Chapter 2: Let me answer, Teacher!

The first discussion in our class has officially begun. The one who's teaching is the 15-year-old pink-haired woman. She's currently teaching the subject of English. Holding the chalk in her hands, she wrote the word "aesthetic" on the chalkboard.

"Takahashi-kun, can you give me the definition of this word?" asked the pink-haired woman.

By "Takahashi-kun," she means me. She's obviously planning to ask me questions on every subject. Heh, bring it on. Whatever questions you ask, I'll answer them flawlessly. I stood up and began to answer her question.

"The term 'aesthetic' refers to how something is seen or appreciated for its beauty, usually in relation to its overall visual appeal, art, or design. Similar to how I admire the aesthetic way you wear those suits," I said, trying to be as charming as I could.

The class went silent and turned in my direction with looks of disgust. Some of them are even holding their laughter, and some are embarrassed.

"That's a good answer with unnecessary additional information. You also commented earlier that 'your suit doesn't suit you'. So please just answer without making unnecessary comments," the pink-haired woman said to me with a smile.

The class laughed lightly, and I just stood up. When the noise of the class calmed down, I slowly sat down in my chair. The class continued, and the pink-haired woman asked another question. I raised my hand to get her attention, but she ignored my action.

"You, can you answer this?" asked the pink-haired woman.

She pointed at the third seat from the right in the second row. The student is a male, and he slowly stood up. He answered the question correctly, and the pink-haired woman gave her applause.

"Well done, what's your name?" asked the pink-haired woman.

"Ryo Kobayashi, ma'am," answered the male student.

"Well done, Kobayashi-kun," said the pink-haired woman.

Kobayashi took a seat, and the discussion continues. The pink-haired woman asked another question to the class. I raised my hand to answer, but she ignored me again.

The subjects of English, science, politics, and Japanese were all taught by her. She's so good at teaching that the students started to call her "genius-sensei." Her lessons were easy to understand, and my classmates loved them. The only one who's bored in the room is me. That's because I studied all those topics ahead of time.

"We'll continue after lunch," said the pink-haired woman.

The pink-haired woman walked out of the room, and we were left behind. I quickly stood up from my chair. Tanaka looked in my direction and talked to me.

"Where are you going?" asked Tanaka.

I smiled at him and lied.

"There's something I didn't quite understand earlier, so I'm going to ask her about it," I said.

"Good luck then," said Tanaka.

I quickly stepped outside of the classroom and looked for the pink-haired woman. I turned my head left and right, and I found her. Once I spotted her location, I quickly rushed in and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, could I ask you a question?" I asked.

The pink-haired woman slowly turned around and gazed her eyes into mine. Her eyes stared deeply at me, as if she'd seen every bit of my intent.

"That's 'Sensei' for you," replied the pink-haired woman.

"I've been raising my hand for quite a while; you could've at least called me once," I said while trying to ignore her words.

"I've noticed. But there are other students besides you that know the answer. They're just too shy to talk," said the pink-haired woman.

"I guess that makes sense," I said.

"Are we done here?" asked the pink-haired woman.

"Not yet," I said.

"There's more?" asked the pink-haired woman.

I hesitated to tell her my idea and squirmed around like an idiot, not knowing what to do. I tried to take a breath and look her in the eye. I gathered my courage and asked her.

"Would you have lunch with me?" I asked.

"I gladly refuse," said the pink-haired woman while smiling. "If that's all, then I'll be heading on my way."

The pink-haired woman turned her back against me and walked towards the corridor. I was left in shock and am still processing how I got rejected.

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I'm currently on the rooftop of our school, sitting on a bench. The sandwich and tea that I bought are beside me. I didn't touch my food at all and just stared blankly at the clouds.

"Is this seat taken?" asked someone with a girl's voice.

"No, not at all," I said.

I didn't even look at her face and just stared at the clouds. My energy is drained from the rejection the pink-haired woman gave me. I don't even have the strength to eat my food.

"Sorry about me taking the first place in the entrance exam; that must've been frustrating," said the girl next to me.

Entrance exam... the one where I thought I'd be the highest, but someone changed for some unknown reason. I slowly looked beside me, and I saw the face of Ai Shimizu. She's got a lunch box in her thigh and food in her mouth.

"Ai Shimizu..." I muttered.

Her appearance is very gray. Her hair is so long, and her bangs are covering her eyes. She looks so frail that a strong wind might be able to take her down.

"You're really smart," said Ai Shimizu.

"Not really," I said.

I finally got my energy back and picked up the tea beside me. I opened it and took a sip of the tea, which tasted lukewarm.

"Giving a P versus NP problem to my sister is not a bad move—too bad that she was able to figure it out within seconds," said Ai Shimizu.

"Oh, I simply wrote down the easiest problem I could think of at that moment," I said.

"You're lying," said Ai Shimizu.

I immediately looked at her, and she just quietly continued eating her lunch. Her lunch seems to be croquettes with eggs as side dishes. She immediately knew that I was lying without any trouble at all.

"It's the tone of your voice," said Ai Shimizu, as if reading my mind.

"Psychology, huh?" I muttered.

"Hehe, I'm good, aren't I?" giggled Ai Shimizu.

"Well, I guess I have the knowledge and read how to do it, but I didn't put it into practice, so my skills are null," I said.

"My sister can do much more, you know?" said Ai Shimizu.

"Sister? you mean Mei Shimizu?" I asked.

"If you want to impress her, you'll have to do a lot of studying," said Ai Shimizu.

"Studying..." I muttered.

I quickly opened the package for my sandwich and ate it. I also drank the tea I bought and stood up from the bench.

"You're right, if I'm going to mope around here, that wouldn't solve anything," I said.

"That's the spirit," said Ai Shimizu.

"Thanks," I said.

"I didn't do anything," said Ai Shimizu.

I made my way down the stairs to head to the library of this school.

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"Holy crap!" I muttered.

The library at the school is massive! There are three floors, and there are so many books. I quickly went to the shelves and picked up books that might be worth reading.

Once I had gathered my books, I went to the lobby of the library, where a long table could be located. A lot of students gathered here and focused on their own studies. There's also a college student in this library that I can ask for questions that I don't understand.

I looked for a good spot to read the books, and I saw familiar hair. It's the young 15-year-old teacher, quietly reading a massive book that's the same size as her head.

"One day, you'll meet someone who works as hard as you."

I suddenly remembered the words of my mother when I was young. She was right; this young teacher might've worked hard to reach the state she's in right now.

However, I still can't accept her as a teacher. I don't want to, but if I do, that means that I'm allowing someone younger than me to win when it comes to studying. Studying is the one thing I excel at; I won't be content to be in mere second place.

I went in the opposite direction of her and began my own studying. Tomorrow, for sure... I'll be the one to humiliate her this time.