Act 01 Scene 01 -- Part 01
*****
My alarm blared in my ears. I groaned in annoyance and opened my eye, my vision half-obscured by pillow.
7:00 a.m.
Groaning, I shuffled my sore body up to a sitting position and slapped at the alarm button, missing and hitting my fingers on the edge of the nightstand.
“Shit!” I cursed, pain snapping me awake.
I’m supposed to be blind on my right
side! I managed to turn my alarm off and waved the pain in my hand away. In my less-than-dazed state, I considered going back to bed, but I remembered that I needed to shower and get ready for the first day of the school year.
First day of school…
The words sank into my mind, waking me further and bringing me back to yesterday. I spent the remainder of last night unpacking what was left of my stuff and hooking up my video game systems to the flat-screen TV that was in my brother’s spare room. He lent it to me, saying that I had to return it at the end of the year. To say I was surprised would have been an understatement.
At some point yesterday my brother had somehow managed to leave another surprise: a box in the closet with some gifts and a letter. Tossing the bedsheet aside and getting up, I walked over to my desk and picked up the letter, looking at his neat writing.
Ryo,
Mom and I feel like we let you down by not looking out for you more, and I’m sure your friends are pretty bummed out that you’re leaving. New schools can be pretty intimidating, and I’m willing to bet you’ve second-guessed your decision at least once. Don’t deny it. Like I told you before, I’ve been there.
The five of us, me, Mom, Kensuke, Yumi, and Noriko, decided to pitch in what we could and get you the stuff in this package. I also decided that I’ll let you keep that flat-screen TV that was in my spare room rather than just borrowing it as we agreed on. I’m sure you’ll have fun playing video games on a nicer TV than that piece of crap CRT that was in your old room. Consider it a gift.
I hope your last year of school goes well for you. This school treated me well, and I hope it does the same for you.
Don’t hesitate to call me or Mom if you need to. We’ll do whatever we can to help.
Keep in touch, little brother.
-- Satoshi
I smiled sadly, putting down the letter beside my brand new laptop. Aside from my brother’s signature, my mother’s name was signed, as were my little sister’s and my friends’. I looked up to see the framed photos on the shelf of my desk, gifts that were in the box that my brother stashed away along with the laptop.
There was an old photo of the four of us when we were in second year. Kensuke’s uncle took us ten-pin bowling, and he took a picture of us posing by the ball return. Ken was giving me rabbit ears with his fingers, and I was doing the same thing to Yumi while she held a bright orange bowling ball. Noriko was leaning on me, a toothy smile on her face and a purple bowling ball in her hands.
The other photos were recently taken, I guess during one of the times I couldn’t be bothered to leave Satoshi’s apartment. One was of Asami, Satoshi and my mom, the three of them standing underneath a tree with supportive smiles. My sister was giving the victory symbol.
One was of Kensuke giving a thumbs up and a small smile. The one beside that was of Yumi, leaning against a tree, one foot up against it, a sultry smile on her face and her eyes half-closed, trying to look sexy. Noriko and I knew she had a thing for Kensuke, though, and she probably didn’t realise that the photo was going to be for me. Or maybe she did, and she was just playing around like always. I chuckled at the thought.
The last framed photo was of Noriko, leaning on the tree by her shoulder, a timid smile on her face. I felt a pang of sadness as I picked up the picture frame and ran my thumb along the edge. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I reluctantly set the frame back on my desk and wiped a tear from my eye. I shook the melancholy thoughts away and grabbed a towel and my necessary toiletries for a shower.
As I moved towards the door, I caught sight of my face on the long mirror on the backside of the door. I was clad only in a pair of black boxers, but the right side of my face might as well have been outlined in neon. I avoided mirrors, or at least made an effort to, ever since I got out of the hospital, even to brush my teeth or wash my face. Now, though, my line of sight was riveted to the angry reddish-brown slashes covering the upper-right corner of my face and closing my right eye. I reached up reflexively to touch it, and I was greeted by the sight of further scars on the underside of my forearm. I pulled my arm back down from my face, only to focus on my facial scars again.
Thoughts of my time in the hospital came crashing back, immediately followed by recollections of what sent me there. The pain, the fear, the helplessness...
I shook my head violently, pushed away the negative thoughts and threw the door open, slamming my shoulder into it as I attempted to rush out of my dorm room. Swearing loudly, I blinked away the tears and slammed my door closed, power-walking the short distance from my room to the bathroom, kicking the door closed. I tossed my stuff on the floor just outside the shower, stripped naked and cranked the hot water knob two full rotations and the cold water knob just one. I hung my head underneath the spray of water, shaking my head furiously.
Stop it! I rail at myself.
You’re past that!
I heard a pounding coming from the bathroom door.
“Keep it down!” I heard a muffled voice. “You’re going to wake up the entire floor!”
Letting out a breath, I thumped my head softly on the wall just underneath the shower, my shoulder throbbing painfully. I turned my head as far as I could but saw no bruising, at least, not yet.
Fuck. So much for making a good first impression...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
After finishing my shower and my morning routine then returning to my room, being a bit more mindful about the noise and my sense of perception, I got dressed, looking at my reflection only after I’d finished knotting my tie. My gaze immediately went to my arms, feeling self-conscious about them despite being covered to the wrist. I pushed the thought away and grabbed my backpack and the sticky note stuck to my laptop.
Homeroom. Miyagi. 3-2.
I stuffed it into my pocket and poked my head out of the doorway, making sure that I didn’t run into whoever it was that interrupted my shower. Seeing no one, I hastily left my room, locking my door, and tried to act calm as I walked down the hall to the stairs.
Thankfully, I ran into no trouble as I left the boys’ dorms and walked out towards the main building. The sky was a bit brighter now, and I noticed two female students walking ahead of me. One of them, a pink-haired young woman, threw her head back and kept it back for a few seconds, presumably in a yawn. Not a morning person, I mused. My curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to jog up to the two.
“Hey!” I called out. The pink-haired girl turned around immediately, while the other one, a dark-haired girl with glasses, took three more steps and turned before she realized her friend wasn’t beside her.
“Hi~!” she said in a voice so loud I actually took a step back in surprise.
“Are you guys in Class 3-2?” I asked. “I just transferred here, and I really don’t know my way around…”
“No, we’re in Class 3-3!” the pink-haired girl replied. The dark-haired girl tapped her on the shoulder.
[Misha, what was he asking?]
[If we were in Class-3-2, Shicchan,] answered the pink-haired girl, who I now know as Misha. [He said he just transferred, and he doesn’t know where his classroom is.]
The dark-haired girl (Shicchan, apparently) gave me a once-over, and she blinked as she noticed my face. She put her fingertips to her mouth in shock as she reeled a little, and I suddenly felt self-conscious.
[I’m sorry,] she signed quickly. She looked to Misha. [Please tell him I’m sorry, Misha. I didn’t mean to be rude.]
“Shicchan says she’s sorry, and that she didn’t mean to be rude,” Misha translated. She immediately turned to her friend. “Why are you apologizing, Shicchan?”
[Never mind,] the dark-haired girl replied, pausing her signing to glance at me. Misha obviously didn’t notice the scars over my right eye. [We should introduce ourselves.] She bowed and started to sign. [My name is Shizune Hakamichi, Student Council President. This is my friend Shiina Mikado, but everyone calls her Misha.]
“Shicchan says we should introduce ourselves,” Misha translated. “Her name is Shizune Hakamichi, Student Council President.” She poked at her chest with a thumb. “My name is Shiina Mikado, but everyone calls me Misha.”
I bowed in return. “My name is Ryosuke Tachikawa. I’m pleased to meet you both.” I don’t know why I didn’t say I could sign and understood Shizune perfectly, or why I didn’t sign my reply to Shizune. “I’m supposed to be in Class 3-2.”
I noticed a flicker of annoyance in Shizune’s eye. I wonder if she noticed that I was reading her hands.
[You should be in class 3-3,] she signed with a puff of breath that looked like a huff. [I would not want a certain student's low ambitions and lack of ability to multitask between simple tasks to influence him right at the beginning of the school year.]
“Shicchan, that’s not a very nice thing to say,” Misha said, still unaware that I understood her friend perfectly.
“What?” I asked, feigning ignorance. “What did Hakamichi say?”
Misha shook her head as she signed my question. “Don’t worry about it, Ryokkun,” she said. “Wahahahahaha~!” I jumped at her sudden burst of laughter. “We were on our way to class ourselves. We can show you the way to your room, right, Shicchan?”
Shizune narrowed her eyes as Misha signed her suggestion. [At least tell him to be wary of Satou.]
“Shicchan says that she agrees and we’ll show you to your class~!” She didn’t bother translating for Shizune. “Wahahahaha~!” She skipped ahead, leaving myself and Shizune staring at each other with bewilderment. Her expression quickly changed to one of frustration and she tilted her head in Misha’s direction.
Once we got to the third floor and walked about halfway down the hallway, Misha and Shizune stopped, the former pointing to the door on my left.
“That one is 3-2,” Misha announced. “We’re in this classroom.” Shizune tapped Misha’s shoulder and started signing.
[Tell him that he can just call me Shizune,] she signed. [And that if he wants, we can show him around the school.]
“Shicchan says that you can call her ‘Shizune’, Ryokkun,” Misha announced, bringing my attention back to her than Shizune’s hands. “And if you want, we can show you around the school!”
“Oh! Um, well…” I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe.”
“Wahahahaha~!” Misha’s laugh echoed through the hallway, making it sound three times louder than it was. “We won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, Ryokkun! We’ll meet you later and you can have lunch with us!”
“I...guess?”
“Perfect, Ryokkun! We’ll see you later!” They disappeared into Room 3-3 as a group of students emerged from the stairwell, some filtering into the first door in the hallway.
“That was an experience,” I muttered to myself as I stepped through the door into 3-2, nearly hitting the right side of the doorway as I turned.
The room was empty save for a woman with jet black hair in a high bun wearing a cream-colored blouse with a powdery purple suit jacket. She had a thin necklace of brown-colored beads and wore half-moons with gold frames. She looked up at me from behind her glasses then lifted her wrist to look at her watch.
“A little early, are we?” she asked with a raised eyebrow and a teasing grin.
I chuckled nervously. “Ahh, well, you see, it’s my first day here in Yamaku. I transferred in…”
“Oh!” She immediately stood, and the first thing that stood out for me was her height. She towered over me by what looked like about a head. As she stepped out from behind her desk and approached me, I noticed she wore a skirt that matched the color of her jacket and high heels that matched her blouse. She nodded. “I wasn’t expect you to come to class so early. My name is Miyagi. I will be teaching you English.”
I cursed inwardly. My English wasn’t abysmal, but my knowledge of the language was limited to watching English movies with Japanese subtitles and playing RPGs the same way.
Trying (and probably failing) to hide my discomfort with a smile, I bowed quickly. “My name is Ryosuke Tachikawa.”
She said something in rapid English that I didn’t quite understand.
“I’m sorry, Miyagi-sensei. Could you please repeat that?”
She frowned but nodded. “{It is a pleasure to meet you,}” she said again.
I shot her a look of realization. “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t understand you the first time.” I paused, trying to remember the reply. “{The...pleasure...is mine.}”
She raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. I take it you watch English movies?”
Was I
that transparent? “Yeah,” I replied sheepishly, “with subtitles.”
She nodded but I could tell she wasn’t impressed. “Well, it’s a start.” She looked at her watch again. “Would you like to introduce yourself to the class when we begin?”
I nodded. “Yes.” New school, new start, right?
She waved her hand in the direction of the desks. “Excellent. Feel free to take a seat. Other students should be arriving soon.”
I took a seat by the window in the center row as she returned to her desk. Several students came in, their conversation occasionally punctuated by faint tapping as they entered the room. I looked their way and realized that some of them had thin white canes. Miyagi gestured to the desks, vocally indicating which direction they were for the completely blind students, and they took their seats, the ones with canes a half-step behind the less-impaired students.
As a student with a guide dog strode into the room, faint tapping approaching the door caught my ears yet again. This time, a tall girl with blonde hair and blue eyes stepped into the room. She moved fluidly despite facing straight ahead of her, her white cane occasionally tapping a desk leg. At hearing the teacher's directions to the desks, she got to the second row and took the desk closest to the doors. Once she sat down, she folded up her cane and put it into her bag.
“Hey!” An insistent whisper brought me out of my thoughts. I shook my head, not realizing I was staring. I turned to my right, but my lack of right-side vision prevented me from seeing who was whispering at me.
Shit, I thought.
Leave it to a pretty girl to remind me I’m half-blind. I turned around to my left and looked at the person calling me.
“Need a napkin?” he asked with a grin. He had black hair tied back in a ponytail and wore glasses with deep blue frames. He had a deep brown right eye and an ice blue left one that didn’t move.
“Excuse me?” I asked, a mix of anger and annoyance in my voice.
He chuckled. “I saw you staring,” he whispered, tilting his head in the blonde girl’s direction. “Her name’s Lilly Satou.”
Shizune’s warning echoed in my mind again.
I would not want a certain student's low ambitions and lack of ability to multitask between simple tasks to influence him right at the beginning of the school year.
“Is she as bad as they say?” I whispered to him.
“Who’s ‘they’?” he asked.
“Hakamichi,” I replied. “Shizune Hakamichi?”
He snorted. “Deaf-Charge told you she was bad?”
My jaw dropped. “
Deaf-Charge?” I shook my head in shock. “That name is terrible!”
He grinned. “I know. I think it's bad, but damn if it isn't a little bit funny.” He held out a hand. “Name’s Koushiro Kageyama.”
“Ryosuke Tachikawa,” I said, taking his hand and shaking it twice.
As the bell rang, I turned and looked at the door to see a boy with thick glasses and a scarf trying (and failing miserably) to sneak into class, taking the empty desk closest to the rear doors.
“
Him you gotta watch out for,” Koushiro whispered. “His name’s Kenji Setou. Weird as they come.”
“Welcome to another school year,” Miyagi announced as she wrote her name in Japanese on the board. Underneath she wrote her name in English. “Before we begin, we have a new student transferring in for this last year.” She nodded at me. “If you would like to step forward and introduce yourself?”
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