The Slave

PART ONE

I was in the classroom with my classmates, the teacher was telling us the results of the three highest achieved scores.

“The second highest score is a score of 87%, that person is…” She stopped talking for a moment because she was shocked that the most intelligent student in her class was placed second. “It’s Sakai-san… Congratulations on the second spot…” This was her first time seeing that she didn’t top the class.

“The highest-rated score belongs to…” She looked me in the eyes almost like she didn’t believe it. “Nage-kun with a top score of 100%” Everyone in the class was shocked to hear that, what followed was a quiet moment full of disbelief. Then I heard Sakai-san stuttering, “N-NAGE-KUN HAS A PERFECT SCORE? THERE MUST BE A MISTAKE SURELY! HE DIDN'T EVEN STUDY FOR IT!” The teacher reassured her that she didn’t make any mistakes on the scores given.

*Ding,ding,ding.*

It was the school’s bell, time for lunch.

“That wraps it up, everyone take your stuff and leave it’s lunchtime!” The teacher said. Everybody was clearing their desks and left the classroom.

Then Sakai-san appeared in front of me, “You cheated” Did she just accuse me of cheating?

“Do you have any proof?” I asked. That doesn’t matter, because I’m pulling the strings here. It almost put a smile on my face to see her behave like this.

“I don’t have any proof,” she replied. 

“That means that I won, you have to be my slave for an entire week.” Hearing this made her feel anxious. 

“I didn’t say that, I wasn’t even for real. That whole bit was a joke just to make you feel scared,” She said anxiously. She was in denial, she just couldn’t stand it that I beat her.

But I’m still the conductor.

“I don’t care about the bet, I don’t want you as my slave.” She couldn’t believe what I just said, “What… you don’t want me to be your slave?”

She thought that I would take advantage of her, the most popular girl in the school.

“That’s correct.” After I said that I simply left her there and walked towards the door. As there was nothing more to discuss.

Having the popular girl as my slave will just give me a bad look, and will attract a lot of eyes. That is what I would like to avoid as much as possible.

Nakata-kun stopped me in my tracks towards the door, “Hey Nage-kun do you want to sit next to each other in the cafeteria?” I saw this as an opportunity to get to know more about the classes in this school, “sure.”

PART TWO

I walked alongside Nakata-kun towards the cafeteria, and we attracted a lot of eyes, mostly from girls. “Nage-kun I didn’t know you were that smart,” he said. “I just happen to be good at math, really it’s not a big deal.” He glanced at me for a short moment and looked straight ahead again. “Good…-- YOU MEAN A GENIUS! You didn’t make one mistake on that test, I didn’t even understand some of the questions asked.”

He again looked at me, “Nage-kun have you ever been told that you are handsome? He noticed that I was taken by surprise as I didn’t expect a guy to tell me that I look good, “Don’t take this the wrong way Nage-kun, but while we were walking all the girls were looking at you, so I don’t understand why you wouldn’t date any girls while you’re attending school.”

“At the moment I don’t care about them, while attending school I just don’t see any benefit school-wise by dating. Instead, I see it as a lot of work, attention, time, compromise, and stress. Dating a girl in high school is just a waste of energy,” I said. He looked at me very seriously… then after a couple of seconds that same serious look faded into a bright smile and he started laughing. “Hahaha… Come on Nage-kun, dating a girl has also benefits maybe you find your soulmate here at this school!” Soulmate he said, I don’t believe in such fate.

We entered the cafeteria, it was big enough to fit every student. I noticed students in a line waiting to order something to eat from the menu that hung behind the counter clerk. As I and Nakata-kun were waiting in the line, I quickly scanned the menu that contained 5 different menu options;

- Miso soup with a small bowl of rice and boiled vegetables. Price: 350 yen.

- A French omelet with a small bowl of tomato rice and boiled vegetables. Price: 400 yen.

- Stir-fried pork with a small bowl of fried rice and a cucumber salad. Price: 1000 yen.

- Fried chicken with a small bowl of rice and a bowl of coleslaw. Price: 700 yen.

- Cheeseburger with fries. Price: 700 yen.

You also had different drinks;

- Water. Price: 70 yen.

- Milk. Price: 100 yen.

- Coffee. Price: 200 yen.

- Orange juice Price: 250 yen.

- Lemonade. Price: 200 yen.

The prices were about right for what you would get at a school cafeteria. “I want the cheeseburger and fries menu, and a can of lemonade to wash it all down,” Nakata-kun said to the clerk. That is a high-calorie meal that I’m going to avoid. “I will go for the Miso soup menu, and get a coffee with it as well,” I said right after it was my turn. We waited for a short while and took our food to a table.

“Want to try the burger?” He said with a friendly smile before taking the first bite. “No thanks, I’m fine with the miso soup and the rice.” It was the first time in a while that I shared a table with someone, my parents aren’t living with me so I’m always eating alone. In middle school, I always ate alone so this was something new. “The first year has three classes, right? I asked. “Yes, Class A, B, and C.” He replied.

I wanted to know more about the other two classes, “Do you know anything about those other two classes, like who is the most popular in that class and if they are friendly or you should avoid them?” I asked. 

“Let me think for a moment.” I waited a couple of seconds before he started speaking again. “Class B is the class with the most delinquents. I don’t remember their names but at the start of the school year some students from Class B fought with some second year’s, they did get a warning for that. Class C on the other hand is somewhat friendly you could say, but most of the students there are formal.” My eyebrows raised when I heard the word formal. 

“Formal?…— What do you mean by that,” I asked curiously.

“They don’t joke around at all, they try their best to have the best grades in the whole school, they are mostly inside the library after classes.

I felt that someone was watching me while I was eating.

Soon two people stood behind me, “Hello, do you guys mind if we joined your table?” I quickly wanted to say no but Nakata-kun welcomed them before I could say anything. “Yes of course, take a seat Umi and Mai-san. He didn’t say their last name so they were friends I figured. “Hello, nice to meet you Nage-kun! I’m the girlfriend of Kentaro, my name is Medo Umi, and this is my friend Sashi Mai. We both are in Class C.” She said with these bright blue eyes, I glanced at her blond hair while she pointed to her friend.

“H-Hi… It’s a pleasure meeting you,” She said a little nervous. This girl had a ponytail and dark brown hair. The green eyes complimented her beautiful natural face which was clean without any make-up on it.

“Nice to meet you two too, but I wa…”

*Ding,ding,ding*

As I wanted to tell them that they need to leave our table because I had more questions to ask Nakata-kun, I heard the bell.

“Time for the next class, let’s go Nage-kun.” Nakata-kun said after hearing the bell.

I wanted to address the person who was watching me all the time. So I told him that he should go ahead. “You go ahead, I see you in class.” He nodded and left the table.

I saw him leave the cafeteria and began walking towards her. “I know I’m pleasing to the eye, but can you stop looking at me?” Sakai-san let out a little giggle, “haaaah? I didn’t even look at you! She said dumbfounded. “Forget it,” I said as I started to walk away. “DON'T TURN YOU BACK TO ME!” She said irritated at the fact that I didn’t find her worth my time. “Well don’t beat around the bush then, tell me what you want from me.”

She looked me in the eyes for a couple of seconds and turned around. “Idiot,” she said softly and walked away.

PART THREE

After a long first day at school, the last class finally finished. Time to go home, or so I thought. “Nage-kun are you ready? It’s time to show you around.” Nura-san said while I was clearing my table. I forgot that she had to show me around the school to get a better understanding of where everything was.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

We walked together and she showed me some important facilities: The library, Infirmary, and a shop for school necessities like pencils, notebooks, markers, bags, and more. We arrived at the Gymnasium, and people were standing in front of the entrance.

"Heya, it's the new kid," he said to the girl. “Ahh the undercover-lover?” The female friend replied while watching me and Nura-san approach. “It's a bit weird to look at us like that, is there something? Nura-san questioned them. The girl with the yellow pigtails hairstyle replied in a harsh way, “yes, this fake lover face is the problem. I just can’t stand it to see his face around! 

I didn't want to spend any more time on these two so I continued walking into the Gymnasium, suddenly I spotted a right hook coming straight for my head. “IF YOU'RE TALKING TO KOJIMA-SAN YOU CAN'T TURN YOUR BACK ON HER!" The boy with the glasses shouted. 

In an instant, I gripped his hook in my palm. All three were shocked to see my fast reaction. I looked halfway back with my head not turning my body around. “If you fight someone you should fight him face to face, don't do a cheap move in my back.” After hearing those words his hand became loosened and I let go of it, he saw my cold reaction and stepped back. 

“I have to go, we see each other another day,” Kojima-san said calmly while walking away, the guy quickly followed her. Nura-san hurried by my side as I entered the Gymnasium.

After we left I noticed her being a little more cautious of me. So I said, “let's take a break.”And we both sat down on the bench in the school’s park.

She looked at the ground and started speaking, "back when I introduced myself I pretended that it was the first time I saw you, any idea why?