Stumbling Over Love | ✓

Chapter 36

_Chapter 36~ Middle School Him_

           "REINA KIKUCHI!"

          I internally winced at the shout of my name, fixating my gaze onto my homeroom teacher. "Yes...?"

          "It's been a couple months since the start of the year and yet you're already almost failing all of your classes!" Mr. Matsuda snapped. "If you keep this up, you'll have to take supplementary classes over the vacation."

          My jaw fell at the news. "No way!"

         "Yes way. Your last opportunity are the upcoming exams." Sighing, Mr. Matsuda adjusted the frames on his face. "As long as you pass your other subjects, you'll be fine but since you are currently failing math, you must score higher than an eighty-five on it if you intend to make it to the passing range."

          "Eighty-five?" I repeated incredulously. "But that's... impossible!"

          "If you study hard, I believe even you can make it," he said. "It's your only hope, anyway."

          I made a face as I recalled the conversation I shared with my teacher over the lunch break. He wanted me to study? Hard? Ha, yeah right. I could not-so-proudly admit that I was a procrastinator that never studied until the day before an exam. It wasn't my fault time seemed to escape from me before I could get to it. Besides, studying and me just didn't mix; studying was for the weak. Filling my brain with useless information that I would forget the minute I finished writing the exam was pointless to me.

          My shoulders slumped, I dragged my feet forward and into my classroom. Making my way up to my seat, I fell onto my chair, frowning to myself. But taking supplementary classes did not sound fun. The summer was not meant for learning... I wanted my deserved freedom.

          "Why do you look so down?" Ryu inquired from beside me.

          "I'm trying to understand why life hates me so much," I murmured. "Why does it? What did I ever do to offend it?"

           Considering my words, Ryu paused. Then, spoke, "Life's not treating you well? Should I give it a firm talking to?"

          Feigning touched, I placed a hand to my chest. "Aww, so sweet." A sigh escaped my lips soon after and I dropped my head onto my desk. "But no, life is not treating me well. While the rest of the world will be having a blast, I'll be stuck taking supplementary classes over summer vacation."

          "Supplementary...?" Ryu repeated, furrowing his eyebrows together. "Wait, are you failing something?"

          I averted my head in the opposite direction. "Um..."

          "Really?" Ryu sounded genuinely shocked. "What subject?"

          "The question should be what subject am I not failing," I mumbled into the desk. "Well, even then the answer's basically everything."

          "Everything?"

          "Hey, what's with that 'oh my God she's stupid' look?" I demanded, folding my arms across my chest. "I'll have you know that I'm not doomed yet. I still have a chance to bring up my grades if I pass the next exams."

          Ryu honestly appeared as if he couldn't believe I was the same person he'd always known. Probably because before he hadn't been aware that I was an idiot failing all of her classes. So now that I told him, I regretted it.

          So much for keeping up my façade. Now he was probably going to laugh or make fun of me. C'mon, prepare yourself for what you caused, Reina...