Hey everyone, I'm sorry for the time between posts but real life has a way of interfering at the most inconvenient times. Sadly, I must say with a heavy heart that I will not be able to continue my tale. With the death of my mom, I have moved in to help take care of my dad. After everything was said and done, our money for bills and taxes was exhausted after the funeral. So, I am having to sell my computer along with some other things to help supplement my wages and my dads retirement funds. I am grateful to everyone for reading my little test run. Maybe eventually I will come back and try this all again. I will leave you with the last chapter and it is sadly unrefined. Thank you all for reading. William
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My last day in the hospital is thankfully uneventful. With it being a Sunday, there are family members visiting relatives in the other rooms. More so today than any day earlier this week. Eventually my family comes and signs me out. We have our full debriefing from the doctor and we head home. Everyone tries to make small talk, not really wanting to make the ride home awkward with a topic that is too oppressive. Even with the attempt, there are several awkward silences.
When we finally arrive home, I grab my bag and head inside. After taking off my shoes, I take my clothes to the washing machine and start up a load. I know that today is going to be spent mostly packing so I can move into my school dorm tomorrow. I can't help but be nervous; this will be the first time I have lived separately from my parents.
When I walk to my room, I notice that my mom had already started organizing some of my clothes. My guess was that she had done it after deciding I was to go to Yamaku. There are several piles on my bed; gym shorts, t-shirts, some slacks, boxers and socks, and a couple button-up shirts on hangers. It's looking over the assorted clothing that I notice some that I haven't seen before. Two plain white button-up, a couple black ties, a blazer, and some green slacks. I guess my parents already picked up my school uniforms.
Is it sad that the largest pile on my bed is the one for my gym shorts? I start to go through some of them. These ones are my favorite because of the design, those are the ones I wear for pick up games, that pair was from when I joined the football club. The memories of so many hours of practice and matches slowly come back. With those thoughts, that makes me wonder if my new school will have a football club. I mean, they did say that Yamaku was like a normal high school. Are there going to be sport clubs at a school for . . . cripples?
The thought catches me off guard, is that what I am now?
I sit down at my desk and the realization dawns on me. I'm not exactly normal anymore, am I? There will be things I will not be able to do anymore. Hell, even the number of jobs I could get now are severely decreased. Not to mention the looks I will get from other people. Streams of thought start to flow through my mind. Many of them full of a sad and forlorn nature. As I sit there in my melancholy, the door to my room opens with my noticing. Slowly, my sister walks towards me. It isn't until she is beside me that I notice that someone is in my room with me. I look up and see the worry on my sisters face. I can see that her cheeks and eyes are a little red, so I guess she must have been crying recently.
"Hey. You okay? What's on your mind Umeko?"
She sniffles and sits down on my lap, resting the side of her head on my chest. "Y-y-you don't hate me...do you?"
And, just like that, my sister drops a bomb into the conversation. Unable to form a coherent sentence for a couple seconds, I wrap her up in an awkward hug and rest my chin on her head. After a few moments thought, I'm able to give her an answer.
"There is no way I could hate you. I would have lost you if I hadn't moved. And I think that would have hurt a whole lot more," I'm able to say but it barely come out louder than a whisper. It almost feels like speaking it would have made it come true.
I squeeze her and place a kiss on top of her head. Umeko wraps her arms around my waist and starts mumbling something. I can't hear anything she says but I respond to her with some condolences and reassurances.
We sit like that for a while before my sister slowly gets up and leaves my room. She gives me a small wave as she closes the door.
I just sit there at a loss for words. Umeko and I were never really close before. I can understand recently because she's a teenager and she doesn't want her big brother around all the time. Since the accident though, I worry if she thinks that she is the reason I am the way I am now. I truly hope that this doesn't scar her like it has scarred me. Its something I need to talk about with Mom and Dad later.
Dinner tonight is kinda extravagant. I guess my parents see it as a going away feast. The meal passes the same as the car ride home did. Nobody is really talking , and anything said isn't of any note. Umeko still looks sad, but her face is no longer red. Mom and Dad look uneasy too. They keep looking at me as I eat and it does get a little unnerving. I will admit that it does take some time getting used to being able to only have one hand. When dinner finishes, my dad reminds me that we have to leave early if we are to get there at a decent hour. I nod my head and head back up to my room to finish packing.
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One of the first thing I notice about the school is how isolated it seems. First, the school is some ways from a decent sized city. Second, all of the school buildings are on top of a hill, separating it from the little town below. Lastly, there is a fence that surrounds the school grounds. The brickwork and wrought iron give off a cold and menacing feel. It's not exactly something I would think you would have around a school. Dad drives through a gate and eventually pulls into a parking spot. As we sit there in the car, my stomach starts doing flips. I am incredibility nervous right now.
Clasping my shoulder, my dad looks over at me. "I know you will do just fine here. Just keep your wits about you. And don't forget to have fun as well. Just promise me nothing too illegal." Dad grins at me, but I can see just how worried he is as well.
"But you were the one that always told me the best fun was the illegal kind." I poke back.
"I guess I did. Well then, just don't make me a grandfather yet." He winks at me and starts to undo his seat belt.
Did my dad just say what I think he said?
We get out of the car and dad leads the way to the main building. He holds the door open as he goes in first. We walk over to the administration offices and are greeted by a secretary. Dad states that we are Jacob and Yuudai Mizutani. He goes on to say that I'm a new transfer student and he would like the key to my room so he can start and unpack while I'm in class.
The secretary nods and says that they have been expecting us. She gives me a warm smile and says that shes hopes that I will like it here. She then turns to the other side of her desk and pushes a series of buttons and speaks into a microphone for a sentence or two. Turning back towards my father and me, the secretary grabs two keys and hands them to my dad. We thank her and step out of the office and into the main hallway.
"Okay, so it looks like your room is 117." Dad takes one of the keys and hands me the other. "I'm going to go ahead and move your stuff out of the car and into your room. Ill leave the key somewhere in your room. " Wrapping me in a quick hug, Dad gives me a squeeze before he lets go. "Everything will work out. You can always call home if something's wrong. I love ya kid. Be good today." Dad gives me a little wave as he walks out the front doors.
As I turn around, I catch a glimpse of a man coming down the stairs. He's dressed in a brown shirt with a leather duster and dark slacks. He has a 5 o'clock shadow and his hair is a little bit wild. He doesn't look bad, just . . . I don't know what to call him. He smiles as he extends his hand for a handshake.
"You must be Mizutani. I'm Mutou, your teacher." We shake hands, its not sloppy or rough. It seems to fit him. Nothing much in an extreme way, but enough to be there. "The head nurse asked for me to tell you to stop in some time today. He most likely want to just go over some standard rules and what not with you." I nod my head to let him know I understand. "Class has already started so we need to head back up and get you situated. Oh, first though, do you want to introduce yourself to the class?"
"Uh sure. I don't see a reason not too."
"That's good." He gives a slight smile. "Not everyone likes to draw attention to themselves, though. Come on, Our room is 3-3. It's up on the third floor."
He turns back around and starts up the stairs. I follow close behind. It takes just a couple minutes to go up all three flights of stairs. Once we get to the door to the room, Mutou stops and turns to look at me.
"Give me a minute before you come in. I need to let the students know what's going on."
I nod my head in conformation and wait outside the door as he enters the room. I hear him say something to the class to get their attention. He then motions for me to come into the room.
I step through the doorway and walk over towards the desk. I turn to face the class and do a quick sweep of my classmates. There is a girl missing her left hand not too far away from me sitting in the front row. Right beside her is a girl that looks like shes fighting to stay awake. All the way in the back is a kid with a cane. He doesn't seem to want to pay attention. By this time I hear Mutou going on about something or other but I don't hear him as I still look around. In the second row, a girls with bubblegum pink hair is doing something with her hands. Is she signing to the girl beside her? It's then that I hear Mutou say "Go ahead."
"Um.. Hi. I'm Yuudai Mizutani. I think you can guess why I am transferring in." I stop for a second to try and think of something else to say. "I like to play football, and I hope to join our team if we have one. I hope to get along with all of you."
Mutou thanks me and has everyone, or mostly everyone clap. It's kinds weird to see the one handed girl clap. Then again, I couldn't clap if I wanted.
After everything calms down Mutou addresses me. "Mizutani, if you would please, take the seat behind Kapur. And If you need anything, you can ask the class representative. Her man is Hakamichi."
I make my way over to the empty desk and take my seat. Seeing that I'm in my seat, Mutou starts his lesson back up from were he left off. After a couple minutes, I look to my right and happen to catch the attention of the girl to my right. I whisper and ask if I could have a piece of paper. She gives me a big smile and nods, her pink drills bouncing slightly. She tears a sheet out of her notebook and slides it onto my desk as I get my pen out of my pocket. Clicking the pen open, I start write something down.
(Thanks. I didn't want to interrupt the class by talking.) I slid it over to the girl to my right.
After reading it, she writes a response and slides it back.
(That's no problem Yuuchan. Just glad I can help.
)
The hand writing is a little large compared to my semi-cramped style. My classmate also likes to use what I can only call cute flourishes to her hand writing as well. Well, I guess the girly girl attitude applies to her for more than just her hair.
I look up every now and then to make sure that Mutou doesn't see us passing the note, but he is off in his lecture and doesn't seem to notice.
As I start writing my response, I notice that the girl beside me is still signing to the one beside her. They sign back and forth for a couple minutes. The one further away looks at me every once and a while.
(Are you Hakamichi by chance? I haven't been called Yuuchan since primary school.)
I slide the sheet back onto her desk and I try to figure out what is written on the board. I lose all concentration when a loud "
~Wahahaha!" cuts through the semi-silence. I jump a little in my seat, as do several others in the class. Mutou just looks over in our direction and back to his notes, missing barely a beat. It's then that the note slides back onto my desk.
(No silly, I'm Misha. Shicchan is the one to my right.)
As I look up and Misha is grinning at me. I quickly write a response.
(I don't think she would like someone she just met to call her Shicchan. What's her actual name?)
Its takes a minute or two before I get a return note. The writing is a much neater and formal style.
(My name is Shizune Hakamichi. I would appreciate it if you called me Shizune. Surnames are too stuffy for classmates.)
Just as I start to write, a bell rings. I guess that's the sign for lunch. Misha jumps up beside me and grabs me by the arm. "Come on Yuuchan. We're going to go have lunch. You can eat with me and Shicchan! You are so lucky to get to eat with two cute girls. Wahaha!"
Her loudness catches me off guard.
I'm fairly sure this was not what I was expecting when I found out I was coming to school here.