Daiki had barely settled into his seat when Ren Takahashi, his ever-curious seatmate, leaned in with a lopsided grin. His eyes gleamed with amusement, clearly entertained by Daiki's earlier performance.
"That was priceless," Ren snickered. "Didn't think you had it in you, Akezawa."
Daiki blinked, keeping his face unreadable. "I was just doing what was expected."
Ren tapped his chin, pretending to think. "Nah, nah, you were really into it. For a second, I thought I was watching an actual performance. It was weirdly fun to watch."
Daiki stifled the urge to sigh. The last thing he wanted was for someone to start thinking he enjoyed this kind of attention. Before Ren could dig any deeper, Daiki coolly redirected the conversation. "You seem to know a lot about streamers."
Ren's face practically lit up. "Oh, absolutely! I follow a bunch of them. Some are insane at games, some are just super entertaining. It's all about the energy, you know? Ever watch any?"
Daiki shrugged, his expression carefully neutral. "Not really."
Ren gasped dramatically. "No way. You're missing out! There's this one guy—KZ—he's seriously one of the best. He plays like a pro but has this super chill personality. You'd never guess it from how crazy his chat gets, though."
Daiki's hand, resting against his desk, tensed slightly. Oh. This was dangerous territory.
Before Ren could launch into full fanboy mode, the teacher's voice cut through the conversation.
"Takahashi, you're up."
Daiki felt a wave of relief wash up over him.
"I've been waiting for this moment," Ren's glasses shone brightly.
Ren stepped up to the front of the class with a confident grin, cracking his knuckles like he was about to put on a grand performance.
The teacher then handed him a card.
"Alright, watch and learn," he declared, rolling his shoulders.
Daiki exhaled quietly. He's really going to make this dramatic, isn't he?
Ren started by planting his feet wide apart, adjusting an invisible hat atop his head with a slow, deliberate motion. His fingers curled at his sides like he was ready to draw a weapon.
"Sheriff?" someone guessed.
Without answering, Ren suddenly mimed pulling a lasso from his side and swung it in wide circles above his head before throwing it forward. He jerked his arms back as if reeling something in, a playful smirk never leaving his face.
"Fisherman?" someone else called.
"No way, it's obvious!" Another classmate piped up. "It's a—"
Before they could finish, Ren stomped forward, spread his arms like he was holding onto something, and bounced slightly—like he was riding a horse. Then, with perfect timing, he tilted his imaginary hat once more, grinning like he had just won a duel.
"Cowboy!" someone finally shouted.
Ren snapped his fingers and pointed. "Bingo!"
Laughter rippled through the classroom, and even Daiki found himself amused by Ren's over-the-top performance. The way he committed so fully to the act, like he was the main character in a Western film, was undeniably amusing.
Ren, clearly pleased with himself, strutted back to his seat with a smug expression.
Ren sat on his chair, nudging Daiki. "Bet you enjoyed that more than your own turn, huh?"
Daiki just rolled his eyes, but the slight amusement lingering on his face didn't go unnoticed.
After Daiki's exhange with Ren, the class continued with more students stepping up to take their turns.
Some words were so easy that Daiki guessed them almost immediately, though he kept his answers to himself. Others were trickier—not because they were difficult English words, but because the acting was so poor that their intended meaning was completely lost. A classmate meant to act out "fisherman" ended up looking like they were fighting an invisible snake, and another attempting "ballerina" only managed a stiff-legged spin that had everyone tilting their heads in confusion.
Despite the occasional disaster, the game was entertaining. Daiki, against his usual attitude toward social activities, found himself enjoying it—not outwardly, of course. His expression remained neutral, but the slight bounce of his knee and the way his fingers tapped lightly against his desk betrayed his amusement. It wasn't often that class felt so lively.
Then, just as another student finished their turn, Haruka suddenly stood up from her seat.
"I'll go next!" she declared, making her way toward the front of the room.
The teacher smiled and reached into the basket of word cards, about to hand her one, when Haruka abruptly turned toward Yuki.
"Come on, let's do this together."
Yuki, who had been absentmindedly tapping his fingers against his desk, blinked in surprise. He hesitated for a brief moment before offering a small nod and standing up as well.
The class murmured among themselves, intrigued by this unexpected development. It wasn't particularly surprising that Haruka and Yuki were paired up—after all, they were close friends. But seeing a two-person charade definitely piqued everyone's interest.
Haruka and Yuki stepped forward, standing side by side.
The teacher reached into her basket, pulling out a card without looking at it. She handed it to Haruka and Yuki, who leaned in together, whispering as they tried to figure out how best to act it out.
They both leaned in to read it, their expressions shifting from curiosity to mild confusion.
"…Huh," Haruka muttered under her breath. She glanced at Yuki, tilting her head slightly. "How do we even act this out?"
Yuki hummed in thought, rubbing his chin. "Maybe if we—" He gestured vaguely before lowering his voice to a whisper. The two of them exchanged a few hushed words, strategizing how best to convey the word without outright miming its definition.
After a few seconds of quiet discussion, they stepped forward, ready to perform. Haruka raised her hands dramatically, mimicking an exaggerated pose, while Yuki mirrored her movements with a softer approach. They shifted positions, playing with angles and spacing, creating an abstract display of movement. It was clear they were trying to convey something visual, but the class remained confused.
"Uh... dancing?" one student guessed hesitantly.
"A mirror?" another added.
"Some kind of art piece?"
"Shadow puppets?"
Haruka and Yuki exchanged glances, stifling their amusement at the wild guesses. They tried again, emphasizing contrast—Haruka standing in the light while Yuki moved in the dimmer part of the room.
The teacher, curious about the difficulty of the word, took the card and finally read it. Her eyebrows lifted slightly in realization. "Oh, this one's tricky. Alright, class, this is the hardest one yet. Whoever gets it right will receive an incentive."
Then the class suddenly became even more lively.
"Shadow?"
"Russian dolls?"
"Mime?"
The students kept speaking up one by one, and each answer seemed to be right until they were proven wrong.
Daiki, who had known the answer from the very beginning, finally let out a quiet sigh. He really didn't want to get any sort of attention, but with a reward on the line, he hesitated for only a moment longer before speaking up.
"The word is 'silhouette'."
The room fell silent for a beat before the teacher clapped her hands together. "Correct! Well done, Akezawa."
Daiki barely reacted, merely nodding as a few surprised murmurs rippled through the class. He leaned back in his seat, relieved that the attention was already shifting elsewhere. If nothing else, at least the game was finally over.