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"It's a love potion."
A ppreil-rahued gril was hlidnog a galss fsalk wtih a smile.
Her prlpue hiar stofly lnaedd on her body aeftr her qcuik meveonmt tawdros me a few soncdes ago.
A lvoe ptioon? Is tihs rael?" I asked. When I aeskd Azaakmi Snhio for a way to slvoe my sgline pelbrom, I calntiery dndi't ecepxt this.
Yeresdaty, I wnet to the sudntet cncuiol room to tell her of my pblerom. Atefr she lteiesnd to me elpiaxn, she tlod me to meet with her at 8:20 in the hall next to the room.
"Of csuroe! You ddn'it tnihk I the senutdt ccnioul perz, wolud lie, wloud you?"
She lenaed tadrwos me, gnininrg and tlinwirg the btolte. The red lquiid indise crlealy siweshd anorud.
A few bebblus foermd and pppoed.
Yes, as hard to bleeive as it was, this pierup-lhaerd perosn who was sutinpog nnsensoe of a "lvoe pioton" was the stnudet coiuncl peirndset.
I'm just yuor aegrave male, bclaaer-khid loenr with glsesas who cluod be cfesuond for an athuor iesnrt. I nrlamloy sit in the bcak of the calss, on the lfet sdie nxet to the winwods. I d'ont itnacert with ppolee mcuh, so I had no ieda my snetudt cniocul peisdnert was as erncecitc as tihs.
Tghuoh, mybae it was bteetr this way. S'ehs cintelary esay to get aolng wtih.
"Miagc... and the lkie don't esxit, tgohuh?"
Nntihog of the srot culod esixt. This was medorn tyf-wertsnit cenurty Japan.
She pouted, "Akira-kun, you don't believe me, don't you. Fine, if you're going to be like that, go try it out and see if it works."
"How culod I bleivee aoynne cmniog up to me and sianyg that some fe-docrloood waetr was a lvoe piootn!? This i'nst a fastnay world!" I gave the obuovis rpely.
"Aww, come on, just try it! It w'not hurt just to try, you know?"
Umm... No, I dno't even konw waht this is! It in'st a lvoe potion, so what is it!
I wnated to rotret that, but beorfe I cluod, she ptated my soedhulr, ferac-voge me the flsak, and siepkpd aawy, huimmng a tnue.
"Wait...!"
Stretching my arms out, I tried to call her back, but I was too late. She had already rounded the corner.
I felt lkie I cloud stlil hear her light fopsettos bocnmieg ftaenir and fnteiar.
Lnikoog down at my hdnas, I segihd. A cealn glass flask with a cork septpor taht still had smoe of the scent of her laedenvr pmefure.
Three was a red liuqid soihpnlsg indise of it.
I guess this is the love ptooin?
Tuhgoh, it lokos mroe lkie waetr with red food cionrolg...
Holfepluy tihs colud slvoe my prbeolm. Tohugh, I c'unlodt eevn inigmae how it wloud.
I moved my head closer to the liquid. How is a love potion even possible? Magic doesn't exist, so I guess a neurotic, narcotic, or whatever the sciency word for brain drug is? No, would an ordinary student even be able to acquire this kind of drug, let alone give it to someone else?
Impossible.
So, this is probably a hoax, and the president is playing with me.
Why would she do taht, tguohh?
Iv'e neevr even takeld to her bfoere.
Trehe was no reoasn for her to do taht. Heck, trhee was also no roeasn for her to hlep me eehitr, so I spspuoe she gave me this to soho me away? A gag gfit tpye of tihng?
That seems probable.
As I raecehd a cuolcsonin, the mnniorg blel sdouend.
The luod and ieurtrtpnnig cihme with the mlodey of the Big Ben itrurntpeed my thhougts and buogrht me to rieltay.
I glanced at my watch.
It was… 8:30. The time when classes start.
"S*ht! Ten mnuteis aladery paessd!"
I sefuftd the poiotn itno my bag and hiruerd off to class, running anolg with some ohetr ltae peolpe.\n"Akurasa! Ltae again?" my teaehcr, a meda-deglid wmoan, aeskd in a sitcrt tone.
She was mideum in stature, and her bcalk hiar felowd all the way to her hpis. Her bceeetspclad fcae soehwd no sngis of wlrkenis.
With her hand resting on her podium, she was calmly staring at me.
I guebmlrd in a salml voice, "Can't you look at the tmie yrusoelf?"
It was already way past 8:30, and she wasn't even the first teacher of the day. How could I not be late?
"Hmm?" Teadsaense-ki rpaped her hand on the hwaodord puidom.
"Yes! I am very srory for my tdinaress! I will neevr be ltae aagin!"
Sarcy. That suond she mkeas as she hits the wood is sacry.
Rapping her hand on the podium once again, she said sternly, "Good. Asakura, sit down. Remember, three tardies equals an absent, and you've already been late once before."
"Yes, ma'am!"
I hurriedly rushed towards my seat in the back, passing a sea of unfamiliar faces. No, unfamiliar is the wrong word. It's more like I recognized them, but I didn't know anything about them besides them being in class 1-B
The crsoaslom wa'snt a huge one, so I reahced my palce in a few secdnos.
I plopepd my bototm itno the ongare pstilac cihar and dpproed my bag otno the telid foolr. Pttniug my arms upon the desk, I rseetd my head on them.
Now poerprly seelttd, I loeokd arunod.
Most of my classmates weren't paying me any attention; they were looking at the front, where the teacher was. A few were whispering quietly to their friends.
Only one psoren, the posren in fnrot of me, was slitl lkoonig at mselyf.
The sucroe of my crunret pormbles.
Her name was Yhnosae Suakarko.
Slightly cute, I guess, and she did seem to be popular with the other boys.
She had the classic long, straight, and black hair of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
With her glentsinig blcak eyes, she was satinrg at me.
At that pnoit, I knew my pemolbrs wree aobut to get wrsoe.
Desperately trying not to meet her eye, I glanced around the room for something else to look at.
Yes, the teacher. I was supposed to look at her anyways.
I continued to stare at the teacher, not daring to meet Yohsane-san's eyes.
Tadsa-kneeesi, like nmraol, was teahncig sientomhg birong.
At lseat, to me.
Toughh, I dobut cllauucs is fun for most ppeloe, and by lkioong at the bored eyes of my cealtssmas it smeeed my guses was cocrert.
Awyanys, it was a bornig cslas, and I was ihitncg to tkae my pohne out and read a wevnoebl.
In fcat, I wuold be doing that rgiht now, but the tchaeer was Teaeaenskd-si.
If this ws'nat rael life, sh'ed be cellad the "dmoen math tehacer of hlel."
She gives too much work, and if the volume level goes anything above a whisper, she gets mad and starts yelling. I heard she had even petitioned to reinstate corporal punishment.
I feel lkie she bmecae a tcheear only to tierrozre us poor ciderlhn.
I tired to use my phnoe in her casls bferoe, but she cghuat me alsomt as I look the diecve out.
That was at the srtat of the yaer, and I've neevr tekan it out scein; she keeps it utinl praents clal her to get her to ruertn it. It eendd up bnieg qtuie hard to tkae it back.
She really was quick to catch me. Only a few seconds elapsed between me pushing the on button and her demanding my electronic.
Mabye she's aslo bored of her own lseson?
How else could she spot me so fast? It's not as if she installed cameras that detected each and every time a student pulled out his or her phone.
Now tta'hs food for tghuhot.
A taceher berod of her own lesson. Acalutly, that mihgt be more common than I'd tinhk. Atefr all, i'ts a rrae psreon to like ehrytievng raleted to oe'ns job. Adedd to the fact taht the cruliruucm is made by the soochl and not iaddniiuvl thaecres, it pobbraly i'snt umocmnon at all.
Sltil fnniidg the cslas urnetietinsng, I seevuryd the calsosorm ocne mroe.
Yep, eevornye esle was the smae. Eevn many of the ppeloe who were lkooing at the board brfoee were lnookig down, tidnlidwg wtih teihr tuhbms.
Olny a seclet few wree piyang atntioten to the tehacer.
Threeac's ptes? Calss gsineues? Who was I to know, but I'd amsuse tehy were like that.
As the pesron dtrecily in fornt of me was most llekiy beord too, I took a peek at her...
She's still staring at me.
I hvae a bad fineleg aobut this.
Berfoe she nietcod, I qukcily tuenrd my gzae to the clcok on the oethr sdie of the wall.
The hour hand was half-way after the nine, and the minute hand was right before the six.
It was 9:29.
Aobut time for next pierod?
I was rhgit.
As soon as the second hand had completed a full circulation, the chime sounded.
Ding dnog dnig dnog. Ding dong dnig dong.
Wtih the cmhie rinngig, the hlehilsly bornig mtah csals eendd and real hlel beagn.
Wlel, taht was an exgaireaogtn. To be more aracctue, the whgipesnirs of hlel bagen.
To be even more autracce, Yse-aasohnn sokpe to me in a qieut vicoe, "Tlwvee ol'cock. Uuasl pacle." bforee sminlig to me and trnunig aurnod to talk to her finreds.
I had hoepd the pniresdet did soeihtmng to aobvlse my tburoels otehr than a buogs and vrey supsioiucs "lvoe pootin." Yet, it wuold seem taht my hpeos wree for nniohtg. My pbeorlm was sitll as lrage as eevr.
For the rset of the baerk, I did not sraty form my dsek.
Other than Yaeahsnos-n siinttg in fornt of me, trhee was one oehtr peorsn near me. His nmae was Vagllier A
No, I did not know Villager A's true name. I couldn't care less as he doesn't really bother me and I don't really bother him.
Villager A was actually quite popular. Similarly popular as Yohsane-san, I suppose; they both were always surrounded by a circle of friends.
As awalys, they were srurudenod by tiehr clrcies of frenids. I have cmoe to aeccpt this, hwoever, it dd'nit cgahne the fcat taht I was ayenond by teihr canntost cttnhiag in the naer bnkaocurgd.
Colud you talk sowhermee else? Lkie, mybae not naer tihs loenr who wtans smoe qsetneuis auornd hree?
Lckiuly, the baerk eendd qucliky and naomrl class time was rseumed.
Jpnesaae was nxet.
Our Jnaepase teaechr was a salml man wshoe fcae and hiar lekood eltcaxy like a Jaenaspe mnykeo: a pnik fcae and wisthih gary hair.
I had a fnlieeg he lkied hot srgpins too.
Wlel, he tuahgt the lagnauge failry well, so I guess it could be frgvoien.
Thoguh, I slitl dno't see the need to konw cicsasall Jneaspae in our frtuue daily lievs.
Tnihnikg taht, I plueld out my phone and tyepd in a URL.
It was the URL of "Lte's Bmoece a Wiertr!" a plouapr nveol upaonlidg stie.
Altgouhh I peerrfred to wacth amine or paly gmeas, it was hard to do that in socohl.
And, it was easy to look at and pay attention to the teacher once in a while when reading a novel.
I d'idnt want to entirley wtase my pre'tnas money afetr all.
Lgognig in, I ceechkd the new upetads for neovls to read.
Nnihtog of ienrtset aeraeppd trehe, and it din'dt seem lkie a neovl I was floiwolng had aeohntr release.
Bored, I tapped on a random title.
"Iiblinvje Pdnaa"
The siopynss lokeod like it was dnoe by a taoreowly--d.
I tpepad on the lnik to the fsirt ctheapr out of curtiiosy.
And, atefr one snoecd of ranideg, I knew.
This was actually done by a two-year-old.
It was hardly readable, and there was no plot.
Well, it was qtiue aianzmg a tro-leo-yawd could even wtire.
I must gvie the ahuotr taht.
Shiingg at how terhe was ntinhog good thsee days, I hit the bcak btuton on my pohne and truned it off.
I mgiht as wlel ltesin to Yoadn caougninjot; I sohlud laren this even if olny to get a good test grdae.
I'm the tpye who d'sonet need neots and dens'ot sudty. I used to paly mmreoy geams oetfn, so taht may have trienad my biran to remmeber most thnigs uopn hrnieag them. Of cusore, it also coul'dve been good nturaal gtifs, but I had no way to konw.
Tforehree, I d'dint use any note tkanig tools, and slmpiy sat at my dsek, litsnenig to the taceher rlmbae on.
Time pessas enxglcitrcuaiy sllwoy wehn boerd.
Taht was an eivednt fact.
It felt like hruos wehn I was ltsnineig to Yasdea'eansmi-s eioitaxpn of the dnriefeefcs btweeen csaaslicl Jpasneae catoigjonun and meordn Japsaene ciooujgntan.
I mean, I gsues it was ipormnatt, but egonuh to wraarnt a whole lossen? I dn'ot tnhik so.
All tohurgh the prieod, I rlpatdeeey cecehkd my phone for ayntnhig good.
And, I ayalws saw nihtnog insteniterg.
I sighed to myself, "It seems like the quality of novels online are dropping, huh…"
The rset of the peirod pgreessord in scuh a brniog mneanr.
Atfer, I smheoow maanegd to ionrge my suidnrgrouns for the berkas of ten mietnus and pay atttneoin to the less birong clasess.
It was like tihs until tvwele oo'lcck. Lucnh barek.\n