The time of lunch passed as Souda and Susen chatted vaguely, not talking too personally. They made small jokes and asked each others' opinions on various topics. Soon enough, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. The three girls had left already leaving the two misfits alone. He offered her a hand up from the ground which she gladly took. She noticed that his hand was a little rough and calloused, but still warm and welcoming nonetheless.
"Your hands are really soft.", he pointed out. She assumed he was making a compliment.
"Thanks, yours are really warm.", she replied. The writer enjoyed the warmth against her cold small hands, and was sad when he pulled it away.
He said a word of thanks and the two chatted on their way back to the classroom. A smile was visible on her face. She was filled with pure joy that she had made a friend on the first day. Maybe she wasn't going to be so lonely after all. Souda seemed to enjoy her company as well, giving a pleasant smile back.
The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, filled with mainly introductions and stating rules. Tobi was too anxious to get her dorm. I would be the first time living away from home, and she was ready for the experience. Her and Souda exchanged glances of anticipation as Mrs. Yukai walked to the front of the room. She had a case that had keys attached to small teal bars which appeared to have names on them.
"When I call your names, come get your dorm key. The room number will be written next to your name on the bar.", she said to the class, grabbing a handful of the keys. "Sonia, Tanaka, Togami.", she started.
The three called rose from their seats and grabbed their keys before leaving to find their new homes. The names continued getting called in threes, the room becoming emptier by the minute.
"Mioda, Koizumi, Souda.", she called. The mechanic flashed the writer a smile before walking to get his key. The three left the room soon after receiving their keys.
"Last but not least, Nidai, Owari, and Susen.", she said, obviously happy to be done. The two athletes quickly raced to the front and raced out. Tobi was calmly shuffling and gently grabbed the bar and scanned it while walking out.
As she turned out from the classroom she ran into something, hearing an 'oof!' above her. She quickly noticed that she had run into Souda's chest. She jumped back in surprise.
"Ah! I'm so sorry Souda!", she spouted frantically.
"Hehe, it's okay, Susen. It didn't hurt.", he replied, giving her a smile, while rubbing his chest lightly.
"Oh yeah! I thought you would have gone to your room already. Why are you still here?"
"I waited for you, I mean, we're friends right?", he replied, as if it was obvious.
"Y-yeah! Thanks!", she said happily as they both made their way to the dorm hallway.
"What's your room number?", he asked.
"Umm, 05, yours?"
"Hey I got 06! That means we're right next to each other, right?"
"I think so!"
"Hell yeah!", he said enthusiastically. Tobi emitted a small giggle, enjoying his visible happiness.
The two found their room and agreed to explore them and meet up afterwards. They put their keys in their locks and went in at the same time.
It wasn't anything too glamorous, fairly simple really. It had a single bed with blue covers, a wooden dresser with a mirror, a matching nightstand, a desk, a floor lamp, and a shower room with a sink and a mirror. Simple but lovely, and most importantly, livable.
She looked at the bed and noticed a small name plate. It had a smaller version of herself, black and white, pixel art it seemed. At the bottom of it read her name 'Susen'. She took the plate and placed it on the outside of her door, where it's meant to be.
"Your little character is cuter than mine.", Souda said, leaning on the wall between their rooms.
"Aww, I doubt that. Let me see.", she replied. He gestured to his door, showing his similar name plate. "Liar, it's cute!", she said.
"Heh I'm pretty sure yours is cuter. Anyways, I think the last bell is gonna ring soon."
"Yeah, where is your house?", she asked curiously.
"It's a while off to the left of the school, but I normally head to my dad's bike shop right after school."
"Your dad has a bike shop?", she asked, wanting to know more.
"Yeah, it's kind of a family business type thing. Although it doesn't get much business to be honest. Mainly just people asking for tire inflates and replacements."
"Aww that's sad to hear, maybe I'll come in and buy a bike sometime.", she said hopefully.
"Really?", he said with a big smile. She gave a nod with a small smile back.
Just then, the loud bell rang, ending the day. Tobi put the key in the lock and locked it tightly. Souda did the same, putting the key in his pocket. They both threw their bags over their shoulders.
"So… I'll see you tomorrow, I guess?", she said awkwardly.
"Yeah! You coming early for breakfast?", he asked.
"Are you?", she asked.
"Probably, I'd want a little time to unpack in the morning, y'know?"
"That makes sense, I'll come early too!", she said with a smile.
"Awesome! I'll see ya then!", he said waving as he walked away.
"See ya!", she said. Then it hit her. "Wait, Souda!", she called. He stopped and turned to her.
"Whatcha need?", he said as she ran up to him. She pulled out her phone.
"Your number would suffice. Do you text?", she said handing him her phone. He smiled and put in his number and handed it back to her.
"Text me and tell me it's you okay?", he said happily. She smiled and nodded before giving him one last goodbye as the two parted ways.
The walk home for Susen was pleasant, enjoying the thought of a friend. As she walked in the door she sent Souda a message.
"Hey it's Susen", she sent simply.
"Hey Mom, I'm home!", she called.
"How was it?", she asked.
"Not bad, I think I made a friend.", she replied.
"A friend? I thought something like that would've taken a week at least!", she said. Tobi rolled her eyes and brushed off the intended insult. "So what's her name?"
"Huh?"
"You know, your friend. What's her name?"
"Um, first of all, it's not a girl. His name is Souda Kazuichi."
"A boy? Ooh, do you like him~?", she cooed. As if on cue, she received a text from him.
"Oh hey! What's up?", he replied.
"Not much, just telling my mom that i was lucky enough to gain a friend, how about you?", she typed back.
"Mom, I've only known him for less than a day."
"I'll take that as a no, as of now at least.", she teased.
"I gotta go pack..", she said with a groan.
"I assume you got your room today then?"
"Yeah, and I'm going in a bit early tomorrow morning because Souda and I are unpacking early."
"Should I make breakfast for him too?", she offered.
"We were planning to eat breakfast at the school."
"Tobi, if this is one of the last meals I can make for you, let me, please." The younger girl gave a sigh of defeat.
"I'll ask Souda if he wants it." Her mother's face lit up with a smile, knowing she had won this round.
Tobi continued up the stairs to her mess of a room. She felt her phone buzz, so she pulled it out and looked at it.
"Haha, i did the same with my dad, he's amazed that youre a girl who can tolerate me" The writer laughed at the text before responding.
"My mom was wondering if you wanted her to make breakfast for you too tomorrow", she typed and sent.
She hunted for her big gray suitcase with success. She zipped it open and began preparing piles of the things she wanted to pack. T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, pants, shorts/skirt (she only had one skirt),comfy clothes, undergarments in general, and a few hoodies/coats. Her phone buzzed again.
"Sure! If shes willing to, why not?" Tobi hollered the reply down to her mother who responded delightfully.
"Awesome, also she already assumes that i have a crush on you ugh", she sent back, hoping he wouldn't take that offensively. She shrugged off the concern and continued packing.
The bag was big enough to hold all of her intended clothes and then some, so she added her laptop, it's charger, and some movies that she couldn't live without. With her little bit of space left she added her toiletries and her journal. She quickly pulled it back out and flipped it open and clicked her pen.
"Day 1 of Hope's Peak- Not too bad. I made a friend. His name is Souda Kazuichi. (Super High School Level Mechanic) He's actually really nice. He needs a bit of help talking to girls though. I've decided to write this journal to keep my memories in order. I know how bad my memory can be so I'm making this. Plus, this will be nice to look back on when I'm older.", she wrote, signing it with the date. Her phone vibrated again.
"Heh same with my dad"
"I'm pretty sure all parents jump to conclusions like that"
She brought her attention to her backpack, filling it with school supplies and about three extra notebooks, specifically for writing. Her mind registered something it hadn't before. Every item that she had packed was monochromatic, with the exceptions of her toiletries and her teal glasses cloth. Some would be concerned with the lack of colors, but in fact, it made Tobi more comfortable. She heard her phone vibrate again.
"Yeah, you packing?"
"Yep, and guess what? pretty much everything i own is in a monochrome color"
She decided to put her ringer on to stop the constant sound of it's vibration. It must be a writer's habit to hate too much repetition. She giggled a bit at how many writing aspects have entered her life. Avoiding one word answers as much as possible. Describing people in such detail. Using unique words such as 'suffice' and 'monochrome'.
Her phone sounded with a melodious tone. She smiled at its difference from the past notifications.
"Wow, you might need to fix that, but can you help me with a checklist for what i might need?"
"Clothes for various seasons and occasions, lots of undergarments, toiletries, small entertainment things, chargers w/ said technology, school supplies, anything that may come in handy, comfort items, etc?"
The last option reminded herself that she needed to grab her panda. His name was Punda, which she named when she was about 6 years old. She never wanted to change it. He was given to her when her father had died. Her mother used to call him her 'panda' and so gave one to her. She held Punda in her arms while looking at him sadly. Because it was such a tragic time, she had pushed her memories of her father out of her mind. She regrets that to this day, wishing to remember her father. The soft tone sounded again.
"Okay, thanks a ton"
"No problem, so you got everything?" He responded soon after.
"Besides the things im gonna use tonight or tomorrow morning, i think so"
"Same, whatcha up to now?"
She wanted to continue conversing with her new friend. Her only hope was that she wasn't annoying him too much.
"Not much really, just texting a cool person"
"Oh cool who?"
"Haha! You, smart one!" She could feel his teasing through the text. It only made her smile more.
"Wow, im oblivious, thanks though" Tobi face-palmed herself for her moment of stupidity.
"Dont worry about it, ill probably have oblivious moments too"
The two chatted for the rest of the evening about random subjects, making jokes, simply enjoying the conversation. The girl got her last dinner from her mother for a while, trying not make it tragic or special. Hoping to make it as if any other day. Her mother was her same old self, asking if she had packed everything she needed, reassuring her that she could bring anything she ever needed. She also asked about Hope's Peak, about what it looked like, what the dorms looked like, etc. Nothing was too out of the ordinary from a normal night with the two. Tobi was glad for this.
The evening came to an end not long after. She changed into pjs and curled up into bed. She pulled her panda close to her and closed her eyes. Her excitement for the next day was almost overwhelming, however, her exhaustion from today had been the reason she could sleep. Today wasn't bad at all.