When he was seven, Gakushuu decided to build a snowman.
He'd seen the kids at school doing it once the first good layer of snow had started to fall.
Gakushuu didn't like the snow while it was actually falling since the frost would sting his skin and he didn't like how the snowflakes would get in his eye when he was walking home from school. But, he did like it when the snow would settle as a warm white blanket on the roofs and the ground. It looked soft.
His cheeks started to grow numb the longer he pressed it against the glass of his bedroom window.
The back lawn was covered in a thick mass of snow for a good five days now, completely untouched.
Gakushuu frowned when he glanced at the Optimus Prime transformers clock on his desk which was next to a large stack of books and study sheets. It was nearly 11am which meant he could probably get a snowman built in an hour tops before lunch, maybe even less if he worked fast.
He pulled away from the window and sat back on his bed where his timetable for the day was organised. It was December 28th, which meant there were no competitions or school to attend so his schedule was only eight periods of studying and practising essential mental and motor skills.
His fingers gripped the paper tightly, as his face scrunched up in determination.
His dad was always telling him he had to fight to get what he wanted in the world because that's what the strong did.
Gakushuu moved off the bed and grabbed the test sheets he'd finished and grabbed the stopwatch off the desk.
"Great leaders are good negotiators," he told his Transformers clock, smiling when he pressed the button and it played the theme tune.
When he went downstairs to find his dad, he headed to the man's office like he always seemed to be these days.
It didn't always use to be like that, the thought came with memories, but he quickly pushed it to the side when thinking about them made his chest hurt.
His dad told him dwelling on the past too much was a distraction, and distractions were bad. People who were easily distracted failed.
"What do you want, Gakushuu?"
Gakushuu jumped a little when he heard his dad speak from the other side of the door.
He hadn't even knocked yet...
His cheeks heated up faintly as he walked into the office with the test sheets in hand. "I finished."
Dad was sat behind his desk reading a book, and then glanced up when he walked in. "Time?"
Gakushuu grinned, holding up the stopwatch. "Thirty minutes!"
"Hm." His dad's expression didn't change, he looked back at his book. "I assumed you would have done it in twenty."
It was four test sheets!
His smile faded quickly, but he tried not to scowl, walking over he placed the test sheets on the desk. "I finished early." He took out the schedule and pointed at the time. "I finished studying so that means there's a gap. See?" Gakushuu hesitated when his dad's expression didn't change. "...I want to go outside."
Dad raised an eyebrow. "Do you need to exercise?"
He frowned. "No..."
His dad looked at him expectantly. "Then why do you need to go outside?"
Gakushuu shifted on the spot. "Because I..." He squared his shoulders. "In the backyard, I want to build a snowman and—"
"No." Dad went back to reading. "You're not building a snowman in the backyard."
