding, immediately catching on with what the teacher was implying. "So, you wanted to know what subjects I excel at and what I need to improve on?"
"Exactly!" Beamed the teacher. "This wouldn't take long; maybe just a few minutes at least. If you don't mind, that is."
Miki shook her head. "Like I said, sensei, it's not a bother," she moved closer to the teacher. "Maths is arguably the subject I excel at the most, then English..."
She started listing all the subjects she is both good and bad at as well as her other previous academic performances with great detail. Aguri, on the other hand, furiously jolted everything down while listening intensively to her student.
"And that's about it, I think." Miki finished while skimming through the teacher's notes. "Anything else?"
Aguri shook her head in response. "This is more than enough, Yamazaki-san," she briefly scanned the information written down. "We can figure everything else out throughout the term."
"Should I then take my leave now, sensei?" Miki glanced at the wall clock to her right. 2 minutes... she noted.
"You can now," the teacher answered, not taking her eyes off the notepad.
Miki stood up and briefly bowed at the young teacher. As she made her way to the door, a voice stopped her from sliding it open.
"Um.. Yamazaki-san?"
She turned back to the teacher, "Yes, sensei?"
Aguri looked like she has something important to say to her, but she just shook her head. "Ah never mind. You can go now."
Unconvinced, Miki shortly stared at her teacher, observing her movements and gestures for any indications of what she was meant to say.
Then everything clicked.
"Yukimura-sensei," she cautiously called, not moving from where she was standing. "You heard?"
Aguri didn't give any signs of response but Miki immediately noticed at how her shoulders tensed and hands stiffened.
She allowed herself to smile in realization. "You must've been wondering why I defended you from Terasaka-kun earlier, if I'm not wrong?"
At that, Aguri instantly whipped her head towards Miki, eyes widened and mouth opened in shock.
"You figured that it might cause some trouble if I ever sat next to Terasaka-kun, so you made me sit farther from him," Miki carefully continued. "That, alone, is enough for me to trust you and I am sincerely grateful for that."
She once again bowed respectfully to the teacher. "Thank you for having me, Yukimura-sensei." She turned towards the door and slid it open.
Even after Miki left the room, Aguri just only stared to where the student as standing earlier. After a few moments, the teacher finally let herself smile and soon returned to her work.
Just maybe... I might be able to reach them this year...
"Yes?"
Confused, Miki found herself staring at the (adorable) girl with short wavy ginger hair and peridot eyes who approached her when the final period ended.
A taller girl with brown hair in a high ponytail and violet eyes answered for the other girl's stead. "What Hinano-chan meant to say," she gestured to the shorter girl, "was that if we could walk with you home. You lived around Cyberia, right?"
"I do," after tidying her belongings, Miki slung her book bag onto her shoulder.
"We didn't get the chance to know you better during breaks and lunch since you were rather occupied," the brunette explained sheepishly. "So we figured that right now would be a good time. You're not busy, are you?"
Miki shook her head. "I'm free today."
Both girls sighed in relief at her answer. "I'm Yada Touka," the brunette introduced herself and gestured towards the ginger, "and her name is Kurahashi Hinano."
Kurahashi beamed brightly at her. "Nice to meet you!"
Still taken aback at the shorter girl's energy, Miki nodded in acknowledgement. "Likewise. The name's Yamazaki Jenny but just call me Miki instead."
The three left the classroom and Miki couldn't help but to be inwardly ticked at the fact that both Sugaya and Chiba practically just ditched her when the two girls approached her.
"Why Miki though?" Kurahashi asked.
The taller girl just shrugged. "It's the name my father gave me and I use it more often."
"By the way, Miki-san," Yada turned to her. "Our other friends are actually waiting for us at the entrance," she informed, "I hope you don't mind the extra company."
"I don't mind at all," Miki reassured them.
Soon they reached the entrance hallway and found two girls, one with straight blonde hair and the other with wavy peach hair, waiting for them. The three girls broke free from their conversation as the blonde started calling and waving at them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Rinka-chan, Rio-chan!" Kurahashi called out to the other girls as they approached them.
The blonde just waved her off. "Don't mind~"
Yada just chuckled and turned to Miki. "Miki-san, I'd like you to meet Nakamura Rio-chan," she gestured to the blonde who grinned at her, "and Hayami Rinka-chan," the peach haired girl nodded at her in acknowledgement. Miki returned both gestures with her own.
"Nice to meet you. Yamazaki Jenny, at your service," grinning, Miki playfully bowed and scraped to them. "Just call me Miki," she looked up and winked at them.
The air around them went silent for a while until they all suddenly broke with laughter.
"Wow. Some humour you have there," Nakamura grinned widely at her, amused. "But I gotta admit," she walked closer to the taller girl and playfully nudged her, "You nearly got me falling for you, Miki-san. What a charmer!"
"Please," Miki rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face spoke otherwise. "That was just an appetizer, Nakamura-san. You haven't seen the most of it."
The blonde's grin stretched even further at that. "Really now..."
Then she suddenly dropped the topic once they started walk down the mountain. "Anyways, we couldn't help but to eavesdrop with your conversation with Sugaya-kun earlier at lunch. You said you dance, right?"
Miki blinked at the sudden change of topic then hastily answered. "Well yeah..."
"We couldn't help but hear the whole thing," Yada reasoned apologetically, "You guys were just behind us and there wasn't much chatter in the classroom, anyways."
The taller girl just shook her head. "I don't mind."
"You also said you haven't taken any dance classes until recently, right?" Miki nodded at the follow-up question. Nakamura then pulled out her phone. "I thought you looked familiar so I went to do some old-fashioned soul searching," she then shoved her phone onto Miki's face but luckily the taller girl was far enough to be accidentally hit. "This is you, right?"
Miki looked at what the blonde was showing her and realized it was a dance class video that was uploaded on YuuTube. The small group of girls in the video were dancing in unison with a choreography she knew too well, she found herself wanting to move along.
But what caught her attention was the dancer in the center and front of the dance formation, the girl with unruly blonde hair and crimson eyes who was dancing with great power, precision, and presence. The girl immediately stood out from the group with how young she is and how sharp her movements are. The girl's expression made her looked fierce and strong despite her age, but one could easily tell how much the girl enjoyed herself.
Miki didn't realized how much she's smiling from watching the girl in the video. "Wow, I looked so young back then," she mused, sighing in content at the memory.
Nakamura's blue eyes then widened in surprise and looked at the video once again. "So it is you..."
"That was three years ago, after I graduated elementary," Miki informed them. "I just recently started to take dance classes around that time."
It was Hayami's turn to look surprised. "Just recently?" She suddenly spoke up, "I thought it had been a while. You were so good," she praised.
"Then that means you're J-MY, right?" Yada smiled at her.
Miki shook her head at how the brunette pronounced her former stage name. "It's pronounced as 'Jamie' but yeah, that's my stage name. They're from the initials of my name: Jenny, Miki, and Yamazaki. I used that name when I take classes or when I sometimes join in the street dance performances I mentioned earlier." She explained shortly. "Anyways, I'm surprised that you even managed to discover me there. That was one of the few classes I took when I briefly stayed in the US during the summer."
"Rinka-chan and Touka-chan also dance!" Kurahashi answered, gesturing to the mentioned girls who quickly turned away out of embarrassment. "But Rio-chan is more interested with overseas dance classes when she's searching for choreography that they would sometimes practice with!"
"Oh really now?" Miki turned to the girls who were intentionally avoiding her gaze, especially Yada. She could even see the slight blush on Hayami's face. "I'm kinda attracted to the idea of dancing with you two now," she grinned to them. Then she focused on watching her steps, just in time to avoid an overgrown tree root from tripping her.
"Watch your steps, girls. This area is rather rooty," the other girls followed.
"But still," Yada continued, "the idea of dancing with you is too attractive," she laughed sheepishly. "Maybe once we got back into shape, we kind of regressed a lot because of last term finals," she nodded along with Hayami.
Miki nodded along with them. "Trust me, I did, too, regressed a bit," she shrugged her shoulders. "Which is why I was planning to hit the gym next week. My dancing style requires a lot of strength that I lost from the last exam season."
"You gotta be careful though," Nakamura nudged her with a wink, "you might ended up becoming bigger than Terasaka, for all we know," she joked, which earned laughs from the others.
"I won't go that far!" Miki found herself laughing along with them.
"It took a while, but I have finally received your grades from your old class along with Yamazaki-san's report card from her old school," Aguri announced to her students the next Monday, her hands firmly holding a stack of long brown envelopes.
The class inwardly groaned at the announcement, knowing exactly that it was just another way for the teachers to damage the last remaining bit of their pride even further, by shoving their low grades right in front of their faces. It was as if the public execution they experienced last Friday wasn't enough to break them.
"My report card?" Miki frowned at that, confused as to why she is just now receiving her report card, when she couldn't even retrieve it last month. "I thought they wouldn't even bother to make me one," she muttered to herself as the teacher started to distribute the envelopes to each of the students.
"Miki", a hushed whisper made her turn towards Sugaya. "I thought you said your school never made you a report card?" She gave him a look that implied that she also doesn't have any idea of what was going on.
"Yukimura-sensei," she called out when the teacher gave her a stringed kraft envelope. When the teacher turned to her, she immediately asked, "You wouldn't mind if, at some point, I threw this on the ground out of pure anger once I saw everything inside, right?"
Aguri stared at her in surprise, then sweatdropped once she finally registered what the blonde had just said. "You wouldn't actually do that, would you?" She carefully asked.
Slightly wincing, Miki shook her head. "Sadly, I might. I apologize in advance, sensei."
After contemplating her answer, Aguri decided to let her be. "Alright, I'll allow you. But don't cause a scene, alright?" She warned, which instantly earned her a determined nod from her student.
Aguri gave her a last look before distributing the last few envelopes to the remaining students.
Miki returned the look with a more apologetic one while unraveling the string on her envelope. She carefully pulled out its content with slight dread, clearly not liking the situation at all. She studied the front cover of her report card where her ID picture is located at along with her basic information such as her name, birth date, and etc.
So far so good. Everything looks normal... She mentally noted, then frowned. For now, at least... She shut her eyes closed when she opened the card, where her grades are supposed to be written down.
Miki knew that, from an outsider's perspective, she's being dramatic. But she couldn't careless about that right now, what she is currently holding in her hands was the report card that was seemingly hidden away from her for a whole month. That fact alone is enough to put her on edge.
If they have to hide it from me, I assume. Then I won't like this, not even a little...
Miki winked an eye open and, to her luck and relief, the first thing she saw was her Math grades during the mid-terms. Calming down, she then skimmed through her mid-term grades and was rather satisfied at how well she did around that time. There were no subjects that were lower than an A- and she was very proud that she got A+ on both Maths and English. She then read the teachers' remarks regarding her academic performances on the first-term and found herself biting down a smile with how much she was praised for her results.
If my usual work ethic could get me such high results, I can surely place within the top 50 this term. She reassured herself, suddenly feeling more motivated.
However, her short time of victorious happiness and self-assurance had come to an end when her eyes darted downwards to her End-of-term results.
Both her smile and mood dropped.
F's. F's on all her subjects.
Huh? Miki blinked a few times to check if she was seeing things. The continuous F's remained there, written with disheartening red pen.
A dangerous wave of fury and panic started rising inside her; her hands started trembling and her breathing became shallow. Her frantic eyes, as wide as they already are, furiously darted around the paper, searching for anything else other than the harsh continuous letters written down.
Nothing.
Sugaya, who had then recovered from his previous melancholy, turned to Miki to talk to her. However, the girl never once looked up from her report card. If anything else, she might have been purposely hiding in the paper. Had Sugaya not been observant enough, he could have just assumed that the girl was just trying to assess everything in silence.
Until he saw her trembling, a lot.
"Oi Miki!" He called out to her, hoping to at least distract her from what she was seeing. She didn't reply so he tried again but to no avail.
It was as if she couldn't hear him at all.
Where? Where? Where is it? Where are they?! Drowned in her thoughts, Miki kept frantically searching on her report card. Her vision then became blurry the longer she searched. Where were my written works? My class presentations? My extracurricular activities? My projects?! That damned group research project I ended up doing alone?!
She choked back her tears.
WHERE DID ALL THOSE GO?! WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?!
Then a realization suddenly interrupted her clouded thoughts.
"..Remarks... remarks..." She repeated muttered to herself while searching for the mentioned section. However, it did not calm her down one bit.
There it is. Miki barely had any time to notice that the handwriting was completely unfamiliar and unlike with any of her previous teachers as she immediately went to read what was written down.
This student has done remarkably with her academics this term, that is very much well-deserved for someone as talented and hardworking as she is. If the same amount of work ethic was also applied throughout the entire school year, she will, no doubt, earn the title of Valedictorian by the time of graduation.
However, her academics would have been also been included on her final grade had she not missed the crucial-
Miki abruptly stood up abruptly that her chair loudly fell, which garnered the attention of the rest of her classmates. Aguri was about to warn her to not make a scene until she saw the girl trembling uncontrollably. With a wave of panic, she called out to her.
She didn't hear the teacher at all, too consumed by her uncontrolled emotions. With a piercing shriek, she harshly threw the paper to the other corner of the classroom, with every force she could muster.
Her actions immediately earned instantaneous reactions from the class. Many winced from how loud and piercing her shriek was, some immediately stood up in hopes to try to calm her down, while the others just stayed frozen in their seats, too shocked to even register what was going on.
"Yamazaki-san..?" Aguri cautiously approached the once trembling student, who now lifelessly stayed to where she was standing with her hands limped and her head hanged; her breathing became heavier.
"So that's how it's gonna be then, huh?" Literally everyone jumped in surprise when Miki suddenly spoke up, her voice both soft and even. She glared at the thrown paper, "Those endless sleepless nights, those insomnia, those migraine attacks, all that stress and hunger that built up, and my damned health deteriorating just so that I could at least do well and not worry anymore..!" Her voice gradually became louder the longer she talked.
Another wave of fury rose inside her and her jaw tightly clenched. Out of pure impulse, in a flash, Miki grabbed the envelope of her desk, crumpling it, and with the same amount of force, she harshly threw the crumpled paper to where her report card was.
"SO YOU'RE ALL GONNA JUST IGNORE ALL OF THAT BECAUSE I DIDN'T TAKE MY FUCKING FINALS?!"
Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her torso tightly, keeping her from making any further signs of movement. Miki's first reaction was to break free from the hands, but her body seems to be more exhausted than she expected it to be and so, the arms didn't budge at all, even wrapping around her more tightly.
It took a while before Miki even realized that it was Aguri who was trying to make her move as little as possible with a tight hug, who obviously had the intention of calming her down firstly.
The classroom became eerily quiet, with no students willing to make any sound as much as possible. Only Miki's harsh breathing can be heard.
Aguri didn't move from her position, but one of her hands started to caress the taller girl's head in hopes of calming her down, her other hand now wrapped tightly around Miki's waist to keep her from moving. She repeated the process for a while until Miki's breathing began to even out with her shoulders relaxing.
She could only hope that Miki wouldn't dwell on it any longer and just move on.
"And that's what happened last week," Miki finished as she idly lingered around her study table, laptop opened for her to continue to work on.
On her phone, was a video call with a guy her age with curly ginger hair and amber eyes. "You actually broke down in the middle of class," he stated, still not able to process the story he just heard.
Miki rolled her eyes at his disbelief. "For your information, Park Jungyoon-san. They completely disregarded my school works and just graded me from the final exams," she gave him a pointed look. "If you were in my position that time, considering how stressed you are right now, with how poorly we usually handle our sudden burst of emotions, you're also likely to break down."
"Fair point," Jungyoon shrugged in response. "But unlike you, I might actually get in trouble for it. So, no thanks sweetie."
Miki frowned, "Well that sucks," she turned to her laptop and continued her previous work.
"Tell me about it," the ginger sighed vehemently. "Also, are you sure you're actually fine helping me with my thesis?" He asked, concerned. "You just had an emotional and mental breakdown not too long ago. I don't think you should be stressing yourself on this project."
"It's due tomorrow, Yoon-ah," she deadpanned. "Also, we're almost done, actually. All we need is to re-evaluate the recommendations and grammar check."
"I can do that myself, Jinhee," he argued, a disapproving look on his face. "You're still emotionally drained, I can tell. You need to rest."
"You're the one who needs resting," she shot back not taking her eyes off her work. "It's project season for you stressed-out fellows while I'm just chillin' here, getting very restless at how unproductive my week has been."
Jungyoon didn't reply, but a frown is still visible on his face.
"You're handling the grammar checks," then she sighed, turning to face him. "Look, I get why you're worried. But I'm all better now, my classmates has also been a great help," she gestured to her other phone, which kept ringing from the messages her classmates has been sending her through their group chat on LYNE.
Miki smiled to him reassuringly. "One last time, let me help."
Jungyoon briefly stared at her before sighing in defeat, knowing that it's impossible to change her mind at this point. With that thought in mind, he let himself to smile back at her, more gently. Then he opened his mouth to give his response.
But before the words leave his mouth, a sudden very bright light clouded both of their visions.
Miki wince loudly as she frantically covered her stinging eyes with her hands tightly. The intense brightness of the light was enough to warm her skin to an uncomfortable degree, like it was the sun that was glaring down at her.
Once she was sure that the glare died down, Miki immediately rushed towards the window, hoping to at least figure out what caused the burning light. For all she knew, it could be a crashed plane or even a failed satellite that caused it.
But what met her eyes was far more worse than what she could have imagined.
Up there, in the low sky, where the moon should have been full and brightly lit, is a burning crescent.
A scream ripped itself from her throat and her body started to shake again, really badly. It took the most of her willpower for not her legs to give up.
Then a more important thought pierced through her panicked mind. Jungyoon! Miki's eyes widened at that, remembering that she was still in the middle of a conversation with the boy when the explosion happened.
Still visibly shaken, she scrambled towards her phone and immediately grabbed it with both hands. "Jungyoon, you there?! JUNGYOON!"
There were no response at the other line, then the call ended. Too exhausted to even move from her position, Miki just blankly stared at her phone screen.
Network Unavailable...
A/N:
This was originally meant to be a wholesome chapter with some cute interactions inside the class and more relationship building for Miki. But because the emotional progression of this chapter was a lot less clear unlike the first chapter, that entire scene with Miki's sudden emotional breakdown was unplanned and completely improvised.
So, with that in mind, I'm planning to edit this once I have the next access to a laptop.
Thank you for reading and please review if you ever had the time! :)
~松原⽂⼦ 3