Thank you for the review, kind stranger, though I wish you'd make a damn account so I can properly reply to you.
Forgive me for saying this, but I don't really plan on setting up a complex plot for this story. I'm mostly testing out new ideas and techniques, so if there's anything that you think could be improved, just let me know.
A week went by since school started, and Kagami's mood was steadily nosediving.
Her homeroom teacher was exceptionally vulgar despite her mild appearance, with a penchant for tardiness and corporal punishment. Kagami thought back to her previous teachers, wondering how their classes were going right then. Elementary was foggy, such that she could barely remember their names or what they looked like, but middle school was recent enough to recall that those teachers were professional, kind, and never late to class. She wondered how they would react to Miss Kuroi's jagged, tardy personality.
"... go ahead, Takara-san," Miss Kuroi said to the pink-haired girl up front, the newly appointed class president, and Kagami remembered why she had been in a sour mood all week.
Miyuki Takara was good, no doubt, scoring highest in class on the entrance exams, and she was damn gorgeous, exuding an air of angelic perfection everywhere she walked. Kagami scribbled angrily on her notebook, trying hard not to look as pathetic as she felt.
The class president went around collecting that week's homework, thanking those who did it, sternly reprimanding those who didn't and managing to do so with utmost grace. Kagami was smoldering by the time she got around to her.
"Here," she said bluntly, then, remembering her manners, blushed and added, "Takara-san."
Miyuki simply smiled and moved on, leaving Kagami to fester in embarrassment and self-loathing. She reached into her bag for her history book, a notepad, and a pencil—un-sharpened, damn it!-in preparation for the next lesson.
Social studies with Miss Kuroi wasn't too bad. It was a lot of note-taking, sure, maybe even a bit more than she'd expected, but nothing she couldn't handle. Kuroi's habit of veering off-topic at every opportunity made it easier to keep up with her notes on the board, whenever she could be bothered to write them. Most of the time she just read out of her book. The other teachers' lessons were quick and concise—daydreaming for more than a second could mean doubling up on studying at home, as she came to learn on her second day.
Gym class was fun. The class finally got their gym uniforms, and they started with a 'team exercise,' which in Kuroi's view amounted to pelting each other with balls for an hour. Kagami was good, no doubt, probably one of the strongest throwers in class (a fact she silently held close to her heart), but those damn boys with their pride and testosterone just didn't know how to take a loss, stubbornly refusing to sit out even when flattened out by a well-aimed throw.
Kuroi blasted her whistle, the game stopped, and everybody headed back to their homeroom class for a much-needed lunch break.
She was setting up her bento, a delicacy made by Tsukasa's capable hands, when a slap of blue in her peripheral caught her attention.
"Oh, wow. This is a good series," a girl said, bending down to pick something up off the ground. "Good taste."
Kagami blinked at the book held out to her, cheeks flushing in embarrassment when she saw it was her copy of Spice and Wolf. "... Thanks," she murmured, taking back the book with a slow, cautious movement. "Ah, Izumi-san?"
"Konata's fine," the girl said with a wave of her hand.
There was a brief lull in the conversation; Kagami stared at Konata for a few seconds before the girl pointed a finger at her. "You're..."
"H-Hiiragi Kagami!" Kagami stammered, mortified at her own lack of courtesy.
"Nice to meet you, Hiiragi-chan," Konata said, pulling up a chair and brandishing a chocolate coronet from her sleeve.
It was admittedly exciting to meet someone with whom she could share her love for reading; she went into this new friendship starry-eyed and with open arms, but reality quickly set to work, and the girl's true nature came out in all its otaku glory.
She was... nice enough, but god, all she talked about was anime. It soon became apparent that Konata hadn't actually read Spice and Wolf, or any light novel, for that matter, choosing to watch anime instead and avoid reading whenever possible.
"Yeah... I mean, I never really liked reading in the first place, and light novels would just ruin the show for me. Like Spice and Wolf—I bet if I tried reading the books, I'd get all bored, and then the show would seem boring, too. Know what I mean?"
Kagami gaped at her complete lack of drive, the fundamental element to properly enjoying a masterpiece like Spice and wolf.
Their one-sided conversation ended along with lunch as Miss Kuroi returned to class, barking angrily at the students taking their sweet time getting to their desks.
"Bye-bye," Konata hummed, waving at Kagami as she took her seat in the back.
Honestly, her first encounter with an actual otaku wasn't too bad. Looking back, it was actually pretty enjoyable talking to Konata; sure, most of the stuff she said may as well have been gibberish to Kagami, but she at least had a general idea of the otaku's points, and at least they had something to talk about. That was more than she could say for her other classmates—boys and clothes were starting to become all anyone could talk about, and Kagami had never really been one for gossiping or spending exorbitant amounts of her parent's money on skirts.
She was lost in thought when Miss Kuroi, having somehow slipped into class without being noticed, barked her name sharply. "Hiiragi! Where's your book?"
"Ah—sorry!" she gasped, digging through her bag for the appropriate math textbook. It was brand-new, and still wrapped in the plastic; she had an embarrassing time peeling it off while a disgruntled Kuroi and amused classroom looked on.