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Blink	By : yeagerbomb Category: Gravitation > General Views: 2675 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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I left the apartment that morning after giving Tohma a peck on the cheek. �You didn�t get it last night,� I said when he looked at me from his jellied toast. I grabbed a couple pieces saying I didn�t have time to sit down, and ran out the door, leaving Old Yeller on the counter instead of stuffing it into my book bag.

At school I got another detention for whistling on the number six, and pushups because the answer was six and a half. Just before fourth period I realized I�d forgotten my book. I raced down to the office to see if Tohma had brought it in. He hadn�t. Halfway back up to class, the bell rang. �Damn it!� I muttered. I walked in two minutes late and bookless.

�Mr. Uesugi, so glad you could join us,� Mr. Nessler said. �Why were you late?�

�I was in the office,� I said.

�Alright. Take out your book. We�re reading the fourth chapter. Why don�t you start us?� I sat down, and, red faced, said that I didn�t have mine. �Where is it?�

�At home,� I muttered.

�Why?�

�I forgot to get it,� I said, looking at my desk.

�Well, get one off the shelf. But next time it will be a detention.�

�Yes sir,� I said, getting the book. I started it, reading easier since I already had once. Mr. Nessler seemed to be pleased, but at the end of the day I had a load of homework. I stayed my detention and rode home with Dee and Delilah. Dee had stayed after for the Drama club. I walked in the door, late again, but Tohma wasn�t home. There was a note, and I sat down to start my homework. I found the book where I�d left it, and put it in my bag. I did my Science first, and was just finishing it as Tohma came in.

He touched a hand to my head and asked how school had been. �It was okay,� I said, not mentioning the detention. What he didn�t know wouldn�t hurt me.

�That�s good.� It was Friday, so I packed my stuff away and Tohma and I went out to get dinner. The weekend went on, and I managed to struggle through my homework. Tohma looked it over, and said I needed to work on my handwriting. I wasn�t used to using letters. I liked hirigana better.

Monday morning came, and I went down to the subway, making sure I had all my things. I, once again, got pushups from Mr. Mignion for a wrong answer. He had deliberately given me a question that would force me to say an s, so I got it wrong on purpose. At least that way I didn�t get a detention again.

In Reading, we were taking a test over chapters 1-8. I stared at the paper, reading the first question over and over in my head. I started to sound it out quietly, but Mr. Nessler called out, �No talking!�

I looked at the words, melding together as tears formed in my eyes. I wiped them away several times, but they kept returning. When the bell rang, I handed in a blank paper. Two days later, he passed them back, except mine.

�I want to see you after class, hun,� he told me. At the end, I went to his desk. �Eiri,� he sighed, �I�m worried about you.� He handed me my test, nothing on it but my name and a 0%. �What was wrong? Didn�t you read the book? You should have known this one,� he said, pointing to the first question. I still couldn�t read it. �I want you to answer this. Please.� I slowly began sounding it out. After reading it aloud twice, I realized what it was asking.

�O-Old Yeller,� I said. �The book is called Old Yeller.� Students were coming in and looking at me curiously.

�Eiri,� he said, scribbling a note, �give this to your father, alright?� I nodded, not bothering to tell him Tohma wasn�t my dad. �And have him sign the test.�

�Okay.� He gave me a pass, and I gave it to Mrs. Juby when I walked in, five minutes after the bell rang. At the end of the day, I reported back to Mr. Mignion�s room for another detention for whistling, feeling awful already because I�d had to read from our English books. I got home and found Tohma stretched out on the couch, the TV on. I switched it off and went to my bedroom to start my homework.

An hour or two later, he came in, assuming I was home when he woke with the TV off. �Hey,� he whispered. I turned around from my desk.

�Hey, Tohma-san.�

�Where were you?� he asked me quietly. I thought about lying, but Tohma�s eyes seemed to be looking straight through me; like he already knew.

�I had detention again,� I said.

�What for?�

�Whistling,� I muttered.

Tohma sighed disappointedly. �Eiri, this is the second time. You�ve got to-�

�It�s the third,� I murmured.

�What?�

�The third. The second was on Friday. I�m sorry Tohma-san,� I said, feeling horrible.

�Eiri, why do you keep doing it?�

�I can�t stop!� I cried, wanting to throw myself onto my bed. �It�s the s�s, and the c�s, and everything else that sounds like that!� He stared at me a moment.

�He�s giving you detentions because of the tooth?� I nodded. �Alright. I�m sorry. If he gives you any more, don�t go. I�ll talk to him tomorrow. I�ll make dinner, okay?� He gave me a hug, and left the room. I pulled out the note from Mr. Nessler and carefully read it. I got out the test and set them aside, then finished my homework. When Tohma called me to dinner, I put down the chapter of Underneath I�d been working on and grabbed the note and test.

I sat down at the table, leaving the papers on the counter while we ate. When we were done, I handed him the note. He read it quietly and asked for the test. I gave it to him. �Oh, Eiri,� he breathed.

�I couldn�t read it, Tohma-san,� I insisted.

�I know,� he said, scribbling his name. �I know.�

The next morning, I went to school as gray clouds moved in, indicating a storm. By the end of first period, it was in full swing. I glanced out the window at all the people running around outside, and smiled weakly. We were doing worksheets in second period, when Mr. Nessler walked in. He asked Barbie to come with him, and she left my side, asking Beth to help me. She read me a question, and we worked together to figure out the answer. We were almost done with the paper when the bell rang. I thanked her, smiling sheepishly. Ms. Foor, a seventh grade teacher, had come in to supervise the class. Barbie still wasn�t back when we left.

In History, Willow was talking to her sisters about her last class. �Barbie came in with Mr. Nessler right behind her and said, �Jay? Can we pull you away for a bit?� It was so strange. He set us doing math exercises, and left. He still wasn�t back yet.�

�Yeah. Mr. Nessler was being really antsy,� Dee said. �Finally, he got up and walked out of the room. Mr. Sprow, from across the hall, came in to watch us.�

I thought about mentioning Ms. Foor, but didn�t want to interrupt their conversation. Delilah said even Mrs. Juby had gone out, grabbed by Barbie. We were all very confused, but brushed it off as the class began. Mrs. Ernst didn�t walk in, but it was the vice principal, Mr. Friess.

�Hi kids,� he said, sounding flustered. �I�m sure you�ve noticed that almost all of your teachers have flittered off to a meeting.� Four hands shot into the air, one of them Delilah�s. �No, I can�t tell you what it�s about. I don�t know. A parent was called in, it�s very complicated� Please don�t ask me any questions!� he begged. The hands went down. �The principal and your teachers are trying to figure something out. I don�t know what. I�m just here to be sure you don�t all go nuts. Take out something to do quietly. It�s a free day.� We cheered, and everyone started talking at once. �I said quietly.� We stopped talking.

Delilah took out a piece of paper and wrote on it, passing it to Dee. She read it and laughed, writing more on before giving it to Willow. She took longer, but smiled and added something short, then handed it to me. I looked at it, but didn�t understand the short hand. I glanced at Willow, and her face changed, seeing something I thought I�d hidden deep under my eyes. She leaned over and helped me read through it. At the end, I understood several of the short hands. I smiled weakly and wrote a small message on it, then gave it back to Delilah. She sighed.

Turning the paper over, she wrote something down and gave it to Dee. She returned with a response and Delilah groaned. She crumpled that paper and the four of us wrote messages until there was a tap on my shoulder. I looked up at Mr. Friess, who nodded towards the door. There was Tohma. I stood up and grabbed my stuff. �Bye,� I muttered to the girls and went out to him.

�Tohma-san, what are you doing here?� I asked quietly.

�Come with me,� he said, just as quietly. He led me down to the principal�s office, but didn�t answer after I had repeated the question twice. I was ushered in, my History book and notebook still in my arms. All my core-class teachers, except for Mr. Mignion, were there, plus one I didn�t know. Tohma sat me down in a chair, and I glanced around for a second, confused.

�What�s going on?� I asked timidly. The principal smiled. He pushed the school�s newsletter across his desk to me.

�Eiri, would you read that?� he asked. I swallowed, realizing what this was about. I was suddenly scared that I would be put in a lower grade or thrown out because I couldn�t read. I set my things on the floor and pulled the paper to me. I slowly went painstakingly through each line, repeating several so I could understand it, until the entire paper, front and back, was read. I glanced up at Tohma who smiled down at me. I looked back at the principal, who was quietly conversing with the teachers. When lunch came they were still making final deliberations, and let me go eat. I sat down next to Willow, and they each looked at me.

�Where�d you go?� Dee asked.

�The office,� I muttered.

�Seriously?� Delilah asked.

�Seriously,� I said, half mocking.

�What did they want?� Willow asked me quietly. I just shrugged.

�They are still talking,� I said, lifting food to my mouth. �Probably about how dumb I am,� I added through the sandwich. Neither Dee or Delilah caught it, but Willow did.

�Eiri, you aren�t dumb,� she said. �You�re smarter than me,�

�Yeah,� Delilah agreed, �but that ain�t saying much is it?� That remark upset me, but I ignored it since Willow did. I wanted to argue about it, but didn�t have the energy left in me. During Industrial Arts I paid very little attention, having decided that it was the most boring class I�d ever had. I didn�t play very well in Gym, and when school was over I went back to find Tohma.

He was still in the office with the teachers. I tugged his sleeve and he looked at me. I handed him the detention notice I�d gotten from Mr. Mignion for whistling, and he nodded. �Give me a few more minutes here, okay?� I nodded, and finally the teachers stopped their petty arguments.

�Okay,� Mr. Grime, the principal, said. �I think we�ve got it worked out. Eiri, we�re going to put you into Mr. LeFevre�s History, Reading and English classes, okay?� I nodded numbly, still unsure what was going on. �You�ll go to your first and second periods as always, but then go to his class until lunch. Understand?� I nodded again. �Good.� He began writing out my new schedule, and I watched as his hand moved smoothly along the paper. Suddenly I thought, If I can change those, can�t I change Shop?

I cautiously asked him, and after a moment, he said I could. Happily, I requested Choir instead. He wrote it down and said he would let the teachers know. Tohma and I both thanked them, and then we went up to Mr. Mignion�s room. Delilah was there, as always, working hard at the worksheets. I walked in first, and he started to bite my head off for being late. He cut himself off, handing me papers, as Tohma cleared his throat.

�Oh. Mr. Se�Se-� he started, unable to remember his name.

�Let�s skip the pleasantries, shall we?� Tohma said. �It�s Mignion, yes?�

�Yes.�

�Well, little Eiri here tells me you�re giving him detentions for� Whistling, was it?�

�Y-yes,� Mr. Mignion said, uncomfortable under the gaze Tohma was using. Even then, when he had no real power, Tohma could make you think he did when he needed it.

�He told me it was the whistling caused by his missing tooth, and that he informed you of this,� Tohma said, his voice low, nearly a whisper.

�Y-yes,� he repeated.

�Let me tell you something, Mr. Mignion,� Tohma spat. �Eiri lost that tooth being extremely brave.� I blushed slightly. In retrospect, I hadn�t found it brave, but more of stupid. The bandage had only come off in June, and the tooth was still gone. �If you ever abuse your power over him again, I will take your job from underneath you,� he growled. �Understand?� Mr. Mignion nodded. �He will not be attending your detention today,� Tohma said, putting his arm around me and starting out the door. I threw a final glance at him, and he was glowering after us. I knew this wasn�t over.~
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