The drive to school felt quieter than usual.
Not awkward quiet.
Just sleepy.
Rain clouds covered most of the morning sky, and soft music played quietly from the speakers while Naoko drove with one hand on the wheel.
I leaned against the window tiredly.
Naoko glanced at me briefly.
"You look less dead today."
"…Thanks?"
"You're welcome."
"That sounded insulting."
"It was observational."
I sighed quietly.
Naoko smiled faintly before stopping at a red light.
Then suddenly,
"How's yesterday?"
I blinked slightly.
"…Huh?"
"With your friends."
"Oh."
I looked down at my bag silently for a second.
"…It was fun."
Naoko hummed softly.
"You should enjoy that while you can."
The sentence made me glance toward her immediately.
But she just kept driving like she hadn't said anything strange.
Sometimes I genuinely couldn't tell when she was joking anymore.
When we arrived at school, my friends were already waiting near the entrance like usual.
Well…
Mostly Kei.
Because the second he spotted me getting out of Naoko's car,
"HARUKOOOOOO!"
His voice echoed across the entire front gate.
I physically flinched.
"Why are you yelling this early?!"
"BECAUSE FRIENDSHIP NEVER SLEEPS!"
"You absolutely sleep during class."
"That's unrelated."
Toshio burst out laughing nearby while Etsuko looked seconds away from violence.
Yori adjusted his glasses calmly.
"Good morning."
"…Morning."
Kei immediately walked beside me dramatically.
"So," he said suspiciously, "how was living in your teacher's house?"
I almost choked instantly.
"T-That sounds way worse when you say it like that."
Etsuko crossed her arms.
"It already sounds weird normally."
"It's temporary!" I said quickly.
Toshio grinned.
"At least Naoko-sensei seems to care about you."
That sentence made me hesitate slightly.
"…Yeah."
Kei suddenly gasped dramatically.
"WAIT."
He pointed at me accusingly.
"You're defending her now."
"I didn't defend anybody!"
"You sounded emotionally attached."
"I literally just said 'yeah'!"
"That's enough evidence."
Yori looked thoughtful.
"To be fair, Naoko-sensei is usually kind toward Haruko."
My stomach tightened slightly.
If only they knew how true that actually was.
Kei suddenly leaned closer to me.
"…So what DID you guys do yesterday?"
I froze.
Naoko teaching me how to survive psychologically after discovering she was a serial killer probably wasn't the correct answer.
"…Nothing much," I lied weakly.
Kei narrowed his eyes immediately.
"That was suspicious."
"She's hiding something," Etsuko agreed.
"I'm literally not!"
"Your voice cracked," Toshio pointed out.
Traitor.
Thankfully, before they could continue interrogating me, the bell rang.
Kei sighed dramatically.
"School truly is humanity's greatest enemy."
"You say that every morning."
"And I mean it every morning."
Lunch time was somehow even louder.
All five of us sat together outside near the courtyard while Kei aggressively argued with Toshio over something completely stupid.
"I'm TELLING you," Kei said dramatically, "penguins could absolutely beat you in a fight."
Toshio stared at him.
"…What?"
"They have confidence."
"That's not how fighting works."
"It matters spiritually."
Etsuko rubbed her forehead.
"I regret sitting here."
Yori calmly continued eating.
"I think Kei simply wants attention."
"FALSE."
"That was immediate," I muttered.
Kei pointed at me dramatically.
"You're on my side, right Haruko?"
"…About the penguins?"
"Yes."
I looked at Toshio.
Then at Kei.
"…I think the penguins would win."
Toshio gasped.
"YOU TOO?!"
Kei immediately slammed both hands onto the table triumphantly.
"YES! VALIDATION!"
Etsuko looked genuinely disappointed in me.
"You were supposed to be the normal one."
"I lost that title weeks ago."
"Fair point."
Then suddenly,
a voice spoke beside us casually.
"What are the penguins doing?"
Every single one of my friends jumped violently.
Toshio almost dropped his drink.
Kei made a noise I had never heard from a human being before.
Even Etsuko flinched.
Meanwhile I just looked up calmly.
Naoko stood there holding coffee like she had spawned naturally from the atmosphere itself.
"…Good afternoon, sensei."
Naoko blinked slightly.
"Good afternoon, Haruko."
Naoko looked weirdly proud.
Kei grabbed his chest dramatically.
"WHY DO YOU WALK SO QUIETLY?!"
Naoko tilted her head.
"…Am I loud supposed to be?"
"That sentence hurt my brain," Etsuko muttered.
Naoko calmly sat beside us anyway like she belonged there.
Toshio looked nervous immediately.
"…Uh… sensei?"
"Yes?"
"…Teachers can just… sit with students?"
Naoko sipped her coffee.
"I already am."
"That's not the point."
Kei pointed accusingly.
"You scared ten years off my lifespan."
Naoko looked thoughtful.
"Interesting. You still behave the same."
"I'm being bullied by faculty."
Etsuko sighed.
"You probably deserve it."
"ET TU, ETSUKO?"
Meanwhile Naoko looked toward me casually.
"What were you arguing about?"
I sighed tiredly.
"Penguins."
Naoko nodded seriously.
"Understandable."
Toshio looked betrayed.
"WHY IS EVERYONE SUPPORTING THIS?"
"Because penguins are emotionally powerful," Naoko replied calmly.
Kei immediately pointed at her dramatically.
"SEE?! SHE UNDERSTANDS ME!"
"I'm starting to understand why Haruko looks exhausted around you people."
"I AM exhausted around them."
"RUDE."
The conversation somehow kept getting louder after that.
Mostly because Kei kept trying to involve Naoko in every stupid topic possible.
"Sensei," he asked suddenly, "if a zombie apocalypse happened, which student would survive the longest?"
Naoko answered immediately.
"Haruko."
I blinked.
"…Me?"
Etsuko looked confused.
"Why her?"
Naoko looked completely serious.
"She adapts to fear unusually fast."
My entire body stiffened slightly.
Because I knew what she actually meant.
Thankfully nobody else noticed.
Kei pointed at himself dramatically.
"What about me?"
Naoko looked at him for one second.
"…You'd die trying to flirt with a zombie."
"…That is NOT inaccurate."
Even I laughed at that one.
Then suddenly another teacher approached quickly from the school building.
"Ah, Miyahira-sensei! There you are."
Naoko looked up lazily.
"Hm?"
"The teachers' meeting starts in ten minutes."
The entire table went silent.
Naoko blinked once.
"…Right. That exists."
The teacher looked exhausted already.
"You forgot again, didn't you?"
"Possibly."
Then Naoko slowly stood up while fixing her coat.
"Oh right," she said casually while looking at us. "There won't be classes after lunch today."
Silence.
Then…
Kei slammed both hands onto the table.
"WHAT."
Toshio looked shocked.
"Seriously?!"
Etsuko immediately looked relieved.
"Finally!"
Even Yori smiled slightly.
Meanwhile Kei looked seconds away from tears.
"Sensei," he whispered emotionally, "I take back every bad thing I've ever said about teachers."
Naoko looked touched.
"How moving."
"You're my favorite government employee now."
"That title feels insulting somehow."
Then Naoko started walking away with the other teacher before suddenly glancing back toward me briefly.
"…Try not to cause problems while I'm gone."
Kei immediately pointed at himself.
"Why are you looking at HER when I'm right here?"
Naoko stared at him for a moment.
"…Actually that's fair."
"HEY?!"
The moment Naoko disappeared down the hallway with the other teacher, Kei stood up dramatically on top of the bench.
"We're FREE!"
"GET DOWN BEFORE YOU DIE," Etsuko snapped instantly.
"I CAN FEEL THE WIND OF LIBERATION!"
"There is no wind," Yori said calmly.
Toshio looked around nervously.
"…People are staring at us."
Kei pointed toward random students nearby.
"LOOK AT THEM. ENVIOUS OF OUR FREEDOM."
"They're judging you," I muttered.
"That too."
Then suddenly Kei lost his balance.
For one beautiful moment, his arms windmilled violently in the air like a dying bird.
And then,
THUD.
He fell directly onto the grass.
Complete silence.
I stared down at him.
"…Are you alive?"
Kei slowly raised one hand upward dramatically.
"…Tell my future wife… I died free…"
Etsuko immediately kicked his leg.
"You tripped over air."
"I was attacked."
"By what? Gravity?"
Toshio was laughing so hard he physically had to lean against the table.
Even Yori quietly looked away to hide a smile.
Meanwhile Kei continued laying there dramatically.
"Haruko…"
"…What?"
"…Protect the penguins…"
"I'm leaving you here."
"That's fair."
Eventually the bell rang again.
Students started moving through the hallways loudly while everyone packed their things excitedly now that classes were canceled.
Kei somehow had even MORE energy than usual.
Which honestly felt dangerous.
"I'm thinking arcade," he announced while walking backward dramatically in front of us.
"You're always thinking arcade," Etsuko replied.
"Because arcades understand me emotionally."
"No they don't."
"You don't know my relationship with rhythm games."
Toshio grinned.
"We could go get food first."
"Yes," Kei agreed immediately. "I'm starving."
"You said that twenty minutes ago," I pointed out.
"And it was true twenty minutes ago too."
Yori adjusted his bag calmly.
"We should avoid the station area today."
Etsuko looked toward him.
"Why?"
"It's crowded on early dismissal days."
Kei gasped dramatically.
"Human interaction."
"You literally scream at strangers for fun."
"That's different. I control those interactions."
Toshio suddenly looked at me.
"Haruko, where do you wanna go?"
I blinked slightly.
"…Me?"
"Yeah."
The question weirdly caught me off guard.
People usually just decided things around me before.
"…I don't really mind," I admitted quietly.
Kei pointed accusingly immediately.
"Wrong answer."
"Huh?"
"You always say that."
Etsuko nodded slightly.
"He's right."
I looked confused.
"…What am I supposed to say?"
"What YOU want," Toshio said simply.
The sentence made me quiet for a second.
Honestly…
I still wasn't used to people caring about my opinion that much.
Kei suddenly wrapped one arm around my shoulders dramatically again.
"Don't worry. We'll teach you how to emotionally participate in society."
"That sounds horrifying."
"It is."
"Why would you admit that?!"
"Transparency builds trust."
Yori sighed softly.
"I genuinely can't tell if he's intelligent or not anymore."
"I transcend intelligence."
"That means nothing," Etsuko muttered.
As we continued walking through the hallway, students passed around us loudly.
Some laughing.
Some running.
Teachers trying unsuccessfully to control the chaos.
It felt strangely normal.
For once…
I almost forgot about everything else.
Then suddenly—
Toshio slowed slightly.
"…Uh."
The rest of us looked up.
Near the front office hallway stood the principal talking to someone I had never seen before.
A woman.
Tall.
Short black hair.
Plain white T-shirt beneath a dark jacket.
Her posture looked relaxed, but something about her presence felt strangely heavy.
And her eyes…
Black.
Not literally.
Just empty in a way that made them hard to read.
Calm.
Deadpan.
Emotionless.
Even from far away, she stood out unnaturally against the noisy hallway around her.
Kei stopped talking immediately.
"…Whoa."
Etsuko frowned slightly.
"…Who's that?"
Yori looked thoughtful.
"I don't recognize her."
The principal kept talking, but the woman barely reacted.
Then suddenly,
her eyes moved.
Directly toward me.
My chest tightened instantly.
For some reason…
I felt cold.
The woman said something short to the principal before starting to walk toward us slowly.
Each step calm.
Quiet.
The hallway noise somehow felt farther away the closer she got.
Kei whispered dramatically:
"…Why does she feel like a final boss?"
"No seriously," Toshio muttered quietly.
Even Etsuko looked uneasy now.
The woman finally stopped directly in front of me.
Up close, her expression looked almost completely blank.
Not rude.
Just unreadable.
She stared at me for a few silent seconds.
Then finally spoke.
"…Are you Takano Haruko?"