***

Two years.

A long time has passed in a blink of eyes. Maybe the saying 'time pass over your eyes' has some truth in it. This two years just passed like that, nothing particularly worth mentioning happened.  

Well, maybe one or two. The first thing is I live with my uncle and has been helping his lazy lifestyle since. it can be said rather than a nephew I felt like butler instead. The second, now I am a high school student.

I have much or less already accepted the reality or the truth, which one you deemed proper to use, and passing each day as my usual self. Well not exactly like my old self though, from what my uncle said I became a stoic person where most of the time my emotion was flat. It's fine by me and I have not got a problem with that either, I even didn't get complaints from other people aside from uncle so everything is good as far as I concerned.

Now if I may add one more thing that worth mentioning is today is my first day going to high school. My high school now it's the same as Mayu-nee. It's nice to have a family member in a new environment.

"Hey, uncle Ren! I'm going!"

If you wondering why I must shouting, the reason is my uncle just came back from his so-called investigation this morning and he is not a morning person either. You know the rest... we have a grumpy old man here.

"Ya ya ya... just go..."

His reply is more flat than usual... no matter what not my problem either.

"Then I go."

"Be safe..."

Damn, he must be really tired. Well, I just have to let him get his deserved sleep and go away from his old breath as soon as I can.

My school is not far from my uncle apartment. it's just one station away that need just 15 minute by train and 45 minutes by bus, for walk distance is more or less 2 hour top.

On my way to the station, I musing myself with my uncle situation. Lately, he has been going out more frequently than he usually does and he has been muttering to himself a lot these days. It's scary so I told him to stop it.

From what I catch from his murmuring, he is investigating the apathy phenomena that occur around the world recently. A lot of people losing their will, they suddenly changed in a day and until now there is no correct reasoning for why they go to doll-like state or a vegetable.

At the start of this phenomenon only one person per month got this apathy syndrome, but with time the number of victims rose every month. Now every one month almost 30 people per month get it and that just counting in Japan.

It's the supreme scoop for my uncle section. If he manages to gain something that is.

"Train to the shinanami region will come in five minutes. Train to the shinanami region will come in five minutes. Please, for every passenger to step behind the yellow line."

Oh, that's my train. Shinanami region is an island that only has school in it, it's a man made an island that built 19 years ago by shina corporation for education purpose only. Well according to people though not my uncle though, my uncle said to me 'it's kinda strange for a machine and technology company like shina corporation to made a man-made island just for education purpose and not for profit, it's kinda fishy'.

A weird train came and stop at the station.

This train is the only train in the world, owned by shina corp of course. The weird part of this train is the train has an old steam locomotive design. Yep like the one usually found in the museum or the movie where wizard going to school and fighting freaks here and there. But obviously this train not running with a steam engine and nope no magic either, it's like any other train, it's running with electricity and I must admit it's kinda fast too.

The train name is an oldy geezer. What an apt name...

So without further adieu, I got on the train and take a seat in one of the empty seats.

On the train, I could see a lot of student from my new school.

NiiJyuuTen academy or twelve heaven academy in English. A cliche name for an escalator school like this, where the school system allows the student to grade up from elementary to high school without a test but to do that the student must fill the criteria or standard that put by the academy. And I assure you the standard is no kidding matter. Only the college is the normal one, where even the alumnus of the NJ must take the test too if he wants to enter the college.

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Our uniform is a white shirt with a black blazer. A badge with a different number can be seen here and there. The badge like you can imagine, it is to show what years the student is in. Like mine is number ten in Roman number to show that I am a first-year high school student and it is located in my left arm.

Another thing to differentiate each grade is the tie for boy and bow for girl. From elementary to high school in order, the colour of the bow is blue for boy and pink for girl, yellow for boy and red for girl, and black for boy and white for girl. Oh, the pants are black and for girl is a long or a short skirt one with a little trim line that goes with the bow colour.

And the academy school have a lacking strictness to the uniform. So there's a lot of students that modified their uniform with accessory and other clothes attire such as a hoodie or t-shirt.

I myself not doing such thing that extreme though. I just unbuttoned the upper button and loosening the tie, the shirt is not tucked in either.

Well, you can say my attire is not that messy and not that proper either, I just go with what comfortable for me.

Enough with these talk about fashion, well if it can be said a fashion talk. Just now the train just passed the shore and going to the manmade island.

The train has an individual road from the normal traffic line. So you can see the sea on both sides and I must say the scenery is great. It's looked like out of fantasy picture with those sparkling sea water.

From what Mayu-nee said the train frequently used as movie shooting location a few times.

Because I mesmerized by the view, I didn't notice that the shinanami station can already be seen from afar.

"To all passengers, we will shortly arrive in the shinanami station. To all passengers, we will shortly arrive at the shinanami station. Please to check your belongings."

Let's get prepared, shall we?

***

From the station actually, need another walking to arrive at the school. On the way to the school, there is a lot of stores opened, like a minimart and food vendors or work office related goods. Almost all the store is selling things that student need or can afford. So it is a great friendly store for student budget allowance and a few stores have a great place to hang out with friends after school too. Another merit in school specialized island I suppose.

The school itself is a building with renaissance style back when it's the golden age for Romans or what I like to describe it as a castle. In my opinion, the school  was more castle-like than a school the more I when looking at it.

The school building is eight-story high and has a big schoolyard. The reason the yard built so big is that because it's to host an event at a school like class meet and school festival or any other school program and event.

Now the first important thing to do is to search for my homeroom class. Like any other school, student entrance list is put on the big board near the receptionist desk for the student to see at which class they ends up in.

Is not that hard to found my name on the board and it looks like i am in class1-3.

The student in the classroom usually is around 30 people on average and with some odd classroom have 31 or 32. I send a condolence to the classroom that has 31 students, there is bound to be an outcast there.

Luckily my classroom has 30 people in it. Looking at my personality if my classroom has 31 students in it without a doubt I will be the one that cast out and no thank you with that, I don't want to be labelled as emo, I already have enough brooding as it is.

***