𝐌𝐘 𝐈𝐍-𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 [Kozume Kenma]

24. RE-SPAWN

~ Shiro ~

I rubbed my eyes with a yawn and shut my PC. Standing up awkwardly, I stumbled from the desk and collapsed face down onto my bed, feeling myself sink into the soft, feathery mattress. It was heavenly. After a long night of diligent gaming, this was all I needed. I couldn't breathe, but I didn't need to. I was too comfortable right now to be bothered to move.

But unfortunately, my happiness was short-lived. The irritating sound of my alarm shook me out of my brief moment of bliss. What the... is it morning already? I reached lazily across the bed and held my phone to my face, almost blinding myself in the process. That's cap. There's no way its 7:00 already. I was probably just dreaming. Reassuring myself once more, I dropped the phone and closed my eyes.

This time, however, I couldn't relax completely. Something felt off. Wait a minute... were those birds I could hear outside my window? And was that sunlight seeping in through the curtains? You're fucking with me...

It was morning. Despite the sunlight, my bed turned cold as the tragic realisation dawned on me. It was Monday morning. Not only did that signal the start of another pointless day, but also the start of a particularly long and extraordinarily painful week. Why? Because it was assessment time at Nekoma. This meant that, for most students, the week ahead would consist mainly of after school study sessions and late night cramming, finished off with the dreaded exams.

I groaned, knowing it was about time to get my shit together. I decided to start by dragging myself out of bed and getting ready for school. But of course, that didn't happen. My motivation ran out, assuming there was any to start with. I made it halfway to the bathroom before crawling back into the safety of my blankets.

One day wouldn't hurt. There was no way I was going to school today. It wasn't like I was capable, in my current state, to do anything productive, even if I went. I would've just slept through all my classes, and if I was going to sleep, I might as well do it at home.

Satisfied with my decision, which was really well justified in my opinion, I fell back to sleep.

~~~~

It was around four in the afternoon, when I was awoken by a loud thud on my bedroom floor. I jolted awake and turned towards the sound. Lying on the floor was a homeless-looking... boy?!

Pulling the bedside drawer open, I reached for the knife that happened to be sitting in there. I live alone, anything can happen. And this was precisely the sort of situation I had in mind about keeping a weapon handy. I've never actually knifed anyone, except for in games, but I thought I'd be fine. I mean, was there even a difference?