At the beginning of the following week, Michael returns to class, refreshed and frankly relieved. Once the day is finished and the weekend has passed, he walks into the classroom, expecting another normal day. Since his return, he's been hearing whispered gossip about him when his back is turned. Surprising, since he never stood out in any particular way until recently. Things get even weirder when the headmaster walks in.

"Good day, class! Unfortunately, your assigned science teacher will be unable to teach you for the rest of the semester." The entire classroom is abuzz with questioning murmurs. "Thankfully, an outstanding young man has stepped up to take over. Mr. Carson, if you please."

On the headmaster's cue, in walks Mr. Carson. His messy auburn hair has been brushed down to neatness, and his iron-pressed blouse and slacks—though still slightly big on him—are an obvious improvement compared to his usual baggy clothes. Most noticeable is his lack of headwear, which, when combined with everything else, makes him almost unrecognizable. He quickly writes his name on the chalkboard, then turns to face the class. "The name's Maxwell Carson. I don't really have a lesson plan, but once I finish grading your papers, I'm sure I can come up with something."

"You sound awfully confident, Mr. Carson."

"If I wasn't sure of what I was teaching, I wouldn't be teaching, would I? Besides, if there's one thing I know how to do, it's adapt to a situation."

"If you say so. Well, then, I'll be off. Take care!"

The moment the headmaster leaves the room, class begins. Despite lacking a plan, he manages to come up with a topic and lecture, entirely based on the homework papers he skimmed through (mostly Michael's). On top of all this, unlike their last teacher, who droned on and on while leaving questions towards the end, Max encourages students to participate, whether it's writing on the board or reading from the book. It is an entirely different style of teaching—one which he claims to have learned about when conversing with friends from overseas—but it's kept them on their toes.

As Max wraps up his lesson and starts packing up the homework to grade, Kaiser approaches the teacher's desk. "Lemme guess: you think I set this up, didn't you?" Kaiser, lost for words, looks away. "I assure you, this is just sheer coincidence. If I was placed in anyone else's class, I doubt things would've gone over smoothly. But it doesn't seem like things changed much since I was a kid. Except this formula. Like, what the hell is this, quantum physics?"

"What I want to know is how you snuck your way in."

"I didn't 'sneak my way in', I was hired. Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to tutor you anymore. A shame, cus I really liked your mom's cooking." He slips the last paper into his suitcase, then stands up. "But if you still have questions, you can always talk to me after school." And then he is gone.

All sorts of questions run through his mind long after the class's end, and it shows in his dribbling. One of the defenders slide tackles him, taking the ball away from him as he falls onto the turf. Adé rushes over and offers a hand. "Are you okay? I mean, you don't have to practice if you're not up to it."

"I'm fine," he says as he helps him up. "It's just..." Just as his tongue is on the tail end of his sentence, he catches a glance of a familiar face conversing with their coach.

"What's wrong, Kai? You look like you've seen a ghost. Oh, look, it's Max! Hey, Max!" Adé waves at him, and Kaiser shrinks away in embarrassment as he waves back.

After the end of practice, the three friends discuss how to spend the rest of their day. "As long as it doesn't involve creepy waiters taking our fortunes, I'm down with anything," Adé says with a grin.

"Why don't we just go fishing?"

This question catches him and Eugene off-guard. "Huh? I wasn't expecting that from you, Kai. I thought you weren't into fishing."

"Of course I'm not! I just… think we don't spend enough time together." He bows his head, hoping no one would notice the flush of his cheeks.

The implications of Kaiser's words and expression does not escape Eugene. He adjusts his glasses as he tries to make up an excuse. "I just remembered I have a report to finish by tomorrow, so I won't be able to make it. I'll catch up with you later!" Without another word, he runs off, nearly tripping over himself in the process.

Watching Eugene disappear from their sight, Michael cannot help but smile. Finally, they can be alone. His hand reaches for Adé's, but he pulls away at the last second. However, the attempt does not go unnoticed, as Adé grabs hold of his hand and grins. He barely makes eye contact, but squeezes his hand to show his appreciation. For a brief amount of time, he feels a slight surge of energy emanating from where the two are linked.

Author's Note: Three chapters in a week? Sull, are you nuts?! Maybe. This was a decision I've had to mull over the past couple of days. In the end, I decided to upload this new chapter, on the condition that-in order to stick to my original schedule-I won't upload another chapter until the week after next. My main reason behind this decision (besides from said sticking to schedule) is to help move the story along faster, since half of last week's update was more or less filler.

Also, fun fact: as I was working on this chapter, I actually tried to do a bit of research on Japanese schools and their approach to substitute teachers. Though this sort of situation is probably unlikely to happen in reality, for the sake of making the story work, I had to bend the rules a bit (or a lot). This isn't the first time I had to do this, and it certainly won't be the last.