It seemed the unfortunate business of deciding a class representative was finished, or it should have been before a previously silent student spoke up, going on about being the vice president. Tsukuba shook her head slightly, rubbing her index finger and thumb along her forehead. This wasn't the student council, it wasn't like the position was [i]that[/i] difficult. Still, the teacher wondered what the sudden change of heart was all about. Suehiro Rika was suddenly fine with being the [i]vice president[/i] but being the class representative was too much to ask? Tsukuba was about to address this when another hand shot up and a voice followed without even being called upon. 

"I'll volunteer to be the vice representative as well," Reiko spoke up, her voice rather cold and distant with just a touch of femininity in the mix, "It's not fair that she was forced into the position. That's harassment. That's bullying." Reiko wasn't intending to steal the thunder from the other student, she had just beaten Reiko to the punch. Reiko couldn't help but feel sorry for their class representative, her stutter, her nervous, uncomfortable bow of greeting. The girl was surely going to run into problems down the line. It was the least Reiko could do to help. Bullying of any sort was unforgivable. 

"Look, I don't care if either of you want to help the class rep," Tsukuba sighed, in shock that this was still being discussed, "Nadeshiko-san, meet Ishida Reiko and Suehiro Rika. Pick one of them to be your assistant, but do it after class. We've wasted enough time as is." Tsukuba waited for the class rep to take her seat, the bell had already sounded signaling the start of the school day and the class was already behind. With a cleared throat, Tsukuba regained her composure, holding a thin book up, opening it with two fingers. 

"Now then, it's time for class. Welcome to literature. Normally this class would be about classical Japanese literature, from Murasaki Shikibu all the way to [i]Taketori Monogatari[/i], but we're going to skip that. This class will focus on more contemporary literature. There's a common belief that looking to the past is how we make a better future, and that extends to literature. I disagree. Contemporary literature is important for modern education because it holds up a mirror on modern society. You're not going to benefit from learning about the themes behind [i]Genji Monogatari[/i]. You're going to benefit from reading and learning the context behind such works by authors like Oe Kenzaburo, Murakami Ryu, Kakuta Mitsuyo, and Murakami Haruki." 

Tsukuba paused for effect, looking around the room to see if any of the names mentioned hit any sort of mark with her students. "Contemporary literature deals with themes that resonate with you students because they are themes present in society today. And it is because of that that I will teach you contemporary literature. It will be up to you to determine [i]why[/i] the selected works are important to the modern world. Now then, everyone open your texts, hopefully everyone has one, if not, share with another, and we're going to start with a short story, [i]The Accordian and the Fish Town[/i]. Who would like to start reading?" 

And so went literature, Tsukuba-sensei had her eyes glued to the text, walking up and down the aisles while students took turns reading passages, pausing at times to ask questions about prose or word selection. Tsukuba was happy to respond to questions, though she appreciated it more when students chimed in with reasons of their own. Before long, the mood was that of an actual classroom, complete with the sounds of turning pages and honest-to-god literature. Which made it all the more sad when the bell rang, signifying the next class. Tsukuba-sensei left, their math teacher entered. Followed by their English teacher, fresh from her vacation to North America. After their English teacher left, it was time for the class to get changed for physical education.

At Lilium, physical education was a joint class for all three years. It was a way for the school to not have to hire multiple physical education teachers, but they hid it behind the flowery explanation of 'consolidating the student body to increase school spirit and student growth'. It sounded better on the brochure. Either way, it was time for physical education, held down on the sports field. Students could opt to change into their uniforms, a shirt with the Lilium logo and red bloomers, in their classrooms or in the locker rooms. 

No matter their chosen method, the students had fifteen minutes to get to the athletic fields and prepare for the class. The silver lining was that following physical education came lunch, which made the potential slog of physical activity worth enduring. 

Reiko remained in the classroom while others opted to leave. She didn't move to get changed right away, she was still preparing herself for the worst class of the day by a combination of deep breath exercises and slightly audible exclamations of positivity and self encouragement. Hopefully the first day would just be stretches. Stretches she could handle, it was the other stuff, the games, that she couldn't.