7 AM 

1st February 2071, Monday

BEEP BEEP BEEP 

The high-pitched sound of the dreaded alarm reverberated through the small one-bedroom apartment.

“Hrrh?! Already?!” 

A soft voice of retaliation escaped the pile of clothes and empty crisp packets, followed by a slender pale hand emerging slowly toward the alarm clock.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

“ARGGHHH!” After failing to properly dismiss the alarm multiple times, the hand slammed into the clock with all its might and destroyed it into multiple pieces of plastic and metal.

“Shit…” Irritated by the annoying device’s fragility, a boy emerged from his fortress of filth and walked into his small bathroom near the exit without bothering to unveil the curtains.

Glaring into the mirror, a youth with tanned skin, jet-black hair cascading onto his shoulders, slightly sunken cheeks, and bored scarlet eyes returned his scowl right back at him.

“Is school even necessary?” He muttered, his immature voice cracking at the sudden strain of the morning.

“I mean there’s free food…” He put his hands on his chin.

-Sigh-

After a few moments of debate with his reflection, he picked up his toothbrush and began wondering how much different could highschool possibly be, not that he’d even attend classes much…

Having finished brushing his teeth, he hopped in the shower for 15 minutes and began dressing in his white and black uniform before finally adding the finishing touch, his name tag.

Taking one more look at himself in the mirror, the boy scanned his body from head to toe, verifying he was atleast presentable for the first day.

Although he was skinnier than most, he was nowhere near the verge of starvation. He stood at an impressive 5’8 for his age with low almond eyes that seemed to be disinterested in anything he looked at.

“I’ll clean up after school.” Before leaving his musty apartment, the boy muttered an obvious lie to himself and escaped the foul smelling building where he was then assaulted by the curse of fresh air.

8:05AM

Within just 15 minutes, Kiko was already outside the school’s gates, making him thank himself for his choice convenience.

St Winter’s Highschool, a public school with over 3,000 students and subsequently with so many children, had dozens of clubs, several of which excelled.

Four of these clubs had managed to become the best in the region, girl’s volleyball, the gaming club, the basketball club and boxing.

Surprisingly none of these clubs managed to spark any interest out of him, not even the gaming club despite him spending all his time playing games. 

The hobby no longer brought him any enjoyment and was done out of nothing more than a sense of habit.

It was boring.

As expected, the entrance ceremony was uneventful, simply greetings and the honouring of the last year’s awards until the speech of the headmaster.

“...We encourage you all to join clubs and find an activity you truly enjoy, so as per tradition, all first and second years are required to join atleast one club. Your homeroom teachers will be handing out the forms which will need to be submitted at the end of the day. Be warned, spots in clubs are limited so make sure to hand in your application as soon as possible.” The old man grinned.

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“What…” Hearing those words, Kiko’s heart sank and his knees lost all their strength.

PLOP

‘My free time…’ He wept.

“What’s wrong with him?” The girl beside him shot him a side eye as she watched him inaudibly scream.

9:30 AM

Class 1-H was the class Kiko was assigned to, in the classroom of seventy-five students, the boy chose to sit at the back near the window where he continued to fantasize about what he’d be eating for lunch.

‘The tenants only pay on the 13th, so I’m pretty tight on cash right now… I’ll have to eat the school’s free lunch.’

Having inherited his late mother’s apartment building, the boy received passive income from the tenants every single month, which was enough to maintain his living expenses.

‘I really need to work on my money management though…’ He sighed.

“YOU AT THE BACK!”

Almost jumping out of his seat, the boy fired a confused look at the teacher glaring in his direction.

‘So loud…’ 

“What’s up?” 

“Is what’s outside more interesting than my lesson?”

“Well…Geometry isn’t the most entertaining thing in the world, so I guess so.” 

“You cheeky brat!” The man’s cheeks ballooned and brighted.

“DETENTION!”

“Tsk, you asked…” Kiko muttered, unwilling to escalate the situation any further.

Snickers began through the entire classroom, soon followed by whispers.

1PM, Lunch

Collecting his tray of assorted cold meat sandwiches, milk and a protein bar, Kiko walked towards an empty dining table and set his tray down.

“Clubs?” Kiko picked the sheet of paper, listing dozens of clubs and stuffed a sandwich into his mouth.

“A’rl juscht schtick to what I know…” He muttered, swallowing the mediocre sandwich as if it was the best thing he’d ever eaten.

“Gaming…” He ticked off, bringing the carton of milk to his mouth to take a quick swig.

5PM end of detention

It being he first day, no one else had managed to achieve the punishment of detention besides him.

“That old fart made me late to hand in my form.” Placing the broom back into the closet, the boy exited the classroom and walked down the vacant corridors.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Answering the door was a tall burly man with a large nose and shaved head who stood at a towering 6’3, making the boy unable to see anything other than his grey and black curly nose hairs.

“What?” He asked in an irritable tone, the sight of a student still on school presence surprising him.

“Hey, I’m here to hand in my club application.” Kiko scrunched his brows.

‘He should really shave those…Ew.’

“At this time?” 

“I had detention.” Kiko shrugged.

“On the first day? You’re quite the trouble maker…” The man scowled.

Ignoring the staff member’s remarks, the kid simply handed him the page.

‘Another annoying one.’ Kiko noted.

Taking one look at the page, the man shook his head and handed him back the application.

“Sorry kid, gaming club is full. Pick something else.” 

-sigh- “What else is there?”

“Crochet, knitting, creative writing, Ancient Greek, basketball and boxing.” 

Hearing all his options, Kiko decided the first four were already out of the equation.

‘They sound too thinky…’ 

‘Football wasn’t much fun in middle school so I can’t imagine basketball being any better…’ he shook his head.

“Basketball? Not a fan.” He decided.

“I can tell.” The man chuckled.

Ignoring the snarky comment once more, Kiko pondered for a moment.

“I’ll choose boxing.” He sighed.

“Are you sure kid? A scrawny brat like you would die in a week.” Slightly taken aback, the man tilted his head.

“I guess I’ll do boxing… Could be fun right?” Kiko repeated to himself, an attempt to convince himself it’d be better than doing something like crochet.

“Did you not hear what I just said?” The man scowled.

“Oh I did, I just don’t care.” Kiko shrugged.

“You lit-” Before he could bicker with the first year, the man remembered he was an adult and decided not to give in to the 13 year old’s taunts.

‘He’s just a kid Darrel, calm down.’ 

"Very well then, sports club tryouts are on Wednesday. Should you not make it you'll be forced to pick a different club." Coach Darel exhaled.

“Got it…” Kiko waved as he walked out the door.

'He'll be right back here after he doesn't make it, there's a reason why only three people applied..."

Extra Information:

Highschool ranges from 1st year (13 turning 14) and 5th year (17 turning 18)