I'd never been one for authority figures, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I needed answers, and I needed them now!
I finally spotted a teacher emerging down from a classroom, clipboard in hand, looking every bit as the prime example of an authority figure. I tried to appear casual, like someone who knows where they're going but is just slightly lost. Yeah.
"Excuse me," I began. "Could you point me in the direction of the welcome desk —" He interrupted, not even looking up from his clipboard. "Down the hall, to the right. There's a board with everything you need."
I muttered a quick thanks and headed off with the information in mind. Down the hall, to the right. Easy enough. Let's see if this actually leads me somewhere or if it's just another dead end. I couldn't help but smile. Maybe there's hope. Why have I been saying the word "maybe" for like, what? Four times now? Figures. The school was still a mystery, but at least I wasn't completely lost. Not minutes earlier, though.
I walked down the hall, with my shoes tapping rhythmically against the polished floor. Upon approaching the intersection, I took a right turn, just as the authority man said. The room ahead was marked "Teacher Room". Wow… Not only am I the new kid here, but now I'm expected to mingle with the very overlords of this institution.
It's exactly starting like starting a new game file at level one, and accidentally stumbling into the final boss battle. This school is a riot, I thought, chuckling to myself. Suddenly, the door swung open, catching me off guard.
"What the —?" I said, before a voice broke through the awkwardness. "Oh, Kita Muramatsu? We expected you! Come inside, we'll tell you everything about our school!"
The voice belonged to a female teacher. She was peeping her head out with a welcoming smile. Yeah, it seemed fishy. What are you doing with only your head out? Does only your body grow? Okay, maybe that was too harsh. But is she attractive? Absolutely. Single? Hope so. I quickly made a mental note to add her to my ever-growing list of potential backup plans.
"Yes, ma'am." I replied, masking myself with politeness.
I stepped into the room. Desks were arranged in neat rows, each one a small island of authority in this sea of academia. Teachers were scattered around, some shuffling around through papers, some engaging in conversations that looked way too serious for a Monday morning. The female teacher led me to an empty chair near the center of the room.
"Please, have a seat." She said, with a smile that looked a little too genuine.
Was she genuinely nice, or just well-practiced in the art of pretending it? I couldn't tell. I took my seat, feeling like I'd stepped onto a stage. Not any ordinary stage, though. The audience was way out of my league. Teachers. They were like mini-bosses in a video game with their own sets of rules, waiting for a chance to catch you in a mistake. But here I was, Kita Muramatsu, navigating this new terrain with nothing but my wits. It was almost exciting, in a masochistic sort of way.
"So, Kita, welcome to Chuo High School. We wanted to go over a few things to help you settle in."
I nodded, trying to look like I was absorbing in every word. But honestly, my mind was elsewhere. I'm wondering why the air conditioning in this room was set to "arctic". Is the source of the chill in this entire school? Or, was this some kind of endurance test? See how long the new kid can last before his brain freezes over?
As the teacher went on about the school's prestigious history, and unique educational philosophy, I couldn't help but let my gaze drift around the room. The walls were decorated with various motivational posters, the kind that screams "Believe in Yourself!" in bold, humongous font. Did the teachers put them on? The job's so depressing you need posters to help motivate figure out what kind of handwriting each student had. It was all very inspirational, assuming you were the kind of people who need to be inspired by posters. Personally, I wasn't.