"Then Kaneki-kun, what's up with that sticker?"
Mina shows me her phone, with my message in the group.
"Hm? It was a little owl that Himiko and I took care of yesterday."
"I know it's an owl!" She huffed and stomped her foot on the ground.
"I want to know the meaning!" She tapped her index finger against the desk a few times.
"??"
Jiro joins the conversation:
"It's just that you hadn't sent anything in the group until now, and then out of nowhere you send a sticker of a completely wrecked-looking owl—"
"She was just soaked, and she was adorable!" Himiko cut her off.
"... Adorable?" Sero grabbed the phone and narrowed his eyes at the sticker, looking at it again.
"Pff."
Others started gathering around us.
"Anyway, it was funny, but confusing."
"Yeah, especially since we couldn't even tell what was written."
"I only recognized the 'man.'"
"It's a phrase in Portuguese, isn't it, Kaneki-kun?" Momo asked, looking at the sticker, trying to understand the meaning.
"Uh-huh, it means: 'Maybe not, man…'"
"... It still doesn't make sense," Momo muttered.
"It's not supposed to," I shrugged.
Mina's brain then connected a few dots.
"Wait! You know Portuguese, Kaneki-kun?"
"Yes? It would be weird if I didn't."
"Why would it be?"
"Huh? Because I was born in Brazil."
The room fell completely silent, everyone turning to look at me.
"..."
'Ah, right.'
'I hadn't told them yet.'
"WHAAAT??"
Kaminari grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
"Why did you hide that???"
"Uh…"
"I just forgot to mention it."
"..."
"Bruh." He let me go.
"That's cool, I didn't know we had someone from another country in our class."
"I think Class 1-B has a girl from the United States…"
Momo said, stepping aside to let the rest of the class get closer, interested in the topic.
Questions started coming one after another.
"So are you, like, amazing at soccer?"
"No, I'm terrible."
"And samba?"
"I've never danced, and I don't even like carnival."
"Can you do double jumps?" That came from Bakugo, of all people.
"..."
"Maybe."
"Say something in Portuguese!" Mina and Toru said in unison.
"Rosa e invisível" I said, the first thing that came to mind when I saw who asked.
"Ohhh, cool!!"
"I didn't understand anything…"
"Yeah…"
"I think he said: Pink and invisible."
"Is that right, Kaneki-kun?" Momo asked, looking at me expectantly.
"That's right, very good."
"Yes!" She raised her fist victoriously.
"You also know Portuguese, YaoMomo-chan?" This time, Himiko asked.
"No, just a bit of Spanish, and the words are similar."
"Ah, makes sense."
Before they could ask me to say more things in my native language, we heard the door opening.
Instantly, everyone practically teleported back to their seats.
Aizawa walked in, saw the organized classroom, and gave a short nod of satisfaction.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, sensei!"
"As you know, summer vacation is approaching."
"But of course, you're not in a position to simply take thirty days off just to relax…"
The whole class seemed to hold their breath.
"We'll be spending summer vacation at a forest training camp."
With that, everyone got excited.
"AWW YEAHHH!!!"
"We'll be able to do a bunch of challenges!"
"Fireworks!"
"Curry!"
Aizawa quickly threw a bucket of cold water on it.
"However…"
"Those who get failing grades on the final exams will be stuck at school for remedial classes."
"LET'S DO OUR BEST, EVERYONE!!!"
─── ◆ ───
The days passed, and it was already Friday, with just one week left before the final exams.
Everyone had received the information that the practical final exam would be some kind of combat against robots, which got a lot of people excited.
"Phew… At least it's easier."
"Yeah."
"We just need to improve for the written exam then!"
"Go ahead and underestimate the practical exam, and you'll end up screwing yourselves over,"
Bakugo spat, and honestly, he wasn't wrong.
He seemed pretty stressed today, and before anyone could say anything, he pointed at Midoriya.
"And you! Deku!"
"K-Kacchan???"
"Stop copying me! You piece of shit!!"
"Make your own moves, you bastard!"
'Why did that sound like advice?' Ignoring the insults, of course.
"I-I'll try!"
Bakugo gritted his teeth at the response, then turned to Todoroki.
"You, half-and-half!"
Todoroki blinked.
"What?"
"Go fuck yourself!!"
'Pfff.'
Then he turned to me, glaring, still pissed off.
"..."
"Hmph!"
With that, Bakugo turned and left.
I didn't understand why he was so stressed, he had even done really well in the mock exam we just had during this extra period.
Third place, even above Midoriya, actually.
It was probably because of the final exam, hearing others say it would be easy must've pissed him off.
"..."
"Well, that was weird."
"Eh, he looked like an anime schoolgirl just now…"
That lightened the mood a bit, earning a few laughs.
But it didn't last long, most were still "mourning" because of the mock exam.
"..."
"I DIDN'T STUDY A DAMN THING!!!" Kaminari put his hands on his head, already completely desperate.
He had ranked last in the mock exam scores for the final.
"Hahaha…" Mina laughed nervously, she herself was second to last.
"I can help you study, if you'd like…"
Momo: First place in the mock exams.
"An angel???" Mina and Kaminari said in unison, already tearing up over Momo's desk.
Soon, a few others joined them, and they ended up planning a group study session at Momo's house.
Himiko and I weren't doing badly in the rankings, but if she wanted to visit Momo, it wouldn't hurt to study a bit more.
I turned to her desk.
Himiko was reading a message on her phone with a serious expression, which slowly turned bitter.
I tapped her shoulder.
She gave a small jump and turned to me with a more usual smile, though forced.
"Ah… It's you, Kaneki-kun…"
Seeing it was me, Himiko let her expression fall again and leaned against my arm, very downcast.
"Did something happen?"
"Sigh…"
"Yes… Take a look at the group with Dr. Ryūichi…"
Dr. Ryūichi Naruhodō was our lawyer, the same one who helped us with the emancipation.
I took my phone and opened the group where the three of us were, a way to make future conversations easier.
"..."
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Good afternoon, I hope you are both doing well."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Also, my congratulations on your results at the sports festival."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Unfortunately, I have bad news."]
[Dr. Ryūichi: "Miss Himiko's parents are issuing a notification…"]
─── ◆ ───
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