Hangaku whispered near his ear, making him blush, “Their only problem was their vow of chastity. I bet they couldn’t teach you anything about that matter.”
“I… read some books. Tomoe-chan and our friends also helped with some stories and descriptions. I am not that innocent…”
Hangaku made a slight smile. “I wonder how much I can teach you in that department… Dating you will be so much fun. Fall for me already, geez!”
Sakamo laughed, “Ahahah! Here it is, the Hangaku-chan we all know and love! Where did you go? I was getting worried!”
Hangaku laughed with him, and Takechi, who was walking with Tomiko a few metres away, asked, “Since when were those two like that? Yesterday he was asking me for help every time she approached him, at his house he let her use his lap as a pillow, and today they look like a happy couple!”
“Probably it was the kiss. I suppose Sakamo-kun was doubting her feelings for him, that was why he was on the defensive. After the kiss, she went to bed and couldn’t stop smiling. I guess she also realised how much she liked him. It’s nice to see her like that, she looks happy. I know she always seems to have fun and messing with every guy she sees, and most of the time she is, but I never saw her so interested in a boy.”
“What about you? Are you… interested in someone?”
“I think I am. I am not sure if that particular boy is really interested in me, or if he is just mesmerised by my looks.”
“Well… The way you look would mesmerise any boy, and that boy would be a fool if he was not interested in you…”
Tomiko felt her cheeks becoming hot, and she slowly nodded. “I guess I could be a little more daring like Hangaku-chan to make him understand my feelings because that boy is too dense or he lacks confidence. I am not in a hurry. I think it’s also fun to find out more things about him slowly, and see if he likes what he found out about me.”
“Yeah, I think the same. It’s all about the mystery, right?”
Tomiko nodded. “Not all, but some mystery helps. You can tell by those two. The mysterious Sakamo-kun has all of us under his strings. He is like a puppeteer, playing us, and he turned the beautiful Hangaku-chan into his favourite doll! He is so good that we all think that we are abusing his kindness when, in fact, he is controlling us! I am feeling a sudden urge to strike him, to cut my strings!”
Tomiko laughed, and they kept on making plans to get rid of that mysterious puppeteer, and they entered School with Sakamo and Hangaku looking back at them, puzzled by their menacing looks.
Like Takechi warned him, there were a lot of girls staring at him, and some of them weren’t very pleased to see Hangaku Mae holding his arm. Sakamo could hear a few words of despise against Hangaku, but she didn’t mind. She kept on smiling at the girls while holding his arm along the corridors to their classroom.
When Takechi Hito entered with Tomiko Hari, a choir of voices greeted him, and boys and girls who wanted to welcome him to their class surrounded him.
Kaishu Katsu, the Maths Teacher, entered, and everyone rushed to their place.
Takechi stood in the middle of the class, looking for a place to sit, and when he was going to an empty desk, Kaishu Katsu called him to the front. “So, you are the new student. The Principal told me what happened to you yesterday in your classroom. I believe you will be very well-received, right, everyone?”
The entire class nodded, with smiles everywhere, and Yoshinobu Tokuga got up and made a deep bow. “We are honoured to have the great Takechi-sama among us, sensei! We all know that he will bring great fortune to us all!”
Takechi made a big smile and waved his hand. “Thank you for your kind words, Yoshinobu-kun. You may sit now!”
“Thank you for addressing me so kindly, Takechi-sama!”
The entire class burst into laughter, and the Teacher asked, looking a little puzzled by the laughter, “What’s so funny, Yoshinobu-kun? And why are you calling him Takechi-sama?”
“It’s just a joke, sensei. Sakamo-kun addresses him like that, and since yesterday, we have all done the same. This nickname actually suits him very well, because he makes the funniest poses and speaks and act like a great being! We all like Takechi-sama, sensei. His previous classmates were just a bunch of morons for mistreating him.”
Kaishu Katsu nodded. “Well, if it’s just an innocent joke, I guess there is no harm there. Takechi-sama, copy these equations on the board if you please.”
Takechi Hito blinked a few times, surprised by hearing the Teacher calling him by his nickname. Kaishu Katsu looked around at his puzzled students and asked, “What? I can’t address the great Takechi-sama like everyone else?”
They all slowly nodded, and Takechi raised his chin and gently waved his hand. “I will allow that, just because I want us all to have a good relationship!”
Kaishu Katsu muffled his laughter and gave his notebook to Takechi. “Pfft!… Copy these then, and afterwards, try to solve them. Those are the same equations your classmates solved yesterday. I need to check your knowledge to adjust my classes.”
Takechi jotted the equations and solved them in a matter of minutes. Kaishu Katsu looked at the results and said, “Everything is correct. It seems you don’t have problems with Maths. Did you usually have good grades in Middle School?”
“Yes… and that was always a reason for a few mockeries by my… supposed classmates… They never invited me to hang out after School, and when they did, it was always to bully me. I had nothing else to do because I didn’t have any friends, so I spent all my free time helping in my family restaurant and studying.”
Kaishu Katsu grabbed the notebook that Takechi was giving to him and pointed to the empty desk at the back of the class. “Go to your seat, if you please. It seems you already have a lot of friends here, but I hope your grades don’t fall because they distracted you.”
“I will try, sensei.”
Takechi Hito went to his seat, receiving high-fives from his classmates as he walked, along with a few compliments for solving the equations so quickly that gave them so much trouble in the previous class.
Tomiko Hari was looking at him with a glow in her eyes, and she mumbled, “He is so cool… and smart… and he is almost mine…”
Hangaku was at the next desk and overheard her. She leaned back in her seat and whispered, “You better hurry, Tomiko-chan, or another girl might go after him! There are a few here that are smiling at him way too much!”
Tomiko made a slight smile at her friend and blushed a little. The class continued, and Tomiko had a lot of trouble following it because she kept on looking at Takechi, and noticing that not even once did he look at her or anyone else, he was completely focused on the subjects.
When the Teacher finished and left the room in the middle of the morning for a quick break, Takechi took everything from the top of his table and placed it on his chair, then opened the enormous bag he brought to School. Everyone looked at him, attracted by the noise he was making, and saw him putting on the table small cardboard boxes upon boxes that he quickly opened.
The sweet scent of food filled the room and Tadasaburo Sasaki shouted, “No way! Takechi-sama brought his entire kitchen to make a snack! Are you going to eat all that? Oh, the sweet smell is making me hungry…”
Takechi frowned and spoke. “This is not all for me! I may be a little chubbier than you, but I bet such a big guy like you eats a lot more than me! I did this last night and this morning. These are the leftovers from my lunch box. I made way too much, and I didn’t want to throw it into the rubbish, so I thought we could all have a snack before lunch. I don’t know about you guys, but I ate little at breakfast because I was overly excited about joining this class.”
Tadasaburo Sasaki rushed to get near him and smelled a few boxes. “You are amazing, Takechi-sama! Did you make all this? There is enough for a snack for all of us! Come here, everyone, and look at this! Everything looks so tasty! Man, the woman who marries you will be so lucky!”
Tomiko saw Takechi glancing at her, and she made a slight smile, and a flush crept up her face. Hangaku pulled her up, and they both joined the others around Takechi’s desk, tasting a piece of each box he had. Tomiko was munching a rice ball when Takechi told her, with a smile, “You have a piece of rice on your face.”
Tomiko tried to catch it with her tongue, frowning at each failed attempt. “Where? I don’t feel it…”
Takechi approached and gently caught a single grain of rice from her upper lip. He ate it and said, “Perfectly cooked. I thought it needed one more minute, but it turned out really well.”
The entire class was speechless by seeing what he just did and Tomiko’s reaction, who had her face completely red with a slight smile, looking at Takechi with melted eyes and being looked back in the same way.
Tadasaburo Sasaki bit an egg roll and asked, “Is it just me, or do these two look like a couple? When did this happen?”
Takechi averted his eyes and grabbed a piece of bread, and Tomiko went for the same bread, grabbing Takechi’s hand by mistake. She immediately let him go and grabbed another rice ball, perfectly aware that everyone saw what she did.
Hangaku punched Tadasaburo Sasaki’s belly, making him flinch, and she spoke with a scary smile while looking around, “I don’t know why you are trying to peek into the life of someone that made this incredible food. Unless any of you are interested in Tomiko-chan or Takechi-sama, I don’t understand why being together or not has something to do with any of you, and if someone is really interested in one of them, I must give fair warning that I will slice the head of whoever messes with them, understood?”
They all immediately nodded, including Sakamo, who was impressed by the amount of pressure her tone of voice was creating.
When the History Teacher arrived, everyone was still eating and talking around Takechi’s desk, and the Teacher stopped near the entrance, puzzled by all that mess. One student invited him to try some of Takechi’s amazing cooking, and despite refusing at first, the Teacher agreed and tasted a sample of each box, congratulating Takechi on how good everything was, making him do his usual proud pose that made everyone laugh and agree with the Teacher.
With finishing all the food and the cleaning, half of the first period of the History class had already gone by, and the Teacher took that opportunity to change the subject that he had prepared for that day and talked a bit about the food and habits of other eras.
Takechi was totally focused, taking notes every time the Teacher or one of his classmates said the name of a dish, and writing some comments on the side of his notebook, to try doing some of those dishes in the restaurant for the menu, or for a lunch box to bring to School.
Tomiko was glancing at him sporadically, and she often smiled when she saw a unique expression from that funny young boy who was so completely unaware of any distraction around him.
On the other edge of the class, Sakamo looked at the ball of paper that landed on his desk. He looked around to see who threw it and saw Hangaku raising her eyebrows and looking at the ball. She made a smile and looked at the ball again, hurrying him to read it.
Sakamo disguisedly unwrapped the ball and read the note inside with a whisper, “Before lunchtime, I want a kiss, to open my appetite… This girl is really something. If I am not careful, she will have me under her spell, completely at her mercy, and I won’t even mind.”
…