What is happening?

September 13, 2030; Monday

I woke up earlier than my usual time. My morning routine didn't change. I bathed, cooked, ate, dressed up, and made my way to school.

Walking towards my school was pretty peaceful. No one was close to my apartment, so that meant I was alone. No one could bother me while I was going to my high school, Kyoto General Highschool.

This school was quite the normal school for the students in Kyoto, so I thought that this school was going to be perfect for me. At the time of my enrollment, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to show my abilities to the students. But that ended up being worse than failing. I didn't think about any of that, knowing that it wouldn't change anything.

After a 15-minute walk, I made it to the entrance of the school. Students were already inside the campus. I took a look at my watch, it was 6:45 AM. The class starts at 7'AM so I was on time. Some students were coming to school alone or with some of their friends. Of course, I was one of the former.

As soon as I walked at the gate, the students immediately spotted me and started talking about me. Their responses to me entering their field of view were the same as any other day.

"Hey, there's the guy." a boy said to his friends.

"What a disgrace." A boy with glasses said to himself.

"He's the worst." A yellow-haired girl said to her girlfriends.

Any form of ridicule they could come up with, they said. Even without talking, their facial expressions had the same intent. Hearing all of this, I did nothing but put my head down and walked straight into my shoe locker inside.

When I opened my locker, I grabbed my shoes, but I got pricked by something. I looked inside my shoes, and I found pins. This could've only been done by the punks at school. They always picked on me because of what I did to them before. I beat them and continuously bragged in front of them. I guess this was their way of getting back at me. Thankfully, I didn't see anyone in the vicinity. It would've been a lot worse if someone saw me getting pricked. I took out all the pins and inserted my feet into the shoes.

I walked upstairs to the third floor, where my classroom is. I passed by students talking to each other but they would immediately stop and mocked me when I passed by them.

I was now in front of the door of my classroom, 2-E-the 2 means "second-year." I took hold of the door but before opening it, I braced myself for what was going to happen when I do so. I close my eyes and braced myself before opening my eyes and the door.

As soon as I did so, the once lively class went completely quiet. They immediately stopped their chatting to look at me with sickening glares Everyone looked like they saw a disgusting insect. Maybe that's what they thought of me as I looked at them.

I closed the door behind me and made my way to my seat. From the door to my seat, the glares that looked like they were tearing my insides never went away even when I took my seat at the back of the class. This seat was the best spot for me as it was the least conspicuous place. Despite that, I couldn't avoid their resentful gazes.

When I sat down a girl immediately stood up and walked toward my seat. I knew those long white hair and red eyes too well. The class president, Shiro Junichiro.

"Hey, loser." She said facing me. The word "loser" clearly referred to me. I didn't do anything. But she slammed the desk, producing a loud "BAM."

"Hey, didn't you hear me?" She gets close to me, wanting to get a response out of me. But I wasn't going to give her one.

"Oh, not gonna budge huh?" She placed down the thing she's been hiding behind her back before finishing her sentence.

"Maybe if you lose again, you'll break." The object which lay in front of me was a chessboard. It was just a board, but it immediately brought back horrific memories. This didn't happen on Saturday when I played the spirit. Was it because she was a noble girl that I didn't get terrified? I dunno but that doesn't matter now. I had to focus on the current situation.

"Hey, you're gonna accept the challenge right? Or are you too scared to lose?" she continued pushing me to accept. Of course, I had no plans to say yes, but I was too scared to even touch the board.

I wanted to say no. But what would happen if I refuse? Will I be called a coward? A weakling? However, that didn't matter to me. I already made a promise to myself not to play. The event on Saturday only deepened the reason why. I opened my mouth, trying to speak. But nothing came out of my mouth. I could only mutter sounds. I struggled to stand up against her.

"Hey, little girl, why don't you buzz off?" Suddenly, I heard a girl's voice. I tried to look where the sound came from in the class, but no one was speaking.

"if you're looking for me, I'm here." There it is again. I quickly turned at the window and saw something faint. A white dress, long hair, and a slender body. Her body all looked faint, almost see-through. She was like a floating ghost. Wait a minute...

"M-Megumi?!!!" My mouth which could make any sound before had just loudly exclaimed. The ghostly girl was the spirit, Megumi. What's she doing here? I thought she left already.

"W-What are you doing here?!" I continued to ask loudly. I heard that only worthy people can see them. I must look like an idiot to my classmates.

"Hey loser, what are you blabbering about?!" Shiro confronted me about my sudden shock at seeing Megumi.

"U-uhmm..." I tried to speak but I only stuttered. How can I just say "I was just talking to a spirit." I would only seem crazy.

"Oh, shut up, you ugly girl!" Megumi angrily shouted to Shiro. But Shiro only looked at me menacingly. Megumi's sentence didn't seem to affect her. It was like Megumi wasn't even there for her.

W-Why is she angry at Shiro?

Because she's mocking you, Naoto-san.Wait, did she just hear what I was thinking? How is she able to do that?

Because I'm your partner Naoto-san.

There it is again. She said 'partner' but I refused to be her partner that night. She said before that telepathically communicating is only possible when a contract is formed between a human and a spirit. So how am I able to do so? Just then, someone interrupted our conversation.

"That's enough, Junichiro-san." The person who spoke wasn't Shiro but someone stopping her. He had short yellow hair and eyes with a mole near his right one. He had a short body figure and his voice reflected that with a light voice, almost like a female's.

"Get out here, Kinoshita-kun. This has nothing to do with you." Shiro said to him. He was Kinoshita, Yuuki.

"True, but look at the time," Yuki said pointing out the time. It was 6:59. Classes were about to start. Meaning that the teacher is going to the class. Shiro couldn't be seen with someone like me. She was the class president. If a teacher sees her angry at a student, her reputation would plummet to the ground.

"Tsk. You got lucky." She clicked her tongue before going back to her seat. She was right. I got lucky, thanks to Yuki."Uhmm... Thanks." My life was saved by Yuki, so the least I can do is thank him.

"Meet me later at the stairs." He suddenly sounded serious before going back to his seat. Was he going to order me later? Did he save me just to have the opportunity to do so?

What the heck has happened?!!! My mind can't handle this. So many things happened all at once. I was troubled by Shiro, then I again met Megumi and could communicate with her telepathically, and finally, I was just saved for the first time by one of my classmates. I was sure Megumi could hear me questioning everything.

"Alright everyone, sit down. Class is going to start." The teacher came in and got everyone's attention with his position. Everyone was already seated. The bell rang, symbolizing the start of classes.

This day had just started, but so many things had already occurred. But, I felt that it wasn't over yet...

To be continued...