Ryuji lay awake in his bed, re-reading the portion of the essay he'd managed to write. Niijima had been a little surprised at the topic he'd chosen, but ultimately she'd let him pursue his idea. She'd called it an interesting topic, though Ryuji had to wonder if she'd actually wanted to call it effin' weird. She'd sure given him a strange look on what he'd finally decided to write about. He closed his notebook and rolled over with a groan. Whatever, at any rate he had something to turn in tomorrow. All things considered, he was pretty proud of what he'd managed to put together and he hoped Niijima wouldn't bash on it too hard. He reached over and turned out his lamp, hoping that the rain would let up tomorrow.


The sound of thunder crashing outside woke Ryuji up more effectively than his phone's alarm ever did. It sounded like a cannon had gone off just outside his window, and he leapt out of bed. Once he realized that the noise wasn't the sound of the world ending, and was in fact just a thunderstorm, his shoulders slumped. Another day without a run huh? Well today was going to be fun, he thought to himself bitterly. He changed quickly, pulling his jacket over his shoulders before he glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His sleepy reflection stared back at him. His hair looked messier than usual this morning, but it would be fine. He stuffed his notebooks into his backpack before heading to the kitchen.

His mom was there, already dressed in her scrubs and halfway through the pot of coffee. She looked up from her phone, pausing her morning assessment of the rooms she'd been assigned to and smiled. "Hey kid, thanks for setting the coffee pot last night," she said, her expression warm despite the rings under her eyes. Ryuji grinned at her.

"No problem Mom," he said, grabbing a mug off the tree and splashing some coffee in it. He had planned on downing it quickly and then heading out, but his mom reached out and touched his shoulder.

"Ryuji, sit down and talk with me for a minute," she implored, gesturing to the empty chair across from her. "It's been a few days since we got to catch up, and I'd kinda like to talk to you outside of the sticky notes you put on your leftovers," she said, her voice warm but her eyes suggesting that it was a little more serious. "Besides, it's not like you can go out running in this weather," she finished and Ryuji had to concede that was so. He could spare a few minutes with his mom, Niijima probably wouldn't be that early again. At least not in this weather. So Ryuji sat across from his mother, cradling his steaming mug of coffee in his hands.

"How's school been? You told me you had an assignment you needed to complete last week, did you manage to get any of it done?" she began, taking a sip of her coffee. Ryuji nodded, feeling a little glow of satisfaction.

"Yeah, it's just part of a rough draft, but I've got something to turn in today. I worked pretty hard on it," he replied, his mouth curving into a smile of satisfaction. Ryuji's mother grinned broadly at him.

"Hey kid, not bad!" she said, reaching across the table to give her son a high five. "What's gotten into you, my little prodigy? Something good happen lately?" she asked, taking another swig of coffee. Ryuji rolled his eyes.

"I dunno about that Mom. But I did get assigned a study partner. Ms. Kawakami's scheming again, probably so she can get more funding for the Literature Club," groaned Ryuji, but the exasperation in his voice wasn't sincere. His mom smiled ruefully. Kawakami was well-known in this household for her shenanigans.

"Well, tell me about this study partner then. They've gotta be someone pretty impressive if they inspired you to study," teased his mother, and Ryuji slurped his coffee obnoxiously loudly in answer to her taunts.

"She is kinda impressive I guess. Niijima is the student council president and she's like, freakishly organized and smart, but honestly, she not as bad as I thought she'd be considering the rumors," he said when he'd finished being obnoxious. This piqued his mother's interest.

"What rumors could there be surrounding someone like the student council president?" she asked, her eyes round.

"People say she's like an emotionless robo-girl, and that she's some kind of a mindless servant to the teachers at school. I kinda get what they're saying, but she didn't really seem like that when I talked to her I guess," said Ryuji, his expression turning thoughtful as he sipped at his coffee. "She's mostly just really intense about school, and I'll bet she'll get into like, the toughest college with her grades." finished Ryuji, and gulped down the last of his coffee. Ryuji's mother shook her head. She of all people knew how cruel people could be, even without a reason.

"Well, play nice with her. Maybe she's a little too serious for her age, but she sounds like a good kid. Plus, she got you to apply that brain of yours, so she's okay in my book," she said, drinking the last of her coffee as well. "Put your mug in the sink before you go and don't forget to take an umbrella today, you don't want to catch a cold," she said, and Ryuji grabbed his mug and put it in the sink with a rueful look. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he picked up the umbrella and waved his mom goodbye before heading out in to the stormy day.