First Impressions

October 5th - Kimura Kiyomi

The day Suzuki Hanami came into my life was an otherwise very ordinary one. It was the first monday in October, the weather was still warm, but you could feel fall coming on. It was my first year of High School and I was still very nervous about being a high schooler and only had one real friend in my class so far and that was Tanaka Reiko and I knew her from middle school, so it didn't feel like much of an accomplishment. All my other endeavors in trying to find friends were less than successful to say the least. But in this moment I was just like all the other girls in my class and I was struck by the looks of the boy that had just entered the classroom and was introduced by the teacher. His standout feature was his silver hair that he wore in short spikes.

The color was hard to describe, but it didn't look gray like the hair of an old person would, but actually silver. For some reason it reminded me of the moon right away. Maybe because his eyes look like craters as well. His pupils were of a very dark black like I had never seen before and you could feel his gaze piercing you even from a distance. At the same time it was hard to read his expression as he seemed to wear no emotion on his face at all. He was still very good looking with well defined features and skin that was smooth and of a strange, but beautiful complexion. I could honestly say that I had never seen someone like him before. My friend Reiko was sitting in the seat in front of mine turned around to say something to me, but she seemed to stop after she realized that I was staring at the boy that stood at the front of our classroom.

“Hello Kiyomi, are you there?” I flinched and looked at her.

“Yes, of course, what is it Reiko?” I tried to make it look like I wasn't totally lost in thought, but didn't Manage to pull it off. Reiko smiled her mischievous smile. This didn't bode well.

“You were so gawking at that guy, admit it”, she said without mercy.

“Eh, no, of course not, what are you...” I gave up halfway through the sentence as her smile only grew wider and more mischievous. What had I gotten myself into now?

“He's a looker, I admit it”, she continued, turning back to take another look herself. What was even going on right now? Meanwhile the teacher told the new guy to introduce himself and I was curious what his voice might sound like.

“My name is Suzuki Hanami. I will be joining your class from today on. Thank you.” That was all he said as he bowed very slightly. The teacher seemed to think about asking him to tell more about himself, but for some reason he seemed hesitant and gave up on it. Suzukis voice sounded very cold and almost mechanical. But at the same time it felt like it was the voice of someone you could really rely on and I felt like for some reason I could really trust him. Like his appearance his voice was unlike anything I had ever heard before. The teacher looked around the room for an empty seat. I looked to my right and to my shock the seat to my right was empty and had been all year. And of course the teacher looked right at that very seat. I didn't know whether my heart could take it. But what I was saying? I just saw this guy for the first time. There were no feelings involved.

“Kimura Kiyomi, please raise your hand.” I did as instructed, I hoped no one could see how much my arm was actually shaking. “Please take the seat next to her Suzuki.” He did as instructed and sat down next to me. I couldn't do anything but stare down at my desk. After a couple minutes I couldn't take that anymore either and tried to sneak a glance at my new desk neighbor. To my shock he was looking directly at me. Back to staring at my desk I went. Oh god. I wasn't prepared for this. The lecture had finally started and I tried to focus on what the teacher was trying to explain to us, but it was no use. I never had felt anything like this in my life. To add to my misery Reiko of course was turning back to me again and immediately recognized the state I was in. She leaned forward and whispered to me.

“Hey, how are you doing Kiyomi?”

“I'm doing perfectly fine, thanks for asking.” I hated this.

“If you say so.” She turned back and I just could see her big smile. I had to close my eyes to avoid going completely insane. I just had to get through this lecture. And this day. And this month. And the rest of my time in high school. Yeah, no big deal. As I opened my eyes I saw a folded piece of paper laying on my desk. Who was that from? I wondered whether I should just hand it to the next table, but then I noticed the paper had my name on it. So it was definitely meant for me.

With shaking hands I unfolded the paper. At first my vision was so blurry that I didn't register what was written on the piece of paper, but when I did things weren't getting any easier for my heart.

Please come to the rooftop after school.

I need to talk to you.

Suzuki

Oh no. What was this? I didn't even know him. What could he possibly want to tell me? I had to close my eyes again. This was just torture. I would never make it to the end of this day. I couldn't help but look at him again, but this time he was looking forward and seemed to follow the lecture like a model student. Maybe he was a model student. I didn't know him after all. This whole situation was doing my head in. I myself was a pretty good student, but I also spent a lot of time studying. But this was also a relatively prestigious high school and getting here was a big accomplishment for me. So I tried to maintain my grades and so far I was doing okay, but it definitely didn't feel easy at all. Reiko on the other hand was what you would call a gifted student and she could ace any test without even trying. At least that's what I thought for the longest time, but then she told me that she was also spending a lot of time studying. But that's just what she said. I'm still wasn't sure she didn't just say that to make me feel better. Or worse depending on how you looked at it.

Somehow I got through the day. During our breaks I tried to sit still in the hopes of becoming invisible and at the same time tried to sneak some glances at Suzuki to see what he might be up to and why he would want to meet me on the roof. But he stayed an enigma. He didn't move from his seat and didn't eat or even drink anything. Maybe he was some sort of advanced Android? Or maybe not so advanced since he seemed to do a subpar job at mimicking a human being. But after the final bell of the day rang he packed his books, got up and left the classroom without as much as looking at me. I stayed behind unsure what to do. Should I actually even go to the roof? What would happen to me if I met him up there? Then Reiko approached me.

“Do you want to go get some ice cream or something on our way home?” She asked in her usual tone of voice which was suspicious for some reason.

“Eh, I have something to do, you better leave without me.”

“Oh, I see. Something related to that paper the new guy put on your table?” There was the smile again. I had walked right into her trap.

“Well, I don't want to disturb your romance, but don't forget to invite me to the wedding, okay?” Why did she feel the need to say something like this? Luckily for me she left it at that and went on her way, but not without smiling and waving at me as she left the room. Now I really had no excuse to not go. But to be honest, I really wanted to go. What could he possibly want from me? I was thinking about it all the time since I read the paper and still didn't have a clue. I got up from my table and hung my bag over my shoulder. Slowly I walked out of the classroom and up the stairs to the roof. Shouldn't the door be locked anyway? But as I got to the door it was open and when I walked out onto the roof I could see Suzuki standing at the railing looking into the distance. It probably would have looked like quite the dramatic pose if he had long hair blowing in the wind, but even so he still captivated me for some reason. As I walked towards him he slowly turned around.