Chairs scraped against the floor, students were talking over each other as they waited for the arrival for their Math teacher, Ms. Yamada.
They were all excited that school was almost over and wanted, well in their words,"That old hag," to get her butt in class.
At Teruna's desk, Teruna rested her cheek on one hand and doodled a fox in the back of her Math notebook to block out all the noise.
It was the kind of drawing you did without thinking, just letting your pencil gracefully glide about the paper.
In the back of the classroom, the same group of girls who picked on Teruna and Kurai sat together, but their leader of their group named Rinatsu, ignored everyone else, trying to see what Teruna was drawing.
"She's drawing again," Rinatsu said, leaning forward a little. "But I can't see properly, her drawings are always so messy."
"Ugh, and she doesn't show anyone them," Ayase replied.
Their entire group tried to angle their view between the heads in front of them, but all they could see was the back of Teruna's head and her hand moving in small circles on the page.
"Move a little," one of them whispered.
"You move."
"Oh my god, you're blocking me."
Before the tension could grow, the door to the classroom opened.
Ms. Yamada entered, holding her laptop in one hand and a marker in the other.
She didn't look annoyed, more like the usual tired teacher who had been up since 5 in the morning.
All the students stood up and said in unison,"Good afternoon Ms. Yamada."
"Goodafternoon, we'll be learning about fractions," she announced, walking up to the white board.
All the children sat back down in their seats and pulled out their notebooks and pens, but Teruna went back to drawing.
"Teruna," Ms. Yamada said gently.
Teruna jumped slightly. "Yes?"
"Put away your sketch for now."
"Oh, sorry,"
She slid her notebook under her desk quickly.
But when she realized the book she was drawing in was her math notebook, she awkwardly pulled it back out and pretended like nothing was wrong.
At the back, the girls shared a criticizing look.
"Is that drawing worth all the trouble? That was sooo embarrassing," Rinatsu whispered, smugly.
"She's probably one of those delusional artists who thinks they're so precious and does nothing with their life but daydream."
"I'm still curious to what it could be," another sighed but the entire group hit her with an agitated look.
Ms. Yamada wrote the topic on the board: Introduction to Fractions
Students opened their notebooks and began to take down notes that were being written on the white board.
"Okay everyone," Ms. Yamada said, clapping her hands together. "Who can solve this first problem?" She wrote on the board:
¾ + ²⁄₈ =?
Teruna glanced at the numbers, blinked and solved it in her notebook.
Ms. Yamada walked around the room.
"Teruna, can you solve this on the board?"
Teruna took a deep breath and walked up to the board, picked up the marker and wrote perfectly in the blank space,"1."
"Correct," Ms. Yamada said, smiling.
Some students wrote diligently, eager to finish taking down their notes while others stared at the board, unsure of what the heck was going on.
Teruna went back to her bubble, quickly flipping to the back of her notebook to finish her drawing.
At the back, Rinatsu whispered one last time, "Is she seriously having fun? In math class?"
By the end of the lesson, her page was full with a fox and tiny fractions floating around, and a little imaginary forest for it to explore.
When the bell rang, signaling home time, Teruna leanded back to stretch.
Teruna packed her things, glancing at her notebook one last time and giggled softly.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight.
Most of her classmates rushed towards the school gates, chatting loudly, and calling out to their friends.
Teruna walked more slowly, she preferred the quiet corners near the bike racks.
She found a bench under a cherry blossom tree, though the petals had mostly fallen.
Teruna sat down and opened her notebook again, flipping to her fox drawing.
She traced the pencil lines absentmindedly with her finger.
The fox looked even cuter now, like it had been waiting patiently for her all day.
The wind blew softly, rustling the pages of her notebook.
Teruna shivered a little, tugging her school uniform cardigan tighter around her.
She glanced down the street leading away from the school, imagining the cars and buses she would see soon.
She wondered how long it would be before her mother arrived.
Teruna waited impatiently as she rested her chin on her knees and watched other parents picking up their kids, some waving from cars, others rushing across the street.
She had no friends, it was a new school after all and the pressure to remain perfect in a prestigious highschool was overbearing.
"Maybe she's stuck in traffic..." Teruna thought.
She hugged her backpack a little closer and looked around.
A familar car approached, and her heart skipped a beat.
She squinted, trying to make sure the license plate was truly her mother's own before it got to close then Teruna jumped to her feet, clutching her notebook.
"Okaasan!" She called out, her voice a little higher than usual.
Her mother stepped out of the car, still holding her handbag, and smiled warmly.
"Teruna! There you are," she said, walking quickly toward her. "Did you have a good day at school?"
Teruna nodded.
"Yeah...it was okay. We did Fractions in math today."
"Oh lovely! Come on, let's get in the car before it gets dark."
Teruna slung her backpack over one shoulder and followed her mother to the car.
She opened the door and slid into the seat and buckled her seat belt and watched the school shrink behind her as they drove away.
Teruna rested her head slightly against the window, her notebook tucked under her arm.
"Do you want to stop at the convenience store?" Her mother asked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.
Teruna's eyes lit up.
"Yes! Can we get those strawberry candies I like?"
"Of course but don't eat all at once," her mother said with a smile, starting the car.