Fragment 4. A Normal Morning

“Haruno, fix your bed hair, will you?”

“Unnhh~”

“Seriously, this child…”

I ate breakfast with my eyes half-closed. I barely slept last night. Thanks to the bizarre thing I witnessed yesterday, my mind was still a mess. Even now, I kept replaying it in my head.  But no matter how hard I think about it, I can't understand what it really is.

Still spacing out even on my way to school, I ran into someone who caught my attention.

She was tiny—her height probably didn’t even reach 150 cm. Her straight black hair fell down her back, and her bangs were long enough to almost cover her eyes. She was wearing the Hōseikan Girls’ Academy uniform, so she was clearly a student from the same school as me.

I thought she was an elementary or middle schooler. Turns out, she was my age.

Her hand reached out in front of her as if she were stroking something. Perhaps realizing that I was staring at her, she turned to look at me.

Her shoulders jumped in shock when our eyes met. She probably didn’t expect anyone to see whatever she had been doing. She opened her mouth, trying to think of an excuse, but gave up and hurried away without saying anything.

“H–Hey, wait!”

I tried calling out to her, but she ignored me. Well, of course she would. Even I didn’t know why I called out in the first place. It’s not like we know each other. And whatever she was doing wasn’t my business to begin with.

Since we were heading toward the same school, I thought I’d see her again. But she vanished without a trace.

Lately it feels like I keep running into weird people who disappear at light speed.

When I arrived in class, I thought I’d be the first one there. I left at the same time as yesterday, except this time I didn’t get on the wrong train. So, there's still plenty of time before the bell rings.

But when I opened the classroom door, someone was already there. She sat in the very front seat by the window, staring outside with her chin resting on her hand. Her long hair swayed in the breeze coming through the open window.

My eyes stayed glued to her from the moment I stepped inside until I reached my desk. She, on the other hand, never once looked my way. It was entirely possible she hadn’t even noticed me enter.

Should I greet her? But I don’t know her name.

I only transferred yesterday. I don’t remember everyone’s names yet. But not greeting her just because I didn’t know her name also felt wrong.

Uuuuu… Let’s do it!

I gathered my courage and approached her. Even when I stood right beside her desk, she didn't look in my direction.

“Good morning!”

Finally aware of my presence, the girl turned her head. Everything about her—her appearance and her movements—was elegant. A beautiful face, a slender figure, skin as white as porcelain. She looked like a princess who stepped straight out of a storybook.

“…Do you need something from me?”

“Eh?!”

She spoke as if I were a complete stranger. Well, we technically were. But she at least should’ve recognized me from yesterday’s self-introduction, right? RIGHT?

“My name is Mibayashi Haruno. I’m the transfer student who joined this class yesterday.”

“Ah, uhn.”

“Er… may I know your name?”

“Oh. It’s Miyuki.”

“Miyuki-san, huh? That’s a lovely name.”

“Thank you.”

Her lack of enthusiasm made things painfully awkward. She didn’t seem interested in me or anything I said. Desperate to keep the conversation alive, I glanced at the open book on her desk.

“Are you studying? Wow, you’re so diligent! Studying even before the class started.”

“Ah, yes. It’s just normal. Nothing special about it.”

“...”

Someone help me. I can't keep dealing with this!!

As if hearing my cry for help, the classroom door burst open.

“Good morniiiing!”

A bright, sharp voice filled the room. An energetic girl entered with her right hand raised high, greeting the entire class.

“Good morning, Hana-san.”

“Oh! Haruno-chan! Morning!”

Hana bounced into the room, full of energy. Behind her was a beautiful girl with an elegant, mature aura.

“Good morning, Mibayashi-san.”

“Good morning to you too, Chono-san.”

We exchanged brief greetings, and then Hana suddenly shouted as if she had just witnessed a miracle.

“Eeeeh?! What’s this?! You can talk to the Princess?! Haruno-chan, you’re amazing!”

“Huh? Princess?”

“Yes! Himeji Miyuki-san! Also known as Hime-sama!”

“Ahh…”

So that’s her full name. And she even has a nickname. But well… it fits her perfectly.

“Wait—what do you mean by ‘you can’?” I asked, realizing something was off.

Hana rotated her wrist dramatically and pointed both palms toward Himeji-san.

“I mean this.”

Following her gesture, I looked over and saw that Himeji had already returned to her book. Her eyes were fixed on the page, her hand moving nonstop. I thought she had just been quietly observing us… but no. She had been completely absorbed in her own world the whole time.

“Moshi moshi, Himeji-san?”

Hana waved her hand dramatically in front of Himeji’s face. Yet Himeji didn’t react at all. Hana eventually gave up with a shrug.

“That’s how she is. Once Himeji-san enters her Princess Mode, she can’t be disturbed. She only talks when she wants to, and she ignores everything else when she doesn’t. Just like a real princess!” Hana said proudly, puffing out her chest.

She seemed proud of something that had nothing to do with her.

“Why do you feel proud?” Chono scolded, voicing my thoughts. She joined us after putting down her bag.

“Ehehe~”

Hana laughed sheepishly, but she recovered immediately—as usual—and went right back to bragging about the princess.

“But Hime-sama is amazing, you know! She’s ranked first in our entire year! Her exam scores are almost always perfect!”

“Like I said, stop acting proud as if Himeji-san belongs to you.”

While Chono sighed, I could only murmur, “Hee~ That's incredible.”

People say the line between genius and crazy is thin. Maybe Himeji was the perfect example.

Not that I thought she was crazy. But if she was that smart, then it wasn’t surprising she seemed bored or uninterested when talking to me. In her eyes, someone like me—just a pebble on the roadside—probably didn’t deserve her attention.

“Besides, she was so amazing that we once had a game about her.”

“A game? What game?”

“A game called ‘Who Can Earn the Honor of Speaking to the Princess’. We competed to see who could get her to talk to us.”

“There was a game like that?!”

“Of course there was!”

“You just made that game up,” Chono interjected flatly.

“You keep approaching Himeji-san relentlessly even though she never pays any attention to you. Even when everyone told you to stop, you just said, ‘I will not give up until I earn an audience with the Princess.’ And ever since then, everyone started treating the chance to talk to her like something special. Anyone who actually managed it was considered blessed or something. It was ridiculous.” Chono sighed and massaged her temples.

Once again, Hana responded only with her signature, “Tehe!”

While we were chatting, the classroom door opened again.

“Morniiiing!”

“Good morning, Sara-chan! Maya-san!”

Hana sprinted toward the girls who had just arrived. The instant she left, so did the lively atmosphere.

I glanced at Chono, who was still watching the new arrivals, and at Himeji, who was already back in her deep-focus study mode.

I guess there wasn’t much left to talk about.

Just as I about to return to my seat, Chono brought up the one thing I dreaded.

“Mibayashi-san, can I ask for your contact info? I want to add you to the class group.”

“Eh?! Um… sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to give it to you, but… I don’t have a phone.”

“Huh? Seriously?”

“Yes. Seriously.”

Silence fell between us. I knew this would happen. That’s why I hated when people asked for my contact information. But for personal reasons, I simply couldn’t own a phone. So yeah, I trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Suddenly, Hana—who had been on the opposite side of the classroom—came running back at top speed.

“What?! You don’t have a phone, Haruno-chan?!”

“Yes. I don’t.”

“Not even a flip phone?!”

“Not even that.”

Even Hana, ever cheerful and energetic, was rendered speechless. She froze in shock.

But as always, she bounced back in the most unpredictable direction.

“A-Amazing! How did you survive all this time without a phone?!”

“I mean… humans don’t die just because they don’t have a phone.”

“They're dead! How do you connect with the world?! You can’t contact your friends! Then how do you—mMHhmmpphh!”

Chono immediately clamped a hand over Hana’s mouth.

“Alright, that’s enough. You’re overwhelming Mibayashi-san.”

When she released her, Hana inhaled sharply, gasping for air like she’d been underwater.

To avoid making things more complicated, I hurried to explain.

“Maybe because I lived in the countryside, I never felt the need for a phone. I could just talk to my friends at school, or just go to their houses. Studying from books was more than enough. If I wanted the latest news, I could just watch TV. That's why, I don't think I need a phone that much.”

Even after my long explanation, both Hana and Chono stay silent. I couldn’t tell if they were unsure how to respond or if they still couldn’t believe someone like me existed.

Not wanting to drag this out, I took the easy way out.

“B-But, you might have a point. Maybe I’ll ask my parents to buy me one soon. I mean, I don’t live in the countryside anymore, so having a phone would probably help.”

And then, as if she hadn’t heard a single word of what I said earlier, Hana burst out.

“Really?! Then promise me—I’ll be the first contact in your phone!”

Her eyes sparkled with hope. As always, her emotions bounced around like a pinball.

I guess I was worrying for nothing.

“There's no way that will happen. Her parents will be the first contacts in her phone.”

“That’s true! Then, the first one after your parents!”

I couldn’t help but smile. Her cheerfulness and optimism were impossible to resist. Though, deep down, I felt a little guilty.

Sorry, Hana-san, for lying to you.

By the time we realized it, the classroom had already become lively. Students trickled in one after another, chatting and laughing. And then our homeroom teacher, Morioka-sensei, entered to begin homeroom.