Wait For Me 🎈🌟

Chapter Three ~ Survive Until Friday

Tsukasa's POV:

School, no matter how much you pray, will never end until Friday. The weekend is my salvation, the time I can spend with zero stress and actually get good sleep.

And with zero interactions with Rui.

The teacher was talking about something...maybe chemistry...? It was only the second day, and I already felt my brains were fried. I only realized we were supposed to take notes on this when the teacher came up to me and scolded me for being "lazy". I didn't want to listen to our teacher talk about chemical reactions or elements...or whatever this was! So I just drew in my notebook.

After chemistry, I had math. I'm better at math than most subjects, so I was feeling pretty good about it. I walked to the bathroom during passing period, and just before I reached the door, someone tapped on my shoulder...

Rui.

🎈: "Tenma...? I was wondering if you had any idea where my book went? It's missing."

I looked back at Rui, puzzled. Why would I take his book? And why was I being framed for taking his book?!?

🌟: "No...I don't. There's other people in this school that have it out for you, you know?"

I spat back, before turning away from him and waltzing into class.

Rui's POV:

Oh...well, I guess I can ask someone else. It's not like I've looked everywhere...

I walked away, over to the lost and found and scoured through it. There, at the bottom, was my math book with a message in black sharpie on it...

"You don't need math to like guys, weirdo!"

My heart sank. But I couldn't go to class without it...so I sucked up my sadness and just hid the book in my bag. It's not the worst thing I've been called...

...

Math wasn't anything special, just our teacher giving us a small lesson and then letting us do some worksheet. This teacher was my favorite because he never overwhelmed us with work, and he was also pleasant to speak to about outside topics. Like bullying.

I can't remember a time in school since the incident with Tsukasa where I wasn't getting harassed daily. Yet, overtime the bullying went from "nobody likes you and you're a horrible person" to actual slurs and physical violence.

The slurs are the most of it. I get notes thrown at me all the time with the f-slur on them...and I just have to take it because the administration won't do anything about it. But the physical violence I can handle. I'm not as scrappy as I look. I'm not strong, either, but I can take a hit.

But anyways...slurs are what gets to me. Being weird wasn't always about myself sexuality or friends. But now it was.

I get picked on for being gay, but I can't help it. If I could go back in time and tell my past self to not come out to anyone at school...except Mizuki...I would.

But back to math, because thinking about being called the f-slur makes me want to disappear even more than I already do.

I finished doing the worksheet, and I looked up at the clock to find that there was still ten minutes of class left. And then I could go to lunch and see my friends...

I smiled at that thought...

But my brief happiness was interrupted when I felt a tap in my shoulder.

Tsukasa's POV:

What am I doing?!? Whatever...I need help. I wasn't paying attention at all during math, and now I'm lost.