A little later, the girls were hurrying to class, but Yukari wasn't there yet.
"Anyone seen Ms. Yukari?" asked Kagura, but no one had a chance to answer. Yukari came
running in a second later, with a paper in her hand.
"Class! Look at this!" she waved the paper in the air. "Anyone know what it is?" Chiyo's hand shot up in the air.
"Um, a flier for the science fair?"
Yukari slammed her hand down on her desk, and everyone looked up. "It's not just that. It's a
chance…for VICTORY!"
The class stared blankly, but that didn't stop Yukari from going on.
"I want everyone of you in this classroom to enter that science fair! That way, there'll be a better
chance for one of you to win! And if one of you wins, it makes me look better!" Then she caught
herself. "I mean us."
While Yukari went on blabbering about winning, and Kaorin glanced quickly at Sakaki. Oh, maybe Miss Sakaki would want to work with me, she thought to herself. She straightened in her chair when she heard Yukari say, "I'm going to be nice and let you all pick your own partners, but if you don't have them by the end of the day, I'm picking for you! The science fair will be great!"
The class didn't seem convinced, so she quickly added something about the cash prize. Then
whispers filled the room.
"QUIET!"
Everyone sat through the lesson, but they weren't paying attention. They were all thinking about the money. Except Kaorin. She was thinking more about Sakaki.
At lunch, the girls sat at the tables, in the space next to their assumed partners. Kagura and Sakaki noticed Kaorin slowly approaching them.
"Oh, um, hello, Miss Sakaki.," she stuttered. "Um, I, uh, was just wondering if…well, um, if you ,
um…if…"
Sakaki just looked up at her inquiringly.
Kaorin stared back. She stared until she couldn't anymore, and ran bashfully away. The others just
watched.