Sensei turned back to the whiteboard, her back becoming a stone. I half-expected to hear something snap. The only thing breaking up the stifling silence was the squeak of her marker, along with Kato's pen scratching away somewhere beside me.
The air suddenly had a strange taste. Tension. Watching Sensei try to act like nothing was wrong, while her blouse dangled open, showing off pale skin and that strip of black lace, was just surreal. I felt like a total pervert old man in Japanese adult movies for staring, but honestly, how could anyone look away? The whole thing was a slow-motion train wreck.
Behind me, I could almost feel Sena scheming. She put her back on the chair, biting her lower lips, which was a bit erotic and locked eyes with me, pure trouble shining in her face. Then she started digging in her bag.
Out came this tiny neon rubber chicken. She held it up like it was a golden trophy, careful to keep it out of Sensei's sight, and gave it a squeeze.
SQUEAK!
God, the noise was like dying chicken, dying from something unpleasant. Sena's eyes went bright with mischief. She winked at me, balanced the chicken on the edge of her desk, and just waited, totally daring fate to get involved.
"Sena, what the hell are you doing?" I hissed, not even trying to hide my irritation. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?"
She moved forward, whispered to my ear. "Relax, Romi. Just making things interesting. Someone's gotta liven up this funeral, right?"
She put both her hands behind the back of her head, showing a bit of her pink hairless armpit beneath the sleeves, but her hands shook a little. She was loving the chaos. "Besides, after that button popped? Why not see how far she'll go?" She glanced at me, her smirk getting bigger. "You're looking kinda flushed, by the way. Something wrong, buddy?"
I felt my face burn. "No, I'm not! Just keep that thing away from me. I'm not getting dragged into your mess again."
I didn't even hear the Sensei approach. Suddenly, her shadow fell across my desk. She glared at the rubber chicken like it was radioactive. Then she casually walked right in front of me with hurried steps, the way she moved made it impossible for me to look anywhere but at the gap in her shirt. I had to bite my tongue just to stay focused, the back of her skirt was right in my face—so close I stopped breathing. My pulse felt like it was about to stop.
"Sena," Hasegawa's voice was low, dangerous. "What is this?"
Sena went for the innocent routine, eyes big and fake. "Just… stress relief? Math is brutal, Sensei~"
Sensei's eyes narrowed. "Detention. Both of you. After school."
"What?!" I shot up from my seat. "Why me? I didn't do anything!"
Sensei turned toward me, leaning down to look at my face up close, so close that her chest was hanging down, making it difficult for me to know where to focus.
"Because you're involved," she said, soft but merciless. "Whispering, plotting. And now? Lying straight to my face."
A bead of sweat slid down my temple. I actually forgot to breathe.
Sena piped up from the back, "Come on, Sensei! He was literally telling me to shut up. That's not fair."
"SILENCE!" Sensei's voice bounced off the walls like a whip.
She held my gaze for a second that felt like forever, then straightened and marched back to the front, her heels clicking out my doom. "We'll discuss this after class. Page 142. Now."
Kato shot me a look full of pity. Sena just shrugged and went back to doodling.
"Hope you're happy, Sena," I muttered, glaring at my book. "What now? Gonna get me expelled?"
Sena looked up, she slapped the table as if she was unhappy. "Bold of you, Romi. If anyone's getting kicked out, it's the guy who's managed to cause drama twice in one hour. And, spoiler—it's not me."
Before I could answer, the classroom door banged open. Some nosy kids from the hallway peeked in, eyes flicking between us. "Everything okay? We heard a scream."
Hasegawa didn't even look back. "Everything's fine. Get to class. I've got this under control."
The students lingered for a second, clearly sensing the weird vibe in the room, before shutting the door. Hasegawa's shoulders felt tired and sluggish, as if she were carrying thousands of tons of weight on them.
"As I said," she grit out, "you two stay after the bell. Use this time wisely."
She started writing again, her hips swaying with every stroke of the marker. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that her unbuttoned shirt was basically an open invitation.
Sena once again approached me to whisper in my ear, "Detention together. How romantic~"
"I'll show you romantic when I smack you in the head," I growled.
Sena just winked. "Ooh, getting feisty! I like it. You know, if you're feeling frisky, we could always bail on this and find something… better to do. Who wants to be stuck in a hot room with a lady who can't keep her clothes on?"
Kato seemed unable to focus on what she was doing. Her face was bright red. I didn't know if it was because she was angry or embarrassed to have classmates like us. Sensei must have heard the whisper, because her face turned a deep, bruised purple.
"I will not tolerate another word!" she roared.
That last hour dragged on forever. When the bell finally rang, the whole school cleared out in no time, and suddenly the hallways felt way too quiet. I just sat there, breathing in the mix of Sena's perfume and my own nervous sweat. Sena, unsurprisingly, had bolted the instant class ended, leaving her chair empty.
The door squeaked open. Sensei stepped in looking completely wiped out, like she hadn't slept in days. She dropped a pile of papers on her desk and said, "I see Miss Sena's now added 'skipping class' to her usual list."
For some reason, I felt that Sensei's tone of voice sounded more relieved than annoyed.
She cleared her throat, glancing around the dim, empty room. "Given… well, my clothes, and since Sena's not here, it doesn't feel right to stay in this classroom with the door wide open."
Then she looked at me differently, soft, almost like she was letting her guard down. "Let's move to my office. It's private. No one will bother us."
She gathered her stuff, fumbling a little as she tried to keep her shirt closed. She glanced at me, eyes searching, waiting for my answer. "Unless you'd rather not, Romi?"
My throat feels itchy and I can't even scratch it, like I'd swallowed sand. "Uh… whatever you say, Sensei."
Hasegawa exhaled, a tiny, shaky sound, "Alright. Follow me."