Can't believe it's Monday. Now, if it were the Monday right after yakiniku night, it would be a different story. After a night of conversing, playing games, comparing islands on Animal Crossing, dessert, and another movie night, Monday would start close to noon. I would go and try out a new recipe from Mom's cookbook that's more like a weekend brunch-type meal, then hang out with Natsuko and Yuki. I would then go to my usual part-time shift hours, pick up some ingredients from the market and come home to cook a new dinner. After some more chilling, I get ready for bed and go get a good night's sleep.
That was last Monday. Today is the Monday that many students across Japan dread. Maybe not the extroverts that miss their friends and classmates, but the majority would agree that this Monday is a solemn reality check.
The first day of the academic school year.
I shut my alarm off, checking the time. 6:01 AM. This is going to be the new normal. I roll out of bed, rubbing my eyes as I make my way from my room to the bathroom. Brushing my teeth and washing my face is typical, and doesn't take long. After that's done, I go and grab my laundry and walk down, past the kitchen and to the laundry machine, where Natsuko and Yuki have their laundry as well. Throwing them in, I start the wash cycle.
Once that's done, I return to the kitchen and start preparing breakfast. Rice is in the cooker, three packs of natto, or fermented soybeans. I don't mind them, though Natsuko and Yuki really like them with rice. Eggs are still in the experimental stage, so not yet….maybe in a few weeks.
Bento making skills are also not good….at all, unfortunately. I am fortunate that Yuki's and Natsuko's lunches are provided by the school, thank you Japan's education system! So lunch might be from the convenience store for now.
But I have finally internalized a new cooking recipe: miso soup! A common Japanese staple that can pair with almost any meal, especially breakfast.
After filling a pot of dashi I prepared last night and placing it on the stove, I get to work. The dashi was made by putting a small piece of kombu, a type of dried kelp, in water and letting it sit overnight. The water in the morning can now be used as the soup base.
Grabbing a pack of tofu from the fridge, I start by draining the liquid and placing it on the cutting board. Since tofu is quite soft, the knife slices through it quite readily. I also cut some dried seaweed into squares and set them aside in a bowl of water to rehydrate. As the soup heats up, I add a handful of bonito flakes to add flavor. After a minute, I scoop the flakes out and discard them. Next is the miso paste, about three tablespoons of it. Mix it in slowly, and wait for it to boil.
Now that it is boiling, I turn the heat down so it stays at a light boil, and I add the tofu and seaweed in, and let it warm up back to its original boil, and that should be it.
Another time check: 6:40 am. The laundry is definitely done by now, so I should go hang it up. I place the pot in a container that retains the heat and quickly clean up the kitchen. Unfortunately, towards the end I nick a part of my ring finger with the tip of the knife….ouch. I grab a bandage from the pantry -- which I put there knowing I was going to cut myself a lot from here on out, and go to get the laundry.
When I leave the kitchen towards the laundry, I see Yuki appear from around the corner.
"Good morning, Big Bro!" she chirps.
"Good morning, Yuki, you look well rested today," I reply. Out of us three, Yuki's quite the morning person, and while I've gotten used to waking up earlier, Natsuko would be the sleep-in type. "Breakfast will be out once I get the laundry up to dry."
"I'll help," she offers, turning in my direction. My heart!
At the washing machine, I open the door and start taking out clothes as she holds the basket steady. Once everything is out, I take the basket and we head out to the balcony, where there's a clothesline running across. The sun's been out for a while now, so these clothes should dry in a few hours, or by the time I get back from school.
With Yuki helping, the clothes were put out to dry in no time, and once back in the house, Natsuko now emerges from her slumber.
"Mornin', is breakfast ready?" she yawns, slowly making her way to the living room.
"Yeah, let me get it out for us to eat."
So there's breakfast -- at a reasonable ¥500, and pretty tasty.
After breakfast, I head back to my room to change into my school uniform. Third-year of high school, huh. Natsuko's starting her second year of junior high, while Yuki's entering her third year of elementary school. I wonder if Natsuko will finally stick to one sports team this year, instead of bouncing between different sports -- my pick is going to be the track team.
And hopefully Yuki will feel comfortable in a new classroom -- I might buy her favorite snack after school just in case she has a bad day.
Anyway, it's about time to head off for school. I put on my blazer and grab my school bag before leaving the room. A few seconds later, Natsuko and Yuki leave their room, with bags in tow, heading for the door.
"You have all your stuff you need today?" I ask, putting my shoes on.
"Yes," they both say.
"My new part time hours start today, so I'll probably be home when you get back from school."
We all leave the house, and after I lock the door, we start walking down the street.
"See ya!" Natsuko waves, turning the corner in the direction of her middle school.
"Bye!!" Yuki shouts as I wave back. A few minutes later, we're right around the block from Yuki's school.
"Okay, here's your school, be nice and have some fun with your classmates."
"Ok," she replies as she attacks with a hug. " See you later!"
"Yup, will do." I couldn't help but pat her head during the hug. She then turns and runs towards the school gate, where I think she recognizes some of her friends there.
Now to head to my school, but first, a quick stop at the convenience store.
Entering the store, I am greeted with a wide variety of foods that would make a non-local go insane by the quality and quantity. The bento section is readily stocked with different combinations of meats, vegetables, flavors, and sizes. A few students wearing the same uniform as I am are checking out the bentos too, comparing ones against each other.
Not being very picky, I take a simple makunouchi bento, which comes to about 440 yen.
After leaving the store, it takes about ten minutes before arriving at the front of the school, where many students are crowding around a board with the roster list. A lot of conversation is coming from around first years' board, with people introducing each other and the first-impression type stuff even before classes start. The third-years board on the right side is definitely more casual, but still an air of excitement hangs as students check who they'll be spending their class time with.
"Yo! Toshiro!!" a familiar voice shouts, as I turn to see Ryoto waving his hand near the front of the boards, next to Megumi and some of her friends.
I wave back, making my way through the crowd. "What's up, Ryoto, Megumi?"
"Nothing much, though Ryo-kun wants to share some mixed news with you," Megumi replies, giggling slightly.
"Yeah, first good news: you and I are in the same class!"
"That's great! But the bad news?"
His face instantly turns sad. "My beloved Megumi isn't…." which causes a round of giggles from the girls next to us, mainly Megumi herself.
"Very unfortunate, as her friend as well I will also miss her presence in Class 3…." I squint towards the board to find my name. "3-B."
"You're always welcome to Class 3-E for lunch," Megumi comments, "and you've already won the approval of everyone here, which is a good sign." Her friends nod in agreement.
"And she can stop by as well if you want her homemade bento that badly," I add, and with that the entire group starts laughing at Ryoto's reaction.
"Wait how'd---no that's not the reason I'm bummed! I mean, it's a small part, but--- you know what I mean!"
As they chat, I take a closer look at the class rosters, recognizing students both in our class, in Megumi's class, or in one of the other eight. For example, the vice president of the student council, fellow independent Tojima Naoyuki, is in Class 3-E, same as Megumi. Tojima and I are on friendly terms, especially in the hyper-political council environment. It's the reason why we prefer our smaller exec team that meets separately. The heads of the SUP and CAP are in classes 3-A and 3-C, respectively.
As for people in Class 3-B, other than me and Ryoto, there's quite a few well-known students. The sports captains for baseball and swimming, the club president of the robotics team who got 3rd in the national tournament last year, just to name a few.
There are two names I notice in particular on the list: they're the --
"Alright Toshiro, let's head to our homeroom and drop off our stuff, there's the entrance ceremony right after if you forgot." Ryoto butts into my internal monologue.
"Of course I remember the ceremony, I have a speech to make." Walking past the boards, I pick up on some of the conversation -- though only short fragments of them.
"Ah, we're in the same class! Yes!!"
"Ooh, Tanaka-kun's in 3-F?"
"Class A has a lot of popular students, like Kyouko's clique?"
"True, but Class B! That's the class to be in!"
"3-B has the prince, the princess, and the president, that's unfair!"
"Hana-chan, you're in 3-B, you totally have to tell us what goes on."
The prince, princess, and president. That does have a nice ring to it.
While I don't really interact with those in their friend groups, it is slightly relieving that we're in the same class to divide the drama and attention a bit. Being the center of attention is not really my thing, and becoming student council president has put me in a lot of situations where honestly I would rather just be with my close friends or in my room; but, that comes with the job.
Not too long after school starts, the teachers ask us to head to the entrance ceremony.
I sit at the front, all the way to the right side near one of the wing-exits. The principal gave a speech to the students, addressing his optimism for the new school year and for every student to find success and enjoyment. He then invites the first year representative speaker to give a few words.
The principal returns to the podium, now to give another introduction. "I would like to welcome to the stage a representative for the third-year class to share a message of support for the incoming class as well as everyone here. He sits with the second highest overall marks in the 3rd-year class, as well as serves as the school's student council president, please welcome Iwasaki Toshiro to the stage."
+++++
Welp, it's time for lunch.
The speech was a normal admin-approved message for the students, nothing real special. The speeches I find more interesting will come up in a few weeks when the council is up for election again.
But for now, all that I care about is having lunch.
"Cool speech, Iwasaki," the voice next to me says. "Good first impression for Kanegawa's first years."
"Thanks Maeda, it's only a scripted speech, but appreciate it." I get out my bento as the guys do the same. Maeda Reiji, part of Ryoto and my friend group. He's about the same height as me, wears glasses and ranks number four in the school, though is a little goofy, but overall a nice dude.
Across from him and next to Ryoto is Tokiyama Juuichi, captain of the boy's baseball team. Tall with dark brown hair, is also quite good at online gaming, and coincidentally plays shortstop as number 11.
The four of us hung out quite a few times last year, so it's cool that we're all in the same class now.
"Yeah, shoe locker letters incoming perhaps?" Tokiyama adds. "Could be your luck."
"Yeah, Toshiro, it's all working out," Ryoto laughs.
"C'mon, I'm not for that life," I retort. "Tokiyama, seems like you've been talking more about cuffing ever since Ryoto started dating Megumi -- anything to say to that?" We all stare at him.
"Hey, his and Tanaka's relationship doesn't have anything to do with this--"
"Oh….this?"
"Or, do you mean….her?"
"Who's it this time--"
"Gah, knock it off," he says, and we all laugh.
More conversation seems to emanate from across the room, where more classmates are talking together.
The prince of Kamegawa High, the handsome light-brown haired Fujima Keita. Very high charisma level, along with likeable attributes to round off the whole package. Obviously popular with girls, and those in his friend-group receive an instant name-recognition bump.
Well, it's what one expects at an 'elite' high school like Kanegawa.
And with every prince, there's got to be a princess, and it just so happens that they belong to the same friend group.
Enter Hirotaka Saori. The girl who has won the heart of many boys on campus. Member of the journalism club, long brown hair, blue eyes, and described by the guys' rankings as S-tier, to the point where they renamed it to Saori-tier.
So there it is: the prince and princess have their introductions. Then there's me, the president.
Suddenly, the intercom system starts speaking, and I recognize my name from the announcement.
"Oooh, the principal wants to see you? Didn't think you were the troublemaker," Maeda comments.
"Nah, it's probably some congratulatory stuff," Tokiyama replies.
"Well, only one way to find out, I'll see you guys later."
Unfortunately, it looks like lunch will have to wait.