In a year, I had learned a lot of German words, and I could easily watch cartoons on German channels. A year had passed, and Senpai hadn't returned. In the meantime, I started fifth grade. Now we had German as a subject, and I stood out in the class. Somehow, I was changing; people looked at me differently, and even one of the teachers told me I was glowing. Inside, I was only thinking about my Senpai. On every test, I would write "Senpai."
And so, one day we had physical education in the gym. As usual, I carried all my things with me. Some people leave their backpacks or jackets in the classroom, but I carried everything with me (Omnia mea mecum porto – "I carry everything with me"). I never participated in gym class; instead, I sat on the bench, holding Senpai's handkerchief (that piece of his shirt) and daydreamed about him. Barbara kept "accidentally" hitting me with the ball, but I ignored her, which only made her more frustrated. I didn't even notice when she and her cronies went to the locker room—in fact, why would I notice when I had better things to think about?
While I was lost in my thoughts, the three "medusas" were rummaging through my backpack. Barbara stole a few notebooks and scribbled on some. When she returned to the gym, she started yelling at the top of her lungs, "SENPAI, SENPAI, MARRY ME SENPAI!" I was paralyzed. It was the first time I'd heard anyone call my Senpai by that nickname. I didn't like it — ONLY I WAS ALLOWED TO CALL HIM THAT!
She kept shouting, "SENPAI, I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO! SENPAI, YOU'RE ONLY MINE! SENPAI, SENPAI!" I stared at the floor and started trembling. The kids were laughing, but when they saw me, they stopped. Slowly, I stood up and silently walked behind Barbara. I whispered in her ear:
"You'll never say the name that only I'm allowed to say again."
I grabbed her by the throat, and as she opened her mouth, I quickly pulled her tongue. Barbara was holding my notebook, which had a ruler in the middle. In the blink of an eye, I snatched the ruler and shoved it into her mouth. It was a triangular ruler, and I managed to get the whole thing in. It all happened so fast. The teacher rushed over and started pulling me away. I watched Barbara as blood trickled down her chin and onto her neck. A strange, pleasant feeling washed over me, and I started laughing—loudly. Everyone was staring at me. No one approached Barbara for about two minutes. They just looked at me with shock in their eyes. The teacher dragged me outside and started yelling:
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"
I looked at him with a half-smile. At that moment, a student came out and called the teacher to check on Barbara. He told me not to move, but I quickly went to the locker room to get my things and came back in front of the gym. I flipped through my notebook to see what the three mules had ruined and tore out the damaged pages. I wasn't upset because I knew I'd make even better pages than before. I was proud that I had defended the title I had given to my little Senpai.
I feel peace in my soul whenever I think of him...