Final Day
"Guess what I just realized!"
"What's that, huh?"
"When all of us graduate tomorrow morning, Izaya's going to be the last one from our group to receive is diploma scroll! Isn't that funny?"
"Yeah."
Hilarious.
"Hey! After we graduate, let's all jump a train and go somewhere!"
"Are you an idiot? Where would we go? Our parents will kill us!"
"Dude, think about it. All throughout high school, we've barely done anything fun. Maybe this'll be our final, you know, it can be the last thing that we can all do as friends."
"Are you implying that we're not going to be friends once we graduate?"
"Well, we're not going to see each other every day like normal, that's for sure..."
"Guess you're right..."
"You in?"
"Yeah, I'm in. Shinra?"
"I'm the one who suggested the idea! Haha, hey, Izaya, you better graduate quickly or we'll leave without you!"
"Hey! It's not my fault my surname is so far down in the alphabet!"
"Excuses."
"You idiots better not leave without me."
"No promises!"
A morning air had a crisp, early spring chill to it. It smelled of grass blades and cherry blossom petals. Sticking his head out of the car window as the Orihara family ventured to Raijin Academy, capturing as much oxygen as his lungs could afford, Izaya sighed, releasing something that was once sweet and delightful as wretched and bitter carbon dioxide.
"Mama! I'm cold!" Mairu complained, her hands rubbing about her arms to keep herself warm.
"Izaya, for the third time, close that window back there!" his father had yelled, shooting a threatening glare at his son in the rear-view mirror.
Surrendering, Izaya complied and pressed the button mechanism, watching as that tinted window came up and swallowed his open sky, making it look dull, mundane, dead even.
Izaya jolted forward as his father pulled the family car into park. It was no wonder Kururi suffered from car sickness, the man was a terrible driver. Unlocking his door and jumping out of the car, Izaya was just about to flee from his family scene when his mother called to him.
"Izaya, dear, I don't want you running off as soon as you graduate, okay? Grandma wants us to take pictures for her to see. She's in the hospital and we don't want to disappoint her, yes. Do you understand?"
'After we graduate, let's all jump a train and go somewhere!'
"Yes, I understand, mother."
"Welcome, welcome! Students and parents, welcome to Raijin Academy's Senior Graduation!" the principal had greeted, speaking from a tall and wooden podium. "Our students have all worked very hard this year and our teachers and staff were grateful have and to help every single one of them. Before we begin our ceremony, I would ask that all of you clasp your hands together in prayer as we remember Ono Chiharu, a female student that this class has lost due to a terrible illness." All family's and students did as told, bowing their heads and thinking up silent prayers, wishing for this girl's safe passing and entrance into the gates of the afterlife.
Izaya kept his head erect. He had not known this girl well, nor did her passing phase him in the slightest. Humans were consistently reproducing and dying off. The strict balance of his love for all humanity had not been effected.
"...so disrespectful," he heard, cocking his head to the side at its source. There, right beside him, sat Mr. and Mrs. Ono. They had attended the graduation ceremony simply to hear the principal's memorial speech in her honor. Mrs. Ono had a handkerchief pressed to her nose, while Mr. Ono shot gleaming daggers in Izaya direction.
"Alright, you may all raise your heads," the principal announced, dabbing his left eye. The Onos had gotten up from their seats in a huff, a moment that was supposed to be memorable for the both of them ruined by a rebellious adolescent.
"Now, I bet you seniors are all pretty excited to graduate, huh?" The sea of teens clapped and hollered. "Glad to hear it! But you can't just yet. Let us first have a word from our head teacher, Mrs. Haruna." The student body moaned.
"Now, that's the introduction I like to hear from you little ruffians!" she chuckled into the microphone.
Her speech consisted of difficult situations that she had encountered throughout the course of her own teenage years. On and on and on she went, talking about how her teachers at the time were the only people she looked up to for advice. It was a sob story, really. It put Mairu and Kururi right to sleep.
"Without anymore delay, let's send some hooligans off into the working world!"
The ceremony went along smoothly. A flustered girl had tripped on her way up the stage, causing for a unanimous gasp from worried parents, laughs from fellow class mates, and perverted glances from elder staff members.
Shinra had been the first of their group to receive his diploma scroll, also receiving an award for highest overall class average, an award that everyone knew he had in the bag anyways. The self-proclaimed nerd happily shook his principal's hand, a goofy smile lingering on his face as he returned to his seat next to his father.
Kadota was next. He had tried to accept his scroll with his right hand, earning him a stern glare from the principal. The brunette had quickly swapped hands, taking the principal's firmly grasped handshake with a wince.
After a handful of other students, Shizuo's turned came. His family was silent and judging of him, almost as if expecting for something bad to happen or for him to do something wrong. He hadn't, though. He simply took his scroll, laid his hand limply into the principal's, and walked off stage. It could have been a fantasy, but Izaya could have sworn that the atmosphere had loosened just the slightest bit when Shizuo returned to his seat.
It had seemed like an eternity. Izaya waited in uncomfortable silence, shifting his legs every five minutes or slow due to poor circulation.
Almost a half hour later, Orihara Izaya's name was finally called.
"That's you, big brother!" Mairu squeaked.
"I know my name, Mairu," Izaya replied sordidly, standing from his seat and walking to the stage.
The walk felt strange. It wasn't like walking down the hall or walking down a sidewalk. In those situations, people could care less who you were, what you were wearing, or what you were doing. But as Izaya walked to that stage, he could feel the weight of hundreds of pairs of eyes just looking at him. The adolescent decided at that moment that he much rather enjoyed being the observer than being the observed.
Izaya received his diploma scroll, also receiving a medal for perfect attendance, an award that only two other students had been granted. "Congratulations," the principal congratulated, patting the raven on the shoulder.
"Thank you very much."
"Mother, no more pictures, please," Izaya complained, cheekbones hurting from false smiles that were displayed at various different locations around the school.
"Izaya, you're going to appreciate this when you're older. You'll be happy to have such wonderful memorabilia!"
"I thought these pictures were for grandma..."
"We'll make copies of them for her, of course, but these pictures are going to be true keepsakes! In the future, you'll look back and remember all of the fun things that you did while you were in high school!"
"Fun things..." Izaya repeated. 'Oh no.' "Mother, I have to go!"
"Go? Go where? Izaya?"
The adolescent had never ran faster in his life. Panting for air, air that was not crisp nor sweet, as he raced down the corridors and hallways, Izaya frantically looked about for a certain three individuals that were absolutely nowhere in sight. He did, however, spot semi-familiar face.
"Kasuka!" Izaya called, running over to the younger brother of Shizuo.
"Izaya? What do you want?"
"Kasuka...where's your brother?" the raven asked, out of breath.
"He left to go somewhere, but he said he couldn't tell me where."
'Izaya, you better graduate quickly or we'll leave without you!'
'Hey! It's not my fault my surname is so far away in the alphabet from yours!'
'Excuses.'
'You idiots better not leave without me.'
'No promises!'
No promises.
To this day, the now 23-year old informant of Shinjuku would still aimlessly flip through his high school photo album, tired and over-worked eyes scanning the plastic pages of its pictures, pictures of no one but himself.
'In the future, you'll look back and remember all of the fun things that you did while you were in high school!'
"Fun, huh?"
The informant closed his photo album. Picking up the ancient thing and shoving it into the far corners of his bookcase, Izaya sighed. "Yes, mother. Bundles and bundles of fun."
Hello there, everyone! Chappy here!
Thank you so, so, so, so very much for taking the time to read my story! I really hope that all of you have liked it! :D
This had been an idea that kind of just...hit me all of a sudden and I decided to go with it, so here it is! :D
I guess that's all I have to say now, so I'll leave you all be!
Bye bye!
- Chappy