chapter 8

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  I glared at the black box behind me. Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery wouldn't stop shooting during the middle of class, disrupting our lessons. Of course, she did manage to do harm to Koro-sensei, but it was getting annoying. I had already decided that I would find a way to silence her after class, whether it was by ripping out her circuit board or by taping her up. The other classmates too seemed to be annoyed by her. Plus, I already figured that we would be the ones to clean up after the brat.

  I sighed, leaning back in my seat. The classroom had a fearful atmosphere.

"You sure that will work, Terasaka? I want to make sure that she won't disturb him during class, ever again, " I said, a dark look casting across my face.

  The black box was duct-taped up to prevent her from interrupting our lessons. Luckily, Nagisa convinced me not to rip out her circuit board.

"Of course I'm sure. You're not the only one who wants her out, " Terasaka replied.

  As Terasaka said, Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery was not able to fire her weapons.

"You're a pain in the ass, no matter how one looks at it!" Terasaka shouted, throwing his duct tale at her.

  I hated saying this, but I couldn't help but agree with him. I looked over to Karma, who seemed to be smirking, yet again.

"Why is it whenever I look at you, you always have that smug look on your face, " I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? How often do you look at me? Do you find my beauty too compelling?" he asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Perhaps I do, " a conceited grin spread across my face.

  Now it was my turn to see a layer of pink dusted across Karma's cheeks. Satisfied, I stopped bothering him, deciding to pay attention in class.

  I had decided to skip class today. Yes, skip class. This was mainly because of Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery, who was constantly firing at Koro-sensei. What was the point of going to school? Especially when if she killing him, the money would go to her creator. I decided to wander the forest near the school today. I was only taking one day off, tomorrow I would be back in school. I signed at the thought, practicing my parkour by jumping on the rocks.

"You skipped? I guess I'm rubbing off on you, aren't I?" a familiar male voice said from behind me.

"Perhaps. You skipped too?" I asked.

"No, it's lunch break right now. Also, Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery is now called 'Ritsu'. Apparently, Koro-sensei upgraded her," Karma informed me.

I sat down on the rocks. We chatted for what seemed like forever until Karma had to go back.

"Study session after school?" I asked.

"Okay!" he said, walking back to the poor excuse of a school.

I sighed. Whenever I was with him, my heart would race. But there's no way I like him. He's my rival. There was a voice at the back of my head, whispering.

"Who said you can't like your rival?"

The next day, doing back to school, I spotted Ritsu in the same black box. It didn't seem like Koro-sensei gave her any upgrades.

"Good morning, everyone, " Ritsu said in her same monotonous voice.

I sighed. Seemed like Karma had lied to me to get my hopes up. The atmosphere was fearful once again, anxiety radiated from everyone's bodies. That, was until flowers sprouted out from inside Ritsu.

"She sure is something, isn't she, huh?" Karma spoke into my ear.

I nodded my head in agreement. I eyed her suspiciously, for it was still the same girl that had shot up the class.

The next few days were eventful. During class, Bitch-sensei was fighting Karasuma-sensei out the window, trying to stab him with an anti-sensei knife. I sighed. This wasn't any of my business, but Bitch-sensei won.

I stretched in my seat. Nowadays, there weren't really many things going on. I noticed a different pattern in my behavior. I started skipping school more often and studying in the comfort of my own home. Why? Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I was still figuring out my feelings for Karma, whether I liked him as a friend or more.

"By the way, a new student came yesterday, " Karma informed me.

I also noticed the fact that now Karma was the one informing me of what was happening.

"Itona? I heard. Kaede texted in the group chat, " I said in a bored tone.

"Ichika! Karma! Pay attention in class. You can flirt later." Koro-sensei said, interrupting us.

I looked at Koro-sensei sheepishly. Now that he mentioned it, I was getting distracted. I needed to get back on my game, or I might not be in the best shape for the finals for this term. No time to think about boys.

For the rest of the class, I diligently copied down notes, ignoring whenever Karma tried to speak to me.

"Study session at my place again?" I asked.

"Not today. Koro-sensei is acting a bit too much like a teacher for my liking, " Karma said.

"I will beat you in the finals, without even trying, " Karma boasted, maintaining his calm voice.

"Your loss, " I said, slightly hurt.

Study sessions had become a daily thing nowadays. When Karma turned me away simply because of Koro-sensei, I felt hurt. Did his hatred for teachers overpower our friendship? I guess it did. I couldn't blame him though. No one could blame him for that. Wallowing in my sadness, I decided to stop by my favorite cafe where Isogai worked.

  I walked through the automatic sliding door, feeling a tad bit miserable. While the atmosphere was joyous, I was the only one wallowing in my self-pity. I sat down at the table, ordering coffee jelly, my favorite dessert.

  As I ate away at the coffee jelly, the emotions coursing through me ate away at my heart. Unbeknownst to me, Rio and Okano followed me to the cafe, seeing that I was devastated. Both of them took a seat next to me, trying to cheer me up.

"Alright, I can't take it anymore! What's made you so depressed?" Rio exclaimed.

  I sighed, explaining to them the situation. Okano rubbed my back in circles. Even Isogai in his waiter uniform came up to us and tried to console me.

  At this point, I didn't know what to feel. Why was I getting hung up over this kind of thing? Then the realization hit me like a brick.

"I like Karma, " I muttered.

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