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クラス3、1日目、旧友

Class 3, Day 1, An Old Friend

Mei and I get to school about half an hour before the first bell. We still have time, so we decide to find our friends and catch up. We look all over the school, but our friends are nowhere to be found. Then, out of nowhere, I'm put in a headlock, and a painful one at that.

"Yo! Tomoya Natsuzaki! Long time no see!" The overly-noisy voice is all too familiar. I turn to see Kenta, being his usual hyper self.

"Kenta, you're still as rowdy as ever. How can you have so much energy so early in the morning? It's inhuman."

I only get a laugh and a slap on the back from him. Apparently, our conversation is over after that, since Kenta turns away from me and starts talking to Mei. I can already tell this won't end well.

"So, Mei, are you still dating this guy? I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't. Hey, if you two aren't dating anymore how abo-…" Kenta froze as soon as I flashed my eyes, signaling for him to stop. And, as anyone could've guessed, Mei turned extremely red and could hardly get a single word out.

"U-u-umm, w-well, you see, uh…."

I put my hand on Mei's shoulder to calm her down. Letting this go on any longer would just make it painful to watch. I told Kenta that we are still dating, and that the chance of him and Mei getting together was less than none. We talked until the first bell rang. Everyone piles in all at the same time, a flurry of red-brown pants and elegant white skirts filling the room. Then, our homeroom teacher walks in. Little do I know what events may unfold.

Our homeroom teacher strides in casually. "Where have I seen him before," I think to myself. His face is scarily familiar. Then, he begins to speak.

"Good morning, everyone. I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year. My name is Mr. Sanabe. I look forward to a great year with all of you."

"That's right!" I exclaim as I stand up and slam my hands on my desk.

"Hm? Is something wrong, son?" he asks.

"Mr. Sanabe, don't you remember me? You were my Cultural History teacher in 7th grade. I was miserable when I had to say goodbye."

He put his hand on his chin and thought for a bit. "Sorry. I don't remember. Maybe a name will help?"

"Tomoya… Tomoya Natsuzaki."

"Oh right! Tomoya! You were the student who came to me with all his problems. Yes, you were in tears at the end of that year. How have you been, my boy?"

"I'm great. We have to catch up after class."

"I agree," Mr. Sanabe then turned to the class, "so then, since we've already started, why don't we all introduce ourselves."

We only got through about half of the class before the bell rang and school ended. Mei and I stayed inside the room after everyone left.

"Now then, Tomoya, how have things been? Do you still have that special talent," A question to which I flash my eyes. "Still as interesting as the first day I saw it."

"Really? I guess it loses its luster after all these years," I say. Then, I remember something important. "Mr. Sanabe, you're familiar with the Kutaragi family, right?"

"Of course," he responds.

"Well, this is my girlfriend, Mei." That's when Mei comes around from behind me. She gives a deep bow. "She's the heiress to the Kutaragi family business."

"That's great, Tomoya! How long have you two been together?"

I decide to let Mei get a word in, so I allow her to answer. "Um….u-uh…..two years next week, Mr. Sanabe."

Then it hits me. "Shit," I think to myself, "I need to get Mei a present." Apparently my distressed emotions are showing, because Mei and Mr. Sanabe are staring right at me.

"Are you okay, Tomoya? Do you feel ill?" Mei's concern is showing a lot more than my distress.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something. It's nothing, really." But that's not entirely true. Inside, I'm freaking out. I need to find a way to get Mei something on short notice. This will be hard. Then, a stupidly brilliant idea forms itself. "Mei! Call your father. Tell him I'm coming over."

"Huh? Oh, um, okay." Mei pulls out her phone and walks out of the room. Mr. Sanabe and I are left alone, and he's still looking at me with a strange expression.

"I wonder what's wrong with Tomoya all of a sudden. Is he not telling me something?" I think many questions to myself as I walk out of Mr. Sanabe's classroom with my phone in my hand. I flip my phone open and enter the contact list, then scroll down to the F section and press "Call" on my Father's number. The phone rings once, twice, three times before my Father answers my call.

"Mei? It's unusual for you to call me from school. Is everything alright?" My Father is always worrying about everything.

"Yes," I respond, "everything is fine, Father. Tomoya would like to come over. Is that okay?"

"Of course, of course," Father replies, "Tomoya is always welcomed, even unannounced. I will have the maids clean the house immediately."

"Please do it nicely, Father. You tend to dictate and command the maids whenever Tomoya comes over. You treat him too well, he might get spoiled."

"Oh no, no, no. You are the girlfriend, so you have to spoil him." Then, Father lets out a loud and prideful laugh, "Bring the boy over when he's ready."

"Okay, thank you, Father. I will see you when Tomoya and I return. Bye bye."

Father and I end the call at what I believe to be the same time. I heard Tomoya and Mr. Sanabe speaking to each other, but it appears that their conversation has ended, so I reenter the classroom.

"Alright, what's wrong? Your attitude took a complete one-eighty. It's something about the upcoming anniversary, isn't it?"

I'm found out. "Alright, you got me. I totally forgot and I need to get a present for Mei. So my plan is to ask her father if any extra help is needed around the house. Hopefully I'll be able to pull in enough money to buy something good."

"I see. Well then, best of luck to you."

Our conversation ends just as Mei opens the door and walks back in. "Father has started preparing the house for you. We should probably leave soon."

"Great timing. Tomoya and I just finished catching up. I'll see you two on Sunday." With that, Mr. Sanabe turns to his desk and begins his work. Mei and I leave and start walking to the shoe exchange lockers.

"Um, Tomoya? What were you and Mr. Sanabe talking about while I was talking to my Father?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just things that have happened in recent years. Still, I can't believe he's my teacher again. It's like my second dream come true."

"Second? Then, what is your first?" A question to which I take Mei's hand in mine and give her a quick peck on her cheek in response. "T-T-T-Tomoya! W-w-we're still on school p-property! Y-you can't do things l-like t-that here!" Finally, Mei realizes her frantic mood and calms herself down by tapping the tips of her index fingers together. "I mean, it is not like I do not appreciate when you show your affection. Actually, I really enjoy it. I just prefer that you obey the rules of where we are when you do."

I roll my eyes in my mind and pull her through the school's front gate. At that point, I grab Mei and pull her close in a passionate embrace. "We aren't on school grounds anymore, so this is more than fine, right?"

"Well, I guess so. But we should really go now."

I respond by taking Mei's hand and starting to walk. I stop after a few steps and feel the breeze. Everything is calm around us, and I wouldn't like it any other way. I feel Mei wrap her arms around my arm, and we start walking to the Kutaragi house.