As I reached the staff room, I noticed a large chubby figure standing close to my table.

Great, Yoshito…

I hesitantly walked forward, with Yoshito who turned his face to me with his hands on his back.

“Good morning Kyoutou-sensei,” I said with a reluctant smile over my face as I stood behind my chair, with Yoshito standing close to the cupboard at the side.

“Good morning Sakura-san" He responded with a stern voice.

“Is there something you’d like to ask me?” I slid my books down on the table, slowly adjusting them into a neat pile.

“Of course…” Yoshito said while touching his chin, “I understand that you’re quite fairly new, however, I’ll say this once and once only"

Despite what he said, his voice sounded unsympathetic.

“I’m not saying that you’re not suited to being a teacher. But you should be more careful about maintaining a proper distance from your students"

Not suited to being a teacher… that’s been dug into my head for a while now.

I looked down in shame, barely keeping eye contact with him.

“I can understand wanting them to see you as a friend, but the difference in position between them and you will cause problems down the line” Yoshito continued, “Do you understand?”

“Yes. I’m sorry" I said while bowing, with Yoshito walking off midway as if he had something else to tend to rather than give out any final comments.

Kamiyama, who sat close to my table, turned over towards me with an encouraging smile.

“Don’t let it get to you. The vice principal’s like that to all the younger teachers" She adjusted her glasses.

“Thanks” I responded, with relief slowly settling in.

Kamiyama adjusted her glasses, resting her shoulder on the nearby flower vase she had on her table.

“We’re reporting live from the scene now" A reporter’s voice came from the TV, causing her to look over.

“What’s this?” Kamiyama muttered.

I focused my attention on the TV, showing scenes of cars being scattered across the road with people coming out almost in shock from the events.

“What could have brought this sudden chaos? While the cause is unknown, we hope for a quick resolution" The reporter continued with a serious face.

“Looks terrible…” Kamiyama muttered.

“Anyways Kamiyama-sensei” I turned over towards her, “did you happen to finish marking the tests I’ve given you?”

“Of course Sakura-san. It’s nice to see most of the students in this year are doing well. A few others, especially Takeya-san, just need that small push further"

“I always had confidence that she could do better, although she has that habit of sleeping in class”

“Mhm, that’s the same for me”

I nodded in agreement.

“You’ll keep her in for a redo right? You wouldn’t want a mistake like last time” Kamiyama slid the papers over to my table

“Of course” I responded, ignoring the possibility that it was Kamiyama’s turn to oversee resits in tests, “I do hope she doesn’t hate me for it”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had my moments with Yuki but she has quite a positive outlook on me”

“Hopefully…”

“Let me know if there are any issues”

“Mhm”

The tune of a bell came through the loudspeaker, causing some of the teachers to periodically get up.

“I’ll talk with you later Kamiyama-san”

“See you” She gave a tiny wave towards me.

A massive collision in Megurigaoka Route 32.

And by the looks of it, some of the crash victims in the footage don’t look too good.

I’ve usually been the type to gather information on things. Even if it had no connection to the events. But I can’t keep a blind eye on what is happening in the city.

The bell rang across the room for the second time, followed by Sakura entering the room. Despite seeing her hiding behind the wall to take a deep breath just earlier, she concealed her worries quite well towards the students.

“Good morning everybody!” Sakura announced with her usual happy face.

“Good morning Sakura-sensei” Everyone followed while standing up.

“Take a seat everybody”

I took a glance over at Yuki, who rested her head on the table almost as if she didn’t even sleep last night.

“All right. Let me hand back your tests from last week”

Despite knowing Sakura for a while, it was easy to tell that she would probably only keep people back to redo a test at a lower grade. Perhaps 30? It was the same last time, but I knew a lot of students had failed.

“Ishizuka-kun” Sakura called out.

“Here”

As Ishizuka came up, Sakura leaned over towards the student, whispering something before he left with a smile on his face.

“Shoujouji-san” Sakura called out again.

“Here” Another voice followed.

My eyes continued to wander to the outside world. During a day like this, where all the students should care about is the test results and feedback, it was justifiable to just relax and plan out what to do.

Another helicopter on the distant horizon flies over towards the smoke at the horizon.

“Tanaka-kun”

“Here” I responded.

As I got to the front of the class, I noticed the other students staring at me with interest. Not to see if I had failed or anything, it was just how it went.

“Good work” Sakura whispered as I received my paper.

The mark almost strayed down from my usual successes and I almost ignored it due to my brief admiration of Sakura’s soft encouragement.

Although there were tips for improvement in my paper, it was obvious the latter part of the essay was marked by Kamiyama due to how she was able to see through my habit of often compacting my statements.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Sera-kun”

“Here” another voice followed.

“Takeya-san” Sakura called out.

No response from Yuki, whose face partially stuck out from the arms she had rested her head on.

“Takeya Yuki-san?” Sakura called again.

“Here…” Yuki said with a sigh in her breath, almost extinguishing the confidence she had moments ago.

I looked over towards the front, noticing Sakura’s disappointed face as she held Yuki’s test paper.

“Man, that hat” A student’s voice whispered across the room.

“You’ll have to take a make-up test after school” Sakura handed a sheet of paper to Yuki.

“Aw, you’re so cruel Megu-nee” Yuki muttered, looking down in disappointment.

“Don’t call me Megu. It’s Sakura-sensei"

Yuki walked off from the front regardless, her head tilted down. Sakura glanced at her before averting her eyes back at the floor, followed by a heavy sigh.

It was obvious that Sakura didn’t want to shame Yuki in front of the class alongside keeping her in on a Friday. But it seemed that some things had to be done. After all, even for someone like Sakura, she had to enforce her rule as a teacher.

The bell echoed across the classroom, prompting me to leave the room almost instantly. It was bizarre that time managed to fly faster when I merely dozed off in my thoughts.

The cafeteria’s doors were left wide open, with groups of students all hastily occupying a table each. There was the possibility of eating outside, yet I wasn’t interested in feeling the sunlight or “having fresh air”.

With a meal in my hand, I sat down at an empty table, with a full overview of the nearby tables. I do seem a bit lonely, but I didn’t mind.

Before I finished my fourth bite of the pork, my eye caught the attention of Yuki, who sat slightly distant from her usual group of friends.

While looking, I noticed a brown-haired girl looking at me from quite afar, holding her cafeteria tray. After a glance to my side, I gave a quick squint, before putting on my glasses.

“Ah, good morning Yuuri-san"

Yuuri Wakasa boasted long and straight hair that stretched to her arm’s length with a bun at the side of her head. She had always been the formal type, someone that I could rely on to get the job done without having to argue.

“Morning Tanaka-kun. Do you mind if I sit here for a moment?”

“No problem with that”

Yuuri sat on the opposite side of the table.

“Sorry I decided to talk with you now. Mio’s busy tonight so I’ll have to tend to the garden”

“Hm, it’s a shame you have to take over for someone else again”

“I don’t mind it, since a lot of students wish to have their Friday night free of any issues. Besides, I think I owe Mio for what happened last time”

“I understand,” I responded, realizing my almost monotone voice.

“Well, should we introduce some sort of incentive to it?”

“I have already planned out a small system for anyone who takes up club roles during the afternoons, with a higher chance if fewer people attend overall. I assume Mio hasn’t told you about it?”

I couldn’t help but notice Yuuri fiddling with her fingers close to her lap, her quick and small lean forward and backward as she tried to mention something at every pause.

“She doesn’t tell us anything. When will this roll out?”

“Next week. We’ve already got everything set up for the time being”

“I hope that is enough of a push,” Yuuri remarked.

“While we’re in this matter, I assume you have something personal to tell me?”

Yuuri’s round eyes widened for a moment out of surprise.

“Uh, no. Of course not" Yuuri shook her head.

“Hm. If you do, just tell me"

We sat in silence for a minute as Yuuri stared at the bench, looking over at me sporadically as if she wanted to say something. I leaned backward, almost as if I was waiting for her to say something despite her claim.

“Uh I do have something to tell you Tanaka-kun"

“Go on”

I tilted my body slightly forward, waiting for Yuuri to muster up the courage.

“Are you interested in knitting?”

Seriously Yuuri?

“No, not really. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. It may just be something you dislike at first but when you get the hang of it, you’ll start to like it" Yuuri said with a suppressed passion in her voice.

“Unless you want me to cancel my Wednesday meetings, I don’t have time for such. Although, if you want to set up some sort of club for it…”

“I’m trying to learn it as a hobby for now since setting up a club would interfere with my responsibilities”

“That’s… nice"

“Well, if you’re really into it, I could give you some lessons”

“No thanks”

“What are you gonna do this afternoon then? You were always available during that time”

“I’d like to keep my Friday open. I’m not some sort of robot after all”

“Agreed”

As the conversation grinded to a halt, the sound of chatter and laughter continued across the cafeteria. Yuuri decided to stare at the adjacent table beside us, almost oblivious to my glance at my phone.

“Wakasa-san, I’d like to lend a secret over to you”

“Go on"

“Are you aware of how Fumiko-san is doing in terms of her academics?”

“I assume it’s bad considering your tone?”

“I’ve recently talked with her and she has decided to take a few steps back in her leadership”

“That’s quite a shame. She’s always been so bright yet her retail work and club management are taking quite the toll" Yuuri rested her face over hand, almost covering the frown she had.

“Of course. Anyways, the reason why I’m bringing this up is I need you to take over for the time being-.”

“Sorry to interrupt Tanaka-kun, but why do you need me to take over the Horticulture Club when Mio-san is still club president?”

“This is merely temporary. After Mio manages to get herself together for the term's end, we’ll relinquish that back to you"

“I’ve never really taken up leadership before, are you sure?”

“Your humility is quite unmatched Wakasa-san, but believe it or not, your leadership rivals that of Mio, especially without her constant micromanagement"

“Is that the case?”

“Mhm"

“Well, how long would it last for?”

“Probably until the end of the term. I’m willing to provide advice to you if needed"

“This is a bit unexpected in my opinion"

“I understand how it’s kinda informal and almost a rush, but considering the wellbeing of Mio-san, I think it’d be best to relieve the pressure off her"

Yuuri nodded in agreement.

“Don’t worry about it, I think you’ll do great"

I hadn’t always been the type to meddle with the school, but with the increase of autonomy in the school, it was always best to keep everything under my grasp for now.

“Please give me a moment Wakasa-san," I said while pulling out my phone.

“Sure. Go ahead!” Yuuri smiled.

After briefly waiting for the signal to update my news app, my eyes widened after a scan of the front page. Massive collisions, riots, strikes, and violence.

And this time it wasn’t in Megurigaoka. It was widespread.

I looked around the cafeteria, suspecting if what had happened in the field during my conversation with Yuki was related. I didn’t want to make it such a big deal, for now.

“Wakasa-san, not to sound weird of course, but do you usually come to school on time?”

“Yes. About 3-5 minutes before the bell rings"

“If that’s the case, did you happen to see what was happening on the field yesterday?”

Yuuri looked at me with a perplexed face.

“Not really. Although there was quite the commotion down here"

I couldn’t press her on information too much, yet. However that didn’t mean I was limited.

“No fights happened right?”

“I did see a few students with blood around their arms. It’s most likely a scuffle by the very least. From what I heard they were sent to the hospital"

“That’s odd. I thought I’d have to resolve it"

“Don’t blame yourself Tanaka-kun. It’s not your responsibility to stop everything just because you’re the Pres"

“I feel like the title is honorary… I’m not saying that I need the same level of power as the principal, but something reasonable"

“What’s your idea of reasonable?” Yuuri looked at me with a tiny polite smile over her face.

“Just the usual enforcing school rules, managing events, basic student representative," I said, already knowing that it was easy to leave it to someone else.

“You tend to overstep the bounds sometimes, but I see your point"

“Sometimes you have to overstep said bounds to achieve something good out of it"

“Mhm…” Yuuri nodded in agreement, “It’s good you don’t have to handle a lot of issues nowadays since we had COVID during the first semester"

“I don’t think the last School President had to contend with a lot of issues compared to me. Especially since we had a resurgence of clubs last year"

“Quite the interesting time. I remember seeing so many leaflets around to a point where people were just dragging their friends over to help inflate numbers…”

“Yeah…” I said with skepticism in my voice.

“You had a few friends do that before right?”

“No…”

“That’s a shame. I’m sure any club you’ve would’ve probably grown"

I politely smiled in response to the remark, before glancing at my phone.

“Sorry Wakasa-san, but I have to leave. Meeting with Ryota-kun” I said while standing up, grabbing onto my tray.

“Aw, bye Tanaka-kun"

“Bye Wakasa-san"

Leaving the Cafeteria, I took a glance at a nearby classroom while passing by.

Entering the council meeting room, I sat at the front of the table, having a clear overview of the outside in the meantime. Focusing on the smoke, my eyes wandered over to the sudden swarm of helicopters approaching the nearby plume.

Four… no, five helicopters.

Never in my life had I seen such a chaotic mess in Megurigaoka. Sure, there was always a first time. But sometimes that ‘first time’ was a cloak for something malevolent.