Chapter 8

"Nodoka-chan, you did study, right?" asked Trey

It was exams in Nodoka and Trey's school, Nodoka was struggling, Trey could tell. Nodoka was nibbling the back of her pencil and redoing equations tons of times, she looked at Trey distressed. He mouthed out answers to her while doing his own test. Nodoka appreciated Trey cheating with her, even though Trey wasn't, it was just another thing to show that Trey was with her through everything to make sure she made it. And Nodoka let him down again, she didn't want to make Trey need to hold her hand through everything!

"10 minutes left" said the sensei

Nodoka looked at her paper expecting to see tons of unanswered questions, but she was in shock when she saw everything was done, she looked to Trey to see if he finished yet or if he was struggling, but she wasn't that surprised when she saw him writing down lyrics for his next pop song with his friends. Trey was so smart, it wasn't a surprise, Trey always studied when he wasn't doing something or he helped Nodoka study, she didn't pay much attention most of the time, no wonder she was struggling.

"Trey-kun, I assume your done?" asked sensei

"Hai" answered Trey

"Then save me some time and collect the exams and put em' on my desk" ordered sensei

Trey got up and quickly gathered all the exams, when Trey reached Nodoka he asked her if she understood what he said, Nodoka quietly responded "Hai..." Trey plopped the exams on the desk, sensei grabbed the top one and started marking it, she quietly gestured to Trey to lean in "Hey, uhhh, whats the volume of this one?" asked the sensei timidly. Trey answered almost instantly, he sounded so sure. "Thanks, oh ya, by the way, I hear you're good at poker, wanna play a game with the faculty at lunch?" asked sensei sounding forceful

"Arent I underage to gamble?" replied Trey

"Uhhhh... Who says you keep your winnings?"

"Fine, whatever, I'll come" said Trey

Sensei got up and cleared her brown hair out of her face. She then announced to the class "Dismissed, see you tommorow!"

The class bustled out of the science lab to rush to the cafeteria. Trey carried Nodoka there. It wouldn't matter anyway, the whole school and most of the faculty knew Trey and Nodoka were in love. Trey bought Nodoka and his lunch for a change, he didn't get to make anything, Ninjin was begging him to play cards all night yesterday, he eventually did and forgot to make lunch.

"Im sorry Nodoka-chan" said Trey

"Why?" asked Nodoja biting into her lunch

"I forgot to make you something, I'm so sorry"

"Trey-chan, don't worry about it"

"Thanks, Ill never let you down again, I promise"

Nodoka was shocked, Trey never let her down, he made up for the lunch by buying her lunch for her, it should be Nodoka apologizing.

"Trey-chan, I'm sorry" said Nodoka

"What for, your perfect, you never do anything wrong" said Trey while finishing off his lunch. Nodoka blushed, she wanted to hug Trey so hard right now, but she had to apologize for wasting Trey's time.

"When you help me study, I don't pay much attention, I waste your time, I -"

Trey put a finger to Nodoka's mouth to calm her, he said "No moment in it life is wasted when I'm with you" Nodoka gave up, she was trying to make a sweet boy angry, it was like trying to make chocolate brownies sour, it's just unthinkable. Trey got up quickly, Nodoka noticed he finished his lunch alot faster then usual, she asked "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere important" said Trey

"Please?" said Nodoka in her shy voice

"Im playing poker with the sensei's you cutie" Trey petted Nodoka on the head briefly, she lit up like a Christmas tree, she was so happy with what Trey just did, he called her cute and petted her, some of her favorite things.

"Can I-"

"Sure" interuppted Trey. Trey picked up Nodoka and walked out of the cafeteria out into the hall, he walked up a set up stairs and walked to a room at the end of the hall, he twisted the knob slowly. He opened the door and saw his five favorite sensei's sitting there.

Ha Kobune, his math teacher, she played video games with Trey sometimes at Internet cafe's

Amejisuto Ganjou, his science teacher, she was the person who asked him to come play poker

Jousho Tora, his geography teacher, he joked around with Trey and they had long idle conversations sometimes

Puriti Shinbou, his cooking teacher, she was just plain nice to Trey and all her students.

Su-pa Mario, his homeroom teacher, Trey liked him because he was funny and had a funny name.

It was odd, all of Nodoka's favorite sensei's were Trey's. While Nodoka spaced out, Trey layed her down on a futon and went to the table to play poker.

"Three of a kind" said Jousho

"Aww" moaned the other sensei's

"Flush" said Trey

"You're too lucky Trey-kun!" sighed Ha

"C'mon deal" said Amejisuto

Ha dealed the cards to everyone, Trey had horrible cards but saw that it was almost the end of lunch period, he bet all his winnings and waited for him to lose. Everyone but Su-pa and Puriti backed out and went to their class rooms. Puriti won with a Straight Flush, good for her thought Trey. Trey got up and picked up Nodoka, she nibbled on his nose lovingly. Trey carried her to their next class, cooking. They entered and took places next to eachother, the teachers were understanding and allowed them to be together as much as they want. Puriti entered the class and went to her desk. She stood up and greeted the class, then said "Trey-kun, for losing the game epicly, even if it was purposely, save me some trouble and teach everyone how to cook something today" the class looked baffled, what game? No one knew about the poker game.

"That wasn't the agreement" said Trey

"Be a man, teach them something, everyone liked that European style salmon you cooked for everyone at the cooking festival last month" said sensei

"Yeah!" shouted a girl directly behind Trey, it was Celeste.

"Please Trey-san" complained a bunch of the girls. Trey looked at Nodoka, she was also begging him. Trey walked down to the front of the class, and said "Kitsune-san, can you get out the salmon?" the class shouted in excitement and happiness, Trey looked embarassed, he never knew how good his cooking was at all, he thought it was bad, he didn't know why everyone was so excited.

"Okay, get out a skillet and set it to high, might be smart to butter it so nothing sticks" instructed Trey. All the girls eagerly did as he instructed, some even took notes.

"Then get an oak plank and put it over an open fire" instructed Trey. There was usually a bit of a bonfire in the middle of the class specially there for plank cooking, it looked unsafe but nothing in the class was flammable except the cheap oils and baking soda.

Kitsune just finished handing out the salmon when she was instructed to go get walleye, she looked sad, she was missing class. Trey felt bad for her, he wrote down the salmon recipe, and a recipe for a cherry desert to make up for the missed class, he put the sheets of recipes on her counter. Trey was walking back to the front of the class when he even saw sensei frantically jotting down notes. Kitsune finished getting all the fish out and went to the front of the room to count it all. Trey approached her from behind and massaged her shoulders, she moaned and fell into Trey's arms asleep and relaxed. She looked cute thought Trey but he had Nodoka, someone cuter,and more perfect. Trey carried her to her seat, she woke up quickly after he walked back to the front of the class. Darn it! Thought Kitsune, she thought Trey was really nice and cute, she wanted him.

The class listened to Trey's instructions throughout the rest of the class and at the end they succesfully made cooked salmon and walleye European style. Trey walked around taking a bite from each one seeing how they turned out.

"This one's very good Celeste-san"

"Slightly undercooked, but I can't blame you, you took time to help the class Kitsune-san"

"Great job Nodoka-chan!"

"Im surprised Ninjin-san, this is the best walleye I've tasted in my life!" Ninjin gave a slight smirk at the comment, an evil smirk. Class ended for the day after Trey dismissed cooking class.

Trey and Nodoka walked home together holding hands, they were talking about a matter Nodoka was worried about.

"Trey-chan, what if what happened to Tristin-senpai happens to you?!" panicked Nodoka

"Why would that happen?" asked Trey

"You and Tristin work in the same industry"

"Nope"

"What happened?!"

"I lost my job after not being able to attend work because of Tristin's absency, but I still had good sailor's skills, so now I rig and build merchant ships in shipyards" explained Trey

"Money?" asked Nodoka

"Three times better the before" said Trey while biting into a cupcake they purchased from a snack stand on the way home.

"Woah!"

"To be exact, it's 2,800 yen an hour"

Nodoka almost tripped, Trey was making great money at such a young age, he was lucky he had his father to get him job positions, his age would have restricted him otherwise. But Trey is smart and knows tons of things, he deserves to make alot of money, and the more money he makes means more money for them to share.

"Nodoka-chan?" said Trey waking up Nodoka from her daydream

"Hai?" answered Nodoka

"Is it okay if I go to to the arcade with Ha-senpai a little after we get home?"

Why would Trey ask her? She didn't own him... No wait... She did.

"Sure" she said cheerfully

"Thank you Nodoka-chan"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Trey-kun, only intermediate? Pffft, I can do extreme!" argued Ha

"Oh really?" asked Trey

"Yea, watch!" Ha stepped up to the Dance Dance Revolution machine and was selecting a song, she beckoned Trey to come join her, he stepped onto the platform, the positioned himself towards the screen. Ha picked a song and started dancing, Trey watched and played, Ha was moving like lightning, tapping each panel as it lights up, Trey had a hard time keeping up, once the song was over Trey was trying to catch his breath. Ha just smiled and said "Told ya!" Trey retrieved his breath and pointed towards a racing game, Ha looked excited.

"Ohhh!!! Wrong game to choose!!! I'm great at driving in that game!" said Ha

"Let's see" Trey jumped into the drivers seat and Ha took the one beside him, they started racing the second they got in, Ha looked furious while she was losing, Trey looked calm, like he did this everyday "Cheater!" said Ha

"How?" asked Trey

"You rammed me!"

"You rammed me twelve times"

Ha looked shocked, she lost at her favorite racing game to a thirteen year old, how sad. Ha walked over to an air hockey table with Trey, she started idle conversation as they played.

"So how is it going between you and Nodoka-kun?" asked Ha

"Im not sure, I love her to bits, but I don't think I'm good enough for her" Trey smashed the plastic air puck when he said this.

"What makes you say that?" returned Ha

"She's quiet around me sometimes, and sometimes she just doesn't look happy, for a reason I can't see"

"She's been thinking about things"

"Like what?"

"Math" Ha chuckled

"I don't think so, sorry Ha-sensei"

"Dammit! How am I losing to my own student?" yelled Ha, the score was 1-0

"It'a happened before" Trey gestured towards the racing game

"Shutup!" Ha threw the plastic disc at Trey, which he caught calmly and quickly

"Calm down, I'm just joking around, I'm sorry" Trey placed the disc on the table and slid it to Ha.

"No, I'm sorry"

"Dont worry about it"

"So why do you think your not enough for Nodoka-kun?" Trey and Ha continued playing

"Im not sure, what's a boyfriend supposed to do anyway? She's my only and first love" asked Trey

"Well what DO you do?"

Trey paused for a split second to think, but he had to hit back the air puck.

"Let's see, cook, clean, do her homework, help her study, work, take her out to places, sleep with her, lay with her, watch movies, and just play with her"

"I wish my husband was like that" laughed Ha

"What am I missing" asked Trey

Ha thought for a second, she couldn't find anything he missed but blurted out "Romance?"

"I think we have that, I hope" Trey fiddled

Trey paused and thought for a minute, which Ha took advantage of and scored alot of times. Trey stopped thinking fast enough to return the puck. "5-2 me" smiled Ha. Trey and Ha played fiercely, but in the end the score was 7-5 Trey

"H-how?" blurted out Ha blankly

"I'm not sure" laughed Trey

Ha looked dissapointed, Trey came up to her and patted her on the back.

"Ha-sensei, I'm sorry" apologized Trey

"It's fine" said Ha cheerily

Ha and Trey walked out of the arcade to a café not far,during the walk Trey noticed he's taller than his teacher. They slid into a booth and looked at the menu.

"What can I get for the young couple?" asked the waitress

"Im 23, he's 13" combatted Ha

"Oh, I'm very very sorry senpai" apologized the waitress. Ha quickly ordered a coffee and Trey ordered a soda.

"So, any reason a sensei is taking her student out?" asked Trey sharply

Ha stuttered out "N-no Rea-Reason a-at all" It was true, Ha found Trey attractive, he didn't know it yet, he thought no one loved him very much, he thought he wasn't a very good boyfriend anyway. Nodoka hardly ever talked to him anymore, that must show something. Trey fidgetted with a coffee stirrer looking worried.

"Why so down?" asked Ha

"No reason" said Trey. The two drinks arrived and the waitress handed the drinks to them and apologized again for the comment she made earlier. Trey started slowly sipping his soda. Ha took one gulp of coffee and decided to figure out what was on Trey's mind. Trey nibbled on the end of the straw and thought, what more can I do for Nodoka? What can I do better? Trey's mind jumped to a bunch of possible solutions, some sounded dumb, some sounded mean, till he found one possible, cooking. Trey thought his cooking was sub-par at best. Trey was always so hard on himself. Trey finished his drink without even noticing it, the time spent at the café was short. Once they were done their drinks, Trey payed the bill secretly without Ha finding out, they left the café and Ha said "See you tommorow Trey-kun!" Ha walked away in the direction towards her house, it was starting to get dark but Trey wanted to pick something up first. He walked down the street quietly
towards the library with his hands in his pockets. He entered the library and went to the cooking section, he browsed, browsed, and browsed some more until one book caught his eye, "Exotic Cooking: Straight From The Kitchen!" Trey took the book to the librarian and asked to check it out, she quickly checked it out and Trey left with his head in the book the whole walk home. He bumped into something while walking and the book fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry senpai, please forgive me" bowed Trey

"No problem" said the tall man. He picked up the book and asked "Cooking?"

"Trying to impress a girl" answered Trey

"Awh, I see, good luck kid" the tall man gave the book to Trey and continued walking down the street. Trey continued on his way home, he found Nodoka sitting on the porch waiting for him, Trey ran over to her and bowed deeply "I'm so sorry Nodoka-chan I made you worry, I was late, I'm so sorry" Nodoka hugged Trey tightly inhaling his scent, she loved it, she quietly whispered "It's fine". Trey picked Nodoka up and carried her inside, he placed the library book on the shelf in the entranceway, he went upstairs and layed Nodoka on the bed, he layed down next to her holding her, saying he was sorry. Nodoka was confused, didnt she say it was fine? What could he be sorry for?

"Why?" quietly asked Nodoka

"I'm not a very good boyfriend am I?" said Trey. Nodoka quickly shifted her head out of Trey's chest to look at him.

"What are you talking about?! Your great! I love you so much! There's nothing else more I could ask from you!" shouted Nodoka

"Really" Trey was confused

"Yea!" answered Nodoka

"Then why are you so quiet around me?" asked Trey

"Just thinking about things, about you and me, I always thought I let you down" said Nodoka

"Please, don't ever think that again, I love you the way you are, you're , no doubt, perfect"

"Oh Trey-chan" Nodoka hugged Trey tightly, they stayed hugging until Nodoka fell asleep, Trey held her.