"You brought your sheet with you?" I ask Hala, and she nods while showing it to me. "You betcha," says Hala, "I've got questions." "Same," I say. I spot Leonard come in, and wave and smile at him, and he comes over, mirroring my reaction and waving and smiling. "Hey, Revel," says Leonard, and gives me a quick hug, "you excited for today's class?" "Definitely," I say, "I mean, who wouldn't after the observations?" "I managed to translate the name of my identity, but I'm not distinctly sure how it relates to me," says Leonard, to which I can't help but agree. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't either," says Hala. "Yeah," says Hank, who joins us, "I'm banking on Mrs. Loop being her usual self and explaining things way over my head." "Does that mean you don't try at all in understanding anything?" asks Machiv a little bluntly. "No! I always try my best," says Hank. "I'd hope so," says Leonard with a laugh. Right on time, Mrs. Loop comes in and smiles at us
In history class now, I'm again trying to keep up with the course. Not that the course is moving at a breakneck speed, but it's more of large boulders of information that come in uneven rhythms that shoulder me with knowledge I need to process. Glancing over at Keito, I wonder if he's keeping up. Observing his even letters and writing that is notated carefully but not speedily, I'm certain he's not sweating to comprehend any of the content being shared. His usual masked face doesn't reveal his emotions, but his calm mellow personality is constant, so I don't have to try and pry. We had a seating change, since Mr. Kean, like many of the other teachers here at CCMS, thought it'd be a good idea to shift around so that everyone can feel something like a reset to renew their focus during class. I thought it was smart, and like Mrs. Loop's class, everyone just sat down where they wanted to with whoever. Being somewhat lonely in Mr. Kean's history class, save for Keito, I just asked
Walking in the early morning, I spot the sun coming over the trees and gently letting out waves of golden light. The matin hours have an allure that is rarely appreciated nor seen, but it's good all the same looking at all that is present. The leaves of the forest seem to be damp from the morning dew, and ever so often with a breeze that stirs the branches a cascade of drops reflect back the light. Heading into CCMS and entering the Great Hall, I head to the usual table and begin to eat, and meet with everyone. In the group of friends I have, there's nobody staying behind, and from what I've heard, most of everyone else at school are heading over to the match too. "You excited for the game?" asks Hala to me, ready to cheer on our team. "You bet," I say, "I'm about ready to jump into a bus and get going." "Eat up first," says Hala with a chuckle, and hands me some toast, "you'll need it for all the excitement." "Good idea," I say, and also quickly eat eggs, sausages,
Being the middle of the second quarter for the basketball game, I'm holding my breath as the clock ticks closer to the end of the quarter and it seems for now that CCMS is ahead of ASI by 8 points. I'm not so sure if that's a large lead, but for now it seems to be good progress and I'm banking on it being there for a while. Syl and Lu have been exceptional, and even if they're a little cocky they are getting quite a number of points. Their tactic seems to revolve around how fast they are, and how they can zoom around with or after the ball. It makes it difficult for anybody to pass the ball quickly without being blocked and the ball passing over to the hands of one of the twins. And when either of them do have the ball, they can fly down the court and work together to then score. Keito too is good, and he does it all alone. Being a little taller and bulkier than either Syl and Lu gives him the appearance of being slow and hefty, but Keito seems to use that to his advantage. Usin
The last quarter for both teams is the moment everyone has been waiting for. Nobody is as invested in the previous quarters as this one and all the tension is as high as the spire on CCMS. I'm certain that everyone is leaning forward collectively for this game, and nobody is going to look away at any moment. The whistle is blown, and this time it's with CCMS on the offense. Lu has the ball, not as sure as Syl of how well his brother can play, and he dribbles a little slower than usual with the ball down the court. Eventually though, he does get boxed in, and tosses the ball to Syl. Syl gets it, and because the 11 kid is off the court until this game is over, he doesn't worry about being hit again. It takes him a little longer, since his head is bandaged the the sensation is new to him, but eventually he does shoot and get two points. He smiles slightly as the ball moves down through the hoop, and he seems to smile at himself, now aware that he can still play despite his inju
It turns out that Open Day has a lot of interest from CCMS because the schedules for classes is cut in half for the week before it. Usually the morning only has classes while the afternoon is vacated for preparations. Sometimes the afternoons have the classes while the mornings are dedicated to the upcoming Open Day, though the schedule switch doesn't at all present any trouble for most of us. There was the morning sessions of class today, and the two that were held, in my experience, was history and math. Keito and I talked, and I thought to ask him what his class was doing, but I only asked if it would be proper to ask him if it's alright to. He answered in his usual terse but friendly manner that he wanted it to be a surprise for me. I grinned and said that'd be a good idea. For now, the preparations of class 62-A are going along pretty nicely. We did manage to get a formal permission from the Student Council body that does allow us to serve food and specifically the pizzas.
Mrs. Loop walks in, and immediately flicks her hand with her ring on to make the markers write another congratulating message for the basketball teams. All the other teachers in classes I've been to up until now have replicated this to some amount, bring in snacks and chocolates, letting us push a quiz off to a week from now, or even cancelling all the quizzes planned until the finals. All in all, Syl, Lu, Keito, and the basketball team in general could be the heroes of CCMS. Which leads to Syl grinning from ear to ear every time a teacher does this kind of thing for him. Thankfully he's been through most of his classes already so there won't be any more after this, but it still is obvious that Syl is getting quiet a bit of praise. Thankfully though, he doesn't get too haughty, maybe plateauing at a level slightly above his usual amount of excessive confidence. "I'd say congratulations like the rest of the teachers," says Mrs. Loop with a grin, "but instead, I'll improvise and
Walking into history class again, I spot Keito at his spot, and wave while going over. He waves and nods silently, his usual greeting. "I'm glad that you didn't tell me what it was your class was doing," I say with a grin as I sit down with Keito, but also keep my voice down so it's not known to everyone what 62-B is doing. "Did Leonard ask?" asks Keito, and I can hear the smile in his mellow voice. "Yep, he did," I say, "and now I'm a million dollars." "I'm glad to hear that," says Keito, "Leonard was very invested in asking you." "Did you know?" I ask in the moment, though I already know the answer. "Yes," says Keito, "I was informed." "Man, I've gotta keep an eye out more. Thinking everyone has something planned behind my back." "Aw, don't say that," says Keito, "it's nothing bad." "Yeah, you're right," I say with a nod, "is the dance the only thing 62-B is doing?" Keito doesn't answer immediately, tilting his head then answers, "No, but I can't disclose the