The Ikigai Private Academy is one of the most renowned upper secondary schools in the country. Politicians, businessmen and even scientists; a large majority of Japan's celebrities and influential people graduated from this academy.
The institution has one of the highest standards in terms of the quality of education, being one of the leading exponents in the whole Asian continent. In addition, it has agreements with important universities and companies, both domestic and foreign.
Graduating from this school means a guaranteed place to enter any desired university or finish your studies abroad. Even large companies are waiting for the graduation of the best students to hire them.
In short, this is an elite high school.
But that doesn't mean that only those with high economic power can get into the school. In fact, the entrance exam, although high in difficulty, is not something that surpasses that of other schools; however, every year people who enter this place can count on their fingers thanks to their intellectual capacity and, depending on the results, opt for a scholarship.
And why do only a few decide to enter this school despite the benefits it offers?
The answer can be summarized in one word:
Discrimination.
High school life represents one of the most wonderful moments of an average Japanese person, a time when the most nostalgic memories usually arise that one can evoke. And having a school life characterized by discrimination from the student elite was not something most were willing to endure.
Or, well...
That's the story of the Ikigai private academy.
That was one of the many rumors I read on the Internet when I was researching which school to enter half a year ago.
It's all nonsense.
But something told me there was a reason behind this particular rumor...
I'm obviously not from a rich family, in fact, I had a lot of difficulties in my childhood. However, I also don't consider myself a bad student or someone who will be humiliated, so despite the rumors I didn't see any obstacle to being part of this school, which, by the way, is located in the same city where I live, Yamaki City.
After the entrance ceremony, a teacher read out the list in her hands with the names of several students where I was included; and then she guided my group to one of the most remote buildings of the school.
Once inside one of the classrooms, the teacher assigned seats to each student, guiding herself once again with the list she had. And for my bad luck I ended up in the center row, right at the last seat.
"Ah... and I wanted to be in the front," I thought, resigned. I never liked being the last in a row.
When the teacher finished the placement of the students, she started the introductions:
"Good morning, students" her voice sounded determined and strict, it was a tone that matched her serious appearance perfectly. "My name is Emiko Kishaba, I will be your tutor teacher for this year. First, let me welcome you to Ikigai Academy, and congratulate those who took the entrance exam. This school is known for training the best of the best, so please do your best to excel and raise the name of our institution. I will now briefly explain to you how we work here..."
And so it was that the system by which the institution is governed was explained to us. The most relevant details (which is why the school is different) were the following points:
My group was assigned to room 1-D (first year, section "D"). This is the section where the school groups the students with the lowest elementary school grades and also the scholarship students. In addition, in a subtle way, Professor Kishaba gave us to understand that this section also includes those who have less financial power.
Even among wealthy families there are distinctions...
The first, second and third years have a total of four sections for each, with a maximum of thirty students. Section "A" has the greatest benefit at graduation.
And the benefits decrease to the point that graduating from section "C" is no different than a normal high school.
And even worse if you end up in section "D". In this case any academic records or merit achieved that are related to the school will be modified (or even eliminated) to make it appear as if one never entered the Ikigai Academy.
And that was the real reason why few decided to opt for this place... And also why the school boasts of graduating to "the best of the best," of course, dismissing those who don't meet its requirements.
In order to move up in the section, it is necessary to reach a certain annual average as the first requirement according to the section. In addition, the place to enter a section is defined by the student's ranking according to "merit points", which are additional points obtained in different school activities and tests.
In short, whoever is at the top of the student rankings is guaranteed a place in section "A", which also follows, and so on, until they reach thirty students. As the ranking drops, so does the section.
After teacher Kishaba gave her explanation, she ordered each one to introduce themselves with their name.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Hiromasa Kobayashi," said a tall, athletic boy with a relaxed but deep voice. "I hope we will get along..."
I think everyone in the room recognized him as the son of businessman Katsuo Kobayashi, who owns a growing restaurant chain.
The student had spoken with complete confidence, without pause, and with his eyes straight ahead, as if in two shifts he had already prepared himself mentally for his presentation.
My first impression of him was that Kobayashi would be a perfect candidate for section leader.
"My name is Keiko Miyake," a smiling, short girl with hazelnut hair tied into a pair of pigtails introduced herself. "I like tennis and I like camping too!" she said, turning over to herself so everyone could see her cheerful face. "It's nice to meet you all!"
His name was very popular at children's tennis events. Being the first place in its category for more than four years.
Watching this girl, I was sure that her gestures exclaimed "I want to be friends with everyone!" while she worried that everyone present would see her face.
And so we each introduced ourselves.
Some could boast about their family, and others about their personal merits.
"I... am, uh, my name is Yayoi Ha- Hasegawa... I- It's nice to meet you..."
With this particular girl... I happened to hear her last name at breakfast today. The news was of someone who was in prison for tax evasion. Maybe it's a relative of hers...
As my colleagues were introducing themselves, I was watching carefully every bodily gesture they spoke of.
It was a habit I picked up from spending a lot of time with Mr. Makishima, a con artist.
He was sort of my mentor in the robbery, always telling me that "80% of the job in a con is to get the right victim.
It's not like I wanted to commit a robbery just on my first day of school or anything like that, it's just a habit I picked up; now I took it as a game. And I couldn't help but notice details that don't seem relevant at first glance.
After the shy introduction of the girl sitting in front of me, it was my turn to get out of my seat.
"I am Rei Satou. Nice to meet you. I hope we get along well."
A short, straightforward sentence to the point.
Anyway, it's not like I have anything to brag about in front of everyone. And although I didn't say anything remarkable, a few seconds later there were murmurs around me and inquisitive glances as well.
Whether I liked it or not, I was attracting too much attention.
Rei Satou -> More than seven million five hundred thousand results on the Internet. None of them are about me.
Number of public acknowledgements -> Zero.
Family -> Unknown or of little importance to Japanese society and economy.
I wasn't the only one who attracted attention, there was also a guy named Matsumoto who was totally a troublemaker, but unlike him, whose family has some fame, I ended up being the only "nobody" in the room.
Without the murmuring stopping, I sat back in my seat and the introductions continued.
The rest of the day went by normally.
Classes were conducted in complete calm and students participated quietly; others simply paid little attention to the teachers.
Sometimes someone saw me out of the corner of their eye, but it was nothing special; it was more like accidental glances that happened. And even at the end of the classes, no one showed any interest in speaking to me, which did not make me feel relieved.
I'd settle for not drawing too much attention to myself, but neither would I be excluded by my classmates... In other words, have a normal student life (within the eccentricities of the academy), get good grades, move up from section to section safely, and achieve all the benefits they promise.
Even a "nobody" like me could succeed in this kind of school.
But with what Ms. Kishaba has explained, and the rumors that have been going around on the Internet about the academy... that feeling that there was something more murky about the school has intensified.
It was only a matter of time before that "normality" that was wandering around disappeared.