Chapter 4:

新しい人生  Pt.2 (A New Life)

二個目の命 (second life)


The wind blows past me, swaying the tree branches. Leaves fall to the pavement as more students walk past. I can hear the birds chirping and feel the hot sun that is glazing at the ground. I take a big breath before stepping into the new school.

"Ok, here we go!" I said as I began walking into the campus.

There seem to be a lot more people than I expected. I need to ask someone for directions to the teacher's office. So I looked around for someone I can ask. Over on my right, I saw a girl sitting alone next to a door reading a book.

"She seems talkable!" I thought as I began walking towards her.

"Um, excuse me? Can you help me find the way to the teacher's office?" She doesn't respond.

"Uh...hello? Can you hear me?" I said as I took a step closer.

I reached my hand out to grab the book that was covering her face.

The girl's eyes were closed. "So she was asleep the whole time, huh? I whispered to myself.

I opened the book to check for a library card in the back. There it was, the girls' name is Kobayashi Sayuri.

"What a cute name," I mumbled.

(A library card or '図書カード' is a piece of paper at the back of the book that shows the people that have borrowed the book and when.

With the book in hand, I tapped it on her head. "Hey, wake up, sleepyhead. I need you to help me find the teacher's office.

Her eyes began moving. "Huh? Who are you?"  She said, confused and still tired.

"Hi, I'm Momoe, and I'm new here. Can you help me find the teacher's office?”  I asked.

"Why couldn't you ask someone else? Can't you see that I was sleeping?” She scoffed.

"I didn't know that you were sleeping because your book was covering your face. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to annoy you." I apologized.

"Ugh, it's fine. I'll show you the way to the teacher's office.” She said, standing up from the hard pavement.

"Thanks! By the way, how old are you, Sayuri? I asked.

"Wait, HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?" She shouted.

"Calm down. I just saw your name on the book's library card." I replied, trying to get her to calm down.

"Seems like I got it right!"

"Yes, you did, and it almost gave me a heart attack."

"Stop overreacting! We are in the same school anyway.” I said to her while smirking.

"So, how old are you?" I asked once more.

"I'm 15."

"Oh my gosh, we are the same age!!! Ekkkkkk" I screamed.

"You are the one that's overreacting now." She sneered at me.

"Hey! I was just happy to get to know someone in the same age group, ok?” I said defensively.

"Haha, oh, we are almost at the teacher's office now. Once we go up the stairs and turn left, we will be there." She said as we started climbing the stairs.

I opened the door to the teacher's office and turned around to Sayuri.

"Thanks a lot! Do you mind sitting with me during break time because, you know, I don't have any friends yet..." I implied.

"Sure. I have nothing else to do anyway. I'll see you at the same spot I was sleeping at this morning." She said as she closed the office door.