Endless Pain. Chapter 1: Page 3. Lunch.
A female voice firmly instructs the muscle brain to stop.
"STOP!"
"That's enough Hiroshi!"
The muscle head's name is Kaito Hiroshi, he perfectly fits the description: 'To be all brawn and no brain'
Hiroshi turns around.
He questions the girl with a frustrated tone.
"Why do you stop me?... Seikrei"
The black-haired girl, who is a phantom from my past…or should I rather say someone's past who has been forgotten by me is Miho Seikrei.
"I have business with him! Until then don't lay a finger on him."
"Tsk!"
He faces me with anger. I can see his veins about to burst.
"You are lucky! I will get my hands on you eventually. Punk!"
He turns around and leaves the class to use the remaining 10-minute break time that is left.
Seikrei with that same hateful tsundere expression walks toward me.
The other classmates walk away.
Seikrei did not change, she enjoyed holding dominance over others even when she was younger. If in a dictionary words are described with pictures her picture would be next to the word 'superiority complex'
Silvia smiles while browsing social media on her phone drinking chocolate milk, she wants nothing to do with the situation. Can't blame her Seikrei is a handful.
"It's been a while. Haven't seen you in over 4 years." Seikrei stands in front of my desk with her hands crossed looking down at me with that evil tsundere expression, her eyes looking as sharp as daggers.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?"
Seikrei, you have nothing to do with me and I will make sure you will realise that sooner or later and not just her, but the others as well, especially the ones who have betrayed me like Seikrei did.
Seikrei chuckles. "You have become a comedian in the years you've been missing or could it be that you are just stupid?"
She still has that condescending look on her.
I take a deep breath and with a calm tone I say: "Seikrei, we have nothing to do with each other anymore. The person who you think of has died together with them."
Seikrei grinds her teeth in anger as a response.
"Idiot! You are an idiot. I already told the others that you have returned, they will meet with you behind the school after school ends."
She points the finger at me.
"Don't think of running!"
I knew that by coming back I would have to confront those three, what a shame that it has to be the very first day at this school.
I remain calm and show her no emotions to her provocations.
"Fine, whatever."
"Let's see if you can remain this calm when you face him. I'll bring some snacks to enjoy the show." She smirks at me. We'll see who has the last laugh.
Seikrei walks away from my desk and back to hers.
The few students who are remaining in class during the break are facing away from me in fear of Seikrei further emphasising her dominance over this class.
Silvia shifts her attention back to me, turning off her phone and putting it in her pocket.
"U-Uhm… Nilos, how do you know Seikrei?" She whispers into my ear, she is not shy to pry into personal matters.
"It's a long story, to sum it up, someone I knew was betrayed by her and her group of friends who also attend this school."
"Someone you knew? What was this person like?" How was he betrayed?" She continues to bombard me with question after question. *Sigh…I admire that confidence of hers, to ask someone you just met a little under 2 hours ago this many personal questions.
"Yes, someone I knew in the past, he was a fool and to answer your third question because of his foolish attitude to place his trust in people."
I hope that these answers will satisfy her curiosity.
"What was his name?"
The only question I hoped she wouldn't ask. That name only brings back painful memories.
"His name was Ryoto Arati." Just mentioning that name reminds me how foolish he was.
"Ryoto…Arati?... I never heard of him before…I can imagine him not wanting to come here…I would not want to be here either if I had friends who betrayed me come to this school."
What she says makes complete sense. Who would want to attend the same high school with the people who betrayed you?
"That's not the reason as to why he is not here."
Silvia is glaring at me curiously which can pierce holes into my soul.
"Then what's the reason?" There she goes again with the personal question.
No need to hide it from her to be honest I couldn't care less if she knew about him.
"He's dead." I am calmly telling her.
"Dead? I-I am sorry…That just took me by surprise…I-I'm so sorry to hear that." She is very sincere and the saddened expression on her face and tone only reinforce her sincerity.
"It's fine. It happened 4 years ago, it's all in the past." I am not good with comforting people so I hope what I just said wasn't too bland.
"I don't think your friend was foolish for trusting in his friends." She says that with a comforting smile.
She called him my "friend" … as if he would ever be my "friend". Friends are nothing but trouble.
*DING DONG
The bell is ringing which is signaling to all the students that the break is over and that they must return to class.
Ms Nakata and the other classmates are returning moments later to continue the next lessons.
It has been another three hours. It's now 13:15 (1:15 pm) which is lunchtime here.
"Hey Nilos, want to go to the canteen together?" I did mention that I would buy food from the canteen at lunch.
"Sure. Let's go."
Silvia is leading the way to the canteen. "I appreciate you showing me the way."
"It's no biggie!" She says that with that bright smile of hers.
We arrive at the canteen, it's an enormous room with huge long stretched tables where 10-15 people can sit.
"We are here, Nilos."
"It's more spacious than I thought."
"Hehe, that was also my first reaction." Silvia is sharing with me enthusiastically.
"Come on Nilos, we need to queue up."
She grabs my hand, pulling me toward the line of students waiting to be served.
"The line seems long but you don't have to worry, the line moves usually fast!" Silvia is being as energetic as ever.
10 minutes had passed and what Silvia said was turning out to be true.
The line of at least 100 students has moved quickly and it is our turn to pick out a dish we want.
Close to the dishes are dinner trays and cutlery.
Me and Silvia each pick up a tray and also: Chopsticks, A spoon, A fork and A knife.
"See Nilos, it didn't take too long." Silvia is being smug right now because she was right.
"Hm, yes you were."
It is our turn now to pick a dish.
"What can I get you?" The cafeteria lady is asking me politely.
I look down on the dishes they have.
I have to give them credit, they have various options including vegan food.
I feel the heat coming from the food warmers on my face, with the yellow lights shining on the dishes inside the food warmers.
Looking at all the dishes I choose:
"Could I please have the Ramen meal please?" The reason why I chose this dish is because it has well-balanced nutritious ingredients, the meal also includes a drink and a side dessert.
"Here you go, young man." The lady hands me the bowl of ramen and I place it on my tray.
I look at Silvia to see what her chosen dish is.
She picked cheese pasta with fresh parmesan.
"You picked Ramen… interesting."
I don't understand why it was "interesting."
"You seem to be into Italian cuisine."
"Haha, I love it very much." As energetic as ever.
Me and Silvia are choosing our drinks and dessert.
I am picking a water bottle and chocolate pudding.
Silvia is picking up a cart of apple juice and a chocolate cookie.
Silvia and I are moving toward the terminal to check out.
My ramen meal is only 250 yen which is a good deal.
Silvia pays 300 yen for her pasta meal.
With our trays in hand, me and Silvia make our way to find seats.
"Nilos, over there." Silvia has spotted seats in this crowded cafeteria.
I follow closely behind Silvia.
We reach the seats two other girls are already seated at the far end of the table.
We are sitting on the other end placing our trays down.
"Let's dig in. Thank you for the food." Silvia is eagerly beginning to eat her meal.
"Thank you for the food." I use the chopsticks to eat my ramen.
Silvia uses her fork to eat her pasta.
The ramen is good and rich in flavour.
It cannot compare to the ramen I had during my stay at the temple but for a school, it's well-cooked.
"It's delicious!" Silvia munching down on her food holding her cheeks.
"Glad to see you enjoy your meal."
"How is your ramen?"
She is asking me out of curiosity.
"It's good." A very bland answer I know but I have no idea how to answer it more excitingly.
"I HAD TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!" I hear a loud voice behind me and a hand grabbing my shoulder.
I recognise that voice anywhere although it has gotten deeper since the last time I heard it.
I turn around to see another phantom from my past.
A tall muscular boy with short blonde hair and red eyes.
He is asking me a question with a smirk on his face:
"You remember me, Casper?"
A note from me: Hello readers, I hope you have enjoyed the first 3 chapters I have published today (4/02/2024). Please leave feedback as I am trying to improve my writing this is my first-person story. Thank you for your time and have a great day.