wildfireblossom

Scritch-scratch. Scritch-scratch. Scritch-scratch.

All was silent in the Japanese-style classroom except for the busy back-and-forth motions of pencils grazing complicated mathematical numbers onto lines of notebook paper. Math class was in session, each of the students instructed to practice a list of difficult problems while the teacher, Nakamura-sensei, strolled about the aisles to check on their progress. Today was ordinary in Class 2-2 - the atmosphere feverishly anxious and stoic. It was one of those occasions where the marvelous spring atmosphere outside was beyond heavenly, and whatever resolve present to accomplish any tasks was abandoned. The bright yellow sunshine flooding in from the window prompted the students to hurriedly exit the classroom at the speed of light in pursuit of eating their lunchboxes on the school's grassy lawn, but were sourly disappointed because the dreary toll of the bell would not sound. Sensei was at least somewhat lenient about the class's anxiety because of her laid-back attitude, though she still glanced about the room to confirm her student's productivity with dark eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

In short terms for one of the pupils, Himeko Ishikawa could not muster the strength to concentrate on her studies. As determined as the female was to focus on the textbook in front of her, all efforts remained futile. Himeko normally embraced Sensei's elaborate explanations and smooth actions during a lecture because of her deep admiration for the woman, but this class period managed to be an unusual exception. All of the detailed lesson notes she had scribbled down, Nakamura-sensei's array of examples on the blackboard, and the equations in the Algebra book were nonsensical under the agitated pressure from her peers. Being three seats from the back row  of the aisle directly next to the window also did a terrible service for her. The comfortably soft, balmy breezes which quietly whipped into the classroom through a small opening in the back window were quite tempting to acknowledge, having had successfully caused the highschooler drowsiness in a matter of moments. With the golden warmth of the sunlight falling upon her head without retreat in blissful rays, the last remnants of her motivation to work were completely hindered.

Still, Himeko was thankful she had not been spotted and made an example of at this point for goofing off; she honestly had not attempted one of the questions yet. A high stack at the edge of her desk was piled with books and papers for different assignments, along with the current lesson located in the middle. The opened textbook in front of her laid untouched, and the folded notebook with her brown puppy-shaped eraser rested on top. Leaning over, her right elbow lightly rested on the sleek desk's surface next to them, her hand delicately propping her head high so it appeared as though she were in deep thought. However, Himeko's face ruined the whole image, considering her soft ebony eyes were nearly shut in being part-asleep. Occasionally the sixteen-year-old eyes's would flicker upon the fine-print Japanese symbols and numbers though black-rimmed eyeglasses, and a forced, gentle sigh would escape her lips in mild defeat. There was no point to this anymore - for once, the quiet female was unbelievably distracted, and Sensei would just have to understand Himeko's own apprehension in this situation if she was called on for one of the answers.

But the female was not completely immobile in tiredness. She gripped a freshly sharpened pencil with her left hand and lightly etched at the edge of a loose piece of notebook paper under the textbook in ease. In her opinion, the picture was absolutely dreadful, but in its own defense was quite impressive for a simple sketch. The puppy on the page practically seemed to jump into life with its doe-sized eyes and tongue lolled out to the side. For various effects, the tiny puppy was slowly beginning to gain dark, shaggy hair as she marked gray shades to its coat. Himeko somewhat possessed a deep infatuation for dogs of all types, even though the girl never owned one. When she was younger all Himeko had intensely whined to her parents about was to buy a dog for her. Any puppy would have been gratefully accepted. Unfortunately, her parents rejected that idea, which left her with sadness. Her only restorts were to draw the adorable dogs in her free time or stop off at the local pet shop whenever she was in the neighborhood. Frankly, that was how she would describe herself in a nutshell. She was automatically recognizable as an undeniably shy and soft-hearted teenager, diligent and intelligent. Everyone in her class was well-aware of those facts - they were not hidden secrets. But she easily was influenced by the feelings of her classmates to be off-track, just like on this beautiful spring day.

Himeko's ears perked to attention when Nakamura-sensei's brisk footsteps approached the last aisle by the window. There was no chance the teacher would confiscate her picture; the girl had been drawing it all class, so she was ready to hide her treasure. Quickly shifting in alarm, she covered the sheet of paper as quietly as possible with the textbook and glanced at the lesson material. She jotted down some random equations and numbers in her notebook before Nakamura-sensei merely gazed at her page and passed by.

Breathing a mental sigh of relief, Himeko watched at the corner of her eye as Nakamura-sensei finished rounding the last row of students and wandered to the front of the room. The woman's soothing voice reverberated across the classroom in clear and crisp tones as began to speak, warning her pupils there was only a minute left to complete the assignment. There was no wonder this teacher had been hand-chosen by the faculty and students as a favorite teacher because of her warm-heart and amiable nature. Such a beautiful and responsible woman was the main reason none of the students were eager to give her any trouble. Besides that, if she noticed Himeko was skimping out on her work to partake in her usual daydreams, she was thoughtfully kind.

Sitting straight in her chair, Himeko's eyes fell downward, and she meekly scrutinized her lap as her cheeks colored with a profound red. That encounter had turned out to be somewhat close. If any of her classmates had perceived her distress she would definitely not endure their gleeful snickers at her embarrassment, and that was a fact. To them, getting so flustered over a random drawing was useless, but it actually meant something to her. A tad of a deeper pink blush forced its way onto her cheeks as a few stray defensive thoughts came to mind. She clasped her hands together on her lap, even more embarrassed at the sudden emotion. Maybe it was not a masterpiece, but she was becoming now sort of attached to the picture; it would do well in her collection at home. It was rather cute, after all.

As Nakamura-sensei walked behind her podium in front and began to search through the sea of students for whom the next answer-victim would be, Himeko relaxed a bit. Hopefully she would be lucky enough to avoid being called for this set of questions - all she could do now was give an incorrect answer. But for the time being, she was not as worried about that as usual. With slight clumsiness, she patted down her ruffled, checker-red mini-skirt just so her hands were able to accomplish something contructive. The skirt went effectively with the rest of the school uniform. It was basically a standard black sailor shirt, a red tie, and Himeko's own choice of white knee-high stockings and black shoes. Strands of her dark brown hair cascaded halfway down her back in neat and smooth waves. They were neither perfectly straight nor curly, but still gave off the same effect. One small sky blue barrette kept the bangs on the left side of her face from flipping into her eyes, though the strands freely fell on the right side.

Himeko glimpsed the schoolyard outside the window before she closed her eyes to listen to Sensei's request for one of the boys on the other side of the room to answer the first question. The schoolyard was a splendid and wondrous sight, even if spring came after the frosty winter each year. Various shades of green were splashed everywhere from the grassy Earth to the crowns of the trees. Near the school gates the branches of the school's trademark sakura tree peacefully danced in chaste gusts of wind. Some of the budding pale pink-white petals broke away from their respective spots on its branches with a mere shake and blew in the air with vigorous spirals until they hit the ground. With the combination of the sunlight and sakura playing amongst each other, the tree appeared to weep pure tears of joy. The new season of spring was incomplete without the magnificent swaying of the fresh sakura and newly leaf-strewn trees, and this year was no different from the previous. Like always, Himeko chose to believe this new school year was to be another fulfilling term of fresh beginnings - ones soon to be discovered.