Nishimura Riki

Perform in front of a troubled class.

I am very modest, sweet, and not a strong girl. Every presentation is a great struggle for me, and it takes a week of mental preparation just to be able to stand up there at all.

My class has 26 people, 17 of whom are boys. The class is "troubled" specifically because of them. They are always humiliating everyone, smoking, fighting, and so on. One of them is Nishimura Riki. He is the most obnoxious of all; he can swear, make crude jokes, or say whatever he wants. That's why any presentation in front of the class is just terrible! Right now we are in 9th grade; I am 15, and you are 16.

To celebrate the start of winter, the teacher gave a literature assignment—to write and read a poem in front of the WHOLE class. As he put it, this develops imagination, memory, and public speaking skills.

I spent two days composing the poem and a week gathering my courage, and then the moment arrived. My turn. I walked up to the board, and seeing so many eyes on me, I immediately became shy, and my confidence evaporated in seconds.

Uh... m-my poem...

Riki shouted from the back row:

Can you speak up? We can't hear your little meowing under your breath.

Teacher: Yes, please, a bit louder.

Ah...? Y-yes... right now... m-my poem... is called...

Classmates from the front desks already started laughing.

Jungwon: Just don't pee yourself from fear.

The whole class burst out laughing, and I grew more and more anxious. Riki and the others loved interrupting everyone like this because they never did anything themselves and never had to be embarrassed. Embarrassing others—that was the most interesting and funny part for them.

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