To Yamato high (大和高校へ)

One week before school started, I packed my bags, said my goodbyes, and made my way to the local train station. Since we were so poor, we’d often walk to places instead of taking the train. But because Tokyo is over 400 kilometers away from Miyagi, my mom would probably tell me to break a leg if I’d walked. Literally. 

I, obviously, woke up late that day, and I arrived at the station just in time to catch my train at 6 o’clock. I stumbled on it and sat down, gasping. When I caught my breath, I looked out the window only to get my breath taken away again. 

The train was cruising through a field of flowers, with roses, dandelions, lilies, and so many other kinds of flowers I couldn’t recognise. In the distance, I saw hundreds, if not thousands of sakura trees, waiting to be blossomed gloriously in the sunshine of March, next year. The spring wind carried a tainted smell of sweetness as it blew the fallen sakura flowers into the air as high as where the birds soared freely through a cloudless sky. Although the scenery was kind of gray because it was in the middle of April, it was still beautiful in its own way.

That was when I knew that this was the start of my new journey.

*****

I arrived at the Tokyo station around noon. As soon as I stepped out of the train station, I gaped in awe. Since I’d never been to Tokyo before, I didn’t know what to expect. What I didn’t expect was a city full of colors and life. 

People were bustling throughout every corner of the city. Chatters and shouts were heard every second. It was clear to me then, why Tokyo was called the center of life and culture of Japan. I continued to walk further into Tokyo, gaping and gasping in awe at every new and unfamiliar thing I saw. I walked past a huge apartment complex and my gaze set upon what I was looking for.

I’d arrived upon a giant metal gate. I brought a map with me to navigate this labyrinth of a city, and I knew that I was standing in front of the prestigious Yamato high. 

So, some background context. This school was founded by Jinsei Yamato a hundred years ago. Since then, the school had been getting more popular until it was branded as one of the most prestigious schools in Japan. How did my mom get me here, or how was she paying for the tuition? I had absolutely no idea. 

However, I didn’t care. What I cared about was that this is my new school, and my new life. And I was going to make every second here worth it. 

As I walked toward the security station next to the gate, I knew that I would find that someone I was looking for here, inside the gates of this school…

******

I knocked on the security station’s window. 

That caught the attention of the guard inside. He looked up from whatever magazine he was reading and asked,

“What’s the problem, miss?”

“Hello, my name is Matsumura Momoe, I’m a new student. I’m here for the opening day.”

“Oh! Yes, Momoe-chan. Please make your way into the entrance hall and turn right and walk up to floor 3, there will be a teacher waiting for you there.”

He pressed a red button on his control panel and the gates screeched, and slowly creaked open. I walked inside and heard the gates closed. The school was massive. It was white with five floors. On the side of the school was a track and field. The school’s trademark flag was displayed in front of the school’s building by a giant flag pole. The flag was purple, emblazoned with a crossed Sun and crescent Moon, the school’s symbol. The flag symbolized a sign of material and spiritual prosperity, a sign of renewed life and the rhythm of time, renewal, and birth. It meant knowledge is infinite and it can be renewed forever, and it will bring you prosperity. I felt intimidated and minimized by the school. It was like it was testing my worth, which was close to none. Despite that, I continued to approach the school’s entrance.

A strict looking woman was waiting for me.

“Momoe-chan? I was expecting you.” She said with a serious tone, “My name is Ms. Musane. I’ll be your homeroom teacher for this year.”

She looked like the teacher you didn’t want to mess with.

“Oh! Hello, Ms. Musane. I am indeed Matsumura Momoe, pleased to meet you!”

“Hmm…” She looked at me sternly, “I expect a lot from you this year. Follow me,”

With that, she turned towards a corridor and started walking away. I nervously followed her. She walked up a flight of stairs as I followed her. We stopped when we arrived at the third floor. She pointed at a pair of metal doors at the end of the corridor.

“Go on. Open the doors and walk straight. You should know what to do next once you’ve entered.”

She turned around and quickly walked back the way we came, leaving me alone, baffled. With nothing to do, I approached the doors and stopped in front of them. I gulped. I reached out and grabbed the handles. Little did I know that by pulling this door open, I was also pulling my own strings of fate. Forging my own new fate where I could be as free as the birds that flew as far as the unreachable horizon. I yanked the door open without a second thought. Sounds erupted out of the room. It was a conference room. Students were chatting, playing, laughing, and having fun with each other. I walked inside, dazed. Hundreds of chairs were aligned in rows for the students to sit in. A teacher walked toward me and pointed at an empty seat.

“You can go sit there,” He said.

“Uh, thank you” I replied.

I slowly sat down at the seat the teacher pointed at. With no one to talk to, I just sat there staring at other students who seemed to be able to befriend anyone in an instant.

Someone cleared their throat and the sounds in the room died down. I turned toward the front of the room. A rather old man sat down at the head chair. 

“Hello, my name is Eiko Yamato, the current headmaster of Yamato high. I would like to welcome all the new students who are joining us this year. Let us have a good year together!” He said, “For the students who are staying at the school dorm, please go to Ms. Musane at the corner of the room,” He pointed at a corner of the room, where Ms. Musane, who had seemed to spawn out of thin air, was standing at.

“You all are dismissed!”

Confused, I tried to wade my way through the crowd who were exiting the room. Finally, when I reached Ms. Musane, a long line of kids were standing in front of her.

“Alright! Listen up! To those of you who are staying at the school dorm, there are some boundaries we need to establish. Don’t go outside past curfew, which is ten o’clock, don’t trash the dorm, and most importantly, no boys allowed inside the girl’s dorm and no girls allowed inside the boy’s dorm.”

A shower of groans, complaints, whining and protests erupted from the students.

“Understood?” Ms. Musane asked with a sharp voice.

That shutted up the students who were complaining and whining. Mutters of agreement surged through the students.

“Very well. Follow me then,”

The students started walking after Ms. Musane, so I followed.

*****

Turns out the huge apartment complex next to the school I saw earlier was the school dorm. As I was in grade 10, so my dorm room was on floor 2, above the 9th graders but below the 11th and 12th graders. My room was room number 206. Ms. Musane gave me the keys to my room and told me that I had a roommate, who would move in next week. As I unlocked my room, I felt a tinge of excitement. I opened the door into my room. My jaws dropped. 

The room was enormous. It could've fit two of my houses in the living room. The walls were painted white. Immediately to the right of the door was the kitchen. The counter was made of marbles and the sinks were the shiniest ones I’d ever seen. There was also a refrigerator. The fridge was filled with fresh ingredients, such as vegetables, meat, rice, eggs, and so many more. In front of me was my living room. Mine. The living room had a long sofa and a coffee table in front of it. On the left wall, there were empty picture frames, waiting to be filled with memories. On the right wall, in front of the sofa, was a TV. 

I walked in awe past the living room in the bedroom. The bedroom consisted of a working space, with tables, chairs and bean bags. In the far corner was a bunk bed. Next to it was a closet. On the opposite corner was a door. I walked through it into the most luxurious toilet I’d ever seen. The toilet was clean, it even had a faucet! The shower and the bathtub could’ve fitted my old bedroom inside. The sink was coated in gold, whether it was real or fake, it still looked cool. I tried opening the water. A strong jet of clear and warm water spouted from the tap. I tried drinking it, it was tasteless and fresh. I cheered and whooped so loudly it could’ve been heard from China. I was living the dream! 

As night fell, the doorbell rang. It was a maid. She was carrying a steaming plate of food. I happily accepted it. The plate was filled with western foods. It had a steak, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and french fries. It was the most delicious meal of my life. When I finished, I left the plate outside the door. I then took a shower and went to bed early. I didn’t want to wake up late on the first day of school. And maybe, maybe I might find that someone tomorrow. Someone who I could call a friend. The thought filled me with excitement that by the time I’d gone to bed, it was already ten o’clock…