Monday, April 9th
Soft light from the early spring sun filtered through the windows, casting long, warm rays across the classroom's maple wood tables.
A gentle breeze ruffled the curtains awake, bringing in the scent of fresh flowers.
A few birds chirped by the open window, welcoming another week of the new school year.
Another ordinary day. At least, it should have been.
Typical classroom chatter, creaky wooden desks—check. Nothing different. So what's missing?
Nothing really.
Unless you consider the fact that our always-punctual teacher wasn't here!
Normally, that wasn't a problem. But with their newfound freedom, my classmates would leap at the chance to do—who knows what!
Where could she be? Did something happen? An emergency?
Unrestrained by supervision, their whispers turned into noisy screams! Panic rising from a wild class left to their own devices!
This is bad!
It's been five minutes! And we're already descending into chaos!
- - -
Okay, maybe that hasn't happened.
Yet.
For now, the class was still pretty calm. Sure, the chatter was a bit louder than usual, but no one had acted on their impulses.
…Yeahhh, definitely overthinking things again.
I shifted around in my seat, tracing a finger along the table's wooden patterns, a subconscious habit that eased my worried mind.
…And there I go again with another pointless monologue.
Right. Guess I haven't introduced myself.
My name is—
"Lucent!" an energetic voice called out, breaking me out of my internal whirlwind.
How could I forget? We've practically known each other since elementary school.
As my friend politely mentioned… That's me.
Lucent.
Lucent Kagami.[1]
Alright, you might be thinking: Isn't it a little strange to be named "Light Mirror?"
No? Well, I'd be pressed to agree if it didn't reflect me.
Most people would say I'm difficult to see through. Hard to read.
Honestly, I just think it makes me sound cool.
It almost worked, believed it for a while. But that didn't last long once people started gazing into my glasses for a glimpse of their reflection.
Do people just love checking themselves out that much?
Maybe it's the cool blue half-rims…
Well, anyway. That's not a discussion I'll have today. It's an uncomfortable experience, for sure.
And then they stare into me. Love that…
Wait.
Does everyone use me as a portable mirror?!
I swear, I'm not!
Yeah, I might have two—!
An abrupt creak from my desk brought me back.
"Man, zoned out? Again?" asked the dark-haired boy with emerald green eyes.
I glanced up to meet his gaze. "You know me, Gabriel."
That's Gabriel Tanoshii.[2]
We've been friends since first grade, and now we're high school seniors!
We like to draw, play the latest video game. But our similarities ended there.
He's a very sociable person—one whose actions tend to outrun his reason.
To put it simply, he doesn't think things through.
Ever.
Planning? Not his thing.
Doesn't worry about anything before charging for it, usually leading us into what he dubs our next "Great Adventure!"
That would make me a person of few words. Reserved. Mysterious.
At least, I like to think so…
I could never give a speech out loud! Not willingly, not ever! Not even if my life depended on it!
Gabriel opened his sleek silver laptop in triumph. "Hey, check it out! I started note-taking for our project the other day. How's my draft?"
I peered over. The text boxes were tidier now. Same size, same font, even. Impressive. At least, they didn't look copy-pasted from different sites this time.
"Looks like you got the hang of it," I said. "You just needed a bit of practice."
"Yup! Oh, and one more thing! Super important!"
He switched tabs, taking the chance to flex off his shiny new high score in "Monkey Craze Blitz!"
"Uh, uh?" He nudged me on the shoulder.
I simply shook my head in disbelief.
He's playing now of all times?
Flexing that he has a higher score than me? Not for long!
I'd beat that score in 6 minutes tops. Or at least… when school's over.
"Whaaat? No?" he whined, as if to say 'your loss.'
"Alright, alright, seriously though. You ready for Friday's Presentation?"
The [PROJECT DEADLINE]: A reminder that tainted my once-happy mind.
Public speaking was the worst! Facing my classmates while stumbling over words?
Can't wait...
"No, not really," I admitted. "I can get my ideas together. I'm just not good at… expressing them."
It didn't take long for our teachers to figure out the strategy.
The Organizer and The Speaker.
This time, we had to trade roles instead of relying on each other too much. While I understood the reasoning, it didn't make things any easier.
A dark, stormy gray cloud formed over my head, but he made an effort to shoo it off.
"Hey, don't worry! If someone as messy as me can organize, I bet you can nail that speech!"
"…Yeah," I managed. "I'm sure we'll figure it out."
Truthfully, I wasn't so sure.
But what else could we do?
[1] Loo-sint Kah-gah-mee
[2] Gabe-ree-uhl Tah-noh-shee