Seating Chart!

The classroom looked just how it always did, with multiple rows of desks lined up against a massive window, and a chalkboard behind where the teacher stood.

Shortly after entering, a cracking noise emerged from the door as it slid open. Someone else had entered. With his head leaning toward the ceiling, his hands behind his back, and a posture carved like the finest wood you’d seen, Satoshi entered the classroom with a blazing sense of duty. Lining himself at the front of the class, right behind the chalkboard near him, he put his hands on the teacher's table and took a quick breath before opening his mouth.

“Welcome to your new term. You’re now halfway through your third year, so you should know how a seating chart works. Do not, for the love of god, disrespect me as class president and sit outside of where you’re supposed to.”

I figured it would be funny to sit at my old spot.

Suddenly, his expression shifted completely. Pointing directly at me, his scowl made his seriousness clear.

“Yuuki-kun, you don’t sit there!”

Of course, I couldn’t take him seriously, so I questioned him for my own amusement.

“Really?” I asked.

When Satoshi heard this, he was on the verge of pulling his hair out.

“Do you know just how much time I spent on this seating chart!?”

“I don’t care.”

Satoshi sighed before looking down at his table.

“Just, sit at your assigned seat.”

“Alright alright.”

Getting up, I checked the board to find my seat. When I located it, I noticed that I was seated at the bottom right corner. Walking toward my seat, I thought about something but didn’t pay much attention to it, until I saw Satoshi sitting in front of me, ready to ask me a question.

“So, how’s your new seat?”

With him asking this, I gave a devilish smile, with my hands held together on my desk.

“Great. I feel just like an anime protagonist.”

“Must be a coincidence.”

With his response being quick as a bullet, he turned around just as fast. Noticing an opportunity to tease, I took it in an instant.

“Are you sure about that? This is where they always sit.”

Satoshi failed to look back at me, only showing me his fist.

“Alright alright, I’m sorry,” I told him.

Getting the response he wanted, Satoshi gave me a smile with his eyes closed while relaxing his arm on his chair, completely shifting his attitude when he’d start a new conversation.

“Anyway, I’m so glad that I’m sitting in front of you. It was so lame last term without anyone to talk to.”

“It must’ve taken a lot to bribe the teacher for this.”

“You’re right about that.”

“Not even denying it, I see.”

“There’s no point. I know you’re one to catch on.”

Knowing him, this whole conversation seemed off. I couldn’t pinpoint it though, so I remained content in the silence I stayed in. Once I had grabbed my materials out of my bag, though, I noticed that Satoshi still looked straight at me. He still had more to say.

“Where’s Ayane-chan?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I care about you.”

“That’s a funny joke.”

With that one remark, Satoshi’s smile turned into a sigh of disappointment.

“Please take our friendship seriously.”

“Fine.”

It took a moment for Satoshi to say anything else. Instead of having his arm relaxed on his chair, he placed it at the back of his neck before asking me another question.

“But how did you spend your time with her over break?”

“I didn’t.”

Satoshi covered his face with his hand, struggling to respond, and when he did so, it sounded like he tried not to yell at any cost.

“Are you serious? Why the hell did she even choose you?”

“Does that matter?”

Hearing this, Satoshi put his arm back where it was and gave his attention back to me with his eye contact, ready to reaffirm his position.

“It matters to me.”

“I guess I’ll find out then. One question isn’t too hard to ask.”

When I put my pencil back in my hand, ready to spin it around to quell the boredom that nearly had me asleep on my desk, Satoshi looked at me and smirked.

“It seems like today’s your lucky day.”

It didn’t take too long to realize what he referred to, as I saw Ayane looking at the board. I think I saw her on her tiptoes. I knew she was short, but she could’ve easily just looked up to find her seat. Chances were high, though, that she didn’t even consider such an option, seeing how much of a nervous wreck she portrayed herself as, especially since she almost got here late. Regardless, I had to tell Satoshi my thoughts.

“I’m guessing you had her sit next to me, didn’t you.”

It didn’t take too long for my sarcastic prediction to end up being correct, as Ayane put her bag on the chair next to mine. As she began to get what she needed out of her bag, I decided to further pry into Satoshi.

“How much did you pay to suck the teacher’s-”

Before I could finish my sentence, Satoshi put his hand over my mouth to arrest my speech.

“Shush Yuuki-kun, you can’t say that.”

As he got comfortable returning to his seat, I found a response to combat him.

“Nah, you’re just insecure.”

“And I thought the virgin insults were bad.”

Satoshi took a deep breath, relaxing his body before continuing.

“Whatever. Go on and talk to her. You wouldn’t waste an opportunity from a friend, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah yeah, sure, I’ll get it over with.”

Now, without someone to banter with, I saw myself next to Ayane, who just noticed my existence. As her eyes connected to mine, she didn’t look away, but instead just stared straight at me. With her eyes wide and mouth slightly opened, I didn’t know how to take this expression of hers. Despite this, I still spoke up.

“Hey, how was the morning?”

She continued to stare for a bit. She might not have registered my presence, so I waved my hand around her face until she did. When she finally did, she jumped a little, and her expression changed. With her face now red, she tried to give a response.

“Huh? Oh… It’s been good.”

Given the circumstances of her nervousness and lack of confidence in her answer, I doubted that this could be the case. I didn’t want to pry any further, though, not only because of my lack of care but also because our teacher had finally entered the classroom.