Chapter 1: The Start of it All...
The people who constantly say "don't worry, your life will get better!" are the ones who really don't understand how hard it can be. It's either that you're going to suffer from the ways of life, or you're going to win at the game of life. The friends you meet and the achievements that you accomplish don't matter when you're going to die eventually. What's the point of these memories if there is the possibility that they could be forgotten? To be honest, I think-
"Haru-kun, like I said before, I don't think you should be... this deep about life. Life isn't all about depression and-" I already knew where this conversation was going; don't view life as THIS, life is all about THAT along with some other nonsense.
"'Cherishing the people that you meet and the hardships that you face are what shapes the person they are today...'" I've already heard of this from so many people that it starts to get annoying when you hear the first few words being spoken.
"...Right. But still, I'm happy that you completed the assignment, but you need to learn that life won't just be about depression and a lonely life, Haru-kun. Make some friends, play some games with them, don't do your work with them-"
"Aiko-sensei, are you speaking from your own experiences?" My sudden question had left her speechless for a second... before she opened her mouth to speak again.
"...Yes, but this isn't about me, it's about you, Haru-kun," Before she spoke again, she raised her left leg and crossed it over her right one. Great, I'm about to get lectured again, aren't I? Why am I even here if I already completed the assignment? "We teachers are here to teach you, and the students are here to be potential friends. You can't just let your highschool years be wasted doing nothing but work all the time." She spoke as strictly as she stared at me.
"..." I had nothing to say to that as she would always have something to counter my arguments. Should I just walk out like I did before? There's no harm in doing that right?
"Don't even think about it, Haru-kun," Before my brain could even process the need of moving my leg, I felt a shiver in my spine. "You aren't trying to leave while I'm still looking at you, right?" Okay.
"...Maybe." I diverted my eyes away from her stern glare. Walking to the nearest chair, I sat down with my hands on my lap, ready to not listen to a single word she said. And as she opened her mouth, she breathed out a sigh.
"I don't even know why it's hard for you to understand this, Haru-kun. You have good grades and you're a healthy boy, so why are you still distant from the other students? Maybe you should be friends with Shinzo-kun. He's-" Here we go again with the 'befriend the handsome-and-friendly guy'.
"With all due respect, Aiko-sensei, I don't want to be friends with a guy that's attracting as many girls as times as he has breathed. My presence will only make his reputation worse." I raised my hand to interrupt her.
"-an overall friendly person, Haru-kun. It matters not of reputation if someone cares more for their friends than what others might think of them."
"...Nope." That's all I could say. Why did I even say anything if I knew that she'd counter my argument? Again, she sighed before looking down at her desk and held the face of a sudden realization. I don't like that face. Picking up a pen, she began to write something down on the paper in front of her.
"Here, for you." Taking the piece of paper from out of her hands, I lead my eyes to read the top of the paper to see-
No.
"I absolutely refuse." I placed the paper down on her desk in retaliation.
"You can't refuse, I just signed it."
"But I have the choice to go or not."
"...I signed the paper."
"I know."
"And the signature is basically saying that it's said and done. You don't have a say in this decision."
"...I still refuse."
"And I still signed the paper." Before continuing, we both held a glare to one another. With my hands shaking as if freezing cold, I got up from my chair and walked to the door.
"I still-"
-Holonatural-
"Alright everyone! It's the day of the field trip~!"
Aiko-senpai is definitely a different person when it comes to speaking to the entire class.
"Wooo~!" With the entire class unable to contain their excitement, they raised their fist out in enthusiasm.
"Woo..." Could my day even get any worse than this?
"Alright, the bus is going to be here in a few minutes, so everyone get what you need in preparation~!" As she finished, the entire class began to speak with one another. Well, if we're going to be leaving in a few, I might as well get my sketchbook from the art room.
"If you excuse me..." I spoke silently and sat up from my seat. With Aiko-senpai's eyes on me, I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave the school in hopes of forgetting about this trip. It was clear that she had other security measures to make sure that I didn't leave the school premises anyway...
Walking out of the classroom was easy enough as I was able to-
"How ya doin', Haru-kun!" A hand was wrapped around my shoulder suddenly. Judging by the energy in their voice, I could only guess one person.
"...Why are you touching me, Shinzo-senpai?" As he began to scratch his cheek in embarrassment, he maintained a smile.
"Well, Aiko-sensei asked me to watch over you in case you ever decided on leaving the trip for some reason. I know we haven't talked to one another, but I know that I'm up to the task!" Great, so she managed to get him to watch over me, huh? That's just great.
"...Fine. And by the way, I'm not going to leave the trip, I'm just getting my book from the art room, okay?." And suddenly, he froze up. And then he began to walk again.
"The art room? You mean... the one that everyone thinks is haunted? W-why would you even need to go in there?" I could tell by the fearful expression in his eyes that he's afraid. The stories that people have been saying about some strange and deep voices being heard from within the room are clearly just rumors to scare students.
"To get my sketchbook. What, don't tell me that you're afraid of going in there?" With sweat dripping from his face, Shinzo-senpai quickly grasped onto a determined expression... At least he tried to...
"W-why would you even think that? If you were in there before, then I have nothing to be afraid about!" As we stopped at the door of the club, I twisted the knob and walked inside without a hint of fear.
"Woah...! What's with all these portraits here? Don't tell me that you've been-"
"Of course not, I can barely draw anything myself. They belong to someone else who's been here before. Strangely enough, they don't leave any names or anything that can give me a clue as to who they belong to..." Staring at one of the portraits, I could see the image of a moonlight sky peering through the window of the room, with trees blowing gently with the wind outside.
"Whoever did them was really talented..." Shinzo-senpai spoke in his amazement. Moving away from the art, I located my book that was on one of the tables and opened it.
"Good luck on your trip!"
I don't know who wrote it, but I can guess that it was Aiko-sensei. Seriously, does she need to go to such a length to go to the place where I get to be calm, just to touch my stuff? She's very persistent.
"Say, how long have you been here, Haru-kun?" Shinzo-senpai asked as he went through the many portraits, still on easels.
"...I don't remember the first time I've been here, actually," Turning to me, he looked as if he was confused. "I've been coming here for a long time, so I don't really remember." I continued.
"A-ah... I guess I could understand that. Sometimes I remember being at places that aren't familiar to me... but they felt familiar for some reason. I sound kind of stupid..."
What could he have meant by that?
"Anyway, let's get going. I already got what I came here for." Walking to the door, I could hear the sounds of someone running behind me, probably Shinzo-senpai trying to hurry up.
"Shinzo-senpai, you don't have to run, you know."
"Hm? I'm not running." Turning back, I could see Shinzo-senpai still staring at the portraits with interest. Wait... was I hearing things? I could've sworn that I heard running.
"N-nevermind, let's just go already." With my hand on the knob, I opened the door and waited for him to come with me, though he decided to keep looking through the portraits while mumbling something.
"H-huh? Oh, just go without me, okay? I'll catch up soon." Is he that into the artworks? Huh, never knew he had such a kind interest in art. Without saying anything else, I left the room to hurry back to class.
I knew that this was going to be a terrible day for me.
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