SOMEWHERE IN A HOUSE NEAR THE IWATODAI DISTRICT
"RRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!"
"RRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!"
"Uhhh... Oh geez... Morning already. Too early... What the heck is the date today?"
The boy checks the date in his alarm clock. The date reads April 7, 2009
"April 7 huh... 6:15 A.M... Hmmmm... I wonder why I set the alarm this early... Oh yeah... Today is the start of the school year! Strange... Why did I suddenly forget about that? Ah, the heck with it, I'm already a junior... Might as well get ready for school... *yawn*"
TRAIN STATION AT IWATODAI-6:35 AM
Hey! My name is Shinji Yamato and I'm seventeen years old. I'll be narrating for this part of the chapter so I can describe some primary things in this novel. Here I am waiting for the train at this... rather crowded station. I'm just your average teenager with emo-like hair, navy blue eyes and an intelligence that gave me a first honor award in my freshmen and sophomore years... Okay, so I'm not that average, but I'm quite popular although I barely notice the attention. My best friend of mine told me that I'm a chick magnet... Oh please, I'm not even interested in women and I'm not that handsome... Speaking of which...
"AAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"
"Aw come on now, do you girls ever scream like that?" I irritably said
"OOOHHHH! He is sooooooooooo handsome!" squealed a girl in ponytails
"Not to mention very smart!" said a brunette
"OMG! He is sooooooo cooooool!" exclaimed another one with glasses
See what I mean...
"Crap... my new school year is greeted by my 'adoring fans'... ugh... I'm outta here." And I left them alone just like that
"OOOHHHH! Too much attitude! I think I'm gonna faint... Ahhhhh..." said a redhead
My best friend told me that I have some kind of quiet but badass, rebellious type of attitude and one reason why girls stalk me too often... Even on weekends and vacations! Geez... That creeps me out... Speaking of friends, here comes Sora with his wily smile...
"Hey, Shinji! How's it hangin'?"
"I'm fine, thanks..."
Sora Miyamoto is my best friend since we were freshmen. He studies at our school since elementary so he knows the school like the back of his hand. He is kinda irritating to be around; he flirts with girls, his grades are just mediocre even though I taught him a lot, he laughs like a hyena, he usually causes trouble... We're kinda like opposites, so we get along just fine.
"How's vacation" said Sora
"Same old, same old" I replied
"Cooped up in your room drawing pictures again?"
"Yup..."
"Dude, I know that you are practicing to be an artist, but you should try doing something else!"
"Like what? Hit on girls?" That was very common guess for me all the time...
"No, I mean..." Stunned silence... 3... 2... 1... "Wait... How did you know?"
"A hunch of mine..."
"Real funny... Seriously, you need to- WHOA!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"Look over there!"
"Hm...?"
Sora pointed at a girl just a few feet away. She has long, black, sparkling hair, eyes with a dash of hazelnut, skin which is rosy fair, a face which is... (I know... detailed huh? I have a habit of observing my surroundings that I have a keen sense of listening and seeing)... And she is wearing our school uniform (for girls...)?
"She is so damn pretty..." whispered Sora "I guess this is going to be a great year after all huh, Shinji? Shinji? Hey!"
"Wha- oh yeah... right..." Why I am feeling like this? Could it- nah... Impossible, must be my imagination... But I could have sworn that she looked at me while I was observing her...
"Hey Shinji... No time for spacing out cuz the train is alredy here... Oh... All the cars are empty... Must be filled with students before..."
GEKKOUKAN HIGH-Yup... this is our school, kinda big... like typical Japanese schools in the anime... But, anyways...
We were walking towards the entrance when Sora said...
"I wonder who will be our classmates this year. Not to mention, who will be our homeroom teacher?
"Beats me... We should check the bulletin boards..."
We entered the hallway and noticed that hordes of students are in front of the bulletin board, frantically searching for their names in their respective sections. Students that came out of the crowd are either throwing their fists in excitement or drowining in their own tears in disappointment...
"Whoa, never expected this... I'll check which sections are we placed, Shinji."
"Sure... go ahead... Come back in one piece..."
"Haha..."
And there goes Sora, who disappeared into the raging crowd... I wonder how he can escape that kind of crowd... I almost always fall victim into those crowds... But I can escape from them in just three to five seconds... Speaking of crowds, a voice from my right suddenly spoke...
"Whoa, never expected this..."
It was the girl from the train station that Sora pointed...
"I could get in and out of that crowd easily... I hope I never experienced that here"
"You were actually swarmed by people?" I was shocked by her remark to be honest... "Lemme guess... Boys?"
"Yup... They are such irritating perverts... Good thing I moved here so I won't see them again... Now that you mention it, how did you know about that?" She asked me that question with a stern curiosity...
"Just a hunch... And we're just the same... only the chased by screaming girls almost always... even on vacations..." I casually replied
"Hahaha... Tough luck for you." She seems having a good time speaking with me... Not bad for first impressions...
"Yeah right... But I do have one hiding place, and that's the rooftop..."
"The rooftop? But you could be easily found there!" She asked in a puzzled manner
"I know...But I lied to my uhhh... 'fans' that I was so afraid of heights that when I'm nearing the top of a building that I would shiver like skeleton... Hehe..." I smirked
"Hahaha... Clever... Sounds to me that you know you're way here in the school... Mind if you tell me where the Faculty Office is? As you can see, I'm new around here"
"Sure... uhhh... What year are you?"
"Third Year"
"Fellow junior, the way to the office is to walk along the left corridor and enter the first door on your left and look for Ms. Toriumi, our level head teacher."
"Why thank you fellow junior!" She paced a few steps to my left until she turned around and she let out her hand, "By the way, my name is Yukari Tachibana."
"Shinji Yamato," I shook her hand. It was a very strange feeling... Very, very strange... "I look forward to meet you again."
"Same here. Bye!" She smiled at me and walked away... Her smile was quite something... Until...
"Hey..."
"WWWWWAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Sora! Don't scare me like that... Geez..."
"I thought you're not interested in women... hehe... I smell something here..." He smirked
"Quit your clowning or I'll give you a bruise you won't forget!"
"Alright already!" His face got scared "Damn... I forgot that you blow your top so easily…. By the way, we're in Class 3-C."
"Cool, we're classmates..."
"Yep... You'll be both happy and pissed about the bunch..."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You'll see..."
We entered our room on the second floor and I'm so glad that we were greeted by our old buddies that Sora became ecstatic. Kairi Ukiya, the energetic and rational girl and Riku Hanabishi, Sora's childhood friend... All of us in the same class... It's gonna be a fun year now that the gang is all here...
"Alright! This year is going to be great!" exclaimed Kairi
"Yeah... And I think Sora is REAL happy about that..." teased Riku
"Quit smirking at me!" For some time, I could have sworn that Sora had a certain liking for Kairi
"Now you know how I feel..." I teased
"Real funny... aha... aha..."
"Ugh... And to think that this year will be blast for me..." said a very feminine... and very familiar voice...
"Oh no... Sora, don't tell me..."
"I told you that you will be pissed about that..."
The voice belonged to Ruriko Ikusawa, who just happens to sitting right in front of us. At that point, people started whispering...
"Shinji and Ruriko? Classmates again?"
"Boy, guess the feud is going to be bloody..."
"The two first honors? Here?"
Ruriko was the smartest in our batch till I transfered as a freshman. Since then, she thinks of me as her rival and people seem to like the idea... I find it irritating... Sora told me that she has an arrogant streak and she is the daughter of Takeharu Ikusawa, leader of the Ikusawa group that owns the school.
"Hmph... I guess it's not going to be so great..." Kairi was extremely pissed
"Let's go get some seats at the back..." said Riku
"Good call..." I said
As I passed through the seats, I heard two boys gossiping...
"Did you hear about the pretty new girl?"
"Yeah... I heard she was an honor..."
Hmmmm... They are talking about Yukari... or are they... since I saw four new faces awhile back
The class has three main rows of seats, each row composed of two sub-rows that has six seats making a total of thirty-six seats. I sat at the back of the center row and Sora sat and the row on my right. Riku and Kairi sat in the two seats in front. Looking at the clock, it's already seven. The bell rang and the teacher comes in.
"Good morning class! I'm Ms. Toriumi, your homeroom teacher and level head adviser of the third year teachers. I teach Composition here and I welcome you all back in Gekkoukan High!"
Never expected that... Maybe Sora didn't tell me about her since rumors say she is quite a snob... I approached her once and she is quite kind to me... I don't even mind...
"We are having a new student here... And out of four transferees, we were very lucky to welcome one of them. So let is all welcome our new classmate... You may come in now..."
The door slid open and in comes the new kid... No way... No way... And the guys around me are echoing my thoughts into words in forms of smiles...
"Shinji... That's..."
"I know, Sora..."
"Good morning! I'm Yukari Tachibana. It's a pleasure to meet all of you!"
"Alright Yukari, you can sit at the back over there... on the center row," pointed the teacher.
As she came closer to the empty seat on my left, she looked at me with a surprised expression and said:
"Never expected that we were classmates, Shinji."
"Same here, Yukari."
At that instant, the boys groaned...
"Aw man... Shinji got to her first..."
"This sucks... So damn sucks..."
"What the- Oh come on... Am I a celebrity here in this section?" I grew tired of the attention...
"Well..." said a nearby student "There are only two... Ruriko, the rich girl... and... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
All the girls are screaming... Just my luck...
"Aw crap..." And I covered my face with shame...
"Now, now students," The teacher interjected this time "The reason why I placed Yukari there is that when I noticed the seating positions you took, there is an equal number of boys and girls and you all sat in pairs, so I placed her there..."
"Is that the best reason why I'm sitting here with a boy right now?" said Ruriko
"Uh no... Anyway... I forgot my stuff in the faculty... Never make a mischief while I'm gone or I will be in trouble... And not just me..." And with that, the teacher left
Yukari sat next to me and said something that sent shivers down my spine...
"Well since you're my seatmate now, I guess you're going to give me a tour of the school at lunchtime, huh?"
"Uhhhh... yeah... right... hehe... (Boy... This is going to be a looooooonnnng year...)"