[IC] Slice-of-life High School

[Erklings25]

Daichi stared at the teacher. Does he really have to learn quantum physics. He doesn't really care. He put his head on his desk and started to bang his head. "Mr Hizuki! Where are your manners? I can see you are interested in this. Extra homework!" The teacher yelled. "Uh.. More homework to do in detention!" He muttered quietly and glared at the teacher. Why did teachers have to be so picky.

[Illusion]

Hotaru gladly accepted the book and began following along as the teacher proceeded with his lecture. During most of the lecture, her head dropped a bit as she was beginning to fall asleep. However she shook off the tiredness, slapped her cheeks lightly, and continued to pay attention.

Hotaru was never really the brightest student. Her grades were pretty below-average despite her attempts to learn. She sighed as she couldn't understand anything the teacher was talking about. Suddenly she felt someone looking at her. From the corner of her eye, noticed the boy next to her staring. She awkwardly continued her notes under the pressure of someone analyzing her face. Once he looked away, she sighed in relief.

The bell had finally rung and they had a ten minute break, like after all classes. "Thanks for letting me borrow your book," Hotaru said with a sorta-fake -smile, knowing it was kinda pointless considering she wasn't following along at all. "Oh, my name is Takano Hotaru. It's nice to meet you Yamaguchi-kun," she had seen his name already inside the textbook.

[Lemons]

Second period was a strange thing, Sakaki reflected. One would expect the most people to be asleep in first period, just after waking up, but no, second period seemed to be the sleep capitol. Odd, she thought idly, but it has nothing to do with me.

Hearing an irritating scratching sound from her right, Sakaki swiveled in her seat. Of course, it's Alexi. She was pretty much the closest thing to a friend she had, but even then, she was more of a...somewhat tolerable acquaintance. Yes, that sounded about right. The scratching sound was a pencil moving across a page in the classroom, sketching out the form of a bird of some sort. Sakaki dropped her head to the desk once again, sighing softly. Where had that drawing gone? She had left it right there, and then poof! Gone. Everyone on campus was probably going to see it and laugh at her.

Reluctantly picking up her head, she turned once again towards Alexi. That annoying scratching sound was accelerating. It looked like the drawing was almost done.
__________

Haru smiled as the girl gave him back the book and introduced herself. He chuckled a little and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry I was staring at you, I tend to do that to new people I meet. Don't take it personally, 'kay?"'

Walking out into the hallway, he carefully threaded his way through the crowds to second period. He was so close...SO CLOSE...when he was surprised by a piece of paper blowing against his face, sticking there from the aggressive wind that seemed to be threading through the windows from further down the hall. Gingerly plucking it away from his head, he looked down at it and smiled appreciatively. It was a nearly-finished manga sketch. Haru had read a few mangas in his spare time, so he recognized that it was pretty good. "Wonder who made it...?" he mused to himself, scanning the paper. It was very small, but in the top-right corner, he found the words "Kimura Sakaki" in very prim, proper print. Happy that he had finally gotten a lead, he decided to ask a third-year about it as soon as he could. Whistling merrily, he proceeded through the halls.

[Erklings25]

Daichi slouched down the hall fists blazing. He noticed the girl from earlier and glared at her. He bared his teeth wide,snarled and cocked his head as of to say 'you're going down' in fact he did mouth that.

[LostDestiny]

Maverick trudged through the halls he had no intention I hurrying to class. He happened to be walking in the opposite direction of Daichi and when Maverick noticed him he purposely took a path around other students that would bring him closest to the younger student. He had never bothered to mess with Maverick for multiple reasons, the fact that Maverick could snap was one and then the rumor the Maverick had connections with the Mafia or was in the Mafia was another playing factor. He chuckled at the rumor, there wasn't a serious Mafia here just a few thugs who thought they could pass for the Mafia but failed miserably. If they were in Italy the rumor would have been true and he did still have connections with some of his Mafia buddies but he wasn't going to drag them to this corner of the world.

Maverick noticed the second year mouth something just before Maverick's shoulder made contact with his. His shoulder hit harder than intended because of the proximity of another student that he had to squeeze past but nonetheless Maverick made no attempt to apologize and continued on his path to his class, silently waiting for Daichi to do something but hoping he didn't.

[Erklings25]

Daichi snarled "maverick you better run if you know what's good for you" he got him in a headlock and rapidly punched him in the face "how do ya like that you coward!" He carried on snarling and punching.

[LostDestiny]

Maverick managed to get out of the headlock and kicked Daichi in the stomach hard. He managed to stay in control as he whipped the blood from his lip. "I wouldn't try that again if I were you." Maverick said and turned around. Walking into his second period classroom before the younger student could do anymore. This wasn't over and Maverick knew it but for now it was a draw.

[Illusion]

The school bell rang once again and it was now lunchtime.

Hotaru gathered her things and stood up. "I'm starving!" She whined while making her way out of the classroom. Her lunch this morning wasn't very satisfying considering she was only able to eat half of it and that was on the way here. All the other students who planned on buying their lunch rushed to make their ways to the cafeteria. Hotaru squeezed through the crowd of people to buy some bread. "Agh, stop pushing!" She commanded, being thrown around in the crowd. Once she was finally in, all the red bean buns were sold out. Hotaru dropped her head in disbelief. She settled for some melon bread instead and dragged her feet back to the classroom. On the way there, she stopped and remembered how she always read about highschoolers eating on the roof and living their youth to the fullest.

Hotaru sprinted up the stairs, passed the second and third year floors, and found the door to the roof. Slowly and dramatically, she grabbed the knob and twisted. It was locked. Nooo..! Hotaru fell to her knees in depression. She returned to her classroom and quietly ate her bread alone in the back corner. That's when she realized that she had no friends. No other students really made contact with her ever since the incident in the morning. Hotaru made eye contact with a group of girls in the classroom and smiled. They whispered a few things and then turned away. These jerks... She thought to herself and then just glared at her bread.

[cnash1303]

Ah, lunch...Axyl's favorite time of the day. He got his lunch and climbed up to the top floor. He pulled up on the door and opened it to get on the roof, a trick he learned his first year from a third year who was about to graduate. He looked around to make sure no one saw and then stepped onto the concrete of the roof. The wind caught the door and *SLAP* the door made a loud echoing noise and it slammed shut.

Hoping no one heard, he went and sat on the other side of the door and hid in case someone came up there. He took a deep breath and took a first bite out of his lunch. Relaxing.

[Erklings25]

Daichi rushed after him "no I won't!" Kicked him in the back and run off "I will get you coward!" He shouts "move it! NOW!" At the crowd of students and they ran.

[TheWendil]

What the hell?!? What was going on here?!? One moment he was in first period, mindlessly awaiting the bell, and the next it was second period? Now it was lunch time? Was time moving forward or something? Nevertheless, Tanaka proceeded throughout the day in a rather bored fashion. Just like last year. Honestly, it was the same thing. Same boring teachers, same usual routine, same stupid Daichi trying to pick a fight. Tanaka ignored the little scuffle between him and Maverick in the hallway, rolling his eyes at Daichi's weak threats.

"Someone should cut his hands off. . .or at the very least turn his eyes into golf balls. But wait a minute, wouldn't they explode on contact? That'd be too messy. . .well, whatever. Now, somewhere peaceful with lots of quiet."

Having a home lunch almost all the time, it became daily ritual for Tanaka to find the most isolated places in the school. Places where he knew he wouldn't be disturbed, or at the very least no one would bother him. The roof? Nah, he had a feeling someone had already beaten him to it. It was the first day back after all. The library? No, he didn't want to risk getting food all over the books. Then it hit him.

What about the first year classes? No one from his grade or higher would think to find him there! Perfect! Racing downstairs, he chose a random classroom and proceeded to sit near the back corner. There weren't a lot of people here. Just a group of girls and some brown haired chic-wait a minute.

Tanaka looked up to get a clear view. Only to inwardly groan. Was fate against him today? Sitting right across from him was the same girl Daichi was beating up on earlier. Why now? Sighing, Tanaka chose to ignore her and eat his lunch, praying she wouldn't talk to him and force him to. . .interact.

He shuddered at that thought. He was more concerned over that than getting involved with the Daichi thing. Besides, if that were to happen, he could always turn the obnoxious boy's skull into a flower pot.

[LostDestiny]

Maverick sat in the cafeteria calmly his lip hurt and so did his back but it was nothing he hadn't handled before. I will get you coward!" The threat played over in his head. He did not doubt that the violent second year would get him back, if not today then some other time. Though the threat made him chuckle. Daichi had called him a coward, ultimately it had been the younger student to run from the fight. Kicking Maverick in the back and running away was the cowardly thing to do.

Maverick stood and stretched before walking out of the lunch room and toward the classrooms. He had to walk past all the other year's classrooms to get to his own and as he walked her heard whispers about what had happened earlier in the day. A group of girls walked out of a classroom whispering as well and when they saw him turned in the opposite direction and began talking about something. Curious he poked his head into the classroom to see the girl he had spoken to earier in the morning. "Ciao! Belle. What are you doing all by yourself?" He questioned loudly as he fully entered the room. He stood in front of the desk she sat ate eating and gave her his usual lazy smile.

[Illusion]

Hotaru was silently munching on her bread angrily while occasionally glaring at the girls in her class. "You know what, screw them..." She mumbled to herself and slouched against her desk. Suddenly someone took a seat next to her. Hotaru glanced up and saw a student that seemed older, and a bit... Eh... This guy looks a bit creepy... She thought to herself nervously and continued eating her lunch. A little while passed and it was still as awkward as ever. Hotaru had already finished eating and not a word was spoken from the boy next to her. Actually, a few students in the classroom noticed and began gossiping like they always do.

"Hey, isn't that guy a 2nd year?" One girl asked another.

"Yeah, he looks scary," another girl answered obnoxiously. Hotaru clenched her fists at their insincerity. Maybe he's like me... Maybe he has no friends either! Without giving it a second thought, she turned toward him at the speed of light.

"H-hey there!" She started off, her eyes gleaming a bit despite her nervousness from her classmates. "You, ah... Uhm... Are you alone?" She asked, making herself sound like one of those creeps who hit on girls late at night. That wasn't right... Let me try again. Hotaru scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Why don't you and I become friends?" She seemed a bit more confident this time and hoped for a positive response.

Suddenly the nice foreign boy from earlier entered her classroom as well. Girls began blushing and whispering as they pretty much always did. Whoa, this guy's pretty popular. Hotaru thought to herself and then realized this might get her even more isolated from her classmates. "Oh, hey. Ah, I'm not really alone... I think... Do you want to eat lunch here? I'm already finished with mine though." She tried to start a conversation and to get more friends.

[DiZL ReloadeD]

Lunch, finally, Yumiko thought as she packed her textbock in her bag. She stood up, grabbed her bag and walked outside to a lone tree. Sitting in the tree's shadow Yumiko could relax and continue reading her manga she started yesterday. Her stomach growled a bit as she wanted to open the book. "Lets see what I got" she thought as she took out her lunchbox, good so far, but the moment she opened it she noticed that she forgot to refill it. The only thing inside was a slice of bread, maybe I can buy something, was her next thought, but she spent the remaining money from her wallet on that new manga. "...damnit..." she mumbled to herself before her stomache growled once more.

[Lemons]

Haru walked into the classroom and, surprise surprise, saw an older boy there, most likely a third year, talking to Hotaru. He clenched his hand around the manga he found in the hallway and walked slowly and carefully up to him, bowing at each in turn:

"Hello, Hotaru-san. Hello, Senpai. I've actually been wanting to ask something, if that's alright." Not waiting for a response, he placed the piece of paper on the desk, pointing his finger at the name in the top-right corner. "Do you know who Kimura Sakaki is? I found this in the hallway and I'm pretty sure it belongs to her. I wanted to return it, so I was hoping you could point me in the right direction."

His stomach grumbled loudly and he sighed. Even though he had long gotten used to not eating during lunch, only studying, that didn't mean he had to like it!

[TheWendil]

Tanaka stiffened as the first year, apparently named Hotaru Takano, finally spoke to him. Something about them being friends. Another inward sigh. Well, there was nothing wrong with making new friends. Just as long as they didn't crowd him, all was well with the world, right?

Hearing the gossip about him being creepy from the first year girls, Tanaka turned around and gave them a wide grin.

"Now, now ladies. It's not nice to talk about other's behind their back. Especially when they're your seniors, right?"

He got the expected reaction as the group of girls screamed out in terror and put as much distance between themselves and him. Sighing for their small brains, he turned back to Hotaru.

"Sure, we can be friends. Not really anything stopping us except the grade levels." The second year raised an eye at the comment of being alone. Just because he was an introvert didn't mean he was a loner. He just felt they spent too much energy was all. "Er, no, I'm not alone. Just wanted some peace and quiet during lunch that's all." He took not of the desperation in her voice. "And what about you? You're a first year, right? Don't you have any friends to hang out with other than sulking with a lonely lunch?" Speaking of friends, Maverick showed up just in time to speak with the girl as well. The Italian almost gave Tanaka a heart attack, much like the one from earlier.

"More people?!? Well, at least there's no one else coming he-"

At that moment, another first year entered into the fray, this time a skinny boy with short brown hair.

". . .damnit."

At the sound of a grumbling stomach, Tanaka sighed and dug into his lunch bag, producing a fresh apple. "Here," he offered to the boy. "As for the picture. . .nope, don't have a clue. Did you try asking the third years yet?"

[CasedaAmpora]

Shana walked into a classroom after aimlessly wandering around for a place to eat lunch, and sat next to the group of people there. She pulled out her food and started eating without a word.

Shana didn't bother with conversation, the others there were probably far too into their own little sections to really pay her much attention.
'How do they become so popular?' She mentally asked as she watched them talk.
'Sure, it may not all be good attention, but at least they're getting some.'

[Lemons]

Haru's eyes dropped. "Oh, I-I thought you were a third year. I'm a first year, so I don't know anyone yet...I'm sorry." He seemed to deflate, sighing, when another boy came to the table, this time a strange foreigner with the strangest-coloured hair Haru had ever seen. He looked much older, and Haru was positive he was a senior. Perking up a bit more, he gratefully accepted the apple before tiptoing over to the guy and tapping his shoulder.

"Um, Senpai...Do you recognize the name Kimura Sakaki?" He pointed to the name on the drawing once again. "I found this, and I wanted to give it back to her. Do you, by any chance, know her? I would be very grateful if you could tell me." He crunched into the apple, chewing idly and swallowing as he waited for an answer. Seeing an empty seat, he sat down in the desk next to Hotaru, smiling at her.

[Illusion]

"I don't know anyone named Kimura Sakaki... It sounds familiar. I might have overheard someone say the name when I passed by the 3rd year hallway to check if the roof was open." Hotaru answered to Haru who had just returned to the classroom.

Hotaru looked a bit confused as more upperclassmen began entering. She quietly sat still, viewing the scene around her. It made her seem as if she made a ton of friends in minutes. Hotaru began creepily giggling to herself. Yes... My high school life is finally looking up! She thought to herself. Suddenly Hotaru stood up and banged her hands on her desk. "Hey! We should all make an... Ah... Er..." She forgot what she was going say and slowly slid back into her seat. Her face was a bit red and she pretended as if nothing happened just then.

A couple of seconds later, she stood up again just as abruptly. "We should make a club!" She yelled after suddenly remembering. There was an awkward silence afterwards and Hotaru waited anxiously for some feedback. Now that you think about it, I really made no sense just now. I barely know these people. And what the heck would we make a club for? She thought to herself and felt like slapping her cheeks.

[Grey]

How odd. It seemed that class literally went by in a flash. Was he really that engrossed in this week's issue that he completely disregarded the time frame? Or perhaps this was a 'time skip' like those so prevalent in all forms of media, just without any sound effects, commercial breaks, panel changes, or anything like that. "Hmm... That would unreal and fantasy-like," Naoki decided as the rest of the class was busy exiting the room to get on with their lunch hour. The Student Council President got up from his seat and went out to go get himself whatever he had opted to pack for the day. Which evidently was quite a bit, mostly junk food and two sandwiches.

Upon retrieval of his lunch, Naoki was met with the decision as to where to eat. He checked up at the rooftop, but the door was locked, it seemed. Or perhaps as student(s) had barred it from the outside for privacy for whatever reason. Whatever, nothing off his back - he still had a few choices, not including the Council office. He neither had the paperwork, nor the anti-socialness to hole himself up in that room for the entire lunch hour.

And so, Naoki Kazuhiko found himself eating lunch in the middle of the hallway as he wondered where to eat lunch. Fancy that.