The food, as expected, is bland.
I'm not here to enjoy it, though. I'll only have a few minutes to read - once I make it to class, that is - before the school day officially starts.
I'm reading the first book that I had originally found, the one without chapters and without any visible structure. That's an unfortunate metaphor for my life, currently. Perhaps I should invest in a calendar, or a planner.
I'd probably forget to write things down. Waste of time, I think.
I pick up my books and bags and wander off to class. There's still about ten minutes before the bell rings, so I should have enough time to get through a few more pages.
Once there, though, I'm stuck with a predicament.
Should I go back to my original spot and sit with Shizune and Misha? Or should I sit by Hanako?
Who would I rather sit by?
After saying hi to Shizune and Misha, I take my spot and pull out my book, casually reading through. This story is about a teenage boy who is lost in life, searching for a purpose-
Ha.
The bell rings, and I obligingly put my book away. Hanako isn't here yet - unfortunate. I want to apologize for the sleeping in thing, but I'm not sure what I would even say.
About ten minutes into class, Hanako walks in and takes a seat, but no one looks at her. The teacher, Mutou, doesn't even comment on her lateness.
He does, however, stop us to say that we're going to break into groups.
I glance at Hanako. She hasn't packed up anything, and...doesn't look like she's going to escape...
"Do...d-do you...ah..." The violet-haired girl shakes her head as if to clear the cobwebs. "Wanttoworkinagroup?" The words come out in a rush.
I smile. "Sure." After a moment of thought, I move my desk closer to her.
The sound of desks scraping in this corner is apparently new to the majority of this class, as heads turn in our direction. I blankly ignore them, turning my back as much as possible on most of them.
Hanako shifts uncomfortably in her seat at the attention. Mutou raps his hand against the board a few times and this is enough to regain most of the lost attention.
I think he did that on purpose. Cool guy. I nod in appreciation.
Handouts are passed around and I take two, giving one to Hanako.
"Thanks." She murmurs, quietly.
"No problem." I tell her.
We scan the assignment. Science.
Excellent.
Science and Mathematics are the two subjects I absolutely do not slack in, ever. Since they're both cumulative subjects, I make sure to pay very careful attention, taking precise notes.
...In fact, I have a binder containing notes from back in sixth grade up until now, organized, annotated, and summarized.
This looks pretty easy, actually - mostly reading followed by two short-answer questions about gravity. This is simple stuff! I learned this back in seventh grade.
Of course, I was - ridiculously, bordering obsessively - focused on academics back then and read AND took notes on a lot of extra-curricular and above-grade-level material...so it could very well be that this is actually difficult for everyone else.
Hanako seems to understand the material, looking up to see me patiently waiting for her to finish reading. I didn't actually bother to read the attached article once I saw the questions - again, basic material.
"S-Sorry, were you...waiting...?" I move to alleviate her concerns quickly.
"I've already been through this material, so don't worry. You're a pretty quick reader." I compliment, truthfully. Definitely above-average, but that's hardly surprising. She is almost certainly an avid reader.
"Ah..." She neither accepts nor denies the compliment, essentially proof that I hit it right on the nail. With a cute little blush on her face, we move to the questions.
A quick and comprehensive reader, apparently, as we solve the questions. There isn't much group work actually done - but not for the reasons I would have expected.
"You're good at this." I say.
"Y-You're...better." She deflects the compliment onto me while refusing to accept it. Interesting.
"I was...always a fan of science." The four-pound binder in my bag dedicated purely to the subject would agree.
"I...see." She studies my work carefully. I cheated, in a way, using a completely different formula than the one given. It's much harder to understand and wasn't taught in the article, but it's so much faster than having to show all of the work that would be otherwise required.
I wonder what Mutou would make of it. I'm sure he'll be entertained. He seems to really want someone to understand what he's trying to say, but his lectures are so...odd.
"How...did you do...this?" Her voice is so quiet that I almost miss it. She isn't looking at me, seemingly entranced by the complicated work on my paper. Her finger traces the short line of numbers and variables.
"Here, you just need to know the formula..." I write it down. "It's a different formula, yes, but simpler. The only problem is that it's pretty situational..."
/
"S-so you switch the variables here...?" Hanako marks down a few characters on a practice problem I've created for her.
She absorbs knowledge like a sponge. It's pretty incredible.
"Yeah, then you have to solve for x, and that's it." She follows my instructions, arriving at the correct answer. She seems to be a pretty fast learner.
"You're really smart." I say, idly kicking my legs under my desk. From the little I've spoken to her, she doesn't take compliments too well, but I feel the need to tell her anyways. Perhaps if I keep trying, I'll convince her.
"Not...really..." She says, but there is the faintest hint of a smile on her face. I shrug, as if to say "have it your way."
Class ends. That was only the beginning of the gauntlet, too...
/
Physical Education comes next. I despise it. I already know that I'm out of shape.
If anything, though, I guess it's a reliable indicator that I need to be a little more active.
No one in our class is allowed to sit out (Hanako gets around this rule by not showing up), but almost everyone winds up doing different things, according to our needs.
After all, asking the boy who needs a cane to walk to do a lap around the track is kind of an awful and unfair thing to do. It might not be like this with the other classes, though. I've noted that there's quite a few physically disabled people here, like myself and this one girl with a missing arm.
I hardly think she would be at all comfortable with her arms showing - specifically, her right, scarred one. Even her blouses are long-sleeved, to hide the damage.
So it's not at all surprising, ultimately. I idly walk around the track. It's a very...free class, where we're sent outside to do whatever, as long as we do something.
A few of the girls play a small game of volleyball. I feel bad for the girl missing one of her hands - serving is impossible for her, but she doesn't seem to mind too much.
Why?
