Chapter 1 part II

The opening ceremony was about to begin as the last of the students entered the auditorium. Everyone had been lined up in their own respective classes, and I, like everyone else, was standing in my class' line near the back of the auditorium.

Everyone slowly began stopping their ambient chatter as the principal walked onto the stage and began the ceremony with opening remarks. The homeroom teachers were then introduced in standard format and the student council president came on stage.

The student council president looked older than the other students I could see. A slim build, tall, green eyes and blonde hair. There was also a shorter white-haired girl standing behind him. She was most likely also student council.

In contrast to the exaggerated look of the school, it's procedures were nothing amazing. I could already see a boy starting to doze off 10 minutes into it. To be honest, I couldn't blame him. The whole thing was uneventful.

"…to conclude this ceremony, I wish to leave you all with a parting word of encouragement. You are this schools chosen leaders of tomorrow. Work hard as a class to bring about change to the world."

After the ceremony had concluded, everyone clapped and the student council president left the stage as well as the principal and teachers. Afterwards, the classrooms were revealed and everyone began moving.

15 minutes. We had 15 minutes before classes began.

Unsurprisingly, it was the same classroom I'd been to before school began. However, this time around, there were now people occupying the once empty seats.

How many people were in my class…? I counted 24 students, excluding myself. 13 male, 11 female. So many voices in one room…

With all the new bodies to account for, getting to my seat would prove less than comfortable.

Before, I'd already done a brief scan of the room to locate my seat, which was seat 20, so finding it wasn't a hassle. The real inconvenience now was who I was sitting next to, the black-haired and yellow-eyed boy staring at me with a blank gaze.

What an unfortunate coincidence.

I considered attempting to start a conversation, however, considering how things went last time, I just settled for staring at him. I took my seat next to the window and placed my bag under my desk before taking off my jacket.

Several moments passed, and not a single word was spoken between the two of us. He was reading the same book he'd been reading before, not sparing a moment to glance over at me once. Eventually, it had become clear that it was just us in the class that'd failed to make any friends. This was problematic.

I stared at the boy, pondering over my options.

"Um… hello."

Silence…

"Hello?"

Silence again.

"I'm Eiko Fujisaki. And you?"

There was silence again but, this time, however, the boy did place his book bag on his desk to act like a barrier between us… An improvement, at least.

For a moment, I considered giving up on this attempt at friendship, but observing how the other students seemed to already be forming groups of sorts, that would be a no.

I thought back to the classrooms. Fortunately, they'd all been revealed during the opening ceremony, and I took the time to memorise all the names of the students in my class. There were 24 students in total… what are the odds I get his name right first time?

"So… Aoki?"

…Well that failed. There was no response and the boy didn't look like he was gonna talk. Seems like there's no other choice.

"Ikeda. Kitagawa… Nakagami…?"

And so I began listing all the last names I saw. Whether I get his name right or not, I was bound to get some kind of reaction. Said reaction would be the seed meant to grow into a blossoming relationship between students.

"…Yoshid—"

"Shut. Up."

See? He spoke, albeit with immediate hostility.

"So you can speak? What's your name?"

"…"

He didn't say anything, so I folded my arms, tilting my head.

"Saito…?"

He slammed his book down and shoved it out of the way with his book bag to sneer at me. I leaned back in my seat to stare at his eyes doused in clear and obvious irritation.

"…Kamiyama. Now stop talking."

Kamiyama, huh?

"Family name, or given name?"

Bc

It was more than likely his last name, as this Kamiyama boy didn't seem like the type to introduce himself by his given name first, but the question was actually meant to be a means to continue a coversation. Or so I was planning until I was blatantly ignored for the 11th time today. An impressive number.

Well at least I got his name. For now, trying to force a conversation any further would likely lead to counterproductive results. Hence, I stood up to try and make friends with other classmates.

Well, I planned to until the Teacher came walking through the door.

"Everyone, settle down. Class is about to begin."

Everyone took their seats and I was the only one left standing.

What a pity.