The first class ended and the room got loud almost immediately. People were getting out of their seats and moving around, some heading to other desks to talk and others pulling out their phones.
Shu was still in his seat, leaning back a little, just watching all of it happen around him.
'Okay so I survived the introduction and nobody hated me. The teacher seems pretty relaxed, Daichi won't stop talking which honestly is kind of a lifesaver because I don't have to carry any conversation, and I have a seat near the middle which isn't the back corner I wanted but it's fine. This is fine, I can do this.'
A girl from the row in front of him turned around in her chair.
"Kagami right? So you moved here from Nishimachi? What's it like out there, is it really countryside-ish?"
"Ah, it's not that rural but it's definitely quieter than here. Way smaller too, my old school only had like two hundred students."
"Two hundred?! That's tiny, this place has over a thousand. You're going to get lost for sure."
'She's probably right about that. I already forgot which staircase the teacher said leads to the gym.'
"I'll figure it out eventually."
"If you need help just ask, I sit right there so."
She smiled and turned back around while another girl from across the aisle leaned in.
"Do you have LINE? We have a class group chat, I can add you."
"Oh yeah, sure."
'This is so different from my old school. Over there when a new kid showed up everyone just stared at them for a week before anyone said a word. Here they're exchanging contacts within the first hour. Is this just a city thing?'
He pulled out his phone and she leaned closer to scan his QR code, then gave a quick wave before going back to her friend.
'That's three people who came up to talk to me and I didn't have to start a single one of those conversations. This school might actually work out. All I have to do is just sit here and people come to me, which is literally the only way I'm capable of socializing so this is perfect.'
Daichi was in the middle of telling him about which teachers were strict and which ones didn't care when Shu's eyes drifted across the room. Most of the class was doing their own thing, but there was a group of guys near the back by the window that caught his attention.
Three of them, sitting together, and one of them was looking right at him.
Not in a friendly way either. It wasn't the curious "oh new kid" look the rest of the class was giving him.
This was more like he was sizing him up, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed while his friends were talking low so he couldn't hear what they were saying.
'What's his deal? I've been here for less than an hour and I already have someone looking at me like I did something to him. I didn't even do anything, I literally just sat down and talked to a few people.'
He looked away and tried to focus back on whatever Daichi was saying about the teachers.
'Maybe I'm reading too much into it. He could just be the type of guy who looks like that all the time. Some people just have that kind of face, right? Not everyone who stares at you is planning something, sometimes people just zone out in your direction. That's definitely a thing.'
But when he glanced back a few seconds later, the guy was still staring and this time one of his friends was too.
'Yeaaaaah, bro definitely doesn't like me.'
"Hey, you good?" Daichi asked, noticing Shu's eyes weren't on him anymore.
"Yeah. Who are those guys in the back?"
Daichi leaned to the side and looked past Shu toward where he was talking about, then leaned back with this look on his face that already told Shu everything he needed to know before he even opened his mouth.
"Oh. That's Mura and his boys. Don't worry about them, they're like that with everyone. Especially new people."
'That doesn't make me feel better at all. "They're like that with everyone" just means they do this regularly, which means at some point it's going to turn into something more than just staring.'
"Like that how?"
"I mean they're not going to do anything crazy, they're just... you know how some guys get territorial? It's that kind of thing. They've been the top dogs since first year and when someone new shows up they just get weird about it."
'Top dogs at school? We're seventeen years old and there are guys out here acting like this is their territory. I can't tell if that's sad or annoying.'
"Territorial about what exactly?"
Daichi scratched the back of his head.
"I mean, girls mostly and I'm not trying to be weird about it but you kind of, uh... you made an impression when you walked in. A few of the girls were already talking about you during class."
'They were?'
"I didn't notice."
"Yeah well Mura definitely noticed. That's kind of his thing, he keeps track of stuff like that."
Shu looked down at his desk and tapped his finger against it a couple of times.
'I've been here for one class period and somehow I've already ended up on some guy's radar because girls were nice to me. I didn't ask for any of that though. I literally just introduced myself and sat down, that's all I did.'
"So should I be worried or..."
"Nah," Daichi said, waving it off. "He's all bark. Just don't give him a reason and he'll get bored eventually."
'Famous last words.'
A hand came down on the back of Daichi's head out of nowhere and he nearly fell forward out of his seat.
"Ow?! What the-"
"You're already bugging him? He just got here, Daichi. Give the guy five minutes before you scare him off with your whole tour guide routine."
A girl was standing behind Daichi with her hand still raised, looking down at him like she just swatted a fly. She had her other hand on her hip and there was this grin on her face that said she did stuff like this all the time.
"I wasn't bugging him! I was helping!"
"You were talking his ear off, I could hear you from three desks away."
"Because I was being informative!"
"You were being annoying, which is your default setting, so."
'These two are definitely super close.'
Daichi rubbed the back of his head while grumbling something under his breath about violence and then the girl turned to Shu. The annoyed look dropped right off her face and she smiled.
"Sorry about him. I'm Airi, I sit over there."
She pointed toward a desk by the window a couple rows away.
"He does this with every new person, he just latches on and starts giving a whole presentation about the school like anyone asked."
"I literally just told him where the vending machines are!"
"Nobody needs a vending machine map you dumbass."
Shu was watching the two of them go back and forth and couldn't help but feel like he was watching a comedy skit that was running long before he showed up.
"I'm Shu. And honestly he was being pretty helpful so."
"See?!" Daichi pointed at him. "He said I was helpful. Hear that? Helpful."
Airi crossed her arms and tilted her head, looking at Shu.
"You're too nice. That's going to be a problem here, everyone's going to take advantage of that."
'She says that like she knows me already. We've been talking for thirty seconds.'
"I'll keep that in mind."
"You should. This school is full of weirdos," she said, glancing at Daichi. "Exhibit A."
"Why are you always like this with me?"
"Because it's fun."
She laughed and it made the whole exchange feel light instead of mean. Even Daichi was fighting a smile while pretending to be mad.
'She's got that kind of energy. The type of person where you can tell nothing she says comes from a bad place even when she's roasting you to your face.'
"Anyway, welcome to 2-B. If Daichi gets to be too much just wave me over and I'll come hit him again."
"Noted."
She gave him a little wave and turned to walk back to her seat while Daichi leaned toward Shu.
"She's always like that by the way. Don't take it personal, she just has zero chill."
"I thought it was funny."
"Yeah well you're not the one getting smacked in the head."
Shu watched her sit back down at her desk by the window. She said something to the girl next to her and they both laughed about it, probably about Daichi.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned back in her chair, pulling her phone out.
'She's kinda cute.'