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Y/N's POV:
Haneoka Highschool.
There it was, the campus standing right in front of me. The sun majestically beaming above the blue sky, and students walk towards the school.
I heard it was formerly and all-girls school, before converting into a co-ed.
Well, as long as people get to learn, that's the most important thing.
Today, is my first day at Haneoka, and honestly, it's quite a decent looking school... Looks like a great place to have a fresh new start.
...
...
...
Who am I? Are you sure you want to know?
My story is not for the faint of hea-
"There you are, Y/N-senpai!"
.... Damn it.
I heard the voice of a certain pinkette running towards me. The moment she arrived she was panting like hell.
"Thank Goodness...!!! I thought you'd never show up!"
This is Himari Uehara. Most of you probably know her already. She's the bassist of a band named Afterglow, and she was the one who helped me enroll in Haneoka.
"You're heavy as ever, Himari." I greeted with a small smile.
"Mou~! You're mean as ever, Y/N-senpai!" She whined. And with that the two of us went on to walk together to school.
"So, it's your first day here in Haneoka right? There are tons of fun stuff to do here!" She chimed.
"I hope so." I replied with a small sad smile.
...
I've never had the best experiences in school. I was picked on by bullies, and everyone pretty much hated me.
Loads of humiliating stuff happened to me.
And the most demoralizing one was in a school play, when I broke down and cried in front of many watchers, because I couldn't simply act properly onstage.
I have a severe case of stage fright, and one of those guys in the past took advantage of it. I felt degraded by what happened.
I was considered somewhat of an outcast, as that memory continued to haunt me, and the classmates in my former school reminded me of it so much, I had to just go away.
I was... an outcast, in their eyes.
...
Himari was one of the only people who knew about my situation, and she was a good soul. She was the only one in the past who listened to me before switching here.
And now, I'm just glad that she's here. Maybe being a third year in Haneoka is going to be good after all.
"You know, it's the first time Haneoka's no longer an all-girls school, and I'm quite curious of what's next for all of us!" She chimed cheerfully.
"Yeah..."
We entered the school grounds, where everyone was now was seemingly having fun.
"Whoa, it's kind of new to see boys wearing the Haneoka uniform... It feels quite different, with Haneoka being a Co-ed now." Himari looked around in awe.
"Yeah... Say, aren't you supposed to be with your friends...?" I turned to her, looking for the others.
"Oh, they went on ahead... I just stopped over to check on you!" She smiled.
"I see...."
We passed by aisles and numerous classrooms, with Himari continuing on to ramble about the clubs this school had to offer.
It was pretty much lively for a first day, we saw a teal-haired girl skipping through the halls happily, seemingly not caring about anything in the world.
"Ah! That's Hina-senpai! She's our student council president."
Council president, huh? She's pretty carefree for one. We continued to venture through the halls, finally enrolling for the year. Leaving me by the door of my classroom, Himari then walks away to her own class.
"See ya' after class, Y/N-senpai!" Himari smiled and waved.
"Yeah, See ya'." I smiled, as I slowly entered the classroom, seeing lots of new faces. It was totally a new environment, and I was filled with mixed emotions, hoping I would fit in and make new friends.
...
So that I may be able to finally, move on from what happened back in the past.
The bell suddenly rung, telling all of us that it was time to start. The professor entered our room, and all of us took a seat. Knowing that it was the first day, there came the introductions, and every single one of us were told to stand and introduce ourselves.
It took quite a while, until such time, it came to me. I immediately went to the front, and looked at my classmates.
I'm not gonna lie, it was quite nerve wracking, and knowing that I have stage fright, I don't really do well with crowds.
"Please introduce yourself, Y/N." The professor started. Oh boy, here it goes. I turned to see the classmates of mine, staring at me with a curious look.
...
"U-Uhm.... Hello there, Everyone..." I started.
"I-I'm Y/N L/N, and I'm looking forward to learning and working with all of you...!!! Nice to meet you all!" I quickly bowed in respect.
The rest of the class just did an applause, just like the usual introductions everyone did.
Well, that worked out well... Jeez, I was a nervous wreck.
I walked back to my seat at the back by the window side, a seat that most anime protagonists usually seat on... Am I right, my dear readers?
And so began our class, it was mostly homeroom stuff, and our professor telling us his plans for the school year.
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"It's so delicious!!!" Himari squealed as she fed on a few pieces of cornets as we eat our lunch on the school grounds.
"Just how many Cornets have you eaten already...?" I asked, as I took a bite of my meat bun.
"I don't know... It's just that I'm hungry... Don't blame me, Y/N-senpai. I haven't had my Breakfast.." Himari munched on.
"You're skipping Breakfast, and yet you're still heavy as ever..."
"Mou~! Not you too! I'm actually trying, you know?" Himari pouted and whined, this time munching on the cornet much more aggressively.
After chuckling and teasing her a bit, we began to talk about the many things we can do in Haneoka, such as clubs and other stuff.
"There are so many to choose from! I'm pretty sure that there's something you can find an interest in." Himari started.
"For starters, you can probably join the Dance club! You can danc-"
"Pass." I immediately replied.
"Eh? That was an instant rejection!" Himari was baffled. She then continued on to tell me about more clubs.
"There's also a Tennis club! We can have fun and play there as much as we want! I'm one of the members, ya' know?" She proudly proclaimed, but sadly I'm not built for that.
"Yeah, about that I'm not an athletic person..."
"But it's fun!!!" Himari pouted.
"Jeez, don't just reject my options, Y/N-senpai... There's so many fun things to do here!"
"I mean... We're going to know all the clubs eventually as time goes by right? Don't worry about it, Himari." I told her. "I can always choose from the options they can give me.. Besides, it's just the first day.. I can choose anytime.."
"Well okay..." Himari sighed. "I mean, it's just after transferring here, I just want you to feel happy.. That's all... Back then, I couldn't bear to see you... sad you know?"
I paused a bit, thinking about that past. I turned to her with a small smile, and pat her head.
"Don't worry Himari, just so you know... I really appreciate what you're trying to do." I started.
"You won't have to worry about anything, because today's a fresh new start... I'll make sure that I'll find something that's interesting and fun in here..."
"Okay..." She softly smiled.
I was about to return to eating my meat bun when suddenly, the speakers started to sound throughout the area.
...
"You all know what time it is... My little kittens~..."
...
A bunch of squeals can be heard from the area. Not to mention, even this pinkette beside me started to get all dreamy.
"WAAAAAHH!!! KAORU-SENPAI!!!" She squealed like an absolute fangirl.
"Kaoru... Senpai?" I turned to her, dumbfounded.
"You don't know her? She's the face of Haneoka!!!" Himari ecstatically answered my call.
"She's so brave, so beautiful, so... Fleeting!!!" She continued on.
"WAAAAHHHH!!! SLAY ME!!!"
Damn, this Kaoru girl must be quite the person to be make Himari act all like that.
As my kouhai continued to ramble on, I tried to pay attention to what the podcast was about, and noticed a quote that Kaoru person just said.
...
"Why, then, 'tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. To me, it is a prison."
...
"Hmm... Hamlet." I muttered out.
"Eh?" Himari turned to me seemingly dumbfounded, until such time, the girl in the podcast spoke out...
...
"A fleeting quote, from such a masterpiece from the great bard himself... Hamlet."
...
A smirk forms in my face, as Himari looks at me with disbelief evident in her expression.
"E-Eh?! How did you know it was from Hamlet?!"
Well, I've been quite a bookworm all my life. And this must be perks of having knowledge about something I had passion for.
...
Well, something I used to have passion for...
...
"Lucky guess, probably." I shrugged it off, and took a bite of my meat bun once again.
The podcast continued on, when Himari started to talk about more of this Kaoru girl.
"Oh right! I almost forgot... Kaoru-senpai is suuuppeer Goood at acting! She's the pride of Haneoka's Drama Club!" Himari started.
...
Acting, huh...
...
'You useless piece of trash! Why the hell can't you reach that note?!'
'You couldn't even do this line right!'
'You're weak! Pathetic! You can't even say a word the moment you step up on stage!'
'You're not good enough, and you'll never will be.'
...
Memories of the past, start to flood my mind. The words they spat at me rang in my mind, those disheartening situations that I've been to, was starting to come once again.
And... Himari's statements weren't helping, either.
It's all coming back to those days when they...
...
When they...
...
"Oh wait! How about the Drama club? You should join the club! You love to act ri-"
I immediately stood up, not wanting Himari to continue on with her suggestions.
"Eh?! Y/N-senpai, where are you going?" Himari asked, surprised and worried.
I wasn't saying a word, when the bell suddenly rang. The podcast also ended at the same time.
"I-I... Have to get back to class..." I said, and immediately waved at her goodbye.
"See ya' later... Himari."
And with that, I made my way back to class, wishing to avoid any more conversations of the past.
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Time had passed and the first day has officially ended. Some students began to walk out of the campus, some even decided to stay for a bit.
And as for me, I ended up staying at the school grounds, sitting at the bench, reflecting on my first day.
It wasn't anything special, just a bunch of introductions. We were introduced to everything in the school, with the exception of clubs.
We even had the shortest speech from the student council president. I mean all she said was...
...
"Let's all have a Boppin' year!!!"
...
"Boppin' year..." I chuckled and shook my head.
I haven't made any friends today, and I couldn't seem to fit in, just yet.
I couldn't help but think about Himari's suggestions earlier, such as the drama club.
I didn't want to turn it down actually, in fact... Acting was something I loved to do.
...
Take note... Was. It used to be my love.
It's just that, things in my life Haven't been great for me, ever since that fateful day.
...
So going back to the theater, was something I couldn't face at this time.
I need... Some time... To forget all my problems, all of those that happened in the past.
Sitting in the bench with nothing else to do, I brought out a book and I began to read.
It was a gift from my dad, before he passed away. It was an old book, told to have sold only two copies, and with different endings.
However what it contained was what made it so endearing to me. It was a story, that was really special to me. A story that I've grown up with, and was told to me, millions of times before I went to sleep.
It was a story about a princess, and an outcast, how two different people, from different worlds got together.
Despite having two different endings, I've only known one ending.
It was a gut-wrenching ending as the outcast got and lost at the same time what he truly loved. However, he does make a promise to come back to her, perhaps maybe in the next life.
It was an ending, that I had so many questions to.
...
Was he able to find her in his next life...? If, he even had one in the first place...?
Or maybe... The finally got together in the Afterlife...?
...
There were so many possible routes forming in my head, and yet it wasn't clear to me what the ending really was. It was all a mystery to me.
That's why, I kept on reading it... Trying to find out the perfect ending to that story.
To find out, how the Outcast finally found his peace, and true happiness.
...
Somehow, I resonate with the character of the outcast. Every time I open that book, I can't help but see... Myself, in him.
We both lost something in our lives, we both were exiled and mistreated by our pasts...
However, the only thing that truly separates me from the outcast... Is that he finally found his peace, his confidence, and his reason to continue on with life.
He found A person who can finally accept him for who he is.
He finally found, his acceptance.
...
He found... His Princess; That someone who changed his life, for the better...
Something or someone, that I... haven't found yet.
...
I look up at the pink sky, with the sun finally setting. With a yearning expression plastered on my face, I take a deep breath and ask out loud.
...
...
"...When will I find... My own Princess...?"
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And that's it for the first chapter of this book! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Y/N has finally had his first day at school. We finally have seen the side of the outcast.
Now, what about the Fleeting Princess? How did she spend the first day?
Find out in the next chapter!
-EJ