Whoa, what a fast update right? Well actually, I started this last night right after posting chapter 6, and worked on it until like 6.30 in the morning but I couldn't figure out how to progress with it. I was considering withholding it until I have the next part planned, but what the heck.
(Tomoko POV)
Wednesday. I wake up on the floor. In the lounge. Oh yeah, that's right. Yesterday, after spending the whole evening playing games in the lounge, I realized there's actually no reason to go to my room to sleep. I'm using a futon anyway, which has the advantage of being easily moved. Exercising my freedom, I took my futon and threw it on the floor of the lounge, and played games until I felt tired. I even ate dinner in bed, too.
...To be honest, though, it's lonely here. Today is the third day of my new school life, and the ninth day since I moved into this apartment. At first I revelled in the freedom to live my own lifestyle. Now I just want the comfort of someone to come home too. Living alone is a great way for anxiety and depression to fester.
I get up. If there's one thing that makes it worth it in the end, it's that I finally feel like a fulfilling highschool life is no longer beyond my reach. I'd say it's because I had a second chance at a first impression, but that's not it at all. Right now, there's only one reason for it.
I smile at the thought. Time to get ready for school.
Morning classes are the same as they were yesterday. I've already had all of my different subjects at least once by now. All except one. Physical Education, which is today. I truly despise this subject. I cannot recall one single fond memory of PE classes in the past. In contrast, it brings up some traumatic and humiliating experiences that make me wish I'd never been born. Maybe PE at Sobu will be different. It's a private school, after all.
We go to get changed, and just glancing at the other girls makes me want to go home and cry. Why am I the only one here without a hot body!? All the girls have shapely tits and thighs with firm guts. This is a really unrealistic standard. Is this the power of private highschools? Scary.
In contrast, I have nothing to flaunt. I have small boobs and no ass whatsoever. The contours of my ribs are visible over my skin, and I'm shorter than everyone else. My skin is pasty and dry looking, too. At least it's a school where the girls wear shorts and not bloomers. Having my bony ass on display next to these girls would really make me cry.
For the lesson today, the teacher planned for us to play some sports against the first years. Fine by me. The younger my opponents are, the less likely I am to look like a chump.
The idea today is that we partner up with a first year, and we can choose what to play in our pairs. There are team games like volleyball for larger groups who want to come together, but I can already tell I'm not going to do that. We get paired off randomly. I miss out on hearing my partner's name. She's got auburn hair and a flashy appearance.
"..."
We don't say anything to each other when we get thrown together. She sighs, as if dealing with me were a chore. She seems like she's going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. After the teacher goes to do something, she walks off. Unsure what to do, I follow her.
She goes to the tennis courts and takes a seat. I decide to break the silence.
"...Wanna play?" I ask, gesturing towards the tennis games. I'm nervous when talking to her. She may be a first year but flashy types are my weakness.
"Mm, that's okay. I don't feel like getting sweaty today." She replies in a disinterested tone. She doesn't even look at me when she speaks, and I can't help but somehow feel below her.
Regardless, she's just allowed me to sit out in PE. That's something I can appreciate for sure. However, it leaves me with the question of what I'm gonna do now. I don't wanna take a seat next to her. She seems like the judgmental type. I opt to lean on the nearby fencing. I hope this doesn't look awkward.
My partner whips her cellphone out of her pocket. Seriously? Definitely the social type. The type I can't stand. At least she seems content to ignore me.
She sighs. "I wonder what class senpai has right now." Ugh, that's disgusting. Lovestruck too? That's too annoying.
I feign interest. "Senpai?" I ask out of courtesy.
She gives me this look. Not quite a glare, but sort of a stare that says 'I wasn't really inviting conversation'. Well, sorry for being polite, Kouhai-chan.
She closes her eyes, and sighs again. "Yeah. I'm the student council president, you see. I have this Senpai who dotes on me and does whatever I want. He looks gross but he's definitely useful when he wants to be." She answers, seemingly amused with her own answer.
Wow, just when I thought you couldn't be any less likeable. You abuse your unpopular senpais by manipulating them with your cute face? Disgusting. But I don't have nearly enough courage to say that to her face. Rather, I pretend to care about her selfishness.
Ah, wait. If she's just using him, then why does she care what he's doing now? Unless...
"Um, could it be that you like this Senpai of yours?" I ask politely.
She gasps, as if she wasn't expecting the question. "Wh-why would you think that!?" She spouts far too defensively.
I recoil at her sudden response. "Sorry. I was just asking."
She makes a face, almost as if she were offended. "For the record, I like Hayama-senpai. Okay!?" She shouts the last part. Geez, I thought I was insecure.
Wait a minute. Hayama? I know that name.
"Is that the same Hayama that spends all his time with Miura?" I question vaguely. To be honest, I have no idea how much time this Hayama guy spends with Miura, but I wanted to act like I knew what I was talking about. Traits of a habitual bullshitter.
"Eh? Why does someone like you know Hayama-senpai?" She asks with an innocent face, though the question itself was far from innocent. What the hell do you mean, 'someone like me'?
"Ah- I didn't mean anything by that. Never mind." Seems she realized her blunder.
Urgh. You irritate me, bitch. I want an apology. Too bad I'm too much of a wuss to ever demand an apology, or even acknowledge the issue. The offense I take does give me just a little bit of courage, though. I use it to keep the conversation going.
"Ah, no. Someone told me about him. I'm new, you see. Just transferred in." I'm being so fake right now, but at least I'm able to hold it together.
She seems to get a little interested in the conversation, because she looks back at me and responds.
"Ah, that makes sense. He's kind of a student celebrity after all. Makes him feel unattainable sometimes, though." She almost trails off at the end there. I guess I was mistaken just now. She really does like this Hayama guy. The unattainable celebrity that could make the scary Miura go all mushy.
Seems like that guy would be a pain in the ass too. I kinda wanna see what he looks like, though. I bet he's hot. Still, he's useful as fodder for this fake conversation that I try to maintain.
"Ah so he's famous then?" I ask, not really interested in the answer.
"Of course. His grades are right at the top, and he's nice to everyone. His family's rich, too. He's also the captain of the soccer team, and he's a total hunk on top of all that. Basically the kind of guy everyone wants." She says this as if this were common knowledge and I was the weird one for not knowing.
I want to say that she's shallow for liking someone for those reasons, but to be honest that sounds like a pretty good package deal. Definitely out of my league, though. Not that I care.
She continues to talk, despite me not giving any input.
"I'm actually the manager of the soccer team, you knoooow?" Oh my god! Now you're dragging syllables!? I hope we never meet again after today.
Still, I maintain the facade of interest. "Oh, so you get to see him a lot?"
"Not really. Like I said I'm the student council president too. I'm too busy to manage both all the time." She sighs yet again. Stop sighing. Your life isn't that hard, bitch.
"So then why don't you just manage the soccer team and leave the student council to someone else?" My suggestion was shallow, and not well thought out. I have no idea how this stuff works, and just said whatever came to mind.
She makes a contemplative look. "Well, it's a long story. But the short answer is, I promised someone I'd do a good job as Stuco president."
"Oh. I see." I don't see. What kind of shitty explanation was that? How is that a long story?
She looks down, and smiles fondly, as if recalling a memory. "Besides, Senpai is hopeless without me to dote on. He would just bother some other girl, and get in trouble. Someone has to deal with him, you knooooow?" She's saying such harsh things, and yet smiling so fondly. What the hell is this girl?
She soon loses interest in the conversation, and goes back to playing with her phone. I can't help but notice, though. She didn't smile like that when talking about Hayama.
(Hachiman POV)
It's lunchtime. I head to my usual spot. The secret sanctuary that I've been visiting since I got to this school. It's amazing that none of the other loners haven't made a note of this spot yet. Or perhaps they have, and it's because I'm always there that none of them attempt to claim it.
Except for one.
I hear her approach. There's no other sound back here after all, except the quiet whispers of the breeze that blows in. I don't turn to face her, hoping to mislead her into thinking I haven't noticed her. Before she can greet me, I do so first.
"Yo, Kuroki."
She gasps. I think I got her. Did she really think she was being sneaky?
"H-how did you know?" She sounds a little shaken from the surprise I gave her.
"I've been eating here for over a year now. You're in my realm, you knooow." I felt like mocking Isshiki, inexplicably. The reference will go right over Kuroki's head, though.
"Ugh, don't do that." She drawls.
Hmm? Do whaaaat? Be more specifiiiiiiic or I can't heeeeeelp you, you knoooooooow.
I quietly chuckle to myself. "Sorry, I was mocking someone I know."
Kuroki doesn't seem to appreciate the joke. "Ugh. Seriously. I was paired up with a first year in PE this morning and she did the same thiiiiiing." Despite her complaining, she's doing the same thing. How petty.
"Yeah well, you know how girls like to be trendy. Inexplicably, it's trendy to talk like someone who just had brain surgery." I quip cheekily.
"Oi. I'm a girl too, you know." Kuroki retorts, and I'm sharply reminded of the conversation I had yesterday in the service club. I don't want to think about it right now, it'll make me uncomfortable and the conversation will go stale.
I redirect her statement. "You know what I mean. Those flashy kids who are always on their phones and like to gossip about people."
Kuroki raises an eyebrow. "Oh? We also trash talk people, you knoooooow." Kuroki grins, and I try to suppress a grin of my own.
"Ah, you're right. We're no better than them. We'd better go and get our nails done and talk about boys we like."
"Oh my god yes. She kept on droning on about how she likes Hayama. I'm pretty sure it's the same Hayama as the one Miura likes." Kuroki says with a hint of humor.
"Most likely. He's something of a celebrity. Not just at this school, but the neighboring ones too." I'm trying to sound detached, but Hayama always brings up a sour taste in my mouth.
"So I've heard. He's got grades, looks, status and a superstar personality, from what I gather." Kuroki enquires. She doesn't seem to notice my disposition regarding the subject material.
"Scratch that last one. He's fake as all hell. He gives me crap too, because he can't fool me."
"You know you sound super jealous right now, right?" Kuroki is fighting back a cheeky grin. How rude.
"I'm really not. As a matter of fact, he once said he's jealous of me." It's true. He has some weird complex regarding me, and it makes him even more of a pain in the ass to handle.
"Bullshit." Kuroki accuses.
"No bullshit." I return.
"Why would the perfect guy be jealous of...well, you?" She enquires, curious.
"Your question is fundamentally flawed, not to mention incredibly rude. He is far from perfect. His problems are basically the exact opposite of mine." I answer meaningfully.
"Oh, you mean his looks are too good and he has too many friends?" Kuroki snarks.
"Yes." My answer catches her off guard, allowing me to elaborate. "He's afraid of scrutiny. He wants to appeal to everyone. As a result, his personality is fake as hell. You'll understand exactly what I mean if you ever meet him."
Kuroki makes an 'oh' face, and nods in understanding. I'm not sure she quite gets it. Oh well, it's not important.
She redirects the conversation. "Anyway, this first year insisted she had it bad for Hayama, right?" She prompts me with a question. Didn't we just discuss this?
"Right." I affirm anyway. Where is she going with this?
"Well, here's the thing. I don't think she does. I think she's in love with this other guy, but doesn't want to admit it to herself." She says philosophically. Are you sure you know what you're talking about, Kuroki? You're not exactly an expert in these matters.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, she talks about this other guy with a smile on her face, and she sighs and says stuff like 'what's he doing now?'"
Hmm. That does sound like she moved on. Still, how could we ever know?
She continues, "Yeah. Plus, she's the manager of his soccer team, but she doesn't even make the effort to go to their meetups."
Hmm? The soccer team? I thought Isshiki was in charge of that. Maybe she got scrapped because she's always absent. Though it sounds like this new manager is just as worthless.
I can't deny I'm curious, but prodding into the life of a kouhai that I don't even know would be bad for my integrity. It's none of my business anyway.
"...Well, it's possible she's just idealizing Hayama. He is everyone's impression of the perfect guy, after all." I offer in a way that I hope will end the topic.
Kuroki doesn't want to drop the subject. "Is that why Miura likes him?" Well, you sure are curious today, aren't you Kuroki?
I think about the answer for a bit. "...I don't think so. She spends a lot of time with him, and I have a feeling she's had a glimpse of his disgusting side occasionally. At the very least, I don't think she's idealizing him." I offer.
I ask a question of my own. "Why are you so interested in this, anyway?" I can't help asking.
She looks down as I ask her. "I don't really get how these things work. My social experience has been...limited, to say the least." She says depressively.
Oh yeah. I almost forgot she's bad with people. In fact, when I'm with her, I sometimes forget that I'm bad with people. This conversation is like a lesson for her. A lesson she's been unable to attend once in her entire life.
I'm not sure how to respond to her sad statement at first. "Well...You're not missing out on much. The only reason I can see it so clearly is because I have the special power of seeing through the lies of youth."
This seems to cheer her up a little. "Wow. That's a really shitty power. I would have went for something practical like invisibility."
"Ah, I can do that too. It's called Stealth Hikki." I respond matter-of-factly. I'm pretty amazing aren't I?
Kuroki stifles a laugh. "Pfft! Stealth Hikki! What the hell is that?" She lets out a low giggle as she speaks. I can't help but feel the mirth, too.
The conversation from there on is just meaningless dribble. Well, it's meaningless on the surface. But there's some sort of deep satisfaction I get that leaves me in a better mood afterwards. Today was a good day, I think.
Chapter 7 done! Isshiki will have more of a role later. After all, from the time she was introduced in canon, she's been getting progressively more involved in 8man's life. This fic might also tackle her insecurities regarding whom she really likes.
Plis revu mai storey thx