The Dusk Paradigm | VOCALOID AU | WITH OCS

Chapter 3: Small Bunny?

Fukase wiped his tears away and watched the other kids run in the building. He slowly walked with his head down, trying to make it look like he wasn't just crying. He felt so overwhelmed with the amount of people. Fukase saw hallways with signs at the top. He saw kids with green uniforms going in the K-3 hallway. He was last to the classroom he was supposed to be in. However before he could enter, a teacher stepped out and stopped him. "Fukase!" said a tall woman, about 170cm, "You're the new kid, correct?"

Fukase nodded. "Yeah." "Ah, I was looking for you. I'm Mrs.Mary, do you remember me?" she asked, "I talked to you about public school a few months ago. Remember when you came here? Did you talk to Ms.Milten?"
Fukase blinked a few times. He completely forgot about that. How did he forget the interview? The open house? Being told where to go? Fukase mumbled, looking pale. "N...no," he stuttered, "I forgot."

He had to remember this school was for kids smarter than the average school. Greenwood Academy wasn't a school for normal children. Here, they're expected to be more independent and determined.

Fukase shook his head. Mrs.Mary laughed, thinking he was just joking around. "Okay, okay," she laughed, with her heavy british accent.

She led Fukase into the classroom. The walls were a soft white with colorful Polka-Dots painted on. There were number lines and spelling words in the back. "Now, now, children. We have a new pupil," she said, kneeling down to Fukase whispering, "introduce yourself, please." Fukase blinked and broke a sweat. He just smiled and waved. "I'm Fukase Satoshi, I'm new here and I....I hope I could maybe make a few friends." he said, quietly. Mrs.Mary smiled. "Any questions?"

A girl with light strawberry blonde hair smirked and raised her hand. "Why is your hair so red?" asked Katie. Fukase shrugged. "I was born with it, my mom has really red hair too." he said. Katie snickered. "Any more questions? No? Great, now, somebody show Fukase around the school." she said. A boy stood up and raised his hand. "I will!" he shouted. "Great, go on you two. Be back in around 10 minutes."
The two boy's walked out the classroom and down the main primary hall. "This is the kindergarten through third grade hallway. It's really fun here, Fukase." he said, with a bright smile. The red haired boy nodded. The boy kept on talking and talking as he showed him around. Fukase wasn't sure what to think of him. He suddenly stopped when they almost got back to the classroom. "Hey, I never told you my name, did I?"

Fukase shook his head. "No, you didn't." "Oh, well I'm Manny Mistenberg. I don't know why my last name is so....so weird." he said. "Manny? I like that name,"
Manny's clear blue eyes sparkled. "Ah, uh, thank you. Say, why does your name sound so...unusual? Are you not from the UK?" he asked. Fukase shook his head. "I'm from here, but I'm half Japanese because of my mom. She moved here from Japan when she was my age." he explained. Manny jumped up and down. "That's so cool! Can you like, speak Japanese?" he asked, "はい, できます, which means Yes, I can. But only just a little."

Manny's cheeks turned a bright pink. "Wow, you're cooler than I thought, Fukase." The red haired boy figited with his tie. "I'm not that cool," he smiled. Manny sighed. "You are! You remind me of a small bunny," Fukase tilted his head. "Small bunny, what do you mean? I own two of them at home!" he said. Manny shook his head. "Don't worry about it. C'mon, let's head back in the classroom." "Yeah, let's go."

-
The lunch bell rang. All the kids lined up at the door, talking and giggling about plans for the summer, what they did over the weekend, and so on. The hallway had a bunch of paintings and motivational posters on the walls. The school was so huge, it was overhelming. There were fancy pillers and shiny marble flooring. It could catch anybody's eye.

Fukase looked around, astounded by the beautiful smell of the lunch room. Ms.Mary pat Fukase's back and said, "I think you'll fit in just fine, Fukase. You see those girls over there? Their names are Kate and Katie. They're twins, and just transferred here about a week ago. Maybe you two can be friends since you both came here recently." "I hope so." he replied, slowly warming up. He walked a little more confidently. He did admit to himself, Katie was a cutie. Maybe Fukase could fit in, at least if he tried.

-
Henry was in his office, filling out papers for his job. He was already stressed about this, and then he sends his child to advanced public school. They took the test, Fukase was smart. He was fine before, he wasn't as scared, so why is he now? Why is he worrying now? He looked at the calender next to him. Feburary 19th, 2003.

He sighed and looked at his computer. He stroked through his long, curly and shaggy black hair- which fades into a dark maroon red. He often stood out since not many of the men in his area had longer hair. His body felt heavy each time he picked up the pen and put it back down on the paper after each word he wrote. He couldn't focus. He felt so hot and sticky. Henry sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "What's happening?" he whispered to himself.

Yuna entered the room, checking on him. "Henry? You doing okay, dear?" she asked. Henry shook his head. "I'm nervous. I was fine and careless before, why so nervous now? I feel childish." he said. Yuna sighed and sat on the bed, since the room was half-office-half-guest room. Yuna said, "I know how that feels. You were fine before, but now the real thing is happening. I'm sure Fukase will be fine though. I don't expect him to have a hard time."

Henry scoffed. "You're acting like we were fine in school when we were younger. You know what happened." "Henry, that was the 80's! Come on now, times have changed a little," she argued, "I don't think it'll be that bad. Plus, you were the one that was a jerk. Then this happened. That doesn't mean history would repeat itself." "I know," said Henry, "but I'm still nervous." "Yeah, but who knows! Maybe he'll find a friend- or girlfriend- or boyfriend while he's at it. I'm sure he'll be okay...I'm nervous too. But it shouldn't be too bad."

-
After lunch, Fukase watched the other kids play outside, jumping around, running and chasing after eachother, playing games, etcetera. The strawberry boy sat on a bench, nervous to join the other kids. He felt weird about his new school. He felt weird that his memory was fogging up.

He looked up, watching the trees sway in the cool winter breeze. He shivered, realizing he forgot his jacket in his classroom. He sighed, not wanting to go get it. As the bell rang, he got up and walked inside.

-

"Len, how long are you gonna keep this up?" asked Rin. Len sighed. "Don't worry, Rin. I'm gonna get rid of her. Her history is too powerful." "But Yuna did nothing."

Len scratched on the table, his nails marking the table deeply.

"Rin," he smiled, "Trust the process."