A fateful encounter

The next morning, Yon woke up with the events of the previous day still fresh in his mind. "Things are going to be so awkward at school," he muttered to himself. Sitting up in bed, Yon let out a yawn and ran a hand through his messy hair. He got up, ready to face the day ahead. After a refreshing shower and brushing his teeth, he dressed up in his school uniform. Heading downstairs, he found his little sister enjoying her breakfast before school.

"Have a great day, big brother!" she called out from the kitchen. "You too, Kanna!" Yon replied with a smile. He waved her goodbye and stepped out of their home. Walking down the street, he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out to him, just like on his first day of college.

"Yon! How's it going?" Lincoln, with his usual excitement, ran over and wrapped his arm around Yon's head, catching him off guard. "Looks like you won't have to walk to school alone!" Lincoln exclaimed cheerfully. He chuckled while slightly choking Yon in the process.

"Good to see you too, Lincoln," Yon responded, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Lincoln released his hold, grinning happily at Yon. The two of them walked together toward Utopia College, Lincoln, still pondering the previous day when Yon turned down his invitation to hang out because of Sam. Suddenly, Lincoln stopped walking, causing Yon to pause and turn around.

"Why did you stop?" Yon asked. "Yesterday, after school. You went to see Sam on the rooftop. What was that all about?" Lincoln inquired, showing an uncharacteristic interest in Yon's personal matters. Yon was taken aback by the sudden curiosity, as they had never delved into each other's personal lives before.

"It wasn't really anything significant. We just had a brief conversation... I confessed... and then I went home," Yon explained, feeling a tinge of awkwardness. Lincoln composed himself and walked over to catch up with Yon, who had gotten ahead during the pause. "Oh, I see. I thought it was something... Wait. You... confessed?" Lincoln asked, his voice filled with surprise.

Yon stopped in his tracks, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead as Lincoln stared at him in utter disbelief. "You confessed to her?!" he screams loudly. Yon explains everything to him, and Lincoln starts to understand the situation. The two find a nearby bench on their way to school and sit down. "So you've liked her all this time, huh?"

"Yeah... unfortunately, she rejected me," Yon says in a sad tone. "Man, I had no idea," Lincoln remarks, surprised. They sit in silence for a moment before Lincoln stands up and smiles at Yon. "Well, don't let it get to you, man! She wouldn't just stop talking to her childhood friend over something silly like that, especially not her," he says reassuringly.

"You think so?" Yon stands up with Lincoln, and the two head toward school once more. "Of course! Sam isn't like that. She's very forgiving, and honestly, I'm sure she expected something like that to come out of a dense guy like you," Lincoln says jokingly. "Geez, thanks a lot," Yon responds, annoyed.

Lincoln laughs at Yon as the two enter the campus of Utopia College. They go to their lockers to exchange their shoes. Yon notices that Sam has already arrived. His anxiety briefly intensifies, but he relaxes, remembering that his sister assured him things would be okay, and Lincoln did too. They make their way into class, where Sam is already seated at her desk. Lincoln takes his seat first and smiles at Yon, who is still standing at the entryway, assuring him that it's okay.

Yon takes a deep breath and walks over to his seat. He sits down at his desk between Lincoln and Sam. They both smile at him, leaving Yon surprised that Sam is even looking at him. "Good morning, Yon. Good morning, Lincoln!" she says to the both of them.

"G-Good morning, Sam..." Yon responds nervously

"Morning, Sam!" Lincoln says enthusiastically. Yon rummages through his bag, pulling out various books for class. He notices something in his bag and pulls out the peculiar-looking piece of paper. It's the note from yesterday that Sam left him, which makes him grimace, feeling uneasy about it. Sam notices the note. "Oh, yeah! Hey, Yon, can you just forget what I wanted to talk to you about yesterday?" Sam asks.

Yon looks at her blankly, completely forgetting that she had invited him up there for something. Sam makes a gesture with her hands and leans forward slightly, implying that they should forget about yesterday altogether.

"Y-Yeah, that's fine with me!" Yon responds with an awkward smile, crumpling the note in his hand. But he can't help but wonder what she wanted to tell him. He spends the rest of the period thinking about it but can never come to a conclusion.

The bell chimes, signaling the end of class, and students start to leave. As Yon gets up to leave with his friends, the homeroom teacher approaches him just as he is about to exit. "Mr. Kinichi, may I talk to you for a moment?" the teacher asks. Yon looks at Sam and Lincoln, who understand and leave the classroom. Yon is now alone in the room with the teacher.

"So, we didn't clean the class yesterday because the students who usually do the cleaning were sick. I've asked another student to help, but she can't do it alone." She explains. "I see, so you're asking if I could help this student clean up?" Yon clarifies. "Precisely! Would you be willing to help? She should be here any moment. It would be a big help," the teacher explains.

"Sure thing. Will we still be able to go to lunch afterward?" Yon inquires. "Yes, for helping clean the classroom, I'll provide extra time for both of you and give you lunch passes for a meal of your choice," the teacher assures.

"Awesome! Thank you so much, teach." Yon exclaims. "You're welcome. I'll see you both later." The teacher leaves, sliding the classroom door closed, and Yon is left alone. He starts picking up chairs and placing them on the desks. Some time passes, and suddenly the door slides open, revealing Yui walking in. Yon turns around amid placing a chair, noticing who it is.

"Oh, Ms. Kanazowa, are you the one helping me clean the classroom?" Yon asks as she slides the door closed and approaches him slowly, visibly shy about being alone with him. "Y-Yes," she responds awkwardly. "Perfect! I've already taken care of most of the chairs, so if you could finish that, I'll clean the chalkboard," he says with a more encouraging tone. "R-Right!" she exclaims.

Yon starts cleaning the board while Yui puts the remaining chairs in place. As she works, she finds her mind wandering, imagining a scenario where she is cleaning a shelf and suddenly something falls toward her. "Ah!" she screams helplessly in her imagination. Covering her head and closing her eyes, she envisions Yon swooping in to save her, his hair flowing and his eyes glowing. He stops the falling object and holds her comfortingly.

"Are you alright?" he asks with concern. She opens her eyes to see an idealized version of Yon standing before her, holding her close. The two are now in close proximity, as if they could embrace. Snapping back to reality, she turns as red as a tomato and places her hands on her cheeks. "What am I thinking? We only met yesterday when he picked up my eraser..." she thinks frantically.

Across the room, Yon notices her standing with her hands on her cheeks. "Hey, Ms. Kanazowa? Are you feeling okay?" Yon asks, worried. This startles Yui, making her even more embarrassed, hoping that Yon wouldn't have noticed. "Huh? Oh! Yes, I'm fine..." she stammers. She awkwardly places another chair on a desk, small beads of sweat forming on her forehead. As they continue cleaning the classroom, Yui grows slightly confused about why Yon is still helping her.

"Hasn't he heard the rumors? Wouldn't he be afraid of what people think?" she wonders, pausing in her cleaning. "Hey... Yon," she calls out shyly. Yon pauses his cleaning and looks at Yui. "Yes? Is something wrong?" he asks, still concerned about her. "Um, well... Is there any reason you're still helping me?" Yui asks, lowering her head, clasping her hands together, and fidgeting her thumbs nervously.

"Why wouldn't I help you?" Yon responds, his genuine confusion evident. Her anxiety increases, realizing that he may not be aware of the rumors circulating in school about her. "Well... I'm sure you've heard the rumors going around. Everyone here seems to believe them and stays away from me. I don't want you getting involved in that," Yui explains nervously.

"I don't care about rumors," Yon says firmly. Yui is taken aback by Yon's response, and she lifts her head back up, surprised. "As you said, they're just rumors. I don't know you, and neither does anyone here."

Yon's words completely catch Yui off guard. Her cheeks flush red, and any negative feelings she had immediately disappeared. A smile forms on her face, and small tears fill her eyes. Yon smiles back at her before returning to his cleaning.

"R-Right! Thank you!" she says happily, feeling rejuvenated by Yon's words. Yui smiles to herself, cheerfully picking up the last remaining chairs in the room. "He is such a kind person..." she thinks to herself. Sometime later, as Yon is finishing up cleaning the chalkboard, he accidentally drops his brush, and it lands beside Yui's feet. She is now helping him finish cleaning the board.

"Ms. Kanazowa, can you get that for me, please?" Yon asks politely. Yui looks down at the brush and picks it up for him. As she goes to hand it back, she stops. "I'll give this back under one condition," she says, her voice filled with nervousness. Yon, intrigued by her demand, looks at her quizzically. "Okay, I'm game. What's the condition?" he asks with a curious smile.

Yui looks away, too shy to look at Yon's face. She gulps and tightly squeezes the brush in her hand. "C-Could you... call me Yui?" she asks nervously. The simple request catches Yon off guard, and he smiles, letting out a soft chuckle. "That's all? I can do that, Yui," he says playfully. Embarrassed, Yui's face turns very red, and she quickly hands him the brush. She turns away from him and continues cleaning awkwardly. Overcoming her anxiety, she feels pleased with herself.

"He called me Yui!" she thinks excitedly. Yon smiles and returns to cleaning the board alongside her. The two work side by side, cleaning in sync. After a long time of cleaning, they finally finish tidying up the classroom. They sit tiredly at their desks, letting out sighs of relief.

"That took much longer than I expected," Yui remarks on their work. "You're telling me," Yon agrees. The two sigh once more when suddenly a loud growling noise echoes through the empty classroom. Yui looks at Yon, who has an embarrassed look on his face. "I guess I'm a little hungry, hehe," he retorts awkwardly.

He rubs the back of his head, feeling nervous and embarrassed. Yui laughs at him, finding it cute, when suddenly her stomach growls as well. Her face turns blood red with embarrassment, and Yon chuckles at her. "I guess we are both hungry, huh?" Yon stands up from his desk and looks down at Yui with a smile on his face. "Well, we have the lunch passes and a free period for cleaning the class! Let's go to lunch!"

"R-Right!" Yui says excitedly. Yui stands up with Yon, and the two leave for the lunchroom, leaving the classroom empty. Unbeknownst to them, Yui had left a small doodle of "Y + Y" inside a heart on the chalkboard. Meanwhile, in the lunchroom, Sam and Lincoln were engrossed in some drama that had unfolded.

"I promise! I didn't mean to run into you, Ms. Inawi," a panicked student pleads. "Do you have any idea how much this uniform costs? I don't care if it was an accident or not!" Ereen yells at the student. She then shoves the student, causing him to fall harshly on his butt. She stands over him menacingly when suddenly Kareen intervenes between the two. Ereen and Kareen stare at each other intensely, their tension palpable. The entire lunchroom watches as the two appear ready to fight.

"That's enough, Princess Ereen," Kareen says mockingly. Kareen steps forward towards Ereen and throws her hand out. "You won't bully any students while I'm here!" she says in a commanding tone. Ereen reciprocates Kareen's movements and slaps her hand away.

"Piss off, stuck-up class rep!" Ereen says assertively. The two girls stand close to each other, on the verge of a fight. Sam, who has been observing the scene, can no longer hold back and steps forward towards Ereen.

"Don't you dare slap--" Ereen suddenly slaps Sam in the face, interrupting her. The entire room falls silent, and Sam feels a sudden burst of anger welling up within her. Everything seems to go black as Sam lunges at Ereen, and both girls scream at each other, causing a chaotic scene in the lunchroom.