"Good." Yukari commented, once Chiyo was done with her oral exam. As expected, the child genius had performed admirably. She was glad to see, at least, some of her students took her class seriously. There was mild applause as Chiyo sat at her desk, blushing modestly as she scratched the back of her head a bit. Sounding bored, Yukari made a dismissive gesture and droned, "Yeah, yeah. That's enough." Her eyes roamed the class, searching for the next prospective candidate.
She glanced in Tomo's direction, prompting her to stand. The arch in Yukari's eyebrow, however, stopped her cold. The look could be clearly interpreted as asking, "Should I bother?" Tomo responded with a gesture of her own, shrugging her shoulders with a sheepish grin. Needless to say, Tanizaki wasn't pleased. Hand on her hip, she pointed downward with her forefinger, motioning for Tomo to sit. After marking an "F" next to her name, she moved on.
Kagura was up next. The tan skinned girl clapped her hands together and bowed her head as if making a gesture to appease the gods. Yukari was not. Towering above her, amidst crashing waves and stormy skies, Yukari held the roll book aloft and struck down Kagura's name. The girl could do naught, but slump on her desk again with Soun Tendo like water marks pouring from her eyes.
"Man, that was harsh." one student whispered.
"Tell me about it." his friend agreed. When the boys noticed the sideward stare she was leveling at them, they swallowed nervously and followed Kagura's example. This time, she 'hmphed' imperiously and smirked.
It didn't last as her smirk faded into a depressed sigh. In all honesty, she only expected a handful of them to pass. Namely: Chiyo, Yomi, Sakaki, Kaorin, and Chihiro since they were the only ones who ever studied. Sometimes it felt as if she was going through the motions. She was half tempted to mark the rest of them "F's" and give the others their grades. But, noooo. she thought glumly. That wouldn't be doing my job.
Yukari's eyes narrowed, her teeth grit in frustration as she muttered to herself, "Unlike some people, who have cushy jobs and fancy cars, and higher salaries." completely failing to notice she was now thinking out loud. Or the nervous looks she was getting from her class. "Ooh, look at me!" she went on, making a girly impression of Minamo's voice, "I'm a big time representative of the Pokegirl League! I don't have time for teaching anymore!" Finishing the last bit by whispering, "You'll have to make your own way, from now on, Yukari-chan."
Then, growling, she screamed aloud at the ceiling, "You and your damned Toyota! Think you're so smart! Well, fine! Who needs you?! I'll get a cushy job of my own and a better car! Then we'll see who's smarter!" Having vented, she took several deep breaths, then cleared her throat to regain her composure.
That wasn't to say her made had changed. She even scowled as her eyes roamed over her roll book, now looking for someone to vent her frustrations on. Naturally, no one wanted to be called up at this particular time. Tomo and Kagura were both grateful their turns had come up already, despite their failing grades.
"Mizuhara."
Yomi's glasses glinted over, conveying her sense of dread. Why me? Why now? What did I do? she wondered. Her hesitance incurred Yukari's ire. Glowering, she pointed toward the front, her finger making a crack like a whip, causing Yomi to jump out of her seat and, quite nearly, out of her skin. Peering back, she saw Tomo grin and make a line across her throat. She made note to pay her back for it later. For now... it was off to the gallows.
Things were looking up for Ryoga. The nurses had brought him his clothes. Well, most of them anyway. While his pants and shoes had survived yesterday's match in tact, his shirt had not. It had been practically reduced to scrap due to the tears in it. Ryoga couldn't begin to count the number of times he'd resown it, even though he had another just like it, at home. Thankfully, he always kept a change of clothes in his pack, except he didn't have it with him.
It was still at Sakaki's house.
To make up for it, they'd given him a t-shirt. All that remained was the finishing touch. The nurses watched as he tied his bandana around his head. Then, to their amazement, he gave it a tug and produced another! With a flick of his wrist, the cloth became rigid and sharp as steel. He gave it another, making it go limp again, allowing him to fasten it around his head. The two strips seemed to meld into one before their astonished eyes.
If he seemed oblivious to their stares, it was only because he'd been told they'd be releasing him an hour early. For Ryoga, that was welcome news. The sooner he was out, the sooner he could get back on the path to becoming a Tamer. And first on his 'to do' list, was seeing that girl again. Ryoga was sure she was fine, but he wanted to be sure. That and... well... he justed wanted to see her again. Even if-
Ryoga shut his eyes, driving the negative thought away before it could finish. He was tired of second guessing himself. If was going to be a Tamer, he'd have to start acting like one. But not like the ones who thought Pokegirls had no rights and no say. He wanted to be better than that. They deserved better. And so did she. That was it, his mind was made up. He was going to see her and, when he did, he'd ask her join him. The way he saw it, it was her life. Therefore, the choice was hers, not his.
Yeah.
The look in his eye conveyed his resolve as he thought to himself, I'll do it.
The classroom erupted with laughter and you can guess who the main culprit was. Even Yukari, who'd been seething only moments ago, was wide eyed in disbelief. The corner of her mouth quirked a few times in a lopsided grin as tears of barely suppressed laughter poured from her eyes. Yomi, however, was mortified and it showed.
She had spent hours practicing her dialogue only to blow it right at the start. She had been nervous. There was no other explanation for how she'd made such a blunder. After going to the front of the class, Yukari had signaled her to start. Her first line was supposed to have been: "Hi. My name is Koyomi Mizuhara." But Yukari's line from before had invaded her mind, overlapping it.
You and your damned Toyota!
Resulting it her saying, ["Hi. My naim eez Toyota Mizuhala."] instead.
It took all of a second for Yomi to realize her mistake and another for Tomo to capitalize on it. "Toyota-san! Toyota-san!" she cried, laughing again.
Mercifully, Kagura was among the few who sympathized with Yomi. She even shot a reproachful look in Tomo's direction, which did nothing to stop the girl or any of the others. Sighing, she shut her eyes, waiting for the laughter to die down. When it did, Yomi started over, this time, completing her dialogue flawlessly.
Sakaki passed hers as well, stumbling only once, near the end.
The same couldn't be said of Osaka who confused "hi" with "hai". So every time Yukari attempted to correct her, she raised her hand in greeting and answered, "Hai!" with that same smile and blank stare. After awhile, it seemed she thought they were playing a game. Eventually, Yukari grew tired of trying to reason with her and had Osaka take her seat, marking another failing grade. No doubt about it, she had to get another job.
...If only looking for one wasn't so much work.
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(Posted Sat, 01 Dec 2007 05:20)
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