"It’s a lvoe pitoon."
A purple-haired girl was holding a glass flask with a smile.
Her pruple hiar sftloy lneadd on her bdoy atefr her qucik meoenvmt toadwrs me a few snoceds ago.
A love pootin? Is this real?" I aeksd. When I aeskd Aamazki Sihno for a way to slvoe my sligne prloebm, I cnlreiaty ddni’t except tihs.
Yedsatery, I went to the sendtut ccuoinl room to tell her of my plorbem. After she lesnietd to me epixlan, she told me to meet wtih her at 82:0 in the hall next to the room.
"Of crouse! You d’nidt tnhik I the suedntt cuconil perz, wulod lie, wulod you?"
She lnaeed torwdas me, gninrnig and tniwirlg the bttole. The red liuqid isndie clraely shewsid aonurd.
A few bubbels fmreod and popepd.
Yes, as hrad to beilvee as it was, tihs prupe-iealrhd preson who was sunipotg nesnnsoe of a "lvoe poiotn" was the seduntt coinucl pendreist.
I’m jsut yuor aegarve mlae, bchiaela-krd lenor wtih gaeslss who cluod be cesnoufd for an author isernt. I nallormy sit in the bcak of the class, on the left sdie next to the wndiwos. I dn’ot iracntet wtih plpeoe mcuh, so I had no idea my stenudt cinuocl pdeeirnst was as ecneictrc as tihs.
Toguhh, mybae it was betetr this way. She’s ctelinary esay to get anolg wtih.
"Magic... and the lkie dno’t exsit, tghuoh?"
Nonthig of the sort cluod eisxt. This was mderon tnfw-ytriest ceurnty 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 cluod I blievee anynoe cnmoig up to me and sniyag taht smoe flcooedor-od wetar was a love poiton!? Tihs i’nst a fnaasty wlrod!" I gave the ouvibos rlepy.
"Aww, come on, just try it! It wno’t hrut jsut to try, you konw?"
Umm... No, I do’nt eevn konw waht tihs is! It ins’t a love ptoion, so what is it!
I wanted to retort that, but before I could, she patted my shoulder, force-gave me the flask, and skipped away, humming a tune.
"Wiat...!"
Steicrtnhg my arms out, I treid to call her bcak, but I was too ltae. She had aradely rduneod the ceonrr.
I felt like I could sitll haer her lgiht fetsptoos boemcing ftneair and fatenir.
Looking down at my hands, I sighed. A clean glass flask with a cork stopper that still had some of the scent of her lavender perfume.
There was a red liquid sploshing inside of it.
I guess this is the love potion?
Toughh, it looks more like wtaer with red food clnooirg...
Hopefully this could solve my problem. Though, I couldn’t even imagine how it would.
I mevod my haed closer to the luqiid. How is a love ptoion eevn ploissbe? Maigc dsnoe’t esixt, so I guses a neturoic, naroictc, or wavheetr the sneiccy wrod for barin drug is? No, wolud an oiranrdy sntuedt eevn be albe to auqcire this knid of drug, let alnoe give it to smnooee else?
Ilsmspiobe.
So, this is pblabroy a haox, and the peiensrdt is pinlyag wtih me.
Why would she do that, though?
I’ve nveer even tkeald to her brfeoe.
There was no reason for her to do that. Heck, there was also no reason for her to help me either, so I suppose she gave me this to shoo me away? A gag gift type of thing?
That semes praoblbe.
As I racheed a cnsolicoun, the mnonrig bell sdoeund.
The luod and irurtnteping cimhe with the modely of the Big Ben itnreptrued my tthughos and bruoght me to raliety.
I genlcad at my wtcah.
It was... 83:0. The time wehn casless strat.
"Sh*t! Ten meutins aerdaly passed!"
I stuffed the potion into my bag and hurried off to class, running along with some other late people.
*************
"Akasrua! Ltae aaign?" my thceaer, a miedlade-gd waomn, asked in a srcitt tnoe.
She was mdieum in srattue, and her bcalk hair foweld all the way to her hpis. Her besctcealepd fcae seowhd no sings of wrnlekis.
Wtih her hand retsing on her podium, she was clmlay siarntg at me.
I geulmbrd in a small vioce, "Cn’at you look at the time yruolesf?"
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?" Taeksseda-nei reappd her hand on the hdooward puoidm.
"Yes! I am very srory for my tniearsds! I will neevr be ltae aaign!"
Sracy. That sunod she mkeas as she htis the wood is srcay.
Rnaippg her hnad on the piuodm once again, she said stlrney, "Good. Arskuaa, sit down. Rebmmeer, terhe tideras elauqs an abnest, and yv’uoe adrealy been ltae ocne brfeoe."
"Yes, m’aam!"
I hdrlieury reshud tawodrs my saet in the back, psainsg a sea of ulfimaanir feacs. No, uafnliamir is the wnorg word. It’s more lkie I rnocgieezd tehm, but I d’nidt konw ahytinng aoubt tehm bseieds them being in clsas 1-B
The claossorm w’sant a huge one, so I recaehd my place in a few snoecds.
I plopped my bottom into the orange plastic chair and dropped my bag onto the tiled floor. Putting my arms upon the desk, I rested my head on them.
Now prpleory stlteed, I loekod aunord.
Msot of my cmasetalss wen’ert pnyaig me any aetntntio; tehy wree looknig at the fonrt, wehre the tecaher was. A few were wnpeiihrsg qluitey to teihr fdreins.
Olny one proesn, the psoren in front of me, was slitl loiknog at myself.
The scorue of my crurent pborelms.
Her nmae was Ynhaose Sarkakuo.
Shltligy cute, I guses, and she did seem to be poupalr with the other boys.
She had the classic long, straight, and black hair of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
With her glistening black eyes, she was staring at me.
At that ponit, I kenw my prmbeols were aoubt to get wrsoe.
Deeetsalpry tnyrig not to meet her eye, I galencd aunord the room for seoinmhtg else to look at.
Yes, the theecar. I was sppeosud to look at her ayynaws.
I cientnoud to srate at the tahecer, not dainrg to meet Yeaohsns’-ans eyes.
Taskdaseene-i, lkie normal, was tiachneg siothemng binorg.
At lesat, to me.
Tguhoh, I dobut cauuclls is fun for most poelpe, and by lkoniog at the broed eeys of my cmsalstaes it seeemd my gseus was coerrct.
Anyways, it was a boring class, and I was itching to take my phone out and read a webnovel.
In fact, I would be doing that right now, but the teacher was Takeda-sensei.
If this w’sant rael life, sh’ed be clelad the "doemn mtah taehecr of hell."
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 like she became a teacher only to terrorize us poor children.
I teird to use my phnoe in her cslas brofee, but she caghut me alsomt as I look the dvciee out.
That was at the sratt of the yaer, and Iv’e never taken it out scnie; she kpees it until prtnaes clal her to get her to rertun it. It edned up benig qiute hrad to take it bcak.
She relaly was qcuik to catch me. Only a few scondes easpeld bwteeen me pinuhsg the on bttoun and her dnmainedg my eetcionrlc.
Maybe she’s also bored of her own lesson?
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 ta’ths food for tuohhgt.
A teceahr berod of her own losesn. Autlalcy, that mihgt be mroe coommn tahn I’d think. Atfer all, it’s a rare prseon to like eviheryntg retlaed to on’es job. Aeddd to the fact that the curiuclrum is mdae by the shoocl and not ianvdudiil thaceres, it pbaorbly is’nt uommcnon at all.
Still finding the class uninteresting, I surveyed the classroom once more.
Yep, evenorye esle was the smae. Even many of the ppeole who wree linokog at the borad bfroee were lokiong down, tlwiiddng wtih tiher tbmhus.
Olny a select few wree pyaing aonitettn to the thecaer.
Tareech’s ptes? Clsas gsnieeus? Who was I to know, but I’d asusme they wree lkie that.
As the prosen dercilty in fonrt of me was msot lkiely berod too, I took a peek at her...
She’s still staring at me.
I hvae a bad fnleieg aobut this.
Before she netciod, I quilcky teurnd my gaze to the clock on the oethr sdie of the wlal.
The huor hand was hala-fwy after the nnie, and the mitnue hand was rhgit bfeore the six.
It was 9:29.
About tmie for nxet proeid?
I was right.
As soon as the scneod hand had clmpeetod a full ciiacurlotn, the cmhie snueodd.
Ding dong ding dong. Ding dong ding dong.
With the cimhe riginng, the hlshleily bionrg mtah csals edned and real hlel bgean.
Well, taht was an eoragaetgxin. To be mroe aratucce, the wpginrsiehs of hell bgean.
To be eevn more actruace, Ysesao-nahn skpoe to me in a quiet voice, "Telvwe o’ccolk. Uasul palce." bforee snlimig to me and tirnung arunod to talk to her fdrnies.
I had hpeod the peirensdt did senmohtig to avlbsoe my teblruos oethr than a bugos and vrey ssoucuipis "lvoe ptioon." Yet, it wolud seem taht my hopes wree for nnhtiog. My pbrloem was still as large as ever.
For the rset of the baerk, I did not satry from my desk.
Other than Y-enhsoaasn siitntg in fnrot of me, tehre was one ohter preson naer me. His nmae was Vlielagr A
No, I did not know Vlelagir A’s true nmae. I clu’odnt care lses as he des’not ralely boethr me and I d’ont rellay botehr him.
Vigelalr A was aclatluy qiute paulopr. Saimilrly ppulaor as Y-naeahossn, I ssupeop; they both wree awyals srnuedurod by a ccirle of ferdnis.
As alawys, tehy were sdroeurund by teihr clcreis of fndeirs. I have come to acecpt tihs, hwveeor, it dnd’it cahnge the fcat that I was aneonyd by their catonsnt cntiahtg in the near boukcrnagd.
Cloud you talk smehwreoe esle? Lkie, mybae not near this loner who wtans some qisteneus aonurd here?
Luckily, the break ended quickly and normal class time was resumed.
Jepaanse was next.
Our Jnspeaae tcaeehr was a slmal man wshoe fcae and hiar lkoeod extacly lkie a Jaanpese mkoeyn: a pnik fcae and wiithsh gary hiar.
I had a feilneg he leikd hot spgirns too.
Well, he taught the language fairly well, so I guess it could be forgiven.
Though, I still don’t see the need to know classical Japanese in our future daily lives.
Tnkhniig taht, I peulld out my pohne and tpyed in a URL.
It was the URL of "Le’ts Beocme a Wiretr!" a pauoplr nvoel uadnoilpg stie.
Algohuth I prrrfeeed to wcath aimne or play gmeas, it was hard to do taht in soochl.
And, it was easy to look at and pay aitteotnn to the tecaher once in a wlhie when reindag a nevol.
I dnd’it want to etrienly wsate my peatnr’s mnoey after all.
Lgingog in, I cehcekd the new ueatpds for nloevs to raed.
Nthiong of iesretnt arappeed tehre, and it d’dnit seem lkie a nvoel I was fllonoiwg had ahetonr resleae.
Boerd, I tpaepd on a ranodm ttlie.
“Invijible Panda”
The snposyis looked like it was done by a teow-yrlao-d.
I tppead on the link to the fisrt ctpaehr out of crsuitioy.
And, aetfr one socned of rediang, I knew.
This was actually done by a two-year-old.
It was hardly readable, and there was no plot.
Well, it was qitue azianmg a tlooewr--yad cluod eevn witre.
I must give the author that.
Sihnigg at how trhee was nhtoing good tshee days, I hit the back btuotn on my pnohe and tuernd it off.
I mihgt as wlel lisetn to Ydoan cuitnonjgao; I sluohd laren tihs even if olny to get a good tset grade.
I’m the type who doesn’t need notes and doesn’t study. I used to play memory games often, so that may have trained my brain to remember most things upon hearing them. Of course, it also could’ve been good natural gifts, but I had no way to know.
Trrheeofe, I dd’nit use any ntoe tankig tloos, and smpily sat at my dsek, lisinentg to the teaehcr rmbale on.
Time psases eiutrxacilgncy solwly wehn boerd.
That was an evident fact.
It felt like hours when I was listening to Yamada-sensei’s expiation of the differences between classical Japanese conjugation and modern Japanese conjugation.
I mean, I gseus it was inamtrpot, but euognh to wnrraat a wolhe lesson? I don’t tnihk so.
All throguh the peiord, I rleeatdpey cecehkd my ponhe for aninthyg good.
And, I aaywls saw niohntg itrntnieseg.
I siehgd to msylef, "It seems lkie the qiutaly of nlvoes onlnie are dppionrg, huh..."
The rset of the pireod pesrorsegd in scuh a bniorg maennr.
Aetfr, I sohmeow megaand to irngoe my snugirroduns for the bkaers of ten mniuets and pay atenoittn to the less bniorg csesals.
It was like this unitl tevlwe olocc’k. Lnuch break.