Chapter 19The driver handed the box of donuts and coffee to Haru and continued driving in the direction of the campus, slowly and leisurely as instructed by Haru. The driver was a young man and a recent graduate of the private security firm Haru"s family-owned. He tried to keep a stoic face but was flabbergasted by his young master"s playful demeanor. He couldn"t quite believe that this was the same master who instilled fear and dread with a single cold glance.
The air filled with the delicious scent of donuts and the crisp and bittersweet aroma of coffee. Saya almost let a low moan of hunger slip out. She bit her bottom lip lightly watching with narrowed eyes as Haru took a bite out of a maple glazed donut topped with bits of bacon. "Hmmm...yum," Haru moaned exaggeratedly.
He took another bite of the donut and followed it with a gulp of coffee. "Three cream, three sugar, perfect," he commented. Saya"s eyes narrowed in annoyance at his comment, knowing full well he took his coffee plain and it was her that liked that cream and sugar combination. Haru took another sip of his coffee his eyes playfully staring at Saya"s twitching face. "Would you like some?", he asked placing the coffee in front of her.
Saya fought the urge to quickly take the cup in front of her and watched quietly as Haru waved it back and front teasingly. Finally giving up she took the cup and said thanks. Haru watched her gobble down the coffee, almost drinking it all in seconds. Saya licked her lips and tried to hand the coffee back to Haru but he said, "You can have it all." Saya shamelessly shrugged her shoulders and finished the remaining coffee.
"Here have some donuts," Haru said, placing the box of donuts into Saya"s lap. Saya didn"t refuse Haru"s actions, her pride and wariness overpowered by her gluttonous ways. She happily munched on the donuts forgetting about Haru"s closeness.
"I"ve arranged a meeting with Detective Ken Heijii after cla.s.s. He"ll meet us at the Playground. I thought it would be best not to meet in the precinct to avoid your uncle Sota," Haru said. Saya nodded her head in agreement. It would be best to avoid her uncle since he didn"t want her getting involved in the case.
A few blocks away from the school entrance, Saya asked the driver to stop so she can get off. She didn"t want the whole school gossiping about her coming to school with Haru. And she felt a little guilty about breaking her promised with Sakura to stay away from Haru. Although she did only promised to try, she was still amazed at how quickly her resolution to have nothing to do with Haru melted away. She underestimated Haru"s resolve and her lingering feelings for him.
The driver slowed down to an almost halt, glanced at Haru through the rearview mirror and immediately regretted his actions. Picking up speed he coughed a few times to recover himself.
"Take the private back entrance," Haru said coldly the playfulness gone.
"Yessir!"
"Isn"t that reserved for the princ.i.p.al?", asked Saya. Haru scooted closer to Saya grabbing her cheeks with his long fingers and pinching them slightly. "Princ.i.p.al Tenzin is a family friend. He won"t mind. You don"t want to be seen with me, right?"
"Ow, ow, I just don"t want people to gossip," Saya mumbled. She grabbed Haru"s fingers trying to dislodge the hold he had on her cheeks. The car made a sharp turn causing the upper half of Saya"s body to sprawl over Haru. "I"m so sorry master Haru, miss Saya. A car did an illegal crossover and I had no choice but to make the turn," explained the driver.
The driver held his breath and return to their original lane, the car that pa.s.sed them zooming quickly by. It was a black convertible sports car with the top down. In the car were two people. A man in a suit, his hands waving apologetically. He had his head turn around, mouthing "I"m sorry".
Haru straightened Saya, tightening her seatbelt. "Get their license plate," he told his driver. "No, forget about it Haru. I think that"s our teacher Ms. Sunshine w.a.n.g in the pa.s.senger seat. They must be in a rush because our cla.s.s is starting soon," Saya interjected. Haru made a humph sound watching the sports car in front of them head straight as they turn left for the private entrance.
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The guard station on the entrance took a glance at the car"s license plate and pa.s.senger and upon realizing who it was, he pressed the buzzer frantically to open the gates. The driver parked the car next to a surprisingly average looking black car. It wasn"t what one would expect a headmaster of a prestigious and wealthy school to be driving. But the princ.i.p.al has always been eccentric. Only a few faculty members have met the man face to face and there was no picture of him in the school"s directory.
The minute the car halted to a stop, Saya dashed out slamming the car door behind her. If it wasn"t for Haru"s incredible reflexes he would have probably ended up with a bruised shin. He stopped the door from closing with his hands, angrily trailing behind Saya. "No, no, no, you need to wait at least fifteen minutes before heading in. I made a promise with a certain someone that I would be staying far, far, away from you within the best of my abilities. And clearly, my abilities suck a$$ but still let"s not stir up those rumors we tried to avoid by going to cla.s.s together."
Saya repeatedly stabbed Haru"s chest with her pointy finger to get her point across. Haru was so amused by her antics that he wouldn"t have a problem even if she asked him to skip the cla.s.s altogether. But he wasn"t going to let her know that. Hiding his bemus.e.m.e.nt with a raised eyebrow Haru said, "If I wait I"ll be late."
Saya shrugged her shoulders and walked a few steps backward telling Haru, "Not my problem." And with a turn of her foot she strode off but before getting too far she stop and turned halfway to say, "And don"t sit next to me or anywhere near me during any of our cla.s.ses together or believe you me, I will find another way to reach Detective Haijii, even if you get me blacklisted from the department. In fact, when we"re in school let"s just ignore each other, okay?." With her last warning, Saya rushed off not bothering to wait for Haru"s response.
...….
Saya reached her first cla.s.s with just a bit of time to spare. She chose a seat in front, ignoring the stares and whispers behind her. She took her laptop out and accessed the North Star Police Department"s database to check on the progress of the a.s.sault cases. Unfortunately, there was none. Saya sighed, flashes of information on the victims and a.s.saults pa.s.sed through her head like a movie in fast forward. She put her laptop away when the teacher came rushing in and out of breath. "I"m so sorry for being a bit late to cla.s.s," Ms. w.a.n.g said breathlessly. She was dressed conservatively in a long-sleeve b.u.t.ton-up shirt and long black business skirt. Her makeup was minimal, with just a tinged of red lipstick for flare.
"How about we get right through it. Let"s take it easy on our first day of cla.s.s and begin with the syllabus. Since this is an introductory cla.s.s to social science for first years, we won"t be going too in-depth. But I do hope you enjoy the cla.s.s," Ms. w.a.n.g said. She grabbed the remote for the projector and began the cla.s.s.
Upon reaching the end of the syllabus the cla.s.sroom door burst open and Haru came in unashamed and unbothered. He gave a slight nod to Ms. w.a.n.g and walked over to the very back of the cla.s.s, ignoring everyone. But on his way to the back, he pa.s.sed Saya and gave her a slight smirk that was unnoticed by everyone except for Ai. Her many years of unrequited love had made her aware of even the subtle changes in Haru"s behavior when it came to Saya. The anger and resentment Ai felt toward"s Saya grew even bigger after Haru"s secret display of affection.
Ms. w.a.n.g waited for Haru to take a seat before she continued her lesson. She didn"t bother to reprimand him because as unfair as it was she was just a little fish in an ocean belonging to the Hayashi"s. The students" attention moved from the lesson to Haru the moment he came in through the door. They all silently wondered why he was late and why he didn"t seat next to Saya. The seats around her were left empty as they were all too afraid to go near her.
They didn"t forget what happened in cla.s.s yesterday and came to cla.s.s early in hopes of watching the drama unfold. They were eager for some gossip and while nothing like yesterday happened, their curiosity was fueled by Haru"s late arrival. It escaped everyone"s attention but Ai"s that Saya was almost late, and combined with the look she seen Haru give Saya, she thought something was definitely up between them. It truly angered her beyond compared but after being scolded by Haru yesterday, Ai couldn"t do anything. All she could do was grit her teeth, endure, and be patient because she was determined to take Saya down no matter what.
Unbeknownst to the dark thoughts of Ai, Saya stared intently at her teacher. Her mind not on the lecture itself but the lecturer. She was a.n.a.lyzing her teacher, getting a glimpse into her life. It was a habit she learned from her parents, watching, deducing and a.n.a.lyzing people. The smallest thing could reveal a person"s personality, behavior, and actions. It was a good trait to have as a private investigator. Although at times Saya feels a little guilty knowing things about people she shouldn"t, for the most part, she was thankful for the skill.
Saya stayed in her seat after the cla.s.s finished. She noticed Haru leaving, glad that he respected her wishes not to be seen together. A horde of girls followed his wake as the rest of the students filed out of the cla.s.sroom. Saya also didn"t miss Ai"s heated stare as she pa.s.sed her seat, purposely b.u.mping into her desk. Saya paid her no mind she had more important things to do at the moment. Not getting the reaction she wanted, Ai stormed off in anger, knowing she couldn"t do anything more to Saya, without angering Haru.
Saya waited until all the students left and it was just her and Ms. w.a.n.g. "h.e.l.lo Ms. Summers," said Ms. w.a.n.g as she tidied her notes and prepared for her next cla.s.s. Ms. w.a.n.g gave a slight nod at Saya as if knowing why she stayed behind after cla.s.s. "I"m sorry about this morning. My friend was running late for an appointment and I was in a rush to get to cla.s.s. We didn"t mean to cut you and Haru off," she said apologetically
"That"s not why I"m here," replied Saya. Ms. w.a.n.g smiled and said, "I"m not going to say anything about you and Haru. That"s none of my business and I would never divulge any of my students" private lives to anyone so don"t worry." Saya shook her head and her bright and knowing eyes stared sadly into her teacher"s. "That"s not it either," Saya said.
"Your arm is hurt. Are you okay?" Saya asked. Ms. w.a.n.g gasped in shock and unconsciously rubbed her right arm that was hidden by her long sleeve shirt. She giggled nervously and said, "How did you know I hurt my arm? It was an accident. I"m a klutz and b.u.mped against my dresser."
Saya didn"t believe her obvious lie but answered her nonetheless, "You"re right-handed but you were using your left hand to hold your briefcase. And throughout the lecture, you were doing your best not to move your right arm but when you had to, you"d winced slightly." Ms. w.a.n.g gave another nervous laugh. "You are one observant girl, Ms. Summers," said Ms. w.a.n.g.
"Who was that guy with you?" Saya asked.
"That guy was just a friend who gave me a ride. Why? Is Haru angry about this morning? Please tell him it was my fault. I was in such a rush and my friend was just trying to help me out. Not that it matters since I was a few minutes late anyway. It"s not very professional for a teacher to be late to a cla.s.s she"s teaching. And now I"m going to be even more unprofessional and ask you to please talk to Haru and explain to him what happened," Ms. w.a.n.g said. She begged Saya silently with her frantic eyes and unconsciously rubbed her right arm again causing her to winced in pain.
Saya smiled sadly but agreed. She knew she wasn"t going to get much of anything from Ms. w.a.n.g. Abusers manipulate their victims into feeling and thinking that it"s their fault in the first place and oftentimes victims protect their abusers. Ms. w.a.n.g"s response was what Saya expected.
Saya handed Ms. w.a.n.g her business card. At the very top of the card was "Saya Summers Private Investigator", with her contact information at the bottom. "If you ever need help or just someone to talk to, I"m here," Saya said. Ms. w.a.n.g held the card in her trembling fingers, unspoken words filling her throat, but all she could manage was a shaky, "Thanks".