2 Aki Izumi

Dark bags laced my eyes as I trudged lazily towards the oh so sweet haven called school. I probably looked like a wreck but I could care less.

My hair was neatly brushed, if you could even call it that, and I was in the most comfortable thing in the world.

Baggy clothes.

As I reached the crowded entrance, my hoodie had been flung up to cover my face, a tradition I was known for. As I weaved through the sea of brainless zombies, I spotted the one person I had tried so hard to avoid today.

Aki Izumi.

His eyes raked through the crowd as if waiting for someone, resulting in the both of us making eye contact. I instinctively scanned his features taking notice of his wavy auburn hair neatly combed, cute outfit and dark brown eyes that were glaring at me.

Wait, why was he glaring at me?!

My face contorted in confusion as I walked passed him, a frown evident on my face. Did he wake up on the wrong side of bed or what? His eyes trailed on me before his focus was broken by a cheery strawberry blonde running towards him, screaming his name.

"Aki! Sorry I'm late, I had to use the subway since Tana left me at home."

Heavy pants left her mouth as she held her knees, trying to absorb some oxygen. I could see her eyes sparkle in curiosity as she smirked at him. "Who were you staring at? A girl?"

"I wasn't staring at anybody, Nadia. Besides, you should be worried about Professor Rik's assignment. I'm pretty sure you haven't done it."

I walked away as I heard her complaining about what she would do and begged Aki to help her. I shaked my head as I trudged towards my locker to begin my awful day. I took out the usual and put in the usual before heading to my first class.

Professor Rik. Literature.

I moved into the average-sized room, taking a seat at the back of the class only to be met with a blue-haired boy wearing glasses occupying my seat. I remembered he was a part of Aki's clique but couldn't pinpoint his name.

I stood there for a while staring at him as he scribbled on his notepad before his head moved up to look at me, sympathy invading his features. "I'm sorry, is this your seat?"

I nodded and he sighed before packing his things up and gesturing for me to sit down. "Are there any free chairs here? I really don't want to sit in the front today."

I bit my lip as I looked at him. He obviously didn't know there was an extra seat since one of our classmates had transferred last month. Personally, I liked having an empty seat beside me but I could also understand why he didn't want to stay at the front.

Today was Review Day.

Every month, a literature work was chosen for us to write a review on and we were to participate in an oral presentation of it. You were lucky if it didn't get to your turn for that period because Professor Rik never touched that work again.

My index finger pointed to the desk beside me making him sigh in relief and mutter a 'thank you'. I nodded my head before setting my bag down and bringing out my review from my bag. Aki walked in with Nadia on his tail still begging for his help. She gasped before rushing to where we were, getting on her knees and begging the blue-haired boy.

"Shawn, please can you help me. Professor Rik is going to kill me if I don't turn in any paper."

"I can't help you, Nadia. What do you expect me to do now?"

She clunked her head on the table, groaning in frustration. "I'm just gonna skip."

"No, you won't."