Thorns of the Seamless Red Rose
-Chapter Two: The Calla Lily's Poison -
"Hino…! Hino!" the teacher called her name which made her pay attention and stood up looking perplexedly at her. "What is the number of orbital that 3f has?" she stared at the things written on the board in white chalk still spaced out and has absolutely no idea what was written there.
"Uhm… Uh.." she remained blank "Two" she answered randomly.
"Wrong… Hino-san, please see me after class." Ms. Haruno commanded as the bell rang signaling the end of Chemistry period.
"Hai, Haruno-sensei" Hino sounded low as she sat down again as everyone stood up. The boys from her class are laughing at her. Nao and Mio approached her while a dull face is written on Hino.
"The answer is zero, Kaho-chan, the value of n cannot be equal to the value of ℓ." Mio said in her usual friendly tone. "Why are you spacing out these past few days?"
"The concours had been tough" Hino uttered in her dull tone.
"We both understand that, but you really need to study, there will be a Chemistry exam tomorrow. You know what will happen to you when you fail again" Nao suggested.
"Yes, so I should study and avoid touching the violin just for today and start reading my Chemistry books!" she said cheerfully though in the back of her mind: "It's so easy to say it in words but it's so hard to do" she sighed heavily.
"Great, so anyway, want to eat something?"
"Gomen ne, I think I'll pass" then she left the room running with the violin case in her hand.
Nao and Mio are left in confusion. "What happened to avoiding the violin?" they both thought.
"Did her sprain heal rapidly that she ran that fast?" Nao said in confusion.
Hino ran in the Gen-Ed halls then she suddenly halted when she saw Yunoki from a short distance.
"Yu-Yunoki-senpai?" she whispered low catching his attention. Hino was surprised to see "The Prince" walking in the Gen-Ed halls. He never even goes in these walls, he's a Music student after all and it's kind of like a mortal sin for a Music student, especially those eminent students like himself, to be walking in there.
"Hino-san" his voice made her body shiver.
"Why are you doing here?"
"I just happen to pass by" Yunoki curved his lips to form that perfectly gentle smile, but as he turned to resume his steps Hino realized that his voice sounded awfully cold. But she ended up ignoring what she had noticed.
She headed for the practice room but every room seemed to be occupied by the rest of the participants with some students from the Music department.
The only choice is the rooftop so she trailed her steps on the way there. Hino was watching her feet on her way to the rooftop.
She opened the door and saw Yunoki standing by the railings and holding its silver steel with both of his hands while the air swiftly blows his violet hair along the cool breeze.
"Se-senpai…" she spoke softly with shock with in her tone. 'Why does this guy keep showing up?' she thought to herself.
"Hino-san, I knew you'd come here" his words made her tremble again, the second time this day. 'And what? What does he mean by that? He's waiting for me?'
"Wh-Why?" she mumbled once more. "Is there anything you want to ask or a favor you need?"
"No… I just want to inform you that—" he paused utterly clever without his usual eloquent smile. The words looked like it didn't come out from Yunoki, the reason she felt gauche.
Then Mio and Nao were standing behind the opened door.
"—do well in the following concours" he let them see his typically kind smile and joyful eyes. But Hino thought that those weren't the words he wanted to come out. She ignored Yunoki's weird actions today… again.
"Jaa!" Nao and Mio blushed as Yunoki bowed gentlemanly to the three upon leaving their presence.
"Kaho, what happened yesterday with Haruno-sensei?"
"Bad… she said that I should withdraw the concours if my grades kept failing." She said in a gloomy tone with her faint eyes.
"Cheer up, Kaho-chan, Ganbareyou!" Mio held her two thumbs up.
Hino responded with a weak smile 'I think I can't balance my studies and the violin any longer, but still I can't choose just one.'
The bell rang and everyone got inside their respective classroom. It still leaves her sad. Hihara greeted. "Ohayou Kaho-chan!" but she replied again with that sad smile. Hihara wondered by the way she was acting.
Chemistry came and then lunch again. Hino declined Mio and Nao's invitation to the cafeteria and headed for the rooftop again, she has the earlier chemistry exam in one of her hands. She opened the door and took a few steps distant from the door with her eyes to feel the sun in her skin under the long-sleeved uniform. It was cold in Japan during those days and she wanted to feel a little warm since the sun is up.
A loud thud from the door and the sound of the knob clicking caught her attention.
She turned to see who it was and saw him. Yunoki was leaning on the wall beside the door with his arms crossed.
"Yunoki-senpai? You surprised me! Why did you lock the door?"
"To prevent any further interruptions" the words didn't sound like it came from his lips. It sounded deep and mocking, very unlike of how she, and everyone, knew him.
"Interruptions for what?"
He had drawn closer to her. He took the paper away from her hand. "How pitiful you are… receiving such a disgraceful remark"
"Hey give that back!" he smirked at her reaction.
"I dislike those people with low intellectual capacity… such as you." He had crossed over the barrier... he was insulting her way too much. But why can't she react, defend herself; say anything that can hurt him. Hino just stood in front of him dumbfounded by his formal words that say she's stupid. "Why won't you just forfeit the competition and focus on your deteriorating grades?", he seemed to be entertained with her expression.
"Senpai?" she was confused. The whole school loves this person standing in front of her, always known for having the perfect grades, perfect attitude and his perfectly charming looks.
"You look awfully pale Kahoko…" he grinned sardonically. She took a step back as if the person standing by her is a devil in an angels clothing.
Yunoki reached out his hand to touch a small flock of Hino's red hair.
"Ka-Kahoko?" she said her own name wondering why on earth will he call her informally? Her eyes widened because of the weird perplexity surrounding her atmosphere.
He turned his back to Kahoko and flicked his hair mockingly followed by a sinister laugh. "Jaa!" he waved from behind and headed for the door as the school bell rang.
**MsDayDream Notes**
Reviews are FREE, so whoever you are that read my fic… you are required to leave a review or suffer an eternal sin… Waha… just kidding! REVIEW KUDASAI!
Wahaha, I changed the title, the original post was "Breaking the Barrier"
MsDayDream's Petal Trivia:
Calla Lily, The Flower of Love and Death… known of its pure beauty but conceals its poison in its stem to roots… usually used in wedding occasions and funeral gatherings.
Also Called the Zantedeschia, the Calla Lily plant grows to 1-2.5 m tall with leaves 15–45 cm long. The inflorescence is a showy white, yellow or pink spathe shaped like a funnel with a yellow, central, finger-like spadix
