Daniel's Diary

Chapter 1: Slumbering Power

'Sept. 17.

This is my first entry in my diary and honestly, I don't really know what to write. I guess I should start by introducing myself first. Though only I will read it so that's pretty pointless. Then again maybe it will be fun to read it years from now and look back on these times. Well, my name is Daniel, I'm 16 and a student of KSZKI. The school year just started a few weeks ago and now I'm in second grade. And... the first thing I'm talking about is school... please don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a big fan of school or anything. For me, it's just one of life's musts. You see, I never had a good time with most of the other kids. In elementary my classmates always bullied me, here they just titled me as the class nerd and they mostly don't care about me... at all. But then again they are kind of right, I really am a nerd. I love computers and I try to learn as much about them as possible. I'm fascinated with coding and hope to work as a programmer one day. So why am I in a school like this? Where IT class is spent with playing on your phone? I have no idea. But there's only 15 minutes until my first class starts so I better get going. Don't wanna be late'

With that, I closed the small book and stood up from my desk. I got dressed earlier and packed my stuff so all I needed to do is pick up my backpack. A quick double-check later, I was already heading down the stairs and out the house door. The bus stop wasn't too far away, it took me about ten minutes on foot most mornings, but today I was a bit behind schedule so I decided that I should clear the distance by running instead of the usual much less tiring walk. Let's say, I wasn't a sports person, by any means of the term, and I wasn't in shape either. Well, except if you consider the shape as a stick figure... A skinny one. Fortunately, I arrived at my destination in time and after a few minutes of waiting the bus showed up too. Quickly showing the driver my seasonal ticket, I walked to the back and took my usual seat. I liked sitting there by the window, lost in my thoughts as the cars and buildings passed by. Putting my bag down by my feet, I looked around. Most of the passengers were students, familiar faces on the morning ride, some of them older or younger than me, and a few classmates of mines as well. One of them, a girl, was sitting not far away from me.

"Good morning Ayasi!" I greeted her as I stepped next to her seat.

"Oh," she looked up at me, "good morning Daniel! Sorry, but I'm quite busy now. You know the school project."

"Sure. No problem. Good luck with the project!" I replied smiling and returned to my seat.

Something seemed off about her, like she wasn't really paying attention to the world around her. Glancing at her, I was wondering why she acted so weird. We were good friends with Ayasi. She was the only person from class who accepted me and talked to me outside of school. Maybe because the others treated her as a weirdo too for her cosplay hobby. Even though in my opinion she was really talented. All of her dresses were made by herself and last summer she started to fiddle around with custom-made jewelry as well. None the less, no one else admired her works or complimented their maker.

Despite our friendship, I felt like she's been avoiding me lately. Every time I tried to talk to her she had a reason why she couldn't. At first, I didn't think much of it and I simply accepted them but as the list of her rejecting reasons grew, I started to doubt if they were true and not just polite excuses. Also, she looked pale and fragile lately, like she had some kind of illness. Letting out a quiet sigh, I hoped she was alright, really just busy with school stuff and it was nothing more serious.

Letting go of the topic, for now, I turned my head towards the bus window. The weather was already turning colder from the Summer heat and the edge of the glass was growing misty from the morning dew. A drop of water rolling down every now and then, cleaning its patch before it turned opaque again. On the sky, clouds were gathering, forerunners of the coming storm. I watched as the white veil swirled, the Autumn Sun peeking through the gaps. Like waves rolling in the blue ocean of the sky. Lost in the sight, I was only woken from my daydreaming as the bus came to a stop. Another group of passengers taking their seats before the door closed and we continued the travel.