The following morning heavy rain was falling down the sky and Nao was really surprised to find the half of her classmates missing. And the other half that was present was in very gloomy mood. They were not as chatty and jokingly as the last two days and the girl wondered if she had missed something.
When Yankumi entered the classroom she was not less surprised than Nao.
"What happened, Ogata? Kazama?", she asked the two leaders of her class. Both of them just shrugged their shoulders and went on with whatever they were doing (Nao suspected them playing cards or looking through some magazines).
"I think they didn't want to go out in the rain", Kura told his teacher while resting his head on the table.
"I wish I would've stayed in bed today", Kengo yawned.
"Troublesome guys", Yankumi mumbled and took out her book to write the absent students down. Nao war not much surprised that her homeroom teacher did not throw a tantrum, because she was already amazed how casually Yankumi dealt with these guys.
"So, then let's start the lesson", the math teacher was as motivated as always.
"Ano", a hand was raised and immediately all eyes were on the only girl in the room.
"Someone has to pinch me. Did she just say something?", one of the guys asked taken aback. Nao blushed a deep shade of red, but tried to keep her eyes fixed on the teacher.
"What's wrong, Katsuragi?", Yankumi asked in a worried tone. It took some time before Nao was able to utter the words:
"I-I was wondering if...if you could explain some of the things you told us yesterday. I - I...", she stumbled upon her own words as she realized the guys seemed to be very disappointed that her question had something to do with mathematics.
"Oh!", Yankumi seemed to be very astonished that actually one of her students asked for a repetition. She was so overwhelmed by a happy feeling that she forget to give a proper answer. Passionately she stood in front of her class and her male students knew exactly what she was about to do now.
"Here she goes again", Yamato mumbled.
"I knew the day would come for one of my cute students to ask for my help. Young people are often afraid to ask questions for they don't want to be laughed at. But a student does have to ask the teacher for repetition as much as he or she likes. It is the job of every teacher to be attentive and helpful. Everyone, don't be afraid of asking for my assistance. I will share all my knowledge, might it be mathematics or something else, with you, my cute little students."
"Just answer her question", Yamato told her dryly to end her little speech.
"Hai", Yankumi said realizing the bewildered expression on Naos face. So she started to explain something the guys in the classroom were not interested in.
Nao would have never admitted it, but she felt more comfortable with just twelve guys around her instead of more than twenty. It was much quieter and she was actually able to learn something today. The six guys in the back, who paid more attention to her than before, could also see her expression changing. She was so much absorbed in the problem on the black board that she did not notice that she was watched.
During lunch break she wanted to go back on the roof, but she had to go back to the classroom as she realized that it was still raining. The guys made use of this opportunity and tried to talk to her. Ichi and Kengo, who were the best to get along with, slowly put their chairs next to her desk. First she was really unsure on what to do, but after Ichi smiled at her, she calmed down a little.
"Don't misunderstand, we don't want to bother you", he told her in his kind voice.
"Yeah, we just wanted to know if the guys from yesterday are still pestering you", Kengo smiled as well. She shook her head and looked flustered as she thought about the pictures that were taken (even if she never saw one of them).
