"1, 2, 3, 4, 5!"
The grunts and chants of the classroom echoed through the gym area, with each student performing their respective squats. Apparently, this school also had gym classes, and today happened to be one of them. According to the timetable, they were only held on Mondays and Fridays, which I had no problems with.
I had never been seen as an athletic person, but I could say exercise was quite important for anyone's well-being.
"What are you doing!" the gym teacher yelled at Rika, who wasn't even doing her own squats, just lazily sitting on the floor observing and documenting whatever she found interesting.
"Teacher, it seems you have things confused! I don't want to be a brute from another planet! What's the point of this anyway? Exercise is indeed important, but I don't want to! I'm not preparing to fight in an all-out war against other people, and neither am I getting reincarnated as a hero who relies on muscles."
What was she rambling about? I cocked my head to the side, catching whatever she had just said while performing my squats.
After gym was lunch break.
"Let's go to the cafeteria, Yuu!"
I was called out as I walked down the hallway. I turned to face the speaker, and to my surprise, it was Rachel.
"I was already on my way there…"
"Why? Don't you guys cook at home?" Rachel asked, her gaze observing every ounce of my response.
"I do all the cooking, but last night I overslept, so… I couldn't cook."
Besides, Alice had already left me with quite a huge sum of money to take care of myself with. If I were to spend it all, I wondered if she would be kind enough to give me more.
"What about you, Rachel? Why go to the cafeteria?" I continued walking, but my gaze still fixed on her.
"It wouldn't be strange to say I like school food?"
"Despite being a rich girl?"
"I-I'm not rich like that! You don't have to believe everything Rika tells you," Rachel pouted.
Rachel was a gyaru, and she had quite a lot of accessories, like a hand bracelet engraved with the design of most likely an anime character. That said, it wasn't my place to decide if someone was rich or not. Despite being a gyaru, she looked rather classy and pretty at the same time. You can't judge things based on eyesight alone, I concluded. But neither was she denying that she was from a rich family.
I let out a smug smile directed at myself—I understood her pain. I grew up in a mansion too, so I did have quite the rich-boy life, though I didn't focus much on it.
"Can't you hear what I've been saying!"
I snapped back to reality, realizing I had gotten so lost in thought that I had already made my way to the cafeteria, ordered my meal, and was most likely having a one-on-one conversation with Rachel. I did feel bad for barely paying any attention to her.
"Oh… this scrambled egg is pretty good," I tried changing the mood. I had ordered scrambled eggs and a hotdog—a weird combination, indeed.
"You're weird…" Rachel muttered, curious. I looked at what she herself had ordered.
Whatever it was, she had ordered a variety of what the simple school cafeteria had to offer. She said she liked school food, but wasn't this way too obsessed? No, I couldn't come to such a conclusion!
My attention shifted to the other students in the cafeteria, each doing their own thing. Ever since I had come to this town, everything felt strange and uncanny. Yet these people, everyone here, acted like nothing was different. Or perhaps I was the one who was always different? No matter how hard I tried to relive the past in my head, it came back.
"Um, Rachel?"
"Y-yes?" She swallowed a spoonful of one of the culinary items she had just bought.
"Have you ever noticed anything strange or weird in this school?" I asked. Curiosity had gotten the best of me. This town, this world we live in—I wished to find something. I wished to know something. My existence, my reality, and not to mention a way to get rid of my powers once and for all.
"Hm, for starters, there was a weird rumor in the school. Exactly at 6:15 pm, footsteps are heard every single day, and no one knows whose they are. Maybe it belonged to a random kid, but it's impossible. A kid or a student shouldn't even be in school by such a late time."
"And none of you ever tried disproving it?"
"Some students did, but they said…" Rachel leaned in closer. A whisper so ominous I was forced to envision her pathological words: "6:15, footsteps will be heard. 6:20, laughter from a little girl. 6:30, she starts crying."
"Crying?"
"So I've heard. There's also the rumor of the staff room door. It wouldn't open no matter how hard you pull. People say that door has a life of its own and just opens whenever it feels like it."
Was that the exact reason why the students were so surprised when I opened the door? It did feel hard to open, but I couldn't sense anything supernatural about it. Besides, I couldn't sense supernaturals here to begin with.
"There's also the rumor about the sixth class."
"Sixth class?"
"There are classes A, B, C, D, and E. But there's a rumor that there's another class integrated by the school, and each individual class houses 30 students. But notice how there's only one seat left?"
"Does that mean the 30th member gets taken and moved to this sixth class?" I replied based on everything she had told me so far.
"I think that's the case, but it could be just a coincidence," Rachel shrugged.
"Then you don't find this town or school strange?" I asked once again, but this time Rachel responded with her finer throw right at me.
"I should be the one asking you that question. You feel and act so differently compared to us, almost like an outsider," Rachel narrowed her gaze at me, letting out a simple pout.
She wasn't wrong. For as long as I could remember, I had always been seen as an outsider. It was all thanks to this power of mine. It changed me. It made me different. It made me feel unwanted. I was scared. Even now, I was scared. What if my own mum, my own sister saw me that way as well?
Was I sane?
Was I a monster of some sort?
What was I?
What was the purpose of my existence?
Why did I get this power?
I hate myself.
I hate—
"Are you alright, Yuu?" Rachel noticed and got up from her seat, approaching me, a concerning stare written all over her face.
"Sorry… I'm fine."
That was all I could say. Nothing was the same, but all I could say was I was fine. It was better that way. And so my day went on without any problems—boring, simple, and fun. Something I needed.
"Bye…" I waved goodbye to Rika, Rachel, and Yohan and headed home. The town was crowded, be it adults who were drowsy from work or kids who had returned from school a long time ago. I walked by the side of the road as a few cars passed by.
"I can sense supernaturals now…" I whispered to myself. As I had suspected, I could sense countless entities. Although they weren't visible or present, they were still roaming in this area, just observing our every action. But there was nothing I could do.
If I were to be given the role to save this world, what would I do? I seek the truth, but I haven't found any reason to be attached to life. I wasn't trying to say I lacked emotion, but I was a very selfish guy who only thought about himself. If I genuinely cared about the people around me, I wouldn't have hurt Mom.
"It's all this power's fault!" It was convenient to blame my powers for my misfortunes, hence why I wished I could get rid of it. It was the main reason why I searched for the truth—the reason why I felt so distant from the world.
"Psst, handsome boy," an elderly lady called out to me. Of course, I turned to face whoever owned it.
A frail old grandma stood right next to an ice cream machine. Intrigued, I walked up to her and stared at the machine—it was rather dreadful and old.
"Do you sell ice cream, Grandma?" I asked, my hand placed on my chin.
The old lady slowly nodded, her rough voice catching me by surprise.
"Yes, as you can see, business isn't sailing well."
"Huh? Why? Don't people like ice cream anymore?"
"No… people simply found a better option than my rusted-out shop. If only I were younger, I would have chosen a better career for myself," the grandma said, her tone rather hostile and regretful.
"I would like some then," I smiled and dipped my hand into my pocket to pull out a bill. The grandma's expression shifted as she took the money from my hand. A hint of joy appeared on her face.
She walked up to the ice cream machine and started making whatever she was doing.
"What flavor?" she asked.
"Chocolate sounds nice," I replied.
The grandma scooped a spoonful but then stopped.
"Is that all?"
"Y-yes?"
"Imagine this scoop of chocolate is you," she said, placing it perfectly on the cone. "What do you think?"
"It looks perfect—"
"No, it doesn't. It's just a simple flavor, nothing else to show forth."
"Isn't that just being simple?"
"No, I have a feeling you're the type of kid who wouldn't give his all into anything."
She wasn't wrong. Even I couldn't deny .
what she had just said. She was trying to tell me something with this presentation.
"Now, I add toppings like whipped cream." My eyes followed as she did just that and added a cherry on top. "Now it looks complete, but it's still simple."
The grandma's words hit me.
"It would be easy to complicate the design of this ice cream, but it's perfect as it is. You don't need to give in 100 percent, but if you can give out the maximum of that 50 percent, it won't be perfect—it will be enough."
The grandma walked up to me and handed me the ice cream with a weak smile on her face. Even if her words weren't meant for my current situation, I believed it was some sort of sign. Her ice cream was great. Might try another if I saw her again.