The sound of the academy bell signaled the end of the learning process.
Tenji closed the journal and promised to return when he found out some more.
"Tenji..." Maiyu called out to him when she realized he was going to leave without saying another word.
Looking over his shoulder, he raised a brow at her silence. He couldn't tell what was going on in her thoughts as she simply stared at him.
"Is there something you wanted to say?"
'Just tell him, it might not be so bad as you think.' Her inner thoughts encouraged.
When she looked up at him, her anxiety rose and she switched to a different topic.
"You can't go outside with that in your hands." She pointed at the journal clutched to his chest.
Tenji looked at the journal and felt disappointed, he was sure that wasn't what she had wanted to say but went along with the flow.
"Oh, that's right..." He muttered, conjuring a black leather bag that dropped on his left hand.
Making a dramatic display of the bag towards Maiyu, he opened its buckle, slipped the journal in, and closed it. "Isn't this much more stylish?"
Maiyu nodded her head with her lips drawn into a thin line. Internally she screamed at how cowardly she was.
"See you at the hall tomorrow?" He gave a salute.
"I wouldn't miss it." She said with a smile.
As he walked off towards the door, he couldn't help but wonder what she had wanted to ask him.
He paused as he waited for Maiyu's approval for the door to unlock.
Reluctantly, she waved her hand and the door flew open.
When he stepped out, the door shut behind him. He placed his back on the door and let out a sigh.
Tenji couldn't understand how their normal meeting had turned awkward overnight.
He looked down only to bite down on his bottom lip to stifle a yell.
"Rumi..." He voiced as he noticed her hard glare at him.
She didn't say a word, nor did she have any plans of averting her gaze elsewhere.
Tenji didn't know how to go about the situation. He knew she was keeping her distance because of the demerit, but that didn't stop her from watching him at a good distance.
Pretending that he couldn't see her, he walked down the corridor in hopes of getting his belongings from the staffroom.
When he looked back just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, he was surprised to see she wasn't at the same spot she was nor anywhere behind him anymore.
Tenji stopped in his tracks and it was at that moment realization began to dawn on him, 'how did she know I was at the headmistress's office?'
Shaking his head and putting it all as a figment of his imagination, he had barely taken six steps when he saw Rumi coming out of a portal.
She had a twisted smile on her face the whole time as she stared at him while tilting her head to the right.
'Is this some sort of horror scene?!' Tenji wondered, making sure he acted not phased by her tricks.
He was running late and wouldn't be able to access the staffroom if Rumi kept up with her tricks.
"I had warned you not to obstruct my path, do you need a demerit so bad–"
"Do you need a faster way to get there?" Rumi cut in, her voice low and cold.
Tenji switched glances from her face to the portal, it was all starting to make sense–she wanted to help him.
He looked at his watch and realized he had just about twelve minutes to spare before his access to the staff room would be sealed by a barrier.
By his calculation, it would take him about fifteen minutes to get there and an extra three to get his belongings.
To his surprise, Rumi was his safest bet.
"Yes, I do need the help." He complied.
He felt a bit guilty for accepting her help after the way he had treated her.
When she smiled, he felt as though his guilt had lessened.
"Great!" She squealed, closed the current portal she had used, and opened another.
Although he still felt a bit skeptical about her help and couldn't help but wonder if he was going to regret it.
"I won't bite, I promise." Rumi raised her hand in an oath.
With a nod of his head, he walked through the portal.
*****
In the staffroom,
Tenji dashed inside as he had only seven minutes till no access.
He could see from the corner of his eyes that Rumi was watching him silently outside the door.
Although it felt creepy, he stuffed his bag with some files and a spell book and pulled off his coat that was placed on the backrest of his chair.
Bolting out, he missed being shut in by a hair. A barrier formed around the door and it spread all around the walls.
Hyperventilating, he crouched to catch his breath.
After a while, Rumi spoke. "Why did you engage in a conversation with the headmistress for so long that you had risked being shut out of your staffroom?"
Tenji froze upon hearing the question, when he placed meaning on what that could mean, he was sure that she had not just been spying on him when he saw her after he got out but she had been lurking around probably hours earlier.
He could only sigh with relief at the preventive measure Maiyu had placed on her office–a seamless and barely visible barrier had surrounded it, making it sound/noise proof. All done to keep their conversation confidential.
Straightening his posture, he accused, "were you spying on me?"
Rumi's eyes widened at her unintentional slip. "I... I..."
Tenji shook his head, if he made a huge fuss about what she had done, it would only make her more curious about what was discussed.
She had also helped him to get quickly to his staffroom, so there was still a bit of good in her motive.
"Do not spy or lurk around anymore or I would give you a demerit..."
Rumi looked down, disappointed but nodded her head.
"...but if you do well in the presentation tomorrow, I can share a bit of some research on a new spell that would knock the other students' shoes off." He said with a wink, offering his hand out to her.
Rumi giggled and was finally motivated by this opportunity given to her. If this was a way for her to get noticed by him, then so be it.
Taking his hand in a shake, she had a big grin. "I won't disappoint you, professor Tenji."
Pulling his hand away, he patted her head once more. "It's about time you head home, don't you think?"
*****
A/N
I would really appreciate your comments and support of this novel with your power stones. Your active comments would motivate me to write more chapters.
¶ What are your thoughts on Rumi?