Classroom of the Elite: Unconfined Genius (Test Phase)

Vol.1. Chapter 3.1 : Lunch Troubles

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka POV

RING!!! The bell rang loudly, signaling the end of our lesson. "That's all for today, class. Have a nice break and don't forget about me!" Hoshinomiya-Sensei teased us all. She blew a kiss to all of us as she made her grand exit from the class.

When I looked around, I noticed that some of the boys were smitten by her gesture and were openly acting excited, while some of the girls were looking at them with pure disgust on their faces.

As the lesson came to an end, everyone began to congregate around their friends, making plans for where they would eat lunch. Lunchtime would be an excellent opportunity for me to get to know my fellow classmates better. I needed to act quickly so that I didn't get left in the dust.

I rose from my seat and began scanning the room for available students. Hirata was being swarmed by Karuizawa's group, so no. Sudo appeared to be planning to accompany Yamauchi and Ike, so I guess I can't invite him.

"A-ayanokouji-Kun... U-um..." A sweet but shy voice called out to me, jolting me out of my reverie. The person who had called out to me was Mii-Chan with a few girls behind her which included Kushida. It seems they were acquaintances of hers.

"Yes, Mii-Chan? May I help you?" I inquired her. I can probably already guess that she was planning to invite me to lunch along with her friends.

"Mii-Chan, you don't have to be so shy! I'm sure Ayanokouji-Kun won't mind." Kushida backed her up. There were numerous words of encouragement, such as "you can do it!" "Come on, Mii-Chan!" Coming from her batch of friends.

"What is it, Mii-Chan?" I asked this to elicit the long-awaited question she wanted to ask me.

"U-um... W-would you like to, uh... Join us for lunch?" Mii-Chan finally inquired, her voice flustered. I could tell from her expression that she needed a lot of confidence and encouragement from her friends to ask for something as simple as this. Mii-chan appeared to have a typically shy and sheepish personality based on the interactions we've had so far.

"Sure, why not?" I replied. She seemed surprised by my response but quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

"See? I told you there was no need to be concerned!" Mii-Chan was reassured by a girl. A closer look revealed a girl with short brown hair and yellow gradient-violet eyes.

I recalled her name was... Onodera Kayano. In her introduction, she described herself as a very skilled and experienced swimmer who intended to join the school's swimming club. In comparison to the other girls in my class, she appeared more tomboyish and masculine.

"I-i see, I'm glad then..." Mii-Chan murmured to herself. From a distance, she had a small smile on her face, with red tints on her cheeks. Now that I'd gotten a good look at her, she was really cute. Anyone would be charmed by her adorable but shy demeanor.

"Ara? Ayanokouji-Kun, aren't you staring at Mii-chan a little too much?" One of the girls enquired sarcastically. Ichihashi Ruri was her name, based on what I could tell. I didn't learn much about her personality from her introduction because it was brief, but she appeared to be a pleasant and cheerful young lady.

It appears that my staring was too obvious. I needed to clear up the misunderstanding quickly so they didn't mistake me for a pervert. I don't want the rest of the class to think of me as a creep, especially since I'll be the one leading them.

"Ah, sorry if I freaked you out or anything. I just thought she looked really cute for a second." I complimented Mii-Chan while clarifying any misunderstandings about the situation.

"E-eh?!" Mii-Chan exclaimed loudly, sounding agitated. My compliment seemed to elicit a response from her. Her exclamation drew the attention of everyone in the room. She quickly tried to cover her reddened face with her hands, but it was futile because everyone was already staring in our direction with full interest.