Horimiya - Ｉｔ Ｗａｓ Ａｌｗａｙｓ Ｙｏｕ

XII

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Hi! by SAVEURSELF

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"I'm sorry. Did you hear me? I said--"

"Don't bother," interrupted Ayasaki. "He's known for being distant. No one really knows why but either way it's fine. He's weird anyway."

Kouno shot a menacing glance towards Ayasaki in which Ayasaki immediately backed down. I can tell who truly wears the pants in their friendship. These trio dynamics always have the parent friend that keeps the other two in check. In this case, it seems to be Kouno.

"Okay class," started Mrs. Fujikawa. "We have to go to the opening ceremony for the year! Make sure you stay together and walk in a single file line," a command we'd never adhere to. We all walk out together, following our teacher. She takes us to this huge gymnasium with high ceilings and lots of people. At the beginning of the ceremony, a person in a brown suit walks up to the podium. He fixes it to his liking and starts rolling off the formalities.

"Good morning students! Welcome back to a promising school year. I hope you had fun during your spring break. Now that school is in session, remember, enjoying yourself is important but your studies are just as important. Don't lose that spark that fuels your drive. That being said, to commence our ceremony, let us sing the national anthem."

Well. I will not be doing that.

Music begins to play from the speakers and mouths around me begin to sing in sync with each other. To not bring any attention to myself, I mouthed nonsense until it was over. Following this display of nationalism, the next announcement just had to be said, huh?

"I know many of you are not aware, but we have a foreign student from (your country) starting with us this year. (Full name), could you please make your way to the front?

There's no fucking way. A nigga can't catch a break.

Slowly, I begin to push my way to the front, trying to create the least amount of tension as possible. Arriving at the front I bow. The principal notions for me to come on to the stage. I do as I'm told. I walk onto the stage, in front of the sea of teenagers and wave awkwardly. A couple of them snicker.

"You don't have to fully introduce yourself," started the principal. I looked up at him with resentful eyes. "But it'd be great if you could say your name, your year, and where you're from!"

He steps down from the podium to allow me to make my debut.

All that studying you did with Hori will finally pay off. You got this. Well you better.

Once there, I move the speaker to compensate for my height and tap it to make sure it's working.

Clearing my thoughts, I say emotionlessly, " Hello. My name is (full name). I moved here from (your country) a couple months ago and with the help of my mom and neighbors," I pause and look for Hori. Meeting her gaze, I continue, "I was able to learn the basics of Japanese rather quickly. To my understanding of the Japanese schooling system, I am a first-year student. Thank you for your time." Finishing my introduction, I walk from the podium and give a slight bow to the audience. Everyone in the crowd is murmuring amongst themselves. The teachers on the side motion for me to come back down and I follow their lead.

The principal notices the lack of decorum and decides to keep things rolling as usual. "Thank you, Y/N, for that. I hope you enjoy your time here. We're happy to have you. We have a couple announcements and then you're free to go back to your classrooms. Pertaining to the locker room incident that happened last school year... "

I honestly could not focus on what he was saying. I was too anxious about what everyone around me was thinking. As I walked down the stage, I could feel their eyes on me. Before that, I was just the new foreign kid.  Now I'm the new foreign kid. I fear that's all I'll be known for which is not a good look. Putting myself back in line, I dread for this to be over so that we can finally head back to the sweet comfort of our desks.

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