I head out the door as I do each morning, careful not to slam it for the sake of the neighbors that haven't gone-or don't go-to work. It's definitely possible to imagine myself in that place a few years from now, sitting at home doing nothing all day, no job, no life, and no future.

A man clad in formal business attire paces alongside me in close proximity as I walk my usual route to school. He takes long strides yet somehow keeps a speed similar to mine. I nod at him and he nods back, neither of us speaking a word to one another. I begin to pretend that I've known him for quite a while. It's been so long since the last time I have walked to school with my friends, and a feeling of longing wells up inside of me during the awkward, tense silence that we are side by side. It seems as if aeons have passed as I unconsciously begin to release my grasp of reality and see the bustling city as I wish it were.

Everything around us fades, and now it's just us in an imaginary world, no people roaming the sidewalks like identical worker ants. We and the buildings are all that remain. Only our light breathing and twittering of songbirds fill the empty sidewalks of my head on this bright spring morning. I strike up a conversation, and we talk about the darndest things. He speaks of the spring breezes and the blooming trees; I talk about the blue sky and the murky rivers and little worldly troubles. We joke about everything and laugh at everyone, ourselves included, and there is not one human being in the entire universe that says we can't. No "Go back to your room!" and no "Three page essay, due tomorrow, in English, no grammatical errors". It's only me, and it's only him, an unnamed man I know nothing, and everything about. We are grand, and this place is grand, and everything around us is fine and dandy in this little cranny of my mind. But I know, and he knows, and each person in the world is well aware of the fact that all good things must come to an end.

And so when the time comes for us to part ways, with a heavy heart, I send the fictional man on his way. And I'm alone again in reality, standing among everyone else on the streets, yet there's absolutely nobody on Earth to talk to.

I eventually reach the two diverging paths I'm always met with in front of the school, one leading to the main building, with its nice facilities and climate control. I stare blankly at the other, shoddy and unkempt with its single trail worn by the footprints of previous generations of failures. I join them as one of the heirs to the name of Kunugigaoka's class 3-E as I trudge up to the old, rotting schoolhouse situated atop the mountainside, secluded from any eyes that look up at the hill without the purpose of finding it, and not a single soul joins me on the lonesome stroll through the woods.

Neither late nor early, my hand acts out of habit as it slides open the wooden classroom door without me having to think. There's barely anyone in the room; over half of the seats that have been assigned are empty. The dwindling few that may care about grades or attendance or that have any sliver of hope for the future all gather here in our little jail cell each day, dreaming for the moment that we can break free of our shackles and bonds. Such withering hopes are these, that guide us limply toward success, only to die out as would an old battery.

My seat awaits me across the room, and as I pass the teacher's desk, I curtly give the class a half hearted greeting. A few murmurs are what I receive in response. Kayano is upbeat as always, either that or she's extremely good at faking a smile.

"Morning, Nagisa." she flashes me a grin and waves slightly. We exchange some small talk until class begins. Oh dear, it's as boring as ever as Norio-sensei drones on in his hypnotic, monotonous voice. I see no value in blindly and obediently taking notes I won't even bother to look over, so I find myself incessantly replacing him and the others in the room with much brighter, more vibrant characters instead of the bleak, gray, stony ones that routinely surround me.

Once again, I'm in the same world as earlier. Norio-sensei is going over some basics on functions on the board, but his regularly dismal voice is filled with charisma and splendor as he answers my classmates' questions. And that's the thing- everyone's asking questions. They're filled to the brim with curiosity, and they're being answered. Even Terasaka and his gang of flukes are putting in a bit of effort.

The lunch bell snaps me out of my ecstatic trance; I sluggishly pull out the simple lunch I had prepared, with no help from someone I know. Sensei had already left the room. I slip outside to enjoy the weather and sit down under a tree not too far from the overgrown field we use for P.E. After a couple of minutes, Karma comes over to join me, with a bitter look on his face. It was obvious that he wasn't impressed with today's lesson. We sit in silence for a while as I continue eating. I'm not about to start talking before to him before I finish. He's grumpy enough already.

"That damn geezer thinks he can just drone on for an hour and then never have to speak to us again," he remarks. So it's the typical banter I get from him.

"Karma," I start, not really knowing where to go with the conversation, "you say the same things every day. Don't you think this is getting a little old? Besides, it's not like you pay any attention to the lectures in the first place."

He thinks for a moment. "Of course, I realize that this is all just one big circle, but what else am I supposed to do? I've tried everything, from pranks to sabotage to slander," he scoffs,"next time I try something, I'm probably going to be held back or shipped off to some kind of reform school or something. I don't suppose you want me to murder the guy."

I chuckle at the thought. "No, Karma, don't kill him. But whoever said that a little 'teasing' ever did any harm? There's no problem as long as you don't do it on school grounds," I joked. It feels good to poke fun at people every once in a while.

"Woah, buddy, let's not get too excited. I've got plenty of marks on my record, but you're clean," he nudges me with his elbow as he retorts. I humor him a bit more before withdrawing from our little debate. He's definitely in better spirits now than he was earlier. Sure Karma gets a little...hot headed at times, but I suppose it's better to be on his good side than not.

It's about time to go back inside when a foul odor begins to emanate from inside the classroom and a few students begin to file out of the building. What in the world could it be that overpowers the stench of eggs that have been sitting on a warm countertop for three months?

I still feel as if the chapter is too short, but I guess that just means that there might be a lot of chapters.

Also, I hve no idea what the curriculum is like at Kunugigaoka, so I just made them study functions. I really don't know why. I don't know if they have a lunch bell, either. Just go with it.

For now, I'm leaving Yukimura-sensei (or, I think that's his name) out of the picture because I have no idea as to why he left. I'll probably go back and change that once the circumstances for his replacement are revealed (as it could have nothing to do with Korosensei), I'll fill the plotholes and gaps and fix things as needed. I don't know that much about his family, either so all I can do is make inferences and guess, but I'll do my best with that.

Edit:

I really hate to say this, but I probably won't be able to post any new chapters until late next week or early following week. I have some huge tests I have to take, and they last until next Tuesday, so I'll be really busy studying until then. Of course, there's a very slim chance that I'll be able to squeeze something in, but that probably won't happen. Sorry about that. I'll try to make the next chapter well worth reading.

In reply to:

Adamant:

The part about Nagisa's mom and their dialogue was really bothering me as well. I think my brain was not functioning correctly when I put that down. And it being midnight when I wrote it probably didn't help much, either. I changed it from her calling him "Shiota-kun" to "Nagisa-san" and it's a LOT less awkward now. So thanks for that.