How We Met Again

Chapter 1: Why We Don't Play Sports

A/N: Hey everybody, I've decided to port this fic of mine over to Wattpad from AO3 and FF.N. I'll be uploading a chapter every few days until this is caught up to where the fic is at on those sites; as of the time of my posting this (October 14th, 2023), it's at 26 chapters, with the 27th chapter coming out soon. If you can't wait until then, feel free to go check it out there!

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"No."

I heard a sigh from the other end of the phone, and then my little sister said, "Alright, I guess we're really going to have to sell your kidney."

"No, wait, Raiha--"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Well, we'll just need to find some other way to make money."

With that, the line went dead as my little sister hung up on me. I scowled, and shoved the phone into my pocket. After about a second, I was able to jiggle the lock loose on the bathroom stall within which I had been hiding, and quickly left the room.

Of course I'm not going to take the job.

I was too busy with my own studying. Also, teaching some rich girl who had probably never properly studied a day in her life? Not a chance.

Nakano Itsuki. Like hell.

As I stalked my way back to the classroom, my stomach gurgled, and a brief pang of hunger ran through my gut. As expected, I hadn't had enough to eat for lunch. A twinge of regret hit me, and I wondered if maybe I'd made a huge mistake.

The class was buzzing as I entered and sat down at my desk.

"I hear there's going to be a transfer student!"

"Wow, really? I hope they're a girl!"

I closed my eyes and lowered my head onto the desk. The relative coolness of the wood was refreshing, and distracted me from the growls of my stomach. I'd been able to get my usual cheap meal, but my studying during lunch had been ruined by an annoying redhead with tacky hair clips. Normally, I had my food a lot more slowly, to really let it expand my stomach, but she'd pissed me off, and I had it too quickly.

I wasn't very nice to her either though... maybe telling her she was going to get fat was a step too far...?

The door to the classroom slid open, and I heard the teacher walk in. Wearily, I lifted my head to look at the front of the room.

"Er, we have a new student joining our class today. Please come in and introduce yourself."

Into the room walked a red-headed girl with two star-shaped pins in her hair. She gave a slight bow, and then said, "Hello everybody, my name is Nakano Itsuki. A pleasure to meet you all."

Ah. I know her. ...Whoops.

The class began murmuring, and I thought I could hear some of the boys near the back of the room making some comments. Animals. If they had time for things like that, they could spend it studying. As the redhead began to make her way to her allotted seat, she walked by my desk. For a brief moment, we made eye contact, and I opened my mouth to say... well, something. An apology, maybe? To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure myself. Instead, I closed my mouth again and just nodded to her. The girl pointedly turned away from me with an auditory "harumph".

Wait, people actually... do that?

As Nakano Itsuki sat down at her desk, I put my head back into my arms. This was the girl I'd been asked to tutor? I definitely avoided a bullet with that one -- imagine trying to tutor someone who clearly hated your guts. Yikes.