A Normal Life?

The School of Your Dreams - Part 1

As I got off the bus, I saw a gate formed from natural rock waiting just ahead. All the young boys and girls dressed in school uniforms were passing through this gate.

The Japanese government had created the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School with the express purpose of developing future leaders.

This would be my school from now on.

Okay, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. All right, here we go!

"Wait!"

The instant I tried to take my first courageous step, someone called out to me. It was the girl who'd sat next to me on the bus.

"You were looking at me. Why?" she asked.

She narrowed her eyes while we spoke.

"Sorry. I was just curious."

"Curious? About what?"

"You didn't think about giving your seat to the old woman did you? Well, whatever the reason, I suppose it is none of my business."

"I see."

And with that, she started walking away.

"Wait! I didn't get your name."

"Do I have any reason to give you my name?" she turned around, glaring at me.

"Well..."

"As I thought. I don't want to spend any time around people like you."

"..."

I had only wanted to try and get to know her, but with her current attitude towards me, it doesn't seem like it would be easy. Now that I think about it, associating myself with her may very well contradict what I want to do in this school.

We both sighed and proceeded to walk in the same direction.

● ● ● ●

As I was conjuring up plans to establish proper relationships with my fellow classmates, I noticed nobody had been going through the doorway for a while now.

Looking around the classroom, I walked towards the seat that bore my nameplate. It was at the back of the room, near the window. A good place to sit, generally.

As I looked around, I saw that I was apparently the last student to come in.

The others were either immersed in their class materials or already talking with other people. Perhaps they'd all been friends beforehand or had only recently gotten acquainted.

Before I could think of anything else, the first bell rang. At that precise moment, a woman entered the classroom.

"Ahem. Good morning to you, students. I'm the instructor for Class D. My name is Chiyabashira Sae. I usually teach Japanese history. However, at this school, we do not change classrooms for each grade. For the next three years, I will be acting as your homeroom teacher, so I hope to get to know all of you. It's a pleasure to meet you. The entrance ceremony will be in the gymnasium one hour from now, but first, I will distribute written materials with information about this school's special rules. I will also hand out the admissions guide."