"I'm leaving, Ka-san," announced Nanaki, fully dressed in the proper Shoyo
uniform. She was getting ready to leave for school, trying to avoid
tardiness. It was kinda earlier than usual, though, just to avoid an
uncomfortable encounter with Rumiko and her friends.
She had to admit that walking all by herself to school feels so lonely and empty. Her heart aches for a friend to accompany her. Who, though? There was absolutely no idea of anyone she can think about. "Nanaki-san?" Nanaki Houjou turned her back and faced the person who's calling for her.
"Ara? Hanagata-san?" Surprising to meet him. It was considered lucky, perhaps. "Fujima-kun mo…" Yes, Fujima was walking beside him as usual. Even though they're not in the same class, their bond of friendship were still strong.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Nanaki-san," Fujima greeted in a classy manner as he bowed his back down. Nanaki blushed red and then tried to smile. It looks out of place, though.
"Stop over-reacting, Kenji…" Hanagata winced in disgust to see his closest friend acting like an 18th century royal prince out there in England. The both Shoyo captain and coach laughed and made their way to school. "What brings you so early, Nanaki-san?"
"Umm… Nothing, I suppose… I just woke up in advance. What about you, Hanagata-san, Fujima-kun?"
Fujima grinned. He then rolled his eyes to look at the taller one. Hanagata only sweatdropped. "Maa… Tooru's always early because he has his *own* reasons such as… Copying homeworks, perhaps…"
Hanagata closed his eyes in irritation. "Demo, Kenji… Heheh… You often asks me to lend me my exercise book, don't you? What do you do with it? Doubling- up the answers, I assume… Right, ne Kenji?"
"Yup. That's the smart way to be a person… Yobe-sensei always thought that I was the one who did that. I even became teacher's pet. I should thank you for that, Tooru…"
"Chi… Aho."
"Hahahahaha!"
Nanaki was surprised to find the atmosphere between the two close buds. It's nice to see them going so well. "Kimi-tachi…" Still, she was perplexed to hear their conversation.
While walking, the three of them talked about many things such as the current movie playing on cinemas to last night's World Cup match. It's astounding to found Nanaki so interested about it. Most girls in Shoyo high aren't interested in World Cup. All they cared about is just about make up and recent fashion and styles. Some do, though, and that includes Nanaki herself. "Wow, Nanaki-san… I never thought that you are into soccer." Hanagata uttered in a surprising tone. His eyes were wide in wonder.
"Sou ka?" Nanaki scratched her head and lowered it, studying her own feet. "Well… I enjoyed watching basketball more, though. In soccer I just like Nakata. He's cool…" (a.n :: oooh so much like me~! Hidetoshi Nakata rocks~!~! XD~~~~~)
"I enjoyed basketball more, too. I still like soccer, though." Fujima explained as his hands were twirling his russet bangs that's covering his forehead.
"I bet Nanaki-san knows about that," Hanagata flashed a depraved smirk on his face and stared at her from his arched eyes. Nanaki blushed and nudged him by the ribs.
***
Finally they reached the school gates. As the three of them entered the locker area, they spread out and headed to their own cubbyhole. Soon after she put on her school shoes and her scarf, Nanaki closed it shut and walked upstairs to her class room. The hallways weren't so crowded as it will be in the near present. Students are still on their way. She entered the class which has the sign 1-6 on top. "Ohayo, minna…" Just when she thought that there'll be nobody right now to greet her back, the rowdy talking inside the room ceases and every pair of eyes inside were now nailed upon her.
"There she is," a boy called out from one corner of the room. Nanaki looked around, terror were painted on her face. What more could happen today? Then on the blackboard she found newspaper-cropped writings, pasted upon it, bearing the writings : 'Houjou Nanaki, sucker of the year' with large letters. Meanwhile beneath the large writing, smaller pieces of newspaper- cutting were glued onto the board. It says : 'abandoned her friends in order to get close with the seniors.'
Nanaki's eyes were spread out broad in fright. Who could've done this? That is a total lie. She didn't abandon her friends at all. It was the other way around, perhaps. And her presence around both Hanagata and Fujima were just coinsidences! Why was she the one left to blame? It wasn't her fault, she didn't want it to be like that.
Her whole slender figure were pinned there beneath the doorframe. Everyone were cussing at her and laughing at her. She felt like running away home right now, but her feet were heavy as if it were fastened to the floor. "Uso…," she spoke softly, her lips trembling. "Uso da!"
"Oh my God!" Jubei-sensei, the homeroom teacher for Nanaki's class, gasped as she saw the writings on the wall. She then rushed in, slipped through between the doorway and Nanaki's body, and swiftly ripped the papers out from the wall and then glared into every face inside the class. "Who did this?!" She persisted an answer. Nobody gave one, though. "Who did this?!" Once more she asked in a firmer tone.
"We don't know, Sensei. I was the first to come into class and then I already found that on the board." A small, glasses-boy erected and then lifted up his chest to answer bravely. Even though Jubei-sensei was young and beautiful, still at her early 20s, she could be more fierce than Godzilla when she's mad.
Jubei ran back and placed her hands on Nanaki's stiff shoulders. "Nanaki… Nanaki, it's just a joke, alright? Don't take it too seriously… I promise you I'll find out who did this for you, okay? Now will you take a seat? The class is going to start any second."
Nanaki obeyed her and walked straight to her seat. Her eyes were still wide and filled with dread, though. From the other corner, Rumiko sharpened her eyes as she was nibbing on her breakfast cheesecake.
***
The bell rang. It's the end for third lesson. Sports is next. Nanaki hates sport session ever since her relationship with Rumiko had been tumbling down. This is the time to socialize with friends from other classes. It kinda feels so awkward and unnerving to meet the sour faces of Rumiko's gang. Nanaki's going to have a hard time finding a partner for the activities. Thank goodness she still has Conny on class 1-3. Conny's another close friend of her who hadn't been contaminated by Rumiko's foolish lies.
"Alright," Daidoshi-sensei, the PE (physical education) instructor waved her hands in the air, instructing the girls to stop chattering and to gather up. "Today we're gonna work on volleyball. I want each of you to grab a friend to practice on passing. But before that, I want you all to warm yourselves up with 4 laps around the court."
"Hai," some answered. Nanaki began looking around, hoping to find Conny, the russian-japanese girl, in sight. She beamed up when she saw her from the corner of her sight. "Conny-chan!" Nanaki extended her hand to call her. Conny did turn to look her way, but her eyes were different. It was now sharp and filled with hatred. "Conny-chan?"
"Nani?" Inquired her coldy as she glowered at Nanaki.
"Aah…," Nanaki tried to act calm, "I just want to ask you to be my partner… Do you mind?"
Rumiko then came into the scene, she walked to Conny's back and grabbed her hands. Both of their eyes were still staring at her, piercing through her own. "Come on, Conny-chan… I presume you don't want to pair up with a lamer who sucks up on seniors, do you?"
"Gross." The two left Nanaki stranded alone in the middle of the court. She felt like crying now.
"Houjou, what are you doing?! Come on! Start your warm-ups!" Daidoshi- sensei hollered out on top her lungs from the other end of the field. Nanaki didn't make a sound, she just followed the other girls who had started to run.
After she did her four laps, Nanaki tried to catch her breath. There's something wrong with her heart, lately, it won't cooperate with her physical strength anymore. Whenever she just starts to do some athletics, even though her body feels like she still have heaps of stamina unused, her heart won't support her and would just make her entire body feel weak. It's because of stress, perhaps. The girls were all already lined up with their partners except for herself. She looked around to find someone who doesn't have a pairing. Thank goodness there was one. It was a spectacled-girl with freckles on her face. "Ano… Can I be partners with you?" Nanaki asked and tried to smile to make it a memorable encounter with the new girl.
"…Pairing up with a lamer's better than being alone, at least." She plainly replied. That was the least answer that Nanaki would wanted to hear.
"Aah… What's your name if I may know?"
"Tokiwa desu…" Without looking into her eyes, the glasses girl replied.
"Aah! Yoroshiku! My name is---"
"Don't worry, I can recognize you as the 'loser'. You don't have to take your precious time introducing yourself to me. I've heard enough from your former friends…"
'Doushite…?'
Tears began to well up in her eyes. She can't stop thinking why things such as these are coming on her way. Why does she have to be the unfortunate one? Why? What have she done to turn the tides this way?
'…why?'
Nanaki remained silent all the while. She couldn't concentrate on the lesson that Daidoshi-sensei was telling about. She couldn't hear a single sound. It was as if she was in a muted world right now. Everything was inaudible. In other words, Nanaki was absorbed into her thoughts right now.
Everybody started passing the balls to each other. They all did or at least tried to do the things that Daidoshi-sensei had taught them about. All except Nanaki. She didn't have any clue about what's going on. Daidoshi- sensei examined every student's movements, from the start of the line, straight to the end. And then her eyes finally caught Nanaki's cluelessness. "Houjou!! What on earth are you doing?! Come on!! Don't fool around…"
"H-hai, Sensei…" She assured the short-tempered lady. Her actions doesn't fool her, though. Daidoshi-sensei caught her for not paying attention to her teachings. Angered, she then yelled out loud and punished her with extra exercise; 100 push ups. "You do a hundred push-ups! Do it fast!!! That's the sentence for being such an impudent student! You had been taking in my patience from the start, Houjou, from the start!!!"
Nanaki fixed herself in a push up position. Her heart stung in pain again. She winced in soreness as she tried to do her tasks. The other girls were gathering around her, laughing and mocking at her. It sounds and feels like hell. She couldn't stand it anymore, her heart felt weaker and weaker each moment. It's not beating in its correct rhythm. Not long after that Nanaki collapsed to the ground.
***
"Hey…" A voice of a woman called out.
Though Nanaki's eyelids were lifted up, she could barely focus on the sight right now. Everything was still indistinct, it was all smudgy and pale. How she wished to be in heaven right now. "…Kore wa doko ka?"
"Thank goodness, you finally regained your awareness, Houjou-san. This is the clinic. If you couldn't remember, I'll tell you what had happened. You fainted in the health class. Daidoshi-sensei brought you here."
"…Clinic?"
"Yes. You had been asleep for 2 lessons, Houjou-san. If you wished for more rest, you can. However there'll be a medical check up coming up so please ignore the noise. And if you want to go back to class, I will write you the excuse letter and send you back."
"I want to stay," Nanaki clearly confirmed her mind.
"Okay then, you can. Please, take a rest. I'll be away for a while, okay? If you need anything, please wait until I come back. It won't be long. I'm just gonna call on the next scheduled class for their annual medical check- ups and measurement, alright?" The woman walked out into the hallways, leaving her alone inside the cramped clinic. Nanaki rolled to the side of the bed and then wept silently to herself. She couldn't hold the tears from falling down right now.
a.n :: hehe… yeah, I think Nanaki's friends are being so immature… ~__~
She had to admit that walking all by herself to school feels so lonely and empty. Her heart aches for a friend to accompany her. Who, though? There was absolutely no idea of anyone she can think about. "Nanaki-san?" Nanaki Houjou turned her back and faced the person who's calling for her.
"Ara? Hanagata-san?" Surprising to meet him. It was considered lucky, perhaps. "Fujima-kun mo…" Yes, Fujima was walking beside him as usual. Even though they're not in the same class, their bond of friendship were still strong.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Nanaki-san," Fujima greeted in a classy manner as he bowed his back down. Nanaki blushed red and then tried to smile. It looks out of place, though.
"Stop over-reacting, Kenji…" Hanagata winced in disgust to see his closest friend acting like an 18th century royal prince out there in England. The both Shoyo captain and coach laughed and made their way to school. "What brings you so early, Nanaki-san?"
"Umm… Nothing, I suppose… I just woke up in advance. What about you, Hanagata-san, Fujima-kun?"
Fujima grinned. He then rolled his eyes to look at the taller one. Hanagata only sweatdropped. "Maa… Tooru's always early because he has his *own* reasons such as… Copying homeworks, perhaps…"
Hanagata closed his eyes in irritation. "Demo, Kenji… Heheh… You often asks me to lend me my exercise book, don't you? What do you do with it? Doubling- up the answers, I assume… Right, ne Kenji?"
"Yup. That's the smart way to be a person… Yobe-sensei always thought that I was the one who did that. I even became teacher's pet. I should thank you for that, Tooru…"
"Chi… Aho."
"Hahahahaha!"
Nanaki was surprised to find the atmosphere between the two close buds. It's nice to see them going so well. "Kimi-tachi…" Still, she was perplexed to hear their conversation.
While walking, the three of them talked about many things such as the current movie playing on cinemas to last night's World Cup match. It's astounding to found Nanaki so interested about it. Most girls in Shoyo high aren't interested in World Cup. All they cared about is just about make up and recent fashion and styles. Some do, though, and that includes Nanaki herself. "Wow, Nanaki-san… I never thought that you are into soccer." Hanagata uttered in a surprising tone. His eyes were wide in wonder.
"Sou ka?" Nanaki scratched her head and lowered it, studying her own feet. "Well… I enjoyed watching basketball more, though. In soccer I just like Nakata. He's cool…" (a.n :: oooh so much like me~! Hidetoshi Nakata rocks~!~! XD~~~~~)
"I enjoyed basketball more, too. I still like soccer, though." Fujima explained as his hands were twirling his russet bangs that's covering his forehead.
"I bet Nanaki-san knows about that," Hanagata flashed a depraved smirk on his face and stared at her from his arched eyes. Nanaki blushed and nudged him by the ribs.
***
Finally they reached the school gates. As the three of them entered the locker area, they spread out and headed to their own cubbyhole. Soon after she put on her school shoes and her scarf, Nanaki closed it shut and walked upstairs to her class room. The hallways weren't so crowded as it will be in the near present. Students are still on their way. She entered the class which has the sign 1-6 on top. "Ohayo, minna…" Just when she thought that there'll be nobody right now to greet her back, the rowdy talking inside the room ceases and every pair of eyes inside were now nailed upon her.
"There she is," a boy called out from one corner of the room. Nanaki looked around, terror were painted on her face. What more could happen today? Then on the blackboard she found newspaper-cropped writings, pasted upon it, bearing the writings : 'Houjou Nanaki, sucker of the year' with large letters. Meanwhile beneath the large writing, smaller pieces of newspaper- cutting were glued onto the board. It says : 'abandoned her friends in order to get close with the seniors.'
Nanaki's eyes were spread out broad in fright. Who could've done this? That is a total lie. She didn't abandon her friends at all. It was the other way around, perhaps. And her presence around both Hanagata and Fujima were just coinsidences! Why was she the one left to blame? It wasn't her fault, she didn't want it to be like that.
Her whole slender figure were pinned there beneath the doorframe. Everyone were cussing at her and laughing at her. She felt like running away home right now, but her feet were heavy as if it were fastened to the floor. "Uso…," she spoke softly, her lips trembling. "Uso da!"
"Oh my God!" Jubei-sensei, the homeroom teacher for Nanaki's class, gasped as she saw the writings on the wall. She then rushed in, slipped through between the doorway and Nanaki's body, and swiftly ripped the papers out from the wall and then glared into every face inside the class. "Who did this?!" She persisted an answer. Nobody gave one, though. "Who did this?!" Once more she asked in a firmer tone.
"We don't know, Sensei. I was the first to come into class and then I already found that on the board." A small, glasses-boy erected and then lifted up his chest to answer bravely. Even though Jubei-sensei was young and beautiful, still at her early 20s, she could be more fierce than Godzilla when she's mad.
Jubei ran back and placed her hands on Nanaki's stiff shoulders. "Nanaki… Nanaki, it's just a joke, alright? Don't take it too seriously… I promise you I'll find out who did this for you, okay? Now will you take a seat? The class is going to start any second."
Nanaki obeyed her and walked straight to her seat. Her eyes were still wide and filled with dread, though. From the other corner, Rumiko sharpened her eyes as she was nibbing on her breakfast cheesecake.
***
The bell rang. It's the end for third lesson. Sports is next. Nanaki hates sport session ever since her relationship with Rumiko had been tumbling down. This is the time to socialize with friends from other classes. It kinda feels so awkward and unnerving to meet the sour faces of Rumiko's gang. Nanaki's going to have a hard time finding a partner for the activities. Thank goodness she still has Conny on class 1-3. Conny's another close friend of her who hadn't been contaminated by Rumiko's foolish lies.
"Alright," Daidoshi-sensei, the PE (physical education) instructor waved her hands in the air, instructing the girls to stop chattering and to gather up. "Today we're gonna work on volleyball. I want each of you to grab a friend to practice on passing. But before that, I want you all to warm yourselves up with 4 laps around the court."
"Hai," some answered. Nanaki began looking around, hoping to find Conny, the russian-japanese girl, in sight. She beamed up when she saw her from the corner of her sight. "Conny-chan!" Nanaki extended her hand to call her. Conny did turn to look her way, but her eyes were different. It was now sharp and filled with hatred. "Conny-chan?"
"Nani?" Inquired her coldy as she glowered at Nanaki.
"Aah…," Nanaki tried to act calm, "I just want to ask you to be my partner… Do you mind?"
Rumiko then came into the scene, she walked to Conny's back and grabbed her hands. Both of their eyes were still staring at her, piercing through her own. "Come on, Conny-chan… I presume you don't want to pair up with a lamer who sucks up on seniors, do you?"
"Gross." The two left Nanaki stranded alone in the middle of the court. She felt like crying now.
"Houjou, what are you doing?! Come on! Start your warm-ups!" Daidoshi- sensei hollered out on top her lungs from the other end of the field. Nanaki didn't make a sound, she just followed the other girls who had started to run.
After she did her four laps, Nanaki tried to catch her breath. There's something wrong with her heart, lately, it won't cooperate with her physical strength anymore. Whenever she just starts to do some athletics, even though her body feels like she still have heaps of stamina unused, her heart won't support her and would just make her entire body feel weak. It's because of stress, perhaps. The girls were all already lined up with their partners except for herself. She looked around to find someone who doesn't have a pairing. Thank goodness there was one. It was a spectacled-girl with freckles on her face. "Ano… Can I be partners with you?" Nanaki asked and tried to smile to make it a memorable encounter with the new girl.
"…Pairing up with a lamer's better than being alone, at least." She plainly replied. That was the least answer that Nanaki would wanted to hear.
"Aah… What's your name if I may know?"
"Tokiwa desu…" Without looking into her eyes, the glasses girl replied.
"Aah! Yoroshiku! My name is---"
"Don't worry, I can recognize you as the 'loser'. You don't have to take your precious time introducing yourself to me. I've heard enough from your former friends…"
'Doushite…?'
Tears began to well up in her eyes. She can't stop thinking why things such as these are coming on her way. Why does she have to be the unfortunate one? Why? What have she done to turn the tides this way?
'…why?'
Nanaki remained silent all the while. She couldn't concentrate on the lesson that Daidoshi-sensei was telling about. She couldn't hear a single sound. It was as if she was in a muted world right now. Everything was inaudible. In other words, Nanaki was absorbed into her thoughts right now.
Everybody started passing the balls to each other. They all did or at least tried to do the things that Daidoshi-sensei had taught them about. All except Nanaki. She didn't have any clue about what's going on. Daidoshi- sensei examined every student's movements, from the start of the line, straight to the end. And then her eyes finally caught Nanaki's cluelessness. "Houjou!! What on earth are you doing?! Come on!! Don't fool around…"
"H-hai, Sensei…" She assured the short-tempered lady. Her actions doesn't fool her, though. Daidoshi-sensei caught her for not paying attention to her teachings. Angered, she then yelled out loud and punished her with extra exercise; 100 push ups. "You do a hundred push-ups! Do it fast!!! That's the sentence for being such an impudent student! You had been taking in my patience from the start, Houjou, from the start!!!"
Nanaki fixed herself in a push up position. Her heart stung in pain again. She winced in soreness as she tried to do her tasks. The other girls were gathering around her, laughing and mocking at her. It sounds and feels like hell. She couldn't stand it anymore, her heart felt weaker and weaker each moment. It's not beating in its correct rhythm. Not long after that Nanaki collapsed to the ground.
***
"Hey…" A voice of a woman called out.
Though Nanaki's eyelids were lifted up, she could barely focus on the sight right now. Everything was still indistinct, it was all smudgy and pale. How she wished to be in heaven right now. "…Kore wa doko ka?"
"Thank goodness, you finally regained your awareness, Houjou-san. This is the clinic. If you couldn't remember, I'll tell you what had happened. You fainted in the health class. Daidoshi-sensei brought you here."
"…Clinic?"
"Yes. You had been asleep for 2 lessons, Houjou-san. If you wished for more rest, you can. However there'll be a medical check up coming up so please ignore the noise. And if you want to go back to class, I will write you the excuse letter and send you back."
"I want to stay," Nanaki clearly confirmed her mind.
"Okay then, you can. Please, take a rest. I'll be away for a while, okay? If you need anything, please wait until I come back. It won't be long. I'm just gonna call on the next scheduled class for their annual medical check- ups and measurement, alright?" The woman walked out into the hallways, leaving her alone inside the cramped clinic. Nanaki rolled to the side of the bed and then wept silently to herself. She couldn't hold the tears from falling down right now.
a.n :: hehe… yeah, I think Nanaki's friends are being so immature… ~__~