Gifted Academy: The Perfect Student

I didn\'t glance back to see where Kinoshita went, but I felt that she was still watching me from afar.

With each step, I made my way to the school\'s main building. The hallways were deserted and devoid of any noise, except for the sound of my footsteps echoing in the vast space. Upon reaching the classroom door, I stopped and slowly reached out for the handle.

Suddenly, a voice pierced through the silence and disrupted my peaceful thoughts.

"Can you be, a little bit faster?"

The voice belonged to someone standing behind me, but I didn\'t bother turning to look.

"Sure," I replied casually and picked up the pace, though not too fast, as I was not one to be easily swayed.

I grabbed the door\'s handle and opened the door faster than I usually do. I entered the classroom, stepping over the threshold and scanning the empty chairs as I walked towards my own. As I settled into my seat, I caught sight of the person who had called out to me earlier.

It was Ichikawa, as I had suspected from the tone of her voice.

She walked to her seat, which was at a decent distance from mine, and slung her bag onto the hook under her desk. After a moment, she gathered her things and left the classroom, closing the door behind her with a gentle click.

The silence that followed her departure was only broken by the sound of my own breathing. It was a rather peculiar sight to behold to see Ichikawa arriving early or even entering the class on the weekends, but truth be told, it didn\'t quite pique my interest as I wasn\'t particularly concerned about it.

As per usual, I fixated my gaze on the board, waiting patiently for the time to pass. My mind, however, was devoid of any wandering thoughts, as if it had gone completely blank.

"..."

*

A chime from my phone broke the silence, and after a moment, I reached for it to read the notification. My thumb brushed across the screen to unlock it, revealing a message from my roommate.

[Mizuhara, did you use the eggs?]

I replied with a short and straightforward message.

[Yeah.]

Typically, people might follow up with a \'What\'s wrong?\' or some other inquiry, but I had a hunch that he had a reason for asking.

The sound of a notification broke the silence again, drawing my attention back to my phone.

[I was going to use those eggs for my breakfast burrito. I\'ve been saving them!]

I sighed and quickly replied.

[Sorry about that. I\'ll buy some more.]

[The store might not be open this early.]

[It\'s worth a try.]

After sending the message, I slipped the phone back into my pocket. It buzzed again, but I ignored it. Glancing around the quiet room, I realized that I had some time to spare.

Maybe I could run to the store and grab some eggs.

I rose from my seat and made my way to the door, before reaching for the door handle. Bbut before I could open it, the door swung open to reveal Hamasaki and her group of friends.

They were mid-conversation, but the sight of me seemed to halt their chatter. Hamasaki quickly composed herself and greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Mizuhara. You\'re always early, huh? Where are you headed?"

"Library."

"Heeh~..."

She looked away awkwardly, her hand still on the door handle. I stepped aside to let them pass, and as they entered the classroom, their conversation resumed.

"I don\'t know about that~"

"Hamasaki, spill the tea!"

"I\'m not sure..." Hamasaki trailed off.

Once they were all inside, I slipped out the door, leaving it open behind me. I slowly took my steps, heading towards the commercial area.

Being a weekend, it was unsurprising that the school\'s main building was almost eerily silent, as some students would rather revel in the comfort of their rooms or go outside instead of lingering in school.

The lack of human presence, save for my own footsteps, allowed me to appreciate the peaceful surroundings without any distractions.

I arrived at the bustling commercial area where a throng of people had already formed a line, patiently waiting for their turn to enter the store and others. I joined the line and fished out my phone from my pocket to check the time - the clock read 9:30 AM, a perfect time for a late breakfast.

After enduring a few moments of waiting, I finally made it inside the store. The queue moved quickly, so it wasn\'t much of a time-consuming affair.

With a clear goal in mind, I directly walked towards the carton shelf, my eyes scanning the neatly arranged cartons one per one. Within seconds, I located the carton of eggs I needed, snatched it up without a second thought, and made a beeline for the cashier, who watched me with a neutral expression as I pulled out my phone to pay for my purchase.

Despite my quick pace, the cashier still managed to hand me a plastic bag for the single carton of eggs. I was hardly impressed by this, but didn\'t want to hold up the person waiting behind me, so I simply grabbed the bag and exited the store without a word.

After around two minutes, I finally arrived back at my dormitory. I grabbed the doorknob with one hand, turned it, and pushed the door open. As I stepped inside, Kimura greeted me from the kitchen area.

"At last, you\'re here," he said. "I was about to give up on waiting for you and head out to find some breakfast, but I didn\'t feel like settling for anything other than a burrito."

I wordlessly handed him the carton of eggs, which he promptly took and placed inside the fridge after opening it to retrieve a few.

"Want me to make you a burrito too?" he asked, grabbing a bowl and cracking the eggs into it.

I shook my head. "I\'m fine."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, already starting to crack the eggs into the bowl. "That\'s one burrito for me, then."