My name is Megumi Akiyama. I am a first year high school student at Ouran Academy, a prestigious school which I am honoured to attend. I am small for my age, rather reedy and I have freckles on my nose which make me extremely self-conscious, as well as the fact that I wear glasses with thick frames which seem to swallow my entire face. My hair is a plain mousey brown and straight, with a fringe cut to slightly cover my eyes which were a simple shade of green, nothing extraordinary.
It is very nice to meet you.
By first appearances, I suppose one might presume that I was a simple minded girl who preferred the company of books and fictional characters to real people. If so, then those guesses would be correct. I do not like people, they make me nervous when they try to talk to me. So much so that I struggle to breathe and my tongue seizes up. It is a strange affliction and one I am not yet able to cure, but I have been trying my best.
Since I find it difficult to interact with people my own age, I do not really have any friends, but that's something I do not mind, I prefer my own company anyway. Everyone around me was perfectly kind and seemed very sympathetic to my shyness, so left me to myself though they would occasionally greet me in passing and I would rather awkwardly make a gesture or squeak of some kind before hastily moving on.
Keeping my head bowed I hurried into class where the room was thankfully empty, allowing me to walk over to my seat by the window where I could open it slightly then sit down to eat my packed lunch. It was not common for people with high social standing to bring lunch with them to such a wealthy and illustrious school but I simply could not handle all those other people in the canteen and worrying about having to find a seat when there might not be one. Here it was safer.
Pressing my hands together I silently thanked the universe for the meal before I tucked in, taking dainty bites as I opened up one of my revision books and began to study whilst I ate. What I lacked in social abilities I gained in intellect. I found it rather easy to remember things and my observational skills were rather sharpened through years of sitting outside of circles and simply watching. It is rather amazing how much you can learn about people, and humans in general, by simply observing whilst not participating.
Nevertheless, studying was something that calmed and relaxed me, so I studied often. In my class I was at the top because of my good grades and I was happy to continue my stance there as it pleased my parents. Particularly my father and he was someone I did not wish to displease. Since I am his only child, there is much that rests on my shoulders with the inheritance.
My father was a brilliant scientist, one of the greatest of this century and was always working to develop his next project, though he never disclosed the personal details to his family. Everything was kept very quiet and discreet for obvious reasons. In any case, because he was such an important figure, his work could not go to waste but he had no son to hand over the profits to. Just me. He had made it very well known that he would have preferred a son, so had elected to take my cousin Hideki, the son of my father's brother, under his wing to raise him as the sole heir.
That meant that father was very much occupied and spent very little time at home, however I did have my own suspicions upon what he was attempting to develop. Most likely it would be something to help make my mother better from her illness. It had been troubling her for quite some time and although they told me it wasn't anything terminal, my mother went through phases of gradually getting better to steadily getting worse. It was difficult to watch and even harder to know she was suffering.
No. I cannot think that way. I must stay positive. Father loves mother, I know he loves her very much so he will be doing all in his power to help make her better. I must simply put my faith in him. Taking a slightly larger mouthful of my lunch I turned the page to my book, absorbing the information into my mind, however as I became so engrossed in my learning I did not hear the door open until I sensed someone was there so I quickly looked up.
"Sorry, I didn't realise someone was still here." The boy apologised, giving a polite bow. "I was just looking somewhere quiet to study but the library is full and there is not many other places to go, plus it looks like it will rain." He noted with a gesture outside and I looked to see that storm clouds had indeed blanketed the sky. "Would you mind if I studied here for a little while? I'll be very quiet and not disturb you." He promised so I paused a little bit, already growing nervous at this person's presence but I felt rude to turn him away, so I nodded my head. "Thank you. My name is Haruhi. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss."
Knowing that it was only polite to give my name in return I opened my mouth however no words came out, it were as if they had been strangled from my throat like it was wrapped in a padlock and chain as it constricted and ran dry, causing me to give a tiny squeak before I forced a smile and nodded my head before hurriedly thrusting my face into my book to hide, not wanting the boy to see the heavy blush that now rested on my cheeks.
He was in the same year as I was, however we were in different classes. Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student. Everyone knew about Haruhi as he had recently joined the host club and had become a very popular figure with the other girls. With someone like him and his background, the others seemed to simply adore him because he was something they could dote on and he had very natural conversationalist skills. I had only seen him a rare handful of times, however I received the general impression from my observation that he was a kind person and very level headed. Also very bright, he was able to remain at the top of his own class through continuous study which he kept a strict adherence to.
Every so often I would glance up, however the longer we sat in silence the more comfortable I became. This wasn't so bad. Haruhi was so focused on his studies that he was not even interested in trying to engage in talk. Eventually I was so relaxed that I was able to continue with my own studying without a single flicker of attention his way until the bell rang to signal that classes were about to begin again. "I have to go now. Thank you for the company, I haven't been able to have so much peace and quiet in a long time." He gave me a rather adorable smile which made my heart flutter with warmth upon reaction as I smiled back instinctively, nodding my head affirmatively before turning back to my books.
Haruhi said a quick farewell as he gathered his things then left, so I looked back to watch him leave but just as he did so, I noticed something had fallen on the floor beside his seat. Rising up to my feet I approached then discovered that Haruhi had left his wallet behind so I quickly picked it up and opened the door, preparing to chase after him but by that time he was already gone and students were returning to class.
"Hello there Megumi-chan, is everything alright?" One of my classmates questioned and I gulped, trembling slightly as she and her several friends turned to me so I hurriedly nodded my head then scurried back to my seat, hiding Haruhi's wallet before I quietly slipped it into my bag. I know he will be at the host club so I will simply return it to him later. Surely I can manage that? It will be very simple, a test of my courage. I will go in, return his property and then leave as quickly as possible. I can do that much at the very least, right?
So with my daunting task looming ahead of me I sat in my class listening to the lessons and taking diligent notes, though my mind continued wondering to what lay ahead. Perhaps I can't do this, maybe I should simply pass a note and request someone else to do it for me, that might be a better option but then, who do I ask? This is wholly unnerving, I am not close enough with anyone to ask to be such a nuisance, it would be better if I simply did it myself.
I know! I will leave the wallet just outside the door so that someone else will find it and then return it to Haruhi. Yes, that sounds like a much better idea. That way, I won't have to communicate with anyone and ultimately end up humiliating myself. Feeling tenfold brighter than I had done a moment ago, my mind could finally focus and with that, I waited for the end of the school day so that I could run to the host club room, drop off the wallet and then run away once more.