The Transfer Student and The Sudden Confession

Because of the fact that I returned home late last night from my part-time job, I got up a bit late than I had planned to this morning. I looked at the clock located to the right of my bed. The time it showed was 7:30. School started at 8: 30 so that meant I had one hour at most to get ready and reach school. I hurried off of the bed and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I put on the school uniform and headed to the kitchen for making myself a quick breakfast. I took out a few slices of bread and hastily splattered chocolate jam all over it. To smooth the sticky flavor of the jam and bread, I poured a glass of orange juice down my throat. I slung my bag over my shoulder and put the wallet inside my pocket. Just before I headed out, I grabbed the headphone from the top shelf of the shoe rack. I closed the door silently behind me and put on the headphone as I waited for the elevator.

Down six floors, I stepped into the lobby. Higuchi-san, a married housewife who lived a floor below me, was heading up with two heavy-looking grocery bags in her hands, full of cabbage, lettuce, pork, and some other things I couldn't discern. I flashed her a smile as we met and she gave me a fresh smile back, devoid of any falsehood.

When I stepped foot on the road, the heat from the asphalt hit me at once, and almost knocked me unconscious. The heat this summer was vicious and unforgiving. The ten-minute walk from my home to the station felt like a two-hour arduous journey in the middle of the Sahara desert. By the time I reached the station, I could feel sweat wetting the back of my shirt. I boarded the train jam-pack of high school students like me and men in suits heading to their office for another gruesome day at work. The station was full of people as usual and left no room for even breathing. The heat outside was more than enough and now I had to withstand this suffocating journey for the next half an hour. Counting the number of electricity poles I could see through the transparent window of the train, I tried to distract my mind from the heat.

I survived the suffocation and heat inside the train and managed to get off safely on the next station. From there, I walked for a short five minutes and finally, the gate to my high school was visible. I took off my headphones and put them inside my bag. The last song that played before I turned them off was 'I Feel It Coming' by The Weeknd.  

Izumo High School was one of the top-ranked schools in the whole prefecture known widely for its hard entrance examinations and rigorous curriculum, designed for the students to help prepare for the even more difficult university exams. Getting into it was one thing but surviving three years of unrelenting studies was another thing. Students dropping off after just a semester was not unheard of in this school. Luckily for me, I had made it to the second year without any setbacks. 

I reached my class 2-A, located on the second floor of the building on the southern side of the school. Almost all of the seats had been occupied when I opened the door and went inside the class. My seat was located at the very back of the classroom, near the window through which I had full access to the beautiful cherry trees lining the other side of the road. The window was open and the cool breeze blowing in through them cooled both my body and my head.

"Good morning, Yuuta." As I was losing myself in this bliss, Kensuke greeted me. He was seated right in front of me and was currently looking my way by bending his upper body. 

"Good morning, Kensuke." He was tall with a slender physique though by no means he was slim. He had some muscles on his biceps and even had strong, attractive abs. He had blond hair with an attractive face. He was good in academics and a force to be reckoned with in basketball. As a result, he had a bit of a fan following among the girls in this school.

"Did you complete yesterday's assignment?" He asked.

"Which subject?"

"Mathematics. We were to do some differential calculus."

"Ah, shit!" 

"Wait, you forgot?"

Yesterday I stayed late for my part-time work and I was running ragged by the time I reached home. I didn't even have much for dinner and without even taking a bath, I jumped to bed. I woke up late today and had to rush to school and thus, I had no time to think about the homework. 

"Himura-sensei is going to chew you out again today." Kensuke grinned mischievously at me. 

Just then, our homeroom teacher, the very Himura-sensei arrived in the class right at the ringing of the bell. 

She clapped her hands twice and spoke in a loud and cheerful voice, "Okay, okay. everyone take your seats. We are about to begin homeroom."

I could already imagine her beautiful face frozen in a terrifying smile in the staff room as I get scolded by her again. 

The homeroom began with us bowing and followed the usual proceedings which was over quickly. At around 9, the homeroom ended and classes were set to begin and that was when Himura-sensei once again clapped her hands, exactly twice, to bring the attention of everyone in the class to her.

"Everyone! I have an announcement to make." Everyone started silently thinking about what the announcement could be while I looked out the window at the clear blue sky above, with my hands resting on my chin. 

"We have a transfer student!" She exclaimed excitedly. The class was abuzz with discussions. This high school was one of the toughest in the whole prefecture and it was common for students to drop halfway through being unable to handle the pressure. So, it was quite unheard of for students to transfer to this school despite knowing how tough it is. Not to mention, even the transfer students were subjected to entrance exams and only if you passed were you allowed to be a student here. The fact that a student was being transferred here meant that they were quite skilled, at least in academics. Soon after, the discussion turned to whether the transfer student would be a boy or a girl. The boys were all hoping for them to be a beautiful girl while the girls all hoped for a handsome young man. 

"Please be quiet, everyone!" Himura-sensei turned her head toward the door and spoke loudly so as the person on the other side could hear her properly. "You may now enter."

The door slid open, "Excuse me", and there entered a girl. She had long black hair that flowed gently down to her waist in an arc and it almost looked as if they were floating. She had long eyelashes that cast a serene shadow over her sharp, feline-like eyes. She had an equally sharp face with a sharp jawline. Her lips were pink and moist. She walked with grace, each step reminiscent of a princess on her ceremonial walk. Her shoes made a clear, distinguished sound as she walked. Everyone who saw her, boys and girls alike, was captivated by her alluring beauty and dignified gait. She stopped right next to Himura-sensei and stood facing the class. We were only able to see the side of her face when she was walking but now we could see her whole face and her visage looked like a work of art.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Yes. I am Komatsu Ai. I look forward to studying with you all for the next two years." Her voice was like a drop of water in a clear and silent pond. It reverberated inside the four walls and made its way inside everyone's heart through their eardrums. 

She punctuated her introduction with a smile. Her smile was so majestic that it seemed to radiate light from behind her back as if a goddess had descended from heaven. With her lips withdrawn, she looked like a stern and unsociable girl at first but her smile dispelled all that misconception at once. Her smile was so warm and full of tenderness that it called to mind the cherry blossoms. It was as if her smile, combined with her presence signified the advent of spring. 

The class was silent for a while but soon erupted like a volcano and started shouting on top of each other. The boys didn't hesitate to shout their names and announce their candidacy to be her boyfriend while the girls looked at them with annoyance. 

"She sure looks gorgeous," Kensuke commented. "She does." And I agreed, after a slight pause and with some shakiness in my voice. This unnatural response didn’t go unnoticed by Kensuke and he asked, “Is something up?”

“No, nothing.” Of course that was a lie. And perhaps Kensuke knew it as well but he didn’t press me any further.

When she introduced herself and said her name, I was reminded of something that had happened six years ago.

Ai-chan…

That name echoed in my mind and for a moment the voices of the two Ai-s from two different periods overlapped in my brain.

Wait, is she Ai-chan…?

I looked at the one currently in front of me. Then only was my trembling heart calmed. I sighed so that nobody saw me and repeated inside my brain: There’s no way she is the same Ai. Her name was different after all. Not to mention, she used to have a toothy grin and short hair whereas the one in front of me has a refined smile with long, and lustrous hair. Yeah. I was just jumping to conclusions here.

The class was still rowdy. Himura-sensei had quite some trouble calming everyone down and getting the classes underway. Her seat was in the middle of the very front row.

When the first period ended, everyone crowded around her seat and bombarded her with questions of all sorts. It was a hassle without a doubt but she responded to everyone with an amiable smile. Within a span of a single day, she had fit right into the class as if she had been a member of this class from the first year.

*

"Sorry. I will make sure to turn in the assignment tomorrow for sure. I promise, Himura-sensei." 

It was the fourth time I had been chewed out by Himura-sensei for having not done her assignment. She was even angrier today than the last time so today I would not stay late for part-time work and head home early. I don't want to hear another one of her lectures anymore.

"Excuse me." I excused myself from the staff room and headed to my classroom. The office was on the third floor while my classroom was on the second floor. I descended the flight of stairs and went inside my class to grab my wallet. Most of the girls who had already finished their lunch and some boys who didn't feel like playing basketball in this heat were inside the class when I went. A few girls were hunched over the transfer student - Komatsu Ai's - seat and whispering something. I ignored them all. The lunch break had only ten minutes left so I had to hurry to the canteen. Hopefully, Kensuke had secured a spot for me.

As I was taking out the wallet and stuffing it inside my pocket, I felt someone standing behind me. 

I turned around. It was Komatsu Ai - the transfer student.

"Komatsu-san? Do you need something from me?" I asked. I hadn't conversed with her much though it didn't mean I hadn't exchanged words with her at all. I had talked to her a few times and introduced myself. It was the least I could do lest people find out what really went on inside my head. It was just normal, school-related stuff that we had discussed once or twice when we happened to get a chance to converse. We had never actively sought each other so when she stood there in front of me, I was a bit curious as to why.

"Yes. There is something I have to tell you, Hiragi-san."

She looked a bit troubled and I caught a hint of nervousness in her voice. To smooth things over, I gave her a reassuring smile, even if it was a fake one, and added bounce to my voice, "What is it?"

She looked me in the eye, closed her eyes, sucked in a large breath, and then said in a loud and clear voice.

"Please go out with me, Hiragi-san

And my response to her out-of-the-blue confession was obvious.

A flat, resounding, "..."