"All children start their school careers with sparkling imaginations, fertile minds, and a willingness to take risk with what they think"- Ken Robinson
"Hello class" Mutou said "Sorry I'm late again"
I looked out across the class as Mutou speaks. At first everyone seemed like normal, unblemished teenagers. Then I started noticing stuff, like how that girl was missing a thumb, or that guy had a cane, or that girl was conversing with her friend in sign.
"...please welcome our newest classmates"
Mutou claps his hands, as does the rest of the class. Even the girl in front with only one hand. I flinched a little at the loud noise, but nevertheless bowed alongside Hisao. The silence that followed was almost just as deafening (somehow).
"So..." Hisao decided to be the one to break the silence "I'm Hisao Nakai. My hobbies are reading and soccer. I hope to get along well with everyone, even though I'm new" He stopped after that and looked at me expectantly, which immediately blew a fuse in my brain.
I looked across the class as I tried to recall what I had intended to say "I, uh... Kaito Smith. Smith Kaito. I, uh, like art and um... reading... I'm quiet" I kind of clammed up after that.
Mutou, thankfully, started speaking to fill the awkward silence, although I can't for the life of me remember what he said. Everyone clapped again once he was done though, which was a little jarring.
"Right, we'll be doing some group work today" he announced "Hisao. Kaito. You two can work with Hakamichi. She's the class representative so she should be able to answer any questions you have"
It occurred to me that was probably his job to explain things. He was a teacher after all. Nevertheless, we went to go sit with this Hakamichi. A bright girl with golden eyes and the most absurd shade of pink hair stood up to meet us.
"I guess you're Hakamichi" Hisao said "It's nice to meet you"
"Hahahaha!" laughed the girl. I definitely flinched that time. That was loud.
"It's nice to meet you too! But I'm not Hakamichi, I'm Misha! This is Hakamichi" she gestured to the girl sitting next to her, a pretty girl with hair that seemed blue under the classroom lights and a pair of piercing blue eyes behind a pair of silver glasses. I found myself squirming slightly under her gaze.
"It's nice to meet you" Hisao said to her.
"Hi" I said.
Hakamichi looked at Misha, who translated our greetings (presumably) to her. Hakamichi smiled and made a few gestures of her own.
"I can see you're a little confused, right? But I understand why you would think I was Shicchan. Shizune is deaf, so I'm kind of like an interpreter for her. She say it's nice you meet you too!"
Shizune signed something and Misha translated "You're the new students, aren't you? Well Shicchan, of course they are! If they weren't, they wouldn't have been standing at the front for no reason, right? Right! They looked pretty interesting, don't they! We knew there were going to be new students, but we didn't know you would here today. So soon! Right Hicchan? Kaito?"
"Hicchan?" Hisao repeated
"Yup!" Misha smiled with a massive grin "It fits, doesn't it?"
"I don't really see how" Hisao said.
"You look just like a Hicchan!" Hakamichi signed. Misha laughed alongside the other girls smile. I wasn't too sure what the joke was, but it seemed Hisao was going to be stuck with that nickname for the foreseeable future.
"I wonder why everyone thinks that" Hisao wondered aloud.
Hakamichi tapped her fingers on the desk to get Misha's attention. They gestured back and forth at speeds too fast to track. Eventually, even Misha seemed overwhelmed.
"Err... Sorry about that!" she said to us "Shicchan wants you to know that she's the class rep, so if there is everthing you two want to know, you need only ask her" Hakamichi signed some more "Do you like the school so far? We can show you both around a little if you haven't had the time to walk around and..." she seemed a little stuck on one of Hakamichi's words "Familiarize(?) yourself with it?"
While I found Misha's energy and Hakamichi's stare a little off-putting, I couldn't deny that a tour would be pretty helpful, so I said "Okay"
"Yeah," Hisao seemed to agree with me "That'd be pretty helpful. We just kind of came straight to class"
Hakamichi signed something, and Misha burst into ear-splitting laughter "That's no good!" You should always try to learn as much as you can about where you're going before you go there. Not just with school either. Always! Even if it's a trip to the convenience store! Really, Shicchan? Hahahaha!"
Hisao slumped a little more in his chair, making his slight frame look even smaller. "You okay?"
Hakamichi signed something and Misha translated "Don't take the wrong way, please" referring to the earlier comment "I hate it when people are afraid to ask questions! That's how people learn things, by asking! Asking for help is perfectly normal, as much as needing help! Stop looking like you just failed a test!" Misha laughed at that last bit.
Hisao gave a small smile "Alright"
"Another thing" Misha signed as she spoke, likely out of habit "You don't have to call Shicchan something so formal like "Hakamichi" or "Class Rep" all the time! Just call her Shicchan!" Hakamichi gave her a look and sign that made Misha speak more "Okay. Too casual "Maybe "Shizune" would be more appropriate?"
Shizune nodded.
"Yup, yup!" Misha grinned ""Shizune" is fine!"
Hisao and I both nodded in agreement. It appears I had been wrong about Shizune. I had thought she'd be nastier, just from the staring I had gotten. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
Shizune tapped the desk again with a frown (spoke too soon).
"Oh right, we haven't even touched the assignment!" Misha realised "We should start working now, or Shicchan will get mad"
Ah, so Shizune was one of those people. Perfectly friendly but a stickler for rules and protocol. I guess that kind of character is to be expected of a class rep.
"It's pretty long too" Hisao noted "We should probably start now if we want it finished before the end of class"
I wish I could say I was a massive contribution, but sadly, I wasn't that much of a hand. Hisao and Shizune were both really smart, working together through Misha like a well-oiled machine. I, on the other hand, couldn't make sense of the numbers. I was always terrible with equations and the like even before my accident. That and I kept getting distracted by other things in the room, namely other students. There was a girl in the front row who looked like she was sleeping, and Mutou was trying (seemingly in vain) to fix his tie. Little things that inevitably ate away at my time. Despite my being almost useless, we managed to finish a few minutes earlier than anyone else.
The lunch bell rang (which was really loud) and Misha beckoned Hisao and I to follow her and Shizune. We eventually found ourselves in the cafeteria.
"It's the cafeteria!" Misha announced as we entered, which was both needless and attracting a little more attention from passer-bys than I was comfortable with. Seemingly ignorant to stares though, Misha led us to the line where we got our food without any incidence. I was surprised by the variety, although with reflection it would probably make sense in order to accommodate those who needed special diets. It reminded me of hospital. I liked that. It was familiar. Familiar is good.
I got some rice and joined Misha, Shizune and Hisao at the closest table. I must admit I ate like a pig, shovelling my food away like it would be my last until Misha tapped me on the top of my head to get my attention. I looked up, rice still in my cheeks as Shizune looked at me with a face of mild shock.
"So-" I stopped myself and swallowed "Sorry. Hungry"
Shizune seemed to have read my expression well enough, because hers softened as she signed something. Helpless, I looked to Misha to translate.
"Do you want to know something?" Misha asked.
Hisao must have just started listening then because he looked up from his barely touched food "Huh?"
"We're your guides so you should ask if there is something!" Misha said
"Books?" I asked. I hadn't realised that I hadn't fully gotten my question across until I got blank looks in return "Um, I like books," I elaborated "Is there a library?"
Misha frowned for the briefest of moments (I guess she's not a big reader) before her smile returned as big and bright as ever "There's one on the second floor! We can show it to you sometime!"
If I was honest, I wanted to go to the library immediately and hide myself under a pile of books, but I guess I would have to wait "Um, okay".
They spoke a little with Hisao while I returned to my food.
Eventually the bell rang and we returned to class. Turns out we weren't the first ones there. At the very there was a girl, slumped over her desk as if she were tired or cold. Her hair was an entrancingly dark colour. It looked black, but in the sunlight that came through the windows it shone with shades that were more bluish and purplish in colour.
She jumped a little when Misha came crashing through the door. The girl had no volume control at all.
The dark haired girl shrunk away deeper into her seat, if that were somehow possible. I kind of felt sorry for the girl. Our very presence seemed to spook her. Misha and Shizune however didn't seem to notice or care, and returned to their seats if all was well. I found myself thinking about her, even as the classroom filled with the others and class resumed.
So after what felt like an eternity the final bell went and school ended. Shizune and Misha apologised to Hisao and I that they could stay with us due to outstanding work they had to do. At least they had the courtesy to escort us to the nurse's office. Or should I say building, the place was massive. An entire place dedicated to healing and physical therapy.
We came to a door labelled "Head Nurse". Hisao knocked and upon invitation, we entered.
The room was pretty normal for a nurse's office; small, neat with an overwhelmingly sterile smell. At least the nurse seemed nice. A young-ish looking man with a pleasant smile, not at all like Misha's cat-grin
"Hello!" he brightly said "What can I do for you both?"
"Are you the nurse?" Hisao asked him.
"We're new" I added.
The man smiled with eyes rolling like he had heard what we had said several times before "I see" He looked to Hisao and shook his hand "Yes, I am the nurse. Says so on the door, no?" He looked at me as spoke again "You can call me by name if you wish, or you can me "the nurse" like everyone else"
I nodded and shook his hand as he offered it.
"Right" Hisao "Like Kaito said, we're new and we were told by our home teacher to come and meet you. My name is Hisao Nakai"
The Nurse snapped his fingers "Ah, so you're Nakai. I was reading your file just this morning" he looked at me "Yours too, Mr Smith"
"Now," he continued "If you want, I can speak to you both now, or I can keep this private and do you one at a time"
I didn't really mind, but Hisao gave me an uncomfortable look that even I could have picked up.
"I'd prefer a little privacy" he admitted.
"Okay" I nodded "Just outside?" I asked the nurse.
He nodded at me "We shouldn't be long"
I nodded at went to go stand outside the door. Naturally, my attention was drawn by the brickwork in the wall across from me. The concrete was crumbling between two of the bricks and I found myself scraping away at it with my fake hand. Not sure how long I kept doing that before someone came and tapped me on the shoulder. It was Hisao. "What are you doing?" he asked me.
"Um," I found myself unsure how to answer. I just gestured to the wall, the pencil-sized hole now large enough to fit a finger "There was a hole"
Hisao gave me a strange look. "I'm finished with the nurse" he said "He's waiting for you". He left after that.
I entered and the nurse shook my hand again "Hello again Mr Smith" he gestured to an armchair for me to sit in.
"So," he said "An amputated hand and lower leg. Am I reading that right?"
I nodded, wiggled my fake hand and pulled up a trouser leg so he could see my fake leg.
"Okay then," he said, putting what I assume was my file on his desk "You've probably already been briefed about the school, so I'll try and be quick. We have all kinds of facilities available, mostly physical therapy and such. There's always someone from my staff around, even at night, so never hesitate to call us if there is a problem"
That would be the famous 24/7 staff I had been told about prior to coming to the school.
He picked up my file again and started to read "So two prosthetics; one hand and one leg. Do you wear shrinkers to bed?" I nodded "Good. That should help with putting them on in the morning. Do you do any sports?" I shook my head "Okay. Even so, make sure to clean your sockets every day or so we don't get any bacteria building up, we don't want any infections now, do we?"
Everything he was saying was nothing I hadn't heard before. Nevertheless, I nodded "Okay"
The Nurse smiled "Great. You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders, so I think I can give you a little more slack than other kids. Even so, if you feel any discomfort, come straight to me so I can check it out. If you outgrow them, come tell me I can organize replacements for you"
I nodded, although I was secretly hoping I didn't grow any taller. I was already 6ft and taller than a lot of my peers. I didn't need any more reason to stand out.
"Super. That'll be all then" he ushered me out before I had even realised it. Pretty quick indeed.
Finding nothing else to do. I decided to head to my dorm. Room 118. One the way there, I found Hisao talking to some guy standing in the door of Room 117. He had messy dark hair, thick glasses and a stripy scarf.
"Hey" I greeted Hisao as I passed.
"Who's that?" said the guy in the scarf. I supposed he was partially blind.
"Uh..."
"This is Kaito" Hisao introduced me "Kaito, this is Kenji"
"Dude!" Kenji snapped "Don't go throwing my name around! You never know who's listening"
Okay, now I was confused. "It's, uh, just us" I said.
"Hmm" Kenji looked at me, or at least in the direction of my voice "Sometimes I wonder if I'm the one that's blind" he said
What?
"They're always watching" he said. He looked at Hisao "See you again sometime!" before slamming the door in his face.
"Huh?" I couldn't anything more than that.
"Don't look at me" Hisao muttered "I'm just as confused as you are"
I chuckled a little at that before going into my room. It was a simple room; a desk, a bed, bookshelves and a closet. The closet was full of school uniforms. Fantastic. The bookshelves were empty (I'll have to get some books), but at least my parents had unpacked for me.
I could find my stacks of paper, my paints and pencils too. I also found a mirror.
Staring into the handhold mirror, I couldn't help but gaze at my features. I definitely got my features from my father, who was caucasian, with my round grey-blue eyes and my hair that was a shade that I couldn't decide was dark blond or light brown. More specifically, I was running a hand along the scar on the side of my head. A rugged scar that ran from my cheekbone and up to my crown, cutting a bald line through my hair. I had other scars, like the smaller ones scattered across my arms but that was the only big one that could been seen without me getting naked.
I sighed. I wouldn't tell anyone, but I was still a little conscious about it all. The way that my scars were a little conspicuous or the way that sometimes my brain still got muddled whenever I got stressed.
Alas, there was nothing I could really do about it. So with the day at its end and myself yawning with every second breath, I stripped and went to sleep.