Hi, all! It’s a new story, the title being "Midori School Hearts: Risako of the Lovely Boys Club" (unfortunately, the title is too long so I had to only put "Midori School Hearts")! And it’s yet another Reverse Harem Anime/Manga type story about a girl named Risako Fukui who ends up having to tutor Hiraku Ito, one of the members of the Lovely Boys Club – a group of four handsome, charming, and popular male students at Midori High School (don’t worry, though! I’m still going to finish My Five Gentlemen, as there’s only about four chapters left of that story to go)! Whereas My Five Gentlemen is more a gender reversal of the Tenchi Franchise, this one follows a traditional reverse harem anime story (as I’ve seen quite a few now, especially compared to when I first started writing My Five Gentlemen). Influences for this story include Ouran High School Host Club, Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers), The Wallflower, Fruits Basket, and, bizarrely enough, Urusei Yatsura (not that too many people have seen or read that anime/manga, but if you have, you might notice the similarities). Also, for those who might have read a Yu Yu Hakusho fanfiction I wrote called “Everybody Loves Shuichi,” you might recognize the character Miss Nagai from that story.

As for the reasons why I decided to write this story, it’s mainly because of my twin sister; basically, she somehow managed to become part of a study group in which she was the only girl and the four other members were these four good-looking guys (lucky her!) – thus, I began teasing her that she was the star of her own Reverse Harem Anime and decided to write a story dedicated to her. Granted, this story ended up having NOTHING to actually do with her and her study group, although I will admit that the main character Risako is based on her in some aspects. However, as I never even met the guys in her study group, I just made up their personalities on my own; also, she’s in law school, but this story takes place in high school, and the study group thing became a tutoring thing instead. Regardless, though, I still dedicate this story to her, even if it is just a silly, fun story.

Anyway, with all that out of the way, I now present the first chapter of Midori School Heart: Risako of the Lovely Boys Club. I hope you all enjoy! :)

Midori School Hearts: Risako of the Lovely Boys Club

Chapter One: The Lovely Boys Club

The schoolyard of Midori High School was crowded that early May morning with students anxiously trying to push their way to the bulletin board, which had the midterm grades for the first semester posted. Some breathed sighs of relief to see their passing marks while others groaned in despair at the sight of their failure upon the board for all to see. The frantic frenzy of the clamoring students was uncontrollable, each one squeeze their way to the front to glance at their academic triumph or defeat before classes officially began; all dreaded having to wait with the anxiety of not knowing their grades until lunchtime, which would be the next time they would get a chance to look at the bulletin board.

The chaos of the students fearfully waiting to learn news about their midterms was soon deterred at the arrival of four handsome young men in the schoolyard. The first was Senta Minami, his thick, black, wavy hair neatly cut and styled and his school uniform perfectly pressed. He smiled charmingly as he walked, his cool blue eyes glinting with a sharp arrogance while his sleek raven hair shined in the sunlight. Following behind him was Hiraku Ito, whose straight light brown hair was carelessly kept, some covering his light brown eyes. He yawned, a bored and tired look on his face, and he wore his uniform casually, the jacket unbuttoned and his shirt not tucked. Next to Hiraku was Yuuji Oshiro, whose dark eyes remained cold and stone-faced. He was the shortest of the four and his mouth was contorted into a bitter scowl while his mahogany hair was wavy and parted at the side. Behind them was the tallest of the four, the tall and lean Junpei Wakahisa, who appeared much older than his fifteen years. He had green eyes and a polite smile, while his red hair reached his shoulder, but was tied back into a low ponytail.

As soon as the students – particularly the female students – caught sight of the four boys, they forgot about the bulletin board and began to squeal in delight. “It’s the Lovely Boys Club!”

“They’re so cute! I can’t believe they’re only first-year students!”

“Oh, my gosh! They’re coming this way!”

Senta’s smirk widened, eating up the praise of the girls and the gawking eyes of the others, both from the schoolgirls that idolized them and their fellow male peers, who seemed equally awed by their presence. Flashing a sparkling smile at the crowd, Senta asked a group of girls that stood in front of them, “I’m sorry to intrude on such beautiful young ladies, but if you would excuse us…”

“Oh, certainly!”

“Anything for you, Senta-kun!”

“Go on! Go on!”

And, like that, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, making way for the four young men – affectionately nicknamed the Lovely Boys Club by the female student populous – to reach the bulletin board where the first-years’ midterm grades were posted. Senta grinned proudly at this accomplishment whereas Hiraku yawned, Yuuji glowered in annoyance at the girls, and Junpei gave a gracious smile. As soon as they got to the front, the crowd filled in the gap behind them and the same panic to look at their midterm grades returned to the crowd, although some were still eager to catch a glance at the Lovely Boys Club as well.

Junpei’s eyes scrolled down the board first, rubbing his chin pensively. “Eighty-six percent…thirty-first in the class,” he noted, soon catching sight of his name. He then smiled and said, “That’s not so bad. How did you do, Yuuji?”

Yuuji shrugged and muttered, “Ninety-two percent, eighteenth in the class.”

“That’s really great, Yuu-kun; you should be very happy,” Junpei praised and Yuuji only glared away, looking irritably over at some of the girls who were staring at him. “How did you do, Hiraku?”

“Please – why even bother asking?” Senta interrupted haughtily. “His grades are always atrocious.”

“Well, I guess we can’t all spend all of our time studying like some sort of neurotic perfectionist nerd,” Hiraku replied back lackadaisically.

“I do not spend all my time studying,” Senta snapped through gritted teeth, trying his best to keep his temper. “I just happen to be exceptionally gifted, that’s all.”

“At being a neurotic perfectionist nerd?”

Senta looked ready to burst a vein at this while Junpei insisted warily, “Now, now, you guys…”

“There you are, Hiraku,” Yuuji then said, pointing to the bottom of the board. He then scoffed and added, “Worse than usual.”

Hiraku frowned. “Worse…?” He then glanced at the board and immediately gasped, his eyes widening in horror. “What?! A forty-seven?!”

“Wow, that really is kind of bad…” Junpei remarked with a sympathetic frown. “You’re last in the entire class.”

“I told you that your grades were always atrocious,” Senta replied, gaining his cool again. “But that’s pitiful even for you.”

“Shut up, Minami,” Hiraku grumbled. “Don’t you see that I’m totally screwed?”

“Perhaps you’re the one who should have been spending all his time studying then,” Senta concluded. “I, on the other hand, continue my unsullied record in which I attain yet another perfect score and am ranked number one in the entire class.”

“Well…that’s not entirely true…” Junpei commented hesitantly and Senta’s eyes immediately darted to the top of the board.

“What?! Tied for first place?!” Senta exclaimed furiously as Hiraku began to burst into hysterical giggles. “How did this happen?!”

“You really shouldn’t worry, Senta…I think someone also got a perfect score on their midterms, too, that’s all,” Junpei explained as Senta continued seething. “It says Fukui – ”

“Fukui?” Senta cut him off. “Who the hell is this Fukui person? I swear I will get my vengeance on him!”

At this, Hiraku’s quiet snickers broke into full-blown loud and boisterous laughter, which caused an already indignant Senta to become irate. However, before he could react, a voice came over the school’s loudspeaker, “Mr. Senta Minami and Mr. Hiraku Ito – please report to Miss Nagai’s classroom immediately.”

The four boys frowned in puzzlement, particularly the worried Hiraku and Senta, who then reluctantly headed to see Miss Nagai.

Senta and Hiraku stood rigidly in front of their homeroom teacher, Miss Chiyo Nagai, who sat at her desk and glared up at both of them with icy disdain. “The reason why you are both here is for entirely different reasons, although the displeasure and disgust I feel for you both is quite equal,” she began, her words cutting into her students like sharp venom. “To begin, Mr. Minami, I would like to congratulate you on receiving a perfect score on the midterms and for ranking first amongst the first-year students. You have brought honor to Class 1-4.”

Senta, feeling a bit more at ease now, gave a haughty grin. “Thank you, Miss Nagai. I’m glad one of us could represent our homeroom with honor.”

Miss Nagai scowled. “However,” she said heatedly, her vehement glare causing him to cringe. “You failed to attain the number one position for yourself alone and allowed a student from the homeroom of that despicable Mr. Fukuda to tie with you, a transgression that will not be accepted.”

Senta smiled nervously. “Yes, about that…”

“Because of your idiocy,” Miss Nagai interrupted heartlessly, “and because the Student Council’s constitution mandates that the number one student for each grade must be that grade’s representative in the Student Council, both Mr. Fukuda’s student and yourself are now members of the Student Council and the first-year representatives. I would congratulate you for that, but now that means I must endure a year working alongside that idiot Mr. Fukuda because of your stupidity.”

“But that’s not really my fault,” Senta tried to protest, but gulped as a Miss Nagai shot him another vindictive glare. “What I mean to say is…isn’t there any way to correct this? Surely, there must be some mistake! How could this Fukui person have also scored a hundred percent on their midterms?”

“Since you were able to do it, Mr. Minami, I’m fairly certain it couldn’t be too difficult,” Miss Nagai derided.

Senta crossed his arms stubbornly and scoffed. “Well, I’m not working with this idiot Fukui person, whoever he is. I’m certain it must have been some sort of fluke!”

“You don’t get a choice in the matter,” Miss Nagai said flatly. “If you fail to do your Student Council duty, you will be swiftly reprimanded. And, I assure you, while your punishment will come quickly, the time in which you will be forced to bear it will not go by so fast.”

Senta frowned worriedly at Miss Nagai’s threat and yielded, “Yes, Miss Nagai…”

“Good. Now then, as for you, Mr. Ito...”

Hiraku now winced as Miss Nagai turned her unforgiving stare to him. “Yes, Miss Nagai…?”

“Having scored the lowest on the midterms amongst the first-year students, you are clearly an embarrassment to yourself and Class 1-4,” Miss Nagai began, unrelenting. “However, while that may be obvious to me, it might not be as obvious to you, considering the sheer stupidity one must have to put on such a pathetic and dismal academic performance. Unfortunately, rather than disciplining you or simply expelling you altogether, the school principal is more concerned that these poor grades will impede on your ability to participate on the various school sports teams you are currently involved in.”

Hiraku’s eyes widened with fear. “No, wait, Miss Nagai! They can’t do that! I need to play!”

Miss Nagai remained frigid, but said, “As the school principal has informed me that you are the star athlete and captain for Midori’s basketball, baseball, and soccer teams – and seeing that your athletic ability will be quite useful to me during next semester’s school sports festival in which our class will undoubtedly crush all rival homerooms – it seems that getting rid of you would not be in Midori’s or in my own best interest. Therefore, the school principal and I have decided that we will allow you to continue playing with the provision that we must see a steady improvement in your grades over the course of this year – starting now.”

Hiraku frowned in dismay. “Steady improvement…?”

“However, as I am fully aware that you are neither capable nor willing to actually improve your grades using solely your own God-given talents – or severe lack thereof – I have decided it would be best for you to have a tutor for the remainder of the year. This brings me to the reason why I called you both in here together. As Mr. Minami has proven to have some semblance of intelligence based on his academic performance and as the two of you seem to already be friends, I thought an arrangement could be made in which Mr. Minami would tutor you and you could make an attempt to do your schoolwork for the rest of the year as though you were not an insufferable moron.”

Grinning at this proposition, Senta began cockily, “Of course I wouldn’t mind helping my poor friend Hiraku with his studies! After all, seeing as he had such a difficult time with his midterms and seeing how I did so amazingly well, it only seems right that I take the great gifts that I have been blessed with and use them to help the less fortunate with –”

“Absolutely not,” Hiraku interrupted flatly, folding his arms while his expression became stoic.

Senta glowered. “Why not?”

“Because you’re arrogant and condescending,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“What?!”

“How about that Fukui person from Mr. Fukuda’s class?” Hiraku asked Miss Nagai, ignoring the furious Senta. “Can’t I have him tutor me instead? They’ve both got the same grades, anyway, so what’s the difference?”

Senta scoffed now, glaring away and grumbling, “Traitor.”

“I suppose I can arrange that, Mr. Ito,” Miss Nagai remarked reluctantly. “Now that that’s settled, you can both take your seats. Class will be starting soon.”

“Yes, Miss Nagai,” they both answered, Senta shooting Hiraku an irritable glare and Hiraku giving a triumphant smirk. The two then took their seats, Senta in the front and Hiraku in the back, while other students began trickling into the classroom.

“I can’t believe he chose some total stranger – and my greatest rival – over me, Yuu-kun,” Senta lamented as he and Yuuji walked down the hallway in between classes. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more insulted!”

Yuuji frowned and remarked offhandedly, “And you do get insulted pretty easily…”

“Thanks a lot, Yuuji,” Senta muttered, glaring over at him.

“Sorry,” Yuuji apologized, glancing away with some embarrassment. “Still, why would you want to tutor Hiraku, anyway? He’s suck a slacker – it would be so frustrating.”

“I think you mean he’s a complete idiot,” Senta corrected and then sighed. “But I guess you’re right; why would I want to waste my time trying to tutor someone like him for?” Letting out a laugh, he added, “In fact, I feel sorry for the poor sap that gets stuck trying to tutor him!”

As Senta laughed again, a group of three girls approached them in the hallway, the one in the middle fidgeting nervously and holding a folded letter in her hand. “Um…Yuu-kun…” she began meekly.

Senta frowned, glancing down at the bitterly scowling Yuuji, who was glaring at all three girls with contempt. “I don’t want it,” Yuuji said curtly, eyeing the note she held.

The girl blushed, tears welling up in her eyes as she stammered, “But I…wrote this…for you…”

“Why would I be interested in something stupid like that for?” Yuuji questioned coldly, his expression remaining just as icy as his tone.

“I…um…” the girl stammered again, her cheeks turning rosier.

Frowning still, Senta placed a hand on Yuuji’s shoulder, leaned close to him, and told him quietly, “Come on, now, Yuu-kun; don’t be so cruel.”

Although his expression remained stone-faced, his complexion turned a deep scarlet. “Fine; I’ll take it,” he snapped, snatching the note from her hands thoughtlessly. He then hastily marched past the girls, brushing rudely past them.

“Forgive my friend,” Senta apologized, putting on his usual charismatic smile. “He unfortunately has yet to learn how to treat a beautiful young lady, such as yourselves, with the proper courtesy and respect.”

He gave them a playful wink, which caused the three girls to blush wildly and squeal in delight, before following after Yuuji. When he had caught up to him, it was around the corner and Yuuji was already tearing apart the letter he had been given. Senta sighed and scolded, “Did you even read it?”

Yuuji turned his back to him and began walking again. “I don’t see why I would,” he answered coldly.

“Sometimes I just don’t understand you, Yuu-kun,” Senta began, walking with him. “Here you are, a charming, talented, and handsome young man, and yet you do nothing useful with it whatsoever.”

“You really think I’m all of that?” Yuuji asked with a subtle hint of hope in his tone while his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

“Of course! After all, I would only be in the company of someone worthy of my standards,” Senta boasted. “And that is why I don’t understand how you can scorn all these fragile young girls so easily. A lady should be treated with the utmost dignity – showered with flattery and gifts – by a gentleman such as yourself. And yet…”

“I’m just not interested,” Yuuji said aloofly, purposely keeping his eyes averted.

“Obviously,” Senta answered edgily. “But I’m trying to understand why you’re so uninterested.”

“Because I’d rather devote my attention to more important things,” Yuuji answered elusively.

“You mean spending time practicing at the piano?”

“Something like that.”

“Excuse me!” a voice called out from the other end of the hall and Senta and Yuuji looked up to see a petite girl briskly jogging through the hall, trying her best to weave her way through the other students. She had long, curly, dark brown hair that she had twisted up into two short pigtails and brown eyes. She wore brown loafers and green knee-high socks to match the green and white sailor school uniform and in her hair were two matching green ribbons. “Sorry! I’m just running a little late!”

She stumbled a bit, pulling herself in between two students as she made her way down the hall and staggered to a stop in from of both Yuuji and Senta. She looked up at them and apologized, repeating, “Sorry!” She then let out a laugh, tapping the palm of her hand against the side of her forehead. “Stupid me! It’s been a couple months already, and I’m still not sure where I’m going in this school!” She let out another laugh in spite of herself while Yuuji groaned in disgust and Senta cringed slightly. “I’m always getting lost…which might explain why I’m always running late!”

After her third laugh, Senta remembered himself and put on his usual charming grin. “It’s all right,” leaning close to her. “But I hate to see such a pretty young girl like yourself in trouble. Is there any way that I can assist you, miss?”

“Um…” the girl thought for a long moment. “I don’t think so, but thanks for asking!” she at last answered lightly.

Senta frowned in dismay and horror, baffled that the girl was completely unfazed and was already walking away. “Why isn’t she gushing like all the other girls?” he whispered frantically to Yuuji, who seemed equally bewildered by the girl’s nonchalant attitude.

After taking a few steps, the girl stopped for a moment and gasped, “Oh, wait! I’m still lost!” She laughed again while both Senta and Yuuji exchanged skeptical looks. She then hastily backtracked, turning herself around and walking back to the bemused Senta and Yuuji. “Hey, could either one of you tell me where the principal’s office is? That’s where I’m supposed to be going.”

“You don’t know where the principal’s office is?” Senta blurted out without thinking.

The girl frowned now. “Is that a bad thing…?”

Senta blushed a little, fearing he had offended her. “No…I mean…”

“It’s just that it would take some kind of idiot to not know where the principal’s office is in her own school,” Yuuji explained and Senta shot him a look of daggers.

“Yuuji!”

The girl laughed amicably. “Well, I guess I am kind of a space-case sometimes.”

Senta became irritated now. “Don’t you get that he was insulting you? Where is your pride?’

“Pride…?” The girl then smiled and concluded good-naturedly, “You know, I’m not really sure what you’re talking about!”

“She really is some kind of idiot,” Senta muttered as the girl let out the same clueless laughter. He then put on his best smile and his blue eyes flashed cunningly as he placed an arm around her. “How about I show you to the principal’s office now, hmm?”

The girl’s eyes fluttered as she slapped her fist into her palm. “Oh, that’s right! I’m running late!” she exclaimed, pulling away from Senta without a moment’s thought. “Sorry again! Thanks for the help!”

“But…we didn’t even tell her where she was supposed to be going…” Senta said, frowning in puzzlement as he watched the girl run off with a quick smile and a wave.

Yuuji shrugged. “She seems pretty scatterbrained, but I’m sure she’ll find someone else to help her.”

“She was obviously scatterbrained, you mean,” Senta corrected, growing cross. “How could she not react to me at all? She didn’t even seem a bit attracted to me! And every girl in the school adores me – what could possibly be wrong with her? I don’t think I’ve ever been more insulted!”

Yuuji smirked now. “Weren’t you just saying that about Hiraku?”

“I…” Senta began before his cheeks turned bright red. Yuuji let out a short laugh before starting to walk away while Senta scowled in disgust, grumbling, “Stupid, dumb girl…” as he followed after him.

Senta, Hiraku, Yuuji, and Junpei sat outside at lunch on the grass, eating their meals as several groups of girls watched from afar, whispering and giggling as they watched the four handsome young men eat. Junpei sat quietly and ate slowly, spending most of his time drawing in his sketchpad while Hiraku gobbled up his food quickly, ignoring the others, particularly Senta. Yuuji remained his usual grimacing self, sending icy glares to all the girls who were staring at him, which only caused them to gush more, and Senta was still thoroughly irritated from all that transpired earlier that day, and thus saw fit to complain about it.

“I don’t really understand any of it,” Senta bemoaned. “First, I have to suffer the humiliation of getting first place on the midterms, but tying with that unworthy Fukui from homeroom 1-2. Then my supposed friend chooses my greatest nemesis as a tutor instead of someone far more skilled like myself. And, lastly, that girl treats me as though I was any normal sort of person – I don’t think I’ve experienced anything like this before! This must be the worst day of my life!”

Junpei smiled now, although he continued focusing on his sketch. “Think on the positive side, Senta. You’re a pretty lucky person if this is the worst day of your life. Most people’s worst days tend to be much more terrible.”

“I know, Jun-kun,” Senta sulked. “But these sorts of things don’t happen to someone like me. They’re supposed to happen to other, more common people.”

“Sometimes it’s important that you have some bad times,” Junpei continued. “They sometimes teach you important things about yourself.”

“But what could I possibly learn from any of this?”

“Well, humility, for one,” Junpei answered honestly, causing Hiraku to let out a sharp chuckle.

“Yeah, right!” he exclaimed, his mouth full with food. “Like that’s ever going to happen.”

“Don’t you have any manners?” Senta scolded. “Stop eating like a pig and don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s ungentlemanly.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Hiraku mumbled as he shoved another bite of food into his mouth.

Senta groaned in disgust. “Repulsive…”

“Hey, at least I didn’t have some girl totally ignore me,” Hiraku remarked with a shrug. “Maybe she thought you were repulsive.”

“That was hardly it,” Senta retorted bitterly. “She was simply too stupid to take notice of anything at all, especially someone as stunning as myself. Tell them, Yuu-kun!”

Yuuji frowned a little. “Well, she was definitely stupid,” he admitted.

“That doesn’t count; Yuuji thinks every girl is stupid,’ Hiraku pointed out and Yuuji’s face flushed slightly.

“That’s not true…” he muttered.

“I mean, I know most of them can be pretty annoying, but why not take advantage of the situation a bit more?” Hiraku asked, putting on a sly and sleazy smirk. “You know, get them to do chores for you, buy you nice things…”

“That’s not how you’re supposed to treat a woman at all!” Senta exclaimed furiously.

“Man, you’re such a stickler, Senta,” Hiraku remarked with a bored shrug. “I mean, you flirt with girls all the time – worse than any of us – and you’re trying to tell me you’ve never gotten them to do anything for you?”

“Of course not,” Senta answered firmly. “As the gentleman, you’re the one who’s supposed to be helping the girl and buying her nice things, not the other way around.”

“There’s other things you can get a girl to do other than that, though,” Hiraku pressed, grin becoming more lascivious. “You know…certain favors…”

Senta frowned in confusion. “Favors…?”

“I believe he’s talking about sexual favors,” Junpei explained frankly, still more focused on his drawing than the conversation.

Yuuji blushed slightly, Senta’s face turned beat red, and Hiraku began snickering loudly. Becoming irate and cheeks still a bright shade of scarlet, Senta snapped indignantly at Hiraku, “Unlike you, I’m not some disgusting pervert!”

“Better a pervert than a prude,” Hiraku countered, still laughing.

“Why you…” Senta began, but was interrupted suddenly.

“Um, excuse me,” a familiar, but hesitant voice spoke over them and the four boys looked up to see a girl standing next to them, one that both Yuuji and Senta recognized.

“Hey, it’s that idiot girl from before,” Yuuji whispered to the others, all of whom looked puzzled to see her standing there.

“I’m sorry…am I interrupting something…?” she asked, seeming somewhat confused herself by their expressions when she first arrived.

“Oh, no; don’t worry about it. Is there something we can help you with?” Junpei spoke up for the rest.

Senta then gave a sardonic grin. “Let me guess – you’re still looking for the principal’s office, am I right?”

The girl laughed. “Oh, no; I found that awhile ago,” she answered, oblivious to the sarcasm in his tone. “I’m really looking for Hiraku Ito.” She then turned to face Hiraku and smiled. “Hi, you’re Ito-san, right?”

Hiraku gave a skeptical frown and answered warily, “Yes…can I help you?”

“Actually, I’m hoping that I can help you,” the girl answered cheerily. “The school principal said that your homeroom teacher wanted me to help tutor you this year.”

Hiraku stared up at her, dumbfounded and uncertain what to say. “You mean…you’re…” he stammered in disbelief.

Senta, meanwhile, let out an incredulous laugh, standing up to address her. “I’m sorry, miss, but you must be mistaken. Hiraku’s tutor is supposed to be someone named Fukui – the person who somehow managed to tie me by also getting a perfect score on his midterms this semester. So if you could just run along…”

“Oh, that’s me,” she interrupted with a proud smile. “Risako Fukui, at your service! It’s nice to meet the other person who also did so well on the midterms! I’m sure we’ll become great friends!”

Senta’s entire face dropped as he staggered backward, utterly flabbergasted as he stared at the blissfully ignorant Risako, smiling in her cluelessness. “But…but…how did someone like you get a perfect score on the midterms?”

Risako blushed slightly at this direct question and answered as humbly as she could, “Um…I guess with a lot of luck and studying!” She let out a light laugh, which caused the color to drain from Senta’s face as though he was enduring his own personal nightmare.

“How could someone like me ever tie with an idiot girl like her?!” Senta whispered frantically to himself. But Risako continued to laugh in spite of herself, remaining completely oblivious to Senta’s stunned horror and the others’ stupefying bafflement.