It was a special day. The first years of Nanamori Middle School had a show-and-tell today. Each student was asked to bring or display something that showed a talent, hobby, or experience they had.
In the first year girls' classroom, the teacher began the homeroom. "Today we are going to start our presentations," she announced. "I hope you all brought something interesting to show. Would anyone like to go first?"
Chinatsu stood up and walked to the front. She held up what appeared to be a pile of mush on a plate, made of unidentifiable ingredients. "This is the cake I made for Yui-senpai!" she declared proudly. Her smile did not reflect the reaction of the class. Many students, plus the teacher, fainted or even vomited from the horrible sight and stench of the "cake". After recovering, the teacher reluctantly applauded. "Thank you Chinatsu-chan, you may go back to your seat. On second thought, maybe go to the garbage can instead." Chinatsu went outside to throw out her hard work. She wept for the loss of creation and went to the bathroom where she was met by a random onee-san with a shotgun.
Next up was Akari. She stood in front of the board with nothing in her hands. "Today I finally did it, I finally managed to bring my presence!" The teacher burst out in laughter. "Good joke, Akari. Here's a Reddit Wholesome Award for that amazing humor of yours." Akari trudged her feet to the bathroom where she committed seppuku and was not found until the next day.
Back in the classroom, Sakurako and Himawari were eagerly waiting for their turn to present. Sakurako noticed Himawari clutching a sheet of lined paper in her hand.
"Himawari, what's that? A love letter? Are you gonna confess?!" the brat pestered.
"Shut the fuck up," Himawari retaliated, "it's just a poem."
But she didn't care. "Hmmm, is it about how massive your mommy milkers are for a 13 year old? Kinda sus," she teased.
"I swear to god, I'm going to fucking murder you Sakurako. Get a new fucking joke, bitch." Himawari angrily turned away.
"Hmph. Fine! I already have a new joke, asshole." Sakurako turned her head away as well. But now, she was curious as to what the poem was about.
As more students went up and the teacher gave snarky remarks about their shitty tastes, soon it would be Himawari or Sakurako's turn to present last.
Himawari stood up. "I need to use the restroom," she told the teacher. She walked out of the classroom leaving her sheet of paper behind.
Now was Sakurako's chance! She took the paper and began glossing over the writing. "Hmmm, a...reverse poem? What's that?" She read it carefully and analyzed every line with complete focus. When she got to the bottom she frowned. "Damn, that was fucking sad." Then she noticed a circled line at the bottom: "Now read it in reverse." It was these directions that finally allowed her to understand.
The door opened and Himawari entered. Sakurako quickly put the poem back in its spot and pretended not to see anything. Himawari sat down paying no mind to her. Both girls awkwardly avoided eye contact.
"Did you read it?" Himawari asked.
"N-no." Sakurako felt threatened by the question, as if Himawari would do something to her if she said "Yes".
Then it was Himawari's turn. She nervously grabbed the poem and walked to the front of the class. "This is a reverse poem I wrote, I call it 'A Farewell to You.'" She cleared her throat.
"This is goodbye
And I could never tell you that
I would never leave you
All this time, I've been assuring you,
Our love is forever
But in reality,
You were never mine to begin with
Some people might say that
Breaking up
Is much better than
Staying together
I wholeheartedly believe
We can be a happy couple
But
I'm not the one for you
Sometimes I tell myself
I can't do enough
It's untrue that
I will have the ability to support you fully
In the future,
We'll be better off not seeing each other
No longer can it be said that
We can make this relationship work
It will be evident that
My feelings for you were false
I would be lying if I said
I can bring you joy"
The teacher sobbed and gave a round of applause. "Fucking amazing, Himawari, thank you for reminding me how sad my fucking life is."
"But I'm not done yet-"
"Alright Sakurako, you're next."
Sakurako stood up and yelled, "Wait! She said she isn't done yet!" She ran up next to Himawari and grabbed the poem. "I'll read the last part."
"Sakurako…" Himawari blushed happily.
The brat cleared her throat and began reading the poem again, but backwards.
"I can bring you joy
I would be lying if I said
My feelings for you were false
It will be evident that
We can make this relationship work
No longer can it be said that
We'll be better off seeing each other
In the future,
I will be able to support you fully
It's untrue that
I can't do enough
Sometimes I tell myself
I'm not the one for you
But
We can be a happy couple
I wholeheartedly believe
Staying together
Is much better than
Breaking up
Some people might say that
You were never mine to begin with
But in reality,
Our love is forever
All this time, I've been assuring you,
I would never leave you
And I could never tell you that
This is goodbye"
The entire class was silent. Then, one person clapped, then another, until everyone gave a round of applause to the literary duo. Compelled by the praise, Sakurako and Himawari both bowed. They looked at each other and smiled happily. "Sakurako...thank you," Himawari whispered.
They were about to return to their seats when the teacher stood up. "Sakurako, you still have to present."
"Oh, right!" Sakurako rushed to her desk and picked up a laminated picture. She proudly held it out for everyone to see.
"Um, what the fuck is this, might I ask?"
Sakurako put her fingers to her head and exclaimed, "Less go!" Her classmates, including Himawari, murmured in confusion.
"Seriously Sakurako, what the fuck."
"I'm DaBaby!" she briefly explained.
Himawari facepalmed. "I swear to god, that meme is like two months old. Listen here you little shit, I appreciate what you did for me but that doesn't change the fact that you just aren't fucking funny. Life doesn't revolve around the hee hees and hoo hoos and hahas. You think I want my entire life to be a comedic bit? No, because I'm sensible enough to know that I need to fucking grow up one day. You're a fucking retarded child if you think life revolves around reddit gold." She stood up and angrily walked out of the classroom. "Talk to me again when you find a better joke, or when you finally realize what a fucking embarassment you are."
Sakurako desperately reached out. "Wait- Himawari!"
"This is goodbye, Sakurako." The door shut loudly behind her, and she was gone.
The entire class was silent, but everyone's pitiful thoughts were directed at Sakurako. She clenched her fist. "I just wanted...to make you laugh someday…"