Days of My Peaceful Life

Prologue

Tomorrow is an exciting day.

I, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, am a 16 year-old boy who's entering his first year of high school.

I've lived what I think most people would call a normal childhood. For as long as I remember, my parents have taken extremely good care of me, raised me to be a good person, as well as encouraged me to do well in school. As I am an only child, they gave me their attention all the time, making sure I was doing okay. I will forever be grateful for them. I know they have worked really hard to be able to afford to live in relatively comfortable conditions.

As a result, I've always done well in school. Well, that might be an understatement. The truth is I've always been one of the top students in my year, always doing well in exams. I'm quite academically gifted, if I do say so myself. I've never been the type to study day and night for an exam, but I've always gotten great marks. Those who do study all night might be jealous of me but hey, the world was always unfair.

Not to make them more jealous, but I'm also physically gifted, in more ways than one.

Of course, what I mean is that I'm good at running, swimming, and many other sports. I mean, what else could I have meant?

Although I'm good at many things, I can't say that I'm passionated about anything. The things I do are more like hobbies than anything. I mean, I guess I play video games with my friends in my free time? Is that a passion? Well, I suppose I do read mangas and light novels, play chess, and sleep. Sometimes I hang out with my friends outside, or even go to fireworks festivals with pretty girls if I'm lucky.

It's a pretty good life if you ask me.

On a more serious note, I'm really excited to be starting high school. First of all, many of my friends are attending this school with me. Second of all, this school is one of, if not the best in the prefecture. Third of all, this period is what many would call the golden years of youth, where you enjoy your high school life to the fullest, before heading off to go to university, potentially leaving behind your friends and family.

The thought of that makes me a bit sad. That's why I will do my best to enjoy my high school life. These three years will be the best years of my life! I will make new friends, get a pretty girlfriend, maybe even join a club.

After all, I have all the time in the world.

Well, that's what I thought up until recently.

Recently, my parents suggested I should consider get a part-time job. After turning 16 in October, I could legally work part-time, meaning I could start bringing money to the family. Although our family had enough money to live, we were by no means rich. Our good living conditions were thanks to the hard work of both my parents. That is why I decided to help them by getting a part-time job myself.

After searching online for potential part-time jobs and doing interviews, I finally landed a part-time job at a bookstore close to the center of Tokyo that was a fifteen-minute bike ride away from our house. My parents were delighted after I told them I got the job. Making them proud made me happy.

Unfortunately, this meant that I had less free time, but I wasn't complaining. After all, the decision to get a part-time job was mine in the end. It wasn't the end of the world. It just meant I had less time to play video games with the gang, Eiichiro, Shiro and Takuya, hang out with Ichika, Nanase and Yuki, or go to Arisu's house to play chess.

On the other hand though, my part-time job was actually quite fun. Rearranging the books, helping the customers find what they need, working as a cashier, it was basically like a real-life video game to me. Not only that, there was this female senior of mine at work who had many shifts in common with me. She would help me if I had trouble with anything. Although she often likes to tease me, she is a caring senior.