Smile! (Sugawara x Reader)

Chapter 20

I tapped my desk with a pen again and again. I played absent-mindedly with the envelope in my hands. I looked around for the hundredth time.

"Knock it off, y/n," said Kaneko, exasperated. "You're gonna do just fine."

"I'm nervous, I can't help it," I said in my defence.

That was it. The day had arrived. I was finally going to hand in my project. I couldn't stay still, even though I tried because I knew how annoying it was.

When it was my turn, I walked as confidently as I could to my lovely teacher and gave her the envelope with my name on it and the photographs inside.

"Thank you," she said, and kept calling names. "Yamada."

She walked to the teacher, handed in her own envelope and sat down again quietly. No strutting, no silly laugh, no smug smile. Just a discreet dirty look at me. I couldn't tell if it was the usual or if she was blaming me for something.

I don't know what for, though. We didn't share any classes and she knew I was not wasting my precious time learning her timetable. She didn't know I was aware that she'd stolen my project, but she did see me hand it in. The frog incident must have shaken her up, but I didn't feel particularly bad for her.

Did that make me a bad person? Be my judge.

"Okay, guys," our teacher spoke up. "Sadly, time's up for today. Could someone stay a while and help me, please?"

An idea came to mind. "I'll do it, miss."

"Thank you, y/n," she smiled.

Everyone gathered their things and left, while I said bye to Kaneko.

"I have a plan," I told her.

"Good, tell me how it went tomorrow," she said.

"Will do."

When the class was empty, we ordered the tables, swept the floor and put away the chalks. We talked about the contest. She told me the results would come out in three days and that it would be announced in front of the whole school, since it was such an important event.

"Three days? I thought you'd said they needed like a month! Also, in front of the whole school? This club is not that popular."

"Looks like I was wrong, three days is fine. And about the other thing, they come from an important photography school (not far from Karasuno, in fact)."

"I see. Thanks for explaining."

"Of course! Oh, I forgot my laptop in the other classroom again. Would you mind waiting here?" she said.

"Not at all."

In fact, it was exactly what I needed. She had left a bunch of keys on her desk. I tried them in my locker. Yes, it could be opened with that. She had said that was not the first time she'd forgotten her laptop. Yamada had seized the opportunity and stolen the card.

I opened her locker. Inside were her camera, photos with friends and a small pencil case. I opened it and found a memory card. Bingo.

I quickly introduced it in my camera only to check what I already knew. That was my card. I put it back in the case and closed the locker. I had to think about my next move very carefully. I heard footsteps and left the keys where they were before the teacher came back.

"Thanks for waiting," she said. "It's nice to have such considerate students."

"We are happy to have you, miss," I said, and I meant it. "Have a good afternoon."

I thought about whether to go to see the male team or not, but I didn't want to disturb any more, so I decided to go at the end just to say hi.

Meanwhile I would study. I needed that. Thanks to Suga's help, I was able to study more efficiently, which made me very happy.

After a while, I put everything away with a sigh of relief and walked to the gym. Amazingly, I'd lost track of time and I was a bit late. I hoped they were still there.

"Hi, y/n," said Shimizu, when I came in. The gym was empty except for her and a short blonde girl.

"Hello!" I said. "Am I too late?"

"A bit," she said. "I found the new manager! Meet Hitoka Yachi. Hitoka, this is y/n. She's been taking photos of the team for a project."

"Nice to meet you, Yachi," I smiled.

"You too. Thank goodness you aren't as tall as the players," she said nervously, then opened her eyes in shock. "Oh, I didn't mean to call you short! I'm so sorry! This is the second time I do that, I'm such a bad person!"

"It's alright," I said, to calm her down. "Seriously, don't worry about it."

"She still has to learn about volleyball and this club in particular," said Shimizu. "But I'll make sure she's well prepared."

"I'm sure you will. And you'll do great, Yachi. There's a reason Shimizu chose you," I said.

The first year looked anxious. What had I done? I'd messed up.

"I mean... You're completely capable of doing this. Shimizu will be a great teacher and you can always ask her or me if you need anything."

That seemed to calm her down. "Thank you. I hope I can be a good assistance for the team."

"Of course you are." Shimizu looked at the clock. "Oh no, we're gonna miss the bus!"

"Don't worry, I'll close," I said. They hesitated. "Seriously, go! Don't miss your bus!"

They thanked me, said goodbye and went to catch their ride home. I noticed that there were some balls in a corner, so I went to put them away.

Suddenly, I heard a laugh. Puzzled, I got closer to the supplies room. It wasn't exactly a laugh... It was a sob. Somebody was crying. I didn't want to interrupt, but curiosity got the better of me.

Curiosity killed the cat, said my unhelpful brain. But I wasn't a cat, I was a crow. I opened the door.

Dun dun duuuuuun... Don't forget to vote and comment :D