Chapter 58
Title: The Chair Incident
Location: Classroom – Late Afternoon
The classroom was quieter than usual.
Most students had already gone home.
Only the distant sound of footsteps from the hallway occasionally interrupted the soft hum of the ceiling fan above.
Sunlight entered through the windows in long orange lines, stretching across the desks and faded classroom floor.
MrLapis sat near the back again.
As usual.
A notebook rested beside his arm while an old CRT monitor near the teacher's desk displayed faint static from an unused school computer.
Senpai sat nearby reviewing notes quietly.
Nagatoro stood near the front of the classroom staring directly at MrLapis.
Thinking.
Which was dangerous.
Senpai noticed immediately.
Senpai:
"…Why are you staring at him like that?"
Nagatoro crossed her arms.
Nagatoro:
"Because yesterday annoyed me."
Senpai:
"You tried stealing his notebook."
Nagatoro:
"And he ruined the prank too easily."
MrLapis calmly turned a page in his notebook.
MrLapis:
"You selected an obvious hiding place."
Nagatoro pointed dramatically.
Nagatoro:
"See?!"
She looked at Senpai.
Nagatoro:
"He keeps doing that."
Senpai:
"…Doing what?"
Nagatoro:
"Talking like he already knew the conversation."
MrLapis:
"The conversation pattern was predictable."
Nagatoro narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Nagatoro:
"That answer is exactly what I mean."
The fan above rotated slowly.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Nagatoro suddenly smiled.
That smile immediately worried Senpai.
Senpai:
"Oh no."
Nagatoro:
"This time will be different."
MrLapis:
"Unlikely."
Nagatoro:
"Stop saying things confidently before I even start."
MrLapis calmly continued reading.
Nagatoro slowly walked behind him.
Very casually.
Too casually.
Senpai noticed immediately.
Senpai:
"…Nagatoro-chan."
Nagatoro ignored him.
She crouched slightly behind MrLapis' chair.
The wheel locks beneath it were old and slightly loose.
Perfect.
Nagatoro smirked proudly.
Very quietly—
she unlocked one of the rear wheels.
Then another.
Then carefully stood back up.
Nagatoro:
"…Interesting."
MrLapis turned another page calmly.
No reaction.
Nagatoro grinned.
Nagatoro:
"Very interesting."
Senpai looked nervous.
Senpai:
"What did you do?"
Nagatoro:
"Science."
Senpai:
"That answer never means anything good."
Nagatoro leaned against a desk, pretending innocence.
Silence filled the room for a few moments.
Then—
MrLapis slowly moved his chair backward slightly.
The left wheel shifted unevenly.
Immediately—
MrLapis stopped.
Silence.
Nagatoro waited proudly.
MrLapis looked downward briefly.
Then:
MrLapis:
"The rear wheels are unlocked."
Nagatoro froze.
Senpai froze.
Nagatoro:
"…No."
MrLapis calmly adjusted the chair.
Click.
Click.
He relocked both wheels without even standing up.
Then returned to reading.
Nagatoro stared blankly.
Nagatoro:
"How."
MrLapis:
"The movement resistance changed."
Senpai slowly lowered his pencil.
Senpai:
"…That sentence should not exist."
Nagatoro marched forward.
Nagatoro:
"No no no."
She pointed aggressively at the chair.
Nagatoro:
"You're lying."
MrLapis:
"No."
Nagatoro:
"You didn't even LOOK."
MrLapis finally glanced toward her calmly.
MrLapis:
"The balance shifted slightly left."
Nagatoro blinked twice.
Nagatoro:
"You felt that?"
MrLapis:
"Yes."
Senpai looked genuinely concerned now.
Senpai:
"…Awakening really changed him."
A brief silence followed.
The sunlight outside dimmed slightly behind passing clouds.
Nagatoro crossed her arms stubbornly.
Nagatoro:
"Fine."
She leaned closer.
Nagatoro:
"Then let's increase difficulty."
Senpai:
"Please don't say that."
Nagatoro ignored him again.
She suddenly grabbed the small portable radio sitting near the teacher's desk.
A cricket commentary was quietly playing through static.
Commentator:
"…Pakistan needing forty-two runs—"
Nagatoro lowered the volume completely.
Then hid the radio beneath another desk.
Nagatoro:
"There."
MrLapis remained calm.
Too calm.
Then:
MrLapis:
"The radio is still audible."
Nagatoro blinked.
Nagatoro:
"What?"
MrLapis:
"The sound reflects from the cabinet glass."
Senpai slowly turned toward the classroom cabinet.
Very faintly—
the cricket commentary could indeed still be heard.
Nagatoro stared at the cabinet.
Then at MrLapis.
Then back at the cabinet.
Nagatoro:
"…You're actually terrifying."
MrLapis:
"Exaggeration."
Nagatoro:
"No, I'm serious."
MrLapis quietly closed his notebook.
Then finally looked directly at her.
MrLapis:
"You continue underestimating basic observation."
Nagatoro narrowed her eyes.
Nagatoro:
"And you continue acting like a retired detective."
Senpai laughed quietly.
Nagatoro sighed dramatically before dropping into the chair beside him.
Nagatoro:
"You know what your real problem is?"
MrLapis:
"You are about to explain incorrectly."
Nagatoro pointed immediately.
Nagatoro:
"THAT."
Senpai covered his face trying not to laugh again.
Nagatoro leaned closer.
Nagatoro:
"You react too little."
MrLapis:
"Unnecessary reactions waste energy."
Nagatoro:
"That sounds emotionally unhealthy."
MrLapis:
"Efficiency is often misunderstood."
Nagatoro stared at him for a few moments.
Then:
Nagatoro:
"…See?"
Senpai:
"What?"
Nagatoro:
"He keeps saying things that sound important for no reason."
MrLapis:
"There is a reason."
Nagatoro:
"Exactly my point."
The classroom became quieter again.
Outside, distant thunder rolled faintly across the sky.
Nagatoro slowly spun a pen between her fingers.
Thinking.
Then suddenly—
she smirked again.
Senpai noticed immediately.
Senpai:
"…There's another prank."
Nagatoro:
"Obviously."
She suddenly grabbed a sticky note from the teacher's desk.
Quickly scribbled something.
Then slapped it directly onto MrLapis' shoulder.
Nagatoro:
"Success."
MrLapis glanced sideways slightly.
The sticky note read:
WARNING:
EMOTIONALLY UNAVAILABLE
Senpai immediately laughed.
Nagatoro folded her arms proudly.
Nagatoro:
"Now THAT one was accurate."
MrLapis removed the note calmly.
Studied it for a second.
Then:
MrLapis:
"The handwriting improved again."
Nagatoro stared in disbelief.
Nagatoro:
"HOW ARE YOU STILL ANALYZING IT."
Senpai nearly fell out of his chair laughing.
Nagatoro pointed at MrLapis again.
Nagatoro:
"You are impossible."
MrLapis placed the sticky note neatly inside the notebook.
Nagatoro blinked.
Nagatoro:
"…Why did you keep it?"
MrLapis:
"It may be useful later."
Nagatoro:
"That somehow feels ominous."
A faint flicker appeared across the CRT monitor near the front desk.
Very brief.
Almost invisible.
Senpai didn't notice.
Nagatoro didn't notice.
But MrLapis did.
For less than a second—
the cricket score displayed on the monitor changed.
147
Then:
200
Then normal again.
MrLapis stared quietly.
Nagatoro noticed his expression shift slightly.
Only slightly.
Nagatoro:
"…What?"
MrLapis looked back toward the notebook.
MrLapis:
"Nothing."
Nagatoro studied him carefully.
She was still smiling—
but weaker now.
Nagatoro:
"You've been saying that a lot lately."
Silence.
The fan rotated slowly overhead.
Click.
Click.
Click.
MrLapis quietly packed his notebook into his bag.
Nagatoro watched him.
Then:
Nagatoro:
"You really have changed since the awakening."
MrLapis paused briefly.
MrLapis:
"People change."
Nagatoro:
"…Not this fast."
Another silence filled the classroom.
Outside—
rain finally began falling softly against the windows.
And for some reason—
the room suddenly felt colder than before.