After the last class ended (FINALLY), I went outside to find Heiji waiting expectantly by the door.
"Guess whaatt?" he said in a sing-song voice when he saw me.
I looked at him. He was grinning light-heartedly.
That meant either one of two things: Choice Number One- Bad news for me, but not seriously bad that I might be in danger, but bad enough that it was funny to Heiji, therefore making him laugh. Choice Number Two- Good news.
Hmm… as much as I wanted to believe that it was choice number two, I had to first take into perspective my luck over the past forty-eight hours. Do we need a recap?
Broken Arm? Check.
Broken Prized Possession? Check.
Woke up late? Check.
Imminent Death? Check.
Second instance of imminent death (well, not really death, but having your nose sliced off by a locker door is not walk in the park)? Check.
So, I went with my pessimistic side, and braced myself for the worst.
"What?" I asked Heiji, who was still grinning like Totoro.
"You got…" Heiji paused for dramatic silence.
I waited.
And waited.
And…. Waited.
"HEIJI IF YOU DON'T TELL ME I'M GOING TO SMACK YOU!"
"Fine, ruin the moment," Heiji sighed, rolling his eyes. "But, anyways, ready?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure," I said flatly.
"Positively sure?" Heiji asked, continuing to stall, simply to annoy me. I gave him a don't-think-I'm-kidding-about-going-all-violent-just-because-I'm-your-friend- look.
He smirked.
I was just about ready to smack him.
"Okay, here it is," Heiji said, taking a piece of paper out of his bag and waving it in the air with a flourish. He took a deep breath. "YOU GOT A HUNDRED PERCENT ON YOUR BIO TEST!"
"I WHAATT?" I jumped up and down. "REALLY? DON'T LIE TO ME!"
"Okay, I'm slightly hurt that you would think that I'm lying to you about this," Heiji teased. "But, here's your paper for proof. I stopped by Sensei's classroom and picked it up."
He held the paper up above his head, daring me to jump for it.
"Oh, come on, Heiji!" I whined. "Don't you think that's the least bit cruel? Making someone with a BROKEN ARM jump for her test?"
"Nope."
Well, now what? I stood on the ground, looking hopelessly up at my test paper and mentally cursing Heiji for being so gosh-darn tall.
"Come on," Heiji coaxed, as if he was talking to a puppy. "Jump for the test, come on, girl."
"HEIJI!" I slapped him on the shoulder with my good arm (obviously, not too hard, but enough to let him know that I was SERIOUSLY annoyed.)
"People these days," Heiji said, with a dramatic sigh. He obligingly lowered his arm.
I took it from him and scanned the paper, to make sure he really was telling the truth (not that I don't trust him, but with all of my luck, this was a little bit too good to be true.)
In the top, right corner of the paper, a bold, red 100% was written and circled. As if to emphasize this, Sensei had also drawn a happy face.
"AHHH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" I flung my arms around Heiji.
"HA! What did I tell you? You guys are like a married couple!" One of Heiji's friends suddenly appeared next to us.
I recognized him to be the Unidentified Guy (remember, from Chapter One?) that had been teasing us yesterday.
I instantly took a step back from Heiji. We both looked at Unidentified Guy.
"You have three seconds," Heiji said, his voice dangerously calm, "before Kazuha and I go kamikaze on you."
"One…."
"Um…hehe, Heiji, you know I was just joking right? Come on, man!" Unidentified Guy backed away slowly.
"Two…"
At two, Unidentified Guy decided that it was fight or flight. Guess which one he chose?
FIGHT.
Just kidding.
Haha, did you actually believe me?
Did I mention that Heiji had insane skills with kento?
Well, anyways, he fled down the hallway like a chicken running away from a farmer with an axe, ready to chop its head off and turn it into dinner.
Wonderful, isn't it?
Within moments, he had disappeared around the corner, and I was left standing with Heiji again.
"And three," Heiji finished, with a satisfied and smug expression.
"Good bluffing," I commented.
"I was not bluffing," Heiji scoffed. We began walking out of the school building. I still had my biology test clutched in my hands and was practically skipping.
Okay, before continuing, I would like to say that I am absolutely NOT a nerdy (well, not an entirely nerdy) girl that only cared about grades and test scores. Sure, I would flip out if I failed a test, but my entire schedule does not just consist of studying.
Just thought I would make that clear.
And besides, considering everything that had gone on, this 100% was probably the highlight of the week.
"Someone's happy today," Heiji remarked.
"Nooo," I said sarcastically. "Can't you tell?"
"And who do you owe that 100% to?"
"I believe I already said thank you AND hugged you for helping me," I said nudging him slightly in the ribs.
"Just a thank you would've been okay," Heiji said, sounding just a little embarrassed. And it might have just been my imagination, but I thought I saw him blushing EVERY SO SLIGHTLY. Though, it could've just been the light and some weird effect with his dark skin.
After all, why on earth would he be embarrassed?
"So, now what?" I asked, changing the subject.
"We go to my house, eat, and then do homework?"
"Like usual?"
"Yep," Heiji said. He casually slung his bag over his shoulder as he walked next to me.
"Fine by me."
We walked past the place where the bullet had been fired. But you could hardly tell that there had been anything remotely close to violence that had happened. Elementary school children and parents were scattered around the grassy field, and the sun was shining brightly in the spring air.
It was probably just a mistake. I shrugged off any thoughts of paranoia that I might have had.
"So," I said conversationally.
Heiji looked at me.
"What?"
"I finally got the same score as you on a biology test!"
"Wellll, not quite," Heiji said, smirking.
"What do you mean?" I demanded. "I got a hundred percent! You can't possibly have gotten a higher score!"
"Well, you got a hundred percent because one of the questions was taken from the wrong chapter, meaning we hadn't learned it yet. So Sensei took the question of the test. But, I still got that one correct, so he just turned that point into extra credit for me."
I listened in disbelief.
"WHAT?"
"Sorry, Kazuha," Heiji shrugged his shoulders in a way that said he was not sorry at all. "But you still haven't beaten me."
I was quiet. Really, Heiji, really? Extra credit? Since when was that an option? Oh, right, it's an option the one time I get a 100%. Because life's just amazingly fair to me like that.
"You, you NERD!" I burst out.
"Nerd? I think a better term would be genius, or prodigy."
I glared at him.
"Face it, Kazuha," Heiji said with a smirk. "I'm just that awesome and smart."
"Oh, please."
"So you're not denying it?"
"OF COURSE I'M DENYING IT."
"Denying what?"
And now he was just trying to provoke me. To be entirely honest, I think 90% of all of our conversations are some sort of an argument.
How would I describe my emotions right now?
One word.
Nine letters.
asdfghijkl
Writing this chapter, I realize that I DO argue with my friend A LOT… XD And HUZZAH! I actually updated somewhat quickly. Anyways, do you think I should come up with a name for Unidentified Guy? Hmm… :]
