"Wow. That's a lot of club stands."
There's no telling what could happen on your first day of high school. After graduating from middle school, it's like all your years in middle school were erased, and now you have to start all over in high school.
I wouldn't say it's about building a reputation, but it's nice to have a fresh slate.
Sure, there may be people from your previous middle school who know some things about you, but it's easily avoidable.
As a first-year student who also recently transferred here from America, I could already feel multiple eyes piercing my back as I walked through the crowds of students.
It makes sense that they would.
As a transfer student who just moved from America to Japan, I could understand why they were curious.
It's most likely because of my appearance.
I'm wearing their uniform. It's just a standard seifuku.
What entices them the most is my hair.
My hair is slightly longer than most of the girls I've seen so far in the school. For reference, it's slightly beyond shoulder length.
I've heard some troubling comments because of it, but I personally like my hair. I feel like it complements me well, and most of the other haircuts I've had in the past didn't go so well.
I'm specifically thinking about the time my barber accidentally cut some of my hair because he sneezed, and he had to completely buzz everything off.
I still haven't gone to a barbershop since then.
I bet most people would think I'm an otaku shut-in because of that.
"Hey you! Please join the volleyball club!"
"We have positions on the basketball team!"
"Join the game club and you'll never be bored!"
Wow. This school has a lot of clubs. My previous school only had ten, but this school has more than thirty, I think.
"Hey you."
"Huh?"
I turned and saw no one. I swear I heard someone call me.
"Seems you exchanged your brains for that long hair, huh?"
I froze. I lowered my head a bit and saw a girl who looked to be about 142 centimeters tall.
I was amazed by how short she was. Her hair was slightly red, which made me wonder if it's natural or dyed.
"I… sorry…"
"No worries. I'm with the volleyball club and we really need some new members. Care to join?"
Her voice didn't really sound desperate. In fact, it sounded like she could care less.
"Sorry, I'm not really joining any clubs…"
"Eh? Didn't you know? It's mandatory to be in a club here."
"Seriously?!"
I recalled my hours of studying how this school worked because of how foreign it was to me. That wasn't on their website.
"Hehe… seems like you'll have to join a club. And if you don't, the school will personally contact your parents and expel you!"
"Stop trying to manipulate the first years, Kimura."
A tall man appeared from behind her and karate chopped her head.
"Ouch! Let me do my business, Hoshizaki!"
He walked in front of her so that I couldn't see her. It appeared the tall one's name was Hoshizaki and the short one was Kimura.
"Please forgive my friend's words. It's not mandatory at all to join a club."
He chuckled and reassured me.
"Thank goodness."
"What's your name? You're a first-year, correct?"
"Ah yes! I'm Jodie Josseyln."
Kimura peeked out from behind Hoshizaki.
"The first two letters of your first and last name… are you, are you a Joestar?!"
"Please stop bothering the first-year, Kimura… go manage the stand…"
Kimura left while grumbling.
"Jodie, yes? That's a good name. I'm Hoshizaki Aki. Third year and captain of the volleyball club."
"Hoshizaki-senpai?"
"Ah, and the little girl from before. Her name is Kimura Chikako. Also a third-year and my best friend. She's the manager of the club. She's a sneaky one."
"Ah, I see…"
"Anyways! Since I'm talking to you, care to join the volleyball club?"
He asked with an uncanny similarity to Kimura-senpai. I can see why they're best friends.
"Ah sorry, I don't play volleyball. At least, not anymore."
"That's good enough for us! Please! We just need one more member before we can officially become a team that competes in the leagues!"
"Eh?! Why did you become so desperate all of a sudden?!"
"Please, Jodie! We're desperate!"
"Gah! I'll think about it!"
"Oh okay. Later!"
"You recovered so quickly!"
He quickly left through the crowds of students to what I assumed was their stand.
I sighed and proceeded through the crowds to my first homeroom class. My years in America weren't troubling, which was very convenient for me, but because I'm new to this school, there's no telling what type of people are here.
In Japan, I've heard that high schools (especially first years) are separated into different friend groups.
— Firstly, the athletes with an ego that can't be filled completely even with an infinite amount of praise.
— Secondly, the nerd otakus. Always defined by their glasses and surprisingly overwhelming weight which might surpass the average American, they always spend their parents' allowance on anime girl figures.
The list goes on, but the only group I believe I fit into are the…
— Absurdists! They don't care for anything and have mixed interests.
But sadly, all of that knowledge was thrown out the window when I first saw my homeroom class.
Crap. I can't tell the difference. Where are the otakus whose weight may challenge the average American? Where are the athletes with overwhelming egos? Actually, I was probably thinking about an American high school with that group. But still!
Never mind, where should I sit? There's not a lot of open seats.
Eventually, I just chose the desk closest to the exit. In fact, the exit was literally right behind me. I felt a wave of euphoria.
I had hit the jackpot.
I glanced to my side and at the end of the left side of the classroom, closest to the window and the last desk in the column, sat a girl with purplish hair.
"She must be the protagonist of a manga," I thought to myself.
"Okay everyone. Take your seats. Taking attendance now."
The teacher said while carrying the attendance book. I looked around the class to take in how different the classroom is compared to my previous school in America.
What I've come to terms with is the fact that if I were in America right now, I'd be a sophomore, but because the Japanese school system is different, it's almost as if I'm repeating my freshman year.
The door behind me slammed open, making me jump in my desk.
Everyone, including me, turned around to see who it was.
It was Kimura Chikako. She immediately looked at me and grabbed my shoulder, which surprisingly, she had a painfully tight grip.
"Excuse me, teacher! Can I borrow this first-year for a second? His name is Jodie Josselyn on the attendance sheet."
"Ah, Kimura. Of course. Just make sure to bring him back before the end of the next period."
"Yes, I'll make sure. Now come along, first-year."
Everyone's eyes were on me. I quickly went with what she was saying and left quickly.
I walked behind Kimura. My thoughts mindlessly drifting to her small stature.
"Jodie, are you a girl?"
"Huh?"
"It's a yes or no question. Hurry up."
"I-I'm not!"
I felt my face flush slightly for some reason. I've had many people mistake me for a girl, but why did it feel so weird this time?
"How disappointing… I thought we'd be good friends."
"Wait a second. What are you talking about?"
"Sorry, Jodie, I guess you can't escape your fate…"
"Seriously, what are you talking about?—"
"Ah! Jodie!"
I heard a familiar voice shout from behind me. The ground shook as if they were running towards me at lightning speeds.
But before I could even turn around, an arm was thrown around my shoulder.
"Yo, Jodie! Have you thought about joining the volleyball club yet?"
"Wait a second, it's only been like fifteen minutes since I last saw you two. And please let go of me…"
I could smell his body, and it wasn't exactly pleasant.
He quickly let go of me with an awkward chuckle. I couldn't help but be drawn to his white hair.
Huh, maybe both of their hair is dyed?
"Anyways, can I head back to class?"
"Nope! Me and Kimura have decided to bring you to the gym just to show you what the volleyball club is like!"
"I appreciate that, but I don't play volleyball anymore!"
"Nonsense! If you just see the club in action, you'll definitely change your mind!"
I had no choice but to go along with their antics. The hallways were silent. Only the sound of Hoshizaki-senpai's hums made noise.
Once we arrived at the gym, I noticed that the gym is separated from the main school building. Different from my previous school where the gym and the entire school were one building.
"Tada! On the other side of this door is the excitement and pride of the volleyball club!"
With a dramatic change of tone, Hoshizaki-senpai slowly opened the gym doors, and there was no one inside.
I tilted my head in confusion, and I heard Kimura sigh loudly.
"Just tell him the truth, Hoshizaki."
Hoshizaki-senpai slowly turned and scratched the back of his head with an awkward chuckle.
"Well, you see, it's a requirement for every club to have at least three members or more, so…"
"You've got to be kidding. You're only persistent in choosing me because your club will be disbanded?"
"No! Don't get us wrong, we love volleyball! Me and Kimura are experts!"
"Don't get me twisted into this, Hoshizaki. Jodie, Hoshizaki is the one who's volleyball-obsessed, not me. I only took this position because he begged for it and said he'd buy my food."
"Uhm… I'll just take my leave…"
I turned around and started to walk back towards my homeroom class. It was about to end soon, and I didn't want to forget my stuff.
***
"Hoshizaki. Let's just disband the club. I don't care about the food anymore."
"No, Kimura. Do you know why I'm so desperate for Jodie to join?"
"Huh? There's another reason other than the club will be disbanded?"
"You're very condescending, you know? Anyways, Jodie used to be very popular."
"What are you talking about?"
"Jodie used to rule the American youth volleyball league. I'm sort of desperate for him to join because I'm very curious about his skills."
"You sure you're not just a masochist? You're blushing like a sadist right now…"
"I coincidentally watched one of his matches a year ago and noticed how good he was even in his youth. I managed to find his social media account, and I saw a post saying that he was moving to this specific area of Japan."
"Tch. Stalker."
Kimura seemed slightly disappointed.
"Don't twist my words. He's good, so I want to have a match against him. Of course, after we find more members."
"How come you don't just make it a co-gender club rather than just a boys' club?"
Hoshizaki's eyes widened immediately at the sudden revelation he just had.
"Kimura! Why don't we make the club for both genders!"
"Ugh… I want to slap you right now…"
"It's genius! That way, we could get more members and maybe a budget!"
"Yeah, yeah. Now let's get out of here. Can't believe you even lied about renting the gym."
"Ah yeah! I almost forgot!"
"Ugh… you're such a handful sometimes…"