Chapter 2: A New Year
A new year is a refreshing thing. It can offer a feeling of a new beginning. Things left undone, things left unsaid, experiences that were not had; people greet the New Year with machinations of fulfilling the unfinished business of the year gone by in the year that is to come. Though time is relative, and these changes in the calendar hold only as much meaning as is placed on them, they are an intrinsic part of the human condition, a profound mark of humanity that has been indelibly marked on history for as long as records can be traced. No matter the era, the civilization, there has always been a means of demarcating time, and born from this is the celebration, either through reflection and introspection or optimism and forethought.
Children are in a way blessed by this feeling. That is because they get to experience it twice a year. For a child of school age this feeling comes not once on the calendar, but twice. Not just when December turns to January, but when a new school year begins. In many ways this can be more profound for a child than the calendar year changing. While a calendar year may change, that feeling of something new being upon you is somewhat diluted by the steadiness of reality. The world doesn't stop spinning, so even if the year changes, it doesn't necessarily mean anything of consequence will be different if you go to sleep on December 31st and wake up January 1st. For adults it means little more than a time to set finances in order for the last or next year.
But things change for children in school every time the school year starts up. Depending on the school things can even feel like a new year from one term to the next. The classroom changes, you're surrounded by new faces, you have a new face standing in front of the room. Regardless of when your birthday is or how far away the new calendar year is, for a kid in school you don't really feel you've gotten any older until the day that you officially begin your next grade.
Children are also blessed by the burden of youth. A friend moves away. For a kid this seems like the end of the world. They don't know when or if they'll ever see that friend. They usually have no control over these events. Children have loose grasps of the world and usually very, very little ability to influence what happens in it. So even if somewhat cognizant of events, they don't generally pay them particularly strong heed. It usually doesn't affect them, and they usually can't affect it, so it isn't apt to dwell on their minds. Often the largest thing so far as a problem to strike a kid is an unsuccessful or unrequited love, or some kind of family issue. It is usually the kind of thing which impacts a relative few people. It's not to diminish the levity of these matters on a child's life, or to deny that there is the possibility that a child can rise above this, but to recognize that there is a difference due to the relative limited powers of a child to affect their world compared to an adult. Right or wrong, this is reality.
People like Amy Sanuzaki know this in part. She knew that there were things she was both capable and incapable of doing. She knew there were things for which the question of whether or not she could do them was a limit of her will to try. She knew there were things she knew little about, and cared little that she knew little of them. The knowledge of the world was not terribly critical for her. She accepted that the societal system as it existed had in place the means for her to learn all she needed, so she operated according to that system; an ordinary person aspiring to little else but an ordinary life.
People like Anastasia Kurae understood as well. For understanding this she is both fortunate and blessed. For this she is both unlucky and cursed. It is the hope of most parents who are concerned of their child's happiness that their children not know this harsh reality, that they not worry about it. Some children, like Anastasia, are both fortunate and unfortunate. They don't greet the world wholly ignorant of its truths and realities, but in so are denied the true joy of childhood that comes with carelessly being unaware of the harshness of the world. A period of ignorance as one is given the tools to fight the harsh world is what most of us are afforded. Not so that we are thrust at reality knowing nothing, but that we have the chance to know what peace and carefree life is, so that we can strive to recreate that for the world when we grow older. She didn't necessarily pursue anything extraordinary for her life, but was curious enough to ask the many questions that are there to be asked, even if sometimes struggling with whether to tackle those questions or not.
Amy looked up to Anastasia. It wasn't a matter of the macro societal thought processes discussed earlier. A larger assumption cannot be made to suggest even that this is a common refrain between the enlightened and the less enlightened – though it does often happen that the two sides are at loggerheads. Amy simply thought Anastasia was cool. She was a first year student in high school when the year began, Anastasia in her second. From day one Amy was an average student arriving at a rather average school and looking forward to an average time of high school. She saw Anastasia walking to school that first day.
"Is she really a student here?" Amy asked, standing in the shade of a tree that morning, beside her friend.
"Oh, you mean the Empress? Yeah, hard ta believe, huh?" Amy's friend replied. This was Yukari Shindo. She is one year older than Amy. The two first met in middle school, slightly rare for individuals who are a grade apart. Yukari is the aloof type. She doesn't get too excited about anything really, although she tends to know about everything that is being said around the school. At the moment, however, she was entertaining herself by playing with a stray cat that wandered onto the school grounds.
"You hardly see that type nowadays," Yukari added.
"What type?" Amy asked, not looking away from Anastasia. "And try not to sound like such an old lady,"
"You know, that type," Yukari repeated, offering no clarification, mainly because she offered little attention. The cat she was playing with jumped from her arms and ran off. That distraction gone, Yukari refocused on Amy.
"It's hard to describe. Sorta like she's really inspirational and makes you wanna be like her, but also scares you ta death? Those types,"
"I don't think…"
"Come on, we've gotta get to class soon," Yukari said, jogging towards the door to the school.
"Do you not like her or somethin'?" Amy asked, jogging after her friend.
"I wouldn't say that. I don't really know her all that well. It's just that… something about her is scary. All I was doin' was standing near her. You start gettin' a feelin' like you'll drown or something,"
"That's…"
"I know you won't believe me. It's not like she'll say anything mean or soemthin'. It's just a feelin'. But I guess you could end up like the others,"
"Others?"
"Yeah. Most people are afraid to be near her. But then there's the others who practically fall in love with her. I'm not talkin' about just guys either. There's a bunch of girls who follow her 'round religiously. You should stay away from those ones 'cause they're a little crazy,"
"That's a terrible thing to say,"
"Don't say I didn't warn you,"
The two girls made plans to meet up later and then went on to their respective classrooms. The school was by no means a small one. It was located in a large city, after all. There were close to one thousand students in this school, divided into the three grade levels. For the first year students, the new student orientation was set to begin after the extended homeroom. The homeroom would allow the students to meet their classmates, meet their homeroom teacher, and start with some of the housekeeping matters, such as the forthcoming selections of class officers and thinking about whether or not they will join any of the afterschool clubs, or perhaps even vie for student council.
Amy didn't have a particular talent to take advantage of. She didn't think her personality quite right for something like a class officer or the student government. She wasn't very athletic, and hadn't participated in any sports in junior high, so a sports team was the last thing on her mind. When it comes to some other interest for which there was a club in existence, she had none in mind. After the orientation the rest of the day was supposed to be for the first year students to look around the campus, familiarize themselves with the location of everything, and check out the presentations by the various clubs.
For the second and third year students there wasn't much to do after the extended homeroom. If you were a member of the student council you were helping prepare the orientation since homeroom started that morning, and would be having a regular student council meeting that afternoon once the orientation was done. If you were a part of a sports team or other afterschool club you stuck around with your club for the presentations and recruitment, which carried on after school all week.
Before the rest of that stuff was the new student orientation. It was an assembly of all of the first years in the gymnasium where the principal, one of the teachers, the student council president, and the first year representative – the student with the highest marks on the entry exams – would give speeches and words of encouragement for the upcoming year.
After homeroom Amy went to the restroom before heading to the gym. Unfortunately she didn't know the school all too well after spending only a bit of time between standing with her friend outside and sitting in a classroom. In short, she got herself a little lost. She started heading in the direction she thought the gym was supposed to be. By this time the halls were empty, the first years either already in the gym, or the juniors and seniors mostly still in homeroom. She wasn't paying particularly close attention to where she was going as she looked about for some kind of confirmation that she was at the right place, or at least heading in the right direction.
Amy bumped into someone, causing the papers they were carrying to spill to the floor. She apologized profusely as she tried to gather up the sheets.
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't paying enough attention myself anyway," the person replied to Amy. Her voice was rather low and soft. Amy felt a slight feeling like her heart sinking when she heard the person speak, but not for any reason she could nail down right that moment.
"Th-That's very kind of you to say," Amy said as she gathered the last paper. This was when she finally got a look at the person she bumped into. In a somewhat predictable turn of events, the person she bumped into was the very person much of her morning was sent considering so far.
"Are you a first year student? You should be in the gym by now," Anastasia said to Amy as she received the gathered papers from her.
"Y-you're Anastasia Kurae," Amy gasped.
"Have we met before?"
"N-No, it's just that… I have a friend who goes here, and we saw you come to school this morning, so…"
"Oh, then it's nice to meet you as well…"
"My name is Amy Sanuzaki. It's really nice to meet you,"
"Thank you. You were lost, weren't you? I'll show you the way to the gym," Anastasia offered, turning off in the direction she had been taking before.
"Uh, n-n-no…" Amy stammered.
"You weren't lost?" Anastasia asked, turning her head to look back at Amy.
"That's not it, what I meant was… umm, that I didn't want to keep you back. I mean, you're important to the orientation and everything, so it would be bad for me to make you late too," Amy said bashfully, slowly choosing her words carefully.
"They'll get by just fine without me. Besides, if we're going the same way it wouldn't make sense to just leave you behind here. So come with me before we're really late," Anastasia assured, reaching out her free hand.
"Th-thank you very much,"
Amy was a bundle of nerves as she followed behind Anastasia. She felt she could understand a little of what Yukari had told her, the dual feeling of fear and admiration that emanated off of Anastasia. She was nice enough, and didn't seem agitated at all, but something about her seemed… sharp. It was like standing in a kitchen full of knives. Each knife is sharp and deadly, but they only sit there doing nothing until wielded against you. That was what Amy felt like – standing in a kitchen filled with sharp knives that could easily be used to create a delicious meal or commit a horrible murder. As someone who did love to cook, Amy felt a certain kind of mixed awe and fear in knowing that a knife handled with care could create something wonderful, and handled recklessly could kill or maim. It was hard for her to really visualize the kill and maim part, but that feeling was still there.
It all combined to put Amy in a soupy malaise as she bashfully walked behind Anastasia. It was a bit ridiculous how easily she'd been overcome by meeting Anastasia, as if this girl was some kind of movie star or pop idol. Amy barely heard Anastasia ask her a question as they were walking.
"… like it here so far?"
"Oh, uhm, yes. My friend, Yukari Shindo, is a second year. She told me a lot about this school, so I decided to come here on her recommendation,"
"Yukari Shindo…" Anastasia pondered aloud. "She was a volunteer with the festival committee last year I believe,"
"Wow! You actually remembered her? I think she'll be happy about that,"
"It's not really that special. It's just that I tend to remember people easily. Anyway, here we are. I hope you enjoy your time at this school,"
"Th-thank you," Amy replied, amazed still by this young woman who was only one year her senior.
Amy was so star struck she didn't even think about whether or not she was late, which she wasn't. Her spot in the crowd was a little bit ahead of mid-way to the front – not especially close, but not in the back either. She was eagerly anticipating to hear what Anastasia would say in front of the gathering of excited young men and women beginning their endeavors through this high school. She was imagining what kind of amazing, inspirational, speech was going to be given. Amy even started mentally kicking herself for not thinking to try to read something off the papers she helped Anastasia pick up.
Amy was on the edge of her seat the entire orientation, cheerfully singing along to the school's song. She listened intently for the announcement of the beginning of the student council as the next speakers. She clapped her hands excitedly along with the rest of the students when the speaker came up. And Amy was disappointed, because when she looked at the person who walked across the stage and stood before the group, it wasn't Anastasia. It wasn't at all anyone she knew. It's hard to say if that speaks badly for either her or that young woman, but it was simply a matter of fact that she didn't know this person. She had been so eagerly anticipating Anastasia that she hadn't heard the full introduction of this young woman, Mayumi Saegusa.
Her enthusiasm dashed, Amy didn't pay nearly as much attention as she had previously. It wasn't so much that she was ignoring the rest of the speakers. She simply didn't have the same kind of attentiveness to hang on every word.
"So you met her like that," Yukari asked, picking her juice out of the dispenser of a vending machine by one of the doors out of the school. It was now the technical end of the day, the time on this first day for perusing the displays for the various clubs.
"It must've been my fault. She must secretly hate me…"
"I can tell you it's not anything you did,"
"You're just trying to make me feel better, aren't you?"
"Not really. You just made the same mistake everyone does. There was never a chance she would be making the speech,"
"Why not?"
"She's not the president," Yukari stated directly as she opened her juice and took a small drink.
"Ehh? Didn't you tell me she was the president?"
"I told you she was part of the student council. Did you think I wouldn't tell you directly if she was the president?"
"N-no… but then…"
"She's the treasurer,"
"The… treasurer?" Amy asked in aghast disbelief.
"Last year people walked around all the time thinking she was the student council president. It started right after the election,"
"Was it close?"
"Not really, especially since she didn't even run in the first place. You only vote on the president here, and the president picks the rest of the executive committee. Even so, everyone seems to forget the moment they see her that she's only the treasurer. It's not like they forget Mayumi. They know her as the president too, and call her president, but it's like everyone remembers two presidents,"
"That doesn't really make a lot of sense," Amy replied with a sense of disbelief.
"You'll get used to it," Yukari replied, the exhaustion in her voice as though she expended considerable energy on the brief tale a moment ago. Or perhaps it was over having told that same story so many times in the past to other people.
"I'm glad I didn't say anything stupid to her," Amy sighed, following beside her friend.
"I'd say bumping into her and then zoning out while she was supposed to show you to the gym is plenty embarrassing,"
"That was so horrible," Amy bemoaned, feeling bad about it all over again.
"Forget it. Let's go look at some clubs,"
Amy and Yukari walked around for a half hour. They took a break for lunch, their own packed lunchboxes, and then went back to exploring the various assembled clubs, as well as Yukari offering a little tour of the school to Amy along the way. So far nothing seemed to jump out to Amy as an interesting club. The only real talent she had that interested her was cooking, but it wasn't necessarily something that she wanted to spend her afternoons after school doing, especially as she sometimes prepared dinner for her family.
"Is there any place we haven't been to yet?" Amy asked after they left one more club.
"There is, but…" Yukari started to answer, seeming very conflicted about answering that question straight.
"Huh?"
"Well, there is one, but I don't think you'd be all that interested since it's technically a sports team,"
"You're being kinda weird now you know. Haven't we already looked at all the sports teams anyway? What's this one?"
"Eh… well, just to warn ya, it's gonna be kinda crowded,"
"Whaddya mean?"
"Let's go," Yukari sighed.
It was the second time that day Amy found herself without words. She wasn't sure what was going on when her and Yukari went back around to the rear of the school. They passed through there earlier looking at the other sports teams. There was a structure towards the back end, near the end of the school grounds and butting up against a lightly wooded area. It was very quiet over here. There was one small noise though. It was a hard sound for Amy to describe in her mind. It was a sharp sound, yet dull at the same time. Sort of like a strong wind running into a wall.
Yukari slowly and quietly opened the door, hushing Amy behind her to be certain they made no sound. As Yukari warned, the place was crowded. Amy didn't quite understand what this place was. There was definitely a slight breeze, like they were still outside. There were too many people here to be able to see the front of the room, but looking over their heads Amy could see that the wall was open and that there was a trussed overhang of the roof. As she tried to comprehend what it was that this club was, she heard that sound again. It was a little louder now than when they were outside the room. A hushed flurry of comments raced about the room, as everyone seemed to start clapping.
"Alright, alright, everyone," someone at the front of the room called out to everyone in the room. "That's it for today's demonstration. Please come back with a form to be stamped if you're interested in joining. Tell your friends we'll have another demonstration tomorrow afternoon,"
The room began to thin out as other students that had so congested the narrow room started filing their way back out. Amy and Yukari move aside to stay in the room. It was mostly for Amy's sake so that she could get a glimpse of what this place was.
"Awesome again, Ana," the voice that dispersed the crowd was the source of the congratulations.
"Thank you, captain," Anastasia replied softly.
"Ah!" Amy gasped, much louder than she realized, and completely involuntarily. She immediately felt embarrassed, it not being her intent to do something to draw attention.
"Ah, Yukari. You thinkin' of joining?" the MC called out as Yukari was walking her direction.
"Not a chance. I'm just giving my friend here a tour on her first day,"
"We meet again, Ms. Sanuzaki. Ms. Shindo, it's also a pleasure," Anastasia greeted.
"M-M-Ms. Kurae, it-it's nice to see you again," Amy fumbled to greet her increasingly idolized senior.
"It's very cute, but you don't have to be so nervous," the MC said, throwing her arm over Anastasia's shoulder. "She's not gonna bite,"
"A-ah, no… um…" Amy fumbled even more, not sure how to respond to that.
"Forgive Tania's exuberance. She's just excited for this first day of the term," Anastasia giggled. "I can understand how hard it must be getting used to a new school. Take your time and I'm sure you'll be settled in very soon,"
"Thank you very much," Amy said with a star struck adoration.
"Nice to meet ya! I'm Tania Otome, club president," the MC introduced with unyielding exuberance. "Seems like you've met Ana already. You can count on her for just about anything. She can teach you everything you need to get started with our club. After all, she's…"
"Tania, you can cut the pitch," Yukari interrupted. "Like I'd let Amy join with you people here. We've got a club already,"
"Eh? That so?" Tania questioned, not buying the obvious lie. "You're a terrible liar, Yukari,"
"Anyway, we've got get going," Yukari defiantly stated, grabbing hold of Amy's hand and starting away with her.
"It seems she's run away from you again," Anastasia teased her friend.
"That Yukari… she really can't help herself," Tania sighed.
She and Anastasia were soon joined by other members of the archery club, returning from handing out fliers. They started to clean up for the day and get ready to do it all again tomorrow afternoon.
Amy and Yukari were on their way home now. Yukari hadn't answered Amy's question of why they left so suddenly and why the lie to Tania. Yukari hadn't even let go of Amy's hand until they were out the front gates of the school. Amy was a little upset with Yukari, feeling as though her image in front of Anastasia had suffered somewhat further by the abrupt departure. Nevertheless it didn't take long for Amy to start swooning on about Anastasia more.
But it could only last for an eternal ten minutes before Amy and Yukari had to split up. Their ways home diverged here, going in opposite directions. Furthermore Amy had to stop by the supermarket to pick up some stuff for dinner.
Amy's food run didn't take very long, only fifteen minutes or so. She was humming along pleasantly on her way home the first track of an album she'd only borrowed from Yukari a few days earlier. It had been stuck in her head practically sense then, and she often started humming it when she was lost in abstract thought.
"Do you like your friend?" a woman asked Amy. Amy didn't see the woman.
"What is this?" Amy asked. Her tone of voice became serious as she spoke softly. The woman was behind her, but Amy didn't turn around. She could feel a cold piece of metal pressed against her back.
"I was curious…" the woman continued. Her voice was also low, but had a bit higher pitch to it than Amy's, negating what otherwise should have been a somber tone.
"Curious?" Amy asked, glancing around without turning her head from straight forward. She was looking to see if there were any other people around, seeing none on the streets.
"You and your friend seemed to get along very well. You seemed to be fitting in well at that school. Why not live a life like that instead of this one?"
"That's a pretty stupid question," Amy answered, her entire pattern of speech now quite different from the one she used all day at school.
"Is it the money? Or did they promise you power?" the woman asked.
"You've gotta think I'm some naïve little kid, dontcha?"
"No, not at all. I just think it's sad that things turned out this way. You have so many other choices, why get involved in something like this where you can lose your life?"
"Don't underestimate me!" Amy shouted.
For the second time in a week there was a ceremony in the school's gymnasium. There was another gathering of the students, this one involving the entire student body, not just the freshmen. This, however, was not the joyous occasion that was the new student orientation ceremony. This was a time of mourning. The school decided it would honor the tragic loss of one of its students.
The day would end early, like it had with the previous ceremony. But there were no club activities today, or club demonstrations for recruitment. Such things were obviously inappropriate at this time.
After the ceremony the glum faces of the students grayed out what was otherwise a clear, sunny day. Even though the vast majority of the students didn't even know the person personally whom they were mourning, the circumstance was that jarring and unbelievable. It served a rather cruel reminder of the fragility of their own lives that someone their own age would die so suddenly at what should have been one of the happiest moments of their life. The flowers all the students wore on their chest were a symbol too of this.
"Ana, you doing okay?" Tania asked as she met her friend outside the gym one the ceremony was over.
"I'm fine. It was just a little shocking, that's all," Anastasia answered, though her somewhat weary expression painted a different picture to her words.
"Ana, it's okay if you want to take some time off from the council," President Saegusa said, placing a comforting hand on Anastasia's shoulder. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard,"
"Thanks, but really, I'm fine. I'm more worried about Ms. Yukari. Have you heard anything from her?" Anastasia asked, turning to Tania.
"Uhm, I tried calling yesterday, but her mom said that she's pretty much locked herself in her room since she found out. She's taking this really hard right now," Tania replied, sounding almost as if she herself might soon start crying.
"That's understandable," Saegusa remarked. "They were so close after all,"
"It did seem like they were very close to one another," Anastasia agreed solemnly. "It's not so hard to imagine how heartbroken she must be right now,"
"Tch, what a waste of time," some other student was saying not too far away as they walked away from the gym. "Like I'm supposed to care what happens to someone I ain't even know,"
"At least we get off early," his buddy joked with him.
The two seemed to be freshmen students. They didn't seem to care very much that their words were being heard by others around them. Some of the other students were whispering to one another, many seeming to be put off by the callous remarks, but not inclined to confront the two young men. Anastasia, however, seemed to be particularly incensed and started towards the two boys. She raised her hand as if to strike them, but before she could bring her hand back down, someone grabbed it. She turned around to look at who it was, at first angry that she was being stopped, but quickly calming down as she saw who it was.
"You shouldn't, Ms. Kurae," the woman who stopped Anastasia said. "Please leave matters like this to me,"
"Y-Yes, Ms. Lavolpe," Anastasia accepted, backing down.
This person, Ms. Yagisaka Lavolpe, is a teacher. She is a woman with light purple hair and blue eyes. Her hair is particularly noticeable as it is fairly short all around except for long side locks and single long ponytail down the full length of her back. She was a new teacher to the school this year.
Anastasia took a deep breath to settle herself as Ms. Lavolpe took the two boys away, presumably to harshly scold them for their callousness while so many were grieving. Mayumi and Tania rejoined Anastasia.
"Those damn jerks… those kinds really piss me off," Tania jeered.
"Isn't she your homeroom teacher?" Mayumi asked.
"Ms. Lavolpe… she's rather impressive. Everyone seems to like her," Anastasia said with a contented smile. "It's reassuring to have someone like her around,"
"I've heard that a member of the school's board recommended her. It is nice to have someone like her to count on at times like this," Mayumi added.
"Perhaps it's better that Ms. Shindo isn't here to listen to such terrible things," Anastasia reflected with some anger still in her voice.
"It's still hard to believe. For Amy to be in a hit-and-run accident… are they still looking for the driver?" Tania asked.
"Yes. It seems the car was stolen earlier in the day, and whoever was driving ran away from the scene. The police are still searching for clues, but at this point they don't seem to be very confident they'll find the person responsible," Mayumi answered.
"Unforgivable," Anastasia grumbled under her breath, clenching her fists. It's so cowardly…"
The new term began with a bitter feeling. In this way, the feeling of renewal that comes with the beginning of a new school year was dashed for these youngsters. Reality shattered their illusion of invincibility that comes with being young. Even so, they picked up those fragments; some out of a determination to not let this event define their future, others simply out of the belief that it somehow would not happen to them.
Nevertheless they must move forward, one way or another. The world doesn't stop spinning for our sakes no matter how emotional a tragedy may be for us. Those who don't keep up with the shifting planet face subduction at the convergence of the past and the future.
