by M. C Queen
"How come Dai-chan gets to go to school, I want to go to school too?" whined Hikaru.
"That's because Dai-chan is a big boy," said Shuro. "He has to go to big boy school now. You go to little girl school next week."
I tried to prevent myself from choking on my soup. I decided I would have to take drastic measures that year to make sure Sis never came into contact with my cool new high school friends. She almost ruined my reputation on the first day of middle school when she came to collect me from the school gate yelling "Dai-chan, Dai-chan!" For the world to hear.
I decided that it was best to make my escape in case she offered to drive me. I stuffed the remaining toast into my mouth and downed the rest of my soup. "OK, I'm off,” I said before grabbing my lunch and running outside.
* * *
I lived in a small town surrounded by mountains in central Japan. It was far from the sea, so it was always boiling hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. It was still cold for April, so my breath came out in small puffs of smoke as soon as I left the house. I began jogging to keep myself warm.
I picked my high school for one reason and one reason only. It was the closest one to my house. For the past year I worked my butt off studying for the entrance exam, all for those extra fifteen minutes of sleep. Unfortunately I would soon realize that I had made a terrible mistake. I now wonder if I could have avoided death just by going to the next school down the road, or town, or prefecture. To hell with it, I'd probably be sitting in a café eating ice-cream right now if I'd sent myself off to boarding school.
My new high school was a large three-story white building with a gravel area at the front. Some kids were playing baseball when I arrived. It wasn't a famous school, but it was still private and the tuition wasn't cheap. I roamed the halls searching for my classroom, until a teacher took pity on me and accompanied me there. There were already over thirty students loitering around when I arrived. Some were talking in small groups and a few were playing on their cell phones. Others, also like me, were floating around like they didn't know what to do. Eventually the school bell rang, and a male teacher entered who guided us towards our assigned seating. I was seated three rows from the front.
My homeroom teacher was a middle-aged man with short hair. His name was something beginning with Ya, like Yamada-sensei or something. I wasn't sure. It's hard to remember all the teachers names. I should have paid more attention because he'll probably be the one to break my death to the class.
Ya-sensei (as I called him) gave a short speech about the importance of high school, getting good grades, and all the other crap that teachers like to talk about. I found myself falling asleep during the middle. I rested my head against my elbow momentarily for a quick nap, only to find myself being nudged awake. I waved my hand to fend off their assault, but they refused to give up. I lifted my head to come face to face with the student on my right. A guy with a bowl cut and glasses.
"You're next," he hissed.
"Next for what?" I asked.
"The self introduction!"
I looked around to see thirty-eight eyes all resting on me. Wait, thirty-nine if you included my new teacher.
Ya-Sensei coughed. "Matsumoto, if you would be so kind as to introduce yourself to the class," he said.
I wasn't good at improvisation so I just said the first thing which came to mind. "My name is Daisuke Matsumoto, I like sleeping."
There was a snicker. "Yeah, I think we noticed that already," whispered someone from behind me. I spun around to catch them in the act, but everyone conveniently had their mouths shut.
I proceeded to listen to the rest of the class introduce themselves, which wasn't that exciting. Sleep threatened to overtake me once more, and I almost hit my head against the desk when my body began to pass out.
Looking back on it now I should have put more effort into my self introduction. It was the perfect opportunity to impress the female population of the class. I should have told them that I was good at sports, or that I had plenty of interesting hobbies (none of them too macho). Now I would forever be labeled as having an attitude problem.
Ya-sensei pulled me aside in break time to lecture me on the importance of getting enough sleep and paying attention in class. All I could notice was how strongly he smelled of cigarettes. His teeth were also yellow, and I felt tempted to lecture him back on the importance of dental hygiene.
Finally my first lunch time at high school arrived, which meant one thing. I could finally bring my own lunch to school. From kindergarten to the end of middle school I had been subjected to eating the school lunch which could range from tolerable to disgusting. I reached into my bag and pulled out my plastic lunch box which had been neatly wrapped in a gray cloth. I soon noticed that the box was pink, which should have been a warning of what was soon to come.
I carefully opened the lid, and all my hopes and expectations were crushed when I saw what lay before me.
It was terrifying. All the rice balls had been carefully shaped to resemble Hello Kitty, complete with little whiskers that had been cut from seaweed. There were also little Hello Kitty flags poking up from my egg roll and salad. But the worst part was that Sis had written Dai-chan in tomato sauce across everything. It would have been cute and all, if I were a five year old girl.
I didn't know what Sis was thinking. This was high school, not a bring your own lunch day at Hikaru's kindergarten. I reached for my chopsticks to mash it until it was unrecognizable, but I had already been exposed.
"Wow Hello kitty, it's so adorable!"
I looked up to see a girl standing before my desk. She was cute with short black hair which she'd fashioned into two pig tails. Her skirt was average length, and she had the right mix of cute, yet sensible, which could get past my sister. She wasn't the prettiest girl in the class, but I wasn't that fussy.
I reached for my cloth to quickly throw it over my lunch and save my dignity, but it was then that I realized my Hello Kitty lunch box was a potential chick magnet. I lent back in my chair and attempted to appear suave, despite my abomination of a lunch being exposed for the world to see.
"Yeah you bet it is, some guys think Hello Kitty is too girly, but I," I paused to think of the right words. "Like to get in touch with my more feminine side."
"I see," she leaned in closer for a better look. "Do you think that maybe I could have one of the little flags when you're finished with it?"
"Yeah, sure," I reached forward and ripped it out of my lunch and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she smiled.
"No problem. Any time."
She twirled the flag in her fingers. "If you don't mind me asking, your name is Daisuke Matsumoto right?"
I was surprised she could remember my name after hearing everyone's self introduction. I assumed that she'd heard of my amazing reputation from middle school. Most of my friends had gone to different schools (some even leaving the prefecture) but there were still a few of my old classmates roaming the halls. Surely the rumors had begun to spread already. I was a real chick magnet back then. During the course of three years I had a total of four girlfriends. One even threatened to jump out the classroom window after we broke up.
I couldn't believe my high school love life was beginning already. I thought I'd have to put some effort into this whole girl thing, but they were already lining up.
I put on the Daisuke Matsumoto charms, and turned my face so that it showed off my good side. "Yes it sure is, and what might your name be?"
"Shinya, Mana Shinya."
And that was how I first met Mana. Back then she was a vision of perfect health with no blood pouring from her forehead. She was always kind and never hesitated to defend me in front of the others. If I'd known the future, I would have done more to repay her kindness, but instead I just saw her as another cute girl that I could play around with.
"Well Mana Shinya, do you mind if I just call you Mana?" It was common to call our classmates by their family names.
"I sup
pose," she replied. "Back in middle school everyone just called me Mana."
"Mana," I repeated. Then I went in for the kill. "That's such a cute name, just like the girl it belongs to."
"Mana!" Said a voice behind me. "You shouldn't waste your time on guys like that."
I turned to face my nemesis who had ruined my chances at love. He was seated behind me at the far right. He was pale, almost sickly so, with short hair and average build. What looked like a math textbook was laid out in front of him. He'd obviously been studying until he made the decision to ruin my life.
Mana looked nervous. "But, I thought it might be good to know some of our new classmates."
"I know what you're thinking," said nemesis (as I decided to call him) "We can talk about it later."
Mana looked like she wanted to stay, like any sensible girl would (because I'm awesome) but she gave in and went back to her desk.
"Bye, it was nice to meet you, Daisuke Matsumoto."
"It was nice to meet you as well, Mana."
During the course of the day I paid extra attention to my nemesis. Until lunch time he'd been just another blob in a sea of students, but now he was on my radar. I quickly discovered his name was Itsuki and he was good at school, almost frightening so. Every time a teacher called on him, he would stand up, answer the question correctly, sit down, and then stare at his textbook intensely like he was attempting to burn a hole in it. Unknown to me he was soon to become my best friend, but back then I saw him as nothing but an asshole.
Mana was also very cute during class time. She would often lose her place in the textbook, only to be reminded by the girl sitting behind her.
Sadly the rest of my day was lacking in girl action. Even friend action for that matter. There were a few classmates who looked like they'd make good friend material, but I hadn't come to any final decisions on which group I should target. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally make friends with the uncool people, and spend the remaining three years of high school regretting it.
But if I had known what was to come, I would have spent less time worrying about friends, and more time building my own personal fortress.
Chapter 4
Everything soon fell into place on the third day of school. I remember it as the day I discovered my life was a lie, and the countless secrets which had been hidden from me by my adopted family, finally came to light.
It all began when Itsuki decided to approach me. We hadn't directly spoken since the first day, so I assumed he didn't have the guts to face me. I finished my lunch only to look up and find him hovering over my desk like the grim reaper looming over a deathbed.
“Can I have a word with you?” he asked.
I turned around to say 'look at this guys, Itsuki wants a word with me,' until I realized this wasn't middle school anymore, and my friends had all abandoned me to go to trade school instead.
I suppressed the feeling of being friendless, and rose to follow Itsuki as he left the classroom. I wasn't surprised when he failed to start-up a colorful conversation, so I decided to ask the one thing I'd been dying to know.
“So what's going on with you and Mana?” I asked.
“Mana?” he scoffed. “That's a pretty friendly way to talk about someone you barely know.”
“Maybe I don't know her well yet, but I will soon.”
“That's a stupid assumption.”
“Hey! Mana and I obviously have a connection.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Dick,” I muttered under my breath.
I was uncertain if he heard me, but he continued moving his mouth regardless.“You should give up on Mana. There's another sixteen girls in the class who are probably stupid enough to fall for your playboy attitude.”
“Yeah but,” I tried to think up a witty response. “What's your problem anyway, is she your girlfriend?”
“No, we're just friends.”
“But you like her right? But she won't go out with you because you're too much of an arse!”
Itsuki stopped dead in his tracks, turned to face me, and narrowed his eyes in anger. I didn't think it was possible for him to look moodier, but he quickly exceeded my expectations.
“I don't usually beat up idiots because it's not always their fault,” he said. “But for you I'm willing to make an exception.”
“What's wrong, did I hit a sore spot?” I raised my fists and began jumping from side to side in case of any incoming assault. “Come on, bring it!”
Itsuki scoffed. “We should probably go somewhere with less people, you don't want to get in trouble with any of the teachers right?”
He had a point. I was smart enough to know that getting suspended in the first week wouldn't be the best start to my high school career.
I followed him outside to the back of the school. There was a small space between the school building and fence which was beyond the teacher's gaze. I was about to compliment him on his excellent choice of a battleground, until we turned the corner and I realized the terrible mistake I'd made.
In front of me stood another four students who were all bigger than myself. They looked too tall to be in first year, so I assumed they were in either second or third. There was a tall guy playing on his cell phone, a guy who appeared to be the biggest (and fattest) student I'd seen at school, and one more guy with curly hair who was anxiously kicking the dirt by his feet. The last student was a girl with bleached blonde hair and bracelets (which I'm certain was against school policy). Her face was devoid of emotion, and given the way her hands were crossed against her chest, I wouldn't have put it past her to rip out a crow bar and swing it towards my head.
For the first time in my life (and obviously not the last) I felt the terror of knowing I was going to die. I froze.
“What's your problem, scared?” Itsuki hissed. He began shoving me towards them and I was too petrified to fight back.
"So this is the guy you were talking about?" said the big guy.
"More of less," said Itsuki. "I wouldn't give your hopes up."
Hopes? I thought. Did that mean I wasn't up to standard as a victim?
The guy playing on his cell phone finally stopped and slid it back into his pocket. He was a foot taller than I, and cast an imposing shadow.
“Oh hey, sorry, this is the first time we've met isn't it? I'm Taisei Shinya, I see you've already met Itsuki. This guy is Kiyori," he pointed to the large guy. "The guy with the curly hair is Souta, and this girl is Kurumi."
"Nice to meet you,” I said nervously. “I think." I wasn't sure if it was common for bullies to introduce themselves before they took a swing at you.
Little did I know I was staring at my soon to be friends before they'd been beaten up, thrown through walls, and gone missing. All because of me. If they'd known my friendship was going to cause them critical injuries, they would have thrown me in the school dumpster and walked away. Unfortunately for us all, no one could have predicted our terrible future.
“Now, how should we go about this?" pondered Taisei.
I backed up slowly until my heels hit the fence. His face didn't look aggressive, but that just made him scarier. I was certain he was planning the most effective way to beat my face in. I considered running for my life, but I had a feeling they'd soon catch me.
"Your name is Daisuke Matsumoto right?" Said the big guy named Kiyori.
"Oh yeah, would it be alright if we took a look at your ID?" asked Taisei.
I hesitantly reached for my wallet while keeping one eye on them (in case they attempted to make a grab for it), pulled out my school ID card, and handed it to Taisei.
All five of them crowded around in a circle. The curly-haired guy called Souta didn't fit, so he had to jump up and down behind Kurumi's shoulder to get a better look.
"Wow you're right, his name really is Daisuke Matsumoto," said Kiyori.
"Its even written the same way and everything," said Souta.
It was almost comical to watch them all hovering over my
school ID. I used to think I was a pretty cool guy, but I knew I wasn't famous enough to receive that amount of awe. "Hey guys,” I coughed.
“What's so interesting about that card?"
Taisei held it up to the light and turned it back and forth like he was checking for errors. "Sorry, here you go," he handed it back to me. "You wouldn't happen to be related to a different guy called Daisuke Matsumoto would you?"
"Yeah," I shrugged, trying to think of the best way to explain the relationship between the other Daisuke and I. "I had an older brother with the same name."
I watched their draws drop open. It's hard to describe their shock in words, so I wish I had a camera. Souta pounced, grabbed me by the shoulders, and began to shake me back and forth.
"Really! Are you serious? Was Daisuke Matsumoto really your brother?" His voice was higher than I expected and it almost hurt my ears.
“Shut up Souta,” muttered Kiyori. He then turned to me and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You're not making this up are you?”
I attempted to pry Souta's fingers from my shoulders. “Well actually more like my step brother, his father adopted me.”