"Good morning class," said Mr. Okumura. "Today we have a new student transferring here from the German branch." He gestured to me, and I bowed. It felt kind of weird having a teacher that was the same age as me.
"Umm, hello everyone," I said, straightening up. "My name is Madeleine Faust, and I'm your new classmate. It's good to meet all of you." I forced a smile as I tried to push away my anxiety. The whole class stared at me, even some shady-looking guy in a hoodie who had been completely consumed by some electronic game just a moment ago. The looks on their faces made me feel like a seal in an aquarium, expected to perform tricks for people's amusement. I have terrible social anxiety, which makes it hard for me to make friends. It became even worse after my mother's death a few months ago.
A boy with shaggy black hair and slightly pointed ears sitting in the front row raised his hand, and waved it in the air.
"Yes, Rin," Mr. Okumura sighed. He already seemed exasperated by this student, and class had barely started.
"Umm, I have a question for Madeleine."
"Ok, what is it?" I inquired, my hands starting to shake. I just wanted to sit down in the corner. Public speaking is traumatizing.
"If you're from the German branch, then how can you speak fluent Japanese?" The look Mr. Okumura shot Rin said something along the lines of, "Oh my goodness, Rin. You can't just ask people why they speak Japanese." That thought almost made me laugh. Either that, or it was my nerves.
"Well, my dad wanted me to learn it. When I was little, my parents split, and my dad moved to Japan. He said I would need to know the language if I ever came to visit," I replied, giving an akward shrug. He seemed to think about my answer, and then a look of realization came onto his face. It almost seemed like a cartoon lightbulb had lit up over his head.
"Oh, are you related to the school's director, by any chance?"
"What?" That question had taken me by surprise.
"You know, the school's director, Johann Faust the fifth. You have the same last name as him."
"No, I'm not related to him. Faust isn't that uncommon of a last name, you know." The imaginary lightbulb above Rin's head went out, and his face drooped in disappointment. I had started shaking much worse; fortunately, Mr. Okumura seemed to notice this.
"Ok, that's enough questions for now," Mr. Okumura broke in before Rin could say anything else. "Miss Faust, your seat is over there," he pointed out.
* * *
After class, Rin approached me in the hallway.
"Sorry I put so much pressure on you back there," he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Yukio just told me you don't really like public speaking."
Seeing my quizzical look, he amended himself. "Yukio is my twin brother. He's also our teacher."
"Wow, he's so young for a teacher," I replied, forcing down my nervousness. My dad wanted me to make friends, and giving into my fears wasn't going to make that happen.
"I know, right? I guess he started training to be an exorcist when he was only seven. I didn't know about it, though."
"That must suck, finding out your brother's secretly been an exorcist for so long."
"Yeah, but whatever. It's all in the past." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Hey do you wanna be my friend? I can show you the ropes around here, and whatnot." I couldn't help chuckling a little bit at his enthusiasm.
"Sure," I said. "That would be nice." For once, I didn't feel scared about letting someone in.
YOU ARE READING
Mephisto's Game
FanfictionMadeleine Faust was forced to transfer into the Japan branch of the cram school. Her father wanted her to make friends, and he thought it would be best if she had a fresh start in Japan. Unfortunately, she got a lot more than she bargained for.
