Chapter 7
Mary's knuckles are blanched white as her fingers clutch the smooth surface of her pen. It's a miracle that the notebook she's writing in is still intact with how hard she's been scribbling notes in class. Her back is beginning to ache from the perfect posture she's maintained since class begun mid-morning and her eyes remain glued to the pages spread out in front of her. She's tense. But she's trying not to let it show.
Mary is hyper-aware that Yumeko is only two rows behind her and to her left. If she were to look outside the windows spanning across the left side of the classroom, she knows that she would see a glimpse of her in her peripheral vision.
But Mary has too much pride to let that happen.
She hadn't seen the girl's face since she woke up to her sleeping form this morning.
Mary made sure not to react when Yumeko walked into class today keeping her head down and pretending to sleep until she heard her sensei's voice calling for attention. It wasn't an unusual sight. Most days she would throw her bag of books under her seat and plop her head down for a quick nap before class. Mary only knew that Yumeko had walked in because of the unmistakable cloud of her perfume that breezed past, lingering in the air before dissipating completely.
It was because of that damned perfume that her bed was stripped bare in her dorm room. The scent of Yumeko hadn't left when she left that morning to Mary's dismay. She had pried her window open with the hopes that the brisk morning air would flood out the perfume and the thoughts plaguing her mind, but all it accomplished was leaving Mary a shivering mess in her sleep shorts. She could practically hear the universe laughing at her.
So she stripped her bed of the sheets, blanket, and pillow covers. On her way to class, she had thrown the pile in the laundry room without giving it a second glance.
The physical removal of any reminders of Yumeko had helped Mary clear her mind that morning. Well, it helped a little bit. Try as she might, Yumeko's words still rang through her head no matter how hard she tried to remain focused in class.
"What have I done?"
The sound of paper ripping brought her attention back to the present. Her eyes snapped to her hand where her notebook page was torn, separated completely from the binding. The instructor was still talking, but she could feel the stares of classmates next to her watching her next move. Mary shoots them both a glare, daring them to make a comment as she crumples the page in a ball as if she had intended to do so in the first place.
Idiot, she thinks. Stay focused!
Mary turns her attention back to the teacher and continues writing notes, despite having taught herself the material weeks before. She welcomes the monotonous distraction. Anything to stop the sound of regret in Yumeko's voice from playing in her mind again.
"Well, then that's it. See you again next time."
The sound of students standing and giving respects to the sensei filled the air. But it wasn't enough to block out the screech of Suzui's chair as he rushed to Yumeko's side. Like clockwork. The boy did it after every class without fail. Mary quickly placed her books back in her bag reminding herself to pocket the crumpled ball of notebook paper. Notes were still notes, after all.
She reaches for the discarded notebook page, but manicured nails donned with bright green and black striped designs beats her to it.
"What's this? Are you deciding to finally take my advice and stop taking notes?"
Mary brings her gaze up to the shining, dark blue eyes of Itsuki Sumeragi. She's holding the paper ball with the tips of her two fingers as if it was a dirty sock. Mary rolls her eyes. She must have slipped into the classroom after class when she wasn't looking.
Up until recently, all she knew about the girl was that she was the daughter to the CEO of one of Japan's biggest toy companies. An heiress with a creepy nail obsession with her future set in stone.
Or so she thought.
Itsuki had enlisted Mary's help a few weeks ago with studying for her year one classes. She had heard from other first year students that Mary was one of the top students in her class in terms of academics. Mary had desperately tried to avoid becoming her tutor, but the girl wouldn't leave her alone until she accepted. Every day, the younger girl would bring her a different bribe of the food variety somehow knowing that Mary had a sweet tooth. Exasperated and surrounded by heaps of discarded food wrappers, Mary confronted Itsuki. Apparently, the so-called "heiress" was being threatened by her father to lose her allowance if her grades didn't improve. Losing her allowance would mean losing her means to gamble, which would mean losing her place in Hyakkaou Academy.
Mary wouldn't normally help someone like Itsuki, let alone anyone, but her situation reminded her of her own. In a way, she was almost like a scholarship student. Mary knew exactly what it was like to be one, considering she was one.
Their numerous tutoring sessions had proved to be successful if the amount of cash flooding Itsuki's bank from CEO Sumeragi was anything to go by. As a result, Itsuki and Mary didn't have many study dates recently (not to mention Mary was usually too busy with Yumeko to study with Itsuki), but they still talked occasionally.
"Very funny. Throw that in my bag for me, would you? Unlike you, my notes are still legible even after being crumpled up in a ball," she held her bag open, turning her back to the door where she could hear Suzui talking Yumeko's ear off as they left the classroom.
The black stripes on Itsuki's nails glinted in the light as she threw the ball in Mary's book bag. "'Kay. Let's get to the dining hall. I'm starving!" She grabbed Mary's arm, hooking her own in the crook of her elbow, and hurried towards the door.
To be fair, Itsuki's babbling was a great distraction from this morning's "mishap". The incessant chirping from the other girl made it impossible to focus on anything other than the food in front of her, so Mary held her tongue. It didn't change the fact that Itsuki was babbling, though.
"Oh! Have you heard? There's a new gambling den opening in the West wing in a few weeks. We should go check it out!"
That caught Mary's attention. "West wing? There's nothing there except for old offices and storage rooms."
"That's what I thought too. But the student council is planning to clear the rooms of junk and designate a few of the rooms for games," Itsuki explained.
Interesting, Mary thought. Gambling might just be exactly what I need right now.
"We should check it out!" Itsuki was practically bouncing in her chair.
It wasn't a bad idea. Mary was behind on gambling this month, anyway.
"Oh, I have an even better idea!" Itsuki reached across the table and grabbed Mary's hands in hers, "we should gamble together!"
Now it was a bad idea. The aversion on Mary's face must have been obvious because Itsuki continued on, "Now wait, before you totally dismiss the idea hear me out first."
Mary stared blankly at Itsuki waiting for her to continue. The grip she still had on Mary's hands was starting to make her feel trapped.
Most students, like Mary, preferred to gamble solo. It was just exceedingly more convenient in her opinion. There were less factors to consider in paired games. Not to mention, the risk tends to be higher in pairs considering the payout needs to be worth it for two players to split the profit. Mary would rather not go through extra stress if she didn't have to. She curses to herself as her brain reminds her about the last time she paired with someone else in a match. Traitor, she thinks directing it towards herself.
"First of all, I'm a great gambler!" Itsuki beamed, "you and I could be like the power couple of gambling if we teamed up together." Mary's blank stare doesn't falter.
Itsuki blinks, "...okay, maybe not." Her manicured nail taps against her lip as she thinks. "Oh! We can use my allowance you helped me keep! Daddy gives me extra cash now that I'm doing well. You wouldn't need to put in any of your own money. Consider it payment for your tutoring!" Mary's head tilts to the side in a contemplative gesture.
"Come on, Mary-san please! We could be unstoppable at those tables," her eyes are shining in delight at the power they could impose.
"Why do you care so much? We've never even gambled together before. How can I be sure that you could keep up with me?" Mary asks flipping her hair over one shoulder. She watches Itsuki's eyes squint at her words.
"I can hold my own. I was on the student council before, remember?"
"Yeah, before. You got kicked out!"
That did it. Mary knew she hit a nerve, but she just didn't understand why the girl was pushing so hard. An array of emotions flash across Itsuki's face. Anger, regret, annoyance, and then... mischief?
She watches Itsuki's lips curve into a crude smirk, "Mary-san you don't have a choice," Itsuki drawls, "I heard that the new gaming den is dedicated to paired games only."
Don't have a choice?
Mary's eyes slide to the right over to the table where she knows Yumeko and Suzui are eating their meals. The table where she would have normally sat, but today it was just not an option. Itsuki definitely wouldn't have been her first choice if she needed a partner, but it's not like she wanted to team up with Yumeko anytime soon.
Their eyes meet. Mary's heart jumps at the sight of those glowing, red eyes.
Yumeko looks surprised to see Mary making eye contact, but it only lasts a split-second. In an instant, the girl has schooled her features into something resembling 'cute neutrality'. The face that the rest of Hyakkaou sees on a daily basis. The face that she uses at a gambling table. The face that comes across as unreadable.
Mary swallows the bitter taste in her mouth and slowly lets her eyes take in the rest of the dining hall. Practically all of the academy was in the cavernous room chatting within their cliques and eating from their trays. Some faces she recognized from brief encounters during a game, some she knew from debts they owed to her, and of course, there were the randoms that she hadn't bothered to interact with. Without even trying, one table stood out the most: the student council. Kirari sat at the head, Sayaka on her right, and her twin sister, Ririka on her left. From where she was sitting, Ririka was staring straight at her. Well, it seemed that way. She could never tell with that blank-staring mask she wore.
She thought about all the faces she scanned in the room and quickly came to the conclusion that Itsuki was right, she didn't have a choice.
"Let's do it," Mary announces turning back to Itsuki. Her reaction is instantaneous.
"AHHH! I knew you would agr-" Mary brings up her hand and places it flush against Itsuki's face before the girl can shout any louder. She can feel the heat of the stares around her, directed towards the pair.
"Only on one condition," she says with her palm still covering Itsuki's face, "I need to know that you are a valuable partner. Win three gambling matches, that I choose, and we've got a deal. I'll be your partner," Mary challenges.
"Dweehll!" Itsuki manages to blurt through the hand covering her mouth with her arms lifted in triumph. The unexpected sound and sight makes Mary explode in a fit of laughter. She brings her hand back immediately and clutches her stomach instead, the ridiculous noise from Itsuki still ringing in her head.
One table away, Yumeko and Suzui look up to watch the commotion. Had they ever seen Mary genuinely laugh before?
"Stop laughing at me Mary-san," Itsuki whines. Mary doesn't let up one bit. "Okay, that's enough!" she complains, crossing her arms over her chest. "I meant to say 'deal', you know what I meant!" She giggles despite herself.
Mary wipes the tears from the corner of her eyes and breathes through her mouth trying to calm down. She didn't realize how much she needed a good laugh. "Whatever you say, Sumeragi-chan. Come on, let's go study. We can find you a match tomorrow." They both stand, shaking hands over their respective finished meals in an agreement over the terms.
"Huh. What do you think that was about?" Suzui says through a mouthful of food.
"I have no clue," Yumeko says, barely above a whisper. She watches as the pair in question gathers their belongings, only stopping to throw their trash out on the way out of the dining hall.
"Well, whatever it is, it can't be good. I have never seen Mary smile like that before," he shakes his head moving in to finish the rest of his plate. Yumeko attempts to ignore the sound of Suzui eating next to her. Instead, she turns back to the table that the pair vacated and tries to memorize the sound of Mary's laughter.