I was sitting on a park bench on a windy day. I looked up at the gray sky and my mind started to wonder. You see, the new school year was starting tomorrow, and I was very nervous; it was going to my first year of high school. But let me clarify, I am not by any means shy or anything. No, quite the opposite in fact, I always got into trouble at school for never shutting up. I would mess around with my friends and have a good time. So starting my freshman year with my friends wouldn't have been so bad. But that's the thing, I wasn't going to be with my friends. The reason being, I was in Japan. My name is Kashou Watanabe and I went to school and grew up in the United States and not until a couple of weeks ago came to Japan to finish my education. It was my uncle and aunt's decision to send me here, and I wasn't sad or anything, in fact I was happy when they told me I was going to be going to Japan to finish high school. Let me explain why. Well you see, I fucking love anime and manga, I really do. And I've always had a fascination for Japanese culture as a kid even before I started to watch anime or read manga. I also love listening to J-pop and vocaloids. And I even taught myself how to speak, read, and write Japanese. It's also worth mentioning that I can play the guitar pretty well. I've always wanted to visit Japan and maybe even live there, but one thing I really wanted to do was go to school there. It kinda made me sad to think that I was never going to get to really experience the Japanese high school life, that is until a couple of weeks ago when my uncle and aunt told me that they wanted to send me to Japan to stay with a friend and finish high school. They thought it was the best thing for me, so it would get my mind off of the things that had happened. I was excited when they told me, however it was going to be difficult to make new friends when I would most likely be the only foreigner at the school I'd be going to. Now let me also point out that I was living with my aunt and uncle and not my parents. Well that can be explained, however I don't really feel like explaining right now, for you see my past is somewhat complicated, and there was a certain incident that occurred that led to me staying with my relatives instead of my parents. We'll get to that sooner or later, but not now.
I sighed deeply and looked forward and observed the people and cars going by. I looked over across the street to a nearby convenience store and noticed a group of girls exiting the store. By the looks of it they were all laughing at something hysterical. I noticed that one of the girls had pink hair with pigtails and another had red hair with buns on the top left and right sides of her head.
Where does all that hair come from? I thought. I also noticed another girl who was fairly short and had bluish black hair in twin tails. Damn she's actually kind of cute. Well not like it matters what I think, it's not like I'll meet her or anything. I'm just some foreigner sitting on a bench checking out Japanese girls. I stood up and walked away in the direction of the house I was staying in. I made it there and opened the door. "I'm home." I said as I walked in and took my shoes off. I heard the t.v. in the living room and a voice that sounded very stern and strict despite me knowing that that wasn't how he was. "Ah, Kashou-kun, you made it back just in time for dinner. So how was the walk you took?" He leaned on the doorway that led to the living room by the front door. He was a man named Kuro Nakazawa. He was quite tall and had brown spiked hair. I never asked his age but he looked to be in his late 30's at the very least. This was the man that would be in charge of me while I stayed in Japan. He also had a daughter who was about to start her second year of middle school. Her name was Katsumi Nakazawa.
"Well it was nice to get some fresh air and think about things. But I'm still kind of nervous" I responded as I walked past him and towards the kitchen.
"Still nervous about starting school tomorrow?" he asked as he followed behind me.
"Yeah, it's kind of scary to think about. Especially since I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the only foreigner there." I responded as entered the kitchen and saw a girl about 4 foot 8 inches with an apron on and cooking dinner. She had long white hair in twin tails and turned around to face me.
"Ahh Nii-san you're home! Dinner is almost ready, now sit and wait." This was Katsumi.
It kind of sent some shivers down my spine being called that. I wasn't her older brother but she decided to call me that. But that was the way Japan worked I guess, so I didn't say anything. Kuro followed behind and took a seat at the table. I sat as well and we started to talk.
"Well, your Japanese seems very good so at least you won't miscommunicate with someone."
"Yeah, you're right, I'm hopeful I'll make new friends. I also have plans to join some sort of music club." I responded while looking at the time, it was getting somewhat late so I wanted to eat and go to bed.
"Oh that's right you can play guitar, can't you?"
"Yes I can, so with that I can talk to other people who enjoy music as much as I do and join a club and make friends that way."
"Well I'm sure they've got several music clubs" He said sounding supportive.
"Yeah they probably do."
The three of us ate dinner and conversed about random things, and how my life was back in the states. Soon after dinner I excused myself and said goodnight and left upstairs to my room. I got in bed immediately as I wanted to sleep as much as possible so I could wake up on time. I lay for a bit in the dark staring up at the ceiling. I hope tomorrow goes well. I hope I'm not considered an outcast just because I'm a foreigner. And I hope I can find a music club to join. Then all of a sudden my head became filled with thoughts of my dark past. Why now? None of that matters anymore. I came here to forget all of that. I told myself. I shook my head to clear those thoughts away then closed my eyes as sleep overcame me.
RRRIIIIINNNNGGG!
My alarm sounded off, way louder than I thought possible. I rolled over and turned it off and sat up and grabbed my glasses next to my alarm. Morning huh? Damn, I'm getting really nervous the more I think about it. Well, lets just get this over with then. First day can't be that bad, can it?
I walked out of my room and into the bathroom to take a shower. I got out and changed into my school's uniform and looked at myself in the mirror. I straightened my glasses and there in the reflection stood me, a 15 year old teenager who was 5 foot 8 inches and was Mexican American. My mother was born in Mexico and my father in the United States. However just by looking at me you couldn't tell that I was Mexican, I looked more white than anything, and I'm not too pale either. I'm a nice tanned shade, but not enough for someone to look at me and think Mexican. I have very short hair, as I don't really like to have long hair because it's annoying to manage. I also have golden brown eyes and wear glasses. I'm actually quite blind without them and need to wear them all day everyday, I can't function without them.
I straightened up my uniform and headed downstairs, where I saw Kuro and Katsumi eating breakfast.
"Nii-san I was wondering when you'd show up! Are you going to be having breakfast?' Asked Katsumi.
"No, I'm alright. Not hungry." I responded.
"Well here is your bento then." She said as she handed me a bento wrapped in a cloth.
"Oh, thanks, I actually forgot about lunch. Well anyway I'm off! Good luck at your school Katsumi, and good luck at work Kuro. Bye." I said as I headed toward the door. They both wished me good luck as I headed out. The school wasn't far so I decided to walk there.
I walked along with my bag and I noticed the swarm of students scattered along who were also on their way to school. Most of which were wearing the same type of uniform I was. As I approached the school I noticed that people were staring at me. Of course, it was only a matter of time. I am a foreigner after all. Damn. This is getting kind of annoying. I walked into the schools inner courtyard and walked over to a wall that was surrounded by other students. This was where the class lists were. I walked over and noticed my name. Kashou Watanabe: class 1-3.
Well, from the looks of it I was right about there not being any other foreigners here. My name is the only one that looks out of place. I sighed and turned toward the building's main entrance and walked toward it. Well lets go to my homeroom I guess. As I walked I passed the rest of the people who were looking at their own class arrangements and at me. I walked past two girls. One was a black haired girl who was quite attractive and she was looking at me with very curious filled eyes. While the other girl who was next to her was looking at the class arrangements and was jumping and tugging on the black haired girls sleeve. "Mio look! We're in the same class!" The light brown haired girl said. The other girl, Mio it seemed her name was, turned and started to talk with the light brown haired girl. What the hell was that about? Why did she stare at me? Does she like me or something? Ha, of course not, it's cause I'm a foreigner that's why. I walked my way toward my classroom and on the way I of course drew the attention of everyone. But I made it to my class and sat down at my seat. I knew which seat it was because there was a seating chart on the board in front of the classroom. I was seated in the very back left of the classroom. To my left was the window and to my right sat some girl named Toshino Kyoko. I hope she's not weird or anything. I sat down and waited, for that's all I could do, I had nobody to talk to. I just wanted the school day to be over so I could go and check out some music clubs to join. I sat and thought and eventually the bell rang, class was starting. All the students from my class poured in and all took their seats. Then a blonde haired girl sat to my right. I guess this is Toshino Kyoko. She started to stare at me intently before she said, "Wow! You look different! You're not from around here are you?" Another girl with raven hair came behind the blonde girl and struck her on the head. "Kyoko, don't you have any manners?" She then looked at me, "Sorry about my friend here, she's not always like this." She said as the blonde girl grabbed her own head in pain.
"It's alright, don't worry about it. It's to be expected after all. I mean I am a foreigner." I responded a little disheartened. She then smiled weakly back at me. The reason it was a weak smile was most likely because she heard my voice sound a little disheartened. She walked back to her seat and sat in front of the blonde girl. I looked up at the board, Funami Yui, I sighed and observed the classroom and noticed that in front of me sat a girl with purple hair in a long ponytail. I then looked up at the board and looked at her name. Sugiura Ayano. The teacher then began to speak about classroom expectations and rules, although I wasn't really paying attention as I was just staring outside. Then my day dream was broken when the girl in front of me turned back slightly and noticed that I was spacing out and said, "You shouldn't space out during class you know."
"Huh? Oh yea sorry you're right." I responded and she turned back around.
Why is she so concerned about me focusing?
I then started to doodle a little bit in my notebook, then a piece of paper came from my right. It landed on my notebook interrupting my drawing. I looked over to my right and I saw the blond haired girl smile as she noticed I got her note. I looked back at my desk and opened the note. It read: "Don't worry about Ayano over there. She has been in the student council for as long as I can remember, she's probably going to be in it this year too." Oh that's why she was concerned, it's just her student council instincts kicking in, I guess blondie must have overheard. The note continued: "Oh and sorry if I offended or made you mad when I said you looked different, it's just we don't get very many foreigners around here." The note ended with a small drawing of the face of a cat. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. I ripped a piece of paper from my notebook and wrote back: "It's alright don't worry about it. I knew coming here that I would get stared at a bit. But I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone." I ended the note with a drawing of a robot. I waited for the teacher to turn her back to the class before I threw the note at Kyoko. It landed on her desk and she jumped a bit in surprise and I couldn't help but chuckle once again. She smiled back and I saw her open the note. She looked at me and gave me a thumbs up. I smiled back and then stared outside again. The class dragged on for a while, and I was back and forth when it came to paying attention, I would at some periods of time then others not. I kept observing the classroom and noticed that in front of Ayano there was a girl who had white hair that was shoulder length. I looked at the board once again to try and figure out her name but the board had been erased. Damn. Wait when was it erased? Shows how little I'm paying attention. I ripped another piece of paper and wrote: "Hey do you know what the girl in front of Ayano name is?" I threw it at Kyoko and once again she was surprised but she wasn't paying attention to the teacher either, I could tell because she was drawing something. Some sort of manga or something. I wonder what that is? She opened the note and read it, then wrote something on it and sent it back. I opened it and it said: "Who, Chitose? Do you have a crush on her or something?" I read it and kind of blushed. Why would she think that? I wrote back: "No! I don't like her, just wanted to know, the board was erased and I didn't know her name, just wanted to know, and because she stood out since she is the only one in the classroom who has white hair." I threw it back. She then mouthed the words, "Okay" and gave me another thumbs up. I smiled back, and continued to not pay attention. Then after what seemed like days it was lunch break. Great, lunch break. Everyone look at the foreigner eat alone. The class then dispersed into their own little groups and put the desks together so they could eat with their friends. I took out my bento and opened it. Nothing too special, just your average Japanese bento. Then as I was reaching for my chopsticks in my bag someone placed their bento on my desk. I looked up and saw Kyoko smiling with the raven haired girl behind her.
"Mind if we eat with you?" Asked the raven haired girl who now placed her bento on my desk as well.
"Yea sure I don't mind." I responded. Well at the very least I won't be eating alone.
"Lets put two desks together so we can all fit." I added.
We put the desks together and I sat on one end and the raven haired girl on the other and Kyoko to my left. We all opened our bentos and started to eat.
"So what's your name?" Asked the raven haired girl.
"Kashou Watanabe. How about you?"
"I'm Yui Funami, but you can just call me Yui."
Kyoko then said, "You can call me Kyoko!"
"Alright then, well thanks for not letting me eat alone, Yui and Kyoko."
"Don't mention it, we're all classmates right?" Said Kyoko.
"So where are you from?" asked Yui.
"I'm from Chicago Illinois in the United States." I responded.
"Why did you come all the way out to Japan? Was it a shitty place or something?" asked Kyoko.
Yui glared at Kyoko, " Kyoko don't be so rude!"
"What!? I was just wondering." She said as she scratched the back of her head.
" You should be apologizing for saying he looked different earlier." added Yui.
"No, it's alright I already apologized for it. We were passing notes during class." Kyoko said calmly. Then from behind us we heard a voice, "Toshino Kyoko! Did I just hear you say that you were passing notes?!" It was a voice that sounded familiar, I turned to see and it was Ayano. She walked over to where we were sitting and stood next to our tables. "Why were you passing notes during class Toshino Kyoko?" asked Ayano demanding an answer.
"Why do you call her Toshino Kyoko and not just Kyoko?" I asked her.
"I don't quite know myself. Why do you?" asked Kyoko as Yui just observed the scene.
Then from behind Ayano came Chitose who stood next to Ayano.
"It's because you like Kyoko-chan right?" said Chitose while giggling.
Ayano blushed instantly to a deep shade of red. "Wh-wh-wh-what are you saying Chitose?"
I couldn't help but laugh seeing all of this, which obviously meant that Ayano had a thing for Kyoko. I started to laugh and Kyoko then started to laugh as well then Chitose's giggle turned into a laugh, then so did Yui and then Ayano, we were all laughing. Then after a bit we stopped.
After that Ayano and Chitose got their bentos and the five of us sat together and ate.
"So what's your name?" asked Ayano.
"I'm Kashou Watanabe. But just call me Kashou. I'm from the United States. But I came here to Japan to finish high school." I responded.
"Oh, the United States! What's it like?" asked Chitose, eyes sparkling waiting for an awesome answer.
"Well it's different that's for sure, but I've always liked Japan so I prefer it here." I responded.
"Why did you chose Japan?" asked Yui.
"Well like I said I've always been interested in Japan so why not? Plus it's a bit of a break to keep my mind off of things that are going on back home."
"Why? What's happening back home?" asked a very curious and eager Kyoko.
"Don't ask such a personal question Toshino Kyoko!" scolded Ayano.
"Yea, if he wants to tell us he will." added Yui.
They then all looked at me in unison as if expecting something. I grinned and said, "Well don't worry I'll tell you all sooner or later, just not right now."
"See I told you to drop it Toshino Kyoko!" scolded Ayano once again.
"What? You looked just as curious as I did!" replied Kyoko. It was then that Chitose took off her glasses and closed her eyes as Kyoko and Ayano were arguing. What is she doing? Then Chitose's face lit up and she started to have a nose bleed. Me and Yui quickly reacted to give her a tissue, she grabbed the tissue from both of us and said thanks.
"Oh where are my manners! Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Ikeda Chitose. Sorry I forgot to give you my name. But you can call me Chitose."
"Oh and I'm Sugiura Ayano. But just call me Ayano."
"Alright I will, but I already knew your names from the notes me and Kyoko were passing." I said as I scratched the back of my head.
"Say, why did you bleed just then Chitose?" I asked.
"Oh well you see when I want to fantasize I take my glasses off so I can obscure my vision and fantasize properly, so I get nosebleeds."
"Oh I see, so wait let me guess, you fantasize about Kyoko and Ayano?" I asked.
"Kashou-san! What are you trying to say?!" Asked Ayano blushing.
"Well sorry it's just she started to bleed when you guys were arguing."
"Say Kashou-san, you're pretty cool, you should join our club." said Kyoko changing the subject.
"Club? You guys have a club?" I asked.
"Well me and Kyoko are in our own club and Ayano and Chitose are in the student council." answered Yui.
"So what do you do in this club?" I asked.
"It's called the amusement club! And it's a club where we just lounge around and be lazy, so we can do whatever we want. Right now it's only me and Yui but when we were in middle school we had two other members." answered Kyoko.
"Yeah their names were Akari and Chinats-" began Yui.
"No! Don't say her name! I'll cry because Mirakurun isn't here!" Yelled Kyoko.
"She'll be here next year…" said Yui.
"So what do you say Kashou? You want to join our fine establishment?" asked Kyoko.
"Well actually I kinda wanted to join a music club." I said a bit sad because I did want to be in her club, but I also wanted to play music.
"Come on! Yui will pay you 50,000 Yen if you join!" said Kyoko.
"Hey now, I don't have that kind of money." said Yui annoyed. "While its a shame you can't join, you should do whatever you want, so if you want to play music, go for it." continued Yui.
"Thanks for being so understanding Yui. You see I would join you guys but I really have a passion for music, I can play the guitar and I would like to further develop that skill." I responded.
"So you wouldn't consider joining the student council either then?" asked Chitose.
"No, sorry, I really want to play music."
Chitose smiled and so did Ayano. "Well that's fine then, we can all still hang out during lunch." added Ayano.
"Yeah, we are all in the same class after all. Say, did you guys know each other prior to coming to this school? It seems you like you guys know each other."
"Yes, we all went to the same middle school together. However me and Kyoko were in the amusement club with two other members. And Ayano and Chitose were in the student council." responded Yui.
"You see, we also had two other members in our student council, they should be here next year along with the other two amusement members." added Chitose.
"I see. Well you guys are pretty cool, I thought I'd be hard to make new friends but I see now that I was wrong." I said.
"So then it's settled, you are officially our friend now Kashou-san." said Kyoko.
"You make it sound as if though he was our enemy before." added Yui.
I laughed along with Kyoko. "Man you guys are interesting you know that? I thought the people here were going to be boring but I was wrong. You guys are pretty cool." I said after recovering from the laughter. They all looked at me and smiled. I guess I made some friends. Well maybe this school won't be so bad after all.