“You’ll find your perfect human with these funny alien costumes!” a strange sci-fi magazine seemed to scream from its front pages.
“Like any human would ever find me perfect.” a bitter voice hissed as the magazine was thrown in the garbage. “To be honest, who in their right mind would find THAT attractive?” Saken muttered under his breath, continuing his long trek to school. Saken Kenji wasn’t in the best of moods today, nor had he been in a while. After being rejected by his crush for the third time, he decided he was done trying to pursue a relationship, they never seemed to work out in his family anyway. His dad left him when he was only three and Saken’s mother decided to turn to alcohol as a solution. She passed away in a car wreck three weeks ago. To make a long story short, Saken was done with his life and wanted a new one. He adjusted his headphones and played his favorite song on max volume while he took a shortcut to school.
The sun is awfully bright today, he thought.
When he finally arrived at school there was no one outside.
“Oh no! The bell’s about to ring!” As if it heard him the bell sounded, it’s long tolls spelling tardiness for Saken. He rushed through the hallways to his class room, barely making it before the bell finished its call.
“You're real lucky kid,” the homeroom teacher said, “next time I won’t be so forgiving.”
Saken swallowed nervously and went to go sit in his seat, grateful for the rest after sprinting down the halls.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“You good mate?” a voice asked from Saken’s side.
“Yeah,” another whispered from behind, “you sound out of breath.”
“I had to run or I would’ve been late. Otherwise I would’ve been screwed!” Saken responded to his friends, Dante and Dumont. Saken met his best friends in the third grade and has stuck with them through everything. They had also stuck with Saken through the death of his mother.
“You wouldn’t have had to run if you woke up earlier.” Dante responded.
“True but like, I NEED SLEEP.” Saken said.
“Then go to bed earlier.” Dante fired back dryly.
“What were you even doing last night?” Dumont asked.
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh…” Saken was hesitant to answer the question. He stayed up until three am last night watching his favorite YouTuber Grain.
“You were up all night, weren’t you?” Dante asked disappointedly.
“Not all night! Just until three am.” Saken responded sheepishly.
“GO TO BE-” Dante was cut off abruptly by the teacher calling the class to start.
Saken daydreamed during homeroom like he always does. He reminisced about his life so far and what he could’ve done differently, before discarding it and fantasizing about relationships instead.
After school Saken decided to take the whole walk home instead of the shortcut so he can look at the stars. Saken has always enjoyed stargazing, a hobby he shares with Dumont. After a long trek home, he scavenged up some food from the fridge, making a mental note to visit the grocery store tomorrow. After a quick shower Saken hopped into bed and fell asleep after asking, “I wonder if tomorrow will be any different.”