Honestly, so far, out of all my classes, math was the most successful for me.
I even struggled in Science.
Sure, I understood all of the concepts, but when the teachers asked me questions about the topics, I was never able to answer them with the limited vocabulary that I had.
I really need to learn Japanese.
But now, in my last class of the day, I finally had a class were I can be 100% successful. English.
The teacher walked in, and took attendance, like the rest did, and then he proceeded to teach the class. I was especially happy, because he spoke totally in English.
He walked around the class and handed out a packet to all of us. Glancing at it, I was happy to find English words covering the page.
Upon closer inspection, I saw it was one of Shakespeare's works.
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
Reading through it, I looked up as the teacher returned to the front.
"Please read through the packet and fill out the questions the best you can about the piece. And, of course, please write your responses in English. If you write in Japanese, points will be deducted. Keep in mind that we will be discussing the piece after you finish the questions, so you might as well take notes about it, as well. You may begin."
Papers shuffled and pencils scratched as my peers started going through the packet.
Turning to the first question on the second page, I started responding to the questions. They were simple. Most of them asked about the interpretation of specific points, like the what the extended metaphor pertains to, or how Shakespeare's diction affected the tone of the excerpt. Within 20 minutes, I was finished with the desk work.
I glanced at Asano, to see how he was fairing.
He was finishing up with the last question when he also looked up, and met my eyes.
His gaze dropped down to my paper, and widened at the sight of my extensive answers.
His gaze met mine again with a question in his eyes.
I shrugged with a smirk on my face.
We waited for the rest of the class to finish patiently.
When the last student set down their pencil, the teacher spoke.
"Get into groups of 3 and discuss the questions. If I hear any Japanese in the conversations, I may knock off points." As soon as the words were spoken students stood up, and buddied up.
I sat awkwardly at my desk. I didn't want to intrude on anybody's groups.
Asano stood up next to me and called over another student. Then, he turned to me.
"Stein, will you join our group?"
I smiled at the English question.
"Sure."
We pushed 3 desks together, and Asano introduced me to the unknown student.
"Stein, this is Sakakibara Ren. Sakakibara, this is Stein Danny."
Sakakibara offered me his hand.
"A pleasure to meet you, Stein-san."
I took his hand and nodded in response.
"Likewise."
The two boys started to flip to the first page before I stopped them.
"Wait." They paused. "Are we for sure going to be speaking 100% English? No Japanese?"
The two boys nodded hesitantly. I sighed in relief and switched off my hearing aids. Might as well save the batteries a bit.
The three of us then got to work on the assignment at hand.
As promised, the boys spoke purely in understandable English. We worked through the questions, and each inserted our own opinions about the meaning of Shakespeare's piece.
Honestly, it was the most relaxing class of my day, since I got to speak my native, familiar language.
As we ended our discussion, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the teacher.
He said something in Japanese, but the only part I understood was my name. He walked away before I could respond. When he got to the door, he turned, and was shocked to see me still at my seat, staring at him confusedluy.
He called my name and gestured for me to follow him outside the classroom.
I got up and followed. But not without feeling the stares of the other students and hearing their quiet mummurs that sounded like the gibberish of Japanese.
Once outside, the teacher tried to tell me something, but I stopped him before he could speak.
I reached up and turned on my hearing aids. I nodded to him.
Frustration showed itself in his eyes.
"I have a few questions for you. A few more now than I had initially."
I nodded cautiously. His first question left me frozen.
"Do you understand Japanese?"
I looked down at my feet. He had spoken in English, and I knew that if I answered him honestly, my secret would be exposed. But since he spoke in English, I was safe to respond in English.
"Kind of...I'm learning, though..."
The teacher sighed deeply.
"I thought that was the case. I thought it was slightly weird when I noticed you speaking easily in English the entire the class. Even some of the top students accidentally slip into Japanese when words get tough."
"Well, English is my first language. So it comes naturally to me..."
I felt the teacher stare at the top of my head as I refused to look up at him. I sighed in relief when the bell rang. I left the techer standing in the hall and reentered the classroom. The students were packing up to get ready to go home. I approached my desk and gathered my things. As I was about to turn to leave, a hand grabbed my arm.
"Stein, we need to talk."
♤♡◇♧
I don't claim Shakespeare's work, Assination Classroom, or Ouran High School Host Club. I only own Danny and the idea for this crossover.
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Danny Stein, the American (Assassination Classroom X OHSHC)
FanfictionPART 1 Danny Stein, an American student who is a prodegy academic genius from California, excitedly transfers into Kunugigaoka Middle School for his Ninth Grade year. But he has a small problem that may end up getting him kicked out of class 3-A...
