The morning bell rang, and everyone hurried back to their seats. The teacher entered the room while the class was still settling down.
"Good morning, class," Miss Amisaki called out from behind her desk.
She's our teacher for the English Language class and also our homeroom teacher. She's usually pretty kind and gives us a fair amount of freedom, but she can get quite strict if you get on her bad side. Since she only started teaching a year ago during my second year, she's still quite young and probably figuring out the best way to be a teacher.
"Good morning, Miss," everyone replied reluctantly.
"We have a new transfer student joining us today. She should be here soon, so please try to be nice to her," she said to the class.
The moment she finished speaking, the room buzzed with chatter about the new transfer student.
"Taji, do you think she's going to be cute?" Kingo asked.
Ouchi Kingo is my best friend from middle school. His mind is always on women—he rarely thinks about anything else. Despite that, he's helped me out a lot over the years, which is probably why I've stuck with him for so long.
"I don't know, nor do I care," I replied.
"Man, you're so boring. Loosen up a bit! Some girls already have their eyes on you, you know," Kingo said, grinning.
I tried ignoring him by staring out the window, but it was no use. He'd keep talking even if I told him to stop—that's just the kind of person he is.
"All right, all right, class. Calm down. Let's not scare the transfer student before she even gets here," Miss Amisaki said, raising her voice slightly.
"When is she coming?" one of the classmates asked.
"She's at the headmaster's office. She should be here soon," Miss Amisaki replied.
A few moments later, the classroom door opened. A neatly dressed girl walked in and stood at the front of the room. Her hair was dark brown, tied in a ponytail, and she wore thin round glasses. Her shirt was perfectly tucked into her skirt, and her posture was poised. She bowed and began to introduce herself.
"Good morning, classmates. My name is Lei Mei. I am originally from Beijing, China. I hope we will all get along without any issues," she said in a slightly broken yet formal voice.
She wasn't Japanese, which she'd clearly mentioned. It was surprising to see a Chinese transfer student joining at this time of year.
"Yo, Taji. She seems like a total loser, don't you think?" Kingo whispered to me.
I stayed quiet and didn't respond. She did seem like the quiet type who might snitch to the teacher, which wouldn't fit in well with the rest of the class. This class is a bit more energetic than most.
"Great, thank you for the lovely introduction. I'm Miss Amisaki, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. If you ever need anything, feel free to talk to me," Miss Amisaki said warmly.
Lei Mei bowed again in response. She seemed extremely polite and possibly from an influential family in China.
"There's a seat in front of Aguni. You can take that one, Lei," Miss Amisaki said.
She bowed once more and walked slowly to the desk in front of mine. She didn't glance around the room, keeping her focus straight ahead.
This is going to be an interesting year. It's not what I expected, but it's something I'll have to deal with.