Kai didn't wake up that morning expecting to become "Class 2-B's Biggest Problem."
He had planned to show up, take notes, survive math, and maybe--just maybe-- not be dragged into Jiro's nonsense.
But fate said no.
The moment Kai stepped into the classroom, he saw it.
Jiro standing on the desk.
Max filming on his phone.
Liam in the corner clutching his notebook like a stressed grandma.
Kai whispered, "What... are you doing?"
Jiro grinned proudly.
"I'm testing gravity."
Kai blinked. "Gravity works. It has always worked."
"No," Max corrected. "We're testing it emotionally."
Liam groaned. "I told them this is how people get suspended..."
Before Kai could act, Jiro jumped.
He didn't hit the floor.
He hit the class door--because it opened at the exact wrong moment.
And in walked their homeroom teacher.
Silence
Then Max muttered, "Okay. Gravity works... aggressively."
Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe I agreed to sit with you three idiots at lunch."
Jiro shrugged, dusting himself off. "You mean the best table in the cafeteria?"
Kai squinted. "Since when is falling through the door the best?"
Max leaned in with his dramatic grin.
"Perspective, Kai. Look at it like... an extreme sport!"
Liam finally spoke up, voice shaking slightly. "Why do I even try to study when my friends are basically... disasters with legs?"
Jiro pointed at Liam. "Exactly! And we need someone emotional to tell us when things go to far. That's your job."
Kai groaned. "Your job is literally destroying the school furniture."
Jiro give a small salute. "Yes, sir. Mission accomplished."
By lunch, their table looked like a tornado had passed through it.
Sandwiches were half-eaten. Books were stacked in impossible angles. Max had somehow poured orange juice on his phone but was still filming.
Kai stared at the mess. "I am not cleaning this up. I refuse."
Max shrugged. " Then you'll have to embrace the chaos, Kai. It's part of the package."
Liam sighed and muttered, "I'm too emotionally tired for this."
Jiro even the optimist, held up a ketchup packet. "Who wants to play ketchup art? It's like... painting, but dangerous!"
Kai groaned again. "Why am I friends with you people..."
Then Liam smiled slightly. "Because, somehow... even if we drive each other insane, we don't let anyone else mess with us. Not outsiders. Not teaches. Not anyone."
Kai looked at them--at Jiro with his wild grin, Max filming chaos for posterity, and Liam clutching his notebook like a tiny, stressed shield--and realized something.
Yeah, they were disasters.
Annoying, loud, chaotic disasters.
But they were his disasters.
And maybe... that was enough.
END OF CHAPTER 1