After the lunch bell rang, the students finished up their lunch and filed back out into the hallway, to return to their classrooms. Fumiko and Akira, joined by the rest of the class, exited the Grand Lunch Hall and walked through the spacious hallways of the Magic Academy. Their walk back to their classroom was anything but quiet. The hallways were filled with students talking about Fumiko's famous run-in with Shiina during lunch.

 

"Hey, did you see what happened in the lunch room?" One girl asked her friend.

 

"Yeah I did. Who were they? I can't believe people are fighting already. It's only the second week of school."

 

"Do you think they'll get suspended? Or even kicked out?"

 

"I hope so. I don't want to be around anybody as violent as those two."

 

Akira sighed. "You hear that Rei? People are already talking about you and it's only your first day back."

 

"Why should I care what they say? It’s not like it matters. I don't know them."

 

"That's all the more reason. You don't want people to start spreading nasty rumors about you around the school, right?

 

"I mean, it’s not like I car-"

 

"Right?" Akira put more emphasis on it this time.

 

Fumiko could see that her friend wasn't budging. "Right." She said reluctantly.

 

"Good."

 

The class eventually split from the rest of the students who were leaving the lunch hall and made their way into the first year hallway. They continued walking until they arrived at their classroom door. Since Katsumi was the first one who arrived at the door, he took his badge off and displayed it in front of the security device. The door can only stay open if the small security device is reading a badge so naturally, Katsumi had to hold it in front of the device until all of his classmates were inside. Only a couple of the members of the class made it inside before Hibiki started his usual antics.

 

"Oh what's this? Stuck holding the door I see?" Hibiki joked as he leisurely took his time entering the doorway.

 

"Shut up, Hibiki. You can't even hold your badge high for device to read it enough because you're shorter than most of the girls in the class." He fired back.

 

"Yeah, yeah, just do your job, doorman." Hibiki responded. As soon as he put one foot through the door, into the classroom, and the other, between the door and the wall, Katsumi quickly lowered his badge from the scanner, causing the door to shut, trapping Hibiki's leg between the space and made him fall face first onto the ground.

 

"Just do your job doorman." Katsumi mocked in a high pitched voice before erupting in laughter.

 

"Open the door clerk boy!" Hibiki demanded as he tried to twist his leg free from the door.

 

"Oh? Is that any way to ask somebody something?" He replied, waving his golden badge in the air.

 

Itsuki, who was already in his chair, got up and walked over to the wailing Hibiki. "Yeah, where are your manners Hibiki? I think we may have to teach him some. Right, Katsumi?"

 

"Agreed." He replied while nodding his head.

 

Itsuki reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black marker. "Hold still now." He told Hibiki while crouching down and uncapping the marker. "I wouldn't want to mess up."

 

“No! Stay away! I'm sorry! And why do you have a marker in your pocket anyway?!"

 

"Huh? I can't hear you over the sound of our classmates' chatter."

 

"Our classmates?! No one’s even saying anything! Actually, there all just watching!"

 

"Now, now, don't sweat the small stuff Hibiki." Katsumi told him with his arms folded, shaking his head.

 

Itsuki held Hibiki's head up and started to doodle a strange image on his face. "All done." He let go and Hibiki returned to lying face first on the ground, defeated. Katsumi returned his badge to the scanner, and let his remaining classmates, who were still on their way to the classroom, enter. They didn't see Hibiki lying on the ground so they just step on, or walked over him while entering the classroom, ignoring the grunting sounds he made whenever he was stepped on.

 

After everyone entered the classroom and was seated, except for Hibiki, who was still remaining face first on the ground, motionless, their 5th period teacher, Ms. Morita walked in.

 

"Good Afternoon."

 

"Ow."

 

Morita didn't realize she had just sunk the back of her black heels of her shoe into Hibiki's back. She continued walking and set the book she was holding on top of the wooden podium. She was about to start teaching before she saw Hibiki lying in front of the doorway.

 

"Hibiki, why on Earth are you lying on the ground, return to your seat this instant!"

 

Hibiki started to get up. As soon as he lifted his face from the ground, most of the class burst out in laughter, Itsuki, the loudest.

 

"And why is there a drawing of a trash can on your face? Go to the restroom and wash it off at once! And, just for your little prank, you're staying after and cleaning the entire first floor."

 

Hibiki turned around and walked back to the door. A sly smirk appeared on his face. "Stupid Ms. Morita," He thought to himself. "Mr. Yano already told me to stay after and clean this floor. So basically, you didn't give me a punishment at all!"

 

"Ms. Morita," Katsumi called out. "Mr. Yano already told Hibiki to clean the first floor."

 

"Oh? She turned to Hibiki, who had begun to shake nervously. "Then you're cleaning the entire 2nd floor too."

 

He quickly turned around to look at Katsumi who only grabbed the tip of the imaginary hat on his head and nodded his head, like a clerk boy does after he had finished helping a customer.

 

"Katsumi you little-"

 

"To the bathroom, now." Morita commanded him.

 

He walked out of the room and into the hallways, mumbling to himself.

 

"Honestly, kids these days." Morita said under her breath. "Always up to no good." She went over to the vast blackboard that stretched out almost from one end of the room, to the other. "Saburo, where did we leave off last week?"

 

Saburo quickly stood up. "We were reviewing the different types and classes of monsters, Ms. Morita." He answered.

 

"We were? That’s good. I trust you and your classmates remembered them." She picked the chalk that was set on the side of the board. “But just to be sure."

 

Some members of the class seemed to know what she was going to say next.

 

"Oh no."

 

"Please don't tell me it's what I think it is."

 

"I think we all know what it is."

 

"No,no,no, I can't go through another one!"

 

When she finished writing on the board, she stepped aside revealing what she wrote, confirming the classes' fears.

 

"Open your notebooks class. Today, we have a pop quiz."