The wind was blowing gently through the classroom window, the soft rustling of the leaves outside mixing with the monotonous voice of the teacher. Naveen Kumar, still jet-lagged and not fully adjusted to the new time zone, had already found his seat in the back row, near the window. The warmth of the sunlight and the soft breeze made it hard to stay awake, and soon, his eyelids grew heavy. The teacher's lecture on ancient Japanese history became a lullaby, and before he knew it, Naveen was out cold, resting his head on his desk like a baby.
The peaceful silence of the classroom was briefly interrupted by a faint sound—a pencil tapping the desk.
Ishida Toya, the quiet and studious boy sitting in front of Naveen, turned around to find his new classmate asleep. A deep sigh escaped Ishida's lips. "Seriously? It's his first day, and he's already sleeping?!"
He gently poked Naveen's shoulder, hoping to wake him up, but Naveen didn't even flinch. Not a twitch, not a grunt—nothing. Naveen was in a deep, peaceful sleep, oblivious to the fact that his first day in class was about to become a spectacle.
Ishida tried a little harder this time, nudging him more forcefully. "Oi, wake up! You're gonna get us both in trouble!"
Still, there was no movement from Naveen.
Suddenly, the teacher's voice boomed across the room, cutting through the silence like a lion's roar. "ISHIDA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
The entire class froze in shock, and Ishida immediately jumped in his seat. But before he could explain, Naveen jerked awake with a start, his eyes wide with panic. His brain, still halfway in dreamland, processed the loud shout, and what came out of his mouth was a rapid stream of words in Hindi.
"Arre yaar! Kya ho raha hai? Kaun chilla raha hai?! Kahan ho main?!"
The classroom erupted in laughter. Naveen's words, laced with his thick Mumbai accent, flew over the heads of the students who couldn't understand a word of it—but the tone, the confusion, and the panic in his voice were all too clear. He had just woken up from a deep sleep in the middle of a loud classroom confrontation.
Naveen, his face turning bright red, quickly realized what had just happened. Oh no. Did I just scream in Hindi? His body froze as he looked around at the laughing faces. Kill me now. Please.
The teacher, trying to stifle his own amusement, cleared his throat. "Naveen-kun, please, stay awake in class."
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Naveen muttered in broken Japanese, his face still burning with embarrassment. He bowed repeatedly, but the laughter from his classmates wouldn't stop.
As the bell for lunch break rang, Naveen let out a sigh of relief. The lesson was over, and he didn't have to endure any more public humiliation for the moment.
---
Lunch Break
Before anyone could leave the classroom, the teacher called out, "Tachikawa-san!"
Hayase Tachikawa, the golden-haired, effortlessly popular girl who had been watching the scene unfold with a mischievous grin, turned around and smiled brightly. "Yes, Sensei?"
"Please show Naveen-kun around the school during lunch. He is new here, and I believe it would be helpful if you could guide him."
Hayase nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"
Naveen, still trying to shake off his embarrassment, walked over to her desk. "Um, you don't have to do this, really," he muttered awkwardly. "I can figure things out myself…"
Hayase, however, just smiled, her expression a mix of amusement and kindness. "Don't worry about it. Besides, it's always nice to have someone show you around on your first day. Let's go!"
The two of them exited the classroom, and Naveen could feel the eyes of his classmates on him. They'd definitely be talking about his "screaming in Hindi" incident for weeks.
As they walked down the hall, Hayase glanced at him with a grin. "So, that was an interesting introduction. I didn't know you spoke Hindi."
Naveen shrugged, still feeling the heat of his face. "I didn't mean to. I just panicked, you know? The teacher shouted like a lion, and I thought I was in trouble."
"Well, you definitely made an impression!" Hayase said with a laugh. "But honestly, it was kind of adorable."
"A adorable? I looked like a total fool!" Naveen groaned, rubbing his face in embarrassment. "Seriously, I wish someone could just erase my memory of today."
Hayase chuckled. "You'll get used to it. This place is full of weird moments, trust me." She led him to the cafeteria. "So, this is where we eat. The food's decent, but they have a special yakisoba bread. It's kind of a Tokushima thing. You should try it."
Naveen raised an eyebrow. "Yakisoba… bread? I've seen that in anime!"
Hayase grinned. "Yeah, but it's not as magical as the anime makes it look. Still, it's pretty good. You should give it a shot."
As they grabbed their lunch, Hayase kept chatting with him, pointing out various places on the campus and introducing him to a few students along the way. Every so often, a few curious glances would come their way, especially from girls who were clearly fascinated by the new "foreigner." Naveen tried to ignore the attention, but he couldn't help but feel like he was under a spotlight.
After getting their food, they found an empty table by the window. As Hayase sat down, she casually asked, "So, what's Mumbai like? It sounds so different from here."
"Different? It's chaos," Naveen replied, taking a bite of his yakisoba bread. "Mumbai's full of noise. Traffic, people, street food vendors, honking cars, the whole thing. It's like a Bollywood movie—everywhere you go, there's dancing and music. But it's my home, so I love it."
Hayase listened intently, nodding. "Sounds like fun! I bet you've had some wild experiences there."
"Oh, you have no idea," Naveen said, grinning. "There's always something happening in Mumbai. And no one ever sleeps. Like, seriously, I could walk out in the middle of the night and see a dance-off happening on the street."
"That's insane!" Hayase laughed. "I can't even imagine. Japan's pretty quiet in comparison. Tokushima is definitely not the party capital."
"Tell me about it. I'm used to the loudness, and here it feels like I'm in the middle of a sleepover. It's so peaceful!"
They both laughed, and for the first time since arriving, Naveen felt a little less out of place. Despite the embarrassing start to the day, Hayase's easy-going nature made things feel a bit more bearable.
By the end of lunch, Naveen was feeling slightly better—if not totally over his earlier embarrassment. But, as they walked back toward the classroom, he couldn't help but wonder just how much more awkwardness his first week would bring.