COMING OF AGE | Nishimura Riki

018 | aspects of knowledge

nishimura riki
───────────

I can still feel the shivers and goosebumps from last night. Every time I turn around, I expect to see a guard with a flashlight pointed at me. Last night sounds like a nightmare but it felt like a dream.

Despite constantly feeling chased like I'm virtually playing a horror game, I don't regret last night. I once heard someone say that when you like someone, you are willing to do anything just for them or to be with them.

I didn't understand the logic of that quote when I first heard it. Why would someone sacrifice anything just for a person they like? The reason why I didn't understand the logic was because of my inexperience with human emotions.

If school is the number one place for gaining general knowledge, why isn't it teaching us about human emotions? We know emotions exist and have them inside us, but we don't know how many or how to handle them. There are more emotions out there than just joy and sadness.

Humans are intricate yet very interesting creatures. Some days, you think you already know everything until you realize you don't know anything. Society refers to school as the number one place where you get knowledge, however, we only learn about one aspect of knowledge in school.

What I mean is that school teaches you about general knowledge, which you are expected to have according to society. Despite my short experience of going to school, I can already tell that you learn more and gain more knowledge outside the classroom. That is a fact all school staff would refuse to believe in.

"Crown Prince Riki? Did you listen?" His Majesty suddenly asked.

"Of course I did" I answered.

"Then tell me what we are going on Sunday" His Majesty replied.

"We are having an audiences with the prime minister" I said.

His Majesty let out a sigh as he looked over at Her Majesty.

"You have been very distracted lately. Is there something going on?" Her Majesty asked me as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing has happened, it's just a lot with school right now" I answered.

Her Majesty nodded with a smile. His Majesty was busy in his world, ignoring my presence and the words I speak out loud. I guess it's fair since I did the same thing. Expect that His Majesty was doing it on purpose and I didn't.

I look out the car window to see us passing by Jishin Education. My mouth formed a smile at the view. I held the smile visible until my eyes unexpectedly met His Majesty who looked at me with an ice-cold facial expression. Once again, I'm questioning if His Majesty knows.

Our private chauffeur parked by the school gate. I got greeted by Hinata who happened to exit the car in front of us.

"Have you heard about the school ghost?" Hinata asked.

"The school ghost?" I repeated.

"It says someone sneaked into the school building last night but since the security cameras didn't catch them, people think it was a ghost" Hinata said.

"That's ridiculous" I replied with a chuckle.

"I know right? First of all, ghosts don't even exist. Second of all, it's unbelievable that someone was able to sneak into our school without getting caught" Hinata said.

Luck really was on my side yesterday. How were me and Mai able to hide from the security cameras and not be seen by the guard who had his flashlight pointed at us? Was I a criminal in my past life? They must have been a very successful criminal since they were reborn with royal blood.

"Are you talking about the school ghost?" Kenji suddenly asked.

He was sitting outside the classroom along with Nicholas and

"We do, except it's not a ghost" Hinata answered with a chuckle.

"We can't prove it was a ghost or that ghost even exists. However, there is a bigger chance Sato was the one breaking into our school last night" One of my classmates stated and the rest agreed with him.

It sucks knowing he is right, Mai did break into our school last night, but she wasn't alone. I was with her and technically, I was the one who took the initiative by taking her to the school building. It sucks hearing Mai receiving backlash behind her back just because she is breathing.

"But what if Mai didn't do it?" I snapped as I crossed my arms.

"Okay, calm down Crown Prince" He replied with a chuckle.

"Do you still have contact with her? Don't you know what her father has done?" Nicholas asked me out of confusion.

"Why would I care about what her father has done? They might be related but that doesn't mean they are the same person" I answered.

They all looked at me like I was an idiot, the elephant in the room. Why are they surprised that I know nothing about Mai's father? Is knowledge about Mai's father considered common knowledge in this area?

I will never not understand the obsession with being investigated in other people's lives. Is it that hard to let people live? To let people be human beings and not animals on Zoo? Or maybe they just don't understand. They don't understand what it feels like to constantly have eyes on you while carrying tons of expectations.

I know what it feels like to be under investigation. It's easy to believe that gossip equals small talk because everyone is so used to being fed with gossip as it is small talk. Perhaps, I might just be the elephant in the room. The abnormal one who believes they are smarter than their peers.