Bring Me Up
Chapter 2 Part 7
8:20, Hara arrived.
8:30, Tanabe arrived.
8:31, Bizon arrived.
8:32, the cla.s.s began.
8:36, the cla.s.s ended.
8:40, execution. The naked Hara was being chased around the room.
This way, half an hour pa.s.sed since our arrival. Tanabe threw sharp looks at Minato and raged because she completely ignored her. Yesterday, Tanabe lost her face in one moment. I don"t like such people, let them get what they deserve.
Slowly, the lesson began. Everything that the teacher said, went into one ear, and came out of the other. Cla.s.sical literature. Algebra. English. Ethics.
The bell rang announcing the start of lunch break.
Minato got up from her chair and headed in my direction. She walked past me, without stopping, and stepped out of the cla.s.s through the door behind me.
"Let"s go eat lunch together." d.a.m.n it, she actually remembered me. I stood up and also walked out.
"Listen…"
"What?" Minato turned around. The hallway was very noisy during the lunch break.
"Don"t involve me in your affairs."
"So, stay away from you?"
"Not to that extent… Well actually, that sounds nice." I was not one of those j.a.panese, who don"t know how to say no.
Descending the stairs, Minato said:
"We spent so much time together under one roof, you could"ve been softer."
This statement could well cause misunderstanding, but after all I lived in an apartment building, where dozens of people are under one roof. I followed Minato, who was descending the stairs, provoking ridiculous rumours. I caught a bulletin board with useless leaflets on the dangers of drugs.
"Or," Minato turned around, "should I just threaten you? If you don"t go eat lunch with me, I will tell everyone about your secret."
Having raised her hand, Minato folded her fingers in a gun, and the corners of her mouth twitched up.
***
"Hey, what do you want? Anything specific?" I shoved a spoonful of curry into my mouth.
"You think somewhat badly of me." Minato stopped eating her udon with fried tofu and pouted. "Of course I want something, but I wouldn"t force you into doing something terrible."
"And, what do you want?"
"Huh? Should I tell you now?"
Her question sounded suspicious.
"Perhaps… Why postpone it, I"d like to hear it right away.
"Got it. Well then…"
Minato leaned across the table, stretched out thin fingers to my chin and turned my head thirty degrees to the side. The touch to the smooth, and still hairless skin of my face agitated me.
We stood out. In this cafeteria, we stood out very much.
"Steal Fushimi-kun"s smartphone," Minato whispered in my ear. The feeling of fingers on my chin and a tickling voice in my ear. From all this, my mind trembled. A storm raged in my head. "So, steal Fushimi"s phone?"
"And what"s this for?"
Minato leaned on the table and stared at me almost face to face.
"For the sake of salvation."
In a religious way? Salvation through theft? Pray and go to heaven? It makes one speechless.
"Whom do we need to save?"
"Hara-kun… and you, Idzono-kun."
"And why me?"
"Well, if we try, you"ll see. Just-do-it (Said in English)"
I didn"t want to do it. I didn"t want to do it at all.
Minato sat back down. A group of freshmen girls closeby, started whispering lively. The guys standing around us stared at us. Absolutely not. Absolutely not.
"Will you be able to do it today?" Minato asked from the other side of the table.
"Well… probably. Just in case, where does he have it?"
I already began to think about my plan of action.
"In an aluminum case, with an apple sign."
I will probably be able to. Rubber phone cases could easily get stuck in pockets, and I tried to avoid them. Whether it worked, is another question.
"Then, I will rely on you." Minato announced. Whether I could or I couldn"t, she didn"t wait for my answer.
Now, she will milk me until nothing is left.
***
I returned to cla.s.s with the first bell. In my school, it sounded ten minutes before the end of lunch break and meant that it was time to get ready for cla.s.s. Of course, the message did not reach the addresses. And at this time, there came a guest to my table. I immediately recognized the visitor just by looking at their bandaged hand. Well h.e.l.lo there, Tanabe Kyoko.
The call was a success. I, her, and her companion – just us three. Come to the emergency ladder.
Once I closed the door behind me, I could only hear a low hum from outside. Tanabe"s companion, Takeoto Ishihara, who was taken purely for quant.i.ty, drilled me with a look.
"So, what"s your business?"
Seven minutes to the end of lunch break.
"Ah? What"s my business? And you can"t guess yourself?"
I could perfectly guess. The girl raised her voice for some reason and shouted into my ear. Shut up, beast. Her voice shook the air along with my eardrums. It seemed as if my ears would fall of any moment.
"You somehow got close pretty quickly."
The topic became clear immediately. Thank you for the polite explanation.
"Minato?"
"What"s your relationship?"
I myself didn"t know.
"Nothing…"
Fingers that were way too long clung to my collar, with luridly painted nails. Do they not interfere with her life?
"Then stay away from her. Don"t talk to her at all."
Thank you for deciding for me.
"I refuse."
"Did you not hear me?"
Quite clearly.
"What for should I listen to you? What"s the benefit? Have something to offer? There is nothing to offer, so why are you bothering me? Are you completely stupid?"
She drove me wild. If this girl thought that she can easily get to me with such orders, she risked getting into something. It was as if I was filled with wet gunpowder. And sparks were sent at me.
"Watch your mouth. Why are you provoking me? You could"ve just nodded, like normal guys do. Do I have to force you?"
What a poor vocabulary. Their conversations always came down to the same. s.e.x, in a few minutes, again s.e.x, in three, four, five, again the same. And the system of values is certainly the same. How infuriating. Sparks already flew from me.
Five more minutes left.
"Shut your mouth. Your hand was pierced, and now you"re scared of Minato? What about you don"t bother me, and stop yelling with all your might."
Everything infuriated me. The cow before me infuriated me, the bull which she took with her. If j.a.pan was an anarchic country with no laws, I would kill them both. I glanced at the clock. Four minutes left.
"If you want something from me, offer something. If you have nothing to offer, try to threaten me. Or will you go and cry to your boyfriend?"
The door handle turned. Tanabe, all red and ready to explode any moment, shook from anger. I rushed through the door and slammed it, but after a moment it was knocked out, a crash came from behind me. Three minutes were left to the end of lunch break. Will the battle continue or would it be after school? When I threw out the previously emptied purse of Tanabe, the bell rang for the lesson.
Edited by: Akshaythedon