The classroom was too bright. Too noisy. Too suffocating.
Ren slumped against his desk, arms crossed under his head as he closed his eyes, trying to drown out the teacher's monotone voice. The murmurs of students, the occasional giggle, the scraping of pencils against paper—it was all just a dull hum to him.
He didn't care about this class. Or the next. Or school in general.
It was all the same. Pointless.
He'd made sure to claim the seat at the very back, next to the window—the perfect spot to sleep undisturbed. And if anyone tried to bother him? Well, they knew better by now.
"Nakamura," the teacher's voice called.
He ignored it.
"Ren Nakamura."
Nothing.
A sharp knock against his desk finally made him open one eye. His teacher, a balding man with glasses, stared down at him with irritation.
"Since you have enough energy to sleep through my class, why don't you answer this question?" The teacher pointed at the board, where a complicated math problem waited.
Ren barely glanced at it before giving a lazy shrug. "Pass."
The classroom chuckled. The teacher sighed.
"Figures. At this rate, you'll be repeating this year, Nakamura."
Like I care.
As soon as the teacher walked away, Ren rested his head back down. But just as he was about to drift off again, a soft voice whispered from beside him.
"You know, if you actually tried, I bet you'd be good at this."
Ren frowned. He hadn't even realized someone was sitting next to him.
Lifting his head slightly, he turned to see a girl.
She wasn't someone he usually noticed—probably because he never paid attention to anyone in class—but something about her felt... different.
She had a warm, almost gentle presence, with soft brown eyes and long dark hair tied loosely over her shoulder. Unlike the others, who either avoided him or glared, she was smiling at him.
Weird.
"...Who are you?" he muttered, voice still groggy from sleep.
The girl blinked, looking surprised. "I sit next to you every day."
He squinted. Did she? He had no clue.
"YukiHoshino," she introduced herself, tilting her head. "Nice to meet you."
Ren scoffed. "What's so nice about it?"
She laughed softly. "I guess I'll have to find out."
What's with this girl? Most people either avoided him or acted scared of him. But she... she seemed genuinely curious.
"Don't waste your time," he muttered, turning back toward the window. "I'm not interesting."
"I disagree."
He glanced at her again.
She was still smiling. But there was something in her eyes—a quiet determination.
Before he could say anything else, the bell rang.
Chairs scraped against the floor as students rushed out, eager for lunch. Ren stretched, already planning to head to his usual spot on the rooftop where no one would bother him.
But as he stood up, Yuki suddenly spoke again.
"Hey, Ren."
He paused.
"What?"
She tilted her head playfully. "Do you ever actually stay awake?"
He frowned. "Why does it matter?"
She just shrugged. "I'm just wondering if you're sleeping to avoid class... or if you're sleeping to avoid something else."
His chest tightened for half a second.
"...You ask too many questions," he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
She didn't push any further. Instead, she just smiled and turned toward the door.
"See you tomorrow, Ren."
And just like that, she was gone.
Tch.
Ren shook his head and walked out, telling himself he wouldn't think about her again.
But for some reason... her words wouldn't leave his mind.