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chapter two little by little ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
"So, have you made any new friends, Y/n-chan?"
You nearly snorted, but managed to hide it behind a cough as you looked up at your teacher from behind your messy hair. "New friends? I never even had any old ones. Although I think that old man who feeds the ducks could be counted as an old friend of mine."
"Well, then," your Sensei smiled kindly at you, looking thoroughly amused, but not as horrified as you would have liked, "how is that search for new friends going?"
"Are the new friends supposed to be young like the old friends are supposed to be old?"
You were dodging the question with all your might, fighting to stay away from the dreaded topic. When your Sensei shot you a look, you figured it wasn't working particularly well.
You wondered if she could tell that you hadn't made any effort, and that you wouldn't be making any in the future. The look on her face didn't really betray her thoughts. She appeared sickly sweet as always, her smile like honey dripping from a spoon.
You didn't need friends, because you were perfectly capable of conducting conversations with yourself in your head. And these conversations usually were far more intelligent than those you would have been able to hold with any one of your classmates.
"I'm still singling out the worthy candidates," you lied lamely, knowing already that she knew how everyone stayed well away from you so that you didn't even have a chance to approach anyone in your year. Not that you wanted to approach anyone, of course.
Your Sensei smiled again, and this time, it wasn't as sickly sweet. She was dropping part of the act as she folded her hands in front of her on the desk and leaned forward, her thick golden necklace clinking slightly. You could almost see rather than just smell her flowery perfume. You moved back slightly in order not to be engulfed by the approaching fumes.
"You're a very interesting young lady, aren't you, Y/n-chan?"
You grinned. "You sound surprised, Sensei. Do you usually go around assuming your students are boring?"
"Not at all, my dear," she trilled back, but there was a glimmer in her eyes you couldn't quite place. God, she was complicated to read, you thought to yourself, a scowl taking over your face for a fraction of a second.
"But, Y/n-chan, I can tell you really are a very clever young lady. I've written to your mother and father, but they seem intent on keeping you in this school. That is their choice, I understand that, but in order for this to work, I need you to try a little bit, too."
