Tuesday, 7th of April 2009. 07:30
He quickly spat the lid-full of mouthwash into the sink, checking his ribbon-like tie before moving over to the desk and pulling his mp3 player from the port on his laptop. As the knock sounded on the door, he plugged the player into the part already in place around his neck before moving to answer.
"It's Yukari," the voice of the brunette called through the closed entrance. "Are you awake?"
The temptation to call back "No"was almost overwhelming.
Deciding against what could be considered as a fast tracked journey to a hospital bed, he opened the door to his room, moving to the side to allow his new dorm mate to enter.
"Good Morning! Did you sleep well?" Haruto had to hold in a groan; it was far too early in the morning for someone to be that cheerful. "Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. It's getting late so... Are you ready to go?"
The only reply she got was a nod before the room's occupant moved towards the desk. "Let me get my bag."
"Okay. Let's go." The schoolgirl rushed as she moved back into the hallway, allowing the other teen to collect his things and lock the door behind him.
The trip to Iwatodai Station was quicker than last night. Partly because the two teens could move at a brisk pace as it wasn't the Dark Hour, mostly because Yukari knew the city better than the newcomer and the route was a lot shorter compared to the route given in the directions. Most of the conversation on route consisted of Yukari explaining how to get hold of his student card and the benefits, which included free use of the monorail to and from school, it offered. It wasn't until the monorail approached Port Island Station that Yukari changed the subject.
"So that's it," she stated as she pointed to the whole building complex in the middle of the island. "See? There it is."
The crimson-eyed junior nodded an affirmative, although his eyes didn't leave the school building. Why did he have a feeling he'd been here before?
And why did it feel like the school building wasn't tall enough?
He contemplated these questions as they exited the monorail and moved with the crowd towards the building. It wasn't until Yukari walked in front of him that he noticed that they'd reached the gates.
"Well this is it. We're here," the brunette stated. "Welcome to Gekkoukan High School. Hope you like it."
"Thanks," he replied with a smirk and a half bow before they started moving back towards the entryway.
"You're okay from here, right? You should go see your homeroom teacher first," she explained as they stooped next to the lockers. "The Faculty Office is right there to the left. … And that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?"
The teen did a quick scan before answering, "None that I can think of. I'll see you later."
As he started to move away Yukari called to him again. "Hey..." She quickly paused as she eyed the other pupils. "About last night... Don't tell anyone about what you saw, okay?" After his nod in agreement she gave him one last smile before she started to move away. "See you later." With that he was left to his own devices.
He once again took a browse around the hallway, picking up bits of a conversation from a tanned girl complaining about how the guy she was talking to was in his tracksuit and not his uniform. He sighed before deciding that just standing there wouldn't get him anywhere and he headed for the bulletin board. He was new so he should at least try and make a good first impression with his homeroom teacher. Knowing who he or she was and which group he was in would help in that regard.
Well that would have been the plan if his bloody name had been on the board in the first place.
Ah well, the best laid plans...
He followed Yukari's directions, passing what seemed to be a teacher, wearing a samurai helmet, chatting enthusiastically with an equally excited student, who carried a fan, before reaching the second door on the left. He checked the plaque on the wall confirming his location before knocking and sliding the door open.
Most of the teachers ignored him, until a female teacher in a peach trouser suit ensemble moved towards him. "Oh, are you the new student?" she asked as she started to look through the file she had on top of the book she was carrying. She watched as the student nodded his affirmative before she started to look through the file. "Namikaze Haruto... 11th grade, correct? Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places..." She didn't know the half of it. "In 1999... That was what, ten years ago? Your parents..."
He couldn't stop himself from clenching his fists. Here it comes.
And as expected the teacher let out a gasp as her eyes slowly turned from a look of interest to a look of pity. "I'm sorry... I've been so busy I didn't have time to read this beforehand," she admitted as the look of pity changed to embarrassment. "I'm Toriumi Isako, I teach composition. Welcome to our school."
Deciding to let her off the hook, he gave the teacher a small smile accompanied with a half bow. "Pleased to meet you."
"Have you seen the classroom assignments?" the tutor asked.
"I had a look but couldn't find mine on it," the white-haired junior admitted.
"Well you're in 2-F; that's my class. But first we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me."
Oh joy, a welcoming ceremony. Well at least he could try and make up for some of the lost sleep from the palaver last night.
Granted it turned out to be harder than he thought as he ended up at the end of a row, but he knew that he'd be able to get away with at least zoning out for the duration of the speech.
"As you begin the new school year, I'd like each of you to remember the proverb, 'If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well.' When applied to student life, this means..."
"Psst… Hey!" As he heard the hushed call for attention from behind him he realised that maybe it was one of those days where things didn't end up like planned. "You came to school with Yukari this morning, right? I saw you two walking together. Hey, I have a question. Do you know if she has a boyfriend?"
Haruto's head found his hand quite quickly as he muffled the sigh that escaped. Realising that he wouldn't get out of this without an answer he simply replied with a small shrug and a "Don't know."
"I see. I thought you might know, but... I guess not. ...So, how well do you know her?"
"I hear talking," a male voice stated. "I believe it's someone from Toriumi-sensei's class..."
"Shhh! Be quiet! You're going to get me into trouble." And that, thankfully, was the end of that.