Welcome to Chapter 3 of "Persona Academy" everyone! :) Keita's beginning his first day of class at St. Lucia's in this chapter. Let's see how his misadventure goes for him! I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I do writing it. Enjoy!
Persona Academy
Chapter 3: The First Class
The morning sun began to rise over St. Lucia's, announcing the start of a new day. Today was the day that classes began for the students. Schedules varied on times between college and high school students, but the impact of the day was still the same. They would have to get up early in the morning, prepare their supplies and endure a day of academic classes.
This was a reality that wasn't to kind to one Keita Saeki.
In his dorm room, Keita tossed and turned in his bed. He had an exhausting day yesterday, but now was the start of the real pain in his eyes.
"Hey…Keita…." He could hear a voice saying his name.
"Not now, ten more minutes…"He whined sleepily, turning away from the noise. Upon these words, he could hear large footsteps coming up the small staircase. Suddenly, his blanket was pulled away and a heavy object fell on his chest with a loud thud.
"GAAAH!" Keita screamed as he shot up. He looked to his chest and saw his backpack sitting there, almost mocking him. He looked up and saw Kaz, hunched over as he stood on the higher section of the room.
"Classes start today Keita. Let's go" Kaz ordered, stepping down.
"Alright, alright gimme a sec" Keita said as he put his shoes back on and threw his blazer over his body.
Keita went down the stairs and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm ready" Keita announced in a half-hearted way.
"Okay, follow me" Kaz said as he walked out.
The two walked out of the dorm to be greeted by a blast of frigid morning air. It startled Keita at first, but his body adapted quickly. "So where're we going" Keita asked.
"The bulletin board" Kaz answered quickly.
"Why?"
"To find out where our classes are" Kaz elaborated.
"Okay, that makes sense" Keita said to himself.
A large crowd had gathered around a podium along the side of the dorm. Everyone was searching for their names on the list to find out where to go. Various students were either cheering for the teacher they got or groaning in dismay at the realization that they got a teacher they didn't like. Keita heard many of the students conversing amongst each other or to themselves.
"Hmmm, where's my name at?"
"YES! I got Marina-senpai's class!"
"NOOOOO! I GOT KUROKI!"
"Who's 'Kuroki'" Keita asked.
"The most evil man on the face of this campus!" A random student informed him, terrified.
Keita swallowed hard as he and Kaz squeezed through and looked for their names on the long list.
"Let's see…Saeki, Saeki, Saeki, Ah! Here I am! Let's see…I have…Oh no" Keita's finger shook as he saw the name of his homeroom teacher, "Kuroki S."
"K-K-Kaaaaz!" Keita stammered.
"I got this K-Kuroki guy as my homeroom teacher" Keita felt like a steel weight had just slammed on top of his head.
"You and me both" Kaz groaned in horror.
"W-Well, at least I ain't alone" Keita said nervously.
"Right…" Kaz kept looking at the list for a moment.
"Kaz…? You alright…?"
"Huh? Yeah I'm fine, let's go" Kaz said quickly.
The two walked into the designated building, switched shoes in their shoe lockers and headed up the longest staircase in the world for them. Not literally, but the dread of what was to happen made it seem like an eternity.
"Well, this is it. Hell awaits us beyond this door" Keita said as he took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Keita examined the room and saw that there were a fair amount of students in it. None of them seemed to pay him any mind. He looked at the desk and saw this infamous man he had heard of earlier.
He was much older, in his forties with short dark brown hair, sunken-in cheek bones and dark blue eyes that pierced through Keita's soul the moment he looked at him. His posture and glare radiated an intimidating aura from around him.
"Hmph, what're you looking at?" He asked in an angry tone.
"N-Nothing, sir!" Keita yelped as he ran to a seat.
"Stop red hair. You stand up over here for now" He pointed to a spot in front of the whiteboard.
Keita swallowed hard, feeling sweat pour down his face. "Y-Yes, sir" Keita walked to the front of the whiteboard.
Kaz sat down, with worry on his face.
After a moment, the remainder of the students for the class sat in their seats as the bell rang.
The scary looking teacher stood up from his desk.
"Hey, class has started! Shut your traps! For those of you who know who I am, congratulations you're nothing special. For those of you who don't know me, I am Mr. Kuroki" He turned around and slammed his hand on the whiteboard near Keita.
"Agh! Jeez…" Keita groaned as he tried to calm himself.
"This guy is our new student. What's your name?" He demanded.
"U-uh…My name i-is…" The earlier shock of Mr. Kuroki slamming his hand right next to his had made it difficult for Keita to form coherent words.
"Speak up!" Mr. Kuroki yelled impatiently.
"My name is Keita Saeki!" He shouted, clenching his fists.
"Hmph, very well Mr. Saeki, pick any empty seat and get ready" Mr. Kuroki said, turning around to write something on the board.
"Yes, sir" Keita said as he sat in an empty seat behind Kaz.
"You okay?" Kaz whispered.
"Yeah, but jeez, who does this guy think he is?" Keita asked in a hushed but aggravated tone.
"He's one of the oldest teachers here and has gained a reputation as a very strict one" Kaz explained.
"He's got a cruel streak, too. You're lucky he let you off easy" A classmate said to Keita from behind.
"Many people say he's the reason why a lot of students quit this school every year" A girl student said.
"You've gotta be kidding me" Keita said in disbelief.
"Whoever is talking better shut their trap before I shut them myself!" He threatened, slamming his hand on his desk. The section of the class closest to his desk jumped up from their seats from the sudden noise.
"You've gotta be kidding. How can he get away with that" Keita quietly asked, frustrated.
"He's been in the school since it was founded. Schools preference I guess…" A student whispered.
"That's bullshit!" Keita thought angrily.
"Alright…no announcements to make and we already know everyone's here" Mr. Kuroki said nonchalantly.
Through a lengthy speech, Mr. Kuroki explained that he was going to be the class's literature teacher as well. They took notes for a large chunk of the day, since their literature class was right after homeroom. During this time, Keita tried to alleviate his stress by drawing in the cover of his notebook between sections of the notes. It helped slightly, but didn't change one grim fact.
"I'm gonna have to deal with this asshole all year" Keita groaned in his head.
The whole day, Keita could barely focus on what was going on in school. Even after Mr. Kuroki left, nothing seemed exciting. Apparently, most of the teachers that showed up were substituting for others. So officially, Keita had only met one of his actual teachers…and it had to be the worst one possible.
Finally, around 4:00 PM the final bell rang. Keita returned to the classroom to pick up his backpack after a quick trip to the bathroom. Students were heading out the door quickly as he tried to squeeze through. It was clear Keita wasn't the only one who was happy that school was out. He looked around and saw Kaz, sitting next to two people he didn't recognize.
"Hey, Kaz" Keita tried to get his attention.
"Hey" He answered back.
The two people sitting by Kaz turned around and looked at Keita.
The first was a girl, whom Keita had noticed earlier while taking notes. She had long dark blue hair that was tied into a long braid in the back and gold colored eyes that looked at him with a cold stare. She wore her uniform jacket open and wore black pants instead of a skirt. Keita felt a little nervous as she glared at him, adjusting her black rimmed glasses.
The second was a boy who seemed to be younger than Keita by a year or so. He had medium length bluish-silver hair with jagged edges around it and turquoise eyes that looked at him in curiosity. His blazer was worn closed with a black turtleneck sweater underneath. "He must be an underclassman" Keita thought.
Not letting himself be intimidated so easily, he walked over to the group.
"So…who're these guys?" Keita asked Kaz casually.
"They're friends of mine" Kaz answered.
"Ah, cool. Well, nice to meet you. I'm Keita Saeki" He offered his hand for the girl to shake.
"Put your hand down. You look like an idiot" She scoffed coldly.
"And hello to you too" Keita said sarcastically in his head.
The younger boy looked at the girl, as though he was waiting for a signal. She shook her head. Despite this, he took in a breath and got up, causing the girl to react with a face of disappointment
"Uh, hey…" He said, shaking Keita's hand.
"M-my name's Shiki. Nice to meet you" He said, speaking as though he was walking on glass.
"Well, nice to meet you too Shiki" Keita said, happily. "Finally a nice person other than Kaz and Marina-senpai" Keita celebrated in his head.
Keita looked at the corner of her eye and saw the girl looking at Keita with disgust.
"Jeez, what's this girl's problem" Keita thought. "Do I know her from somewhere else? Did I do something wrong?"
The girl got up and snapped her fingers. "Kaz, Shiki, we're leaving" She ordered. Shiki ran to her side immediately while Kaz hesitantly got up.
"H-hey…! Hey! What gives? Kaz can make his own decisions!" Keita defended him.
"Kaz…now" She demanded, looking at him with an intense look.
"Sorry Keita. I gotta go…" Kaz said quickly as he followed Shiki and the girl.
"Hey come on, what's your beef with me?" Keita yelled, getting in the girls way.
"Just shut up already!" She snapped at Keita as she went around him, Kaz and Shiki following behind her. Keita could see Kaz's face. He had regret written all over it.
"Hey! Saeki-kun!" Keita could hear a voice right behind him.
Keita turned around. "Oh, hey Marina-senpai" He said in a low voice.
"Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Marina asked, concerned.
"That girl…" Keita mumbled, looking as she walked out, with Shiki and Kaz following her.
"Ohhhh jeez, you met Ryoko, huh?" Marina said with regret in her voice.
"Ryoko…?" Keita asked.
"Uh huh, she's an honor student. Highest in almost every class she's in."
"That doesn't give her the right to act like she's the queen!" Keita yelled in frustration.
"She's pretty smug sometimes, I'll admit that. I've had to teach her before in a class"
"What's she like?" He asked.
"She's smart and all and I commend her for having such devotion to her school work, but at times I think she lets her status get to her head" Marina admitted reluctantly
"No kidding" Keita said lowly. "So, what about the silver haired boy, you know anything about him?"
"Oh yeah plenty, his name is Shiki Izumi" Marina said.
Something clicked in Keita's head. "Izumi…Isn't that the principal's last name too?"
Marina nodded. "Principal Izumi is Shiki's uncle."
"Ahhh, I see. Never would've guessed" Keita said in astonishment.
"He's not the type to flaunt that to everyone he meets. In fact, he's pretty timid" Marina explained.
"I see" Keita said.
Marina thought for a moment. "Wanna go to the takoyaki stand again?" She offered.
"I'm not very hungry right now."
"You wanna just hang out?"
"Not really in the mood."
A frown came across Marina's face. "Hey, come on! Don't feel so down. Ryoko is who she is. Whether she changes or not is on her."
"Right…"
"You didn't insult her or anything right?"
"No…"
"Then you're fine! So cheer up, okay?" She offered.
A small smile spread across Keita's face. "Thanks…"
"What're senpai's for?" She said with a grin.
"I think I'm gonna head to my room and call it a day" Keita told her.
"Alright, I'll just walk with you there" Marina said as she followed him.
The two walked from the school building all the way to Keita's dorm, hardly saying a word the entire time.
"Alright, I'll see you later Marina-senpai" Keita said, walking up the stairs.
"Alright, see ya later!" She replied as she walked away.
Keita stopped in front of the door for a moment, thinking. Today was just a huge train wreck as far as he was concerned. He just wanted the day to end.
Outside of Keita's dorm, Marina walked back to her own dorm as well. Outside the door, a green haired high school student was there, leaning against the nearby wall. He seemed to have been waiting for her.
"How's he doing?" He asked her.
"He's doing fine. He's just a little upset from events in the day" She answered.
"I see…"
Marina sat down for a moment, thinking to herself.
"Has he awakened his potential yet?" The young man asked her.
"I don't think so. I mean, I can sense it, but it's very faint" Marina said, rubbing her chin.
"Give him some time, he'll work up to it on his own" He said, seeming confident in his statement.
"Yeah…"
"We all had to awaken it at one point" He said casually, standing upright.
"I understand" Marina said in agreement.
"Well, I'm off. Take care now." The young man said laxly as he walked off.
"Right…" Marina said quietly as she walked into her own dorm. She thought of Keita's condition, as well as another thing that unsettled her, a strange feeling in the air. Whatever it was, she felt like it was a warning of something to come.
