Drama Queen

A Chance of Happiness Chapter 3: Drama Queen

“What did I just say? Am I an idiot?! Well, obviously. But I can’t believe I just said that to her!” Jin thought to himself as he continued to his next class. “But… her expression…” Jin looked at the pencil he’d just gotten back. “I’ve seen it before…” he turned to see his reflection in one of the classroom windows to see a different, yet similar expression to Mina’s was clear to see across his face. A blank… hollow expression.

“Yo! Jin!” a voice yelled in the distance.

Jin brought himself back into reality to see Vernon waiting outside the door of his class. As Jin approached, Vernon tilted his head in a concerned manner.

“What is it?” Jin asked.

“Did something happen?” Vernon placed his hand on his chin, analyzing him from head to toe. “You look like you just had a rough day at your uncle’s dojo, walked home in the pouring rain, then binged an entire anime that left you completely unsatisfied.”

Jin gave him a confused look. “That’s… oddly… specific…”

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“What happened? It’s not like I’ve never seen you without that thousand yard stare before but it’s barely been an hour since we left the orientation. Did something happen in your first class? And before you think of saying “no”, just know that I can tell something’s wrong either way. It’s like a best friend superpower of mine.”

“I…” Jin started, glancing back at the pencil he was still holding in his hand.

Vernon looked at the pencil in his hands. “My god.” He placed his hands on the side of his head as if he’d just had a serious revelation.

“What? Are you alr–”

“You killed three men in a bar with only a pencil. I always knew it was possible but I never thought–”

“What?! No! You– You’ve been watching too many movies, haven’t you?”

Vernon removed his hands from his head. “Ha, no… just like… an average amount.”

“By whose standards?”

“Mine, but that’s besides the point. Anyways, class is probably going to start soon. You can tell me what actually happened when we get inside.”

As Jin and Vernon walked into the class they were quickly greeted by a man with red hair, sitting on a desk near the entrance. His clothes were those of a teacher, but they were clearly wrinkled and not at all well kept.

“Grab a quiz and take a seat.” The man gestured to the stack of papers on the neighboring desk.

“On the first day?!” Vernon whined. “Mr., uh…”

The man sitting on the desk pointed to the whiteboard, where a name and a few math problems were written on the board.

“Ryuji Ch– ah! Chino-sensei, don’t you think this a bit–” Vernon stopped as Ryuji’s blank, tired eyes met his. “Y’know what? A quiz on the first day sounds like a great way to get the brainwaves flowing right? What a great idea. Y’know what else is a great idea? Seats. Which we’ll be taking right… about… now…”

Vernon grabbed Jin’s wrist and took him over to a couple tables in the corner of the room.

“What was that about?” Jin asked as they sat down.

“Are you kidding me?! He was terrifying! It’s like he was staring into my soul!”

Vernon glanced over to see Ryuji was still staring at him. He grabbed Jin’s shoulder as they both huddled in between the desks.

“Did you see that?! Is he still staring at me?! Please check!”

Jin sighs and looks above the tables to see Ryuji still giving the same blank stare.

“He is.”

“O-my-gosh this is it for me! I must’ve angered him somehow! I’m doomed! My high school career is over!”

“Still the drama queen I see, Ichihara-kun.” a voice called from in front of them.

“Actually, it’s drama KING. I–” Vernon stopped his meltdown to see two girls sitting a couple rows in front of them. One with forest green hair and glasses, the other with dirty blonde hair with a confident smirk across her face.

Jin looked away towards the sheet of paper they picked up. Attempting to ignore them.

“Whatever, it’s ridiculous to even believe yourself to be any kind of king when you're hanging around a reject.” The girl with the smirk taunted.

“Um… Maddy–” The girl with glasses began.

“Of course I consider myself a king. A good king should interact with all his loyal subjects regardless of their status.” Vernon began, interrupting her. “Which of course means that I should set at least a LITTLE bit of time to spend with you Dai-san.” Vernon taunted in return with a sarcastic voice.

Maddy put down her pencil on her desk with force and stood up. “Why you insufferable–”

“Maddy! Please.” The girl with the glasses spoke up, trying to calm her down.

“Ah! Midori-san how are you? Doing well I hope. Still just as kind and studious as ever I see. Oh? And are those a new pair of glasses? They look absolutely adorable on you!”

“Oh… I… thank you…”

“Midori!” Maddy raised her voice.

Midori shrugged shyly as Maddy raised her voice, turning back to her paper. Jin looked up, noticing Midori’s shy expression.

“You shouldn’t speak to your friends like that.” Jin finally spoke up.

“Oh? The reject speaks. That’s a first. What? You think high school’s gonna be any different from junior high? You’re delirious.” Maddy gave Jin a look of confidence and hatred.

“Don’t listen to this crap, Jin. Just ignore her, it’s easy. Just watch me.” Vernon placed his hands over his ears and started babbling as if to block out the noise.

“Shut up you idiot. This goes for you too.”

“Maddy…” Midori whispered, poking at her side.

“Quiet!” Maddy crossed her arms confidently. “You think Natsu’s done with you? As if, the only thing that’s gonna change is that things are gonna get much, much worse. You’re nothing, and as such, you’ll amount to nothing. Just like you always have. Nothing but a delinquent.”

Jin and Vernon’s eyes widened. Not for the cruel words just spoken to them, but the sudden change in atmosphere, and the figure now standing behind her.

“What? Got nothing to–” Maddy paused, feeling someone looking over her shoulder.

“You done?” Ryuji spoke up from behind her.

Maddy quickly turned, waving her hands. “It was a joke! I didn’t mean it! I–” she stuttered.

“Whatever, drama queen. Take a seat.” Ryuji paused as the bell rang. “Class is in session. Pay attention and you might learn something.”

Maddy quickly sat down in her seat, slightly in shock. Ryuji gave her a cold side eye as he walked back to the front of the class.

“Eyes up front, I’ll only say this once and ONLY once. So I suggest you all listen up, and keep your opinions on others to yourselves.” Ryuji declared, sitting on the teacher's desk in the front of the room.