I stood near the girl's dorm that Sunday morning. I had just finished my morning workout routine and was heading back when I saw someone approach. It was Akamine.
"What did you do?!" She was extremely angry, but I merely sighed at her.
"I didn't do anything. Why are you so obsessed with me?" Based on her reaction, I could tell the letter did Its job. I had written it anonymously, placing it securely in Suzumi's hands. It detailed and overly exaggerated how hostile she was being toward me.
I would have signed it with my name, but if their relationship was strong enough, they would both just accuse me. It would have held more weight, but it could've been easily tracked to me. I opted for the safer option. It wasn't guaranteed to work, but I was glad it did.
"I know you did something! I'm going to make your life hell. Mizune, you will never have another peaceful day!
Akamine was yelling at me now. I sighed and was about to speak when I heard Suzumi's voice. I internally smiled (my face remained impassive, of course). It was another chance to drive the wedge between them.
"Akamine, stop! Mizune didn't do anything to warrant this. Stop...please." Tears were welling in her eyes as she came out of the building.
I approached Suzumi and knelt. She was a whole head shorter than I was. My voice was slightly warm. A small amount of crocodile tears welled in my eye, giving the impression that feelings were hard for me to express.
"Suzumi...It's okay. I'm fine... Don't worry about it. I'll be okay."
She fell for it, hook-line and sinker. She gasped at my first display of emotion since coming here. She looked truly upset now.
She stormed toward Akamine and began admonishing her.
"Akamine, You're hurting her. You have to stop. What's wrong with you? Bullying her like this! How dare you?!
Akamine seemed bewildered. "Suzumi, she's deceiving you. Can't you see it? This girl is toying with you! Open your eyes!"
Suzumi seemed to get angry. "Mari! Stop it! She's crying now. You're just being a bully!"
Akamine said something under her breath. It was hard to determine exactly, but it was along the lines of calling me a snake. Suzumi lost her composure at that and briskly slapped her across the face.
"Akamine, My friends will not be bullies! You know how I feel about that! Leave her alone."
Akamine Mari rubbed the place she was just slapped, shock evident on her face. She briskly walked off, making sure to push her shoulder into me. I leaned into the role, sensing an opportunity, and "coincidentally" fell.
Suzumi offered a hand to me, and I gingerly took it, accepting her aid to stand up. I was faking this whole interaction and leaned into the role a bit more.
"I.I'm sorry Suzumi, I didn't mean. She's your friend. You didn't have to stand up for me...thank you." I could tell my acting skills were getting rusty, but she just smiled at me, oblivious to the fact that the whole thing played out exactly like I wanted.
"She WAS my friend. I can't believe she would do something like this. You're not hurt are you?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm okay. Thank you, Suzumi. Emotions were always hard for me...I'm sorry if I hurt you before." It was a lie, they weren't hard for me, they were severely diluted. Beaten and tortured out of me. I wasn't sorry, but I saw an opportunity and decided to take it.
She shook her head. "It's okay. I'm over it now. I hope we can be friends."
I spoke slowly. "I...I'll try." I faked feeling a vibration in my pocket and pulled my phone out.
"Ah, I have to go."
She smiled and called out as I left. "I'll see you later, Mizune!"
I nodded back at her as I entered the dorm building, swiftly moving toward my room. Entering the room, I felt a sense of accomplishment wash over me. I was about to shower when I heard a knock.
I could tell who it was by the distinct knock. It was Ayume. I opened it, sweat clinging to my body. I invited her in.
She smirked as she sat down. "I saw that whole thing. Quite interesting. I can tell I picked the right person."
I sighed. "She tried to slap me before. The girl had it coming. Regardless, I have to shower. Feel free to make yourself at home." I was still stuck in the acting role a bit, making me much more talkative. Sometimes, breaking out of it was its own task.
She sat down on my bed as I went off to shower.
The shower was always short, ten minutes at most. I came out, wrapped in a towel. It was provocative, sure, but I wanted to test her a little. It was an obvious move, but I didn't care if she saw through it.
She made no comments nor any moves, merely looking at the chess board I had set up in my room. It was obvious I had been playing against myself. I grabbed the clothes and re-entered the bathroom, exiting when I was fully dressed.
Ayume didn't say anything, not until I started preparing my morning salad.
"You eat salad for breakfast? Also, where's all of your food?"
I spoke simply, I had since broken past my acting. "I'm a vegetarian. Not by choice though."
She didn't ask any more questions. Usually, the "not by choice" part elicited some form of questioning. I began eating as I spoke.
"Any particular reason why you're here?"
"I want to know how you did it so we can get a better sense of working together."
I nodded. It wouldn't be a large leap of trust to tell her. Both of us were "protected" by mutual destruction. An unspoken agreement that if one betrays the other, we both go down. I answered after swallowing a mouthful of spinach. The salad this morning was spinach only.
"With an anonymous letter. It overly exaggerated Akamine's antics against me. All it took after that was some careful planning, calculations, and acting.
She smirked. "I see. You set it up so you'd be nearby Suzumi when the confrontation happened. A very bold gambit.
I shook my head. It wasn't a gambit.
I spoke simply. "It wasn't a gambit. Suzumi had a crush on me, I knew she would be easy to manipulate."
Ayume laughed boisterously. "Ah, that's great. You and I will make an amazing team."
I nodded in response.
She didn't stick around for very long, and I spent most of the day in my room reading. I'd have to get a new book. I read through the rest of the Agatha Christie novel that day.
.....
I woke up on Monday morning. I was a tad bit excited to begin the real Seishun High experience. My morning routine went uninterrupted and Ayume was the only one in the classroom when I got there.
She didn't say anything to me, and I chose a desk in the back corner of the room. She was sitting up front. I could assume she was going to integrate herself into the class dynamics.
Students started to funnel in soon afterward. There were a lot of new faces. Some of them I had recognized, but the majority were new to me. The teacher showed up as usual around 7:30 ish.
It was a new teacher. He wore a black leather jacket, some dark jeans, and a white tank top. His hair was long and black. He smiled at everyone before turning around and writing something on the whiteboard.
[Class 1-C]
"This will be your class for the next two years. Well, some of you will probably get demoted, promoted, or worse: expelled. Regardless, I'll be your teacher as long as you're in this class. There won't be any lessons today. I suggest you all introduce yourselves. Your classmates will be very important in the future. Making bonds and forming friendships will be the most important thing. That's all, class is dismissed."
The teacher left the room, but no one else made any moves. Everyone just sat there, almost in astonishment. Ayume stood up and spoke, addressing the class.
"I think all of us should introduce ourselves. I'll go first. I'm Horishia Ayume."