CHANGED - Classroom of the Elite

28

The 24th of February rolled around, and the rumours only continued to amp up. And they all revolved around one specific leader.

Speaking of Ichinose, when walking to school that day with Kei at her side, she spotted Ichinose happily chatting with Kanzaki over by the fountain, who seemed to be grinning non-stop at her return.

Suzune noticed some people being a little more wary of her, even more so than before.

Word must have got around that she's stronger than she looks. It didn't start from Hashimoto, though--because when she said what she said the other day during their brawl, she knew that he knew exactly what she was referring to. And he knew that his hands were now tied for a long, long time.

Which helps her in quite a lot of ways. Especially because now, he doesn't start immediately attempting to flirt with her when they meet eyes, albeit failing miserably to win her heart all the while.

(She won't admit it to anyone, ever, but she kinda missed his dumb presence. He was a spike of adrenaline, energy-full and acted like a dunce, and now he's gone.

... Oh, look at her. Going and getting herself attached to a fucking pretty boy because they share the trauma of wearing a mask to hide their ugly truths because they're both emo fucks.

How mortifying.)

By the time her and Kei reached their classroom, they noticed it was empty, yet everyone's bag was hanging behind the back of their chairs. They saw the crowd swarming outside class B, and when peering inside and seeing Ichinose give a final bow, the entire class started cheering loud and proud at her sob story.

Suzune had to bite back a grimaced smile; Ichinose was too good at pulling at your heartstrings, intentionally or not (when it becomes intentional, is what Suzune is waiting for.)

Seeing the teachers plus Nagumo enter into the classroom, Suzune slightly nudged Kei, signalling that it was time for them to bounce. Right as the two of them were about to walk back to class D, Suzune heard a familiar tapping against the floor.

"Horikita-san." Sakayanagi's voice rang throughout the hallway, sugary and honey-coated. She turned her head over her shoulder to see the class A leader's face, which didn't look all too happy. "May I have a word with you?"

"... Yeah, sure." Suzune turned back to Kei, who looked worried out of her mind. "You can go on ahead, I'll be fine."

"... If you say so." Kei pulled out her phone and began tapping away at it while making her way back to their classroom.

---

Suzune leaned up against the wall, waiting for Sakayanagi to talk.

"I must say, Horikita-san." Sakayanagi voice came out silky smooth, dripped in honey. "Your play then was quite the impressive one. Not many could have accomplished such an outcome."

"... pardon?"

"Come on, don't play dumb with me now." Sakayanagi flashed her a serene smile that was the embodiment of pissed. "Those rumours about Ichinose; you started those, correct?"

"Woah, Sakayanagi." Suzune slipped her phone in her pocket, meeting the other girl's rageful gaze. "You've got this all wrong. You see the thing is, I actually didn't start those rumours about Ichinose."

"And how am I supposed to believe that?"

"Because there's a person named Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in our grade."