Uesugi High School - Class 1-A | 08:30ish | April 2nd
Entranced by the thrilling tales of the shenanigans of one Wondercat, Yuuki didn’t notice her classroom getting more and more full until the shrill bell cut through all conversations and forced glances toward the front of the classroom. Normally, that would be the cue for the instructor to introduce themself and then begin everyone’s favorite event: classroom introductions. But…
The silence from the front of the classroom was deafening. The silence from the rest of the classroom, however, was nonexistent. Conversations continued with only the briefest of pauses and stolen glances all around. Yuuki herself couldn’t help but turn back to Jun to finish the Wondercat story, yet her mind wandered. What would make a teacher late on the first day? An educational emergency? What would that even be like?
She was just about to comment on the missing teacher when a door crashed open. The sound swung Yuuki around. In came a rather winded apologizing man. He scribbled his name on the board then explained why he was late. He was...odd. Awkward. A far cry from some of the super strict instructors she had had before. It felt weird being on the receiving end of a tardiness excuse. Yuuki leaned forward, sizing the guy up…
Then let out a silent sigh of relief before leaning back. He seemed alright. Laid back. Harmless. Of course, they always say that one should never judge a book by its cover. But what do they know? And...who are they anyway? Weird.
When Tanaka-sensei inevitably called for introductions, Yuuki prepared to stand and deliver. It was best to get these things out of the way early rather than wait. At least, in her experience it was. If you waited too long, people stopped paying attention. And then? Complete and total social isolation. For an entire year. Yuuki shuddered.
But one of the girls nearby beat her to the punch, her tiny hand shooting into the air like a rocket ship blasting into lift-off. Yuuki turned her gaze to the volunteer. She was small. Very small. Coupled with the twin-tails, the girl looked like any little sister in Japan. It was a bold look, but she liked it. Yuuki’s hand instinctively rose to her forehead, her fingers lightly brushing her scar. Probably not a look that she’d be imitating anytime soon.
The girl who enthusiastically introduced herself as Matsutoya Nanako seemed nice! Granted, Yuuki didn’t know the first thing about shogi, and the names Arakawa Hiromi and Katō Kazue meant absolutely nothing to the girl...but she was cheerful! And she said she liked fun. You can’t like fun and still be a bad person. It’s like a rule or something.
When the girl had finished, Yuuki rose her hand, calling dibs on second. Her heart began to race as she pivoted in her seat. Pushing up against both the desk and the back of her seat, Yuuki climbed to a standing position.
“Hi! I’m Itou Yuuki. Also fifteen. Pleased to meetcha!” she announced, bowing. “I play guitar a little bit. I know I’m not all that great yet, but my dream is to just one day travel the world and make music.” the grinning girl said earnestly. Was it a wild fantasy? Probably. But just saying it felt so right.
“So, I don’t really know Fukushima all that well,” she continued after a short pause. “...so if anyone knows anywhere good to eat, please let me know!”
And with that, Yuuki lowered herself back into her seat.
Uesugi High School - Class 1-A | 08:30ish | April 2nd
Jun was animatedly sharing his most recent Mittens the Wondercat story when the bell rang. He leaned to his side to look around Yuuki, but to his surprise there was no teacher in sight. Late on the first day? That was kind of tacky. Poor form. He couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of disappointment at the thought of having a slacker teacher. This was Uesugi...it was hard enough for Jun to even get it. Without a reliable teacher, he would be doomed. Well...maybe not doomed. He’d find some way of surviving...but it wouldn’t be easy.
Yuuki turned back to him, so Jun continued his Wondercat tale...at least at the beginning. It was pretty obvious that she wasn’t really listening, so Jun switched it up. He began listing the ingredients and recipe for his grandmother’s homemade spaghetti (the previous night’s dinner). Yuuki simply nodded her head and muttered things like ‘Wow’ and ‘Really?’. Completely gone. Jun was just about to slip in some insults, just to clear the air consequence free, when the door opened. Jun rolled his eyes, ready to see what the slacker-teacher would look like.
It took every bit of self-control Jun had not to swoon.
The man that had just walked into the classroom was quite possibly the most beautiful man that Jun had ever seen.
Completely flustered, his gaze remained fixated on the teacher as he strolled over to the board and scrawled out the kanji that Jun suspected would be written many times over somewhere in his notebook over the next few months. Tanaka-sensei. What a nice name. The threat of swoonage became dangerously high when Tanaka-sensei turned and faced the class. It was the eyes, dammit! The eyes!
Feeling his cheeks begin to burn, Jun dropped his gaze to his desk and tried to calm down. A mixture of shame, embarrassment, and longing flooded the boy. Puberty was a cruel bitch. A crush on the teacher? Really? It wasn’t fair. Maybe it was a mistake? Jun looked up, but after only a few moments the puberty cocktail hit him again. Definitely a crush. He couldn’t help but get incredibly embarrassed at the thought of anyone finding out. Pre-embarrassment: truly the best kind of embarrassment.
When Tanaka-sensei asked for introductions, Jun had to suppress a nervous laugh. How was he supposed to stand up and introduce himself to everybody when he couldn’t even look at his teacher without blushing? One crisis at a time, please, that’s all he was asking for.
Luckily, someone else took the bullet. A short girl apparently named Matsutoya Nanako went first. Jun liked her because of that alone. But she did seem friendly too. In a way, she reminded him of his sister... He would have to get to know her sometime.
Up next was Yuuki. Of course it was. She regurgitated a bunch of things that he had known about her forever, then fished for even more places to inevitably drag him to for the sole purpose of scamming a free meal. He was on to her little game. It wasn’t right.
He’d rather take Tanaka-sensei to those places.
…
Jun shook his head. Couldn’t let stray thoughts like that one float. That was a true dangerous game.
When Yuuki finished her speil and slowly sat back down, Jun debated whether or not to take the plunge. He really didn’t want to. But ultimately...he decided to do it. He couldn’t live with the dread.
Standing up and giving a little bow, Jun spoke nervously, looking anywhere and everywhere as to avoid eye contact with Sensei. “H-hello! My name is sixteen and I’ll be Ishikawa Jun next month.” he paused, wincing before he continued with a correction. “Err, I mean, my name is Ishikawa Jun and I am fifteen. I’ll be sixteen next month.” Jun mentally scolded himself. Mistakes were made. “Uhm...I like movies, mainly foreign ones, and I want to become a director someday. Uhh... oh! I hope we can all get along.”
With that done, Jun offered another nervous little bow and quickly returned to his seat.
Public speaking was the worst.