Breaking the bland

"Okay. What about the one under that?"- The teacher asked, looking around the classroom.

However, not many students were paying attention. The classroom was a mess, full of loud noises and motion. 

"Does someone want to answer?"- The man asked, trying to find a student. A student who he can bully into giving the answer.

"Where is that little..."- he murmured under his breath. -"no... no... Oh, that's it!"

He suddenly stood up. The chair's leg scraped loudly along the floor as his legs pushed it backwards, everyone quickly looked his way.

The teacher stepped off of the little podium in the front of the class and started slapping the rules into his palm as he walked between the rows of desks.But, this wasn't just any ordinary discipline; he was looking for someone. A student among the mass, one who he particularly set his eyes upon.As he was getting closer and closer to the end rows he stopped slapping with his ruler.

In front of him in the desk there was a student. His head was laying on his arms crossed over the table, with his face turned towards the side, where the teacher stood.

"Having a good sleep, Arata?"

The class broke out in many small chuckles as they listened to the teacher. But he didn't wake up, even then. Moreover, in his deep slumber, he started to speak:

"five, six... seven..."

"What?"- The teacher bent over him.

"...life is... just an... endless... uh.."

The teacher squatted down before him, as his eyes slowly throbbed open.

"U-uh... mmh... Mr... Takaba.."- he murmured between two breaths.

"Keiji Arata. Now, you even took up sleeping in class as a habit?"- The teacher asked, trying to seem kind, but still in a bullying way.

"Mh... oh... I'm- Sorry, Mr Takaba."- Arata sat up and bowed slightly as a way of showing remorse.

"There has been a regression in your grades as well, lately..."- he spoke as he was walking back to the blackboard.

"You at least, of all these useless kids, pay attention..."

"We... I don't think we are kids anymore..."- Arata stated.

"What was that?"- The teacher turned back around.

Arata was staring at the top of his desk.

His mind was full with all the misty pictures from the dream he just woke up from.

"I don't think... We are kids anymore..."- he said again, looking up at the teacher.

Although the statement sounded bratty, Arata said it with so much respect in his sleepy facial expression that Mr Takaba just chuckled and turned back around.

"Just because you are 18, it doesn't mean you've grown up, kids! Keep that in mind..."- He said kindly, facing the board.

"So, let's solve this one together, then."- He started blabbering about the material again.

The class broke out in the loud mess again; almost everyone, except Arata. He was just looking at his pinky... Remembering something old. Something that is long gone.

'But what... is it..?'- He thought.

Though, he didn't have much time to wonder about it; the bell rang and the student all fled from the classroom.Arata just threw his bag on his back and left the classroom with a polite goodbye.

Passing through the corridors, his mind was still amidst the clouds. The memory appeared clearly in his dream before, but now only fragments of it remained. The long passages were full of people. Full of living being, energetic and upbeat. He was once something like that too....
Or rather, he wanted to be. But he had no time to live for those feelings.

'Oh, well.. whatever...'

People in groups, people with friends... and guys with their girlfriends.

"Come ooon! Let's go eat there!"- A gal pulled her boyfriend's arm, pouting.

"N-no way, that place is hella expensive!"- The guy laughed it off.

'Someone... A girl...'- The cogs in his mind wanted to turn, but they were stuck in the same position.There was once someone... But who, where, why, when....?

'I don't know'

He left the building, going down the road, as he did every day.All the same buildings, the same people, cars... Although they were the same every single time, he found himself wandering the streets, constantly on edge, looking for someone.

'Uh... This is no use... If she was here, I would have seen her already.'

He had already considered letting go of it all, by picking up a girl. Sometime, while walking around he even stopped to look at someone. But in the end, it always went the same.

'She looks nice."- He thought, looking at a girl probably a little older than him.

'She certainly looks... nice...'

But that was all.
Nothing more.
For some reason, he just couldn't care less about anyone.This is what went through his mind, every single day. But that day, something went differently.

'W-woah...!'

He suddenly stopped at a shop. A little convenience store which wasn't particularly popular or exceptional; however... For some reason, he just stopped there.

'I mean... I could- go in, I'll need something to push through all the material for tomorrow anyway.'

So, he went in. The bell rang and the cashier greeted him right away.

"Good day!"- He said back and headed to the drink section right away.

He was constantly gazing around, but there was no one: Not a single person in the store, other than the lady at the counter.

*sigh* "Let's see..."- He stopped in front of the refrigerated drinks shelf.

After a minute or two, he finally decided:'Let's just... get the usual.'

He took out a canned energy drink and walked up to the counter.

"Anything else?"- the lady asked.

"No, uh-"

He suddenly spotted someone behind the lady: A young girl, maybe a little older than him, sitting on a chair by the wall, looking at her phone.Her hair was long and blonde and her lips were coated in a darker red lipstick; however, that was all he could see as her face was covered by the brown and white baseball cap on her head, with the name of a non-existent baseball team written over it.She was in work clothes, a black shirt and jeans and by her waist was a Stanley-knife strapped to her pocket.

"Anything else, sir?"- The cashier asked again.

"Ah- oh, no sorry. This would be all."- He snapped out of it, taking out his credit card to pay.

He paid and walked away, without ever looking back at the girl again.

'What the hell... was that?'

He pondered as he exited the store.

'God, I must be going insane... Wouldn't be surprised.'

Quickly pushing his thoughts aside, he took a turn, cracked the can open and continued on his way home.