Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 3 (Return of the Oumeno)

The Ultimate Supreme Lady (3)

    Later that day, right as school was about to let out, Headmaster Kirigiri's whiny, drunken voice rang through the intercom. 

   "Attention, LOSERS," he droned. "It's time to announnnce...the candidates for class...hic...class president. First, it's...hic...Junko Enoshima, then Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Bawk-Bawk...er...Bakky-yakky...hic...Bike-yuck...oh, screw it! Togami, Sonia Nevermind...hic...Kaede Akamatsu, and...heh heh...heh heh heh...AAAA-HAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!" Headmaster Kirigiri began laughing uproariously through the intercom. "Get thiiissss! HIMIKO YUMENO!!! PWAAAA-HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!" The other students in Himiko's class turned slowly to her in utter shock. Some of them even began laughing along with the headmaster. Himiko felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. 

   "HIMIKO YUMENO!!! AAA-HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!! OH, THAT'S A RIOT!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! OH, I CAN'T HELP MYSELF, THAT'S SO FUNNY!!! AAAA-HAHAHAHA-okaaayyy...that's all the announcements for...hic...for todaaayyy..." Headmaster Kirigiri continued. "Good luck to all the candidates...ESPECIALLY HIMIKO YUMENO!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!" The bell rang and class was dismissed for the day. With her head hung low, Himiko ran home dejectedly with tears streaming down her cheeks. What was she thinking getting herself into this mess?!

   ***

   Later that evening, Himiko woke up from her nap. She was hoping that everyone forgot about her running for class president. She even hoped with all her might that the whole day had been some bizarre nightmare. Her stomach suddenly growled. As reluctant as she was to go downstairs, she knew she had to eat something. Gingerly, she got out of bed and trudged downstairs. 

   "Himiko," she heard someone whisper her name. She turned to see Kokichi smiling and leaning against his and Gonta's bedroom door. With his index and middle fingers, he motioned to her to come over. 

   "What's the matter?" Himiko asked, walking over to him. 

   "You know what the matter is," he teased, nuzzling his nose against hers. "You're running for class president!"

   "Oh...you know about that?" she asked.

  "Well, duh! Kirigiri said it over the intercom," Kokichi said. 

   "He didn't just say it," Himiko mumbled bitterly. "He laughed at me." She hung her head. "Maybe it was a mistake to sign up."

  "Well, why did you?" Kokichi asked. Wordlessly, Himiko looked away with a pained expression. 

   "It doesn't matter," she replied. "I pretty much set myself up for failure."

   "Well, you definitely have with that attitude," Kokichi pointed out.  "Himiko, if you want to achieve whatever goal you had in mind with this whole class president thing, you need to have more confidence in yourself."

   "But...how do I become more confident in myself?" Himiko asked.