12 years ago:
The Queen Bee began singing the Kissing song underneath her breath upon hearing the psychology teacher declare that Arima and I would be partners during the next project.
I groaned and shot her an annoyed glance as my fingertips drilled against the wooden desk top.
" You get a bad case of the goo goo eyes whenever you catch a glimpse of him ...which is all the time isn't it you stocker," Hana whispers after leaning closer towards my ear.
I wave her away until her body falls back into her seat , no longer hanging in the middle of the aisle .
She pouts over at me before quickly losing interest in teasing me when it becomes obvious that I am ignoring her.
Mr. Bando tells everyone to get into their groups so with slightly sweaty palms I wander over towards Arima's desk.
Hana wishes me good luck in a rather loud manner before she begins talking the ears off of her unfortunate partner.
" Are you any good ," I asked the silent nerd that studied me with a pair of narrowed eyes.
There was a faint flicker of confusion filtering through his grey gaze upon hearing my question.
When I made a gesture towards his guitar case he hummed in understanding before saying ," You could say I am a prodigy."
There was an apathetic type of snugness to his tone that almost made me laugh at the dark humor it inspired.
" Would you mind playing a song for me ?"
" Would you mind buying me new glasses?"
Arima's inquiry further reminded me of the duck tape holding his glasses together.
All I do is swallow the apology building up in my throat and roll my hands up into sweaty fists, letting the silence settle between us without a fight.
Mr. Bando with a friendly smile eventually makes his way over towards our brooding group .
" Let's hope you get an interesting draw," The professor comments as he holds an old baseball cap filled with folded papers out towards Arima.
Arima wordlessly plucks out the paper on the very top of the pile.
When he goes to unfold it I snatch it from him before sticking my tongue at Arima .
He and Mr. Bando just raised an eyebrow at me while I busied myself with unfolding the paper and reading aloud.
" What is the true psychology of a ghoul … that's an easy question to answer and the answer is simply that all ghouls are psychopaths . Professor can we please choose a different topic?"
My request was denied .
" Prove to me that all ghouls are psychopaths then."
" Mr. Bando , the endless evidence supporting my fact is clearly plastered on every news channel an-."
" Not everything on TV is non-fiction and the news channels are the kings in this world of liars , Ms. Kosaka. So please be sure to collect real primary sources to support your claim."
With that final finish blow to my argument our professor kindly wishes us luck and wanders over to the next group.
" He kind of sounded offended when I used the P word. Maybe he's a ghoul," I whisper shouted in the general direction of Arima's eardrums.
Mr. Bando was not a ghoul , he lacked the slightly rotting scent characteristic of those demons.
" Maybe you are the actual ghoul," Arima lightly whispers without sparing me a silvery glance as he rises from his seat.
My mouth falls open and my emerald eyes quickly transform into vengeful vipers.
I was just about to slap the living soul out of him when the ringing of the lunch bell stops me.
Instead of slapping him I try to sniff him.
But he holds my desperate sniffer and I back by my shirt collar.
I am able to capture a faint whiff of his scent though.
The unique rotten decay of a ghoul clings to him like a shadow.
" You smell like lilies and I rather fancy that smell. But sorry , I rather devour the hamburger my mother made for me instead of eating you," I say before skipping over to Hana , who is waiting impatiently by the door for me.
" Mar Mar please don't tell me you just sniffed him like a mad woman," Hana chirps as she drags me down the hallways in an attempt to shield me from my embarrassment.
" It doesn't matter how crazy I act just so long as it makes people laugh. I'm your court jester after all."
Hana stops dragging me upon processing my words.
" Mar Mar you have too much self worth to just be a freaking court jester," the Queen Bee tells me with a small smile.
I lightly hit Hana upside the head which leads her to demand to know the reason behind my attack .
" You were not acting like a mean girl so I decided it was best to give you the incentive to act like one. Your majesty can thank me later."
What I really wanted to say but didn't was your not acting like your kind, like the truest form of a psychopath… which is a ghoul.
Note: Apparently the lily is the most common type of flower used for funeral... according to google anyways. Anyways have a great day or night or whatever!️