Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Double Standards ❯ Remedial Class ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Remedial Class

Shoyo (Kotori)

"But sensei I can't take the responsibility to teach the remedial class for the year one students." Fujima protested when his math teacher told him to look for him during break. "I am the couch and the captain of the school basketball team! My team needs me everyday during practice!"

"It is only for an hour every alternate day in a week!" The math sensei begged. "It's only one person you had to tutor. Every year three students who have academically good results in their subjects will take this responsibility. It will help you gain a good remark in your school leaving cert too."

Very reluctantly Fujima finally agreed with the sensei. So after school, he told Hanagata that he would be one hour late for practice to tutor a particular girl who will wait for him in Year 1 Group 8 class. He made his way down the year 1 corridor slowly catching attention of the year 1 girls as he walked by.

When he reached the class and slide the door opened, he was greeted with four girls. He blinked staring at them. One of them was `Iris', and the other three he recognized that to be her snobbish friends who hang around with her always. He frowned slightly, he thought the math sensei had told him that he was only supposed to tutor one girl. His worst suspicion was to tutor `Iris'.

"Iris, I told you to just ditch the class!" Miki whispered into her ear. "See looks like your dreaded enemy is here to teach you."

"You never stay for your remedial class, we don't either!" Milan chipped in. "We always leave straight after the bell rings, why do you care today anyways!"

"Soyo…" Aiko added.

Kotori sighed inwardly turning to them.

"You all can leave, you don't have to wait for me!" She said in an agitated voice. "Please!!!! I just want to put things right!"

"You never cared…" Miki tried persuading again.

"LEAVE!!!!!" Kotori cried.

Miki, Milan and Aiko stared at Kotori's outburst and left the class in a hurry.

Fujima watched those girls whispered to `Iris' softly throwing him furious glares where else `Iris' looked rather perturbed and agigated. He was very surprised when he heard her shouted for her friends to go away. He watched those three girls left though the back door of the class without turning back.

His worst suspicion was confirmed, but when he saw her watching him with an innocent face, he inclined his head. The Iris Kanzaki he knew never look at him that way. He remained by the door, pondering on the thought.

"You are here to tutor me?" Kotori said in low voice watching the year 3 boy standing by the door watching her with his head inclined making no move to come closer to her. She was told by her sensei to wait for a particular year 3 boy after class to attend her first remedial class. She was surprised that it was the boy she met at the banquet the night before.

"I am pretty surprised that you actually stayed."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Well, you never bothered to before, I heard from many of my classmates that you were never around when they came to tutor you for other remedial class."

"Really…" Kotori said softly staring down the table. She couldn't understand why Iris didn't care about her academic results. Why doesn't she worry about her future?

"Well, we better get started. I need to be at the basketball court in an hours time." Fujima said and took a seat in front of her. "So I will need to test you with some sums to see how much your knowledge in Algebra."

"Go ahead." Kotori answered in a rather bored voice. "I can guarantee you that you can leave in fifteen minutes time."

Fujima looked up at her with a frowned and took out a peace of paper writing down some year 1 Algebra sums for her and passed it to her.

Kotori did the five sums he wrote for her in ten minutes and handed it back to him. She was trying to remember who this boy was. Even she had seen him before but she wasn't sure of his name. Miki had said that he was her enemy, so in another word Iris's enemy which means she should know him, by name at least. She remembered vaguely that Iris told her about a jerk in school though she couldn't remember his name. She moved her gaze down to his notebooks he had placed on the floor next to him with a sports bag. There was a name written on his book. She leaned over to read it.

Ken… Ken what? Er …ji? … anyways… his last name… Fu…. Fuji… Fuji er… is that ma? Fujima? Kenji Fujima?

Fujima stared at the sums she had done and blinked his eyes. Did his sensei tell him that she needed remedial classes? He even told him, she had no knowledge on doing the most basic sums but she seemed to have answered all the questions basic ones and also the advance ones correctly. He looked up at her and saw her looking at something on the floor intently. He followed her gaze and saw her staring at the cover of his basketball report book. He turned back to her with a slight smile.

"I never knew you are interested in basketball…"

"Ere?" Kotori quickly jerked her gaze away from his book. "Basketball? What basketball?"

"You were looking at my basketball report book so enthusiastically."

"Oh?" Kotori stared down at the book again and blushed. She was only trying to read his name.

She is blushing in front of me? Fujima thought with surprised staring at her. She actually looks Kawaii.

After the thought he quickly shook his head and focused his attention down the piece of paper and spoke.

"You had done all the sums correctly. I'm pretty surprised, that the sensei had wanted you to take remedial classes. Anyways, is there anything you wish to ask me? Anything else you don't understand."

Kotori looked at Fujima's beautiful blue eyes when he looked back up at her again. They seemed to be sparkling like a pool of clear water. She blinked, he seemed really sincere trying to help her. Why ever would Iris say that he was an incredible jerk?

"No," Kotori replied trying to keep her voice from sounding nervous. This beautiful boy here was making her weak at her knees. "Well, I'm actually quite alright with algebra… I shouldn't be keeping you away from your basketball practice, any longer."

"The remedial class is supposed to be an hour," Fujima smiled and Kotori nearly fell off her chair at his charming smile. "I think only fifteen minutes had passed. Why don't I give you some more sums to do?"

"OK, sure" Kotori shrugged. "Go ahead."

Fujima never knew that `Iris' looked so innocent before. There was something different from her today. Her smile, her eyes and most of all the way she act! She was actually not snobbish. He watched her intently as she bent over the paper writing down the answers swiftly.

He actually wanted to stay with her longer, and he never thought that he would actually feel like that for `Iris'. He remembered whenever she was around, they would bicker with each other no matter how small the thing was. He hated the sight of her and he was sure she did too. But today, he just wanted to be around her, hoping that she felt the same way. The only way to find out he decided to ask her to come for practice.

"Would you like to come watch us practice later?"

"I beg your pardon?" Kotori looked up at him surprised.

"Basketball, I know you play tennis, but would you like to come to watch us later?"

"Sure," Kotori smiled with a shrugged. "Would love to."

Yes, she agreed; Fujima thought returning her smile and almost leaping for joy.

Kotori's heart leapt, he had asked her to follow with to his basketball practice, which means that he wanted her to spend more time with him. But her delight didn't last for long when she realized, that he had actually asked Iris Kanzaki, not Kotori Sumire.

Would he still ask her if he knew that she was just the normal Kotori Sumire?

Fujima watched her delighted face changing miserable suddenly and wondered why. However, when he wanted to ask her if something was bothering her, she smiled at him again and went back to finish the rest of her sums in silent.

Strange, he thought.

Kotori thought silently; As long as I am still Iris Kanzaki, everything should be fine.