Evanescence

Things Change

Instead of going to the cafeteria to talk with Shimozuru-jī that day, I decided to just lie down on the bed.

As I lazed around, I constantly thought about how things had been for the duration of my month's stay in the hospital: the people, atmosphere, etcetera. It was only after this session of deep rumination when I fully realised that Shimozuru-jī had been quite helpful, a blessing in fact, over the past month; if it wasn't for him, perhaps my hospital stay would have been rather sullen and gloomy, not one that would help me recover psychologically.

Though we only had enough time to talk for an hour a day—I could only sneak in and out of my room for that long—I had been able to alleviate my anxiety and sadness towards my situation. We would talk about football until I catch a glimpse of the hands of the clock nearing my checkup time, which was my signal to hobble back into my room just in time for the nurse to see me getting myself "accustomed to standing up straight". It would be a hassle sometimes, as I would have to walk all the way to the other side of the building and go down two staircases in my sloth-like state, but I believed that it was imperative to get myself a dose of "calming-uplifting-and-soothing-words" every now and then.

I sluggishly reached out to the calendar placed on a drawer next to me, and pulled out a marker that was trapped in its upper coils. With one quick movement, I made a ring around the current day, and smiled in satisfaction. Indeed, this gesture marked that I had been in the hospital for a month, which meant that the school year had just begun. It was April after all, and Japan is known far-and-wide for its seemingly endless school years. The thought of school came as soon as I inspected the calendar, and my train of thought set its destination and rails towards the idea of "what I would do once I've made a full recovery".

I can't wait to finally be able to go out and get back to the world outside!

Hold it, tiger. You do realise that you will have to get back to school sooner or later, right?

Ah, yes! I'll need to get back to school! That test I took years ago placed me in Junior High, so I guess I'll have to start off there. Second Year... I suppose it would be too much for me to have me jump straight into High school, no?

Indeed. After all, you will need to build connections and learn how to cooperate in a group. You know, the kind of skills that you develop when you are not busy in cram school trying to get into a good college. On the topic of schools, you ought to think of a school to go to. If you were to ask me, Teikoku or Mikage would be the place for someone like you, so why not apply there?

Teikoku is strict on admissions. Transferring there is near-impossible, even if I have only missed classes for only a month. They have a strict curriculum that would leave behind anybody who hasn't already been exposed to it, and a plethora of background checks and papers to get through. Mikage, on the other hand, is a little far from home. Furthermore, it's surrounded by a highly urbanised area with significant pollution in the air. I don't think that it will be good for my health to go there, even if Shimozuru-jī did mention that he could have his grandson show me the ins and outs of the school.

This is tough. Perhaps we should wait for Uncle Kaito before making any sort of decision on this. Who knows, maybe a new school had come up in these past few years. Or we could just go back to Sakurazaki, even if it is not exactly a high-caliber school in terms of academics. Sakurazaki does have a Junior High division alongside the Primary.

I guess? I mean—

Instead of fully answering the thought, I quickly turned my head towards the door, which creaked open. Emerging from it was a familiar face, housed on a diminutive frame that was only about four feet tall. However, I did not even need to see the face for identification, as the hair alone was enough to distinguish the visitor—black hair with a single braid that hung over the shoulder, I only knew one person with that hair style.