Chapter 4

I ran into the boys' bathroom, trying to hide my blush away. I don't want to get embarrassed by other students. My back leaned against the tiled wall and relaxed. The hot blush cooled away from my face. I knew I was out of Akane's league. She had so many male admirers at school. She was known for being gentle, friendly and an airhead, but there were rumours that her personality was a facade. Well, I had two opinions. One, I don't care; I love her no matter what. Two, these rumours had never been confirmed.

I went to the sink and washed my face with cold water. I took a paper towel and wiped my face. As I threw it to the bin and headed out, I heard someone speaking outside the boys' bathroom. The phone buzzed and I pressed my back against the wall as I heard the conversation.

"Hello?" A female student asked. It was Osana's voice; she was taking a phone call. "UGH! I told you to stop calling me, you creep!"

This doesn't sound good.

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm! Not! Interested! If you don't stop bothering me, I'm gonna call the cops and -"

There was silence.

"Wait… what? Are you… serious?! Okay. Okay, fine! I won't call the police."

She had a stalker? Who would stalk her? Is it that girl in my nightmare?

"Look, this is a bad time for me." Osana sighed. "We'll talk about this later. Just… don't do anything rash okay?" I leaned my head away from the wall and my eyes glanced at Osana putting her phone away and sighed in defeat. "Ugh… why did something like this have to happen?"

She ambled from the locker area and I exited the boys' bathroom. I took my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. It was seven-thirty-five. Still had time before class started. I better see Taro and ask him about Osana.

"Osana… is everything okay?" Her friend, Raibaru Fumestu, questioned her.

"Well… no… but… I'm… not sure if I should say anything yet…" Osana answered her question sadly. "I need some time to think…" She breathed in and exhaled. "I might be ready to talk about it when classes are done for the day. Somewhere… private. Maybe… the rooftop? Behind the air vents?"

"Okay," replied Raibaru in agreement. "I'll wait until you're ready to talk." Then, she thought of an idea. "Would you like to take a stroll around the school to take your mind off of it? You still haven't joined a club yet… maybe we can check out the clubroom."

"Yeah… yeah, that sounds nice. Let's do it."

The two friends walked side-by-side in the hallway. Osana and Raibaru had been friends for a year after Raibaru left the Martial Arts Club. She had pale yellow-toned skin, flushed cheeks, orange-amber eyes and often had a soft smile on her face. Her bright orange hair was worn in two slightly curled pigtails. To keep them up, she wore ruffled pink and white polka-dotted scrunchies and a purple ribbon. She wore white loose socks along with the school uniform and shoes. Raibaru appeared to be serene, cute, and girly, but she was actually tough, scary, and brutal around criminals.

I went outside and spotted Taro sitting on the fountain and reading a book. He always sat on the fountain and read his favourite book. I ambled forward to the fountain.

"Hi, Taro." I said to him and he lifted his eyes away from the pages.

"Oh, hi, Bijon." Taro said, responding to me. "Where were you?"

I sat down beside him on the fountain. I placed my bag on the tiled floor. "Nowhere special. Just to the toilets." Which I was technically truthful about. I faced Taro and asked him a question. "Taro, do you think Osana was being harsh towards you?"

"She can sometimes be harsh, but she's my childhood friend." He answered me. "She said mean things to me but I know she didn't mean it."

"She criticised us for being late." I added in. "That's the sort of thing I expect teachers to talk to us."

"That's fair," chuckled Taro and sighed. "That reminds me. I have to meet up with Osana on the rooftop at lunchtime."

"Why?"

"She just wants me to be there. Plus, she didn't explain why."

Then, I spotted two school pupils, a boy and a girl, playing on their phones walking to us. They were Ryuto Ippongo and Pippi Osu. Ryuto wore the boy school uniform. He had tall black spiky hair with red tips and red eyes. Pippi wore the standard girl school uniform. She had short black hair accompanied by a pink fringe; there was a thin and single pink strandlay on her forehead. Her eyes were emerald green and, unlike other female students, wore short socks. She wore a red bandana around her neck. Her lips were covered in a light pink lipstick. Ryuto and Pippi were a part of the Gaming Club and they would always play games on their phone. They were often seen next to each other when playing games as if they were a couple. I think they liked each other but wouldn't tell them. Yet this time, Ryuto appeared to be nervous.

"Hey, guys." I greeted them loudly and they quickly lifted their heads up.

"Hi, Bijon." Pippi smiled and gave us a wave. "Hi, Taro."

Taro waved at them as Ryuto looked on disappointedly.

"Oh… hi, guys." He spoke sadly.

"What's the problem?" asked Taro curiously. "Is it still the bandana problem again?"

"I still couldn't find it, but that's not what I'm worried about." Ryuto lowered his phone and scratched the back of his head. "It's just that… Info-Chan is blackmailing me. She somehow got a picture of me playing games when I was supposed to be studying. If I don't do her demands, she'll send it to my parents. I don't want to be grounded again."

'Info-Chan' was the nickname the students of Akademi High gave her, the information broker, who specialized in collecting and selling dark secrets. Nobody knew what her face looked like. Nobody knew how she had gathered her information. Nobody knew how she had gained such a dangerous amount of power and influence over a short span of time. Some people didn't even believe she really existed. What they did know was that if you wanted a favour from her, all you needed to do was text her a photo of a girl's panties (yep, that's gross) and if she wanted a favour from you, you would better do exactly as she asked or else.

"Well, whoever this 'Info-Chan' is, she certainly is a mystery." Taro said and everyone, including myself, nodded in agreement.

Pippi looked at her phone and gasped. "Crap! It's eight-twenty-six! We better get to class!"

"Gosh! See you, Bijon!" Taro jumped from the fountain and ran.

I got up and ran to the southern wing of the first floor. My classroom was Class 1-2. There were students in the classroom. I reached my assigned desk, third row and column, just before the bell rang. The teacher, Sensei Aburaya, entered the classroom and to the front. She had light black hair in a spiky bun. Her eyes were a purple-pink gradient and she wore large circular glasses. She wore a white top and a black blazer. She looked at the class and some of the students were talking.

"Okay, everyone." Sensei Aburaya spoke loudly and clearly, making the room quiet. "Settle down. I'm going to take the register." She began reading the names out to the class.

Aija Ashitomi. Present. Dafuni Burekiu. Present. Supana Churu. Present. Iruka Dorufino. Present. Midori Gurin. Present. Hazu Kashibuchi. Present. Tokuko Kitagawa. Present. Kokoro Momoiro. Present. Meka Nikaru. Present. Horuda Puresu. Present. Mina Rai. Present. Sumire Suzuki. Present. Dora Tamamoto. Present. Maka Tansei. Present. And finally, Bijon Yongsha. I declared my presence.

The class had begun.