The way to school is rather dull.
Long and dull.
School starts at 8 am, and I already need one hour simply to arrive there.
Our complex is a nice one.
Large, a well-equipped building, the rooms and hallways are well-maintained, and there's even a swimming hall.
And the trees start to bloom right now with the beginning of spring.
"Iori! What took you so long? Slept in again?"
The girl who just called out to me is Chiaki Sato.
Something like my best friend.
Well, okay, she is.
She kinda forced herself into that position.
But her outgoing behavior is, for someone who doesn't sleep well, and is constantly tired as a result, a bad state of affairs.
"No. Just the bus being late!" (I)
"Maybe you should walk!" (C)
"Maybe not?! It's five kilometers away! That's not even taking the way to the station into account." (I)
"But it would be a good workout! It could help you get started! You need to put a bit of effort to get healthy!" (C)
Oh, how I would love to tell her to cut it out.
Simply the idea that, as bad as I feel after my stressed nights, I should run a marathon on top is simply madness.
Yet she is kinda simple.
In a positive way.
She is one of those people who always have a positive aura around them.
And I'm rather sure that she does this marathon thing herself.
Also, her grades are good, which might be the reason why she has no trouble with the teachers, despite her blond-dyed hair.
However, it is annoying if this kind of person is telling others who are not like them to change who they are.
As if that's possible, just like this!
Yet she is my friend, so I end this whole stupid situation with a simple nod.
"Now come! Class is starting soon!" (C)
As she was apparently waiting at the entrance for me, an action that somewhat supports the idea that we are friends, we are going to the classroom together.
She's going about some of her after-school activities, which don't interest me in the slightest.
Who cares which cafe, that I won't visit just opened, where the newest clothes, I don't intend to wear, are on sale, and what this celebrity, I have absolutely no track about did?
But to avoid having to seriously partake in this discussion, I regularly put a nod in it.
"... and this new jacket was so cute! You would look great in it, Iori!" (C)
"Chiaki, we are in the classroom, and I need to prepare some stuff for class." (I)
"Okay! Then we continue after class!" (C)
Yes.
Sure.
Great.
I sit down, but soon have another nuisance bothering me.
"Huh, has Chiaki been talking your ear off again?"
This one goes by the name Makoto Honozuki.
Dark brown hair, brown eyes, glasses.
Aside from the part that he apparently doesn't understand that he is doing the same thing as Chiaki, I get along with him rather well.
Compared to Chiaki, he is pure tranquility.
Might have something to do with his family, which is responsible for a shrine.
For sure, it's the reason for his weird name.
Honestly, I can't imagine him living there.
We get along at school, but I never visited him at home.
Simply lack the energy.
Nonetheless, sometimes Chiaki persuades us three to do group activities.
His grades are rather average since he has to help out a lot at the shrine, as he tells.
Or he's just lazy.
Yet, he hides some well-developed muscles under his uniform.
Won't tell how I came to know that.
But now I should answer.
"Chiaki is Chiaki! And you are apparently you!" (I)
Doing absolutely the same as her!
"Ouch, that hurt. I presume it was a bad night again, huh?" (M)
"Do I ever have good ones?" (I)
"You have had worse, according to my objective judgment." (M)
"I just don't sleep well. That never held me that much back, and gets better during the day. It's not like anyone has to treat me as if I'm mortally ill." (I)
"But it's still a good principle for the general interaction with you." (M)
"The best interaction would be none right now. A bit of silence might help." (I)
"That could be a problem. Class is about to start." (M)
Damn! He's right.
So school really begins.
I give my best to keep up, despite my heavy eyes.
At the moment, I can even maintain grades slightly above average.
Yet this could always turn, so I shouldn't become too comfortable.
There is not much to say.
In fact, it's an average school day one would generally experience.
During the third period, my mind starts to drift a little, away from the front.
Like this, my gaze falls on a certain girl.
If I had to state a reason why it would be that she is new in our class.
A typical exchange student.
Short blonde hair, green eyes, western looks.
She sits for some reason at the furthest end of the classroom and avoids all contact.
Always gloomy, quiet, and unapproachable.
I can relate.
I have never seen her talking to anyone.
In fact, I don't even know how her voice sounds.
Yet I'm not deeply invested in that person, and as soon as a glance of mine gets answered with a hefty glare, I stop.
Don't annoy the sleeping lion!
After enduring all this torture to my sleep-deprived mind, school finally comes to an end.
I can hardly wait to go back home, and after revising the school stuff, trying to get this fatigue out.
But then Chiaki chimes in.
"Are you seriously intending just to go home on such a nice day?" (C)
"Yes, I seriously do! Look, I'm tired and simply don't get my stuff done as usual." (I)
"We could go wandering a bit. It might be good for you." (C)
"Seriously, Chiaki. I cannot find that strength in me. Just let me go home, please." (I)
"Hmm, okay. It wouldn't work if you lack any motivation." (C)
"Thank you. Good day then!" (I)
So I make myself on my way to get over the far too long tour back home.
Mum already made dinner, and so I join her forced family time.
Yes, I know I said this just shows her love, but that doesn't mean I cannot find it bothersome.
"And how was school, dear?" (S)
"Like always. But I had a really bad night, so it got a little stressful." (I)
"Isn't there soon a sports day in your school? Think you can manage?" (S)
"Maybe. I was told that I also have better days." (I)
"Really? When?" (S)
"Always when you're not looking, I promptly become lively and positive." (I)
"Pfft! That's something I would like to see." (S)
"Who knows? Could happen." (I)
"Mhm, and that will surely be a sign that the last days are approaching." (S)
"Seriously, who thinks apocalypse jokes are funny?" (I)
"I guess it's about how they are told." (S)
"So you're admitting that you are just bad?" (I)
"Maybe, but for sure you're a nightmare of an audience!" (S)
"Oh, sorry, Mum! Did you say anything? That silence after your last joke simply drowned out everything." (I)
"Oh, you little..." (S)
"I would love to hear how you end this sentence without swearing." (I)
".... hard-to-be-entertained person." (S)
"Yes... sure." (I)
Like this, we finish dinner.
"Why don't you take a bath now? Might help you with sleeping in." (S)
"Why not? At least it won't make things worse." (I)
And so I do.
Nothing to say about it.
I am a little self-conscious about my body, but not to an excessive degree.
Just the typical around the waist a bit less, the chest a bit more, everything a little bit firmer.
The way you wish for your idealized version.
But in the end, I'm okay with my looks.
I get out of the tub, switch into something casual, and try to get some homework done.
Yet soon the heated body does its work, and I get excessively sleepy.
At some point, I decide that it doesn't make sense to proceed in this state and call it a day.
Despite being this sleepy, I don't expect much from this night.
My problem was never finding sleep, but more feeling not the slightest bit rested when waking up.
Still, I lie down in my bed and close my eyes, hoping it will do some good.
Today I've had a foreboding feeling that it won't go well.
Sometimes I believe that I could just have a very rampant imagination.
Then my usual dreamless sleep might just be a safety measure to protect my mind from its strangest fabrications.
If I sleep this disturbed, it might explain my permanent tiredness.
I hope I won't dream anything weird.