He woke up to the piercing sound of his alarm and realized he was already running late. He got ready in a frantic rush; he didn't want to humiliate himself by being late on the very first day. As he stepped out of the house, he took a deep breath and sighed: "Here we go again…"
As he ran toward the school, his mind was a whirlwind of excitement and anxiety about what awaited him in the classroom. When he finally burst into the room, the teacher made a lighthearted joke about his tardiness. He responded with a witty remark and a grin, earning a collective laugh from the entire class.
He took an empty seat and opened his notebook. After studying quietly for a while, he turned to the boy sitting next to him:
"Hey, is it usually this quiet in here?"
It's the first day, how is he supposed to know… he thought to himself.
The boy smiled and shrugged:
"It's usually like this… I guess things are just a bit calm since it's the first day."
"Ah, okay, that's good then. I'm not really a fan of crowds anyway… But still… talking feels good," Souta said with a slight smile.
"I'm Kaito, by the way," the boy said, extending his hand.
"And I'm… Souta. Nice to meet you."
⸻
The recess bell rang, and the hallways quickly filled with the chatter of students. Souta grabbed Kaito and headed toward a group of girls. He approached them with a relaxed air and a confident smile:
"Hey there! I'm Souta, and this is Kaito."
The girls met them with surprised but curious glances. Souta radiated a sense of confidence and friendliness, while Kaito looked a bit shy but comfortable enough by his side.
"Hi, I'm Himari," said the orange-haired girl, a spark of curiosity in her eyes.
"I'm Mei!" chirped the energetic one, waving her hands.
"And I'm Ayame," said the third girl in a calm, gentle voice, bowing her head slightly.
Souta smiled broadly: "Nice to meet you all; Himari, Mei, Ayame."
Kaito gave a timid smile: "Nice to meet you."
Mei spoke up with a playful smirk:
"So… did you two come here together, or did you have a special plan just to meet us?"
Souta shrugged while Kaito cleared his throat nervously.
"A plan? No, pure coincidence," Souta said, trying to look serious.
Himari smiled faintly: "Coincidence? It felt a bit too organized to me…"
Ayame chimed in softly: "Maybe they just wanted to make a good first impression."
Souta grinned: "A first impression… Yeah, I guess it's a bit of that too."
Mei giggled: "I think you should be a bit more daring. It's not easy approaching us on your first day. But since you're so brave, why don't you do something to prove it!"
Just then, the bell rang, and they returned to their seats. Kaito whispered to Souta, "Are we really going to do what they said?" Souta didn't seem bothered at all. "It'll be fine," he muttered.
⸻
After class ended, they went back to the girls. Souta asked, "Alright, so what do we need to do?"
Himari replied, "Well… for starters, you could tell us what kind of girls you like." Mei immediately giggled and jumped in: "Yes! Be brave! Tell us clearly who your type is!"
Souta stepped slightly closer to Himari, keeping his eyes locked on hers: "I like short, cute girls," he said firmly.
Himari looked stunned for a moment before a small smile crept onto her face. Kaito, on the other hand, cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes in embarrassment:
"I-I… I can't do this…"
Ayame leaned in with a sweet but slightly mocking tone: "Ha! Are you really going to be that shy, Kaito? I don't think you're brave at all."
Kaito murmured shyly, eyes fixed on the floor: "I really… I can't…"
Souta chuckled and intervened to save his friend, turning the tables on Himari: "Since this has turned into such a funny situation, you should tell us what kind of guys you like too, right?"
Mei giggled excitedly: "Of course we can, right Himari?"
Himari nodded: "Sure, why not?"
Souta looked directly into Himari's eyes: "What about you? What's your type?"
Himari tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged: "I like tall, dark-haired guys."
Souta smirked: "Wow… are you talking about me already?"
Himari's cheeks flushed a light pink: "What? Who do you think you are? You're not the only dark-haired guy in the world! And I wasn't talking about arrogant guys like you, I meant someone… more decent!"
Souta held up his hands in mock surrender: "Alright, alright, calm down! If you're that impressed by me, I can make it up to you by buying you a drink at the cafeteria. But watch out, I'm tall and dark-haired—exactly your type!"
As Mei burst out laughing, it was Ayame's turn. But Ayame, who had just been teasing Kaito, was now bright red and speechless.
Kaito didn't miss his chance:
"Ha! What happened, Ayame? Looks like your courage vanished. I don't think you're being brave at all right now!"
Ayame was cornered, but the school bell rang just in time to save her. As everyone scattered to their seats, Souta looked at Himari and winked. Himari gave him a sharp look, but she couldn't hide the small smile playing on her lips.
As Souta and Kaito walked out of the school together at the end of the day, Souta muttered:
"I think this year is going to be a lot more fun than I thought."