Hollow Reverie

Chapter 1:

'The train heading for Tokyo will be arriving soon. Please mind the gap.'

The blaring intercom knocked the boy out of his trance, the monotone voice grounding him into reality. Something about busy train stations made him uncomfortable, maybe it was the constant stream of workers that would descend upon them in the mornings. Even though he was from the small town of Matsushima, the train station would often get packed with commuters.

Despite it being a Sunday, there were still a fair amount of people at the train station, huddled over the small roof to protect themselves from the drizzle that was threatening to become a downpour. Managing to join the end of the huddle, he took out his phone. 7:38. His middle school was only 15 minutes away from his home, so he wasn't used to coming out so early.

His parents had urged him to take an entrance exam for a top school in Tokyo, and while the idea appealed to him, he would have been happy to just go to the local highschool where all his friends were going. However, it was the revelation that he would be staying in a dorm that caused him to take the entrance exam seriously. He had been wanting a little independence, however he'd be lying to himself if the prospect of staying in a dorm in a huge city like Tokyo wasn't at least a little daunting.

The train arrived, and the boy managed to get a seat. It was going to be a long 3 hours until he got to Tokyo. Slumping into his seat, he went through the mental itinerary he set for himself.

After arriving at Tokyo, he was to arrive at the dorm and unpack. He'd be staying there for the next 3 years, and he had no idea who else would be at the dorm. While he was planning to keep to himself and focus on studying, he would not be against having 1 or 2 friends that he could chill out with. His first step after unpacking was to attend a meeting at the school to sort through his documents and ensure his enrollment. He had never heard of Hazami High School before, but his parents were insistent that he try to enrol there because of its high university admission rate.

Rummaging through his bag, he took out his documents, which included a picture of himself. He wasn't entirely happy with his new haircut (which was shorter than he was used to, at his parent's insistence.) Next to his photo was his name. Hiroki Yoshihara.

There was also his uniform, which was a dark red blazer and accompanying tie, with black trousers and a white shirt. It was expensive, and it was hammered home that he should look after it, as a replacement would not be coming until at least his 2nd year.

It had only been 20 minutes, but the passing fields had made Hiroki even more tired. It was a Sunday after all, that was his usual lie in day. A quick nap wouldn't hurt, he thought to himself as he felt his eyelids get heavier.

'Excuse me, is this seat free?'

He reluctantly opened his eyes to see a boy looking expectantly at him. He wasn't sure how long it was, but from the noise he could tell that the train was getting busier.

'Sure.' Hiroki replied.

The boy sat down and stretched before turning to Hiroki.

'You going on holiday?' He asked Hiroki while looking at the small suitcase on the floor.

'No.' Hiroki responded curtly. He was taken aback by how open the boy was being.

'Haha, that'd be nice though. Wouldn't it?' he chuckled to himself before opening up his own suitcase and taking out a familiar blazer. Hiroki caught a glimpse of it, and his surprise must have shown on his face.

'Curious?' The boy continued before putting it away. 'I'm moving to a school in Tokyo. Hazami High, I think the name was.'

That's a coincidence. Hiroki thought to himself before turning away. A nearby sign read 'Koriyama Station.' They were still 2 hours away from Tokyo, and yet he's already met someone going to the same school as him. He hadn't heard of it before but he thought it must be a very popular school.