Day 1
10:27 AM
Time seems to stand still, and I find it hard to believe this clock isn't broken. I'm not looking forward to the next class—far from it. But for the time to return home to arrive, this break must end first.
While waiting in boredom for the end of the break, I gaze out the classroom window and see the same thing as always: cheerful girls and noisy boys exuding that loud aura of youth.
Something interrupts my systematic annoyance at everyone else's happiness. I notice an unusual movement. Long, incredibly light blonde hair.
Could it be a delinquent girl? How stupid. I thought people like that couldn't enroll in a prestigious school like this one.
She looks at me, and as I see her face, I take back the criticism I just formed.
She's not a delinquent.
I hadn't heard anything about this. Knowing that person, I should have been involuntarily informed about it.
I glance away momentarily, and when I look back to where she was, she's gone.
The voice of a classmate interrupts my thoughts.
"Johann-kun, are you okay?"
"What is it?" I reply.
Before she could answer, another element intrudes on my space with light pats on my back.
"What were you thinking about, man? You looked so focused; it could only be about a girl. Am I right?"
Not in the way you think.
"Not everyone is like you, Shoucchi. Johann, like me, prefers 2D girls," the last member of the asylum chimes in.
"I've never seen him carrying dolls and toy weapons in his bag."
"They're not dolls; they're action figures!"
Why did he include me in this? Either way, these three annoyances have gathered to torment me.
The two begin to argue erroneously about my preferences until a minimal amount of common sense, which occasionally possesses Miyu, intervenes.
"Shimizu-kun, Manabu-kun, please stop!"
"Hey Miyu-chan, I told you to call me 'Shou-kun.' Why do you only call Manabu by his name?" protests Shou.
"Come on, that doesn't matter right now."
I doubt they'll let me speak. Besides, anything I say will go in one ear and out the other.
After their conversation calms down, their gazes turn back to me.
"What happened, Johann-kun? You were staring out the window with wide eyes for minutes. It looked like you'd seen a ghost."
Did that much time pass?
"I saw a girl," I begin to recount the ghostly incident.
As soon as I utter those words, a scream fills the room.
"WOOOOOOOOOOW! SEE, MANABU!? Johann isn't on Team 2D!" Shou points at Manabu while gloating over his premature conclusion.
"How could you abandon the club, Jocchi? I even lent you my eroges," Manabu whines, his voice filled with disappointment.
I was never part of your losers' club.
I cover my face with my right hand, sigh, and gather the energy to talk to them.
"You misunderstood... I-I—" I try again to explain, but another unwanted comment interrupts me as usual.
"But who could catch Johann-kun's attention? It must be Kaichou."
"Sorry for taking you away from Manabu's club. But if you're into Kaichou, give up. Yukihara-senpai is on another level. Even I wouldn't try my luck with her."
They never let me finish a single thought and jump to the most random conclusions possible. It would be too much work to dissuade them from what Miyu claimed; a slightly different approach should work.
"It wasn't her. I saw a foreign girl."
"Oh, so your type is foreign girls?! Why am I surprised? You're also a foreigner; maybe it's natural," Miyu speculates.
I just sigh.
No, Miyu. Your theory makes no sense.
But my plan seems to have worked; it's only a matter of time before Shou processes the information and takes the bait.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! A foreigner. I can't wait to meet her."
Shou bursts with excitement, running in circles around the classroom, completely euphoric. He stops in front of me for a moment and asks,
"Hey Johann, what are foreign girls like?!"
What does he expect me to say? That they have some romantic interest in weirdos like him?
"Normal, I guess."
The sparkle in his eyes fades, and his smile disappears.
"Details, please. You lived in Germany for a long time. You must know some differences I can use to my advantage," he replies, dissatisfied.
Details? I honestly have no idea what he expects me to say.
I just avert my gaze to try to end the conversation.
"Hey, Johann. Say something; it's not fair for you to have this advantage over me!" he exclaims, indignant at being ignored.
Seeing the scene, Manabu and Miyu laugh at Shou's predicament.
The bell rings for the next class.
12:33 PM
That unbearable class is finally over.
I leave my backpack at my desk since, exceptionally, we'll have classes this afternoon.
I exit the classroom and walk as fast as I can without breaking into a run.
No matter how quickly I make my way to the cafeteria, they're still on my heels. Don't they have anyone else to bother instead of me?
Disappointed, I ask Manabu, who just caught up to me,
"Don't you have any friends, Manabu?"
"Of course I do. I'm friends with Shoucchi, Miyucchi, and you," he responds, looking puzzled.
"And since when did we establish that we're friends?"
"We don't need to establish it; it naturally happened because we're excluded from conventional society."
It's the kind of response I would give if I were in his position.
I notice some commotion as we serve ourselves, or a lack of commotion. The line has simply stopped. I realize the girls serving themselves have paused to talk to someone.
"Hey, Manabu. Can you see what's going on from there?" I ask.
From a better angle than mine, Manabu spots what's attracting attention.
"Hmm, it seems to be the popular council members," he replies.
Ah. At times like this, I would like to criticize the girls for acting irrationally, but I can't. The boys are at least a thousand times worse, and with a student council president so stunning, this proportion becomes quadratic.
The line starts moving again as a few uninterested students manage to sneak through. Finally, I get a clearer view of the commotion.
Hasegawa Haruki and Arai Asahi. The former is just a smiling and charismatic guy, which makes him very popular—not just among the girls, since everyone wants to be friends with someone like him. The latter relies on his supposed good looks. He probably fits the profile of some singer or actor that charms girls missing a few screws, meaning almost all in this age group.
"We can continue this conversation another time. Asahi-kun and I need to go, or we'll get a scolding from Kaichou, haha," Haruki says.
"Oh, what a shame! But I'd be afraid of Kaichou too," one of the girls responds.
"Don't worry, girls. I think I can stay for lunch with you. Haruki will cover for me, right?" Asahi boasts.
"Please, Haruki-senpai! We'll return Asahi-kun soon!" another girl cheers at Asahi's proposal.
"Hmm. I'm not sure this will work—" Haruki begins to respond but is interrupted.
"This wouldn't be a problem for our future president, right?!"
Haruki gives in, simply smiling as he watches the charming guy leave the area surrounded by girls.
Well, it's an interesting scene to observe. It's like visiting the zoo and trying to capture animal behavior. But I'm genuinely grateful he's gone, allowing the line to return to normal.
We finish serving ourselves and head to one of the more secluded tables in the cafeteria.
A few minutes later, Miyu and Shou join us at the table, probably also victims of the slow-moving line. But they don't seem bothered by it; Shou even displays an overly sharp gaze.
"Damn, I can't spot the exchange student anywhere," Shou says while looking in every direction, including up and down.
Why am I still surprised? Any change in his behavior could only be caused by this.
"It's possible she doesn't even exist. Maybe Jocchi started hallucinating his waifu," Manabu counters.
"Makes sense. I'd probably be the first to know about it. My informants wouldn't let such an interesting target slip past our radar of girls."
"Radar? You're really taking this seriously. Well, but having informants isn't much different from what my kind does on chans."
And then they get upset when I pretend not to know them.
Miyu, slightly irritated, interrupts the flow of the conversation.
"Hey, enough of this talk. It's getting disgusting. I want to talk about something else."
It's not hard to imagine she'll pick a topic just as bad.
"What do you want to talk about, Miyucchi?" Manabu asks.
"Games! There will be a board game competition, and the prizes are excellent!" Her smiling face turns to me as she continues. "Johann-kun, do you want to join?!"
"No."
"What? I thought you liked board games," Miyu says, surprised.
"Why did you think that? I don't like games in general; they're boring. Not to mention useless."
"I thought you'd be good at board games because you're smart."
"My grades don't have much to do with that. Games, whether electronic or board, are a waste of time to me. I'd rather focus my energy on something that could bring me a better return."
"Wow, Jocchi. Not even eroges? You're so strange," Manabu remarks.
You're the last person who should say anything about being strange.
1:03 PM
Right after finishing my meal, I get up and head toward the classroom. And as if it's fate, the three decided to follow me again.
As we climb the stairs of the main building, Manabu and Shou are talking about something I don't care about.
They stop talking, as well as climbing the stairs. Miyu then stops and looks up.
I turn my head upward, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. It's none other than the leading members of the student council.
Most of them don't seem to be anything special, considering I see our class representative, Kobayashi Keiko, daily in our room.
However, the atmosphere surrounding the president, Yukihara Mikoto, is entirely different. It feels like I'm standing before a princess or some member of high nobility. As mere commoners, we should simply step aside for her.
She's on an entirely different level from a mere popular student like Haruki or Asahi. Her admirers wouldn't even dare entertain the thought of getting close to her.
But that's not the case for me. So I just move forward, and without even exchanging a glance, I pass by the beautiful student with incredibly long black hair.
After finishing the flight of stairs, I turn back and see the three still standing like ordinary people revering their superiors. Only when the student council left our field of vision did time seem to move forward for them again.
They exchange glances, realize what just happened, and then rush to catch up with me.
"She really is in another dimension. That's why I don't put her on my list of girls to win over," Shou comments.
Another sign of her supernatural presence is that Shou gained the slightest bit of rationality to conclude he wouldn't stand a chance with her.
"Yeah... Kaichou is a 3D girl with a 2D soul," Manabu says.
"Yukihara-sama..." Miyu murmurs.
"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?" I ask.
"Exaggerating?! Don't you think Kaichou is a fantastic leader?" Miyu demands, indignant.
Did I offend her idol?
"Yes, I do. But in the end, she's just an ordinary human like you or me."
I look at them and see their shocked faces. It's as if I broke a taboo.
"Jocchi, you have some strange opinions," Manabu replies.
"Strange? You can't seriously think your behavior towards her is normal."
"By the definition of normal, yes. You're the exception here."
Indeed. Sometimes, I forget this whole school is nothing more than a large asylum.