Chapter 1: The Fifth Quintuplet's First Day In Cram School With [X]
7:45 AM on a hot summer morning, Itsuki checked her phone screen one last time before arriving at her first day in cram school. She muttered "Saegusa Seminar" as she looked up and read the big letter S and the name of the preparatory school written on the billboard at the top of the building.
Upon entering the glass door, which opened automatically as she approached, she noticed groups of students looking at a big bulletin board. Due to her poor eyesight, Itsuki approached the bulletin board as closely as possible, drew her glasses and read the room assignments for their courses in the cram school. Almost scanning the entire board, she found her course and quietly read, "Preparation for the National College Entrance Examination Room 203. Class starts at 8:15 AM. The instructor for the seminar is Ms. Shimoda."
"I've got to meet her and help my dear mother's former student in her job! But first, where is her office?" Itsuki scratched her head as she read the building directory beside the room assignments list.
She found the office where the faculty of the cram school prepared for their lessons. Upon entering the room, she saw Shimoda-sensei sitting on her desk organizing a stack of small workbooks. "Good morning, Shimoda-sensei," Itsuki greeted.
"Oh, good morning, Itsuki! I have been waiting for you," Shimoda-sensei greeted back.
"Since this is your first day in this prestigious preparatory school, I would like to give you a little background on what this school is and what it means to you and the other students," Shimoda-sensei continued. "This school is named Saegusa Seminar after its founder and is established for students who want to excel, do better in studying, and get to their dream school in college. Saegusa Seminar is one of the top prep schools in the country and achieves a passing rate of more than 88% for those who finish all the courses here."
"Don't get your hopes up, Itsuki, because you still need to put in a hundred percent more effort in studying to get to your choice school," Shimoda-sensei continued.
"Yes, sensei. I will do my best whatever I can, even if I fail all the time," Itsuki bowed.
"Oi, there's no room for failure for you anymore, Itsuki. Your late mother will be mad at you if you don't achieve your dream," Shimoda-sensei said.
"May I ask you this question again?" Itsuki then nodded, and Shimoda-sensei asked her question, "Are you sure you want to be a teacher? This job is really difficult, you know?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I want to be a teacher because I love learning and sharing knowledge with others. I know this job is difficult, but I'm not afraid of challenges. I think teaching is a noble and rewarding profession that can make a positive impact on people's lives. I'm willing to work hard and overcome any obstacles that come my way. Besides, I have my sisters and Uesugi-kun to support and inspire me. They are my motivation and my strength," Itsuki smiled.
"Who is this Uesugi-kun? Is he your boyfriend?" Shimoda-sensei asked with a curious expression.
"Fuutarou? He's our tutor. He's been helping us with our studies for a long time. He's very smart and dedicated, but also very stubborn and annoying sometimes. He's not my boyfriend! Why would you think that? We're just friends. Well, more than friends, but not in that way. I mean, he's like family to me. And to my sisters too. We all care about him a lot. He's very important to us. But he's not my boyfriend! No way!" Itsuki exclaimed with a small blush on her cheeks.
"Well, whatever you say, Itsuki," Shimoda-sensei said with a smirk on her face. "Itsuki, the class is going to start. Please help me with the workbooks."
Itsuki nodded and picked up the workbooks. Together, they headed to classroom 203.
"Wow, this classroom is amazing! It's so spacious, neat, and organized. I love it! It must be so nice to study here. Everything is in order and easy to find. The desks are clean and comfortable. The board is clear and bright. The windows are large and let in a lot of natural light. It's like a dream come true for a student like me. I wish our classroom was like this. Oh well!" she thought to herself.
There were lots of students her age in this room, but there were some who were a little bit older. "Perhaps they might have failed the entrance exams a couple of times before? I must study hard so that I can't be like them!" she thought. But then she noticed a purple-haired girl who looked like she was in middle school sitting beside a boy wearing a red school uniform in her age who had four eyes like her. "There's no way that she could have accelerated her way to high school and attended this cram school." She felt a bit nervous because she thought she was really dumb that a middle-school-aged girl would make it to college.
As soon as the bell rang, the cram school had now officially started.
"Good morning, students!" Shimoda-sensei bowed. "I am Ms. Shimoda, and I'll be one of your prep school teachers for this whole summer course. This course tackles everything that you will need to know and practice to be admitted to your school and program of choice," Shimoda-sensei said.
After her introductory remarks, she then introduced her assistant Itsuki. "This is Itsuki Nakano, my assistant, and also your fellow classmate. If you have any resource needs and any other concerns, don't be afraid to approach her." Itsuki stood up and bowed.
"Itsuki, can you please hand out the instructional materials the faculty has prepared for them?" Shimoda-sensei suggested. Itsuki followed her suggestion without a second thought.
"Let's start the class!" Shimoda-sensei enthusiastically exclaimed.
Itsuki then grabbed a seat at a shared desk with someone in front.
Itsuki was having trouble keeping up with the pace of her cram school class. She thought to herself, "Oh no, this class is too fast for me! Shimoda-sensei erases the board so quickly that I can't keep up. I can't write everything down, and I don't understand everything he says. I feel lost and confused. This is terrible! How am I supposed to learn like this? I need to do something. Maybe I should ask him to slow down, borrow someone else's notes, or give up and cry. No, no, no. I can't do that. I have to be strong and diligent. I'll ask Uesugi-kun for help after class. He's always good at explaining things. He's such a good tutor and friend. And maybe something more?"
But then she remembered that Fuutarou was too busy at the café with Nino nowadays, so she decided not to bother him.
Just then, the bell rang for lunch break. Shimoda-sensei said, "Okay, let's take a break for an hour. There's a cafeteria downstairs where you can eat."
Itsuki's stomach grumbled. "I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten in four hours. I should go to the cafeteria downstairs."
As she made her way to the cafeteria counter, she bumped into a boy with glasses. They both fell, and the boy's belongings scattered everywhere. Itsuki quickly apologized and offered to help him pick up his things. She saw a piece of paper with the name "Nariyuki Yuiga" and the subject "Science" with a score of 100.
Itsuki was surprised to find another genius like Fuutarou. She said, "Okay, and this is yours, Nariyuki Yuiga. Am I right?"
He replied, "Well, yes. I am Nariyuki Yuiga. I'm also sorry I bumped into you. I'm just overthinking things."
Itsuki introduced herself and invited him to have lunch with her, saying she wanted to talk more about their class. Nariyuki declined, saying he had his own lunchbox, but Itsuki insisted on buying him a dessert. Nariyuki eventually agreed and found a seat, while Itsuki ordered a full meal and a slice of cake for him.
She made her way towards their table as Nariyuki waved his hand to her. Itsuki then sat on the seat opposite to him. Nariyuki was surprised at the amount of food Itsuki had ordered.
Nariyuki was amazed at the quantity of food Itsuki had brought to the table for herself and wondered, "Wow, she ordered a lot of food. I wonder if she can finish it all. Maybe she is really hungry or has a fast metabolism. I hope she doesn't waste any food. I can't afford to order that much. I have to save money for my family and college. Good thing my sister made my lunch, that's enough for me. But I don't want to seem rude or stingy. Maybe I should just eat what I have and enjoy the company."
"Thank you for this food." They both blessed their own food before digging in. "Yuiga-kun, I just saw your test score in Science, and it's excellent. I am amazed! May I ask you something?" Itsuki asked.
Nariyuki nodded. "Yes, of course."
"Can you help me study this whole summer course? I know I have a friend who is tutoring me now, and since I don't want to bother him now that school is out, please, please? I would gladly give you a portion of my food as payment!"
"Well, I can help you since I'm also a tutor like your friend. In fact, I'm tutoring three girls who are clearly on vacation right now." Nariyuki chuckled. "But the problem is that the lessons are too fast, and I can't keep up with them also."
"Oh, is that so? Maybe we can help each other by exchanging some notes or anything?" Itsuki suggested.
"Hmmm... Maybe we can ask Kominami-senpai for advice since she is so used to this?" Nariyuki also suggested.
"Kominami-senpai? Is she the purple-haired girl you sat beside?" Itsuki asked.
"Yes, I thought at first she was a middle schooler who got lost in this class, but then I saw her ID card, and it read that she is now 19 years of age." Nariyuki chuckled.
"Looks can be really deceiving, you know?" Itsuki said.
Itsuki muttered to herself, "My sisters' and my situation is still a lot harder than hers anyway since we are quintuplets. We five share the same appearance."
As they finished their lunch together, they headed back towards the classroom where the next session would begin. Itsuki, with a determined look on her face, was now ready to improve her grades with the help of her newly-found friend, Nariyuki Yuiga.
Author's Note:
If you have any suggestions about how to improve this story and things that I kind of forgot about the characters, plot, and etc. Please don't be shy and send me an email to binoyvargas .
I have a lot of plans for this interesting crossover of We Never Learn BOKUBEN and the Quintessential Quintuplets. There's more to come!
