Tiana Okuru

Chapter 1

Empty. Vacant. A black hole of nothingness. These words describe my soul. I have no emotions. No feelings. My mind consists of pictures and sounds. Different people cry or laugh or even smile. I do none. In order to fit in, I must fake it all.

"Tiana-Chan!" I hear my name being called. I look over.

"Oh. Hey, Ava-Chan." I say, with a fake smile plastered on my face. Ava Kadokawa. My... friend. She's been here for me for... maybe two weeks?

"Everyday it seems like you keep getting happier and happier!" She says to me. "That's great! I'd like to think it was me who brought upon your happiness." A smug look is on her face. She thinks she's all that. She has her dark chestnut hair pulled back into a ponytail, like usual.

"Ava-Chan!" I hear a girl call. "Ava-Chan guess what!!!"

"Iku-Chan!" Iku Akiyama. She has long blonde hair. She's the co-captain of the cheerleading team here at Kanayama High, along with Ava. "What is it? What are you so excited about?"

"There's this new guy and he's super super cute!!!" Iku exclaims. I wish I could share their excitement. Instead, I fake it.

"Oh my gosh, really? Where is he?" I ask her.

"Oh. Hey..."

"Tiana-Chan," Ava says.

"Hey, Tiana-Chan. Good to meet another one of Ava-Chan's friends. Anyways, he's in the office but the bell is about to ring. We can find him later in the courtyard during lunch."

"Okay! Can't wait to meet the dreamboat!" Ava-Chan says.

"Me neither!" I include.

The bell rings. "Oh. I'll see you at lunch?" Ava says questioningly.

"Definitely," I say with a smile.

I turn my back as she starts to walk away. I glance back at my friend. How long can I keep this up? I can't pretend fore-

My thoughts are interrupted as I fall to the ground. "Ow..." I groan. "Hey, watch where you're-"

"I am so so sorry." I hear a guy's voice say. "I'm new here and I guess I was just in a rush to find my class. Hey, I'm Akihiko Sakamoto, but you can just call me Aki." I look up as a hand reaches out to me to help me up. "I'm sorry about your head. I can lead you to the nurse if you would like." He helps me up but my vision is a little blurry. I think I might have gotten a concussion when my head hit the ground.

"Tiana. Tiana Okuru. I would like that, considering my vision is so blurry that I can barely see you." I laugh.

"Oh no. What a bad impression I've made at this school..."

"Don't worry. Just help me to the nurse's office, please."

"Okay."

When we arrive at the nurse's office, Aki says he wants to stay.

"I'm the one that knocked her down. I just want to make sure that she's going to be okay."

"Okay. Well, I just have to run a few tests with her real quick but she probably has a concussion." Misses Takashi, the nurse, says. "You're a good guy for taking responsibility for your mistakes. I like that." I see the blur of her walk over to him. I can hear the sly smile in her voice.

"Then run those tests." He says, anxiously.

"Oh. Right."

After about ten minutes pass, Misses Takashi is done.

"Alright. Minor concussion, the blurry vision will pass any minute now. You'll be okay."

Aki walks over and leads me to the doorway. "I'll help you to your class. It's the least I could do after the pain I put you through."

My blurry vision is fading. I'm looking at the ground. "My vision... It's going back to normal!"

"That's great! If you want, I could still walk you to your class." I look over at him. What is this? It's like my stomach is tickling itself. His smile. The way he looks at me. I feel my cheeks getting red as I nod. I can't speak. I remember my mother telling me about this kind of thing.

"I know what it's like not to have any emotions. But here I am, happy, alongside your father. You will be happy one day, too. There will be a boy that you meet that you will fall for. Your face will get hot and turn red, your stomach will get tied in knots, you'll get a burst of emotion and feeling. Thoughts of him will consume your mind. You won't be able to focus on anything other than him. You won't be able to speak around him but you must not let him get away. If he does, you will never find happiness. You will find your Senpai."

"Okay, mom."

Two weeks after that conversation, my father tried to leave my mother. He said he didn't love her and he had fallen for somebody else. She got upset. She filled with red-hot rage. She murdered him and his new lover. She then committed suicide. Now, I'm on my own in this world.

We finally make it to my classroom and I hand my sensei the note I had gotten from the nurse. She nods and points to my seat. As I am sitting down, I watch Akihiko walk away. I have found my Senpai.