A bright light flashed atop my eyelids, forcing me to open them. It was morning. And not just any morning. It was the morning that signaled my new high school life. I took out my high school uniform from the closet. It was originally Uncle Ryou's, but since the uniform design hadn't changed at all, he decided to hand it down to me. The pants were a fit, but the vest was… loose. So I decided to tie it around my hips instead. I reckon it was gonna give off a cool impression for my first day. I went to the kitchen and saw Kana and uncle Ryou, already eating breakfast.
"Ah, you're up!" he said.
"Mornin'"
"G-good morning…" Kana responded.
Why does she stutter when she speaks? Pretty cliché for a shy girl, yeah, but…
"So what do you want?" Uncle asked, "We have fish, eggs, toast…"
"Do you have any cereal?"
"Cereal, huh…"
Oh, I did it again. I was so used to asking what I wanted to eat instead of choosing what was on the table. I need to fix that attitude.
"S-sorry, I'll have toast!"
"Oh, you're going for the 'I'm late' approach, I see." He reacted.
"Wha- no. I'm just not that hungry."
"If you say so."
To be completely honest, the parfait Rea and I ate yesterday gave me a stomachache. I'm never eating that many sweets again. Anyway, I grabbed a piece of toast, spread some strawberry jam that I brought from the states (which was a gift for uncle, but he was more interested in the jar than its contents) and ate breakfast with Kana.
It was really quiet, for the most part. The only sounds we could hear were the sizzles from the kitchen, the chirping birds, and the morning news.
"Tsugi ha, tenki youhou…"
One thing I did appreciate was how news stories about crimes were basically non-existent. When there are headlines about crimes, it was usually something concerning national security. Which is also probably why they don't feature the cheating demon. But that's just speculation.
After eating, I bid farewell to uncle and Kana and left the apartment. To my surprise, a certain someone was waiting for me from outside the gates.
"Good morning!" the scarlet-haired girl greeted.
Once again, she looked like a completely different person. She no longer had short hair, but had two, long braids resting on her shoulders.
"…Is this gonna be a thing now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind…"
She really was a peculiar person, changing appearances without prior notice. One of these days, I might not even recognize her. Come to think of it, are her classmates aware of this strange habit? The only way to find out was to see for myself.
We entered the school premises, and immediately, I could tell the difference between US high schools and Japanese high schools. The students looked civilized with their uniforms. And no one was hanging out in one spot. It felt like stereotyping was going to be difficult, and I liked that. For once, I could fit in without being made fun of. Now, if I had blond hair or blue eyes, I would've been the center of attention. Thankfully, I take from my dad… I think.
Rea and I went our separate ways for a while. She went to her gal friends and I went to the faculty room to meet with my homeroom teacher. I waited outside and waited for the teacher, but since I didn't know what he would look like, I just stood there, hoping someone would recognize the new face in school. Unfortunately, the school bell rang, and I stood there like a jackass.
"Excuse me?" a voice from beside said.
I looked to my side and saw a tall, beautiful woman in glasses, holding some documents.
"Huh?"
"Are you Takasaki-san?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
Then she smiled and said, "Oh, it's nice to meet you! I'm your homeroom teacher, Kaneda Yui."
"It's nice to meet you." I said while bowing my head.
For a teacher, she looked really young. She looked like the compassionate type, one who would happily listen to the students' troubles. I could also tell from the way she dressed: a long sweater and a long skirt. She looked too innocent to be a teacher, to be honest.
"I was just about to get to class. Come, I'll guide you to your classroom."
"Thanks."
Then just as we were about to head off, I saw a shadow enter the faculty room. I couldn't tell if it was a teacher, but I didn't bother to check.
Along the way Kaneda-sensei started a conversation, "So you're half-American?"
"Yeah?"
"Wow! Then you must know how to speak in English!"
"Obviously."
For a teacher, she was talking way too casually with one of her students. But I guess it can't be helped as a teacher who's probably only had 2 years of teaching. The rest of the walk was quiet, up until we reached the classroom.
"Good morning, class!"
The whole class responded to the teacher. Then all their attention suddenly switched to me.
"Everyone, this is our new student." Kaneda-sensei said, "Please introduce yourself to the class."
And so I took a bow, wrote my name on the blackboard and gave a simple introduction, "My name is Yulie Andrews Takasaki. You can call me Yuri, I guess. It's nice to meet you all."
Then someone from class asked, "Are you half?"
"Yeah, half-American."
"Or really…" the student responded in a disappointed manner.
Yeah, sure, I don't look like a foreigner, and I'm not exactly tall or good-looking, but I can at least fit in easily, right?
Anyway, after the introduction, Kaneda-sensei told me to choose an empty seat. Then I noticed that there was an empty seat right in front of me. So I took that seat and all of a sudden, the whole class gasped.
"W-what's wrong?"
Kaneda-sensei wanted to explain something, but ended up giving me the seat anyway. So I placed my bag on the side of my new desk and prepped myself for class.
After a few announcements, Kaneda-sensei left and the students gathered around my desk.
"Whoa, you're really brave, you know that?" one of my new classmates said.
"Huh?"
Another classmate added, "The former owner of that desk dropped out of class."
Yet another classmate added, "Yeah, I heard it was because of a curse."
"Really?"
I didn't really care for the paranormal, but seeing as they were so hyped about it, I pretended to be interested.
"I heard his father died and he and his mother had to move back to their province."
"Yeah, I heard that too."
"Poor guy…"
The conversation just continued, without me ever saying a word. Then the door opened and everyone went back to their seats.
"Alright, it's time for class!" a tall, bald teacher said as he approached the blackboard. And so, classes officially began.
It was a normal class session. I asked some questions and answered some as well. I particularly had difficulties in English class. Not because it was hard, but because I didn't want to be that guy who knew better than the teacher.
Lunchtime. Unlike back in the states where all of the students would eat at the cafeteria, the students would just bring their own boxed lunch and eat in the classroom. Saves me the hassle of eating near the trash bin and ignored by everyone. But since I was in a new school, I wanted to try something I couldn't do back in my old school: eat at the rooftop!
Unfortunately, the rooftop was closed. Actually, I don't think anyone's ever tried to enter, given that the whole entrance was blocked by cleaning utilities. All those romance manga I read were a lie!
Having no other choice, I decided to go back to the classroom and ate there. Uncle Ryou prepared me a boxed lunch, but knowing him, he'd serve…
"…eel…"
Aside from the OCD, uncle have always loved eating eel. And for some reason, he'd cook all kinds of dishes with eel as a main ingredient. Actually, I think I know why, but I'm not comfortable enough to share this trivia to you, my fellow readers.
Anyway, as I placed my lunch box into my bag, I saw some girls picking on a classmate. I wanted to lend a helping hand, but trauma hit me once more. There was no way I could go back to experiencing… that… So I let them be and minded my own business.
Classes proceeded normally. Questions there, answers here, reading there, speaking here, you know the drill. Before we knew it, classes were over. Some classmates came up to me and asked if I wanted to go hang out with them.
"Dude, walk home with us. You could help us in our English homework."
"Please, he should join the English Enhancement club!"
"Hey, can you help translate this?"
Well, I saw it coming. They only took interest in me because of my knowledge of English and nothing more. So I responded to no one, stood up, grabbed my bag and left the room. I know I'd get a bad reputation, but it was better than becoming someone's assistant, taken advantage of and made fun of. Sure, I wanted to enjoy my new high school life, but I'm pretty sure being someone's errand boy is the wrong path.
And waiting in from of the classroom door was Rea, once again taking on a different appearance: This time, with a pigtail on the right and a sweater tied to her waist.
"Hey!" she said.
"Do you always do this?"
"Do what?"
"Never mind."
Since Rea didn't have any after school obligations and both of us not really having an interest in joining any club, we decided to leave school early. So we changed our shoes at the school front and went straight to the school gate. But as we were about to pass by, I heard a shriek from somewhere. It was faint, but I could definitely hear it.
"What's wrong?" Rea said as she noticed how I stopped in my tracks.
"Ugh, I can't believe this…"
And so I turned around and searched the site where the shriek came from. It couldn't have been from inside the school building because the sound would've been insulated by the walls. So I proposed that the sound was at an open field, right near the school gate. I ran to the closest field I could find, the tennis court, and saw a bunch of girls ganging up on another girl, one with glasses and braids, beside the storage room.
I wanted to rush in and help her, but that would be reckless. So I observed the situation from behind a tree close to the tennis court. But it was just as I thought, they were the same girls back at the classroom, picking on the same girl. They were grabbing her hair while, I'm assuming, shoving insults at her. Most good Samaritans would rush in and help the poor and helpless girl. But in the real world, that rarely happens. Helping someone out won't benefit the helper in any way. They'll either get the opposite reaction or the person they helped would shove them off. So I stepped back and let it all happen. Because I didn't want to experience "that" again.
However, just as I was about to take a step back, Rea ran past me and went straight for the bullies.
"Let's help-"
I grabbed her shoulder and stopped her, but it was too late. The bullies heard us and turned around. Crap.
Slowly, they approached us, "Get outta here! Can't you see we're busy?!"
It was happening again. All eyes were on me. There was no way out. But now I've learned my lesson. And I knew how to retaliate.
"How 'bout you save some of that hair for me?"
The girls stopped in their tracks. They were confused. So was Rea.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Ha! I've never seen someone so pathetic! Just makes me wanna join in on the fun!"
The girls' attitudes suddenly changed. They smirked and said, "You're the transfer student, right? You're not as good looking as they say."
"Please, those bitches don't know what they're saying. More importantly…"
I turned to the glasses girl and said, "She looks so helpless and scared. Lemme beat her up too."
I was finally garnering the girls' attention. Rea simply stood there, confused and scared. It was time to put the finishing touches. I turned to one of the girls and asked:
"Is this storage room locked?"
"No, why?"
I gave out a big grin obvious enough for the bullies to see and said, "I'm gonna have a bit of fun with her."
Then everyone went silent. Even the glasses girl who kept screaming for help the entire time shut her mouth, replaced with eyes of fear for what she assumed was about to come.
Then one of the bullies turned around and said, "Sure. I was gonna have my boyfriend do her, but you look decent enough."
"Well, thank you very much." I responded sarcastically.
As the girls walked the other way, I dragged the glasses girl into the storage room with Rea following from behind. I closed the door and was greeted with noise from both girls.
"D-don't… Please… No…"
"What are you thinking?! I thought you were a nice guy! You even-"
I let out a sigh and asked them to calm down.
"It was an act."
Then they finally shut up. Couldn't they tell that it was a performance? Well, sure, for a minute or two, I resembled a villain from a shounen anime, but that was something I learned to do after adapting to the horrors of school life in the states. Oh well, at least it worked.
"W-what do you mean it's an act?"
"I'm not dumb enough to help someone only to get beat up in the end."
From past experience, that never goes well. It might take courage to help someone, but charging head-on isn't always the best solution.
The glasses girl, confused and shivering, asked, "S-s-so y-you're not gonna d-do anything?"
"Are you kidding? I don't see the point in that. Besides, it'll cause more trouble for me than for you."
Both girls sighed in relief, knowing that no harm was going to befall them. Rea hit me lightly on the back countless times, saying, "I can't believe you lied about helping her! You liar! You bastard!"
"H-hey! Knock it off! You started it!"
"Whaddaya mean?!"
"You wanted to help her, and I couldn't turn down that request, so-"
"You still tricked me! Idiot! Stupid!"
And all that time, the glasses girl laughed and cried tears of joy.
"Hehe… I always knew you were a nice guy…"