[MASUMI's POV]
*typing typing typing*
...
"Ms. Nagasawa, pass. Mr. Suzuki, pass..."
"Done," I hit 'enter' on my keyboard, submitting my essay in the process. I leaned on my chair and was in a vegetative state for a brief moment after cramming a thousand-word essay in under half an hour.
It was another strenuous day at school. There's no need for sugarcoating and all that—school is a hellish place to begin with. In contrast to what they claim to be a just system catered to develop students to attain excellence in various fields, not everybody can excrete the benefit of education similar to my classmates.
Especially in my case.
I looked around the room and saw what I can describe as an 'office workspace.'
It's just a bunch of intern wannabes, I-can-do-this-all-day freaks!
I expressed a deep sigh, unsure if I actually deserve to be a part of...
"The best school in the nation. The admissions committee saw the potential in you, which explains why you are all here! Being here means that you are in the Top 1 percent! Hahaha!" Hahaha... what a bunch of lunatic weirdos, thinking that I'm actually one of these esteemed individuals.
It feels as though I am yapping at the moment just because I complain about the smallest of things, but being here puts a lot of burden on an average student like me.
I am just your ordinary 18-year-old college student attending arguably the most terrific university in Tokyo. A fully-pledged otaku, I barely even scratched the books my mom bought for me back then. That's why...
"You sure studied a lot, Masumi..." Whenever my mom would tell me that, I always felt guilty. I felt guilty for the reason that someone undeserving like me was able to pull it off and pass the exams with flying colors, knowing full well that someone who's working a million times harder than my sedentary state has yet to pass one of the most challenging exams in the country.
You can call it 'luck,' or whatever synonym describes this situation best, but to be handpicked to attend a university beaming with talented individuals and prodigies at that, it's safe to assume that I practically spent my entire luck savings on one occasion.
I'm so fucking doomed. I don't freakin' belong here—
"Mr. Miyoshi."
EEK!!!
I gulped. Why is the atmosphere heavy all of a—
WHY IS HE GLARING AT ME!?
At that moment, our eyes met.
It's like a thousand daggers were piercing my soul. That cold, unwavering eyes of his, complimenting his monotonous yet menacing tone, terrors the entire room.
I began to sweat buckets. His eyes never missed a beat. What the hell am I do!?
*clicks his tongue*
Shit...
...
"Pass."
THANK GOD! PRAISE THE LORD!
I dilly-dallied out the room as per instruction of my professor.
...
I fell on my knees, realizing the sheer amount of pressure I had earlier. Gosh, it felt like I was going to be eaten alive in there!
I took my phone out of my tote bag. Man, a four-hour vacant time, huh?
I might just squander myself by going to the library and reading some Manga to pass the time...
But then, doing so would waste such precious time! Wasting it spells death by a thousand zeroes and fails from those stone-faced freaks!
...
I'm so pathetic...
I'll just use my remaining time to review for my upcoming assessment later.
That's right, I'll review! There's no turning back!
...
[TIMESKIP: 4 HOURS LATER]
Or so I thought.
...
FUCK. I JUST FREAKIN' PROCRASTINATED READING MANGAS NON-STOP!
This is one of the side-effects of being an otaku, aside from being a skinny, pale-skinned, nerd-looking man, as some may have pointed out due to my glasses (I have a myopia).
While scurrying back to the classroom, I did my best skimming almost a week's worth of school material for this particular assessment. It's crazy that I just thought of studying now instead of doing this beforehand.
If the logarithmic expression is derived between the derivatives of............
...
When I entered the room, I never had a hint of pressure or anxiety from my classmates regarding this upcoming assessment. It seems as though to me that they have prepared for this way beforehand.
It's not my problem anymore! I don't care! I have to cram this!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
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[THE TEST BEGINS!!!]
...
[TIMESKIP: 2 HOURS LATER]
That was so clutch...
"How did you even pass!?" Ken Yamamoto, my only friend and classmate whom I'm close with in this school, remarked. "You didn't even know the syllabus—"
"Do you seriously think I'm idiotic enough not to scan through them?" I said as I took a bite of my sushi, closing my eyes whilst savoring every bite that I could manage. I looked at him, still with a shocked expression tainted on his face.
We're currently at some mall near our school, eating peacefully at a ramen bar. It's the quietest area in this busy space, so we sought this opportunity to get a quick snack.
"What do you mean!?" He raised his chopsticks right below my eyes. "You even scored higher than the mean average..."
[Mean: 52.8/100]
[MASUMI: 61/100]
Is that impressive though?
"Hah... it's just luck, you know?" I sighed as I drank my iced tea.
"But tell me," Ken changed his buoyant mood to a more solemn, down-to-earth tone.
"I'm genuinely surprised that you passed, knowing well of your unpreparedness over matters like these, but we're not young anymore, Masumi..." He expressed his worry as I just looked at him blankly while munching over some food.
"Pragmatically speaking, you don't want your mom to endure another year because you were unable to pass your subjects. Wouldn't that bring more burden to your mom? That's why I told you that we hang out at the library every now and then, right?" He said with an encouraging smile. I just smiled back 'cause it was a reasonable bother from someone like Ken.
His words, although I find it unfitting to the atmosphere we set upon sitting on this dining table, was something I should reflect on...
"You should lessen your addiction to Manga—" "HELL NAH!"
He may be an annoying, flamboyant guy sometimes, but he really does listen to my shit and cares a lot even when my grades are about to fluctuate because of my own negligence. Not that he's doing this just because he cares anyway...
[KEN: 87/100]
He's one hell of a guy, I'd say...
"You're more annoying than me... you can literally top our class if you wanted to." I said while looking at my phone.
"There's no way I'd perform that well. Besides, I did my best, too..." He said. I know it's just a bunch of baloney, but I decided not to pry my curiosity in deeper.
"Oh, by the way..." Ken took it and reached inside his backpack. There, he showed me his laptop and a spreadsheet of what appears to be a class list.
"We have a transferee, don't you know?" He pointed to a name in the spreadsheet from the sea of names.
Nagasawa... Katsumi?
Oh.
"Oh, was that the mysterious-looking woman with a blue hood and beanie?"
"Yeah. What's crazy is that—she finished the test first and got the highest score!" I stopped munching on my cream bun as I looked at Ken with eyes of disbelief.
[KATSUMI: 99.5/100]
What the... I didn't even notice that she was attending classes, if not any at all.
I don't know, nor could I even recall seeing her bare face. Well, it's not like I am the only one who shares the same sentiment.
It's been almost 2 months since school started in April, and not a single soul named after her was seen in the vicinity. No one, not even my classmates, knew who she was, and it was quite a shocker that she attended today's assessment.
...
"Ms. Nagasawa, pass." Come to think of it, I also heard her name get called earlier today.
...
"Perhaps she's an irregular student?" I came up with a reasonable conclusion with it. My friend's perplexed state was eased up a bit, but was still unconvinced.
"But according here..." He looks back at his laptop with great intent. "It doesn't seem to look that way..."
How do you even have the records in the first place... isn't that breaching of private data?
"Let's not think about it, Ken... it has nothing to do with us either way."
Besides, I am quite disinterested with matters relating to—
...wait.
Pink hair...
Katsumi...
"Yo?" Ken asked if I was okay. While that was happening, I was staring blankly at an empty space.
[TIMESKIP: 30 MINUTES LATER]
"There's no way, right!?" I thought while walking back home, all while looking at a pamphlet I got from a concert I attended pretty recently.
The pamphlet in question was a poster of an Idol Group in Japan called STARDEW, a 5-member girl group that recently debuted and has become a mainstream sensation in Japan.
I followed them since they were trainees. They were the only group that I followed and have supported ever since, aside from swooning over 2D art, of course.
Unlike some, I am not as obsessive as their fans. However, if I had the chance, I would go to their concerts. Not that it happens quite frequently, as I am either a broke-ass college student or simply lazy to do either thing.
But the reason for bringing that up...
That girl...
Could it be that she's a part of that girl group?!
Besides, the group's management did announce that they're taking a little break... and that girl, who just abruptly showed up in the middle of the day...
I started overthinking about the countless, endless possibilities that may ensue as a result of this thought-provoking revelation.
Ah... forget it. That shit I just propositioned in my head is highly unrealistic.
I said it myself that I shouldn't meddle with matters that don't concern me.
What a bother, I'll just hurry up and sleep when I come back home.
Besides, my brain took a heavy load from cramming weeks of information under the span of just a few hours. I need a proper sleep...
[TIMESKIP: AN HOUR LATER]
I was fortunate that my dormitory was just a few blocks away from my school. It was pretty small compared to my room when I was still living in the countryside, but since I am the only one in this room, adding to the fact that I only go here whenever I sleep or study, it's not a bad trade-off at all.
...
Immediately after getting out of the bathroom after a quick bath, I surrendered myself to the single-sized bed. I closed my eyes and focused on getting the feel of the newly laundered sheets and that fluffy pillow I always embrace whenever I'm tired.
Apart from reading light novels and mangas, lying down in my bed is the second most important highlight of the day.
I checked my phone for the last time...
6:24 PM. . . 6:25 PM. . .
I should just skip dinner, I'm so tired...
I turned off the lights and let my lamp do the illumination across the room. I curled along with my pillow as I closed my eyes...
Hmm... how should I help ease mom from her burden...?
That thought still lingered in my head while I slowly sunk in deeper to the mattress.
...
...
Wait.
I felt a sudden change in my surroundings.
What... is this feeling...
Maybe it's just my imaginationmmfmfm...
It felt as though the window was left open.
Cold air draped over my skin as the dim lamp suddenly was bright as the midday sun.
The mattress underneath me felt... solid. There were a bunch of small needle-like things touching my clothes, as if there was a grass-like surface underne—
...
"!?" I flinched as I opened my eyes, realizing that this was beyond the work of my imagination.
"What the..." My room...
Gone.
My bed...
Gone.
I looked around and saw that I am...
In the middle of a goddamn grassland.
It stretches in all directions, as if there is no end to it.
"Am I dreaming right now?"
To be continued...
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A/N:
Hey guys~ It's just my first chapter I've written for a long time so there are some miniscule lapses in this chapter then please do let me know! I hope you enjoyed that seemingly unremarkable chapter but I do promise that it'll get better the more you read this!
That's all for now! Ya-da!