A car pulls up to a small white house, a boy and his mother get out of her green bolbo and, another car pulls up behind them as his mother walks toward the trunk. A man wearing an open Hawaiian shirt gets out of the car with his family.

“Ah, did you two just move in recently too?” He asks.

“We did. I’m Eliza Kaminari and this is my son, Seiren.” She introduces.

“We just moved in as well. This place is uber cheap. So how could we resist, you know?” He asks.

Uber cheap…? Seiren repeats in his head.

“Don’t you start flirting like this again! I’ll castrate you!” His wife says to him.

Yikes. Seiren thinks.

“You look mad, honey. Did something good happen?” He says in a taunting tone as he and his wife head inside their home. Breaking away from their conversation, Seiren walks over to the trunk as his mother closes the door.

“We sure have some interesting neighbors, huh?” She mutters.

“More or less.” He says.

“Alright, let’s get these bags in the house!” She says.

“Go inside, I’ll get them.” He says.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind taking one in.” She replies as she flexes her right arm.

“With those spaghetti arms?” He questions while grabbing bags.

“These spaghetti arms can still kick your butt! Just don’t strain yourself.” She says as she walks past the car, and heads into the house.

He pulls the bags out one by one, fashioning each of them onto his body, giving himself the appearance of a human bag rack.

“That’s a lot of stuff you’re carrying. Do you need help?” A voice says from behind.

Seiren turns around to see a boy with curly blonde hair behind him.

“—Who are you?” He questions.

“Sorry to startle you, I’m Kirth Slayers. I just thought you might need some help."

"If you're offering, I won't stop you," Seiren mutters.

After the two finish moving the bags, the blonde boy prepares to leave, by heading down the stairs of Seiren’s home.

“Thanks.” He says.

Kirth gives a wave before continuing down the street. As Seiren stares at the sunset, giving a sigh, he feels a sudden pressure behind him as his mother sits behind the screen door like a cat waiting for a mouse. Seiren enters the house as his mother’s eyes light up.

“So! Who was that handsome young man?” She questions, as she gets up close and personal.

Seiren finds himself backed against a wall as his mother begins her interrogation.

“—Some random guy.” He answers.

“I see… Just some random guy…” She jots down on her notepad.

“—What are you doing?” He questions.

“Gotta make sure I have enough information on my son’s first friendship!” She says with excitement.

Seiren makes an expression as he had been staring at the very essence of audacity.

“I’ve had friends before.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think animals count.” She says.

He lets out a sigh of frustration.

“Alright, alright I get it.” She says right as she starts to cough violently.

“Are you okay?” Seiren asks.

“I’m… Fine.” She says. “I think I may have overexerted myself a little.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“You should get some rest.” He suggests as he grabs bottled water from the kitchen and hands it to her. She unscrews the cap, and annihilates half the bottle in less than two seconds, then smiles at him.

“I’ll go take a nap. No house parties while I’m asleep.” She says jokingly.

“With what friends?” He mutters.

The next day, Seiren stands in front of the full mirror in his bedroom. It reflects the new school uniform he just finished putting on. Complete with a collared shirt and khaki pants. Seiren stares at his reflection and his straight pose collapses like an empty balloon.

I don’t wanna go to school… It's bound to be too noisy. He thinks.

A voice leaks through his door from downstairs.

“If you don’t leave for school in the next minute… ” She threatens.

Seiren’s body shivers and he suddenly perks up.

“Maybe school doesn’t sound all that bad.” He thinks.

In one fluid motion, Seiren grabs all his daily necessities. He swipes his phone, keys, and wallet into his pockets and slips his backpack over one shoulder before dashing through the door. He runs downstairs and slides into the kitchen, right in front of his mother.

“I’m here.” He says, in a monotone voice

“School’s not gonna be that bad it’s your last year, so perk up.” She says with a smile.

“I always sound like this.” He says.

“Well, never mind that! Have a good day at school today

“Don’t burn the house down while I’m gone.” He says as he opens the door.

“Which one of us do you think is the parent?” She questions, placing her hands on her hips.

“...You have eggs burning to a crisp on the stove.” he notices, by way of a black cloud of smoke coming from the pan.

“Oh no! My Omelette Supreme!” She shouts as she rushes over.

“I hope that some guardian deity somewhere is looking over my mother. “ He thinks.

As he exits the house, he sees hundreds of other students walking down the street, wearing similar uniforms.

“What luck… I almost completely forgot I didn’t know the way there. I can just follow a few other students. “ He thinks.

Seiren follows behind the other students and ends up overhearing them.

“My girlfriend has been saying that she hears weird noises coming from the Fading Forest at night.” He says. “So I ended up talking on the phone with her all night because she’s scared.”

“Who knows bro, maybe she’ll let you sneak in and spend the night.” He said, nudging his friend with his elbow.

“That’s a good idea, bro!”

Seiren merely rolled his eyes.

After a short walk through the residential district, the school had been within view. Surrounded by tall brick walls on each side, supported by a wide silver gate. The gate was open allowing students to enter. A concrete path lay before them, which had a bed of grass around it. A second building to the west and a Greenhouse to the east. Seiren didn’t bother to get a look and instead, made his way into the building where he was greeted by the sweet scent of citrus. The school’s hallways had many wide windows with a view of the school’s gardens and gym classes. As Seiren comes into the main hallway, students begin filtering past him as he looks around.

“Crap… I don’t know where the faculty office is.” Seiren thinks.

He feels a tap on his shoulder, only to realize it’s Kirth.

“Oh, it’s you,” Seiren says.

“Did you forget my name already? You look pretty lost. Were you looking for the faculty office?” He asks.

It’s like he can read minds, this guy. Seiren thinks.

“Yeah…” Seiren says.

“I’ll show you. This place can be a bit jarring on your first day.” Kirth says as he leads the way.

As the duo walks down the hall, Seiren can’t help but notice the large volume of students who stop to greet him.

He must be popular here. Seems kinda annoying. He thinks.

“Here we are.” Kirth says as the door before them reads “Faculty Office.”

“Thanks.” He says as he heads for the door.

“No problem. See you later, bro.” Kirth says. He continues down the hall until he blends into the group of students.

Seiren opens the door and enters the faculty office where there are multiple students awaiting help.

Am I not the only new student? Come to think of it… Aundi is known for the large quantities of people who move here. It’s cheap and the town is beautiful, which sounds like a steal. Mom never did tell me why it was so cheap. Seiren wonders.

“...Mr. Kaminari.” A voice says, breaking Seiren from his train of thought.

“—Yes?” He answers, looking at the teacher.

“You belong in room 23. That's the class right down the hall to the left of here.” He says.

“—Thanks,” Seiren says before exiting the room.

He heads down the hall and enters the room. There, several of the students crowded around the desks of the other new students who had been in the office with him. While they’re distracted, Seiren swiftly circles the room and slips into a seat at the back of the classroom.

“Alright! Class is in session, everyone to their seats.” The teacher says. “As many of you can already see, we have some new students in class… Why don’t you briefly introduce yourselves? Let’s start with you in the back.”

He points at Seiren. Seiren takes a moment to look around the room, then points at himself.

“Yes, you! The clueless one in the back.” He says.

Seiren hesitantly stands from his desk.

“—I’m Seiren.” His mutters.

After sitting back down, his mind goes off to its world, and before he realizes it the school day is all but over. Seiren lets out a sigh of exasperation as he leaves school for the day. The formerly bright and shining sun had now been slowly creeping toward the horizon. The setting sun painted the sky a deep orange hue that faded into the slight darkness that encroached upon the sky.

“I’m tired. There was too much going on in that school. I guess no matter where you go, high school is fundamentally the same.” Seiren thinks.

He walks his way down the same streets he traveled earlier and arrives home in only a few moments. He opens the door to the house and finds dinner wrapped up on the kitchen table alongside a note that reads “I’ll be home late tonight.”

“Seiren sets the note down and unwraps the foil on the food. Seiren lets out a sigh.

“Isn’t this the egg she burned earlier…?” He questions, looking back at the note to see a scribble of her face at the bottom corner with a silly expression and the words “Check the fridge.” Seiren slides the omelet off the plate and into the garbage and puts the plate in the sink. He checks the fridge and finds a tray of burned lasagna.

"You're joking..." He mutters.