Ren Amamiya had difficulty on pulling through on his first day of school. The Shujin Academy was big and new to him. He didn't know what the school was like. All he heard was that it was big and famous just because of a volleyball champion being their schools coach. He was nervous. His palms sweated. His heart raced. His whole body felt as though he was about to collapse any minute by the cause of discomfort.
The young man took a deep breath before taking his first step into Shujin Academy, hoping to be prepared for what is to come his way as he attends this school. Once he entered school grounds, the rumors about his probation spread like wildfire which made him feel even worse. He felt as though that was his first punch in the gut. Ren didn't really want to be reminded of why he was there in the first place, but he couldn't control the rumors. He was treated like nothing, but a low-level, low-class, human-being who would never be accepted in this school's society. The young man didn't care much at first, but he never expected the increase of words would take him down a notch inch by inch. It made him feel as though he was being kicked to the ground, given the inability to stand up. Ren knew he should have predicted endlessly painful blows, but he didn't foreseen so much of it on his first day.
First, he didn't get much of a warm welcome from the man he was staying with. Second, the teachers treated him like he was nothing. And lastly, the students in his class just spread rumors all over schoolgrounds, making him look as though he's really the bad guy who would lose his mind if you ever looked his way.
All of this hurt, yes, but it didn't severe him as much. Not at first, at least. But as the day progressed, the ambience around him was as though everything was spiraling out of control. He felt he didn't belong anywhere after being pushed around by the students comments over and over. And all of it continuously lead him back to remembering why he was there in the first place.Probation. He didn't like that word so much. Probation. noun: Trial period. Whenever that word is said, it consistently ends up giving him small flashbacks on why he's here. It's never a pleasant thought whenever those flashbacks appear as shattered pieces of memories in his mind. Ren tried to shake it off to forget about it and tried to focus on surviving his year at this new school.
By the time lunch ended, he forcefully pushed himself back to his class. Ren didn't want to return, but he knew he had no choice in the matter. As he was heading back, he bumped into a petite looking female student. He gave a crooked grin and she looked up at him, giving no expression he expected to see. Ren thought she would give him a fearful glance and nervously flee away from him with mumbled words of plead. But she didn't. There were no signs of fear. No signs of nervousness. No signs of anything. She looked... empty. Ren was a bit worried because she just stood there, spaced out. He was about to nudge her a little, hoping he'd get any reaction from her, but before he could, she came back to her senses.
"What is it...?" She mumbled, finally noticing someone was beside her. "Oh... I'm in the way, aren't I...? Sorry..." The adolescent looked down.
Ren examined her for a moment, still in complete shock she hasn't reacted to his presence like all the other students have. Her jet black hair was a bit frazzled and effortlessly pulled back into a ponytail with a couple bobby pins holding back a few bangs. Her skin was a bit pale and he noticed the bruises she appeared to try to hide. Her dark brown eyes were dark and hollow, looking as though there was no sign of a soul anywhere inside her body. Her eyebrows furrowed into a look of sadness and the cuts and bruises sort of explained it. Or so he assumed. The young woman's body appeared frail as though she was about to collapse any minute by how weak she looked.
Concerns crossed him ever so deeply to where all he could say was, "Are you okay?"
"Huh...?" She looked up, a bit surprised by his question. "Um, well..." The adolescent continued with struggle.
Ren finally saw some reaction by her expression which showed a bit of life from her which gave him some relief.
"Hm, you don't look familiar." The girl dodged the question. "Could you be that transfer student from Class D?"
The young man nodded, still filled with concern, but listening to her as she continues.
"Um, this might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumors get to you, ok...?" She looked up at him, finally exposing a soft smile from her faint pink lips.
He was a little taken aback once seeing a grin face his direction. Ren admired her smile to where it led him to saying, "They don't bother me."
He listened to himself say those words in his head over and over as though chanting them. Just hearing the words, They don't bother me. made it feel like everything was slowly lifting off his shoulders. It didn't make much sense to him seeing as to how it was just something so simple. But every negative word that entered his ears and swarmed around in his mind felt as though it just got erased completely. It felt as though it just never existed.
"I'm glad to hear that." Her eyes looked gentle as she continued to give that softly small grin. "...My best friend is often misunderstood too, all because of her looks..." She closed her eyes, giving a painful expression. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to drag on like that." The girl looked up at him, her soft grin turned faint. "Anyway, I have to go to practice... I'll see you around." Her eyes became hollow again and her voice turned into a mumble, sounding as though she was struggling to spit those words out.
After the girl walked past him, saying her farewell, he felt dumbfounded. Ren wanted to know what was troubling her. He wanted to help her. He wanted to somehow thank her for the sudden feel of positivity. He wanted to go after her to see what was wrong. But he felt as though it was too late since his pondering dragged him on to where he had no choice, but to resign and head back to class.
I wonder who that was...? He thought to himself, still filled with concerns, What could have caused those bruises...? Ren asked himself, filling his mind with several outcomes, Why did she look so empty when she said she had to go to practice? Countlessly unanswered questions replaced all the countless words of pain. His day was still bumpy, of course, it continued to as the day passed, but as it did, the only thing that was stuck on his mind this time, was her.