Ch. 34
(POV:Neko)
As I glanced around my now empty room, looking for anything I had left behind while packing, I thought of what was going to happen over the next few months. The school for SAO players was finally opening, and me and Nemu had rented a two bedroom apartment near the school. I finished my last sweep of the room and left, closing the door behind me. Despite the fact that I had been living in a house with a fully functionable closet, I was still traveling light, so I only had three bags, one of which was a backpack. However, Nemu had insisted on bringing what was essentially her entire wardrobe. The nine overstuffed bags sat in the entryway, almost making it impossible to leave the house. I carefully navigated the mess and went outside, where Nemu was saying goodbye to the very emotional townspeople. As I came up beside her, Nemu took one look at me. It said, in quite plain terms: "HELP ME!". I interrupted the conversation.
"Sorry everyone, but we need to get going." I said. The townspeople reluctantly drew back, allowing us to get to the taxi that would take us to the school, about 3 hours away. I placed my two bags in the trunk, and held my backpack in my lap. Nemu, however, had to have her stuff shipped, so we left her bags in the house, letting her parents take care of them. The drive was made with minimal talking due to the fact that the taxi driver could hear every word we said. When we finally got to the apartment, both of us relaxed.
"Man, that was nerve wracking." said Nemu. I hummed in agreement. I went into my room to set up. I came out about 20 minutes later to find Nemu attempting to cook scrambled eggs, and brilliantly failing. If I hadn't seen the ingredients, I would not have known what she was cooking. The 'scrambled eggs' were burnt to the point that they looked like a black green bean.
"My god, what have you done to the eggs?!" I exclaimed. Nemu jerked in surprise, as she had not noticed me behind her. She smiled sheepishly.
"I was cooking eggs." she said.
"Cooking or experimenting what they look like after you burn them?" I said. She pouted.
"If you are willing to criticize then you must be willing to cook." she said.
"Ok. Move over." I replied.
(POV:Neko)
As I placed the pan on a oven mitt to keep the heat off the table, Nemu looked at me with a bewildered expression.
"Since when did you learn to cook?!" she exclaimed. I laughed.
"Scrambled eggs is one of the few things I can cook. Oven pizza and anything in the microwave are about it." I said. After breakfast, I helped Nemu get settled. After several hours of organising, she was finally done. The next day, classes started.
(POV:Neko)
After the 2 minute walk between the apartment and the school, me and Nemu went our separate ways towards our classes.
(POV:Nemu)
As Neko went to his math class, I wondered how he would get along with others. Neko, although very open when with me, is very reserved at times, making it almost impossible for small talk. As a result, he has very few friends. Clark was an exception. And a very lucky one too. However, I had more pressing worries. Math. Neko's math grade on the entrance exam was one of the highest in the school, and was obviously one of his stronger classes. My grade, however, was 11th from the bottom. As I walked into the room, I glanced around to see an almost full room. After referencing the seating chart on the hologram board, I sat down at a seat about a third from the front, and the far left-hand side of the room, against the window. As I sat down, a girl next to me introduced herself.
"Hello! My name is Ren Shiba!" the girl said energetically. She seemed to be hovering just above her seat, rather than sitting on it.
"I am horrible at math, but I hope we can be friends." she said rapidly. I managed to find my voice.
"H-Hello. My name is Nemu Morino. Pleased to meet you." I said. She smiled.
"Is it ok if I call you by your first name?" she asked.
"Sure, I guess." I replied. However, before we could continue, the bell rang.
(POV:Nemu)
As I walked from English to lunch, I wondered how on earth I had progressed this fast. I already had two friends, Ren, and a girl named Naomi Nao. Both of which were somehow on a first name basis. Speak of the devils, I thought, as I saw them waving energetically towards me. I walked over.
"Hi Nemu!" said Ren.
"Hey guys. What's up?" I asked.
"Let's sit over here." said Naomi, pointing towards the corner. Before I could object, they had dragged me to the table in question. They began to eat. I was starting to open my lunch when I noticed Neko entering the cafeteria. True to form, he was zoned out, reading on his tablet.
"Oi! Neko! Over here!" I called. He looked up for a second, spotted me, and began walking over, again, with his nose to the screen. However, Ren and Naomi were confused.
"Wait, do you know that boy? And what was with his name?" they asked in sync. I had to resist laughing.
"He and I live together. And before you freak, he is trustworthy, so don't worry about anything in that department." I said, forestalling them before they could burst out with warnings. As it happened, Neko came to a stop next to the table, but was so intent on his book that he continued standing, reading, while my friends tried to get used to the unnerving level of concentration that he had.
"Honestly." I said with a sigh, and physically yanked him down onto the seat. I placed his lunch in front of him, but, still being locked into his book, he took no notice. After about ten seconds I yanked the tablet out of his hands and bonked him on the head with it. His eyes took a second to focus, then he realized where he was.
"How did I get from class to here?" he asked, confused. About half a second after this, Ren and Naomi burst out laughing. The realization that the were two unknown girls laughing while sitting at the same table only confused him more. I decided to handle introductions before his mind completely halted from confusion.
"Neko, this is Ren Shiba and Naomi Nao. They are friends of mine from class." I told Neko. Understanding lit his face.
"Ren, Naomi, this is Neko. His real name is Harry Aki, but he responds to Neko better." They nodded, still laughing to hard to talk. However, before I could say anything else, Neko tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to him, only to be assaulted with the puppy eyes look. It took me a second to realize that I was still holding his tablet. With a sigh, I handed it back to him, while Ren and Naomi burst into a new round of laughter. After talking with Ren about the new english assignment, I noticed that Neko had yet to eat. I rapped my knuckles on his head.
"Eat. Now." I said. He pulled out a granola bar and began to eat it. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had removed the wrapper first. As I yanked his tablet away and forced him to eat, Ren and Naomi exploded with laughter.
Author's Note: Oi! I am alive! SORRY! My internet went down for a bit, and when it finally did come back, I had been out of it for so long I completely forgot. Anyway, I am back, so I hope you liked this chapter.