Be nice to everyone.
Make friends.
Do well in school.
That's how I'd be happy, myself.
For a moment, my hand reaches out of its own accord, a subconscious effort to hold onto a dream that I can barely remember.
All I remember is that voice…and vague shapes against a shadow...
I blearily get up, shower, change into my clothes, and take my medication…and wind up with a full hour before the beginning of class.
Oh, right. I had reserved that time to read, but I think I should probably prioritize. Didn't have dinner last night, no breakfast today…hm, that might be something I should do.
My eating habits are terrible, I know, but I can't help myself. There are things to check out, you know?
I'm tempted to get that portable refrigerator for my dorm, but I elect to wait until tonight. I don't think that I have enough time to run down the hill to town and back before school starts.
Gah. I guess I'll go down to the cafeteria...and schedule a food run some other time.
On the way out, I run into someone I would have rather avoided.
"Who is it?" It's Kenji. He seems to be in a friendly mood, although the light glinting off his glasses gives him a sinister look.
"It's just me." I reply cautiously.
This makes him pause and lick his lips nervously.
"Who is me? I don't know anyone called me. Are you some new guy again?"
Oh dear. His voice is suddenly strained and quick.
"Yes... but we've met before, two days ago." I try to reason.
This is a mistake.
"I don't think so, I would remember someone who I met only yesterday. ...When was that? What day is it today?" I try to ignore him. Is he joking or what?
"Prove that we've met before!" He demands.
"If I don't?" I reply, suddenly awake. I'm not in the mood for this, not at all.
A pause, and then he whirls around and lunges back into his room, shrieking something about a 'feminist assassin' of some sort.
Well…that was one way to deal with the problem, though my entire train of thought has been lost. I'm not really sure what to do now…wander around again? I've explored most of the school, I think, but not in much detail. Perhaps I could find a place to draw? This seems like a good place to start.
My feet take me outside the dormitory to wander in the courtyard once more, but I'm prevented from going anywhere by the oddest sight.
Some context is needed.
The school areas and dormitory are not level with the rest of the grounds, for whatever reason. It is on a raised area, an unnatural hill, and on the front face of this hill is a wall, made of the same bricks that comprise the dormitory exterior. To enter either side of the dormitory, one must go to the left or right of this wall and climb the stairs.
It's very picturesque, except that, on the concrete in front of a wall, is a sleeping girl with short, messy, rust-red hair surrounded by buckets of paint.
She also doesn't appear to have any arms with which to paint. Her long-sleeved shirt is tied off at where the elbows would be, empty flaps resting on the ground. It's a pretty sad sight, I think.
…It looks like she's wearing a boy's uniform too. I'm not sure how I should be reacting to this girl.
Not just a girl, though; presumably a painter. There's quite a few sketches covering the wall, paint drying in various areas. They're spread out enough to where I'm not quite sure what they're supposed to be.
Well…
This seems like a very large project, especially if she's supposed to cover the entire wall. Is she doing this for the festival? She'll run out of time if that's the case.
Should I wake her up? Is it the right thing to do?
Well, she'll be late for school if I don't. Deliberations decided, I crouch down next to her and shake her shoulder.
"Nn." And slowly she does come awake. I resist a smile as her eyes slowly flutter open, murky emerald irises darting around before focusing on mine.
"It's rather early in the morning." I say. "Did you plan on waking up any time soon?"
Her eyes look past me to the dawning sky.
"No." She replies flatly. And with that she goes right back to sleep.
…Um…
Well…I'm really out of ideas here. If I don't head to the cafeteria I risk not eating anything, and it's really not good for me to skip meals like that. On the other hand…well, I really don't want to leave this girl alone out here.
What do I do…?
I'm reminded…of who I used to be…
Reminded…of the girl who helped me up to walk on my own feet again…
I can't. I can't leave this one alone.
I peer at the ID clipped to her shirt.
"Rin…Tezuka. Yes. Alright. Miss Tezuka, it's time to get up." I poke her side, hopefully not too roughly.
And without any indication that she's awoken, if she ever truly went back to sleep:
"How do you know my name? Are you a mind reader? Is that your disability?" Rin asks suddenly, as I jump back in surprise.
"Um. No." I reply. "And that's not relevant to this conversation. It's time to get up. You need to go to school."
"I'm already at school." She replies dryly.
"Not school, the place." I clarify. "I mean school, the concept. Where you go to get taught by teachers? That's not here." I make a grand gesture; she doesn't even notice, her eyes still closed.
"You'd be surprised, or maybe you wouldn't. Kind of like a Jack-In-The-Box; you know that it'll pop out, but you still get shocked anyways. I've never had one of those before. No arms, you see." There's a faint wiggling in the area by her shoulders. Arm stumps?
"No, I wouldn't. I understand what you're trying to say, but that's not really the point I'm trying to make here." I respond. This gets her to open her eyes, surprise dancing in them.
"That's the first time anyone's ever told me that they understood anything I've ever tried to say. Are you sure you're not a mind reader?" Rin asks.
"I'm sure." I reply blankly.
Nothing I've tried works; she seizes control of the conversation with every sentence and beats me in the head with it. More importantly, though, it seems like she has absolutely no interest in going to school today.
Well, fine. I tried. Looks like she isn't going to school.
"Hey, hey. What kind of problem do you have?" Rin asks, looking at me suddenly. It seems to be her modus operandi; abrupt confusion.
"What?" Or, rather, that would be the emotion that she instills into others.
"What kind of problem do you have?" She repeats.
"Problem? What kind of problem?" I reply, confused.
"Disability. Handicap. Crippledness." She stresses. "What's yours? You can see mine." She wiggles her arm stumps.
"Um." It occurs to me that this is the first time that she's shown interest in anything besides sleep, and I can use this to my advantage.
I don't know how I feel about this…but, I think that this girl probably doesn't care past her own interests. It's safe to talk to her, I think.
"I'll tell you if you sit up and promise to go to class at least once this week." I reply. For a moment I can see her actually calculating her interest versus the effort required to sit up.
Suddenly I feel less sure about my bargaining power.
"Hm…Acceptable." Rin replies. "I won't shake hands with you, so I guess we'll just have to trust each other."
"I suppose so." I respond dryly. This girl is terribly disorienting, and it takes me a while to properly interpret everything she says.
Rin sits up.
"There." She says, with an air of finality. "I have completed my part of the bargain. Now it's your turn."
Ah, the sacrifices I make following her suggestions…
"Well, I'm suffering from HSAN6. Shorthand for hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy, type 6. Basically, I can't feel pain or temperature." I reply.
"That's interesting." Rin says, smiling, and I can't help but feel like I've been collected or something.
I check my watch. Twenty minutes to class. If I hurry, I'll be able to eat food at the cafeteria.
"School's going to start in twenty minutes. I suppose you have no interest in going to class now?" I ask. She shrugs, but doesn't say anything.
"Well…" I make a gesture towards everything in front of her. "Enjoy your day, then."
She doesn't acknowledge that, which perturbs me somewhat. I'm starting to think that's just how Rin Tezuka works, though.
