HA1 1.3 - Back to School
Monday morning, long before sun arose in the east Hide rushed to the backyard of his house to exercise. As he was worried, his body was indeed very weak. He could do only ten push-ups before his arm burned. Meanwhile, ten sit-ups almost cramped his stomach.
Luckily, he did not set his target too high. So, although he did it with a lot of pause, he could finish all menus in the end.
'Slowly but surely, my body will return to its peak if I keep exercising.'
Hide then rushed to clean himself and make breakfast. Not forgetting, he also made lunch for Aizawa. Of course, it was not the usual instant ramen he gave her, but rolled omelet with bacon and mushroom, grilled salmon, white rice with nori flake, a small flask of sweet black tea, and a piece of pear.
Every day, Hide didn't need to take Aizawa to school or pick her up, or to be precise he couldn't do it.
More than 95% primary schools in Nikko were owned by government. Those schools followed a regulation that a child would take a school based on the distance from home to nearest school. Even so, parents did not need to worry because public schools in Nikko share the same standards in quality and cost.
Parents were also not allowed to drop off or pick up their children individually because each child would be grouped based on where they live. Each group would go to school or return home together, and had a guardian who would be appointed in turn. This system enabled every child in Nikko to know the meaning of independence from an early age.
However, if in a group a child was ostracized, then for at least six years the child had to live a miserable school life. Unfortunately, Aizawa was an outcast. In his previous life Hide didn't do anything even though he knew about it. Of course, in this life he vowed to change it by all means.
Hide felt his chest became painfully tight when he saw Aizawa walking alone at the very back of the group, while her friends cheerfully walked hand in hand.
'Private schools are expensive, but it isn’t a problem as long as it can support Aizawa to grow and develop optimally.'
Hide took a deep breath before locking the door. A moment later, he was already on his way to school.
---
Never did Hide imagine he would return as a student at East Nichiko High. He also didn't feel any nostalgia. Instead, he wanted to leave the school as soon as possible. Moreover, there were many things he had to do and school would only get in the way.
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Luckily, since 2024 Nikko Ministry of Education had issued a policy that junior and senior high school students could take special exams in June and December to accelerate their graduation. And Hide had decided to use it as a means to leave high school life as soon as possible.
As soon as today last class ended, Hide immediately packed his books and writing utensil. Meanwhile, the whole class was busy talking about the incoming match between Nakamura Ocean and Yuko Mountain. The match became the hottest topic because the best strikers and the strongest defender in Nikko would meet.
In his previous life, Hide who was blind to soccer, learned about the match because all the students in his class talked about it for a whole week. In this life it had not changed. As soon as the lesson ended, Nakamura Ocean and Yuko Mountain's supporters immediately continued their war.
"Yuko Mountain has no chance. Nakamura Ocean brought in the strongest trio defenders from Britiss League for no reason. Meanwhile, Yuko Mountain currently only has one striker who for the last few games played poorly. So, even though he is the best striker from last season, it won’t make difference to the final outcome.”
A beautiful schoolgirl with a slender but well-tuned body vigorously defended Nakamura Ocean. She was Sayaka Kiyomasa, one of the most fanatical soccer fans in Hides’ class.
Sayaka, who was also the leader of hiking club, looked quite striking to Hide because they both studied at the same school since elementary school. Hide even expressed his feeling to her when they were in third year of middle school, but she flatly rejected him and told him she was interested only in boys stronger than her.
Hide looked at Sayaka for a moment before sighing deeply. In his previous life, after he nearly died from completing airborne and ranger training without a break, Hide immediately attended assault climber course in the hope to impress Sayaka. But Sayaka rejected him again, and preferred to have a relationship with a professional climber from Vranciss.
'I can't wait to see you cry hysterically, when Nakamura Ocean gets slaughtered this Friday.'
While grinning inwardly Hide got up and grabbed his school bag. He had to hurry because he had to go to a law firm. Unfortunately, Watanabe Sensei was waiting for him at the door.
---
As soon as he entered the counseling room, Watanabe Sensei asked Hide to sit down. "Hide, your email last night surprised me."
Hide looked at his homeroom teacher before saying, "Sensei, I don’t think it’s anything special. I'm not the first student who asks for special exam.”
“Correct.” Watanabe Sensei nodded before continuing, "However, every student who asking for special exam has been preparing themselves for a long time. Therefore, their homeroom teacher can write the recommendation letter with ease.
As for you, your score since first year was only on average level. When you were in elementary school, I heard that you were always in top ten in the national exams. But since the third year of middle school, your performance dropped dramatically and there has been no improvement until now.
Some teachers suggest me to reject your request. But I felt it might be worth the effort if I gave you a chance. You can't take special exam in June, but I don't mind giving you a recommendation for special exam in December as long as you show improvement on your monthly scores."
Without further thought Hide answered, "Thank you for your understanding, Sensei. I will try my best."
Hide then got up and bowed deeply before leaving counseling room. At first glance, it was very rude, but Hide had to do it. With all accumulated experience from his previous life, it was very hard for him to pretend and act like a high school student. It would be for a while before he could do it.
That's why, for now Hide had to avoid a long talk with his homeroom teacher, who would more or less notice his changes.
'I still haven't asked why he wants to take special exam. Well, I can still ask him later so I don't have to press him now.' Watanabe Sensei muttered before returning to staff room.
*****