Chapter 6: — "Apparently, I'm a Party Pooper..."

I had gotten no sleep... again. Two days in a row now...

Something was seriously wrong. I didn't know why I was thinking so much about Itsuki, let alone crying like a little baby.

His death was years ago, and just now I'm crying? What kinda bullshit was this?

Either way—

"Naomi-san!" a voice yelled out in the distance.

I turned around to see Riku, the dork who always loved to yap, talking mostly about the most useless shit known to mankind!

"What the hell do you want?" I asked, annoyance visible on my face.

Riku adjusted his glasses before speaking. "Did you see what Sensei sent us today?"

I raised my eyebrow. "What? What could she have possibly sent us?"

Riku then brought up his HUD, trying to find the class group message where they always receive messages from the teacher.
His fingers scrolled down until he finally found it. He clicked on the group, revealing the message.

SENSEI: Hello class 3-A. Tomorrow at school will be a special day, although I want to keep it a secret until tomorrow morning. I hope to see you all tomorrow for the surprise :D

I stared at the message... great, another surprise that was probably shitty. When it came to surprises from the teacher, it was either always a test or something sports-related that was never fun for me. I'm twenty years old, goddammit, not some sort of gymnast!

"Surprise, huh?"

Riku nodded. "Yup, a surprise... I wonder what it is."

I slowly turned my head toward Riku, like the answer wasn't fucking obvious.
But instead, I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to insult the poor dork.

"We should probably head to class. Bells will ring in a minute or two," he said—calm voice, but also a hint of excitement.

"Yeah... whatever."

I then started walking toward class, but fast.
And it was mostly to avoid having the dork follow me, but instead he tried catching up.

"Hey! Wait up!" he yelled, running after me.

I exhaled deeply, muttering coldly, "Fucking dork!"

—

I pushed open the classroom door, and I was instantly welcomed with a bunch of students talking about the stupid surprise.

Yui, the idiotic girl, immediately laid eyes on me. "Hey Naomi, did you hear the news?"

I sighed annoyingly but answered either way. "Yes. The surprise... woo, so exciting!"
It was visible I was being sarcastic. I wasn't excited in any way.

Yui somehow believed my sarcasm. "I know, right? I just know the surprise is gonna be something sports-related. You know how Sensei is, hehe."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but I need to get to my seat, Yui."

"Oh, right. Sorry for holding you up, Naomi-san!"

I didn't say anything back. I just went straight toward my Grav-seat. It briefly hovered over the ground as I sat on it.

"Stupid class, hyped over a shitty surprise," I muttered, frustration and exhaustion washed all over my face.

Just as I said that, the teacher entered the classroom, and every student instantly went silent.
They just sat there, waiting for the teacher to announce the surprise.

"Hello, class," the teacher greeted calmly.

"Hello, Sensei!" the entire class yelled.

"I'm pretty sure you all have heard of the surprise, right?"

Everyone nodded, and I just looked dead. I just wanted to get out of there.

"Well, the reason why I'm doing a surprise is because you all did well on the test the other day."

The teacher then locked eyes with me, and her smile faltered a bit.
"Well... most of you at least..."

Most of the students looked at me because the teacher did.

"What the hell are you all staring at?" I yelled out, obviously pissed.
The students instantly looked away, not wanting to mess with me.

The teacher went on with the surprise, not wanting to press further with me.
"Anyways. Because you all did well on the test, I wanted to plan a surprise... and that surprise is..."

"OOH OOH, SPORTS DAY?!!" Yui yelled out, holding one of her hands up.

"Yes... sports day..." the teacher muttered, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

The entire class went on a rampage. They were yelling, bouncing up and down, and already making plans.
Meanwhile, I just sat there completely quiet. My head was hurting from all the noise, and my ears were bleeding.

I swear I could just hear Yui screaming across the entire classroom—
"I'M GONNA KICK YOUR BUTT IN TENNIS, AMI-CHAN!"

"Pfft. Yeah right, Yui. I'M gonna kick your butt, not you!"

The classroom went on. I also heard the sports boys talk about football.

"I'll be the goalie, boys!" one of them said. I believe it was Haruto.

"Like hell you will, Haruto. You sold us last time you were the goalie," the other said.

"I'll be the goalie, ok? I'm the best—"

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" both boys yelled at the third boy.

Eventually the teacher clapped her hands and spoke up again.

"Alright, class 3-A. Let's head toward the sports hall and have some fun!"

The class immediately stormed out of the classroom, down the hall, and toward the sports hall. There were so many activities to do, and the sports hall was so huge there was enough space to play football, tennis, and even basketball, all in the same hall.

One of the boys immediately screamed, echoing off the entire sports hall.
"AHHHHH, WE HAVE THE ENTIRE SPORTS HALL TO OURSELVES!!!"

Everyone started to set up and grab everything they needed.

—

The entire sports hall was filled with laughter, yelling, and balls kicking around.

Meanwhile, I roamed around the hall, watching everyone having fun. I was tired, and I just wanted to go home. I didn't wanna be here anymore; I'm not a sports girl!

I continued roaming around until Yui yelled out... like always.
"Hey Naomi-san. Wanna play tennis with me, Ami-chan, and Ema-chan? We need a fourth player."

"I'm good," I instantly answered, walking off.

Although Yui wasn't happy with that answer. She ran in front of me, blocking my path, and she begged me to join her.
"Please, Naomi-san. We need a fourth player."

"I don't care. Now get out of my way!" I yelled, pushing her to the side and wandering off.

As I walked off with my hands in my pocket, Ema spoke up to Yui.

"You shouldn't try that hard to make her communicate. You know how stubborn she is, Yui."

"I agree," Ami spoke up next. "The reason why she doesn't have friends is because she always pushes people away."

"I know she's stubborn, but I won't give up!" Yui yelled out, determined to make me socialize.
"She needs to socialize like the entire class. She's always alone, and I hate seeing her like that."

"Why do you even care, Yui?" Ema asked, a look of frustration visible on her face. "You know how stubborn she is. Just stop trying to be friends with her!"

"Will you two stop!?" Ami yelled at the top of her lungs, making both girls look at her. "Let's just play tennis, alright?"

"Fine. Let's play then..."

As the class continued having fun playing all sorts of sports, running around screaming and yelling, I just sat on one of the benches, staring out into the open. I had a lot of thoughts in my mind right now, and I couldn't get them out.

The teacher then came back, bringing more sports equipment such as volleyballs, dodgeballs, and baseballs. Most of the students were excited.
Many girls wanted to play volleyball, and many boys wanted to play dodgeball or baseball.

The teacher then noticed I was sitting on a bench, and she walked over to me, wanting to know why I wasn't hanging out.

"Naomi. Why aren't you hanging out with the others?"

"Hmm."

The teacher started to get concerned. "Talk to me, Naomi. Is something going on? Or is it because you got an F on the test?"

"I'm fine. Just tired, I guess..."

"Then go out and move around a bit. Join Yui and play some volleyball with her and her friends or something. It might hype you up."

Yeah. Like it will, you stupid fucking moron. Don't you see how tired I am? I'M TRYING TO FIND MY BROTHER'S KILLER AND GET MY REVENGE, BUT SCHOOL IS HOLDING ME BACK FROM GETTING IT!!!
I wanted to scream that at her face so badly, but I held my tongue instead. Instead, I shrugged and muttered, "I dunno."

"Alright. You do you, Naomi. I won't force you to go out there and play..."

The teacher finally walked off, and when she turned around, I quickly flipped her off without anyone noticing.
"Bitch," I muttered quietly.

As if things couldn't get worse, they just did.

Yui walked up to me, and I expected her to have that ugly smile on her face, but instead she had a frustrated look. I raised my eyebrow. I'd never seen her like that before, but I already knew what she wanted. She probably wanted me to join her team.

"Alright, Naomi-san. I don't care what you say. Join us in volleyball; we need a fourth member."
Yui looked pissed. She really wanted me to join her fucking team.

I crossed my arms, giving her the same answer that she's heard a million times from me. "You already know the answer, Yui. FUCK NO. Now get out my face."

Yui's face was getting red out of anger. She couldn't hold it back much longer.
She had tried to get me to socialize. She had tried to be friends with me, to "somehow" change my life, because she was suspecting something was going on with me, but it was no use. I always pushed her away.

She took a deep breath before speaking up. "Do you know how many times I've been trying to be nice to you, Naomi-san?"

"Many times."

"Yes. And I'm tired of it. I'm trying to help you socialize and at least get some friends instead of being an introvert, and this is how you thank me? By pushing my help away and not giving in?!"

I rolled my eyes, speaking up again, more annoyed. "You know, I never even asked for your help. You're the one trying without me even asking. If you know I won't give in, then why keep retrying?"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!" Yui yelled at the top of her lungs.

Some students around stopped in their tracks and began staring at me and Yui. I swear this was the first time I'd ever heard Yui yell. Yeah, maybe she did yell a few times, but that was if she was too happy or excited. I'd never seen her yell out of anger.

"I've been trying so hard, Naomi-san, but you're just a... a... AN ANTISOCIAL IDIOT!"

I just sat there, taking in the insult without saying anything.

"That's the insult you got?"

But Yui kept going. "Shut up and let me speak! You're just a big, fat... party pooper. You always ruin special surprises and moments for the class."

I scoffed and stood up from the bench. "Oh really now? Name one thing I ruined for the class, bitch. How am I a 'party pooper,' huh? GIVE ME ONE EXAMPLE, I DARE YOU!"

More and more students stopped in their tracks and began forming a circle around us, watching us insult each other back to back.

"Remember that one time you didn't participate in Sensei's birthday surprise we had planned, hm? Remember that one time you refused to bring chips for the class party because you thought it wasn't important, huh? YOU'RE JUST A PARTY POOPER! ADMIT IT!" she yelled out, her entire face red right now.

I had enough of this. I didn't have time to argue with this bitch right in front of me; all the students were watching, and I was just sick and tired of everything. Luckily the teacher wasn't anywhere to be seen at the moment. I believed she went to the bathroom, which was perfect, because now I could just get the fuck out of there and go home.

"Yui, calm down."

"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN, EMA, STAY OUT OF THIS!"

"Listen to me, Naomi-san. I have had enough—"

Without wasting a single second, I pushed Yui with full force into Ema, making them fall on the ground, while yelling—
"GET THE FUCK OUT MY WAY!"

Finally, I walked out of there with no shame at all.

"HEY! YOU CAN'T GO, YOU LITTLE—"

I didn't even listen; I instantly stormed out and walked out the entry gate of the school.

—

"What a fucking day..." I muttered, sighing.

"Time to go home, I guess..."

But before I could walk home, I received a HUD notification from my buddy R-0, AKA Rizzy.
I was confused, but I tapped on the HUD popup, opening the message.

R-0: Hey boss. So apparently someone is a teeny tiny little mad at you, and is maybe after you hehe. You're probably wondering “why is someone after me? What did I do?” Well it's a good thing you asked. Remember Arai Akimitsu? Well apparently his cousin is after you, because apparently you killed him. Remember when he apparently fell to his death and his survival hit 0%? Yes, they believe you pushed him off apparently. Wait, did I type apparently many times in this text? I think I did, yeah... sorry for that boss.
Anyways, when you get home, we'll discuss more of this. See you, and I look forward to your needs of my service :D

As I read through the text, both confusion and anger boiled inside of me. Arai's unknown cousin is after me and they believe I killed him? Bitch, that fucker died from “accidentally” falling off a building after I captured him. It was his own stupid fault!

But the more I thought about it, the more I actually thought that this was good, that this was a sign. If Arai had answers about Itsuki's killer, then maybe, just maybe, his stupid cousin also had some answers, some leads, just something.

I smirked, silently thanking God for giving me a sign of hope.

Thank you, God. Thank you so much.

[TO BE CONTINUED!]