Chapter 1: New experience

RIIIIIIIIIIING!

My alarm went off and I woke up from my sleep. The sound it made was excruciatingly loud in contrast to the silence that came from outside. Before the incessant ringing could become louder, I turned it off and got out of bed.

The time was 7 in the morning and the sun was still down. I needn't check the day since I'd been awaiting it 'eagerly.'

April 21st. School started today.

Still tired from just waking up, I went to the bathroom before showering briefly. After showering, I dried myself with a towel and then brushed my teeth, still using the towel as a way to keep warm. I didn't bother doing my hair when I finished drying.

Returning to my bedroom, the school uniform that'd been sent over to me a month ago was hung on a chair that had been placed by my bedside along with the desk I used for studying.

The clothing was provided to me by the school… Tokyo Institute of Learning, was it? No, the name of the school was Special Tokyo Institute of Learning. I'd given them my measurements and they made the uniform according to my size.

What they had given me was a gingham black and red skirt, a short-sleeved blouse, a dark jumper, a tie, and a checkered blazer that went with the skirt.

Wearing the provided clothing, I stared at the mirror In my room.

Not bad.

From an aesthetic view, the red and black matched my eyes and hair. The blazer feels uncomfortable, though.

I took it off and wore my jacket in place. Then, after taking my book bag, I decided to go to school early since I had nothing else to do. I put on my shoes and locked the door behind me, then I began walking.

Opening ceremony started at 8:30. I checked my phone and it was only 7:23, which left me with plenty of time to walk. I could have taken the bus but that'd mean me waiting another forty minutes to endure a bus ride full of people I knew nothing of. Given the choice, I'd rather walk.

As I looked around myself, observing the new scenery, I saw a boy heading in the same direction as me across the road. Black hair, yellow eyes, stern face. He was wearing a school uniform that looked like mine. It appears someone else didn't want to take the bus as well.

I was going to stay out of his view to avoid having to converse, but as he turned the corner, there was an inevitable moment that forced me into his line of sight.

I stopped walking and the boy stopped to look at me too. It was approximately three seconds that we stared at each other when the boy averted his gaze and walked off with the same serious expression.

First impressions determined a lot upon first meeting, and, apparently, I'd made a bad one. I don't think I did anything negative… That entire exchange was strange.

Since we were going the same way, I waited a couple minutes before setting off again so we wouldn't cross paths.

Eventually, I made it to campus gates. There was a qr code required to get in, which I had on my phone. I took out my phone before accessing the code and holding it up for the machine to scan it. It was accepted and I walked in.

The time was 8:04 now. I had twenty six minutes to roam around campus before the opening ceremony began. I took my time, observing my surroundings before making any further progression.

'This school is unlike most schools'. I'd gotten that impression from the email, but seeing the structure in person was somehow more convincing. The architectural structure of the main building alone looked

abstract and vibrant compared to public schools. It would be an accurate measure to describe how impressive everything else looked. How interesting.

To avoid spending all of my time loitering around pointlessly, I entered through the main building's front doors without issue.

Despite how obviously appealing the school looked, I was mostly uninterested in exploring it. My main goal was to locate my homeroom class, which didn't take long as it was located on the bottom floor.

Sliding open the door, I walked into the classroom, taking off my stuff when I noticed a familiar boy already sitting in the room, reading a book. 'Familiar' as in we stared at eachother 40 minutes ago.

He was sitting in a seat close to the corner of the room near the windows, when we once again met eyes. The boy's immediate reaction looked as though he'd just seen faeces charred over a pile of muddy sticks. The faeces in that analogy being me.

After locking eyes like this for a second time, it'd be impossible to simply ignore him again. On the bright side, making a 'friend' this early on could be good. Even if I didn't know how to, getting his name should prove simple enough.

"Hello again—"

The moment I began speaking, he walked out of the room, completely dismissing my presence. I turned back to look at him, but by now he was already out of view.

He moves quick.