five liters of iced coffee

→ chapter i

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A s i a k u

Thought of the day

"Emoticons" sound like a group of really sensitive transformers

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i wore braces before enrolling in hope's peak academy.

the fact itself doesn't hold enormous importance, but it is truth nonetheless. i got rid of the green device in my teeth the day before i first set foot in the academy, so it's something i remember clearly.

it just felt right to point that out. also because when change comes, it doesn't come alone. new city, new school, new friends. no braces. pretty even, if you ask me.

i was really scared when i was told i would have to start wearing braces. i was nine, how can you blame me? what if it hurt? but then all of my friends started wearing braces too and i think i overcame my preconception faded away. 

please don't criticize me for comparing a trivial thing to enrolling in the best school in the country. it made sense in my mind. but if it's about hope's peak that i'm supposed to talk about, then i will.

hormones were all over the place and emotions were blended in a swirl of excitement. at first, i admit to have been infinitely disappointed that i wouldn't be in the same class as genji; then, somehow curious regarding the outcome of the relations with all the new people in my life. 

if there's something you decide right away, when entering a new school, is whether your not you like your teachers. asahina-sensei's energy was - and still is, up to this date -, incredibly contagious. 

meaning, it wasn't that much of a surprise when there was no pause between the feeling of a cold hand on my bare arm and the perception of a pair of lips brushing against my ear. words didn't linger on the bold lips. in fact, they were quick, rushed words. like there was no time to waste, for the one who called out for me.

❝ hey. are you asiaku? ❞

i turned around, meeting a bright girl with rose coloured hair. she wore braces.

❝ yes. ❞ i nodded curtly.

❝ nice. i saw you on the news the other day. you were with a huge ass animal, but i can't remember the name. ❞ in the glimpse of a second, she had the time and energy to de-focus her eyes, look away, refocus them and switch the subject. ❝ look into my sleeve. ❞

i didn't dare to disobey the girl and carefully approached her sleeve. i furrowed my brow.

❝ is that a pigeon? ❞

❝ yes. you can pet it. she's shy and she won't hurt you. i trained her. by the way, do you want to be my friend? ❞

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her name was kiko romero. she became my very first friend at hope's peak academy.

one year later, she still sits next to me in class.