Warm Mornings and Drowsiness

The bell had already rung many seconds ago, yet Takaya’s seat remained empty without a resident. I reckon he’s late for the fifth time this month.

The sun rays emitting through the window reveal the dust particles floating around carelessly, following wherever a slightly strong gust of wind blows. The warm sunlight bounces from the surface of his desk and thinly lights up the wall beside it.

At 7 in the morning, the sky is awfully sunny. The day feels so peaceful, so comfortable… so... sleepy...

Yaaawnnnn…

I shut my teary eyes as my mouth couldn’t help but expand to let out a tired yawn. The morning drowsiness is biting hard today. I may just sleep through the first period.

I shake my head at the thought of sleeping through history class, as the new teacher is a young, dazzling young lady.

Speak of the devil, she's here! The door slides ajar for a moment before shuffling further.

Ms. Hirano is looking as beautiful as ever, as the top of her head peeks inside the classroom. Her face is as nervous as it was yester-yesterday, but her heartwarming smile solidifies her resolve to give her all. 

Isn’t that just super cute?!

Everyone gives a greeting as per the class president’s command. She greets us back, still keeping up her sweet demeanor. It felt as if my morning drowsiness had just been washed away in an instant.

I leer over the empty seat right across my desk. A smirk makes its way to my cheek.

Takaya’s gonna regret missing out on this. He’s basically Ms. Hirano’s number-one fan!

I wondered how late he’ll be today as I recall yesterday’s commotion.

I still can’t believe he was a full hour late to school! How do you mess up that badly?

Ms. Hirano clasps her hands together to forward everyone’s attention to her, not knowing that everyone had already fixated their eyes on her from the very beginning.

“I hope you all got a good night's sleep! I’m sure you’ve all noticed, but today’s weather is exceptionally great! It’s so sunny and warm outside, but it sure makes you a bit sleepy, does it not?” she lets out a short chuckle. 

I would usually hate pointless small talk akin to this, but somehow, Ms. Hirano is able to turn it into a worthwhile conversation.

She continues to give small talk, occasionally bouncing off conversations with a couple of students, before getting into the material. Her hands flew around the board, writing bullet points as she explains the material cohesively.

Her soft voice is great and all, but it’s just making me more and more drowsy…

Nooo, I can’t fall asleep… Not when Ms. Hirano is teaching…

Takaya must’ve heard my struggle and helped by barging into the classroom, wearing the wrong uniform paired with his messy dark brown locks forming cat ears as well as his inconsistent breathing.

“I HAD TO TAKE A DUMP!!!” he announced without a warning.

The class’s attention was averted to the intruder at the door. The classroom grows silent before combusting into a unison laugh. 

Ms. Hirano tilts her head with a dumbfounded expression, unable to spit the right words to respond to such an absurd entrance. “A-ah, well, Kazuhara-kun… I guess we all have those days when… nature calls!”

Takaya, realizing he had said something outrageous in front of his idol, took a step back with his slanted eyes wide open. The shock was too much to bear, as he lost his footing and fell backward. His unzipped backpack coughed up all of the messily folded paper inside his bag, creating a small storm of exercise sheets and exam papers.

The class’s mood was, once again, lightened up by our beloved comedian, with a tinge of worry in Ms. Hirano’s eyes. 

He sat back up, unable to stop even himself from laughing.

Ms. Hirano reaches out to him to help, worried about his fall. Even so, she let out a hearty giggle at Takaya’s shenanigans.