Chapter 24. Panic!
After Momo had been deemed class president and Midoriya was vice-president it was soon time for lunch. I knew what was going to happen so I sat in the back corner farthest away from an exit to keep space when people lost their minds. I was by myself as Midoriya, Ida, and Uraraka were eating in our usual spot, I just waited for chaos.
Until I heard someone sit down across from me. It was Momo eating with elegance like she was at a 5-star restaurant. I was confused. ‘Is this where she normally sat?’ “Why are you eating here?” She asked me without looking up from her food. “Why are you?” I asked her back. However it didn’t seem to phase her at all. “This is where I normally sit for lunch, you normally sit with your close friends.” She then looks up from her food to stare at me waiting for an answer.
I thought of the first thing that came to my mind. “I wanted to congratulate you on being class president.” “You are lying.” She without hesitation shot down my statement as a lie. “What would make you think that?” I say trying to keep up my poker face. “The look on your face when I sat down was surprise. You didn’t know I sat here yet came here with the expressed purpose of talking to me? I don’t think so.” She had a small smirk knowing she caught me in my lies. ‘Dang I was right.’
It was at that moment the alarm started to go off. ‘Oh brother, I just hope she doesn't connect the dots on this is the reason why I’m sitting here.’ Momo immediately got up to join the rest of the students for evacuation, but not before looking back at me. ‘Well what now? Trying to control my body through all that mess is something I don’t want to do. But if I stay it’ll show that I already knew that this is fake.’ While thinking of what to do Momo grabbed my arm to get me to evacuate with everyone else. “Let us go Kaminari, we must escape from anything that may try to hurt us.”
“Through all that?” I pointed towards the other students packed up closer than sardines. “We can’t brute force our way through, and I heard this was a drill in the first place. I’m not getting mosh pitted and my food getting cold so the teachers can prove that mass hysteria makes people dumb.” I try to say enough excuses to stop Momo from pulling me further than I want to go. She stops and looks at me, then back at the rest of the students in panic. I believe due to me being credible she takes what I say seriously. I may have secrets, but what I do say about things has been true many times.
She grips on my sleeve tighter while looking me in the eyes for any deception. Then we hear Ida yelling at the top of his voice. “EVERYTHING IS FINE!!! This is just the press! We have nothing to worry about! We are students of the most prestigious hero school! Let us behave in accordance with that!” Everything goes quiet, and I look at the girl still holding on to my sleeve. Her grip softens and then hardens even further. “Why didn’t you inform us about this!?” ‘Oh boy I should learn to keep my mouth shut. Now she is really angry at me. Gotta try and calm her down before she says too much to the wrong person, and let this incident blow over.’
“It wasn’t my place to say. If the teachers wanted to teach us a lesson, who am I to try and stop them from doing it? That's like giving people an answer sheet right before a test they are taking.” ‘Hopefully this can bluff her off. I don’t have too much confidence in lying, but it’s too late to go back now.’ She again looks into my eyes to see any deception. ‘C’mon buy it, and go away, your curiosity is dangerous.’ She let’s go and sighs. “I suppose you have a point, if it is for the sake of learning I will let this go.”
Finally we go back to class to have events play very close to the show. Except Momo feeling bad she was about to get right on that train with everyone else let's Ida become class president. Midoriya steps down as vice- president to let Momo take it, as at least she wasn’t in the mosh pit. She sends me a small sad look. ‘Does she think that I deserve the position more than her? I knew it was happening and did nothing, or actually tried to gain from it for myself. I don’t want or deserve the position.’
I give her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up to show she should take it. She just gains a small smile and nods. Soon after the class was celebrating the new class president, and giving their own personal stories of what happened. I just sat looking at the gate, my heart rate increasing. ‘Seeing it live really makes you worried if you try to touch him.’ I got chills and rested my head on my desk again. Unaware of the conversation at the front of the class between Momo and Aizawa. “Still I cannot believe you let reporters in on purpose to teach us to be more calm under pressure.” “Yaoyorozu, this school would never do something like that. We hate reporters, and the chances of many students who are not taking the hero course that could be injured. Who gave you that inclination?”