Well, Chabashira-sensei began explaining the rules and everything we needed to know about the school. To avoid boring you, I'll summarize quickly:
— We can't leave or have any contact with anyone outside the school.
— We'll be living inside the school, so this will basically be our new home... for a while.
— We don't need to worry about basics like food, clothes, or entertainment, because the school has shops, restaurants, and even places to have fun.
She also told us that every month, on the first day, we'd be given money to spend on campus. But that's where I started wondering. She didn't specify how much we'd get each month; she only mentioned that this month, because we'd been admitted, we received 100,000 yen as our "initial value" based on merit.
That got me thinking... Are we going to receive 100,000 yen every month? Because if so, it sounds way too good to be true. But from what I understood, it seems like that amount was only for the first month, and the following ones will be different. Anyway, I guess I'll find out next month.
As I was trying to make sense of all that chaos, I felt someone glance timidly at me from the left.
"Uh... are you just as confused as I am about all this?" asked a soft voice.
I turned and saw a short-haired girl smiling faintly as she introduced herself.
"I guess so," I replied. "That money thing... I didn't understand if we're getting 100,000 yen every month or just this once. Feels like a good mystery to solve."
She raised her eyebrows slightly, like she'd been thinking the same thing, then said:
"I noticed it too. I don't think they'd give us 100,000 yen every month just for being here, don't you think? That'd be way too much, even for Japan's best school. There must be some kind of catch... at least that's what my intuition tells me."
"Yeah, I feel something's off too," I nodded, glancing around. "Though... it seems like, besides us two, nobody else is questioning it."
We looked at the rest of the students, many with euphoric expressions. I even overheard a couple talking about what they'd buy first.
"Looks like it..." I said, then turned back to her with a smile. "By the way, let me introduce myself. I'm Endo Akira. Nice to meet you."
"Matsushita Chiaki," she replied, shaking my hand. "Likewise, Endo-kun. Seems we'll be neighbors, at least for the rest of the year."
Just as Matsushita and I were exchanging comments about how absurd the system was, a voice chimed in from my right.
"Are you guys talking about the 100,000 yen? I'm already planning what to spend it on!" said a cheerful girl as she turned toward us with a big smile.
I was a bit surprised. I hadn't really noticed her before, even though she was sitting right next to me.
"Don't you think it's strange?" I asked. "That they'd just hand us so much money out of nowhere, without explaining it properly?"
"Huh? Strange? Well... I don't know," she tilted her head. "Maybe this school is just super generous!"
Matsushita and I exchanged a glance.
"Or maybe we're in some kind of survival game and we just don't know it yet," Matsushita joked quietly with a little laugh.
"Eh?! Don't say that! You'll scare me," the girl replied with a little pout.
"Relax, it's just a joke... I think," I said, caught up in her lightheartedness. "I'm Endo Akira, by the way."
"Sato Maya. Nice to meet you! And don't worry, if this is some survival game, I promise I won't betray you guys... at least not on the first day," she added with a playful laugh.
"Chiaki. Matsushita Chiaki. And thanks for the warning," Chiaki replied with a raised eyebrow, amused.
And just like that, without planning it, we were three. A trio of strangers in the middle of a new world, trying to figure out how everything worked... or at least having fun while we did.
Shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, body soap, among other things... Yeah, this should be enough for now, I thought as I looked at my basket of basics. We were in a small convenience store inside the campus, and I wasn't alone: Sato and Matsushita were with me.
"Endo-kun, are you done picking your stuff?" Matsushita asked, walking at my side. Her basket was considerably fuller than mine, though I guess that was normal. Girls usually need more things... right?
"Yeah, I think this should do," I answered, mentally checking if I'd forgotten anything important. (I probably had.)
At that moment, Sato walked up with a spring in her step, carrying a basket so full it looked like she'd raided half the store.
"Wow! You two are only carrying that?" she said, looking at our modest selections with a mix of surprise and smugness.
Matsushita and I both turned our heads toward her basket... then looked at each other, as if we'd just seen something incredible.
"What...?" Sato asked, blinking. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I don't know if you came here for hygiene items or if you're preparing for nuclear fallout," I said with a small laugh.
"Is that... a hair dryer and a straightener?" Chiaki added, pointing at the bottom of the basket.
"Of course! You never know when you'll need to fix yourself up!" Sato replied with total seriousness. "Besides, look at this, they have lavender-scented creams. How could I leave those behind?"
"...I didn't even remember to grab lotion," I muttered, a bit defeated by her enthusiasm.
"Me neither..." Chiaki added. "Now I feel underprepared."
"See? That's why you should shop with me. I'm like a female survival guide," Sato said with a triumphant smile.
"More like an extreme shopping guide," I commented as we started walking toward the checkout.
"And you, Endo-kun? Didn't you think to grab extra toilet paper?" Sato asked, glancing at my basket again.
"Toilet...? Isn't that supposed to be provided in the dorms?"
"And if it runs out? What will you do?" she asked with exaggerated seriousness.
"Cry?" I answered.
"Tears don't wipe, Endo-kun. Tears don't wipe," Sato declared dramatically, making Chiaki burst into laughter.
In the end, everyone had their own survival style. Some with logic... others with gravity-defying baskets.
As we waited in line to pay, Matsushita leaned closer and whispered:
"Hey... don't you think Sato-san is spending too much?"
"Yeah... I was just thinking that. With all that stuff, she's burning through a lot of points," I whispered back.
"Right? This whole money thing is strange. They gave us a hundred thousand yen, sure, but I doubt that's something we'll get every month. It feels like some kind of test, doesn't it?"
"Totally. Something's off here... better save as much as possible in case we need it later," I said, and we both glanced at Sato, who was now torn between two different types of face lotion.
"We should definitely tell her to calm down a bit," Chiaki said with a half-smile.
"Yeah. Or at least hide her basket next time."
We both laughed quietly as we took the next step in this mysterious school life... with our modest baskets and our suspicions intact.