"Moderator of this Universe"

Someone once told me, that if you start doing something out of your comfort zone, more uncomfortable things will head your way.

Arriving to school on the following Monday, I find myself sitting next to the window during recess again.

"The students here are having so much fun, huh?"

Suddenly, the classroom door which was supposed to be shut, opened.

"Figured we'd find you in here, you hapless philosopher."

Who're you calling hapless?

"Oi Yuta! Don't say that! That's mean!"

I should greet them.

"Hi again, Yuta and Mayu. How are you two faring today?"

"I absolutely hate maths..." 

"It was great!" 

"Anyways, would you like to play a game with us, Yoshimitsu?" Yuta asked cheerily.

"I don't see why not, since I have nothing better to do anyway."

With friends now, I sometimes find myself playing the breaks away with Mayu and Yuta— they both usually head inside this classroom and look for me to play cards and all sorts of other stuff. Life has become much more interesting thanks to them.

Of course, there still exists time for me to gather my thoughts. I always do so whenever they're not around. I enjoy answering my own questions and thoughts about things sometimes, which is why gathering my thoughts helps me do so.

After another fun card game of Tycoon (I won by the way, I win tycoon all the time), we returned to our desks and awaited the next lesson. This was basically how we spent our days in school, and everything was much more lively and enjoyable. We would play small tabletop games in the classroom during break, and indulge in casual banter between each other.

This however, only went on for a week. It was all fun and going well, until 'the mysterious figure' came back.

Familiar with the phrase "Always check twice"?

I didn't, and the consequences came crawling back to me today.

"Hey Yoshimitsu! I want to introduce you to someone!" Yuta said while he came to me.

"Who would this person be?"

A seemingly familiar figure came into the classroom. He had very pale skin and wore a steampunk hat to school, though I do not understand why.

"Class, this is the new transfer student, Darpan Almeida." The teacher announced.

"Hi guys, I'm Darpan, but people call me 'Darp'. I'm also technically from Spain, but I have an Indian mother, and that's pretty much it yeah." Darp said, in a carefree manner.

The impression this person gave off to me, was that "they were trouble", and "they were lousy". Darp was trouble, and I knew that my intuition was right, because his next few introductory lines were confusing and incomprehensible— and they wounded my mentality greatly.

"Oh, it's Suzuki! You were the guy that Yuta here told me about right?"

"Yes..."

He must be the weird kid Yuta was talking about.

"That means I've trailed the right person!"

Man, I knew it. He's the fucking kid from the other day when I was going home after bowling!

Why would he trail me though? I'll pretend to play dumb, even though I knew he was following me.

"You do realize that stalking is a criminal offense, right?" I said, in a serious manner.

"Oh but I did it for him. I did it all for him, the moderator of this universe!"

The what now?

This kid was deranged. Not only did he not have common sense, he started to spout delusional fantasies. A "moderator"? What in the world would he be referring to?

"Yoshimitsu, don't think too hard about it. It'll hurt your brain!" Mayu told me, showing some concern.

"I told you he was weird." Yuta said while shrugging.

He really was.

I'm not convinced though. Thanks to him, I'm curious about what his thoughts are about the things around him, his surroundings. The way his concepts work, everything. 

But in the end, I'd rather not deal with weird people.

It's tiring, after all.

If anything, the last thing I'd want to associate myself with is an idiot who I cannot comprehend.

"Hey baby girl, you wanna meet up later?"

"I'm a guy, and I'm not homosexual, so I apologize if that disappoints you."

Take a hint, seriously.

"God! Darpan, stop harassing Yoshimitsu!" Yuta said.

"Man, next time then."

Resigning from the conversation, Darp slowly walked to his seat and sat down. For the next few lessons, he quickly gained attention from our other classmates, chatting and talking whenever he had a chance. It irritates me, rendering me unable to listen in class, as he continues to interrupt the lecture. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with him for too long, as not long after, lunch arrived.

"Shouldn't we do something about Darpan's behavior?" Yuta said to me, right as class ended.

"No. I think it's best to play it safe for now, and not get involved with him."

His actions unsettle me. After all, he tried to flirt with me and was following me home just yesterday— he could potentially be an obsessed stalker, though the chances are unlikely. Despite that, the evidence that he was intrigued with me is there, and it does frighten me, if not a little bit.

I don't think I'll sleep well tonight.

While thinking about what and how to react, he suddenly entered the classroom, while stating and blurting things that relate to what he said earlier; about a "moderator watching over us, coding everything we do".

"Suzuki, I'm telling you, he coded it bro."

"I have zero clue as to what you're talking about."

"LIAM CODED IT!"

Who is Liam? Even within this international school, I don't ever recall hearing the name 'Liam' being mentioned anywhere within our grade. Perhaps he got it mixed up with one of our juniors?

"Who's Liam? Are you looking for him?" Yuta said, before I could say anything.

"I'm telling you, he's among us; he coded it, and he's right here in this classroom."

"Coded it?"

"Yeah, he coded it."

"Just so you know, I'm not this 'moderator' you speak of— so don't go saying weird things about me, and maintain order in this classroom okay?"

"ok mod"

"bruh"

"Stop harassing Yoshimitsu!" Mayu shouted, bringing the room to an awkward silence.

...

"Wow Liam coded it, trust me! It's mutually beneficial."

There's nothing mutually beneficial about interrupting awkward silence!

"Great way to break the atmosphere, you delusional dimwit," Yuta said.

I kinda wanna slap Darpan's face now. He really doesn't know when to shut up.

Luckily for us, the teacher cut in just before I lost it.

"Alright Darpan, you need to calm down and not bother your fellow classmates, okay?"

Oh thank the heavens for Mr. Tanaka to cut in.

"I hope your brain hasn't fried from all that yet, Yoshimitsu. The whole class certainly has!" Yuta said, jokingly.

"I'm as lost as a snail on a rainy foggy day..." Mayu said, clearly showing to be lacking in understanding the situation she had caused.

The whole class was still silently staring at Darpan, even with Mr. Tanaka in the room.

Sometimes I forget that she's the damn class princess, and that she doesn't notice it.

"Darpan Almeida, huh?"

It's actually been a rather long time since I've dealt with someone weird and incomprehensible. As I've mainly been alone throughout my life, I don't get involved with these types of people. And so I also wonder,

Was he the same as I am?

There's the off-chance that Darpan had only wanted to talk to me because he found me interesting; though it could also be unlikely as he was one that stalked me during my walk home and was also oddly devoted to his weird concepts. 

I really can't understand him.

Yet, I also envy him. He was able to freely express those beliefs of his, even if they didn't make sense to anyone else; he did not fear being judged by others, and was able to say whatever he wanted. He kept on pushing his statements onto others, as if he didn't care about what he was going to be told.

Most importantly, and I'm not putting this lightly, is that he knows what he's doing; he's fully conscious of the fact that there are boundaries (shown from his resignation of the conversation when the teacher walked in), but he continues to spread the belief of a "moderator coding this universe", and that alone really irritates me— he seemed so free and so spontaneous, that you wouldn't be able to stop his actions, even if you taped his mouth shut and tied him to a chair.

In my eyes, he was the embodiment of free will; passionate and eccentric. 

The complete opposite of who I was.

I live my life, conformed and fearful of the judgement of others; at the same time, my mind tells me that I shouldn't be concerned over such trivial things, which is why I take my time off alone in the classroom. It's how I find peace within this contradictory life that we live in.

Or so I tell myself.

Talk about having an inferior complex. I should tune down the self insults a bit.

Darpan Almeida, you are truly one diabolical beast.

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As my extra seminar for maths ended, the sun began to set, and I was still on campus. The classrooms were empty, the hallways were devoid of sound, and I was all alone once more.

"The silence really can be deafening..."

It's quite melodramatic for me to say this, but my view of the school can differ depending on how its being occupied. At day, the school is a place filled with activity and energy; by dusk, it's a lonely space, devoid of sound. It's strange to see an atmosphere differ so easily just because the time is different.

I'm honestly tired... Tired from all the things that have been happening around me, and tired from my own workload. After all, so many things have happened within the span of these past few days.

As I walked down the stairs, he appeared in front of me again; Darpan Almeida.

"Did you finish coding it?" Darpan asked.

It's probably best to just go along with his little play for now.

"Yeah, I've finished 'coding it'. How about you? Aren't you supposed to be home by now?" I asked out of curiousity.

"I was practicing my finger skills. Trust me, it will be mutually beneficial."

Whatever that is.

"Ah, okay. Safe trips home then."

I already fail to comprehend him, so I'm leaving as quickly as possible!

"Why do you look like you're in such a hurry? Can't you just code it?" Darpan said, while glaring at me.

"I didn't code shit, and yes I'm in a hurry to go home, so I'll see you tomorrow, Darpan."

I NEED TO GET HOME FAST

I practically ran away from Darpan. I'm sick of his weirdness, and the fact that he tells me to 'code it' or that the world is being 'moderated'. It's already bizarre to have someone telling you all sorts of bullshit like this in a senior high school.

"Man, I have to tell Yuta to stop associating himself with this person. It's dangerous."

As the sun slowly backed into the darkness and the sky turned dark, I walked home quickly, not wanting anymore mishaps to wriggle into my life. It's already tiring for me to maintain social contact, and I can't be bothered to keep up anymore. Moreover, talking to Darpan literally makes me lose braincells. It's detrimental to my health.

"I wanna talk to someone logical for once..."

What did I learn today?

People can be deranged;

People can be mentally broken;

and that logic may not always be the correct answer.

It seems though he wasn't even technically listening to me at all.

Then again, I wonder what all that was about. What did he mean by "practicing his fingers"? And what did he mean by "code it"? Even though he may not have been listening to a single word I said, I surely have been paying attention. While the fact that I lose my sanity and patience talking to him stays true, I also find myself intrigued by his behavior and patterns.

"Perhaps one day I'll find enough time to slowly talk to him and understand him."

But that day is not today. I still don't have the energy for it, after all.

After I get home, I'm going to go to sleep.