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The plane ride passed by almost unnoticed—I fell asleep practically the moment we took off.

Taking naps is my real superpower.

Once we grabbed our luggage, we headed outside, where a bus was waiting for us. There were about 50 of us, so we filled it up completely. I sat next to Reira, ready for another nap, when Ayumu caught me with my headphones on and my head resting back.

"Chō, you were about to fall asleep again, weren't you? I caught you napping on the plane earlier," he said, showing me a photo of myself dozing off on the flight.

I shot up and reached for his phone, but he quickly pulled it away.

"Please delete it!" I leaned over the seat in front, stretching my arm as far as I could. He stuck out his tongue at me and walked away. "That's what you get for always napping!"

I didn't notice that a few rows back, Ishikawa was watching the whole scene, clearly amused.

I sat back down, already plotting my revenge.

After two hours on the bus, we finally arrived at our destination. We were in a quiete remote area. We drove through a gate, and soon enough, the new building where we'd be living for the next six months came into view.

"Wow," a chorus of amazement and approval erupted around me.

The bus stopped in front of a large brown building with glass sections, through which we could see the entrance and even the dining hall

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The bus stopped in front of a large brown building with glass sections, through which we could see the entrance and even the dining hall. We got off the bus and retrieved our luggage.

Wow, this is so cool! 

From the outside, it looked even bigger. Everyone paused to admire the structure.

"Look at how big that is behind it!" someone exclaimed, pointing to the white building behind the main one. It was much larger and shaped like a huge sports complex, likely housing the gyms inside.

The coaches and managers came out to help us with our things. "Welcome, everyone. Did you have a good trip?" 
The captains approached them to get the details while we headed inside.

As soon as we entered the lobby, there was a reception desk in the middle. Behind it, and to the side, were two large doors, and in front, there were a couple of couches where some people sat down to wait.

We gathered in our teams, and after the captains had spoken with the coaches, they returned to their respective groups. 
Ayumu approached us with some white paper envelopes and handed them out randomly.

"These are the keys to your rooms. Inside, you'll find your room number and floor, the Wi-Fi password, contact numbers, and other information." 
We opened the envelopes and found a sheet with the details Ayumu had mentioned and a black card the size of a credit card. The number 50 was engraved on the card.

courage dear heart    |    Yuki Ishikawa Where stories live. Discover now