Stop It Shinnosuke!

Chapter 40

Whispers could be heard in the hallway as kids glanced and gasped. Some even made sounds of sobs, though it would seem too much. Or maybe not too much, because it was Ai Soutome after all.

After having skipped the field trip and giving a scare to her fans, which included Masao, she showed up to school and gave an absolute near-heart attack to everyone.

She had a big wound-healing patch plastered all over her left cheek. It was so prominent that it could easily be seen through her Hime-cut, though her confident demeanor made it clear that she wasn't trying to hide it. But the kids were appalled.

Ai wore poker face, as opposed to the usual and polite smile she had everyday passing nods and greetings.

"I wonder what happened.", a boy muttered quietly to his friend who shrugged in reply.

"Was it an accident?", a girl whispered this time, to which another girl followed up, "Or, maybe someone-"

"Hit me?"

Both of them were startled by the voice and focused their attention to Ai who spoke those words. She stood besides them, face so emotionless that it almost felt scary to see on a person like her that beamed with charm everyday.

"Ai-chan!", one of the girls who had quietly been suggesting the gossip laughed awkwardly, pretending to be a clueless when she was absolutely shocked to see Ai so suddenly, "Totally didn't see you there- Wait, is that... Oh my god, what happened to your face?!"

Seeing the girls trying their best at the pretend game, Ai couldn't help but roll her eyes, hard. And this time, it wasn't concealed. One could also say that it was precisely done to be shown.

"This is just cosplay.", Ai changed her expression and smiled as she announced it, loud enough for everyone to hear. The girls went silent and looked at each other, confused over why Ai was being so weird. Nevertheless, they nodded their heads appearing to be understandable too.

"O-oh, I see. It looks cool. It does, doesn't it?", the other girl glanced back at her friend as she poked her, "It looks so real, we almost thought that-"

"I got hit?", Ai repeated again, leaving the girls dumbfounded. Never expecting Ai to repeat the phrase again, the girls went dead-quiet now, so Ai sighed as well.

"Sorry, this isn't cosplay. I lied.", she revealed quickly, giving the sweetest smile ever, "I confessed my lie to you, do you know why?"

No longer able to comprehend what Ai was trying to get at, a girl shook her head.

Ai chuckled, "Because I saw you guys pretend and lie to my face right now and I realized something crucial.", she squinted her eyes as she spoke, "I don't wish to see myself lie too. I don't want to look like the pathetic bitches you bunch are, you know?"

Her rather bold voice echoed throughout the corridors as everyone started to gather around to see who said that, and it was meant to be heard.

"What?", the girl was so confused at this point, seeing how Ai insulted her while having a pure smile on her face, "W-What did you just say?"

"I said I don't want to see myself like you guys. Because you are pathetic. little. bitches."

As Ai repeated herself with the same volume, several gasps were heard again. Kids were now whispering again.
But it wasn't for her face, it was for what she had just said.

The Ai Soutome had just called this girl a pathetic little bitch.

.

"The craziest thing happened today!", a guy shouted as he came jogging through the door, slamming the desk of a girl in their classroom, making everyone else turn their attention towards him too.