The following day, Nishino discovers something on his desk in cla.s.s 2-A.
「…… What, is this」
The desk that he usually placed his bag on now had letters carved in it. Pervert, lecher, philanderer, enemy of women, disgusting, and so on. They were all words meant to damage his character.
At first, he was unsure of the meaning for it, but it didn"t take long before he understood what was happening. The failure from trying to talk to the girls in cla.s.s yesterday, and the way he talked about Rose with Takeuchikun, it seems that this is the result of those actions.
A year and several months after entering high school, his bullying has finally begun.
For those in the same cla.s.s, this should become one of the most impactful memories.
「…… Philanderer is it.」
But he has already misspoke, and there"s no longer anything that could be done. Nishino"s personality was formed by his work environment, and it was already far past the point of repairing. And the person himself moved without realizing that.
Nothing can be done since those words were carved in. So in his usual indifferent way, he places his bag on top of his desks and takes out his textbook and notebook for cla.s.s.
However, his morning preparations wouldn"t be allowed to go so smoothly.
Peering inside his desk, he saw that it was filled with filth. To be exact, they were rags with feces of unknown origins. These things were letting out a strong stench as if a.s.serting their presence. And now his desk was destroyed on the outside and inside. Nishino Gokyou, as his first experience being bullied in life, he smelled the scent of s.h.i.t.
His cla.s.smates witnessing this kept their distance, but there were also some that were laughing. From that response, he immediately concluded the culprit was another student.
Carvings.
Feces.
Bad odour.
Going over these problems, Nishino thinks.
What he should prioritize for today is the morning homeroom that starts in 5 minutes. In order for it to proceed safely, he needs a desk that doesn"t smell. In that case, where would a desk that doesn"t smell be. With a clear objective, he immediately takes action.
「…… There they are」
Looking around the cla.s.sroom, there were many of what he was searching for.
He could choose whichever he wanted.
Nishino began walking.
「Ehh……」
Some cla.s.smate lets out a voice
About 80 percent of the students have already arrived at the school. But there were still students that didn"t arrive. For example, the seat next to him. Nishino zeroes in on it.
All of a sudden he lifts his desk. He then switches his p.o.o.p filled seat with the one next to him that belongs to a student whose name he doesn"t remember.
It was done in just 3 minutes. There was something inside the desk, so he carefully takes it out, and places it on top of the p.o.o.p desk. Mission Complete.
In the place where the desk that didn"t smell was, Nishino placed his p.o.o.p desk.
And in the place where Nishino"s p.o.o.p desk was, now had the desk that didn"t smell.
「…… All right」
He looks at his new desk, and strokes it with his palm. Confirming it"s condition, he compares it to the desk he"s been using and finds it to be taller.
「It"s not bad」
He mutters in satisfaction.
「O, oii!」
As for everyone around, to them it looked like he didn"t think it was a problem.
It wasn"t as if they didn"t feel bad.
But of course, objections were raised.
The voice that was first raised was from a single cla.s.smate, Takeuchikun.
「…… What is it?」
Nishino answered as if nothing happened.
He sat on his chair with an air of composure, and his legs were also crossed.
「No, what is it you say, you……」
Because he reactively lashed out, Takeuchikun couldn"t find the words to continue. The situation being what it is, he couldn"t speak with his usual sharpness. If this were the result of Nishino reaping what he sowed then he could"ve said as much as he liked.
「Well you know, to just change your desk……」
Takeuchikun was getting fl.u.s.tered. For the schools top ikeman, this is something he never experiences in the past.
The actions taken were far too aggressive.
「Putting s.h.i.t in a cla.s.smates desk, it"s quite the terrible story」
Nishino spoke in a sad tone.
As if he was a victim that would sue.
「Th, that isn"t the problem is it!?」
「Then what is the problem?」
「uu……」
The futsmen was shameless.
He had no signs of timidness.
Takeuchikun couldn"t come up with a good reply.
「That"s, i, if you tell the teacher, then you"d get a new one…… 」
It was then, that the ikeman who answered Nishino"s question realized.
「Then I"ll do just that. I also wanted a new desk」
「uu……」
Time continued pa.s.sing.
Kin Kon Kan Kon, the chime rings and the teacher in charge of the cla.s.s enters. Gara gara, the cla.s.s door opens, and in the same way as yesterday, a sluggish voice is heard in the cla.s.sroom.
「You guys, it"s time」
The head teacher is strict with time, and as always he arrives with the bell.
Would he be late for a p.o.o.p desk.
Nishino safely managed to get a desk that doesn"t smell of p.o.o.p, and the morning homeroom proceeds.
◇ ◆ ◇
「Oi, doesn"t something smell?」
It was in the middle of morning homeroom, the homeroom teacher asked.
It seems that the student who sits next to Nishino is absent for the day due to bad health. As a result, the exchanged desk remained, and homeroom continued. It was only natural, as the scent of the desk was the scent of p.o.o.p.
The surrounding students grimace at the bad smell.
Nishino was no exception.
「Yo, you"re imagining things!」
One of the students says.
It was the cla.s.s clown whose job is to make others laugh. The value of his looks weren"t high, but as a result of sacrificing his self-esteem for funny lines, he"s more or less in a position that let"s him speak to the cla.s.s. He"s the type of student that holds the key to success that can be found in any school.
But, right now that cla.s.s clown jokes were gone, and instead he spoke with a serious expression.
「Really? Well it"s fine. In that case, a message for today……」
Without being discouraged by the blatant stench of p.o.o.p, the homeroom teacher continued with the message.
As for the cla.s.s, 70 percent of them were holding back a laugh, 10 percent had an expression that was a mix of both impatience and anger, and the other 20 were ignoring it. There is not enough evidence to find the culprit from this.
However, Nishino was reaching the limits of his patience.
The feces that was put in his desk smelled like the excretion of a person with a bad stomach condition. The teacher in the podium had suspicions, but Nishino wasn"t even a meter away from the source of the stench.
[uu……]
He had enough as his expression warped.
It"s then that Nishino takes a sheet of plastic from his bag, and fans the air.
Thus, the disgusting scent of p.o.o.p pa.s.sed over the two desks next to him.
「uu!?」
The one on the other side was Shimizu.
She frowns at the sudden increase of the stench.
At the same time she looks in the direction of where it came.
And on the other side of the desk, wasn"t that Nishino fanning the air.
「Wa, wait a minute……」
In a hurry, she takes a sheet from her desk and starts fanning the air.
Being fanned from left and right, the scent now went forward and backwards.
「Uu!?」
「Uuu!?」
The students sitting in the front and back let out a groan.
「Nn? What"s wrong?」
The teacher raised his voice after hearing it. But, there was no way they could say the truth. They already came this far, or else the one who first raised his voice would be blamed for everything. That belief was shared among the whole cla.s.s.
「N, nothing at all!」
The female student in front said.
「Really?」
Luckily, the teacher didn"t think much of it. He didn"t want anyone to get the wrong idea so he continued.
As for the student in the back, he copies Nishino and Shimizu and uses a sheet to blow away the foul scent.
On holidays he wears a plaid shirt with blue jeans and loiters around Akihabara, a male otaku. He belonged to the game creation club. His face was far uglier than Nishino"s.
As a result, everything was directed forward.
A single direction.
The airflow sprung forth.
「Wai……」
The p.o.o.p desk was too much for the student in the front.
Looking back, she realizes what"s occurring and raises a scream. However, considering her position, there was no way she could start fanning. After all, the teacher would notice what was happening.
Other than withstanding the scent, there was no other action she could take.
She was also the first female student that Nishino called out to, Matsuura Kanako. With her braids held by the rubber waving in the air, she bears the scent with a frantic expression. She felt like throwing up at that very moment.
「Matsuura, are you fine, you look pale?」
「…… Ye, yes, I"m, fine」
She answered the homeroom teachers question with a ghastly expression.
「Really? If something really is wrong, then make sure to go to the infirmary」
「Yes……」
She held her hand to her mouth, and was earnestly holding back the urge to vomit.
But even after seeing that, the other three did not stop fanning. And in order for the teacher to not notice, they were disguising their movement with natural gestures. Pata pata pata pata they continued fanning. It was something they wanted to avoid by all means.
In the end, the scent that was drifting between the student continued for dozens of minutes through the homeroom period, a scene that felt like it would continue endlessly. For the students that the scent didn"t reach, they were desperately trying to hold back their laughter. There were also some that were covering their mouth as they glared in their direction.
As for Matsuura Kanko, it was a victory by patience.
◇ ◆ ◇