Akari's Time (Assassination Classroom fanfic)

Chapter 10

Akari

"There, there," says Rio sympathetically as she pats my head. "You needa get some rest you know. Being sick and all."

I glare at her. "This is all your fault!" I retort. "If you hadn't suggested that we eat ice cream after school, we wouldn't get soaked in the rain and I wouldn't get a cold right now!"

Rio shrugs. "I'm perfectly well."

"That's because your house is just nearby!"

Today is the day of the Interclass Ball Sports Competition. 3E boys are to have a baseball duel with the school's baseball team. Meanwhile, 3E girls will face the girls' school basketball team. Technically, it wouldn't be called a duel because the board chairman uses this as the opportunity to further degrade us and to increase the contempt of the main campus students against 3E. Megu is leading the girls and I am so happy to see her in lead. I'm excited to play with them even though I'm not good in basketball. Unfortunately, I fell sick yesterday night and here I am now, lying on my sofa, cuddled in my warm blanket, face pale white, body temp burning a few degrees higher.

Rio came by to visit me before she heads out to school. She apologizes to me but I'm still angry at her.

She sighs. Then her eyes lit up. "I know what can ease you up." She pulls out her cellphone. Grinning evilly, I have a hunch what she is trying to do. "Why don't I give a call to Karma to visit you? Maybe he can lift your moo-"

I throw a pillow at her face. "Say that again I'll strangle you." She laughs.

Ever since they found out Karma was in my apartment, Rio and Megu have been pestering me about it. The entire class actually buys most of Karma's lies. However, Megu isn't pleased. She hates the idea that Karma is in my apartment. I'm dubious she suspects Karma is there for another reason. I hope she never finds out. These days she's been grilling me with warnings. She chides me for letting a boy enter my place without any self-awareness. I know she worries a lot so I promised her never ever let a boy enter my place again. She's a stern mother and I like her that way.

Rio is the opposite. She keeps on asking about embarrassing questions, trying hard to peel the secrets off me one by one. I too suspects she knows there is more to Karma's 'story'. She asks about our relationship and if we did anything extremely intimate with each other. For every query she throws at me, I try to hide the blush in my cheeks whenever I recall that night. I wonder how she can think of questions like that. For example, "did you hold hands" and "did you touch each other" and "did you explore each other physically". Of course, I refuse to answer them. I can't let both of them know what happened that night. I'll be damned to let them find out.

Karma seems to be very proud of himself since that night. He looks like he has accomplished a difficult mission. Lately, his teases kicked up a notch. He finds any possibility to tease me. Somehow, he didn't mention about a certain subject.

"I want you to be my girlfriend."

The words reverberate in my skull whenever I see him. My cheeks become hot and I have to cool them down with my water bottle. With his keen perception, Karma probably noticed it already but never said a word about it.

I have been cracking my skull to figure him out ever since. I steel my guts to ask him but fail to do so every day because whenever I see him, I'll remember his words and I end up stuttering. He would laugh like I've said a very funny joke.

Damn him.

Because of him, I end up having insomnia because I am too preoccupied in putting the puzzle pieces together. Almost every night I think of him, recalling his actions and behaviour towards me. I hope I can find out some clues or hints from his daily activities but he sure knows how to use it against me. He probably knows I'm watching him so he acts nonchalantly around me to avoid me digging his deepest darkest secrets. But I'm determined. I'm gonna dissect him and discover his secrets.