No, it's you and you alone.

Chapter Six

Hitoshi curses as he is jolted awake by a loud slam. He looks around with bleary eyes, sunlight causing him to squint. The noise seemed to have come from the Gym door, which had blown open in the cold wind.

Shivering, Hitoshi stands and checks his phone for the time. Crap! He has about five minutes to get to class. He must have fallen asleep when doing his homework.

As Hitoshi scrambles to pick up the scattered study material, he groans as he realises he hadn't managed to finish his English homework. He has a double lesson of the class first up after homeroom which means he doesn't have the opportunity to cram the work into lunch time.

At least the nap seemed to have helped some, even just an hour of sleep had allowed Hitoshi's limbs to stop trembling as hard. He reaches into his bag and grabs out one of the pieces of fruit he had retrieved from the kitchen that morning.

Hitoshi breaks into a fast walk as he heads to class, munching on the snack. He arrived right as the bell was ringing and pushed open the door, shoulders hunched in. He didn't spare a glance at any other students as he nodded to his homeroom teacher in apology for almost being late.

He slides into his seat and rests his head on his palm, propping himself up on the desk. He already knew this would be a long day and the sunlight streaming through the window wasn't helping him feel any less lethargic.

Homeroom went by in a flash, Hitoshi barely processing the chatter around him as he pulled out his English homework. The least he can do is pencil in a couple of answers before Yamada gets here.

He's in luck, Yamada comes in a bit later than usual, a big stack of folders clutched in his hands as he opens the door with his foot. Hitoshi had managed to complete at least a page of work which bodes well: better something than nothing.

Hitoshi is unnerved to feel Yamada's gaze on him and he briefly meets his teacher's eyes before looking away, a nervous hand scratching the back of his neck. Yamada had never paid him much attention before, was he overthinking it?

He struggles to shake the feeling of wrongness as his teacher dumps the folders on the desk at the front of the room, catching one that threatens to slide off the pile. Yamada gestures to the folders and launches into an explanation as to what they are for: logging process on quizzes, homework and assignments.

Shittttt. Not a good time when Hitoshi had done the bare minimum on his homework.

Yamada seems to be leaving the folders, and homework, until the end of lesson as he pulls out chalk and begins noting some English words on the board. Hitoshi relaxes slightly and immerses himself in the lesson, pinching his skin softly when he feels himself drifting away

The nap had helped, it was easier to pull himself out of the sleepy state he is lulled into by the warmth of the sun and Yamada's uncommonly soft voice. Hitoshi just thanked the stars Yamada was being quieter than usual, if he was indulging in his usually exuberant nature Hitoshi thinks he might scream.

The lesson seems to drag and constantly having to jerk out of sleep doesnt make the time go any faster. In fact, it makes Hitoshi painfully aware of every second that creeps by, agonizingly slow.

As the bell signals the end of the lesson time, and the start of lunchtime, Yamada closes the textbook he is referencing and places it onto his desk. "Alright, listeners! Time for homework, if you could all hand it to me as you leave, that would be great. I'll be filing them into these new folders and we will discuss them once I have marked everything."

Clattering noises fill the room as everyone stands, bows, and begins to pack up for lunch. They gradually file out of the room one by one, placing their homework on the desk at the front of the room.