CHAPTER THREE: HORMONE BURST
Killua sighed for about the umpteenth time that morning. When he agreed to come to school like any normal, decent teenager, he didn't really put much thought on the effort he would have to expend on gaining knowledge… and survival. HECK! He had never thought school could be so much of a torture. So much of a bore! He could not remember being so palled, so discomforted and tried of his patience by a dull, idle activity. God, it didn't even count as an activity! Compared to this, his life was a RIOT! It had always been bursting with activity! With… with… life!
What kind of life did these people live anyway? How could they stand the stuffiness of this room, heightened triple times by the tautness and seething discomfort of their blue, long-sleeved uniform? How could they steadily put up with the sheer stupidity of that lady in front prattling on about some folks from a very long time ago? Hell, what was so interesting about those creeps whose skeletons--he was sure--had by now merged with dirt?
"Don't make a face," the kid beside him whispered. "If she sees you, you're dead."
Killua turned to the meddling, slitty-eyed guy at the table to his right and couldn't help but deepen the frown of annoyance on his face.
"Look front," the guy whispered again, keeping his eyes unwaveringly stuck on the garrulous creature they call 'sensei' in mock respect [and 'bakemono' in pure juvenile fun]. He seemed so engrossed, so genuinely interested in whatever it was she was rambling about that Killua's irritation just went and burst several notches higher. Damn these people to all corners of hell!
Even after minutes of unwillingly basking in its lackluster dullness, he still couldn't understand what these people found so interesting in that ugly hag's face that they couldn't pry their eyes off it for even just a second. Even the layers of make up on it couldn't hide the horrid, putrid, sagging old look that nearly made Killua puke all over it when he saw it for the first time. Man, he'd rather spend the whole day staring at a pug's face than--
"Killua Zoldick!" the snarling call knelled through his ears and dispersed rather unceremoniously all bits of the demeaning, scornful thoughts he had been weaving up. "Perhaps there's something you'd like to share to the class?"
Killua's eyes instantly snapped up front and it took all of his will power to ward off the ridiculing smile from his lips and keep a straight face. "Er, no," he replied curtly, expertly masking his face with the same kind of innocent interest that his seatmate was wearing.
"Really?" the sensei inquired in a tauntingly incredulous voice, accompanied by an equally taunting frown that almost nettled Killua to insanity. "You seemed so seriously engrossed in examining Yamazaki-kun's face. Surely you've found something more interesting in it than in mine?"
Killua gulped at the suddenness of the retribution against him. Damn, this witch didn't just read his mind, did she?
A ripple of stifled snickers spread through the room as a furious blush fought its way to the utterly mortified kid's pale cheeks. What was this lady trying to insinuate? That he's taking a shameless interest on this… ugh, GUY???
Never really one to handle karma with the same professionalism he possessed as an assassin, Killua, needless to say, was completely pissed. His fists instinctively curled into furious balls as the irrepressibly demanding urge to mutilate a flesh rushed through his veins. His eyes were slowly losing their glow-- Hold on… he coaxed himself, darting his slowly vacating glare to the table. He sensed a slight, uncomfortable stir behind him but in his present state of mind--even if a stray lizard jumped into his uniform--he could only care less.
Just hold…
"Do you find my class senseless and boring?" the bakemono went on, casually crossing her arms over her chest to match the authority she was manifesting. Apparently, she was completely oblivious to the plans of assault currently swirling inside her prey's baneful head. "Perhaps you'd rather spend the rest of my period outside, taking post to guard the room from unwanted intrusion? At least you can be useful that way…"
The titterings grew louder much to the damn sensei's pleasure made too evident by the unduly wide sneer on her face as she added, "Or can't you stand a single minute without basking in Yamazaki-kun's charms?"
Needless to say, the innocently heedless lady got herself a direct hit! That and the uncontrolled giggles that followed went right on target. Killua's fractious cells went all out ballistic and he had to forcibly bend his head to hide the ominous smile struggling to stretch his lips to its full length. The uncomfortable stirs behind him seemed to be demanding for attention but like before, he was too disturbed to care…
He was just about to stand up to satisfy his starving killer instincts when the front door suddenly slid open with an urgency that deftly snapped him back to life to stare and goggle at the most intoxicating sight that had ever assaulted his girl-repellant, if not totally absent, pubescent hormones.
Killua's testosterone count seemed to double up in a rush as his eyes locked with those sparkling jades of the huffing and puffing young lady at the doorway…
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Syaoran wheezed faintly as the perniciously threatening force once again vanished without a single trace. He stared with narrowed eyes at the suspicious kid in front of him and was not prepared for what he saw. It was so revolting that it instantly nettled him, angered him up to the point of wanting to strangle that darn creep. How dare he! How dare that… that airhead stare like that at the doorway. At… At his KOI!
"Sakura Kinomoto!" Tanaka-sensei, their junior high adviser and History teacher exclaimed in mock astonishment. "What a pleasant surprise! You're a little earlier today!"
Syaoran gritted his teeth in restrained resentment almost at the same time as a low growl scraped the spike-haired's throat. This rather unexpected reaction amused and at the same time disturbed the young Chinese guy. He may hate the thought of it, but one thing was by now clear. Even after only seconds of seeing her, the kid had undoubtedly developed the same kind of passion he had for Sakura. Perhaps not really as intense, but ain't its mere presence bothering enough?
"S-Sumimasen," Sakura mumbled, smiling off the nervousness she was feeling while rubbing her forefinger naively to her temple. She was a sight to behold and pity, but the sensei unfortunately didn't have a heart susceptible enough for such kinds of emotion.
"Care to take your post?" the statement came more like an order than a question as the bakemono gave the clearly stammering girl a taunting sneer.
"Hai," Sakura replied quietly. Stifled giggles were heard around the room as she prudently closed the door on herself.
If only it weren't a crime to kill someone, Syaoran swore he could've strangled this scathingly wordy lady to death. It was bad enough that she had made his friend Yamazaki--who was practically blushing and steaming from head to toe at the moment--part of her cruel jokes for the day, but did she also have to gain on his koi like that?
Not that it's anything new anyway. There had always been a day or two in a week when Sakura came rushing in late for class. And as a rule, latecomers were doomed to spend the rest of the period outside, standing by the door to (hopefully) sink in shame and remorse and at the same time think of a better plan to get their sorry @$$es early enough to school the following day.
Sheesh! Syaoran's mind snarled as guilt began to flood his nerves. He should've insisted on picking her up from her house earlier this morning when she called on the phone. But she was so convincing in telling him that she would be fine and that she didn't want him to wear himself out walking from his house to hers, then from there to school that he just had to believe her. It was like a universal rule for him… He found it so easy to believe her… To take everything she said to heart… And now look what it had amounted to!
He wondered what had come up this time that added yet another tardiness up her record and a dent on her already tattered reputation…
"And where do you think you're going?" the wrathful exclamation from that injurious lady shook Syaoran out of his deep musings, only to realize that the spike-haired kid had vacated his seat and was now casually walking toward the door. His hands were dug deep in the pockets of his pants and he was even faintly whistling for God's sake--like he didn't have a single care in the world!
"I find your class senseless and boring," the kid said matter-of-factly, which all but made the she-tiger's nostrils fume. Then upon reaching the door, he regarded her with a sneer over his shoulders and added, "I think I'll take your advice and make good use of myself. Ja!" With that, he opened the door, stepped out and closed it behind him, leaving two steaming souls to drown in their own respective furies.
"Damn these kids!" Tanaka-sensei snarled, wearily slapping a hand to her forehead.
Kuso! Syaoran's mind cried even as he attempted desperately to think of a way to offend that bakemono and get his @$$ out of that room too. Anything to stop that creep from making advances on his girl…
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Meilin couldn't believe what she just heard. It was either Syaoran had gone mad or some alien disguised as him had been sent to take his place. She watched in startled awe as the she-tiger's face pale then subsequently turn into an infernal shade of red before she cried out in all her wrathful disgrace, "OUT! GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!"
Syaoran shrugged and, vacating the seat to her left, made his way a little too hastily to the door as though he couldn't wait to depart that place. Meilin could only stare on in perplexity until she caught a trace of agitation in his frown. That was only when the deal began to gradually dawn on her…
"Oooh, this is getting exciting!" the girl at the seat to her right remarked in an unduly enthusiastic whisper. There was even an accompanying grin of delight on her lips that all but made the Chinese lass roll her eyes and sigh at the sheer dumbness of it all. Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura's ever loyal best friend, now also her supposed buddy through thick and thin, had never really changed much over the years she had known her. Anything about Sakura still excited this girl to the excess. Meilin bet that if Tomoyo were only able to pull out her camera and get everything that had just happened on video without nettling the lady bakemono, she would be more irritatingly happier than she already was.
It was indeed amusing, though, as Meilin herself would admit. But she was also sensing trouble. She knew it wasn't like Syaoran to cuff a guy just because of jealousy-- Then again, it wasn't like Killua either to take sudden interest on a girl as though some deceased Casanova's soul had possessed him or something!
It was surprising enough to see that annoyingly dense pervert stare at Sakura as though he had never ever seen anyone or anything like her before. And hearing Syaoran say those unduly offensive words to their sensei as though he had been a derelict all his life was just as shockingly off as Tomoyo saying, "Sakura sucks!"
Meilin gulped and stared unseeingly into space. Being kids like her who had a handful of fickle hormones to alter their behavior in a matter of seconds, who knew how much more these guys could do in their desire to shake the living daylights off each other's stupid heads?
"I want out, too," she was surprised to hear herself actually say something like that as she gradually came back to her senses and realized she had just jumped up to her feet and was staring the fuming sensei down with silent defiance.
"Meilin-chan," Tomoyo's reproof of concern simply flew pass her ears as she took the first few steps toward the door. She was, however, halted midway through by the sensei's angry snarl bouncing off the confines of that utterly irksome place.
"Anybody else who find my class dull and stupid, do the rest of your classmates a favor and depart the room NOW!" Tanaka-sensei's eyes almost bulged out in anger as she practically steamed from head to toe.
She was already a horrible sight than how she normally was, but Meilin was not the kind of girl to get affected by something like that. She merely shrugged and resumed her walk despite the deadly glare the bakemono was giving her, which was shortly consorted by a series of hushed and not-so-hushed whispers resonating around the room. And as she was just about to jerk the door open, the deafening grind of metal chair legs against the floor rebelliously announced that she was not, after all, alone in her feat.
"What the--" Tanaka-sensei exclaimed, staring in utter disbelief as each one of her students nonchalantly shuffled out of the room, looking a little too delighted at having finally found an excuse to leave her class.
Meilin, initial purpose now forgotten, was utterly amused and couldn't help but snicker at their sensei's misfortune. Even the class goody-goody smart@$$ Takashi Yamazaki--though being dragged rather roughly by his sort-of-girlfriend, Chiharu Mihara--left the poor hag alone to wallow in her misery.
And the snicker all but turned into loud, roaring laughter when the sensei shortly stormed out of the room, growling and grumbling over her complete humiliating downfall in the hands of mere teenage kids. Meilin bet that the bakemono--their fifth for this month, actually--would never dare show her face again in their class!
The victorious whoop that subsequently grated each kid's throat nearly shook the building off its impregnable structure. The other innocent classes were disrupted and angry heads popped out of the doors one by one to snap them off to silence. Meilin, while still grinning with pleasure, could almost already hear their principal's angry voice booming in tomorrow's assembly, "You KIDS are gonna be the death of this school!"
And, well, ain't that exactly what they all were? KIDS--in all the glory and accompanying disaster of the word… Maa, was it their fault that no sensei was ever good enough to tolerate that simple fact of nature?
==tbc==
A/N: *sigh* The glory of High School! Hehehehe… poor sensei, ne? I am just so reminded by the older days-- when seeing a pissed off bakemono [a.k.a. sensei] was as normal as eating cereals in the morning! Hahahaha!!! KIDS, indeed!
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