It was sunrise, so I woke up to start another normal day in Hope's Peak Academy. I dressed up with my usual brown uniform and my scarf. It is warm, and it brings me comfort because I can hide in it. I noticed another student wearing a scarf. I think his talent has something to do with animals. Adorable. Now, time for breakfast! Normally, it was early enough to drink hot chocolate before I go to class. I had my own marshmallows in my pocket. I was hoping no one would notice so I could enjoy it alone. Not that I really mind sharing. But I still don't really understand how to socialise with other teenagers. We don't seem to have the same interests. Anyway, I'm running out of marshmallows, I need to get more.
BOOM
Lost in my sweet thoughts, I bumped into someone and fell at least a meter away. Considering myself lucky that I wasn't hurt that much, I stood up a few seconds after the impact with the floor. I looked around to find the victim of my absent-mindedness. I found him lying next to a shelf, his head slightly underneath it. A few tins of paint were scattered on the floor and flashy pink paint was spilled all over him. This was awful. How could I create such a disaster in just an instant? Maybe it was not exactly an instant, I never pay attention to what I am doing, and it often leads to catastrophes. And, since I'm here for three years, there was no way I could have run and pretend it never happened! I truly hoped he was alright. I think one of the tins of paint fell on his stomach. What if it had fallen on his head? They seemed heavy!
"Are you alright?"
I finally managed to say with a very nervous and trembling voice while I removed the tin of paint from his stomach. They really were heavy. Then, I got flashy pink paint all over my hands. At least it's not red, because otherwise if someone was here to witness the scene they would have believed I murdered him! He rose his head while putting his hand in his fluffy hair nearly completely covered in paint.
"Don't worry about me. I am truly sorry for all this mess. I always end up in crazy situations haha."
"Are you hurt? I do worry because…. it was my fault! I simply wasn't looking where I was going."
"Apart from a bruise or two that I might get, I think I will be fine"
I reached out to him to help him get back on his feet. It was weird to hold a stranger's hand. Especially since our hands were wet with a strange, sticky and flashy substance and you could hardly see their face because it was covered with paint. All I could see was that his skinny body was about ten centimetres taller than mine and his grey green eyes were staring at me.
We awkwardly stood there for a couple of seconds until I realised I was still holding his hand and I immediately let go of it.
I was looking down to avoid his look and started stammering:
"Well… I think you won't be able to see your bruises. They will disappear before you get rid of all that paint…"
I felt so stupid and ridiculous after saying that. He still smiled and chuckled at my attempted joke. I noticed people make jokes to socialise. Was it awkward? He seemed fine… and his bright smile seemed very comforting. So, I guess it worked this time.
I added:
"Maybe you want to take a shower… and see what you can remove… I'm gonna clean this place meanwhile. You can send me the bill for your uniform since I think you'll have to put it in the bin. I'm genuinely sorry. "
I headed to the toilets to clean my hands and grab a mop. I don't think anyone else noticed what happened.
"Hey! Wait! What is your name?"
I turned around, a bit surprised by this question. I assumed he would never want to hear about me again.
He added with the same comforting smile:
"I need to know your name if I want to send you the bill."
"Oh yeah, of course…My name is Ushi Komugiko, I'm in class 77-A. I think you have enough information to easily find me."
"My name is Nagito Komaeda. Nice to meet you. I'm also a first year. I guess I'll see you later. I should remove the paint before it starts drying"
"Hmm… yeah… see you later…"
I awkwardly smiled at him to lighten the atmosphere and then turned around to rush in the toilets to clean the disaster. Surprisingly, the paint came off quite easily and I only had to use a bit of paint remover I found on the shelf. I'm really lucky no one noticed! This luck is actually quite strange. A lot of people usually come to this area at this time of day.
To make sure I wouldn't be late I only grabbed a piece of bread from the cafeteria. I miss French bread… I always feel like I miss French food. Usually, when I leave a country the first thing I miss is always the food. Well, depends on the country… Some countries aren't good at all! Yes Britain! It is you I'm thinking about! Anyway, I guess I'll have my hot chocolate with marshmallows later… I would have offered marshmallows to Nagito Komaeda to make sure he doesn't dislike me… but he had to take the paint off himself because of my stupidity. Now that I think about it, he kind of looked like a marshmallow with his fluffy hair. Maybe I have too much imagination.
