Classroom Cleanup

 The bell chimed, indicating the end of the class period. Almost immediately, a few students crowded around Ayano’s desk. The class president had come in late that day. What made things more suspicious was how she had a bandage wrapped around her ankle.

Almost immediately upon noticing this, the entire class glared daggers at Akari, suspicious if the rumored gangster had anything to do with the class president’s injury.

Trying his best to ignore their glares, Akari sat in his seat with the same icy demeanor acting almost as an ice shield against all the eye-piercing gazes. Once lunch finally came around, Akari left the room, walking up to the highest staircase that led to the rooftops. Even though the door was locked, it was because the door was locked that no one would ever come to the top of the staircase.

“Mind if I join you?” Akari raised his head to see Ayano standing behind him holding a blue bag. Without waiting for an answer the class president strolled over and sat down next to him. She handed him a boxed lunch from within the bag.

“You forgot your lunch at home,” she stated as Akari accepted it and placed it on his lap. “You’re lucky I’m here.”

“Thank you,” Akari took off the wooden lid, revealing an assortment of meat and vegetables with a side of rice with a single pickled plum on top of it. Accepting a pair of chopsticks from Ayano, Akari glanced at her while she began to eat.

“Is it alright for you to be here?” He asked, glancing around them to see if anyone else was nearby.

“What do you mean?” Ayano inquired before taking another bite.

“It’s just… you’re sitting next to the rumored gangster,”

“Are you going to hurt me?”

“No, but…”

“Are you that worried about what others will think of you if they see me with you?” Ayano asked, bringing up the glares in class today.

“If anything, it’s the exact opposite,” Akari corrected. “I don’t think it’s very good for the class president to be seen next to me.”

“I brought you lunch and you’re sending me away?” Ayano teased. “How rude.”

“You can stay here if you want,” Akari declared, rather enjoying her company. She beamed at him with a mouthful of food causing the young gangster to crackle up.

Finally starting to eat his lunch, the two ate in silence. Once they were done eating, Ayano stood up first, ready to leave.

“By the way, you’re in charge of cleaning the classroom today,” Ayano stated as she twirled around to face him, her hands held behind her back.

“Who am I on duty with?” He asked. Ayano paused as she peeked back with a playful grin.

“Me.”

It wasn’t soon before the bell chime rang, indicating the end of the school day. Ayano waved goodbye to the students as the class emptied, sharing eager smiles as their chatter left the hall. With just her and Akari left in the room, Ayano immediately walked up to his desk holding the folder containing the cleaning duties.

“Let’s get to work, Akari!” Ayano eagerly stated as she placed the folder upon his desk. Akari, however, kept his gaze staring outside the window while he rested his head against a hand.

Unsure if the young boy had heard her, Ayano lifted up the folder before smacking the top of Akari’s head with it. It finally did the trick as Akari was knocked out of his daze and stared bewildered at the class president.

“What was the question?” He asked, believing he was still in the middle of a class. Ayano pouted as she gestured towards the clock to indicate the time.

“Class ended already. It’s time for us to clean up before we leave,” she stated. Akari dumbfoundedly nodded his head as he let out a yawn, earning a disappointed sigh from Ayano.

He finally stood up and began to join Ayano as they cleaned up in the classroom. Emptying the overflowing bin and tidying up scattered papers, they worked in a comfortable silence, the only sounds being the soft swish of brooms.

As they moved across the blackboard, Ayano took charge of cleaning the left side, while Akari started from the right. Both were meticulous, making sure to do their best to prevent any chalk from falling onto the floor.

“Can I see Aki right now?” Ayano asked, eager to see the more energetic version of the boy as they cleaned.

“Not going to happen,” Akari shut her down immediately as he cleaned the blackboard. “There could still be others around.”

“I’m Aki’s girlfriend, not yours,” Ayano teased with a light joke. “I don’t have to be nice around you.”

“I guess you don’t have to be,” Akari replied, seemingly unbothered. “You’ve been nice enough,”

“I’m just joking, just joking,” Ayano declared as she eyes Akari. The boy remained focused on cleaning the board, paying no attention to her scrutinizing gaze. She examined his appearance, feeling a bit disappointed that his hair was pulled back with the white hair clip, and his frown concealed his more childish Aki appearance.

“If… if I’m nicer to you, could you take off your hairclip?” Ayano sheepishly asked, trying to bargain with him.

“I’m sorry but there’s no reason for me to take that risk just for you right now,” Akari declared.

“Fine,” Ayano pouted as she resumed cleaning her side. “I guess you will have to do for now.”

As they finished cleaning and stepped back, Ayano realized she hadn’t wiped the top of the board yet. Walking back over, she tried to reach her hand up with the eraser but found herself falling just a bit short.

“Ah,” Ayano found herself unable to remove the writing at the top of the board. “I can’t reach it.”

“I got it,” Akari offered, extending his hand to assist Ayano in wiping the top of the board. He walked over next to her and swept the top portion before glancing at Ayano who was precariously close to her.

“You’re surprisingly tall,” Ayano noticed as Akari lowered his hand.

“I’m only a bit taller than you,” Akari responded as he picked up the other eraser to clean them.

“But you seem to be shorter when you’re Aki,” Ayano pointed out. In response, Akari clapped both erasers in front of her face, causing a chalk cloud to erupt between them. He stood calmly as Ayano let out a loud cough, lifting a hand up to her mouth.

“What was that for?” She scolded as Akari stood there, also covered in some chalk dust.

“I guess we have to sweep again,” Akari declared as he turned to walk to the back of the classroom to fetch a broom. Ayano pouted, annoyed by the situation, but followed him to grab another broom to clean up the small mess that had been made.

Thankfully, it didn't take too much time before they finished up.

“Oy! Akari!” Naoki waved to them from the gate as the two students left the building. As Akari and Ayano walked over, the mischievous gangster swung an arm around Akari, pulling him in tight. “You’re late.”

“I’m not late. I had classroom cleanup duties,” Akari explained as he tried to fight off Naoki’s tight grip. “But why are you here? I specifically told you not to pick me up today.”

“Oh, I’m not here to pick you up,” Naoki said, reaching into his pants pocket. He rummaged around before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Akari. The young gangster unwrapped the paper, revealing a list of items.

“Misha told me to give this to you,” Naoki explained as he combed back his gelled hair. “She wanted you to go buy groceries today—”

Before Naoki could finish his sentence, Akari abruptly shoved the piece of paper into Naoki's chest, compelling him to hold onto it while releasing the young gangster from his grip.

“Misha told you to do it, am I right?” Akari deduced calmly. “You’re just trying to push the task on to me. Let me guess, you wanted to sneak off to the arcade.”

“Ahhh, I can’t hide anything from you either,” Naoki sheepishly placed his hand on the back of his head.

“Misha’s taught me well,” Akari stated. Naoki clapped his hands together in a pleading manner as he lowered his head.

“Please Akari, just this once!” He begged, lowering his sunglasses to reveal his pleading, closed eyes. As an idea came to mind, Naoki jolted back up and rummaged around in his other pocket before pulling out his wallet. “I’ll even pay you to do it!”

The lazy gangster held out a few small bills in his hand. Akari eyed the money, clearly unimpressed by the meager offering.

“We’ll do it!” Ayano confidently declared as she accepted the cash, catching Akari off guard as he turned his attention toward her.

“T-thank you!” Naoki offered Ayano a gracious bow. As he lifted his head, his pleading frown had transformed into a glimmering smile. He pushed his sunglasses back up and pulled his leather jacket closer, releasing a deep breath as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Please, if Misha asks, let her know I bought them! I just passed the bags to you!” Naoki pleaded before dashing off to relish his hard-earned free time. Ayano bid him a polite wave as he departed before finally noticing the intense glare that Akari had been directing her way.

“Let’s go to the grocery store, shall we?” She innocently declared, ignoring his disappointment.

“You shouldn’t have accepted that,” Akari said, still glaring at her. “It’s such a tedious chore.”

“Really, you’re just lazy, Akari,” Ayano laughed as she lifted up the paper to read. However, her laughter turned into surprise as the small piece of paper unfurled, revealing that it had been cleverly folded. Now, it stretched down a foot in length, presenting a diverse array of items and ingredients they needed to purchase. Her eyes widened at the unexpected revelation.

“I told you so,” Akari let out a sigh as he shrugged sadly. He began to walk away, leaving Ayano bewildered by the list. Although he had initially planned to abandon her and handle the task alone, Akari hesitated and glanced back over his shoulder. Ayano remained frozen in confusion, unable to grasp the length of the list.

With a sigh escaping his lips, Akari reversed his steps and approached Ayano. Giving her a gentle nudge, he snapped her out of her daze, and she looked up at him with eyes filled with disbelief.

“Come on,” Akari gestured for her to follow him. “I’ll help you carry the bags.”