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Penguin Dives

rfaeljrmiah_
7
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 7 chs / week.
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Synopsis
Jael Daikuhara is a high-achieving 10th grader known for his academic excellence and music skills. He’s intelligent, focused, and consistently ahead of the game—until he’s paired with Leah Boutsuki, a quiet, artistic, intelligent, diligent, and a top student girl recognized for her outstanding academic performance and academic excellence. When their teacher assigns a group project, Jael’s initial hesitation soon transforms into unexpected admiration as he and Leah are forced to work closely together. From their first awkward encounters to late-night brainstorming sessions, Jael is captivated by Leah’s enthusiasm and distinctive outlook on life. Leah, in contrast, starts to value Jael’s quiet self-assurance and determination, which she finds both reassuring and motivational. They complement each other in ways they never anticipated. They swiftly become inseparable—partners in both schoolwork and something much more profound. As the project continues, their connection intensifies. They begin to spend their free time together, discovering more about each other’s aspirations, fears, and dreams. In their shared experiences, Jael and Leah find a type of harmony that feels as natural as penguins in the wild, always backing one another, side by side, through every hurdle. However, as their feelings transition from friendship to love, Jael and Leah must navigate the complexities of high school life, including academic pressures, social dynamics, and the uncertainty of their futures. Will their relationship endure the trials of time and circumstance, or will the burdens of growing up tear them apart? “Penguin Dives” is a tender coming-of-age romance about discovering love in the most unforeseen places and understanding what it means to support someone, not just as a classmate, but in life. Through collaboration, trust, and an evolving connection, Jael and Leah learn that love doesn’t have to be flawless—it just has to be genuine.
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Chapter 1 - Group Work

The school bell rang as the wind flows outside the school. Oh, the breaktime is over. The students went back to their classes.

"What the hell, I didn't even get the chance to buy something." said Natsu with whining.

Jael replied "Mhmm."

Natsu asked Jael "Your mind seems to be pre-occupied. Something's going on?"

Jael replied "Yes but no. I ate a lot of gravy and my stomach's upset right now."

Natsu bursted into laughter. Everyone in the hallway was staring at Natsu, while Jael is drowning in embarrassment.

Jael grabbed Natsu's wrist to go to their next class. Jael walked faster for he is embarrassed. In all of a sudden, his stomach growled; he ran to the restroom. Natsu followed Jael.

Once they're both in the restroom, Jael threw up a lot. Natsu was disgusted.

"The heck's wrong with you?" Natsu murmured.

"I literally frickin' heard you!" Jael replied.

"You done? Next class will start anytime soon." said Natsu.

"Yeah, sorry for the wait." Jael replied.

"Sure. Don't be so polite though." Natsu replied as he left.

Jael followed Natsu. As they're walking, Natsu had a thought.

Natsu asked Jael "Hey Jael, what do you think is the definition of time management?"

"Time management? For me, it is to follow your schedule strictly and avoiding to waste even the littlest amount of time."

Natsu murmured to Jael "If that's so, we're so done."

Jael looked at Natsu's eyes, seeing a completely blanked face. Jael looked at the direction Natsu was looking. He was shocked, it's the art's teacher. She was 3 steps away from entering their class. Jael ran so fast, he almost slipped. When he's about to enter the door, he bumped into a girl. The girl dropped her things as she was shocked.

"My sincerest apologies! Did i hurt you? Are you okay?" Jael asked with fear.

"Y-Yeah, I guess. Please be careful next time." the girl replied.

Their teacher is walking towards them.

Jael thought to himself "What have I done? What will I do? Will she yell at me? Who even is she? This teacher's aura is so strong."

As the teacher gets closer, the girl and Jael looked at her. They both realized that they know that teacher.

The girl and Jael shouted "Mrs. Daimon!?"

Mrs. Daimon smiled at both of them and replied "Is anyone hurt?"

The girl and Jael replied "No, ma'am."

Mrs. Daimon replied "Good to know, then stand up; we're about to start."

As Jael stood up, he offered a hand for the girl. The girl looked away with shyness and didn't accept it. The girl went back to her seat while blushing. Jael stared at her as he also went back to his seat.

Mrs. Daimon introduced herself to the class "Good morning, a lot of students here must've already know me. All your faces faces are familiar, there are only a few students here that I've never known. All right. Starting from now on, I'll be your new teacher in Arts. Say goodbye to Mrs. Abe, I'll be better than her in teaching!"

Everyone clapped and cheered for her.

Jael thought to himself "So she's the new teacher Mrs. Abe was saying. Well I mean, what would go wrong? She used to be a great music teacher back in 9th grade."

Mrs. Daimon continued speaking "I see a lot of potential in this class. Because of that, I will be giving you guys your first school work this semester."

She laughed while a lot of students looked disappointed.

The class is filled with bunch of noises. Comments and sounds of disappointment.

"What? School works again?"

"Another lame teacher."

"Mrs. Abe, please come back!"

"What the heck is wrong with her?"

"Man, it's her first day in this class."

Mrs. Daimon smiled and said "Don't worry y'all. This will be a group project!"

Once again, the class is filled with bunch of noises; this time, the students we're happy and cheering for her.

"Yay, a group work!"

"Man, it's been long since we've worked together."

"She's the best teacher I've ever had!"

"I love you Mrs. Daimon!"

Mrs. Daimon laughed as a sign of happiness. She then distributed the class into 3 groups, 10 students each.

Jael thought to himself "A group work? I hope Natsu and Asa will work with me."

Jael heard Natsu and Asa's name in the same group. He was disappointed for the reason he was seperated with his 2 best friends. Moments later, he heard his name.

"Daikuhara as the group facilitator..." said Mrs. Daimon and she continued to announce Jael's groupmates.

"So I'm the facilitator? No, I'm screwed!" Jael thought to himself.

Mrs. Daimon mentioned the last name "Boutsuki..." as Jael's groupmate and she continued to announce the members.

Jael was shocked and he thought to himself "Boutsuki? That last name sounds familiar! Do I know her? What the hell's wrong with me? She's been my classmate for 2 months yet I just realized that. I'm pretty sure I've heard that last name before."

"All right, that's all. You'll be working with your groupmates to create a masterpiece. You'll be making a short film about violence!" said Mrs. Daimon.

Everyone cheered for Mrs. Daimon as all of them were longing for that kind of activity.

The school bell rang. Jael sighed and stretched. Natsu went to him and smiled.

Natsu asked "You wanna go home together?"

Jael replied "Sure."

Jael and Natsu were walking on the way home.

Jael asked Natsu "Hey Natsu, don't you think Boutsuki-San is familiar?"

Natsu replied "No, never met her in my life."

Natsu looked at Jael and stopped. Jael continued walking. Seconds later, he realized that Natsu stopped. He saw the smirk in Natsu's face.

"Jael Daikuhara, don't tell me you were paying attention on Boutsuki-San." said Natsu.

Jael cringed and replied "I am, I think I met her before. And stop making that face, creep."

Natsu replied "How dare you call me a creep?"

Natsu punched Jael's stomach out of annoyance; he smirked again.

Jael yelled at Natsu "What was that you son of a-"

Natsu covered Jael's mouth and started to ask him a lot of questions.

"Tell me Jael, what did you like about her? Is it because she's the top student in our class? Her smile? Her looks? Is she rich? What do you think about her behavior? Her attitude? Man, you picked a great shawty." said Natsu

Jael was shocked; he replied "What!? No I don't have any interest in her. I don't even care about her. I just noticed some familiarity you dirty rascal!"

Natsu laughed and Jael continued explaining himself.

"What seems to be going on in here?" some boy asked.

"Oh, it's you. Look at this lover boy. He likes someone in our class." said Natsu.

"No! Don't believe him Asa, I just thought that girl was familiar as hell." said Natsu. Asa replied "Is that so? Then why are you so mad about it?"

Asa and Natsu bursted into laughter. Jael was so mad and embarrassed.

"Whatever, let's go!" said Jael.

The three of them saw an arcade while walking.

"Are you boys thinking what I'm thinking?" said Asa.

"I'll pass for now." said Jael.

Asa replied "It's on me."

Jael came back without hesitation and said "Works. Let's go."

The three of them had fun playing a lot of games as times goes by. While playing, Jael saw a claw machine with his favorite anime figurine as the prize. His eyes fell in love with the machine. Natsu and Asa continued to play. Jael went to try 2 times, but he failed, resulting for him to lock in. On his third try, he finally got that figurine and he was amazed. He hugged the figurine with his cheek while his eyes were closed. He didn't realize that everyone were staring at him.

Moments later, Asa whispered into Jael's ears "Let's go home daddy."

Jael was shocked and he punched Asa's face. The three of them were walking with bags of prizes in their hand.

"I didn't realize you would cry over a plushie, Natsu." said Jael with laughter.

Natsu was crying and replied "It sucks."

Asa and Jael laughed.

"It's getting late, I'll walk this way." said Asa.

"Yeah, me too." said Natsu.

Jael waved goodbye at them and said "See you both tomorrow."

Jael continued walking as he was going home. He checked his phone while walking. He noticed the time and realized that he's going home so late.

He ran and thought to himself "I'm so screwed!"