Yamamori High School.
A very prestigious school that only handles and accepts the best students.
The acceptance rate here is only over 40% and to gain that 20% instantly, is to have a perfect score on your entrance exam.
So, despite being a very normal person, I decided to go all out for that and perfected the exam and managed to get here just because my childhood friend, Najimi, told me so.
Because it was the school that the popular girl, Hoshoujo Yuna would attend next.
And on was our first day. I was expecting it to be very normal, but as soon as we saw our names on the board, I immediately knew that something was off.
My name, Najimi's, and the girl that he had a crush on were in the same class.
Let me add another set of details why would this be a surprising case for me.
Yamamori Highschool is a prestigious school. So, for them to brew and train the best students in the world they separated the classes into sections that had a ranking system.
This information is not known or announced to the public on any of the school grounds! Yet, it's available on the internet if you look it up. (You don't have to, it's not real.)
And so anyways, being an average guy who just managed to slip his way through, I couldn't be in the same class as the all-talented and ikemen Najimi Kai and rich girl, Hoshoujo Yuna!
What made me think so? It was because of the look on Najimi's face.
The lack of surprise, the nodding, and the chin holding. He just smiled at me when I looked at him with a face that asked, "What did you do?"
Surely, he didn't do anything. But for him to not deny anything, I was broken—
Now I am living in an eternal wonder if I had passed the test or if was that also fixed by him.
No words could describe my feelings back then, but as we dive into the class that we were assigned, I had to accept that fact.
I was seated just in front of Najimi Kai, while Hoshoujo was at the front.
It seems like the seat arrangements weren't fixed. I was worried that Najimi would go to lengths just to...
Wait. Why is he in the back row though?
Before we came to this school, he always chose to be in the middle seats or front because he wanted to see the writings on the board better, but now...
Mendou: [Najimi... Are you fine with——?]
I looked and turned to face him, but as I did, he was staring right at Hoshoujo who could be seen as clear and as best as possible from that angle where we are.
There's no doubt he had fixed the arrangements as well, putting small people within his line of sight except for Hoshoujo who was a tad taller than someone in the front row.
Mendou: [Can we just please be normal for now?]
I asked him jokingly, but his response that never seemed to reach me verbally only displayed itself as a smile.v
This is my first day of school for a long time, I must focus!
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After a few hours, it was then a break between the classes.
At this point of time in the first day, this will be the time where you must make friends and or acquaint yourself with strangers or your chance will pass by!
However, I couldn't stand up from my seat and do it. Not with Najimi being here at least.
If people knew that I was friends with Najimi, surely they will be friends with me just to be close with him!
I can't help but think that that'll be just a shallow friendship made to reach a goal.
I could only hammer my fist gently on the desk without anyone noticing, bearing with this intense tribulation.
Najimi: [So, how are you holding up?]
Mendou: [Please don't ask me like that, it's like you know what's going on and is causing it—]
I know he doesn't know what's going on. He's just reusing lines from a movie that I had let him watch before when we came and snuck a few in his house and watched it.
He's using them to sound natural, which sounds unnatural to me.
Najimi: [You seem to be having a hard time.]
Mendou: [...]
Even after all that, he's worried about me.
Although I'm moved by his kindness, I wanted to experience a normal school life without being caught up in his name.
It would be anytime now that people should be flooding to meet Najimi, but instead, people have already created groups that kept their hands to themselves.
That happens, but to think that they never tried to talk to Najimi was surprising to me.
It was the same for Hoshoujo Yuna. She had only been talking to one girl that was on her right side since the start of the break.
I began to think that making friends will be going to be harder than I thought it would be now that people have formed groups.
Yes, I already have Najimi, but as an outgoing person who relies on connections, I am a very socially needy person.
I've never had personal friends before due to my tendency to uh, hang out with a certain someone since childhood.
Now that I've thought about it, I don't way to say that I regretted being friends with him, but I should have at least made other friends before committing to being best friends with the child of one of the most richest and powerful people.
This is quite troublesome if I don't make friends.
I won't be able to ask for notes when I'm sick. I won't be able to group up easily with others. I won't be able to go to summer outings.
You might just think to team up with Najimi Kai, but despite being an all-talented person, Najimi has a limit!
His handwriting is perfect, but he sucks at taking down important notes. He can easily socialize, but he can't actually lead nor even cooperate as he would always get anything the group should do done in seconds.
And lastly, Najimi cannot go out on outings without his escorts setting up a perimeter around him!
It's hard to tell who could be a servant in disguise in public.
Mendou: [In any case, I'm gonna go and make some friends over there. Just sit tight and let me do my magic, alright?]
Me, being the extrovert in between me, and my good friend Najimi, I went to join the other part of the classroom while it was still class break.
It would be easy for me to befriend anyone on the same wavelength as me, slipping into conversation like a snake after hearing an opportunity to.
It was but a quick five-minute talk, and just I opened up and convinced them that my other friend, Najimi would like their company, I turned only to see him out of his seat.
He was already standing beside the desk of the infamous girl, Hoshoujo Yuna.
Migi: [H-Hey. You need to stop your friend! I heard rumors that people disappeared after they went close to that girl!]
Okai: [Y-Yeah! They said that they just tried to talk to her but they'll still take you if you go near her!]
This two are Migi Hirode, and Okai Iesuman.
Mob-like characters have already the same wavelength, so befriending them was like a predetermined outcome already.
But more importantly...
Mendou: [——What did I just say about acting normal!?]
This is bad. I didn't think Najimi would be that bold enough to go and confront the girl.
He had been staring since classes started!
Mendou: [I'm going to save him before he embarasses himself!]
I left the two who had saluted me on my way back to Najimi. I tried to reach for him and gestured not to say anything as the girl hasn't looked at him yet.
However, just as I stepped a meter close, Najimi spoke.
Najimi: [Why are you alone?]
[...]
Of all the things that he could have said and asked, he had thought of the most insensitive one.
Najimi is kind person, but sometimes, his eccentric questions that shouldn't be asked comes out of his mouth like second nature!
If anything else, Najimi's done for if she gets angry!
Hoshoujo: [...Eh? I'm not.]
She flinched as if she just had noticed Najimi's presence just now.
He had been standing at the corner of her peripheral. I'm actually surprised that she didn't notice him from there.
Najimi: [But you aren't talking to anyone.]
Hoshoujo: [I'm not alone. You are talking to me right now, are you not?]
They both talked like expressionless NPCs. Just pure dialogue and little expression.
I knew Najimi would talk to the prettiest girl in this class but, not like this, The Sims style dialogue!
Najimi: [... Oh, that makes sense.]
He hammered his palm with his fist, gesturing that he understood that just now.
Mendou: [Don't just agree with her! You were supposed to retort in a much more cooler way!]
Of course. I had to step in now that it's getting drier than the second passes by.
But somehow, I kind of feel like they are on th same wavelength. Is this why rich people befriend rich people only as well?
Though, I'm an exception.
Hoshoujo: [Your friend?]
Najimi: [Childhood friends.]
He was answering without stuttering. Not that he always did before, but that was because he would be trying not say anything weird.
Najimi: [Oh. I'm Najimi Kai, and he is Mendou Kotaro.]
He even managed to introduce me and himself to her.
Hoshoujo: [Hoshoujo Yuna. Nice to meet you.]
She held out her hand, shaking his. She also offered me a handshake, but I had to refuse for I still see the mencing stares in the background.
But whoa. Najimi's holding up pretty well in talking to her. Although, I see a lot of staggering stares from around the class.
You can say this was progress, but now I'm acquainted to two eccentric people on this class!
Please be normal for once!