Stardust House: 1st Year Spring

CHAPTER 7: Those Beautiful Curveballs

In Jun Takakage’s room, early Friday morning

Dear Mom and Dad,

Here it is, my first letter to you away from home. I finally survived my first four days here at Momiji Academy. I’m seriously happy that you let me decide to let me go long distance to attend high school for a more advanced, more fulfilling education before I enter my dream university. Ah, Momiji Academy isn’t just beautiful, but their system, their extracurricular activities, and even the people there are so wonderful! It was definitely a culture shock for me since this is the first time that I’m attending a co-ed school where girls and boys are integrated that I thought that I would be left out. Still, a new change of atmosphere is totally refreshing. I want to join all of their clubs, but I decided to go for their newest club recently founded by my homeroom teacher, Tachibana Ryo-sensei. I am now a member of the school’s new club, The Singers and Songwriters Club.

I’m writing to you now to let you know that I’m no longer staying at Hollow Haven Apartments. In fact, along with this letter I am including a newspaper clip that should explain to you what happened and why I no longer live there. You have no idea how blessed we are when it comes to people and a new environment. My first newly-made friend in homeroom class, Irie Kairi, offered me to stay at her home with her family for the entire three years without pay, except that I also gained a new part-time job as an assistant to Kairi’s father whenever he works at home. Her family also houses five other students. Many of them were children of close friends of the family, and one of them is also Kairi’s older brother’s girlfriend. Still, at my first day of school, I thought that I would have so much trouble making new friends because I’m from the countryside. Kairi also temporarily lived at the countryside with her mother for seven years because her mother accepted a teaching job to a particular country village that truly needed a dedicated teacher to an elementary school over there. She was originally here at Hinasaki, but because of her mother’s new teaching job, Kairi decided to live with her. Sadly, her mother died recently, just a few days after her graduation from middle school. So, in the end, Kairi decided to go back home to her father and brother, and in turn, also enrolled here at Momiji Academy. In short, she and I can relate to each other. We’re like bosom souls that share the same feather.

For Mari, Kyoko, and Takiko, my truest friends since elementary, I’m already fulfilling their dreams early on, knowing that I will be busy with studies and club very soon. You know how you heard of those rumors from them that there are a lot of celebrity teen idols who attend Momiji Academy? Well, I just to confirm to you that this rumor is true. With the help of Kairi, I was able to obtain three copies of three sets of photo books that they always wanted. One of Irie Taisuke (he’s also Kairi’s older brother, by the way, what a small world!), Ichinose Kaito (I know how much Kyoko truly loves him), and their most favorite actor, Tenjou Shunta. All of them are personally autographed along with the girls’ names, so hopefully this would truly make them happy. I also want to share to you that Ichinose-kun and Tenjou-kun are also my classmates in homeroom class, so that was able to obtain these photo books. I didn’t even have to pay for them with money, instead they wanted me to pay them with friendship and care.

Speaking of Tenjou-kun, there are plenty of things that I want to say about him. Despite of what the media said about him having high-class tastes with girls and that he only dates celebrity teen idol girls and rich girls, that’s not true. He has a very kind and pure heart (well, I think so anyway). He knows how to respect everyone, and he rarely talks about himself and his acting career at all. He likes talking about shoujo manga and stories about other people a lot. I wish I wasn’t too shy to just go up to him, plus other girls who like him are also eying on Kairi and me simply because we both sit next to him and Ichinose-kun, as well as Himemiya Kotaro-kun and Shinoda Takeru-kun. When you’re in class, we always talk about our lessons all the time and that’s it. I avoid bringing up the subject of their idol careers because I don’t want them to think of me as some other obsessed fan, but rather, I want them to get to know me as a classmate and a friend. I want to let the girls there know that Tenjou-kun looks a lot more handsome and attractive in person than in those magazines and photo books, and of course, he is very open to everyone no matter where you come from. It’s too early, but he calls me “Jun-chan” instead of the very standard “Takakage-san.” Just thinking about him and his little gestures somehow make me feel all fuzzy and warm inside.