[7]

Chapter 7: Suzuki Shun's Real Feelings?

Class had finally ended for the day, and Megumi had never been happier about it! She was so ready to leave school and decompress in her bed.

Picking up her belongings, she hurried out of class, leaving behind Suzuki and Kouchou Sayuka. ‘Whatever’, she found herself saying. ‘Those two can just irritate eachother...why do they have to bring me into it...?!’

You’re probably wondering what she meant by that. Oh, did she forget to mention? After Sayuka had dragged Suzuki to the Teacher’s Lounge, she had stuck around. She came back to class 1-B, with the excuse of ‘wanting to make sure the new transfer student was safely escorted back’. Everyone had a very, very, VERY unconvinced look on their face as she said it. But the way she acted, like a cutesy maiden in love, made them back off.

Today had easily been one of the worst days...Megumi shuddered as she remembered how her day had, somehow, gotten even worse. You see, after Sayuka & Shun had come back to class, she insisted on sitting close to him. She took the spot right next to him, making the poor guy who previously held the seat find another seat. That wasn’t the worst part, though.

No, not at all.

The worst part was that after Sayuka did this, she spent the entire rest of the day staring at Suzuki Shun. Usually, Megumi wouldn’t care, since she wasn’t, in any way in love with Shun.

You see...Shun wouldn’t stop staring at her as well! Throughout the whole day, Megumi had to ignore how annoying his constant stare was. And as Sayuka, the Ice Princess of Sakuragaoka Academy, was staring just as fiercely as he was....

Well, it was safe to say that the three of them made for a very confusing, but interesting spectacle in class.

It took all of Megumi’s willpower not to wilt under the extreme amount of attention she, the loner, was getting. It was just too much.

Happily skipping through the hallway, just a stretch away from the entrance, she was unlucky enough to see her aunt there. She had already made eye-contact, so there was no ignoring her. Sending a few apologetic thoughts to her bed, she walked over to Shiori.

“What is it, auntie?” she said, confused (and irritated) as to why she had to be here still. She remembered their earlier conversation. ‘I need to be more patient...’ she thought, feeling her frustration abate.

Shiori just smirked. “Hey, darling niece of mine! It was lucky of me to meet you here. You see, I’ve got a few textbooks that I need first thing in the morning. Would you be a dear and move them to the classroom desk instead?”

Megumi gave her a suspicious look. “Can’t you just take them with you today, and bring them yourself tomorrow? Or better yet, don’t teachers all have a locker that you can stuff these into?”

Shiori grimaced. “...”

Megumi understood. “You’re too lazy. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“Amazing. Despite the short amount of time we’ve spent together, you know me so well!”

A million and one insults were ready on Megumi’s tongue. Yet, she restrained herself.

“...Sure. Are these all that you need?”, she said, gesturing towards the five or so books.

“Yeah. I appreciate the help, Megumi!” she said with a big smile.

“Yeah, yeah,” was her response.

Sometimes it was nice to help out another person, Megumi couldn’t help but think. Don’t get her wrong, she was still ticked off that her time was spent walking around a deserted school, doing tasks for the teacher, but...

There was some sort of weird feeling she got when she saw her aunt’s appreciative smile.

‘The feeling of being appreciated...? or something’, Megumi thought. A disbelieving smile stretched on her face as she moved closer towards her classroom. It had been awhile since she’d felt that kind of feeling.

Almost as long as the last time she’d seen Suzuki. But as soon as that thought entered her mind, she shook her head. She shouldn’t think of him anymore. They...those two...they were no longer...friends. So ignoring him was the way to go...right? In that moment, Megumi’s strong resolve faltered a little bit. A few memories from their shared past, when they used to hang out, laugh, and have fun crept up to her mind’s surface - and she stilled. Megumi shook her head once more. ‘Those days are gone’, she reminded herself. ‘Suzuki’s moved forward, and so should you’ she couldn’t help but think.

But why...if this was the way to go, why did it feel so lonely?

Taking a deep breath, Megumi squashed those miserable feelings, and walked closer to her destination. But weirdly enough, in the poorly-lit, empty hallway...there was a faint laughter? Megumi was the type of person who couldn’t handle scary stuff up close, and so, her first instinct was to leave the books and run. Shiori might get mad, but at least she would still live...right?

But soon, the laughter got louder, and more voices joined in. ‘Hey’, Megumi thought. ‘I know that voice...’ Tip-toing closer to the classroom door, she sneaked a peak through the upper window.

There, she was met with a strange sight - Suzuki Shun being surrounded by six others. But not just anybody - these were definitely a weird group.

There was Ebihara Emiko, Sayuka’s best friend - Maeda Haruki, the popular athlete of her class - Seino Touya, the playboy upperclassman - Makino Kaede, another cute, pretty girl - and Kirishima Otoha, her smart best friend.

They were sitting in a circle, joking around - snacks littered on the floor. Megumi was shocked. She had never met these people, only heard about them through gossip and rumors, but they were definitely the most popular people this school had to offer.

Seino Touya’s dad was a company CEO, and Kaede’s mother was a famous actress. The rest? They were definitely aspiring to be someone important and rich in the future. It was a Private Academy after all - and they were talented and knew people in higher places. They were all very unapproachable, very admired students - and most of them were seniors.

The question was...why would they meet here...and why would they talk to Shun? Megumi was just about to leave, but then they started talking. She couldn’t deny the fact that she was curious.

What kind of person did Suzuki Shun become? How much of him, on the inside, had changed? An almost morbid curiousity grew inside her, making her feet stay instead of leave. Mentally apologizing, she put her ear onto the door.

“Suzuki-kun, you are so funny! A pig, chasing you though the city? How do you come up with this stuff!” laughed Kaede along with the rest.

“It’s just the truth, though...” Suzuki muttered embarrasedly.

“I must admit, you’re so different than we imagined,” Otoha said. “We thought...”

“...That you were just a pretty boy with a dull personality,” finished Maeda with a sharp, mean-looking smile.

Kaede, the cutesy girl, was shocked. “Haruki!”

But all he did was chuckle. “What? We were all thinking it,” he said.

Touya seemed bored of the conversation, but sat there regardless.

An uncomfortable silence settled. Megumi couldn’t understand why Suzuki would want to befriend any of them. From what she had seen, they weren’t the most polite company...

“It’s okay”, Suzuki found himself saying. “In a way, that’s kind of a compliment...? Or something...”

Haruki gave him a feral smile. “See, Makino? He gets it.”

Then Emiko spoke up. “I’m sorry if we offended you, Suzuki, but there’s something I wanted to ask you...” she said, a friendly and warm exterior on her pretty face. Somehow, Megumi had a bad feeling about that girl. With her dark brown, long hair, and her striking amber eyes, she felt very...eerie.

Suzuki was surprised, but smiled a friendly smile at her. “Sure, go ahead.”

“Well, it’s just that...I’m friends with Sayuka. Do you remember her?” Suzuki thought for a moment, before nodding. “It’s that silver-haired girl I sat next to all day, right?”

“Yeah, well...she’s really shy, but she’s such a great girl. Nice, kind, smart...and well, I wanted to ask if you’re interested in her?”

Suzuki was surprised by that comment. He seemed embarrased by the thought.

“Suzuki...don't tell me you're actually blushing right nowi! I didn’t know you were such a boring type!” hollered Haruki annoyingly. The girls seemed annoyed at him too, but they mostly focused on Suzuki’s face for an answer.

Suzuki’s cheeks reddened at the sudden attention. “Uh, you see...I can’t give an answer like that yet...Kouchou didn’t confess to me or anything, so it would be rude to say stuff like that. It’s that kind of feeling...” he ended up saying.

But everyone around him saw his answer as a ‘yes’.

“Oh, I’m so happy for Sayuka!” Kaede whispered to Otoha. Otoha shrugged disinteredly. “She is always so cold, I don’t like her much to be honest...”

“Oh, Otoha! Don’t you know? It’s probably like Emiko said, she’s just shy!”

“I don’t know, if you’re sure...” Otoha finally said.

Meanwhile, Haruki seemed to be even more annoyed at Suzuki, but he said nothing.

Touya just read his book quietly. Then, Haruki jolted, as if he remembered something good.

“Wait, Suzuki, you’re not being entirely honest, are you?” he said with a sneaky smile.

Everyone was confused, Megumi included. Her textbooks laid beside the door, forgotten. What did Haruki mean? This, she had to see.

“What are you talking about, Haruki?” said Kaede, Otoha nodding along.

“Well...I was in the same class as him, and I did see him staring at another girl...! What’s her name again? Kagizawa? Serizawa?

‘It’s Kanazawa, you brute’, Megumi thought as her anger rose. This guy seemed like such a loser to Megumi’s eyes. It was easy enough to see what he was doing - he was in love with Kouchou, but felt insecure about himself. Maybe he though she wouldn’t be interested in a guy like him?

In any case, in his eyes, even if he couldn’t be with her, he won’t let Kouchou date another guy. Instead of speaking normally to Suzuki, all he’s been doing is intimidating and looking down on him. He is trying to make Suzuki leave Kouchou Sayuka alone.

Having been in the same class as Haruki for almost a year now, she never once noticed this side of him. He was always acting like a nice, approachable guy! Everyone liked him, respected him, wanted to be like him. Who knew a guy like that had this sort of twisted side?

The fact that he was now trying to bully Suzuki by mentioning her name made her even angrier at him.

‘Ugh! What an obnoxious jerk!’

“It’s Kanazawa, Maeda... Not to be rude, but isn’t she your classmate, too?” Suzuki said. Everyone agreed, it was weird for Maeda to be so clueless about his own class mate. They laughed a bit at that.

It seemed like Maeda couldn’t take that. He got angry.

“What, it’s not my fault! She’s always alone anyway, always gloomily lurking in the shadows. It’s like, can’t she just speak up? Ugh. Girls like her annoy me!”, he yelled.

Even if Megumi disliked this guy, hearing his cruel words made her feel like trash. Was everyone thinking like him? Was she really hated this much?

Gloomy? Can’t speak up?

Just what did he know!

Tears began to trickle down her face. Megumi told herself that she didn’t care about everyone here, but the truth was that she did want them to notice her a bit more. She did want to make friends, to feel like she belonged. So Haruki’s words felt like needles stabbing her heart.

But the worst thing had yet to come. Because at that moment, instead of defending her, or even ignoring Haruki’s cruel words, Suzuki uttered the evilest of words.

“Hahah...I know, right?”

That was all that Megumi heard before she sprinted away, leaving the books behind her as the only proof. Megumi ran, a slew of confusing, hurt thoughts filling her mind.

That day, she ran out of the deserted school, her heart hurting like never before.

That day, Kanazawa Megumi was betrayed by Suzuki Shun - and their bond was shattered forever.