Obtaining Friends

Heading towards where the scream originated from, I spot 2 students in the hallway; Mayu Asano and Yuta Masashige. They're both in my class. I wonder what they were doing out here. They were both staring at something on the floor.

"Yuck, gross!" Asano seemed disgusted and scared. Was it something that scared her? Did she stumble upon something menacing? 

I approach the scene. In front of the window, lies a big, dead wasp. "There she blows..." I responded, after seeing what the situation was.

"Ah, it's Suzuki! How have you been faring?" Masashige said.

"You know how I always spend my time in the classroom... There's no point in asking me that." I replied, with an apathetic tone.

"I wonder what brought you here?" He asked me, curiously.

"I heard someone screaming earlier, so I thought I'd check it out." I said to him, even though in reality I just wanted a change of pace.

Yuta Masashige. Age 17. He's a rather... eccentric person. I always see him full of energy, inside and outside of class, doing weird things. He's also known to be very kind. From my observations, I can tell that this kindness is sometimes taken advantage of. Despite this, he does nothing about it, and continues to bring positivity to the people around him. To me, he's like a modern day saint— forgiving and tolerant to everyone around him. I envy his big heart and carefree attitude, yet at the same time, I hate how he feigns ignorance towards being a tool. It's as though he was living to serve others, and sometimes the thought of it makes me sick.

I value freedom above everything else. If a person isn't free, they are unable to achieve anything, because everything done by them will be for the interests of another person. This is why I hate conformity; it's a reason why I can't make friends and why I stay away from large groups of people, because you would then be confronted by peer pressure. This peer pressure then drives people to blend in and become one with the norm, and takes away all sorts of feelings for expression and individuality. You become judged, unable to do anything against the large amounts of people pointing at you, fearing your differences.

"Here, I'll throw the wasp back out." I replied. "Insects are such feeble creatures... Yet we fear them so much. It's quite odd, huh?"

"God, enough with the philosophy already!" Asano said in a stubborn manner. "You're always on about the deeper meanings, no matter where I go!"

Mayu Asano, Age 16. She's younger than the whole grade, so her birthday only occurs by the end of the school year. Despite her age, she's one of our top students; showing excellent prowess in both physical skills and academic skills. She's also got a warm personality, so the whole class adores her (and the males all simp for her in which I, of course, don't do that.)  and always goes to her for help, resulting in her having many friends (more like followers, since Asano usually ignores them). She also always tries to stand out, spreading her individuality everywhere. I would usually see her with a lot more of her buddies but surprisingly, only Masashige was accompanying her today. She isn't into romance, so I guess they're just having a one-on-one conversation; until that dead wasp showed up, that is. Then again, it's possible that these two are going out... Asano is pretty popular, and she's very attractive— slim build, gold-like eyes and auburn long hair. These two would make a perfect couple. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. 

"Anyways, what were you two doing out in the hallway? Isn't today the perfect day for some strolling out in the field?" I said in a smug tone, teasing them.

"You don't have permission to say that, you sad loner!" Asano replied as she raised her voice.

Though... "Sad loner"? Did they really feel sorry for me? Or were they just making fun of my isolation? I wonder. It's probably the latter, but I won't know for sure until I nudge and ask. I'll do so in a jokingly manner, indirectly hinting at the question.

"So I'm a 'Sad loner', huh." I said as a responded to her statement. 

"That's cause we always see you doing things alone no matter where we go, Suzuki." said Masashige, as he looked towards the scene outside.

This is getting off-topic. This is bullying.

"I get it, I get it. Stop bullying me."

"We aren't bullying you!" The two said in unison. Wow.

"Alright, alright... Back to topic, what were you two doing here?"

"We were taking a stroll here because it's too hot outside. It's summer after all; the heat can be unbearable outside."

It's May 2025. The global temperature kept increasing since the early 2000s, and so summer became a season full of heat and sweat. I guess it's natural for them, wanting to hide under the roofed school building and in a hallway with air-conditioning.

"And then during this said stroll, you two came across a dead wasp's body and Asano here started screaming like a maniac, disrupting the silence. I understand."

I actually don't understand. I wonder why people fear dead things? Sure, it's can be a bit hard to look at, but like it's just an inanimate object in the end. Am I the one at fault?

"No you don't! It was a scary and ugly thing to see, alright?!" said Asano in a panicked manner.

Asano's a big bug hater huh? I guess that's one thing we have in common. She and I are polar opposites after all.

"Are wasps really that scary...? Oh that reminds me; Suzuki, wanna join us on our stroll?" Masashige said happily.

From the context so far, I'm pretty sure most of you know by now that I am a loner, so opportunities like this don't come often; yet should I accept the offer, or continue to be alone?

"Why not I guess? The silence in that classroom was deafening."

It really does get old after sometime of staring out the window.

"Ahahaha! Do you admit to being lonely now, Suzuki?" Asano said in a teasingly manner.

"Well it does get too quiet sometimes, and I wanted to go for a change of pace." I said in response to her question.

"Then let's be friends!"

"Friends...?"

"God, you're so dense Suzuki! I'm saying we'll be your buddies, your comrades in hand! It will be a mutual friendship." 

Ah, friends. The essence of school. Would having friends make my life less dull and more interesting? I guess I'll find out in due time. It was worth it then, coming out to check what's up, because I've wanted to try new things for a while now. Sure, it's nice, being all alone, but it sometimes gets to you... How you want to be accompanied, and how you want to be known to others. I've said that I yearned for friendship before... This still holds true, so deep down I'm really glad I encountered these two.

"I'll happily accept then." I replied in a stoic manner.

"You don't look so happy to me," said Masashige, who stopped staring at the window and looked towards the two of us.

"It's my dull expression. Don't worry about it."

"Dull expression? Man, you are a boring person, aren't you? Always looking so down in the dumps, as if you were a dead man... No wonder you're a loner."

I knew it. They're out to judge me again. In the end, am I really good enough to be their friends? Both of them are well known within our class... It may tarnish their image if they started being friends with a deluded loner like me.

"—but hey, that's all the more reason for us to be friends with you. Our hyper active energy and your moodiness cancel out, you know? Besides, we've wanted another person in our friend group for a while now... Well, more like a friend duo. It's just me and Asano here as of now, after all."

"Am I really fit to be your friend? I'm a boring and dull person, and there are tons more options out there..."

"God, Suzuki! Did you not hear a single word that Masashige said? Sure, we maybe the class's high and mighty, but that doesn't make it so that you can't be our friend! If you thought our 'followers' are our friends, then you'd want to think again! You're sometimes so deluded, you know." 

I never thought Asano would be the one to correct my way of thinking. I feel blessed.

"... You're right. Alright then, I look forward to our journeys together!"

" Our 'Journeys together'? That's such a weird way of putting it, but I like it!" Asano said.

We all laughed after that. It really did seem like a perfect scene. I guess I was sorely mistaken; I'm such a horrible person, judging others so quickly. I wonder what the future will bring now, with the three of us as friends. Would it be fun? Would it be horrific? It'll be different; that's all I know for sure.

The bell then rings, echoing throughout the hall. Just in time huh? I wonder where all these picture-perfect situations are coming from.

"Well, the bell is ringing. Let's head back to our classes now."

Asano then jumped, as if she had an idea.

"Oh that reminds me! Let's meet up after school, I want to show you both something!"

"Show us something? Well, we can't skip out on a lady's offer now, right Suzuki?" 

Masashige, you really are an eccentric individual, huh?

"I guess you're right about that. We'll meet up after school, at the front entrance."