TSUKISHIMA KEI

"did you use the pen again, tsukki?" yamaguchi asks, checking my answer sheets that are marked with perfect scores.

"no. i used a different one this time." i respond, showing him a normal pen.

"then, does that mean aiko-san isn't a lucky charm, but a normal person?" yamaguchi asks once more.

"she is a normal person, yamaguchi."
"i didn't mean it like that, tsukki."

of course, i knew what it means. i didn't use the pen today for a certain reason i don't want to talk about. at least not to anyone apart from aiko herself. besides, she's the one who knows about herself the most.

"by the way, have you heard? hinata and kageyama got their first high scores in this quiz. aiko-san sure is smart, huh? to think she could put two brain cells in shape." he exclaims with a small giggle right after his sentence. however, my mind is too clouded for me to reply.

"i couldn't care less. i can't believe they learned nothing from me but learned from aiko more." i manage to reply, clicking my tounge.

"maybe that's because they don't like you as a tutor." yamaguchi teases, causing me to glare at him before standing up.

"i'm going to go to aiko and ask her a few things. go to the clubroom without me." i sigh and as i saw him nod, i immediately made my way to aiko's classroom to fetch her for a small talk, but it seems that she read my mind, for she's now standing by the door with her arms crossed and a glare plastered on her face.

making sure there was no one with her, i made my way in front of her, looking straight onto her eyes.

"you didn't use it, did you?" she asks, an eyebrow raised.

of course, with her in a sour mood, i just decided to nod rather than retort back. i have never seen her in this kind of mood before, but something tells me that i shouldn't anger her more.

"can you tell me the reason why you didn't use the pen?" she asks once more.

gulping my nervousness down, i answered her question.

"it's odd, but the pen became brittle."