PV: Sonata Yakonawa
I sat on the plane staring at my laptop blandly, awaiting to finally reach my destination. When Emily told me the flight would be long, I didn't think much of it. I have patience- I mean not a large amount, but enough. Just not enough for a 10 hour flight. I wish I hadn't been so anxiety-ridden, then I could have slept for a few hours. Now I'm going to be arriving looking like a zombie. I didn't really consent to this in the first place. No one really asked me if I wanted to transfer to a boarding school in Japan, or if I wanted to leave the country in the first place. I hate that everyone is under this shitty impression that I cannot make decisions for myself. For God sakes, I'm 16 years old- almost 17. I have a good idea of what I do and do not want and this is not what I wanted. I sighed before reaching in my bag to get my iPod. I put the earphones in their designated ears and began listening to music hoping it would calm my nerves.
Astraea Hill is my destination. According to Emily and my mother's thorough research and the pamphlets I've read there should be three schools that share the campus. St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulim, or Le Rim as my mother would say. Supposedly, this hill that the school are located on is sacred. Men aren't allowed on the campus whatsoever, so I'll assume this means instantaneously combustion if they come too close. I'm okay with this, and I'm okay with the idea of the campus itself being huge since there's three schools. What I am not okay with is the strict uniform policy. They will have to kill me to make me wear it. I don't even know what they look like, but I don't like being told what I can and cannot wear. I hate structure and rules. So why am I transferring into a private boarding school, you may ask? Well-
"Excuse me, would you like anything?"
What? I looked towards the direction the voice came from. Oh, it's the flight attendant. I'm not really hungry at this moment, but everyone at home has been telling me to eat, so I guess I'll get something. "Do you have any vegetarian options, like maybe a veggie sandwich?" I asked. I don't really like meat in the first place and I have a craving for cucumbers. She nodded her head and gave me a sandwich that was close to what I asked for. I thanked her before she vanished along with her cart of refreshments. The plane pilot told us to prepare for landing over the intercom. I shut my laptop and stowed it away. Ya know, maybe I'm just being pessimistic? This experience may not be as shitty as I assume. No mothers to answer to, sisters to babysit, friends to hang out with, or crazy love interests. This could actually be exactly what I need.
I wonder who my roommate will be, let alone what school I'll be attending. These thoughts raced through my mind as I sat in a cab. We had began going up the hill when I glanced down at the folder in my hands. It held my itinerary, passport, and other neat and useful things. Eventually we slowed to a halt in front of a huge pink building. This is my stop at least it looks inviting. I payed the driver and quickly took out all my luggage. The cab drove off leaving a trail of smoke behind it. After the smoke cleared I saw a girl with long black hair, and over sized red ribbons in it. She was wearing a uniform consisting of mostly shades of pink. Her skirt was checkerboard and she wore a yellow cardigan.
"Hello," she began in flawless English. So flawless, in fact, I forgot it was her second language. "You must be Yakonawa, Sonata?" she asked as she referred to the index card in her hands which was also pink. I nodded my head slowly. "I'm Minamoto, Chikaru. You can just call me Chikaru to make things easier for you. I'm the President of St. Le Rim," she continued. She knows more about me as a student than I do. She then took me on a tour of the campus, before showing me the dining hall and the dormitories. "This is the Strawberry dorms," she commented.
"Is there any specific reason they're called that?" I asked. She looked at me quizzically and frowned. I think I broke her. After about a minute she gathered her thoughts.
"You're an interesting one, Sonata," she said as she assessed me. "No one has ever asked me this question and I've always thought the same thing."
"So, you don't know?"
"I've never asked. I never thought it was appropriate. I thought people would shun me if I ever asked, so I never did," she answered.
"Shunning, you say? Yikes," I grinned. "One thing I should probably let you know is that I say and do the most inappropriate things at the more inappropriate times."
"I like you. You're interesting," she commented. "Oh!" she said in a tone of utter realization. "I almost forgot to mention Etoile-sama."
Did she just say enchilada? "What?"
"Etoile-sama is the mediator for all three schools. She's very important and loved by all," she said as if she read it word for word.
"You don't really feel that way do you?"
She smirked before saying, "I don't think that's appropriate for me to answer." After that, she took me to my dorm room. It was a small room with two beds, a desk, and a chair. It might have been one of the plainest rooms I've ever seen. Chikaru informed me that I wouldn't have a roommate because I'm the only person that transferred in at the moment. I'm totally okay with that. If it's meant to be it'll be. Before leaving she let me know that dinner started at 6:20 on the dot, but I should make an effort to be there before 6:00 and that my luggage should be coming up soon.
Instead of unpacking my things, which would have been the more ethical decision, I decided I wanted to go outside. I checked my phone to see how much time I had. It's 4:30 as of now, meaning that gives me almost 2 hours to explore the campus. After exiting the building I was greeted by trees and lots of them. Let's be real, it was more of a woods than a few trees. I'm not going to bother questioning why there's a woods on campus, since there's other things that are far more bizzare- like a dormitory named after a berry or a person who is appointed solely to mediate between three schools and is loved by everyone. Before I realized it, it was 6:45 and I was extremely late to dinner- which is definitely a good first start to a new school, right?
I made it to the dining hall by 7:00 and hoped that I could use the I got lost excuse. As soon as I opened the door all eyes were on me. Holy fuck, I'm in trouble. I can tell by everyone expressions. I gazed around the room and made eye contact with Chikaru, who gave me a sympathetic look. An older woman with graying hair pulled in a bun and a long black dress started towards me. She was holding a long stick. I realized I should have checked if this school believed in corporal punishment and if it does I'm catching the next flight back to California.
"Who are you?" she asked as she finally made it to me. There was fire in her eyes as if she wanted to hit me. I don't do well with angry woman and I already know I'm going to get in even more trouble because I love pushing peoples buttons, especially when they're already upset.
"Sonata", I said as I extended my hand.
"We state our full names and grades here, 'Sonata'," she said as she ignored my gesture.
"Oops. My bad."
Her eyebrow twitched. "State your full name, grade, and school," she repeated.
"My name is Sonata Yakonawa. I am in the 5th grade, I think? I'm not really sure because the system here is really stupid. I'm in the school with the checkerboard."
She rolled her eyes before turning her attention from me,"Didn't I assign her to you, Ms. Class President Minamoto?"
"Yes", she answered she said as she stood up.
"Then why is she just arriving?"
"I'm not sure, Sister. I showed her around the campus and took her to her dorm. She should have know where the dining hall is. I was careful to let her know it was on the first floor."
"Next time, you should accompany said student to the dining hall."
"Yes, sister," Chikaru said.
"That is all, President."
"Thank you, sister," she said before sitting down.
"What is your excuse for arriving 40 minutes late?"
"I don't like your tone," I blurted out. Woopsies.
"Excuse me, Miss Yakonawa, what did you just say?"
"I actually prefer Sonata," I corrected her. "And I didn't say anything."
"You're lying to me?" she asked skeptically.
"...No" I answered in an unsure tone, almost as if it was a question. I know it's what she would want to hear, I mean if I say 'yes' I look like an asshole.
"You think you're funny?"
"What?" What have I done?
"Etoile", she called.
"Who the hell is the etoilet?" I asked. Chikaru looked like she'd go into cardiac arrest. "I mean, everyone seems to talk about this bitch and she wasn't in my pamphlet. I mean I'm all for surprised- I love them in, fact, but I'd rather not be surprised about things that are sort of important, such as this."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" she yelled.
"No offense, but I don't like you yelling at me", I countered.
"That kind of language will not be tolerated here"
"What the fuck are you talking about? Everyone here speaks like better English than I do?!"
"Etoile, take her to her dorm", she tried to calm down. A girl rose from a table to the far upper left. Her skin was flawless and porcelain like she was some kind of doll and had eyes the color of emeralds. Her hair was silver and pulled in a ponytail that reached the small of her back. She wore a long black dress. As she began to walk towards me, I took notice of her black stockings and black pumps.
"So, you're the Etoilet or whatever?"
"Etoile", the girl with the silver hair corrected me, "Come with me."
"Is that an order?" I asked offended that she thinks she can tell me what to do.
"Does it need to be?" she asked.
"Well actually," I began. Before I continue, she took my arm and led me out of the room.
"Whoa, get you hands off of me!" I said as I yanked my arm from her. Her arm dropped to her side as if she had no control of her movements. She ushered me to walk with her. Not wanting to get on her bad side I did as I was told. "Does this mean I don't get to eat?" I asked
"Are you hungry? She turned to me.
"Slightly," I answered. She looked at me as if she was going to ask me what I meant but never did. "What's your name? Or is your name literally Etoile?"
"What's yours? I didn't quite catch it."
"How?! That banshee woman was practically yelling it!" I asked in shock. She began giggling which caused me to do the same. After we were able to recompose ourselves I continued. "My name is Sonata..Yakonawa, actually you guys go by last name first, so Yakonawa, Sonata."
"I can understand either way. Would you like me to refer to you as Yakonawa-san?"
"God, no. That's okay. You can call me Sonata, without any type of suffix. It'll either make me feel really uncomfortable or it'll go to my head- both of which aren't ideal situations."
"Alright, Sonata," she agreed as she began walking again.
"Hey! That's not fair! You didn't tell me your name!" I practically hopped to catch up to her.
"Shizuma Hanazono. You're supposed to call me by name appointed title, 'Etoile'; however, it sounds weird when you say it..as in you can't pronounce it. You should just call me Shizuma," she introduced herself.
"DO I REALLY SOUND THAT WEIRD WHEN I SAY IT!?"
"Yes. You don't speak French do you?"
Am I supposed to? "I don't even really speak Japanese that well, what makes you think I would know French?" I huffed. She blinked a couple of times before informing me that most of the curriculum will be taught in Japanese and that I should probably start learning. This didn't sit well with me. I'm sure I could pick it up easily, like I was fluent in Japanese for a long time, but in the past few years I didn't have a reason to speak it. In easier terms, I got really rusty. I can understand a somethings here and there and I can figure out how to respond, but that's about it.
"I could show you bring you some books on Japanese if you'd like?" Shizuma suggested. That sounds fucking awful.
"I'm going to have to deny that offer, as appealing as it sounds. I feel like I wouldn't do anything with them anyway."
"Is that so?" she murmured. She's probably put off that I wouldn't accept her help, even though it would be the smart choice. "Do you like tea?"
"I like tea. Where would we be getting tea from? I mean, the dining hall is literally in the opposite direction," I observed.
"I know where the dining hall is, Sonata. We aren't going there."
"Shizuma, what grade are you in?"
"What brought this about?"
"I'm just curious. I mean you know my grade and stuff...I was just thinking it was only fair if I knew the same- unless that makes you feel uncomfortable, in which case never mind."
"No, it does not make me uncomfortable. I am in the 6th grade. That roughly would be 12th grade in America, if I;m not mistaken," she answered.
"Yes ma'am. You're good at this, did you do research?"
"No, I didn't. It's not that complicated of a system. All you do is continue from 6 onward."
She must think she knows everything. I nodded my head to show I was following what she told me but didn't bother saying anything. We walked in silence for most of the way. I was very concerned when she led me out of the Strawberry dormitories and into one of the many thick woods. I almost asked where we were going, but then I realized that I already asked that before and I didn't want to annoy her. Then again, I also didn't want to be left out in the freezing night to die. It began raining while we were still outside. Shizuma grabbed my hand and ran me through the woods as fast as she could- which was absurdly fast. I couldn't believe that I couldn't match her pace and no matter how much I tried, I kept losing my footing and falling forward. It was almost as if she was dragging me through the mud. Eventually we made it to a greenhouse- which could never find all by myself. She opened the door and allowed me to walk in first. I almost wanted to protest, but Shizuma has been extremely tolerant of me and I wouldn't want to ruin that. She led me over to a table that was placed so you'd be surrounded by flowers.
"Do you like tea?" she asked after I took a seat.
"I do like tea. Why? Is that what we're having?" I asked while thinking about how awful it would have been for both of us if I didn't like tea.
"That's all I offer you at this moment. I have cookies as well, if you'd like some of those," she offered.
"What ever you feel is necessary, I'm fine with anything." She disappeared further into the green house. To keep myself at ease, I began twiddling my thumbs. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time. It was almost 8:00. When I looked up I saw Shizuma approaching holding a tray with a tea pot and two cups. "So what's up with this curfew thing?" I asked as she set down the tray.
"There's a set curfew at 6:00. They close the gate at that time," she clarified as she sat across from me.
"So, how are we going to get back in?" I asked as I watched her pour tea into the two cups.
"Don't worry about that. I won't have you climbing any gates or anything of that nature," she dismissed my question without answering it. I almost wanted to say something, but that would make me seem extremely annoying. "So, you realize your going to be punished for what happened in the dining hall this evening," she began.
"Really? I was hoping, maybe you guys would just let it slide since I'm new here," I negotiated. I really don't want to have to be in trouble already. Emily will kill me. I began sipping my tea while Shizuma sat in front of me emotionless. I almost wanted to ask her what kind of tea she brewed, but then I'd be interrupting what ever she's about to say.
"I'm afraid that's not how it works. In fact, you're lucky you didn't leave the strawberry dorms; the gates would have closed on you at 6:00."
"So if I'm in trouble why did you bring me here? Shouldn't you have taken me to my dorm like the sister said?"
"Yes, I suppose I should have, but I thought since you were hungry that I would at least try to feed you. After all, one of the Etoile's duties is to help those in need."
"What's my punishment?" I asked as Shizuma finally sipped her tea.
"I'm not sure. You'll first need to apologize to the Sister for being disrespectful, then I'm sure they'll go over that," she elaborated. I sighed very loudly after hearing this which caused her to smile. "So, Sonata, what led to you to transfer to Astraea Hill?"
"I don't know," I admitted.
"Y-you don't know?" she repeated.
"Well, everyone was fussing about sending me somewhere and they stumbled across this school online and thought 'we can send her here'. Then after a while I decided I'd just go here."
"Why did you need to be send somewhere?" she asked.
"That's kind of personal," I blurted out without thinking. Shit. I didn't mean to say that. Now she probably thinks I'm some sensitive butterfly.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she smiled. Gosh, she has a beautiful smile.
"No, I'm sorry. Sometimes I say things without thinking. I was transferred out here because I was told I needed to focus on my studies and everything at home just became a little too chaotic."
"Chaotic?" she questioned.
"Well, maybe not chaotic, but a lot of stuff was going on and so my mom and a family friend got together and search for somewhere to put me while everything evens out. I guess that's what I meant by chaotic. I can see why it sounded like a good idea, there aren't many distractions out here," I babbled. Not many distractions except for the obvious distraction. Why did they think it would be a good idea to send me to an all girls school when I'm pretty darn gay? I mean, is there something I'm missing.
"There's also a lot of structure and rules to be followed here," she added.
"Such as?"
"We have strict dorm room policies along with even more strict schedules. For example, from here on out, you must be in the dining hall at 7:00 am every morning for prayer and breakfast," she clarified. I audibly choked on my tea.
"Excuse me, but did you just say prayer?" I asked. I knew Emily wouldn't have just sent me here all willy nillly.
"Yes. We pray in the morning, we say grace at each meal, and sometimes we pray just to pray."
"What's the religion here again?"
"Catholicism," she answered. Gotcha, Emily.
"Well, I suppose I will be praying and saying grace, now won't I?"
"Are you not religious?"
"Not particularly," I answered. "I've dabbled in a few, but never truly felt it spiritual awakened me or anything- but don't worry, I'm not gonna like shit all over your beliefs and what not."
"Why did you come to a religious school if you aren't religious?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I don't think when I make decisions," I shrugged. She nodded her head slowly and sipped the rest of her tea. Afterwards I attempted to help her clean up and engaged in small talk about nothing rather special. She walked me back to my dorm and told me she would be willing to take me to my classes tomorrow morning. For some reason, I agreed to it even though the last thing I want to do is go to any classes. Once I was finally alone, I called everyone at home to let them know I was okay, everything was fine, and everything went fine. After attempting to unpack my belongings I realized I was actually very sleepy. I had only put on pajama pants when I came to the conclusion that I didn't really need to wear clothes in the first place since it's my dorm. With that I climbed into bed and fell asleep.
Author's Note:
I need to stop rewriting these chapters because all I do is make it more complicated to navigate this story. Nevertheless, here's some rewrite I decided to do instead of homework because my priorities are so in tact- plus I didn't think it made sense to have 3 spread out chapters that are practically chapter 1. With this said, it read over 1 -3 and attempted to come up with something that incorporated almost all the things covered. So, without further adieu, Happy Reading :)