CHAPTER 1- A Boring Life
[ MONDAY ,15 JAN 2010 {1 day before the XXXXX}]
Here we go again, Mondays… Who even likes to wake up on Mondays and get ready for school.
I woke up from my bed gloomily. My whole body felt stiff from the long nap so I stretched my limbs and headed towards the nearby mirror. When I looked into it I saw a downtrodden zombie in the reflection. I sighed and headed towards the bathroom.
Several minutes went by and I was prepared to go to the most horrible high school ever. I looked around my house which looked messy as usual. The reason maybe that I lived alone but the real credit goes to my laziness and irresponsibility.
I never actually saw my parents and spent half of my life in an orphanage. That place never taught me manners nor how to maintain your surrounding so I turned out like this. But I couldn't care less.
I sat down on the table to eat breakfast which was already covered with items you wouldn't keep on a table. The breakfast was none other than last night's leftover ramen. I didn't live a life in luxury but as long as food was available I considered life satisfactory.
I quickly gulped it down and started to look for the house keys which took almost 30 minutes. I found the house keys lying on the couch after inspecting the house properly. I grabbed them quickly and exited my house.
I locked the house and started the most dreadful journey of my life.
Going to school.
While I was walking to school which was approximately 10 minutes away from my house, I started to think if someone, somewhere, somehow could help me find real happiness. Well maybe I was asking for a bit too much but don't blame me on seeking a little enthusiasm in my boring life.
Anyways I reached school and made my way towards my classroom. I reached there and sat down at my desk.
I was not popular in class. I wouldn't be surprised if nobody knew my name. Well it's not their fault, I am extremely bad at socializing with people due to my past experience.
But it's not like I didn't have any friends. I had only one friend whose name is Max. Let me describe him in a simple way, he is very different from me; He is quite an extroverted guy with lots of friends. He has brown curly hair with green emerald like eyes. On top of that he is also a foreign exchange student which helps him gain popularity but for some reason he always gave me first priority which still astonishes me till this day.
Max entered the class followed by his other friends who were eagerly chatting with him. He looked disinterested and was hardly paying any attention to them.
Then his gaze fell on me and his eyes instantly lit up like he had just discovered Atlantis. He started to head towards my desk and his other friends started to glare at me but I have gotten used to it.
When he reached my desk, he smirked and said 'Mizuno! I was searching for you. Didn't know you were already sitting in the class'.
'Dude,' I sighed 'Class is almost going to start. Where else would you expect me to find?'
His grin widened 'I don't know, maybe hanging out with me?' He asked innocently.
The English teacher entered the class and all the talking died down. Her name was Mrs. Takeda Masanori and she was the strictest teacher in our whole campus. She had black hair which she didn't maintain properly and she wore no makeup like she had the intention of scaring us. She would always have a scowl on her face and wherever she glared, everyone would immediately start to behave like they are the best student in the whole class.
'MAX DOWELL,' she growled 'GO AND SEAT ON YOUR OWN PLACE, NOW!'
Max shrugged and winked at me 'Yes, Mrs. Takeda.'
By the way she hates both Me and Max equally. That's how I met Max for the first time. When we were both in the detention room sent by none other than Mrs. Takeda herself.
Anyways, after he sat down she started the class. The way she teaches is so tedious that I would rather sit in boiling acid for 1 hour than sit 1 hour in her class. She was teaching us at such a slow pace that I found it hard to concentrate on what she was teaching and in no time I dozed off.
THE DREAM
In my sleep, I couldn't see anything. Everything was pitch black. I could only hear some incomprehensible sound coming from somewhere in the void. It felt like I was floating in space, the dream felt a little too realistic and to make the dream even stranger, suddenly a sensation of dread ran over me. A black nightmarish colored explosion occurred. The power that it released was enough to almost wake me up but I managed to continue the dream. When my vision came back in focus the mysterious matter shot away into the void at the speed of light.
Then a person appeared in front of me, he was wearing black shades and he also carried a weapon in one of his hand.
A Scythe.
'Dang it,' he muttered to himself 'It was almost impossible to detect it's presence.'
Then he disappeared in one blink.
A face appeared in front me. I couldn't speak. Just hear and visualize.
'Mizuno,' it said 'MIZUNO! MIZUNO KIYOTSUGU!'
I woke up abruptly from my sleep and standing in front of me was the demon herself, Mrs. Takeda.
'GET OUT OF MY CLASS, NOW!!!' She bellowed in rage.
I got up frantically and headed out of the class. Max was looking at me with mischievous eyes, like he was expecting me to bomb this hellhole with a nuclear bomb after getting out of the class.
I stood outside of the classroom and looked at the scenery. The weather was perfect today for a picnic, birds were chirping, a low breeze was blowing and there was no a single cloud in sight. But that didn't matter to me.
I was busy thinking about something else - The dream. The dream was bothering me for some reason. Those sensations. Those sounds. They didn't feel right. The dark matter that shot into the void was the part that was bothering me the most and who was that man in black shades, he also had a very shady appearance and a strange power revolving him. I was thinking of an answer, when the doors of the classroom swung open.
Max walked out of the class and grinned at me.
'What happened,' I asked 'Why are you outside of the classroom?'
He rolled his eyes and put his arm around me 'Dude, you can't have all the fun of standing outside the class and missing the old hag's class without me'
I looked at him baffled 'You purposefully got punishment so that you can skip her lecture?'
He nodded.
We stood there quietly for some time. The school corridors felt oddly quiet but it didn't bother me as it felt peaceful.
But this peace didn't last for long as Max got an idea.
'Mizuno, wanna bunk the class?' He suggested.
I looked at completely baffled but the idea wasn't that bad.
'You're joking right?' I questioned.
'Nah, I am serious,' he said 'I also want to explore the city a little bit more.'
I thought to myself for a bit. I didn't hate his idea as I also wanted to skip this class. He was a newcomer in this city so I could also show him around the city but this was a risky move.
'Alright, I am up for this' I decided.
He smirked and waved a signal to me to follow him. Then he dashed off.
'Dude! Stop running, we might attract someone's attention.'
I ran behind him to catch up with him.
I wouldn't lie but the few hours that passed by were probably the best highlights of my life. I was finally enjoying myself.
Me and Max did many things in the city which also included causing trouble but that part was mostly done by Max as I wasn't brave enough to do those activities.
I felt full of life for the first time, maybe life isn't that bad and maybe a person like me can find happiness.
Our original decision of bunking only Mrs. Takeda class didn't go as planned. We had bunked the entire school hours.
[ MONDAY ,15 JAN 2010 {2 hours before the XXXXX}] [ Time – 2:30 pm]
Me and Max were walking down the street which led to school. It was a long exhausting but the best day I ever had in my life.
I looked at Max and asked a question which had been disturbing me for quite a while lately.
'Max.'
'What's up.' he said
'I have a slightly weird question for you.'
He stretched his ears using his hands 'I am all ears!'
'What's it like to be popular? Like is it enjoyable to live in fame or is it the opposite? If u don't want to answer it's okay.'
He pondered on the question for quite a while which made me uncomfortable as I thought I messed up.
'Listen, I will give the answer in simple words so don't expect much' he said.
'I am okay with that.'
'It's,' he made a pause to build suspense 'Hell!'
'Huh?' I was stunned. How could being popular be like hell? Is he lying or is he telling the truth.
Before I could ask anything he responded like he was reading my mind.
'It feels fun at the start don't get me wrong,' he said 'It feels like you are at the center of the world and all of the attention is on you.'
He paused and took a deep breath. I had never saw Max so serious while answering a question before.
'You see; it gets weird extremely fast. You start getting stalked, all your moves and your actions start to be thoroughly observed. It feels like someone is always watching you. It's more of a curse to be popular than a blessing.'
He looked at me and observed my silence, my face was displaying an emotion which I had never felt before.
Feeling sad for someone else.
He smiled and clapped my back.
'Forget what I said,' he said 'Anyways are you up for a dare, Mizuno?'
'A dare?' I thought to myself.
His old grin returned to his face 'Yeah a dare. Are you up to do it or are you too scared?'
A new wave of determination surged through my body. I finally got a chance to prove that I was also brave like everyone else.
'Yes, I am up for it.''
'Great!' Max exclaimed 'Alright then, you know that right now our school dispersal is happening. Right?'
'Yup.'
'I dare you to provoke Mrs. Takeda by running in front of her as you know we bunked our classes and I think she would be not very happy about that.' He said while smiling innocently.
I felt a sense of uneasy but I decided to do what he said because this was my only chance to shine. We made our way towards school.
We sneaked and hid at the corner of the street which led to school. As expected it was dispersal time and almost every teacher was present at the gates of the school.
I took a breath and went for it. I walked towards the school entrance and Mrs. Takeda's gaze fell on me.
When she saw me she got so mad that I could see smoke coming out of her head.
I ran towards where Max was standing and we started to run together as Mrs. Takeda was following us.
For the first time I finally felt true happiness, it was an odd feeling but I was enjoying it. I wish I could feel like this for the rest of my life.
But some things don't last forever.
This feeling was overwhelming and made me fully blind of my surroundings and it had its consequences
'MIZUNO!' Max screamed.
I snapped into reality but it was too late.
A truck was heading straight towards me.
Was this my end? Is this how my destiny was designed to be?
Many questions passed through my mind and each of them seeked an answer. But none of them could be answered.
But at least I was able to find what I desired the most.
True happiness.
I wanted to thank Max for helping me in feeling like this but-
Everything went dark.