The morning sun crept through the window of a dark room decorated with posters and small model kits and figures of labors and other robots. A young boy gripped the sheets and blanket of his bed while he was in a deep sleep, the warmth of the summer sun caressing his face. The door creaked open as a curious face peered through the opening, a look of excitement washing over her. She walked into the room and near the bed of the boy, sitting down next to him and resting her hand on his shoulder. She nudged him back and forth in an attempt to wake him not, trying to not be too rough with him.
"Hey, Akio, wake up! You don't want to be late on your first day do you?" She said with a soft smile on her face, "Your father already had to leave for work, so he couldn't see you head off on your first day."
The boy slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them as he looked around the room and then to his mother, Noa's, face. "...Is it time already?"
She caressed his head, "Don't tell me you stayed up watching TV!"
"Hey, I didn't! At least, not for too long..." He replied, lowering the tone of his voice. His mother couldn't help but laugh to herself.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm not tough on you enough, but I can never be mad at you. Come on, let's get ready!" His mother would get up from his bed and start to leave the room, Akio himself getting out of bed and following suit. In the bathroom he'd be brushing his teeth, making sure he gets all the farthest areas in his mouth clean. He'd spit out the toothpaste and then wipe his face, getting a good look at himself in the mirror. He'd exit while Noa leaned up against the wall next to the door of the bathroom with a comb in hand, "You're not done yet, Mr.!" She pushed him back into the bathroom and combed his hair, styling it similarly to how she used to have her hair.
"Mom, you don't have too..."
"You look great when you comb your hair, it's important!"
Afterwards he'd collect his backpack and utensils, making way for the kitchen to get a snack for breakfast. The food was already cold, so he settled for toast already leftover from earlier. He'd look at the slice of toast and get an idea, "Hey Mom! Look at this!" He proceeded to
shove the piece of toast in his mouth. "I camf belief I'n going to e lae!" His speech was nearly unintelligible, but what he was trying to do was completely obvious.
"Pfft, you're silly!" Noa responded, she handed him a bento box to put in his backpack. "I'll take you to school myself, I think it's about time I let you ride double."
Akio quickly swallowed the bread he was munching on, "Really!?"
"Yeah! Better not keep me waiting!" She grabbed her jacket, keys, and helmet, and left for the garage. Akio shoved the rest of the bread down his gullet and ran after his mother, who'd already be sitting on her bike. Her original had broken down, so she upgraded accordingly with a newer bike manufactured by her husband's company. It took some getting used to being in the Shinohara family and using Shinohara made products, though for Akio it was as normal as everything else in his life. He would grab hold of a helmet on a rack in the garage, it'd be the one his father would wear when he rides with Noa. It fit snugly on his head, and he hopped onto the bike while the doors of the garage slowly opened. He got a good hold onto Noa's waist to keep him in place, and was excited to finally be able to ride with her. "You ready?" She asked.
"Yeah!" He responded enthusiastically.
"Alright! Hang on tight!"
The bike's engine would roar as Noa revved the motor, peeling out onto the street in front of their home. They'd race down the street past all the other houses in the neighborhood, the density of houses increasing as they went on. Akio watched as the buildings, street lamps, vendors, and at some point even a labor would pass by as they were approaching a middle school building. Eventually the houses would start to appear less frequently, revealing a large three story structure with a gate out front. The gate would be open and many different students would already be making their way inside. She would put the breaks on the bike and slide up to the gates of the school, Akio's head spinning from the sudden change in momentum. He got off the bike and removed his helmet, handing it back to Noa.
"Alright, remember! Have a good day!" She said, revving it up and peeling off. It would leave him slightly embarrassed as it did attract the attention of some of the other students, though he pretended not to notice. He walked through the courtyard up to the front doors of the building, arriving at the rows of lockers in the main area. He pulled a slip of paper from his backpack which had his locker number on it, allowing him to locate it and change out his shoes. He flipped over the piece of paper, seeing the number for homeroom on the back. Down the hallway he'd pass by other people, looking inconspicuous amongst the other students despite his background. Everyone wore a specific uniform, not only as it was a tradition for schools in Japan, but also because of the school being a private school. He opened the door to the classroom and spied a few people already there, they didn't pay him any mind as they were already deep in conversation. He walked between the desks and found a seat somewhere in the left side of the classroom, though as he sat down he noticed someone next to him.
"Hey, Akio! What's up man!?" It was Akio's childhood friend Taira Kobayashi, who had last hung out with him during the final days of summer vacation.
"Taira? Never thought your Mom would sign you up for a school like this." Akio replied, high fiving him and giving him a fist bump.
"Mom says it was my test scores that did the heavy lifting last year, I was afraid we weren't gonna see each other after elementary school!"
"My Dad signed me up for this place, thinks I deserve a 'proper education' or whatever that means. You deserve to be here more than I do."
"No way the son of Mr. Shinohara would go to just any public school, this place is filled to the brim with students that have parents in high positions." Taira leaned over, spying a girl with pigtails entering the classroom. "See that girl over there?"
Akio turned around, "Yeah, what about her?"
"I'm pretty sure her father is chief of general affairs, she's got a sister too but she's still doing her final year of elementary school."
"She doesn't look to bad herself..."
"Don't piss her off though, she's just like her Mom and Dad, under that sweet exterior is unbridled rage. She'd definitely tear you a new one if you got on her bad side."
"Ah, well, sounds about right, I'll just keep my distance then."
Students would pour into the classroom as the bell would ring, everyone taking their seats wherever the teacher would arrive at the front podium. The sounds of muffled chatter and everyone taking their seats would fade away, the teacher clearing his throat. He was an older looking man, looking as if he was in his mid to late forties, and he wore a flat cap. He had a big mustache and half open eyes, his body was a little lanky, and always held his hands behind his back.
"Good morning class, my name is Mr. Kinoshita, and I'll be your homeroom teacher. As you could already tell I'm an old man, but I'm not an old man yet, so don't think you kids can start running circles 'round me yet! Aha, ahem anyways, I am one of the many teachers you will have for this school year, and I can assure you they're all dying to get to know you. There are seven periods in total that include all your core classes and electives..." Mr. Kinoshita went on to discuss the classes they'd have, their expectations for the students, and the supplies they're required to have. At some point he'd have each student come up to introduce themselves one by one, starting with the girl Taira mentioned earlier.
"Hello everyone! I'm Satomi Shinshi! I like cooking, planning events, and having fun! I can't wait to make friends with all of you!" She would then bow to the class.
"She doesn't sound all that bad..." Akio whispers to Taira.
"Good, let's hope it stays that way." He responds. More students would be called up and would introduce themselves, Akio didn't pay much attention to all the introductions. However once Taira got called on, he started paying attention as he'd be next. "Hi everyone! I'm Taira
Kobayashi! I'm a little bit of a geek but that doesn't stop me from trying my best in school! I think I'm a pretty cool guy, so let's hope we can all be pals!" He proceeded to bow, then paced back to his seat. "You're next Akio!" He said, bumping his shoulder. Akio got up from his seat and went to the front of the class, he faced everyone and breathed in.
"Good morning everyone, my name is Akio Shinohara, I like labors and putting together model kits and stuff aha! So uh yeah, let's hope we can all be friends." He said somewhat nervously. He could already tell everyone was setting up personal expectations for him given his last name, though, no one said anything to indicate such. It was the smaller, not as noticeable things such as the shifting of seating positions, tilting of the head, and facial expressions. He bowed and made his way back to his seat for the next person to introduce themselves.
"Wasn't that bud huh?" Taira said.
"Nah, at least, I don't think it was. People did give me strange looks though."
"If it makes you feel any better, they gave me strange looks too!"
"Maybe it's cause we mentioned we were geeks..."
After they'd go through the introduction of the other teachers and their courses, Taira and Akio would be eating lunch on the school rooftop. The summer sun beat down on them, but by this point they were used to staying out far too long in the heat. "So, you taking the labor operation and management elective?" Taira asked.
"I marked it down as the one I wanted to do, only because it meant I'd only have six periods. That and I also like labors too, so that's a plus." Akio replied, eating the lunch his mother had prepared for him.
"To be fair, that's only cause it's almost two hours rather than one."
"You could easily blow through it, I bet it feels like a lot of schools are starting to have classes about labors now. I can expect that from high school, but not from middle school."
"This school gets a lot of funding if I remember correctly, and because of that they have the budget to afford all the fancy labor class stuff. If you hold out and pass you can get a labor operating and maintenance license pretty early on in high school."
Akio perked up, "Imagine the labor we're going to be using, what if it's the old AV-98 now turned into a training labor?"
"I could realistically see it being the economy model they made around ten years ago, not too expensive and it's already a civil engineering labor!"
"Oh yeah, the police did have a training labor too, it was the Dolphin I think, that'd be pretty cool to have! If the regular Ingram and the economy one are still too much, they could totally just use the old training labor!"
"Man, now I'm really excited!"
The bell would then sound, notifying the boys that lunch time is ending and they need to head back to class. They sat through another introductory period, anxious to get to the labor operating and maintenance class. They didn't pay too much attention to what the teacher was saying, only catching bits and pieces of their discussion regarding themselves and the curriculum. They were only listening out for the sweet sound of the bell that'd soon grace their ears, prompting them to jump from their seats and head to the rear end of the school. A group of students would also be on their way as they'd pour out of the building onto an open field, they looked around and saw two shutters on the rear of the school. One of the shutters opened and an engine could be heard, a utility vehicle driving out and in front of all the students waiting outside. A man and a woman would be seated in it, both wearing sunglasses and t-shirts due to the warm sunny weather. The both of them also wore visors to shade their eyes from the sun, but was probably a stylistic choice.
"Afternoon everyone! This will be the classroom of your labor operating and maintenance class, and we will be your guides along this epic journey! You will refer to me as Mr. Hayashi, don't forget it! And this little lady right here shall be called Ms. Soratani! Together we will help you brave this treacherous journey that is managing labors!"
Akio couldn't help but notice the lack of people in their group. "Yo, Taira, what's up with the crowd? I expected half the school to be out here but it only looks like ten people showed up."
"I think it's cause a lot of students here prioritize business related jobs, labor maintenance and operation is a blue collar job like a trade."
"I guess that makes sense... Wait, what is she doing here?" Akio motioned toward a girl standing amongst the group of students, Satomi Shinshi. "She's the last person I'd expect to be taking up this class."
"I-I have no idea..."
"What do you mean you have no idea? You're the living encyclopedia!"
Mr. Hayashi continued speaking, "Having a license to operate and maintain labors opens many corridors for future employment, such as policework! Construction! Security! Self defense! And much much more! But with that out of the way, let's introduce you to the labors you'll be getting to know for your entire time in this class!" He unveiled a remote and pressed a button, which then began to open the other shutters so the students could see the labors. "This labor was made specifically so tikes like you could tinker and stomp around in it, so it'd be cool if you played nice with 'em!" The shutters unveiled two stout and silly looking labors, it's build similar to the first and second generation labors of the late 1990s. It's feet and hands were big, which had three fingered manipulators on both ends. The canopy would be made of glass and appeared to be able to open and close for entry and exit, it was a far cry from the labor Akio and Taira were expecting.
"We're going to be using that...?" Taira said.
Akio physically cringed, "This is going to be a long school year..."