It was August 12, 1988 and I was fifteen years old, it was my freshman year in high school. Since my birthday just happened to fall on the same week that school started, August 15, I was a year older than everyone else in the class. My father was a lawyer and he had the clout to get me sent to one of the most prestigious private high schools in the area, Fuuka Academy, renowned for their academic and etiquette programs. Their motto was 'Optimum et Lucentia' or 'The Best and Brightest Stars'. They declared that anyone who was anyone had graduated from Fuuka, and anyone who graduated from Fuuka was someone.
My mom used to drive me there in her white Volvo, she would kiss me on the forehead and tell me to behave. I still remember the color of lipstick that she wore because it would leave a blush-like stain on my forehead for the rest of the day. She was a bit darker then me but that was due to her yearly vacations to Mexico and she had the same color hair that I do but I'm taller now than she was. I remember the other kids commenting on how attractive she was and how lucky I was to have her as a mom. It was years later before I understood why they said that, at the time I was angry at mom for my curfew.
It was the first day of school and she dropped me off at the curb, afterwards I climbed the long set of stairs up the hill to the main building. The main building of Fuuka Academy was built on a hill with an incline that was shallow in the rear and steep in the front. Up to the front door were a long series of steps that the faculty often referred to as the 'Ascent to Excellence' because only students ever climbed them, the visitor and faculty entrances were on the side of the building.
On this day I was walking up the Ascent for the first time with a host of other new students. The sun was high in the sky and it was warm but not overly so, the kind of day that students lament having to be in class and not outside enjoying it. I entered the main building and was directed, like all the freshmen like me, to the auditorium that was on the end of the left wing of the main building. We entered and were awed, first by the sheer size of the auditorium with comfortable seating for at least one thousand, and second by the gravitas of the ceremony.
We all took our seats, barely filling out the front row of the auditorium, and an elegant lady in a white flowing dress stepped onto the stage. We all thought she was angelic, her voice only adding fuel to our fantasies. "Optimum et Lucentia. Does anyone know what that means?"
Only one voice spoke out from amongst us, a deep voice that sounded like running your hand along velvet drapes. "It's Latin, it translates to The Best and Brightest Stars."
"Correct." To this day none of us were ever able to figure out who answered, I have my theories but nothing concrete. "The Best and Brightest Stars, that is who studies here and that is who graduates from here. When you leave this place you will be prepared for the life that awaits you." She started pacing to ensure that the next part was heard by all present. "Fuuka academy does not accept failure, as such failing grades are not given. If you should be deemed unworthy you will be expelled, no questions asked. That is the Golden Rule, all other school rules are handled by a Student Council elected by the student body and tasked with setting and upholding the school rules. Here is the current Student Council president to speak to you about those now."
The woman stepped aside and a tall senior boy stepped up, his hair was cut short and the tie on his black suit hung straight. "Thank you, Ms. Maria, I am Hiroshi Kurosawa and I am the Student Council president for this year." His voice was clear and concise, many of the girls around me swooned over him, I was left with a feeling of profound respect, though whether that was for the man or the position I am unsure. "The general rules for the school are posted in the student council room and included with your new student packet that you all will receive." As he spoke several seniors started handing out said packets to us. I nodded politely when mine was handed to me by an attractive girl with red hair in a ponytail.
"The most important rules are..." He counted on his hand as he called each out. "One, no one is allowed to leave campus before classes are let out. Two, anyone in the hallways while their class is going on must have a permit from the teacher or face academic repercussions that will lead to expulsion. Three, physical violence will not be tolerated with escalating punishments that lead to expulsion. The rest will be in your student handbook. Thank you all for your time and welcome to Fuuka academy."
I was frightened by what had been presented, it seemed the penalty for all infractions was expulsion. It was these strict policies and the self-governing student body that would eventually get Fuuka shut down in 1994, only two years after I graduated.
Ms. Maria returned to center stage now, "Everyone can spend the rest of their day getting to know their classmates. Classes will begin tomorrow for everyone so enjoy this chance now, because after today you will all be too busy studying to socialize."
She left the stage and a long table was brought out with food of all kinds, from hamburgers to caviar and everything in between. We all got up and surrounded the table, I shoved my way through having missed breakfast that morning and was poking at some kind of meat that I had a strong suspicion was raw fish when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, don't hog all the octopus."
The blonde haired girl I saw when I faced her is the same woman who is responsible for my being here. I introduced myself, "Hello, I'm Shizuru Viola."
She laughed aloud, "No need to be so formal, you can call me Haruka." I tried to shake her hand but she pulled me into a hug. "So was I the only one scared of that Ms. Maria, she's a real warden."
The girl standing next to me, slightly shorter than me but with brown hair and glasses, answered, "I'm more scared of being expelled, it seems really easy to do here." I faced her and she shrunk back a bit, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
I reassured her, "No, it's okay, I was thinking the same thing. I'm Shizuru."
"Yukino, Yukino Kikukawa." She shook my hand before Haruka practically engulfed her in a hug, she shrieked a little earning glances from several of the people around us.
"Hi, I'm Haruka, it's nice to meet you." Afterwards Haruka practically dove into the food and I laughed at how ridiculous she looked shoveling raw fish into her mouth like she hadn't eaten in a week. I grabbed a plate and filled it with whatever was near then took a seat further back from the crowd. Haruka and Yukino sat around me and I was about to take a bite when I noticed someone was looking at me.
She was sitting by herself off to one side of the auditorium, her uniform was the same as the one we all wore, white button up shirt and black skirt, but it didn't seem to fit her well. Her hair shone bluish in the light offsetting her pale white skin and her emerald eyes were now locked with mine, asking questions of my eyes and trying to interpret the answers. I couldn't take my eyes off her, I looked away and asked Haruka, "Do you know that girl there?"
Haruka looked over but she had gotten up and walked away, "Who, I don't see anybody."
I tried to find her again in the crowd but she had all but disappeared. "Her hair was bluish and she had pale skin and broad shoulders."
"If she's here that means she's in our class so we'll see her again. The next time you see her just go up to her and ask her name."
I shuddered at the thought. What it she blows me off? What if she laughs at me? What if she attacks me for daring to ask her name? The thought never occurred to me that she had been looking first, all I thought of was how it could go wrong.
After we were finished eating, Haruka, Yukino and I took a tour of the campus, checking out the pristine hallways and neat rooms with their fancy desks. Several of the classrooms were occupied by the older students who were already deep in their studies. We passed an English class in session where the students were being lectured about some Middle Eastern author we had never heard of. I couldn't shake the feeling of intimidation that I had felt since the assembly. I thought aloud, "I don't want to be expelled."
Haruka was walking right behind me and she put a hand on my shoulder to reassure me, "Do you plan to fail, because I don't. Just keep moving forward and it will all work out, that's what my father always taught me."
Yukino walked quietly behind the both of us, so I included her. "What about you, Yukino, are you scared of failing?"
Yukino nodded her head, "Yes, I don't want to let my father down. He tried so hard to get me sent here, I would hate to throw all of that away."
Haruka looked pouty, "Geez, you two are such downers. You can't let it get to you, stay focused and achieve your goal no matter what stands in your way." Words that I would remember for years after.
-IPR-
It was time to leave and I stood on the curb waiting for my mom with Haruka and Yukino who were also waiting for their rides home. A couple of older boys were standing near their cars in the parking lot when we heard one of them, a thick blonde-haired boy, call out to a girl that passed by. I looked to see who he had called out to when I noticed it was the girl whom I had seen in the auditorium, my heartbeat sped up a bit. She stopped and exchanged a few words with the boy, who started laughing with his other friends. She shouted at him and we all watched him get struck in the head and fall down to the floor shouting and bleeding from his nose. We never knew what hit him, at the time we all assumed she had some strange power, and who knows, maybe she did.
She walked by us and I tried to grab her attention, following what Haruka had said in the auditorium. "Excuse me...hel...hello."
Mentally I kicked myself for sounding like a dullard but if she thought that, she didn't show it when she looked me in the eyes again. "I saw you in the auditorium, are you a freshman too?" Her voice was stunning, not high pitched but deep and smooth like dark chocolate. It flowed from her like a mountain spring and brought feelings to me that I was too young to understand. I was left speechless, so I merely nodded my response. "You are very pretty, I love the color of your eyes. I'm Natsuki Kuga, what's your name?"
I struggled to remember in the haze that her green eyes filled me with, "It's Shizuru, Shizuru Viola."
"Shizuru." She let my name roll off her tongue, like she was tasting it to see if she liked it. She opened her mouth to speak when we heard a honk and she turned around quickly, spotted the source of the honking, a black Chrysler that had pulled up, and started to quickly walk away. She made her way to the parking lot and started up a motorcycle before leaving in a hurry.
The black Chrysler didn't seem to react, it merely pulled away and drove off in the same direction that Natsuki had just left in. Haruka looked confused, "What was that about? She just up and leaves without even noticing me and Yukino, how rude."
Yukino held a hand over her chest, "I'm glad she didn't notice me, she was kind of scary, don't you think so Shizuru?"
I watched the car drive off until it was a speck on the horizon, I didn't hear Yukino's question nor the honking of the white Volvo that had pulled up to us. All I could think about was the mysterious girl who had just left me speechless and, though I wasn't aware of it at the time, stolen my heart.
The window on the Volvo rolled down and my mom shouted at me, "Shizuru, hey Shizuru are you ready to go?" I snapped out of my thoughts and bid Haruka and Yukino a fond farewell, the former pulled me into a big hug and the latter merely waved as I got into the car and my mom pulled us out of the driveway and onto the street. "So, how was your first day, sweetie?"
I answered, "It was scary, I didn't know that it was going to be so intense."
My mom smiled at me and all the anxiety that had been building since the assembly started to melt away. She always had that effect on me, maybe it's a mom thing. "It may seem like that now, but once you've graduated and are running your own practice then you'll be thankful that they didn't let you quit. You just need to persevere and you'll be okay." That calmed me, and I spent the rest of the drive home thinking about a certain dark-haired girl who had complimented my eyes.
-IPR-
Al sat behind his desk listening intently to the story that Shizuru was telling. "So you met Natsuki in your freshman year, and she was the same age as you?"
"Actually, Natsuki started at Fuuka a year later than the rest of us, she was sixteen at the time."
"I am curious as to why, and also the significance of the black car that she ran away from."
"I will get there, but there is a lot of story to tell yet."
