Oregairu: Once Upon A Time

Despite Having Friends, I Never Change

My brain was using the minimum amount of power required to function during everyone's favorite daily activity: sleeping. Unfortunately for me, I felt something weird touch my face, and it felt like the limb of another creature in my vicinity.

"Gah!" I suddenly sat up, startled.

"Mew!"

I look to my right to see Kuro-chan. Still half asleep, I tried to converse with her while scratching her chin. "What's wrong? Why did you wake me up?"

"Mew!"

The kitty jumped off the bed and onto my dresser. Next to her sat an alarm clock, which read 8:55 AM.

It took several seconds for me to realize two things. First, it's Monday. Second, I am late for school.

"Shit."

In order for me to make it there as soon as possible to prevent Sensei from getting any angrier than she already is, I will have to sacrifice my breakfast for the day. I quickly combed my hair, used a little mouthwash, put my clothes on, and left the house with my clingy catpanion [14].
Parking my bike and fast walking into the campus, I hurried to class and opened the door, closing it behind me. Some people looked my way while others continued working on something, the sound of pencils dragging across paper filling the classroom.

"Hikigaya, why are you late?" Sensei glared at me.

"I overslept. No excuses."

She sighed. Instead of assaulting me like I feared she would, Sensei handed me a sheet of paper. "These are the directions for your mid term exam. Go sit down and get to work."

I nodded and immediately did as she said. The directions read, "Write a constructive essay about anything. Good luck."

After brainstorming for a minute, I settled on a topic and immediately began writing. After a while, I finished and turned my essay in a couple minutes before class ended. By the way, that was my Japanese class. Next is English, and I completed both mid term exams before I knew it.
It is now time for lunch, and with it came the realization that I did not bring anything to eat with me.

Suddenly, an angel approached me. Totsuka! Is this what the old man felt when he discovered dragonite [15]? "Hachiman, what are you going to do for lunch?"

"You are to me what Eris is to Kazuma [16]," I said out loud.

"Eh?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Anyway, I don't have anything to eat for lunch since I overslept this morning."

Totsuka smiled. Stop it! You will seriously give me a heart attack! Are you Ruka [17] or Yukimura [18], you androgynous trap!? "In that case, why don't we go to the cafeteria?"

What!? "You mean together!?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem? Maybe this is an inconvenient time." Totsuka frowned, biting his lip.

"No! No problem at all. Let's go!"

. . . . . . .

Unfortunately, when we got there, the line was already really long. Without thinking, I said the first thing on my mind in Engrish. "This is Japanese lunchtime rush [19]!"

Ignoring all the chaos, Totsuka and I followed the line as we looked up at the menu. Meal A is curry. Meal B is mapo tofu. It can't be! Is it the same mapo tofu that no one dares to touch [20]!?

"Hachiman, can you order some curry for me? I will go reserve some seats for us." Said Totsuka. I nodded and watched him sit down at one of the closest available tables.