Classroom Mischief

The afternoon heat seeped into the classroom, making the air thick and sluggish. The teacher's monotone voice droned on, accompanied by the faint scratch of pens and occasional coughs from students. Most of the class looked half-asleep, slumped over their desks in various states of boredom.

Riku, however, was wide awake. His notebook was open, his pen moving furiously as he tried to focus on taking notes. The lesson wasn't exactly riveting, but it was better than zoning out and getting scolded later.

Next to him, Yumi had a completely different approach to surviving class: doing absolutely nothing productive.

She sat casually with her chin propped on her hand, her long black-blue hair draped over one shoulder. Her notebook was blank, untouched since the start of the lesson. Instead of paying attention, she was watching Riku with a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes.

"Hey, Riku," she whispered, her voice low but playful.

He didn't look up. "What?"

"You always this serious, or is today special?" she teased, her lips curving into a smirk.

Riku's pen paused for a second. "I'm trying to focus."

"Focus, huh?" Yumi tapped her pen against the desk thoughtfully. "You look like you're trying to solve something big"

Riku sighed quietly, his face heating up slightly. "Can you not?"

Yumi leaned a little closer, clearly amused by his reaction. "No promises."

For a few blissful moments, she went quiet. Riku dared to hope she had finally decided to leave him alone. But of course, Yumi was never one to miss an opportunity for chaos.

"You know," she began again, her voice barely above a whisper, "I heard that staring at your notes too hard can make you dumb."

Riku shot her a sideways glance. "Pretty sure that's not a thing."

"Are you sure? I read it somewhere—maybe a very reputable source, like… a cereal box."

Riku couldn't help but huff a quiet laugh despite himself. "You're ridiculous."

Satisfied that she'd gotten a reaction out of him, Yumi leaned back in her chair, looking far too pleased with herself. Riku shook his head, trying once again to focus on the teacher's droning lecture.

But Yumi wasn't done.

"You ever wonder what would happen if the teacher caught us talking?" she mused innocently.

Riku frowned. "We'd get in trouble, obviously."

Yumi's smirk deepened. "Yeah, but imagine if I said something really shocking. Like—"

She leaned in, her breath tickling his ear as she whispered something so unexpectedly naughty that Riku's brain short-circuited.

His eyes widened, and before he could stop himself, he shot up from his seat, face as red as a tomato. While holding his ear.

The entire classroom went dead silent.

The teacher paused mid-sentence, his chalk hovering over the blackboard. "Riku? Is there a problem?"

Every pair of eyes in the room was now fixed on him.

"N-No!" Riku stammered, panic gripping him. He sat back down so fast his chair scraped loudly against the floor.

Yumi had her head buried in her arms, her shoulders trembling violently. She was clearly trying—and failing—to stifle her laughter.

The teacher narrowed his eyes but resumed the lesson, muttering something about "disruptions."

Riku slumped in his seat, wishing he could disappear.

"You… you should've seen your face," Yumi laughing quietly with her hands on her stomach, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

Riku glared at her, his voice low and strained. "You're insane."

She wiped her eyes, her laughter finally subsiding into soft giggles. "Totally worth it."

As the lesson dragged on, Riku's heart gradually returned to its normal pace. But Yumi wasn't finished.

She scribbled something on a scrap of paper and slid it onto his desk.

You okay, Mr. Tomato?

Riku shot her a glare and scribbled back. Thanks for ruining my life.

Yumi read his note and grinned. She wrote something else and passed it back.

Ruining your life is way more fun than listening to this lecture.

Riku bit back a laugh, shaking his head. Why are you like this?

Her response came quickly. A natural talent, I guess.

Before he could reply, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Students began packing up their things, eager to escape.

Yumi stretched lazily, standing up from her seat. As she slung her bag over her shoulder, she leaned down toward Riku, her voice low but teasing. "Try not to think about me too much, okay?"

Riku blinked, caught off guard. "Wha—?"

But before he could say anything coherent, she was already walking away, her laughter lingering in the air.

Riku stared after her, bewildered. His heart thumped harder than it should.

Under his breath, he muttered, "How am I not supposed to think about you after that?"

Realizing what he'd just admitted aloud, his face turned crimson.

Riku slumped onto his desk with a groan. Yumi was really going to be the death of him someday.