Chapter 1 - 1st Semester • April — Entrance Ceremony

In front of the school gate, a plaque with「Entrance Ceremony」written vertically in large calligraphic script was propped up, and a few students were seen here and there taking commemorative photos with their parents.

 

 

Cherry blossoms danced in the air, and the fresh spring sunlight dazzled the new students in their uniforms without a single wrinkle. Such cloudless eyes, as if they have high hopes for the future of school life.

I, on the other hand, have no expectations for school. I just blinked my lusterless eyes. I would probably study and graduate at random anyway. All I could do was worry about what would happen to me in an environment full of girls that I was not accustomed to.

 

 

A short distance after passing through the school gate, we find a group of students lined up vertically on both sides across the road leading to the school building.

 

 

A few people wearing armbands reading「Student Council」lined up on the right side of the room, and a few people wearing armbands reading「Disciplinary Committee Member」lined up on the left side, shouting good morning and congratulations on our enrollment.

 

 

The first years have red ties, the second years have blue ties, and the third years have yellow ties. Stunning signal colors.

I could tell from the color of their ties that these students greeting me were in the second or third grade.

 

 

A low “wow” came out of my voice.

I was a little uncomfortable with this kind of consciousness. I was the kind of person who didn’t care about studies, discipline, or school events, which was incompatible with me.

 

 

The student council was also in the middle school. I have no good impression at all of some of my classmates who were overbearing about the authority they were given. They were the「loud ones」in my mind.

Somehow, I avoided the Student Council side and moved to the left side of the school building.

 

「You, hold on for a second.」

 

 

A voice called out to me. I had a bad feeling and looked toward the voice to see a slightly taller woman with long black hair looking at me. The wind is blowing and her thin black hair is swaying against the backdrop of cherry petals.

With pure white skin and clear gray eyes, she was a shadowy beauty with an expressionless yet somehow glamorous look. Black tights, stretched back, armband with the words “Disciplinary Committee Member” and blue tie.

 

 

「What is it?」

 

「That wristband is against school rules. Take it off.」

 

 

She was quick to point out the black wristband that covers my wound. When I was in middle school, my teacher, who knew how things started, pretended to ignore my wristband, but I think the school rules were reasonably strict at this school. It was a jumble in the student handbook.

 

 

「…Why is not allowed?」

 

「If you’re going to be a student at this school, you have to follow the school rules.」

 

 

She seemed to figure out that I was a new student from the color of my tie.

 

 

「……」

 

「If you say it can’t be removed then…」

 

「I understand.」

 

 

I didn’t want to get into trouble so early in the entrance ceremony, so I pulled the wristband out of my hand with all my might, exposing the bare, painful scar in front of the black-haired senior.

 

 

「Is this okay?」

 

「……!」

 

 

The senior looked slightly wide-eyed and gulped.

 

 

「This is a terrible wound, isn’t it? I was often called gross behind my back. So I hid it.

But if it’s a school rule, I don’t blame you. I can only hope that bullying doesn’t happen.」

 

The senior just looked at my wound with a mysterious look on her face.

 

 

「…」

 

 

I can’t read from her expression what she is thinking, but I wonder if she thinks my scar are gross. But it can’t be helped, it’s a scar caused by my own vices. I feel like such a miserable person, and a derisive smile escapes my lips.

 

 

Silence.

 

 

I decided to go straight for the school building, since time would only pass meaninglessly if I stayed there.

 

 

「Wait a second.」

 

「…What is it again?」

 

「You, what’s your name?」

 

「I’m Shimizu Mirai.」

 

 

She suddenly asked me my name and I answered. I don’t know what it meant.

They say that if someone ask your name, you should say it back, but I wasn’t interested in the senior’s name, so I didn’t ask her back.

 

 

The only impression I had of this senior, whose name I did not know, was that she was a serious, stern-looking beauty with a feminine way of speaking. I knew from the color of her tie that she was a 2nd-year student.

 

 

I entered the classroom, took my seat, and looked around and saw girls, girls, girls. There are really only girls.

Since this school is an integrated middle and high school, the girls who came up from middle school formed several groups and were talking nonsense. The students like me who are sitting quietly in their seats are probably those who entered the school after high school. I would say that the ratio is about half and half.

 

 

「Hey, what is your name?」

 

 

I was sitting in my seat with my cheekbones in a daze when the girl sitting next to me started talking to me.

She was a lovely girl with loose-fitting medium hair and a lovely smile. When she smiled, her eyes narrowed and she was charming. Her expression was full of curiosity, and she seemed to be a person with no hidden motives.

 

 

「Me? My name is Shimizu Mirai.」

 

「Oh, I see, can I call you Mirai?」

 

「Ah— yeah. What should I call you?」

 

「I am Okudera Michiru. Everyone calls me Micchi, but you can call me whatever you want!」

 

「Okay. I will you Micchi then.」

 

 

This feeling was somewhat new to me. I remember having a similar conversation when I entered middle school. Because of my vices, I soon stopped associating with that friend, but…

However, I was a little happy to feel as if I had made friends in this way again. When I asked her about it, it seemed that Micchi had come up the escalator from middle school.

 

 

「Mirai, you’re so cute, I just had to say hello!」

 

「Thank you, I don’t have any friends at all, so I’m glad.」

 

「You can definitely do this down the road! You’re such a cutie.」

 

「There’s no way that I am, but thank you.」

 

 

Is this what an all-girls school is all about, making friends when you are good looking?

It is a different world from the environment I was in, and I feel indescribable.

She smiled and held out her hand to me, which I accepted. The sensation of soft hands. I recognized the softness of a girl’s hand.

 

 

「What happened to your wound?」

 

「Ahh, I was naughty in middle school… It’s not going away.」

 

「Uuh… Does it hurt?」

 

「Yeah, it doesn’t hurt.」

 

 

Our handshake revealed the wound on my wrist. Micchi discreetly stroked my wound. She is a good girl, I am sure.

I really wanted to hide it with a wristband, but I had no choice but to hold back because it would be a hassle if that public morals officer found out about it again.

I hope I can go out with a girl who doesn’t feel bad and avoid me when she sees these scars. Like Micchi.

 

 

When the time comes, the homeroom teacher, who has taken attendance, directs the students to the auditorium for the entrance ceremony.

 

 

「Mirai, come with me to the auditorium! Ah, I’ll introduce you. This girl is Kanoe!」

 

「Really, you are so cute. I’m Kanoe, pleased to meet you. I went to middle school with Micchi and we were in the same club.」

 

 

She has long dark brown hair that looks permed. She has long slit eyes and looks a little mature.

She was a member of the track and field team with Micchi in middle school.

 

 

「Nice to meet you. Were you in the high school track team too?」

 

「I’ll continue to do it, but you won’t, right, Micchi?」

 

「Yeah. I think I’m done with track-and-field… I get tired of running. Does Mirai wants to go?」

 

 

She’s tired of running, and that’s coming from someone who used to be on the track team! And Kanoe clicked her tongue from the side.

 

 

「Yeah. I don’t think I’ll join the club.」

 

「What about track-and-field club?」

 

「Not really…」

 

「Kanoe, don’t recruit someone too soon!」

 

 

When I saw a student trudging alone to the auditorium, still without friends, I felt lucky to have made friends with two of them right from the start.

I can usually get along with my female friends as long as there are no guys involved. The way I spend my school life would be totally different if I had friends or not.

Not that I expect anything in particular from school life, but it is an important factor in the area of how to keep from being bored.

 

 

The entrance ceremony began, and with the announcement that the new students were entering, I got into the action and sat down in my seat.

 

 

Micchi is sitting next to me and Kanoe is sitting next to Micchi.

Frankly speaking, I was bored. It is probably impossible not to be bored at the entrance ceremony. The bald-headed dean’s story is not very interesting either. I want it to end quickly.

Fortunately, there was a seat to sit in, which was good. Otherwise, I might have collapsed from anemia by now.

 

 

「——Now, please give us a message from the student body president to the new students.」

 

 

At the Dean’s signal, the student body president took the stage.

I was about to fall asleep, but the sleepiness left me gently with the new arrival.

 

 

「My name is Okudera Shizuku, the Student Council President. First of all, congratulations to all the new students——」

 

 

Short hair and neat appearance. Blue tie. The look of her eyes narrowing when she smiles, hidden in her crisp expression, overlaps with Micchi’s in some way.

 

 

「Micchi, that student council president…」

 

 

I call out to Micchi in a whisper.

 

 

「That’s my Onee-chan. Do I look like her?」

 

「I knew it… you two have the same last name and you two looked alike, so I thought it might be possible.」

 

「Yeah. I’m pretty sloppy at home, even though I talk with my chest out like that. Oh, that’s a secret.」

 

「Is that so, your sister is the Student Council President, that’s great. I learned this morning that this school has a Student Council and a Disciplinary Committee. Our middle school didn’t have a Disciplinary Committee, so this was a new experience for me.」

 

「Ah— You were standing in front of the school gate this morning. Our school is a bit special… the cabinet were the Student Council and Disciplinary Committee were the police. There is a lot of overlap in terms of roles, but the Disciplinary Committee is in charge of paying attention to various things, so it’s a job that people don’t like.」

 

 

I wonder if I had walked closer to the student council side this morning, would I have been warned by that Disciplinary Committee member?

I casually glanced to the side of the auditorium and saw the dark-haired member of the Disciplinary Committee standing there this morning. With straight eyes, I just watched the Student Council President as she spoke. She is slender and tall in stature. It’s amazing how she keeps her dignified posture even though she is on her feet all the time.

It’s not difficult to imagine that she has a lot of power among the Disciplinary Committee members since she is standing in the same place where the big shots are.

 

 

The Disciplinary Committee member is a hated job. What’s the fun in paying attention to everyone? No matter how much work you do, you don’t get paid for it, right? I don’t understand why they would go out of their way to take the initiative to do a job where they go out of their way to be disliked. It’s still a race that I don’t understand.

 

 

After the entrance ceremony was over, I went back to the classroom to talk with Micchi and the others, and there was the black-haired senior member of the Disciplinary Committee from earlier standing in front of the classroom door.

 

 

「You.」

 

「Ah…」

 

 

When she noticed me, she entered the classroom and came over to us. The classroom became instantly quiet.

Micchi and Kanoe looked at me, stunned and frozen.

 

 

「Here, if you’d like.」

 

 

What was handed to me was a skin-colored tape.

 

 

「A tape…?」

 

「It’s medical tape. It’s not a violation of school rules if you’re talking about treating an injury.」

 

「Thank you very much.」

 

 

I guessed it must be my wrist. I wrapped it fearfully. The wound was nicely hidden.

 

 

「That’s it for the requirements.」

 

 

After checking the tape wrapped around my arm, the senior quickly left.

It was only a moment.

 

 

「What was that… is Mirai an acquaintance of Hayama-senpai?」

 

 

The silence is broken by a single word from Kanoe.

 

 

「I just got a warning this morning that my wristband to cover my scars is against school rules.」

 

「Uwahh… Oh, that’s the reason, you did well on your first day. But she had a kind heart to come all the way to the classroom and hand you the tape. That was a little unexpected.」

 

「She asked me my name, but I didn’t think she’d come to class. If you’re going to go that far, I wish you hadn’t warned me in the first place. …… That person’s name is Hayama, isn’t it?」

 

「She’s the Chairwoman of Disciplinary Committee. I think all the insiders know that. She’s always expressionless and kind of scary. She’s been on the Disciplinary Committee since middle school, and Onee-chan told me about her, but she said she’s too perfect and scary. She always get first place in her grades, and she always get perfect scores on sports tests. She always wins prizes in art and calligraphy. In addition, she is so beautiful and seamless, it’s hard to believe she’s the same person.」

 

 

Micchi’s sister has also been in the Student Council since middle school.

Because of their jobs, the Student Council and the Disciplinary Committee often work together, and they sometimes come up in conversation.

 

 

Hayama Reika. That’s what that black-haired senior is called, apparently.

She, too, has been a member of the Disciplinary Committee at this school since middle school, and she seems to have been looked up to by students and teachers alike for her cool-headed, open-eyed attitude and her ability to do everything perfectly.

 

 

I look at the tape wrapped around my wrist.

 

 

Hayama Reika, huh.

It reminds me of a member of the class committee in middle school, who was admired as the perfect boy who took the longest time to fall for me. I found some overlap between him and Hayama-senpai.

 

 

I remember him shaking his fist in nervousness in front of me, as he was known for his serious and cool appearance.

 

 

It was ridiculous.

No one is perfect.

 

 

——The way home.

 

 

I was strolling around the academy, thinking of taking a short detour since it was only a five-minute walk from the academy to my house.

 

 

In the school yard, the members of Athletic Clubs were doing their preparatory exercises. I was not planning to join any club activities. I wasn’t particularly bad at sports, but that atmosphere of working hard with your friends was hard to accept, and I never liked the idea of doing something in a group in the first place. The Cultural Clubs was no exception.

People may call it youth, but it has nothing to do with me.

 

 

In one corner of a corridor in the academy, I saw a shadowy figure wriggling in the shade of a tree. Curious, I took a quick peek and saw that the students were holding hands and kissing each other.

 

 

How dare they be so… prosperous here?

I had heard that this kind of thing happens a lot in girls’ and boys’ schools, but it really does. I had never thought about same-s*x romance before, but now that I had witnessed it, I realized that it was possible. I wasn’t really surprised.

 

 

But the sight gave me a ray of possibility. My game could be played here, too.

There are still some things I can’t imagine targeting women. I guess everything starts with getting closer and getting to know each other.

 

 

The faces of Micchi and Kanoe passed over.

No, I want to take good care of those two. I don’t want to make them unhappy.

 

 

I’m still interested in—— Hayama Reika-senpai.