Prologue 1-3
The back of the plane, which the sign said was the Sleeping Area, was, ironically, much less quiet than the front, that was for sure.
"I'M LOOOOOOOOOOUDERRRRRRRRR!"
Then again, considering the screaming match between Nico and another boy we were witnessing right now, that was to be expected.
The boy who yelled back was hanging upside-down, legs crossed over the metal bars that prevented those who slept in the bunk beds from rolling off. He was barefoot for some reason, and wore a shirt and pants over a skin-tight bodysuit. His orange-coloured hair trailed messily over his brown eyes.
"TODD IS MUCH LOOOOOOOOOOOOOUDERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
Between the high-pitched voice and the fact that he named himself by shouting, I recognized the boy almost immediately. He's Todd Dunham, the Super High School Level Acrobat.
TODD DUNHAM - SHSL ACROBAT
I saw Todd and his troupe, 'Cirque du Luna', when they performed in South Korea a while ago. Amongst the balancing acts, sword-swallowers and other entertainers, he was their fifteen-year old ringmaster, and star of their show. He did a legion of masterful feats I could not even hope to perform in my dreams...To illustrate my point, his introduction had him leaping from the ceiling rafters and nailing his landing on a tightrope, feet-first!
"OH PLEASE. DO YOU KNOW HOW LOUD THE STUFF I WORK WITH EVERY DAY IS? GET ON MY LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELS!" screeched Nico.
"TODD HAS TO WORK WITH SCARY BANSHEE LADY FOR CIRCUS! TODD SURPASSES YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Todd yelled back.
Normally, at this point in time, I would have expected Sasha, or perhaps even myself, to go forward and convince Nico and/or Todd to...how you say? Put a metaphorical sock in it.
Yet, we were again saved by another interjectection.
"WILL YOU BOTH PLEASE BE QUIET?"
The third party was a rather tall, muscular guy, wearing a blue-and-green rugby jersey underneath...a teddy bear apron. I found the contrast quite hilarious, and clearly Sasha did too, as she had descended into a series of uncontrollable giggles.
Evidently, though, it must have been effective, because they stopped their shouting match to look at him-
"OHMYGOSHTHATSSOCUTEBWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!"
"TODD CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC BEHIND TEDDIES AND FUTBOL! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
...Before bursting into raucous laughter.
I sighed to myself. Clearly I had hoped for too much.
He groaned. "Good Lord, I work with children every day, but you two are possibly louder than all of them combined!"
The sentiment was shared. "Those two are way louder than any audience I've encountered, that's for sure."
"I'm sure that the cops would arrest them for disturbing the peace if they ever showed up at a protest," added Sasha.
The guy sighed, again. "I went to Hope's Peak expecting to get away from little kids, but instead I just get saddled with more."
Sasha put her hand on his shoulder - which looked hilarious considering that he was about half a foot taller than her. "I wish I could say that I sympathize, but so far it's been pretty great. Everyone seems nice and non-bigoted, which is really different from what I'm used to."
He raised an eyebrow. "You don't know half the pain of taking care of an entire neighborhood's worth of children."
You did what?!
"I said, 'You don't know half the pain of taking care of an entire neighborhood's worth of children.', I believe."
Whoops. That was out loud.
"It was enough to earn me, Johan Otto, the Super High School Babysitter title, you see." he humbly bragged.
JOHAN OTTO - SHSL BABYSITTER
I'd never heard of Johan before, and 'Babysitter' struck me as a weird title, but to each his own, I supposed. Either way, working with kids like that couldn't have been an easy job. I felt almost sorry for Johan, but if he had a SHSL in it he probably enjoyed it at least a little.
"You said everyone was nice, but what about that Eric guy?" Nico offered, her laughter having faded away shortly before.
"Oh, yeah. He's a pretentious prick. Thankfully he seems to be an exception."
"I heard that."
Sasha and I looked for the source of the noise. Eric was leaning against a door, clearly very proud of himself.
Sasha sighed. "Have you been tailing me or something?"
"Perhaps," said Eric, "you should take it as a compliment. Normally I wouldn't give someone like you the time of day, but here I am."
Sasha growled. "Not quite sure if that was transphobic or just plain rude, but I'm pissed either way."
Eric scratched the back of his head. "That wasn't transphobic at all. I just don't like you."
Sasha frowned. "But you do see how it could be taken as transphobic, right? Especially with your 'real ladies' comment earlier."
"Sure, but I didn't mean it that way."
"How you meant it doesn't matter. You need to learn from your mistakes, Andrews."
"Hey, lay off of me! I make mistakes just like anyone else - I just make them less, and they're less important."
Sasha leaned in and poked Eric in the chest. "You. Are. A. Pretentious. Prick."
Eric glared. "You're a child with a martyr complex."
"Should we leave before things get super intense?" Nico whispered in my ear.
"Yeah...that would be best." I murmured back.
Todd put in his quiet two-cents. "Todd will join you."
"OR SO HELP ME I WILL END YOU."
Moving on past the Sleeping Area, we (that is, Todd, Nico and I) came to the Recreation Room - where a medley of assorted amenities, including a few computer cubholes, a miniature arcade and workshop, could be found. I spied our last three classmates spread around the confines of the room, each of them doing something different.
A very petite girl in a rather dirty-looking white lab coat over a polka-dotted chiffon sat in a cubhole, typing away with an almost terrifying intensity. She had curly black hair, tied into low pigtails, and had two pairs of eyewear - a pair of scientific goggles, and a normal pair of round glasses over forest-green eyes.
"Hey! What'cha typing?" Nico asked as we got closer.
The girl jolted out of her seat, absolutely shocked, before fumbling with her glasses. "Oh, I was just...typing up a thesis! D-don't mind me!"
"Ooh. What kind of thesis?" I asked.
"Todd wants to know! Todd wants to know!" affirmed Todd.
"It's...um, a potential cure for AIDS," she gulped slightly, "I don't know how well it's going to go, but I really hope I can make a difference-"
At this point, she stopped mid-speech to stare at me. "Oh! Are you Ashie, from Heartfuls?"
I blushed slightly. "You know me?"
"Yes, of course! How could I not?" She held out her hand. "My name is Phuong Tien Lam, and I am the Super High-School Level Scientist! Call me whichever of the three you like, and it's really an honour to meet you!"
PHUONG TIEN LAM - SHSL SCIENTIST
Phuong may have been a huge fan of mine, but I was the one humbled by her presence. She was the genius behind the Toyota Valflame - the first car in the world to run both on solar and hydroelectric energy - singlehandedly making it the most environmentally-friendly car in the world. It wasn't available to very many people yet, but many predicted that within two decades, all the cars in the world would be running using the framework it created. Other than that, she was a gift to the scientific realm, and had been involved in various scientific debates worldwide.
"Hey, I know you too!" Nico cheered, hands grasping her headphones, "You're the girl who made these babies completely wireless too!"
"Ah, the Beats Slipstream! I remember selling this model in particular in an auction for charity..." she studied Nico, before concluding, "That must mean you're Nico di Angelo, aren't you?"
"You betcha!" Immediately, she threw her arms around Phuong, "I'm so happy that you were able to make my dreams a reality!"
"Todd wants to join the hug too!" And with that, the Acrobat ran up and hugged the both of them, leaving me awkwardly staring at them.
Nico looked at me. "Well, Ashie, aren't you gonna join the hug too?"
"Um...thanks, but, um, no thanks."
It's not that I didn't, just...well, there was just that one incident at a concert-
"That's okay - Todd thinks it's fine to moderate your affection." Releasing his hold, his eyes caught onto something, and he pranced away to it.
"Well, I guess we'll see you around, Tien." Nico smiled, before going after him.
Feeling probably just a *little* left out, I just waved her goodbye, upon which she turned back to her computer and resumed typing at her scarily-fast pace.
A girl in a fancy dress was playing Dance Dance Revolution in the corner. She seemed to be incredibly good at it-better than I was, and I had to dance on a regular basis, so that was saying something. Todd attempted to join in, awkwardly jumping back and forth sorta to the music. On the other hand, Nico was rocking out, hand on headphone to her ear.
As I got closer, her features grew clearer, and I felt like I recognized her from somewhere. Her skin was a light caramel, contrasting with her black hair that fell to just below her shoulders, save for a bang that covered one of her eyes. The visible eye was blue in colour, and was staring with such concentration I could have sworn it was bloodshot.
But it was her attire that finally made it click for me. She was wearing a knee-length navy lolita dress, with bows and ruffles. I'd seen the exact same outfit on the exact game girl on one of my friends' modeling magazines.
As the song ended, Nico and Todd burst into applause. Ignoring them, the girl turned to me. "Impressed, are you not? My name is-"
"Jacqueline Ressa, right?" I couldn't help but respond. "You're that famous model, aren't you?"
"Pas tout à fait, Jung. Indeed, my name is Jackie Ressa, but, specifically, I am ze Super High School Level Lolita Model. A niche, if you will."
JACQUELINE RESSA - SHSL LOLITA MODEL
The women of the Ressa family, colloquially known as the 'Ressa Beauties', were, generation after generation, the most famous Lolita models in the entire world. And in the heart of all of it was Jackie - she was the third and youngest, and the next in line. She'd strutted her stuff at various shows worldwide, and, just like her mother and grandmother before her, was the epitome of the successful fashion queen.
"Eez it really necessary to stare at me zhat way?" Jackie tilted her head, "I know I am attractive, but is it something else? Or is zhere something on the face of moi?"
"Ah, don't worry too much about it." Nico teased, "She looks at everyone a bit funny."
Before I could respond and defend myself, a beeping sound made Jackie turn back around. Evidently, her next round had started, and she had to focus on it.
Might as well leave them be, I guess.
My final classmate was...intriguing, to say the least. Unlike the rest of us, who were busy doing whatever it was we were doing, she was merely rocking back and forth in a corner of the room.
She looked tall, but scrawny and pale, and had raven-black hair that fell in messy locks to her back, stopped by what appeared to be a holster for a sword - though real or fake I could not judge from this distance. She had on a gray vest, adorned with hundreds of cartoonish, but creepily hyper-realistic drawings of eyes, over a black undershirt with a skeletal ribcage design, and jeans. Most unnervingly, however, was how she was smiling and staring at absolutely nothing in particular with her grey eyes-
"Meep!"
She just stared right at me!
"Oh... Another one," she held out her right hand, "Hello there."
I was...unusually hesitant to take her hand. It might be because there was an ugly scar on it, stretching from her palm to her fingers, that did not look like it had finished healing.
Nevertheless, I did end up taking it. "Hello as well. I'm Ashley Jung, the Super High School K-Pop Idol."
"Maya Metl...Super High School Level Failure."
MAYA METL - SHSL FAILURE
...Yeah, I got nothing. I haven't ever heard of Maya, nor what kind of feats she did - or did not - perform to receive such a title. Still, I was definitely curious, though-
Before I could continue my thought process, the intercom speakers throughout the room crackled to life.
"Attention, students. Attention, students," a distinctly female voice sounded through, "Please proceed back to the lounge located at the front of the plane now. We will be taking off very soon, and will require you to assemble there for your own safety. Thank you!"
Getting up, Maya giggled to herself as she passed me, murmuring something under her breath that I couldn't identify. Before I could do anything else, however, I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and panicked. "Eek!"
"Woah, woah!" Nico said as she turned me around to face her, "It's just me, Ashie."
Internally, I sighed with relief. "Sorry, you kinda scared me a bit there."
"Whoops, sorry! Didn't mean to do that," she grinned reassuringly, "Anyways, going?"
"Going."
I was the last to arrive back at the lounge, right behind Nico, who took a seat next to Todd, patting the space next to her as an indication for me to sit. Over in the far corner, Matthew and Tien were comparing papers, while JJ was staring at them from afar, in turn being stared at by Maya. Lucille, Ava and Jackie were in the middle of yet another conversation, and so were Hideki, Xiang and Eric. Faen was busy serving cups of tea around, probably having prepared a fresh batch in the time I spent in the back.
Oddly enough, though, Sasha and Johan were having an animated conversation, and Sasha was smiling...for once. Taking my seat next to Nico, who was in a conversation of her own with Todd, I leaned in closer to listen to them.
"And you get those kinds of comments too, right? 'You look like a guy and use 'he' pronouns but claim to be agender. What a transtrender!'" asked Sasha.
"Yeah, all the time. They're so annoying."
"I don't get it. And from self-identified transmeds, too. I experience dysphoria like any other trans person, so why should my pronouns matter?"
I had no idea what they were talking about, so I distanced myself back to my seat. I was about to join whatever conversation Nico and Todd were having (what was that bit about magical ponies?), when the monitors around the lounge flickered to life, showing a pair of highschoolers not unlike ourselves, seated where I believe was the front of our plane.
"Afternoon, guys!" the female of the two greeted, "I'm your pilot, the Super High School Pilot herself, Yukari Nishiyima, and this is my co-pilot, the Super High School Co-Pilot, Ataru Inoue! It's really nice to have more students join us!"
"That it is, Yuka, that it is." The boy - Ataru, was it? - concurred, before turning to face them via the camera, "We're going to be taking off as soon as we get the signal - luckily, thanks to the advanced technology of our airplanes, you won't even feel the half of it! There's no need to strap yourself in or anything, so feel free to continue whatever it is you're doing in the lounge! Anyone else in the other compartments are liable to accidents."
"And just remember! If you do feel any bumpiness, it's not our fault, it's not Kibougamine's fault, but it's the asphalt!" Yukari cheered, before the monitor cut off.
The poor taste in jokes left everyone pretty much speechless after that-
"Booooooooooooooooo!"
...Except Sasha, who was quite vocal in booing them.
"Oh come on! You're not much better!" Nico shouted back.
"I heard that!"
"That's the point!"
The monitor buzzed back to life.
.
"We can hear you as well, Activist. Boo to you too." Yukari deadpanned, before switching up to a smile, "And you're an awesome gal, Nico!"
"Thanks, you too!"
"Okay, we've got the green light. Time to go." Ataru nodded at us, before the monitor feed cut off again.
Minutes later, although we couldn't feel any particular change in the cabin, Todd was watching the sky outside with an amazed expression written all over his face.
Well, not just Todd. I was looking out of one of the windows too, watching the magnificent sun shine its light on the clouds.
They really did have state-of-the-art technology...Hope's Peak was decidedly impressing me more and more. It really is such a blessing to be a student there, huh…?
Well. Time's a wasting. I guess I should find something to do around here. Probably get to know my 'classmates' a bit better. But…
Which ones?
"Despair Airlines...Take off! Destination: Zetsubougamine Private Hell! Upupupupupupupupupupu!"
Prologue 1-3 FIN.
SD'S QOTC (Questions of the Chapter): Which of our students left the strongest impression on you, overall? The weakest? Who's your favourite?
LimeNote: In any case, vote in the poll to secure them (or your own character; don't deny it, I can't be the only one who does it) the first free times of the entire story. You get three votes, actually, so if you do vote for your own character, please vote for someone else's as well. There's no real way for me to enforce this, but please. Be the person that Ashley would want you to be. Share the love.
Also, the death order has been decided already, so...good luck getting freetimes with the imminently deceased! Cheers!
Arcanote: Oh students. I'll actually be able to help with Free Times too since I'm the one with most experience in that field. Huzzah. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter too and I shall be here and helping them with their things even though they're much more productive without me generally. *shrugs* Well, that's all from me.