All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

As Yui Yuigahama finished copying the math homework, the bell for the first class of the day rang. However, instead of the expected math teacher, Nakamori-sensei, it was the homeroom teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka, who walked into the classroom.

"That's strange. Wasn't the first class supposed to be math?" Izumi Kotomi thought to herself, briefly wondering if she had made a mistake when she checked the schedule earlier.

"Your math teacher is out sick today, so this period will be dedicated to Japanese instead. But before we start, I need to collect the club application forms. Has everyone finished filling them out?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked as she stood at the podium.

"Yes, we're done," the students responded.

"Alright, then. Would the last student in each row please collect the forms from your row and bring them to the front?"

Once the forms were collected, Hiratsuka-sensei briefly glanced through them, getting a general sense of which clubs her students were interested in joining.

As expected, most students opted not to join any clubs, leaving only about ten students who had chosen to participate in club activities.

"It seems like most of you aren't too keen on club activities. Hmm? It looks like someone in our class chose the art club. Let me see who it is... Izumi Kotomi. Izumi-san, are you planning to join the art club?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked, her tone indicating a genuine interest.

The mention of the art club piqued Hiratsuka-sensei's curiosity. If a student was interested in the art club, she wondered if they might also be considering pursuing art as part of their academic career. After all, Sobu High School hadn't had many students participating in the art entrance exams (known as "geijutsu nyushi") in recent years.

"Yes, Hiratsuka-sensei, I want to join the art club," Izumi Kotomi replied, standing up.

"Good, good. Do you have any plans to take the art entrance exams in the future?" Hiratsuka-sensei inquired further.

"The art entrance exams?" Izumi Kotomi hadn't really considered this. She had joined the art club to focus on improving her drawing skills, with the intention of enhancing her future work in manga and illustrations. She hadn't thought about using the exams as a way to gain additional points for university admissions.

Kotomi shook her head. "I'm sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei, but I haven't considered taking the art entrance exams."

Hiratsuka-sensei didn't press the issue but instead offered some advice: "If you ever change your mind, feel free to come talk to me. The art entrance exams can be a valuable way to earn extra points for university admissions. If you excel, getting into one of Tokyo's top five art universities could give you a significant advantage when applying for jobs in related fields."

A degree is often seen as a key to open doors.

"I understand. Thank you, Hiratsuka-sensei. I'll let you know if I change my mind."

"By the way, including you, there are two students in 1-F who chose the art club."

"Two?" Kotomi asked, curious about who else in the class had chosen the art club.

"Yes, the other student is a transfer student. She's currently still abroad, so she'll probably arrive at Sobu High School in a few days. When I called her yesterday to ask which club she wanted to join, she chose the art club."

"Oh, I see," Kotomi nodded and sat back down, now curious about who this transfer student might be. She wondered if this student was also skilled in drawing.

"Hey, did you hear? There's going to be a transfer student!"

"And it sounds like she's coming from abroad. Has she lived abroad her whole life?"

"I wonder if she's a cute girl. Foreign girls with blonde hair and blue eyes are the cutest!"

"If we're talking about cute, I still think Kotomi-san is the cutest!"

Huh? Weren't we just talking about the transfer student? How did the conversation suddenly shift to me?

"Alright! Take out your Japanese textbooks. Even though it's only the second day of school, time waits for no one. Your first monthly exams as high school students are at the beginning of next month. I hope all of you will study hard and aim for good results. Hmm... always telling you to get good results feels a bit cliché. Anyway, just do your best for the exams and try not to embarrass yourselves too much," Hiratsuka-sensei said as she started the class.

The Japanese lesson began, and Kotomi glanced at Yui Yuigahama, who was sitting in front of her. As expected, the little airhead was already dozing off at her desk.

Kotomi could only smile wryly at the sight.

Finally, the most beautiful sound in the world—the bell signaling the end of the class—rang out, and Hiratsuka-sensei promptly ended the lesson without lingering, closing her textbook and walking out of the classroom.

As for why Hiratsuka-sensei never went overtime?

It was because teachers were not allowed to smoke during class.

And Hiratsuka-sensei was someone who always had a cigarette in hand, so she never dragged out the class. When it was time to end, she ended it.

The students waited eagerly for the bell to ring, and she waited just as eagerly to head outside for a smoke break.

"I love Hiratsuka-sensei's Japanese class the most—she never goes overtime!"

With class over, the once-sleeping Yui Yuigahama suddenly seemed to revive.

"Yuigahama-san, you were dozing off again," Megumi Kato remarked with a light laugh.

"No matter how much you enjoy reading, you should still try to get to bed early," Yukino Yukinoshita added.

"Ahahaha... I'll definitely go to bed early tonight. But even if I do, I somehow still end up dozing off in class."

"Why?" Izumi Kotomi asked, curious if Yui had some sort of unusual condition.

Yui, somewhat embarrassed, rubbed her light peach-colored hair, her cheeks turning a bit pink as she replied, "Whenever class starts, it's like a sleeping pill walks into the room with the teacher."

"Comparing a teacher to a sleeping pill—if Hiratsuka-sensei heard that, she'd be both flattered and annoyed," Yukino said with a slight smile.

"Wow!" Yui suddenly exclaimed, as if she had discovered something amazing, startling Kotomi and the others.

Just as they were about to ask her what was going on, Yui, still looking amazed, said to Yukino, "Yukino, you smiled!"

"Since when did you start thinking of me as some emotionless ice queen? Of course, I smile," Yukino replied with a sigh.

"You look so pretty when you smile, Yukino. Can you smile again?"

"No."

"Just once more~"

"No. You can ask Kotomi-san to smile for you instead."

Kotomi, ever the instigator, chimed in, "Yukino, I'd also like to see you smile~"

Yukino turned to look at Kotomi, her cool blue eyes meeting Kotomi's as she slowly said, "Kato-san forgot to mention earlier—you're not just a bad woman; you're a sly one too."

After delivering this line, Yukino finally allowed a satisfied smile to grace her lips before turning back to her classical literature book.

Kotomi, having been labeled as "sly," could only point at herself, a huge question mark practically floating above her head.

What do you mean, Yukino?

I may have a tiny bit of mischief in me, but I know one thing for sure:

I, Izumi Kotomi, am a good girl!