Miku - Chapter One

Jonas was a mix of many things. He was honest and clear as glass to some people, but could roll lies off his tongue expertly. He was quiet and reserved until he was forced to talk. As he walked down the corridor at his school, he kept his head down. If he didn’t make eye contact, things seemed better for him. The carpet was red, and he kept his eyes on it at all times. Making his way to Social Studies without stumbling or running into someone would be a great accomplishment for him. But of course that wasn’t going to happen. His head collided with the chest of another boy, and he heard the growl.

“Watch it, shorty.” The boy snapped. It was Billy McIntosh, who had lost interest in bullying Jonas years ago. His 5’3 stature was laughable for only so long. He mumbled an apology and slipped into the classroom. It was empty except for his teacher, Mrs. Crawford. She was his favorite, only because she was shorter than him, and a spritely Japanese woman.

“Hey Mrs. C. How’s it going?” He said as he walked in. This was the only place he actively spoke. He just had no reason to anywhere else.

“Oh it’s going.” She replied with her thick accent. He laughed and threw his backpack onto his chair. “Will you put one of these packets on every desk?” She handed him a stack of papers and he began tossing them onto desks.

“Are we starting a new unit?” He asked. Mrs. Crawford nodded.

“Righto, Jonas. You know we start a new one every three weeks.” She replied.

“Ugh.” He laughed, “High school.” He joked. Mrs. Crawford laughed with him until the door swung open and a girl with flaming red hair walked in. Maggie was a mess, as usual. She had glasses and braces, but she would have been pretty if she tried just a little bit to put on makeup or do her hair.

“Jonas Murphy.” She said as she walked in. Jonas made a face at Mrs. Crawford before turning around and smiling.

“Hi Mags.” He said. She groaned at him and glared.

“Just call me Maggie.” She complained. She hated being called Mags.

“Then just call me Jonas.” He replied smoothly. He returned to putting packets on the desks. Maggie looked at hers and made a pathetic whining noise.

“Japan?” She cried, “Ugh, I hate Japan. So much fish.” Jonas and Mrs. Crawford glared at her simultaneously. Jonas sat at his desk and skimmed through the study guide his teacher graced them with.

“Japan is one of the most interesting places in the world.” Jonas said. He bit his lip, hoping he hadn’t given it away that he knew a lot about the country. He was really smart, but never let it show. He didn’t need another reason to get bullied.

“Just what do you know about Japan?” Maggie sneered. Jonas glared at her but looked down at the ground.

“Nothing much.” He lied. She made a triumphant humph and then the bell rang. Students began filing into the classroom and taking their seats. Jonas looked over at the desk next to him and waited for Diana to come in. He subtly watched her walk in and take her seat. Their hair was the same dark brown, but her brown eyes were dark and dazzling. He never cared much for his plain green eyes. They made eye contact and Diana smiled at Jonas. He didn’t even notice the glare he got from Maggie.

“Attention class. Settle down. We’re starting a new unit today.” Mrs. Crawford announced. Maggie interrupted her.

“Like we do every three weeks, for you who didn’t know.” Maggie called out to the class. Mrs. Crawford forced a small smile.

“Quite right, Maggie. But please, let me teach the class.” Mrs. Crawford said. Maggie flushed red and Mrs. Crawford continued. “We will be studying Japan for the next three weeks. Jonas listened halfheartedly to his teacher. He drew on the back of his packet, drawing a Japanese garden. Another reason why he got bullied was because of his art skills. Mostly he drew manga, but sometimes he did realistic sceneries. “Jonas, can you tell us what is special about Tokyo?” Mrs. Crawford said. Jonas didn’t even look up before answering. He had completely forgotten where he was and just started talking.

“Tokyo is the capital of Japan. It is the home of the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor and Empress live with their two children. It is the largest city in the country and is home to over 150 million people.” He said, never looking up from his drawing. Until he heard a few whispers. Then his head whipped up, red. Mrs. Crawford was beaming at him.

“Excellent.” Mrs. Crawford praised.

“You said you didn’t know anything about Japan.” Maggie snapped at him. He looked back at her and stared for a moment before answering.

“I lied.” He said flatly. There were a couple “ooh” and “burn” whispers and Jonas turned back in his seat. Maggie was fuming and he could hear her muttering angrily behind him. He smiled and turned toward Diana slightly. She was genuinely giggling because of him. Mrs. Crawford pulled the class’ attention back to her and she continued talking about the bigger cities. Something hit him in the back of the head. He reached behind him and picked up a wadded piece of paper. He unrumpled it and read “So you’re smart? Who would’ve guessed that?” He glowered at the note obviously from Maggie. He ripped it into strips and began folding it expertly. It produced a four pointed star. Not Japanese really, but it would do.

Jonas twisted in his seat and looked down and across the room. Maggie was glaring at him. He smiled sickly at her. He lifted his hand where the star was expertly hidden. She waved at him awkwardly before he threw it sharply and fast. It nailed her right under her eye. All those hours of practicing in middle school paid off.

“Ow!” She screeched, “Jonas Murphy!” The entire class whipped to look at him.

“What happened?” Mrs. Crawford asked, looking more tired and old by the second. Her black hair had strips of grey in it, no doubt from years of dealing with high schoolers and their antics.

“Jonas Murphy hit me in the face!” She hollered. The class snickered and one boy yelled out “Yeah! Way to go Jonas!” But that all quieted when Mrs. Crawford clapped her hands loudly.

“How would he have hit you?” She asked “You two aren’t anywhere near each other.” Maggie rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“He threw this ninja star at me.” She waved it in the air and Jonas groaned softly. Mrs. Crawford looked at Jonas with a motherly look and sighed. He shrugged and spoke up.

“I can’t throw ninja stars.” He lied. Maggie screeched in protest and Mrs. Crawford put her hands in her head.

“See me after class you two.” She sighed. Jonas nodded, hoping things weren't about to explode.