"Ara, good morning, Momo-chan! Looking cute as usual!"
"Morning... haha..."
Gently nodding my head, I hurriedly walked past. That was the thirty-seventh time today, I sighed to myself.
Taking a huge detour from the direct route that would unquestionably save me extra time to get to school, I walked through the shopping districts that were, for the most part, empty in the early morning and because none of the stores had opened yet, there was absolutely no customers - at least, that was what it was supposed to be like. But now it was already slowly filling up with bustling activity.
The stores in the direction I was walking towards already had people in them and as I walked closer, more people came out as though they had calculated this timing, and began planting seeds of conversation with me.
"Oh Momo-chan! Are you going to school after this? It must be hard on you considering it's still summer vacation!"
"Uh, um... hello... haha..."
The thirty-eighth.
Clumsily waving hello at the owner of the vegetable and fruits stall, I faced the streets again, and it had noticeably filled up with crowds of people.
"...!"
I cowered slightly, and having no time to consider my options. I turned right after the pharmacy with the opened blinds that was next to the stall, then ran down the alley.
I jogged briefly while checking the time on my watch.
Despite all that, today was still a rather lucky day.
I might even get the chance to step through the school gates with time to spare.
I increased my pace naturally, and as I was turning left at the T-junction - I realized how naïve I was.
The bus station before me, probably because the previous bus was delayed or something, had a queue that could, in the best case scenario, only be cleared up in two buses.
A boy at the back noticed me and let out a cry of some sort, and immediately everyone's "glances" were on me.
- This is bad. This is really bad. I thought to myself.
As I shrank away from the cheers emanating from the crowd, my face turned a shade of green as I noticed the time displaying on the clock on top of the bus station.
Did my watch run out of battery? I thought, the display on it wasn't advancing at all.
"Ehhhhhh..." the cry I uttered, was quickly drowned out by the calling of the cicadas.
"Ahhhhh....! It happened again..."
The school gates were completely closed, without even enough space for one person to slip through.
Well, but since the existence of the gate would be completely unnecessary if there were space for someone to slip through, in this department the school gates had done their job exceptionally well.
It was 9:10 a.m. on the 14th of August.
Don't even mention reaching just in time, I was already late enough to casually skip the first period of summer school.
Even if I had found a way to avoid the alarm sounded by the passengers at the bus stop, at that point in time I would've definitely been late already.
Taking a gamble to go along the main road which was the shortest route was out of the question.
The streets were playing my new love song that couldn't even be described with the words "beyond popular" at an immense volume, and posters advertising my new single were pasted virtually everywhere.
Even worse, a PV of myself dancing while wearing a dress that could be described as "with way too many frills" was being played on a large screen, and the CD store directly below the screen was selling the CD that had been put out today, with a long queue of people who wanted the limited edition goods (a poster) already crowding outside it.
"I wonder what the situation would have been like if I hadn't passed by that way..."
My agent's car was parked outside the school gates, and the air conditioning made it feel like heaven inside. The short-haired woman collapsed against on the shotgun seat's door was muttering tiredly as though she had just came back from a long day at work, despite it only being early in the morning.
"So-sorry... but really! Today there was a little um... the bus was late so the students..."
As if she found all my actions rather annoying, the agent let out a sigh "Ha....", then interrupted what I was about to say.
"Well I can't say I understand how you're feeling... something about being picked up after school in a private car would be too obvious so you hate it right?"
"Um... yes..."
"Even though I've been trying my best to respect your views, but almost indeed, yes... Actually I've been meaning to discuss this with you recently..." (TL note: This sentence isn't poorly translated but instead it means to show how annoyed/bored the woman is with this whole affair)
With apologetic words being directed towards me, I somehow felt slightly apologetic as well.
Remaining silent for a short period of time, then suddenly remembering to check the time, it was just about time for recess after the first period.
"...Ah! I need to go...! Um, I will contact you! Sorry!"
If I didn't enter the school by then, I would miss yet another period.
Hurriedly getting down from the shotgun seat, again bowing in the direction of the car, and once again observing the expression of helplessness upon my agent's face.
Yet again bowing in the direction of the car that had extinguished its warning signals and was slowly driving off, then moving along the walls bordering the schoolyard and the dormitories while thinking of entering the school through the teachers-only entrance. Since I was in an air-conditioned car for the most part of the journey, I could more evidently feel droplets of sweat beading upon my brow due to the temperature. But, the commotion earlier had already made me sweat enough to make my uniform stick to my back, so I guess it isn't that big of a problem. Despite wearing the nametag of a 16-year-old high school student, running in this kind of heat would still make one sweat.
This is the worst. I want to run home right now and take a shower.
As I reached somewhere around the middle of the wall the bell began to ring again.
Oh no. After the ten-minute break ends, the second period of supplementary classes would start.
Jogging to the teachers-only entrance, then pressing the button to activate the intercom, I had barely needed to wait a few seconds before a disembodied voice replied.
The chaotic noises unique to a schoolyard, were sufficiently projected through the tiny intercom to give me the sense that I was in a different world entirely. As I imagined stepping into this realm, my mood became even worse.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Ah, yes! Um, I'm a first-year student, Kisaragi... I would like to request permission to enter the school since I'm late for supplementary classes..."
How many times had I already heard the voice of the female secretary?
Since school reopened until four months into the first semester, I think she's the person I've talked to the most throughout this period. And among those conversations over ninety percent of them were carried out through this intercom, it really makes me feel frustrated.
"Ah, it's Kisaragi. I'll unlock the door, so please proceed to the staff room."
It had reached a point where an excuse was no longer needed, not even angry nor suspicious at why I was always being late, but I suppose this was my only salvation.
"Excuse me... please..."
Hearing the clack as the bolts slid open, I pushed open the door leading into the school compounds.
As the door closed, it once again made a clacking noise to signify that the bolts had slid shut once more.
The school compounds had a cooling sensation that wasn't present outside. Even though it was summer vacation, the school was still open for those students that had to come back for either club activities or supplementary classes. - During spring this very year, I began studying in this school.
A four-story school building that was just built last year had a Western-ish design, and became a useless construction nonetheless nice to look at. Like a girls-only schoolyard that would appear in shoujo manga... well maybe not to that extent, but the clock tower decorated with unprovoked garlands of flowers, (TL note: Yes, there is supposed to be a comma here leading into the next paragraph, don't ask. Probably for ease of reading.)
Not to mention small decorative hills, fountains and fully nude statues could be found all around the school compound, and even a tunnel made completely of fauna that I still can't completely comprehend intentionally built at the entrance.
Whose idea was this, even if someone were to build a school like this right in the center of city streets lined with concrete jungles, it would just look out-of-place right, well that was what I thought, but it still was stunningly popular among the female demographic, seemingly having the highest female student percentage within the district.
Even though I had applied into this school with the rather un-childish excuse of it being "close to home", but considering someone like me who's academics are poor could successfully gain entry, to be honest it could only be attributed to luck.
Due to my attendance record being a despairingly low number, I had to take supplementary lessons over the summer holidays. Despite this, I think even if I had attended every lesson I would still have to come for the sake of my results. That was the only thing I could confidently declare.
And there was no time left.
Aiming for the teachers-only entrance, I hopped up the stairs in a three-by-three step fashion. Just as I opened the glass doors, I once again was able to enjoy the sensation of the cooling air generated by the air conditioning. As I entered this space, I realized that I really was sweating a lot.
I removed my indoor slippers from my bag, and hurriedly changed my slippers.
"Ah! The time is...! ...Ouch!?"
As I was folding up the bag used to hold my indoor slippers, and taking out the bag used for my outdoor shoes something hard crashed unto my head.
I raised my head in surprise, and saw a tall and large man holding an attendance record and wearing a white coat standing behind me.
"Ah... um, haha... good morning?"
"Wrong, even if you greet me... and it isn't even that early anymore..."
"Ye-yes..."
I'm finished. I completely forgot that today's first period was conducted by our form teacher.
If it was any other teacher it would've been fine, but it was impossible to smoke past this guy.
"You didn't even bother informing me even when you're already this late. Take a look at this for me for a moment."
"Eh? What... eh!?"
As I received the paper he took out from the attendance register and read what was on it, my face turned a shade of green against my will.
"Do you understand what you're looking at? Is there any problem?"
"Um it was the Biology Test I.... held last week..."
"Oh, at least you understood that. Now what about the number written beside it?"
"Eh... heh... I don't really understand this part... ouch!?"
Hit by the attendance record again. This man would expressionlessly do this sort of thing without warning so I can't let my guard down. Unavoidable.
"Let me tell you something... let's just skip the fact that your handwriting is barely legible, but then what about you still scoring only two marks after two weeks of supplementary classes? Do you need a hundred weeks of classes before you get full marks?"
The results of the test were unspeakably bad.
Even though there were no questions left blank, and all the answers were filled in with some thought and effort, but aside from a single question, all the others had a large question mark written beside them in red ink.
I felt dizzy staring at this unsightly scenario.
"But... but I put in effort..."
"Eh!? What!? This is putting in effort!? You answering the question "Please provide an example of a mammal" with "A. Crab, Salmon" is called "putting in effort"!?"
"Be-because my mum's hometown is at Hokkaido... Wait! I had also considered it might be "Deer, Bear"..."
"Hokkaido!! Those fellows over there!! ...So why are you choosing to show your love for your hometown in this situation!? And it clearly says here to provide one example and not a pair!"
"Eh!? Because wouldn't it be pitiful if there were only one!"
"Why would you come up with this sort of weird ideas while sitting for a test? And in a deer and bear combination the deer would probably be eaten anyway!"
"E-eaten!?"
Controlling the urge to let loose a tirade of comments, I looked at the test paper once more.
But, I couldn't understand why myself. I had put in that much effort as well, these results were really too brutal to look at. What would Mum say if she saw this...? I couldn't even bear imagining it.
- It was always like this.
Whatever I did would always achieve the opposite effect, and attract the "Attention" of others.
When I was in primary school, a picture I drew was coincidentally selected by a famous author, and was used as the cover of a novel, which became a best-seller.
In junior high I received an invitation from the art club, where my very first submission for an art competition in my first year left the chairman's submission in the dust, and it then achieved best in the country. At that time, I began to notice that the eyes of everyone around me began to focus on my "physical self".
In my second year in junior high, I stopped attending club activities that were becoming increasingly uncomfortable for me, and when loitering around and shopping after school, I noticed that I was gaining a lot of attention from idol hunters. Even though I initially refused, but when faced with the current situation of my mom's job becoming increasingly unsuccessful due to various reasons, I decided to attempt to earn some money for the family and took up the offer.
As for my motivation or whatever behind this, it wasn't because I particularly enjoyed television, nor because I liked music. Even though I felt this way, I guess I always wanted to sing on stage as an idol, I suppose.
My first job as an idol, was to "warm up" the audience for a senpai back then, the main performer. I wasn't and still am not very good at public speaking, but all I was thinking of when I accepted the job was "I can't get myself fired now", and nothing else.
During the actual performances I was way too nervous to remember what exactly I had said, but despite that you could say they were very successful, achieving the "best" potential results.
The stadiums were packed with unprecedented amounts of people, and all sorts of magazines and sports journals published articles upon articles regarding my performances. The only problem was, the main topic of discussion should have been my senpai, the main performer, but instead I was once again the centre of attention.
The "nameless idol" that didn't dance nor sing, but only appeared on stage to talk garnered a huge amount of support from the audience. Even though it was a good thing for the agency, but I had literally no time to catch my breath from that day onwards, with endless phone calls flowing in regarding my status, which was definitely an oddity.
All I could do was constantly attract the "Attention" of others, defying all forms of common sense and logic, attracting people meaninglessly and completely regardless of personal preference or reason.
At that time, I again realized I wasn't "normal".
