A/N: Standard disclaimers apply.
29.
[Class 1-1, Suzuna & majority of Class 1-1]
The pre-examinations period was always tense. That was why the focused silence of her classroom, save for the careless flipping of paper, scratching of pen on paper or whispered explanations came as no surprise to Seika High's President. What Suzuna had not expected was when several of her classmates simultaneously stood up and (she assumed) their leader told her, "Forgive us, Suzuna-san, but if touching you brings us luck for the exams…" His sentence faltered when Suzuna started retreating.
Run! Her instincts shouts at her when her more than half of her classmates took a threatening step forwards.
"Calm down," their leader tried to –unsuccessfully– restore order.
"Whatever," a brusque voice yelled from the back. His leering eyes still remain on the brunette. completely ignoring their previously elected 'leader', the burly classmate shouted a simple order that caused chaos within the confines of a small classroom, "Get her!"
She had thrown her doll's mask away. A hurt expression bloomed on her face as she ran out the classroom doors.
Unconsciously, her hazel eyes searched the advancing group for a familiar face. Aoi. Relief coursed through her system, Suzuna did not find him. At the same time, the brunette felt disappointed.
Silently, she called for him.
Aoi, where are you?
[Hallways to Class 1-1, Aoi, ? Juniors & half of Class 1-1]
"Man, the freshmen sure are easy to deceive," a junior snickered to his friend.
"Yeah. That was a good show," the auburn-haired friend sniggers along.
The two left the freshmen block, bowed over with laughter along the way.
What are those sempai doing? Aoi briefly wonders as he climbs up the stairs. The thought was pushed away (studies must have been tough on the 2nd years; another pair spotted laughing without reason) as soon as he entered an unusually empty classroom to find Suzuna missing from her seat.
She's usually here 10 minutes before homeroom starts. Could she be absent?
The brunette had been behaving strangely ever since the tutoring session. They had been spending time away from each other, unlike before when they could always be found together –be it Student Council, Maid Latte, or simply indulging in the others' company. Whenever they crossed paths (which were never coincidental because he has lots of questions to clarify. He is not as academically smart as Suzuna), the President would utter quick and concise replies.
Suzuna seemed almost distant.
"Ne ne, did you see?" the quiet raven-haired girl whispers to her friend.
"See?" the bespectacled friend seems confused for a moment before understanding dawns on her features. "About Suzuna-chan? Yeah, I did."
A cheery auburn bounded over to join in their conversation, "We all did, Karin-chan, Sakura-chan!"
"Except Hyōdou-san," the raven-haired girl, Karin, corrects her companions.
"So?"
"We should tell him," Karin explains.
Shock was evident on the spectacled girl's –Sakura's– face as she blurted out, "But he was the one that said your fashion sense is outdated!"
A blush adorned Karin's face, while her friend flustered to correct herself. The auburn could care less and had wordlessly left their table and subsequently, their conversation.
Do they know he was there, listening in to their conversation all along? What was he, an invisible ghost?
Annoyed, he turned to face the girls, but froze when Karin whispered her next words.
"But I still think…" Karin interrupts hesitatingly, "Suzuna-chan…she was so sad. Sad and scared."
Worry was his first response, for Suzuna does not cast her doll's façade away easily.
"Suzuna. What happened to her?" the sapphire-eyed boy interrogates the meek girls seated behind him.
[Music Room 2, Suzuna & ? Senior]
The Seika High Student Council President leaned heavily against the doors of the music room. Unlike the other blocks of the school, the Arts & Music block wears a western influence. Never had the brunette been glad for doors that open outwards instead of the norm sliding ones.
Forlornly, Suzuna wonders to herself. I'll be late if I don't leave; homeroom starts soon. I need to deal with them too; else half of the class will be gone too.
What should I do?
Someone invaded his territory, the senior thinks as a brunette rushed into the Music room and shuts the doors as quickly as she burst in. He took a second take, however, when he noticed that the girl was Seika High's President.
Another one chased? Poor girl.
Oh ho, anyone wants to guess what happens next? Or when Aoi's or Suzuna's birthday is? The review button is the way to go!