Chapter Text
Cheriko Torukishi sat with a grumble, her head laying sideways on the wooden desk. Her bum ached from sitting on the firm and uncomfortable chair.
The classroom was silent, save for a couple of coughes and yawns from Cheriko's bored and otherwise tired classmates. Her seatmate shuffled around on her seat, head turning this way and that. The girl stifled a loud yawn and stretched with a groan.
And through all of this activity, the Jellyfish who was their teacher droned on and on about some topic that Cheriko didn't give a singular Woomy about. She adjusted her wireframe glasses and yawned. Her school uniform comprising of a white dress shirt and tie and a black and white striped skirt didn't do much to alleviate the discomfort, and if anything, worsened how uncomfortable Cheriko was despite all of her readjusting.
The Inkling girl besides her shifted her position again, hands fidgetting with the tentacles piled into a pony tail high up on her head. She glanced at Cheriko and Cheriko gave a small smile in response, but she leaned forwards. Her arms crossed on the desk, and her legs were falling asleep from the nonuse. It has been an hour, Cheriko thought with another stifled yawn. Yet, no bell ringing and the clock only made ticking noises as the arrows slowly and painfully made their way upwards at the front of the room, where their teacher was busy scribbling Inklish words on with the marker in his hands.
Struck with a sudden idea, Cheriko raised her hand up suddenly. The girl and boy sitting besides her jolted with surprise at the sudden movement, before grumbling and returning to their original positions. Before long, Cheriko's hand ached as the teacher has still yet to pay attention and call on her. She clasped her underarm with her other hand to keep the raised hand up and not lowering, and she started to make whimpering noises as she desperately begged her teacher to turn around and to call upon her.
Finally, he paused his scribbling, glided backwards to stare at his work so far before he finally turned around to look at his students. Right in front of him sat Cheriko, with a shivering raised right hand. Her mouth was closed as she fought to raise her hand even higher, and she was vibrating in her seat with excitement. Her eyes widened and focused on his own, and he sighed before pointing his limbs at her.
"What is it?" He sighed, taking in the shaking student before him. Giggles started up around the room while students also raised their hands, copying her.
"I need to, uh- Go!- To the uh.. Washroom!" Cheriko's bubbly voice shot out, blurting out as he seemed to be tapping his numerous limbs on the ground. He crossed his arms and nodded with another heavy sigh, waving her towards to the door at her left that leads out of the boring classroom she was stuck in until now.
With a barely contained squeal, Cheriko bounded out of her chair and speed walked outside of the door. She stretched and a huge grin crept onto her face, as she has now successfully skipped her class. She wiped her face down as she stifled another yawn, before walking to the stairs in front of the classroom. She bounded down the steps with a gleeful demeanor, hands flapping and her head bobbing as she formulated her plan now that she has escaped.
First, she has to go to the washroom and relieve herself as she actually has to go, then she has to find a way to sneak out past the main office and look for any nearby Turf War matches going on. But luckily, her school is close to the InkBlot Art Academy so she figured it wouldn't be too difficult to get to that location, as there is for sure oftentimes a Turf War or Ranked match going on at any time of the day, even at night as she caught glimpses of ink flying around during her parents' drive back home after picking her up from school once.
Once she got done drying off her hands, she shook them off and wiped any remaining water or dirt on her skirt despite what her parents tried to instill in her with their responsibility lectures. She rolled her eyes remembering the last one, which actually occured the night before now and had her chest heaving. She shook her head and focused on the next part of her plan, which was to sneak off from her school without the school admin catching her in the act.
Cheriko smirked as she opened the washroom door a bit so she could spy on the hallway in front of the washroom, glancing around for any staff members and to make sure that the coast was clear. Except from a few younger Inklings and Octolings milling around and in groups and some at their lockers at the wall across from her, there was really no teachers or staff members that could catch her.
She sighed and eased through the gap, slowly closing the door behind her with a loud exhale at the end. She glanced to the right and to the left again before speedwalking forwards, down the left stairways. She begun to hum the tune of a big hit by the Squid Sisters as she approached the landing, and she scanned the environment once she did reach the final step. To her right was the door leading to the school's main office, where Cheriko knows one particular Inkling works there and is bound to get her in trouble but by her glancing at the glass window to the left of the door, the Inkling was deep into a manga book.
She breathed in and out as she lowered her self to her hands and knees, her eyes still watching through the glass window. She snuck forwards, her eyes now glancing towards the one door in front of her. A Jellyfish was stationed besides it, but was busy on his phone. His focus was intently on the phone, and Cheriko glanced at his eyes. They were closed and the phone was barely in his grasp, so Cheriko took advantage and returned to her full height before sprinting towards the door at full speed. She leaned forwards, angling her shoulder to hit the door, and slamming through.