CHAPTER 4 - Jam-Packed July (4)

[FIRST DATE CELEBRATION]

To celebrate their victory against Class 3-A in the first-semester final exams, Chiba invited Hayami to go to the arcade after school. You could say that this was also a reward to themselves for making it to the Top 50, which was made possible by Korosensei's cram lessons and their weekend study sessions.

As they have it clarified between themselves, this would be their official first date, unlike their other hangouts that have taken place out of spontaneity.

Since they were students of the prominent Kunugigaoka Junior High, they brought casual clothing to change into to avoid attention while going inside a place that would clearly defy their school's image.

Along the way, they agreed to forget about their studies and assassination during their date, which meant they were not allowed to talk about either of those. With this, the first thing they played upon entering the arcade was a zombie shooting game.

"Clean hit," said Hayami with a gloating smile, her hair down into waves, after simultaneously taking down seven zombies at a profound speed.

"Nice shot!" Chiba praised.

They beat the top score in the first round. Upon reaching midway in the second, their precision and above-average accuracy attracted about a dozen onlookers.

Thirty minutes later, they finished the whole game with the best score. Their audience applauded and cheered as a lofty amount of tickets from the arcade console piled onto the floor.

They conquered the claw machine next, which was a breeze for Chiba, who got ten prizes in all of his tries. Occupying the machine next to him, Hayami yielded similar results.

The staff-in-charge was having a heart attack as he watched the monstrous couple hoard almost all of the prizes. He scrambled his way towards them and begged them to leave. Thankfully, they obliged and made their way to the counter to exchange their tickets for toys, dolls, and a few snacks.

Each of them has two paper bags in their hands – filled with the prizes they have won in the arcade – as they exited the premises, their countenance that of a child.

"We have indeed improved a lot because of the assassination," Hayami said before quickly pressing her mouth into a thin line. "Sorry. We aren't supposed to talk about that."

"Don't sweat it," Chiba said. Then he pointed across the street. "Let's rest in the café over there."

They entered the glass doors, the scent of coffee wafting their nostrils. They picked the table by the window where you could see the people passing by and the cars driving on the street.

"I'll order for both of us. What do you want?" Chiba presented just as Hayami had settled on the grey sofa.

After glancing briefly at the menu posted above the cashier, she said, "I'll have a café latte," as she fixed the hair strands by her ear.

'Ah, the same as mine,' Chiba thought.

When he had gone back with their orders, he caught his date's lingering gaze on one of his paper bags. Her eyes flickered towards him as if broken from a trance upon sensing his presence.

He placed their drinks on the table. She, then, uttered a "Thank you".

He sat down on the seat across her before bending down to take out a stuffed toy cat from his bag of prizes. "It's yours," he said.

She glanced down at the plush toy in his extended hand. Her face morphed into delight as she accepted it. "Thanks." She gave it a light squeeze before placing it on her lap.

'Cute,' he thought. He had intended to give that to her later on when they departed, but here and now also did the trick.

They spent the rest of the hour mostly taking in the movements outside. Whenever they spotted something that reminded them of Class 3-E and the assassination, they would try to open a conversation about it only for them to remember their taboo agreement.

Afterward, they parted ways at the bus stop where Hayami would be taking a ride back home. It was then they realized that they couldn't hold a proper conversation about anything else other than school and the assassination.

'Maybe it'll get better next time. Just like practicing math problems,' Hayami assured herself as she glanced out the window just like earlier. Only this time, the images outside blurred out from the acceleration of the bus she was in.

If she only knew how wrong she was.

***

Her mother was working on her laptop in the living room when Rinka had arrived. Eager to show her final exam scores, she started to pull them out of her bag.

"Why are you late?"

She stopped short, the irate tone in her mother's voice dissipating her jubilant mood. "I was out with a friend to celebrate our final..." She was about to hand in her exam papers when her mother's face turned dark.

"You have the nerve to have fun with your failing marks. I thought that your teacher would be doing something about it?"

When her mother had received Rinka's previous midterm scores, she became more cynical of her daughter's 'negligence' on her studies. That's why she had consulted with Karasuma, the Class 3-E's homeroom teacher on record, who assured her that the students would be getting the best education so that they would be qualified to return to the main building.

But it turned out that was all for null. Well, once you transferred to the lowest class in a disintegrating classroom with a harsh environment, you should be expecting less from the students and their teachers as well.

Then her mother's gaze traveled to the papers in her clutch. "What is that?" she snapped.

"My final exam," Rinka answered timidly.

The blank look on the young girl's face irked her mother more. "Put them on the coffee table and get out of my sight. I'm sure they're going to be horrible again."

Rinka lowered her exam papers on the table before heading to her bedroom. Upon closing the door behind her, she heaved out a sigh with her hands coiling into fists.

She was supposed to be happy today. But because her mother had already lost trust in her ever since she ended up in Class 3-E, she could not help but torture herself with self-doubt. Feeling at the end of her rope, she wished that her father was still here.