1. Amanotsuka All-girls' Academy
1. Amanotsuka All-girls' Academy
“Oh no! I'm completely late for school!”
I, with a sweating forehead, was running on the street in scattering cherry blossoms, and wondered, “How could this even happen? I surely did leave home early enough to be on time...”
Okay, I admit that I should have researched more about the direction in advance. But, little did I dream that it takes me this long.
My twin tail hair, tied with donuts shaped hair accessories, whipped me, just like a horse to be whipped to run faster.
It is my first day at new school, and the entrance ceremony will start very soon. I can't believe I'm running late on this very important day!
My brand new school uniform fluttered shamelessly as I ran. But no one even paid attention or said something about it. Because I was the only one on this street, which obviously told me that my situation was hopeless. If I tell you how clean and untouched the street, covered by the pink carpet of scattered petal, was you can clearly understand how late I was. Just like falling snow covers old footsteps in the snow, the clean pink carpet showed that no one had walked on the street for a while.
I assume that it is around 8:20am now, but I don't know the exact time because I am not wearing a watch. The last time I saw a clock at a bus terminal in front of a train station, it was still before 8am, if I remember correctly.
It did not take a long time for me to notice that there wasn't enough time for strolling. Neither the breathtakingly beautiful cherry blossoms nor the joyful sunny day of Spring can help me with the current situation.
Amanotsuka All-girls' School, the place I was heading to, is located up on a hill and seemed to be not so far from the train station.
The first part of my commute was filled with joy as I walked and hummed to myself imagining how fun my new school life would be. But after I walked for about ten minutes, I started to break into a cold swear. Five more minutes later, I heard a warning alarm in my head, saying “There is no way I can make it on time if I keep walking like this!”
Amanotsuka All-girls' school building is humongous and looks like a western castle. Additionally, it stands alone in the middle of the vast school site. So I completely lost my sense of perspective, and I had made myself believe that it wouldn't be too far from the station.
In order to make up the time, I started running, not knowing that the street leading to the school is an uphill slope. Even for me, with great physical endurance, it was pretty hard.
Against all odds, I finally made it to the end of the slope after I ran like hell. When I got to where the school was right by, another problem came up. There was about two meter high walls surrounding the entire school site, and I could not see the end of it. Nor could I see anything that might be an entrance gate. Well, it was no surprise because obviously I was looking at that must-be-the-school-building from its back. I could not be surer that the entrance gate was on the other side. It meant that I had to keep running again along this endless wall if I want to go to the main entrance.
“Is this for real? Go on the other side?”
“I'm dying already......” I said to myself.
My thigh was cramping already.
I could easily assume that I needed to run for more than ten minutes to get to the other side. I tried to pull myself together as I was about to go down to my knees, and looked around hoping to find a rear gate somewhere. But I actually went down to my knees when I found out that there was no hope.
“But, throwing a pity party does not help this situation, it makes it even worse!”
“Time does not wait for me! I know what I should do.”
So there I was. I was running and hoping to find the entrance gate soon. But, I could not help myself whining “Why does it have to be so huge!? Didn't anyone have enough brain to suggest building multiple entrances for such a huge school?”
Perhaps, there might be another entrance if I headed to the opposite direction, but there was no way that I could go back. The only way left for me was to keep running.
“Everything will be alright.”
I tried to be optimistic about my situation, but maybe I was too optimistic.
It was worth to run like hell. I was finally able to see the part of the front side of the school building. I saw a clock tower in the corner of my eyes. The clock hands were pointing at somewhere around 8:30. Precisely, they were pointing at 8:27.
I had to be within the school premises by 8:30am but there was no way that I could make it to the main gate within next three minutes. I could not even see the main entrance yet. I had to find some other way or else I would be late for the entrance ceremony for sure.
Although I was about to take a first step forward to my new life, I might screw up my own life on the very first day. If I'm black-listed as a student who came late for the entrance ceremony, all my dream and future plan to be accepted in a major university, hopefully admitted based on recommendation, and to get a job at major company would be completely destroyed.
Okay, maybe I exaggerated about blacklisting, but still, I did not want to screw up my first step.
Then....there was only one way left for me.
I stopped running and took a deep breath.
Did I give up? No way!
I turned to the left to face the wall.
You probably know what I was about to do already.
I pulled my bag with the school logo from my shoulder and threw it over the wall.
I would not make it if I just kept running, but what if I climb over the wall?
Yes, I would be in the school premises in a second. The school building would be right by there.
“Please don't let anyone see me climbing”, I was praying in my mind as I stretched my leg to prepare for a jump.
There was still no one around. It meant that there was no one who would blame me for what I was about to do. It was my only chance!
I ran with all my strength and jumped against the wall to grab the top of the wall with my both hands. And I pulled up myself to climb to the top of the wall all at once.
It may sounds like such a cool move as if I was a female Ninja, but in the real world, all I could do was giving all my strength to keep myself away from falling and I could barely make it to the top.
The fact was, it didn't matter how hideous I looked, but it was a big success for me to accomplish this mission on my first try because not much energy was left for me.
Any ways, now I can sneak into the school premises. There was no way I could jump off from the top of such a high wall, so I hung down from the top of the wall and finally landed on the other side of the wall. Just to make, at least, the landing look cool, I raised my both arms and posed as if I was a professional gymnast.
“What a glorious landing!” I said to myself.
Now, all I need to do is to attend the ceremony pretending nothing ever happened.
I shook off dust from my school uniform, and when I turned around to pick up my bag and to take off, I met a girl's eyes
It seemed like time had stop for a second.
“Well, well, here comes a cute little thief”, she said.
”!!!!”
I almost screamed but I gave the hardest try to hold it back, and I opened my eyes widely.
Oh no, I was completely unprepared since no one was there outside of the school.
Little did I dream that someone was there right on the spot where I landed.
I just wished that she would had sent me some kind of sign when my bag was thrown in.
“Are you a freshman? What an entrance you have just made!”
The girl didn't seem to be a freshman. She had a very long and straight purplish hair and I got a mysterious vibe from her. Her long hair swayed in the breeze and twinkled from reflection of sunlight.
She was wearing fur ball hair accessory with two white feather above her left ear. She wore her stainless bright white uniform very well, and she was very elegant and graceful. It was so obvious that she is from a wealthy family that I did not need any confirmation for that.
Her eyes which were as blue as sapphire, with beautiful sparkles were looking at me, but not with criticism. They were looking at me as if they had found something very interesting.
A red gemstone, which was as beautiful as her eyes, was attached and decorated with dignity on the bow she wore on the chest of her uniform.
Is this the typical elegant vibe that all the junior and senior students own? Or is it only her? Is she special because of where she came from? I wondered.
Moreover, it came to my attention that she was wearing a different color school uniform. Mine had black sleeve cuffs and collar, but hers were in white instead. Also, the bow I was wearing was made of string, and hers was made of ribbon with lots of frills.
It made me think that “Did I come to a wrong school?”
“Excuse me. This is Amanotsuka All-girls' Academy, isn't it?” I accidentally asked.
“Yes, it is, Ms. little thief.”
The girl in the white uniform chuckled covering her mouth with her right hand.
“Um, I am not a thief, you know. I had no choice other than climbing over the wall because I was running late.” I replied.
“Oh, is it so? But it is strange that you climbed the wall here. Did you walk to make a special trip to here?”
“Excuse me?”
“Didn't you get here by bus? If so, it means that you have walked all the way to the opposite side.”
I agreed with her. In normal situation, most people would say the same thing.
“Well, no.” I answered.
“I ran to get here because I had no money for the bus fare.”
“You ran?!” said the girl in the white school uniform surprisingly.
I would be ashamed if I had to show how much I had in my wallet. It was empty for some reason. Seriously nothing. Nothing like no one could hear a slight sound of coins if I jumped on the spot.
“I thought it would be little closer.” I said.
Again, I should have done research in advance. Because of my financial situation and all other problems, I was unable to do the research at all. And just for the information, I took the entrance exam for this school locally, so it was my first time to physically come to this school.
“Okay, I understand you have been through a lot, but didn't you know that all the students of our school are eligible to take a bus from the train station for free of charge?” the girl said.
“What? Is it so?”
It is true that I saw some students, in the same uniform as mine, were getting on a bus at the train station. And it is also true that no other people besides the students of our school were in the line to get on the bus.
Oh no, I should have watched them closer.
“Well, even for any kind of reasons, I don't give you a credit for climbing over the wall.”
I know, I understand that 100%.
“But I thought there was no other way for me to make it on time......Anyway, it is already time for me to go, is it okay if I go?”
I cannot waste any more time chitchatting here. The time goes by and doesn't wait for me while I'm doing this.
“Yes, you may go, but the time is up already.”
The girl in the white school uniform said, pulling up her sleeve to check her watch.
Is it already 8:30 by any chance?
“Oh my....”
As I was about to say “oh my god”, I heard the chime magnificently to tell the time is up.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
It was not a mechanical sounds, but it was a sound of a real bell. I saw the golden bell on the clock tower which was swinging hard.
The sound of a real bell was very powerful, but it was also pleasant. But it was the last sound I would like to hear at that time.
“Too bad. I'm so sorry that you will be expelled for the school without even attending your entrance ceremony. You are the first one in our school history, if I remember correctly.”
“Excuse me? Did you just said I will be expelled?”
“Yes I did. Don't you think it is natural that someone who comes in late for the entrance ceremony can be considered as being without a will to stay in the school?”
“No way! It is too much punishment to expel a student for being a little late, isn't it? Normally on the situation like this, you probably get scolded very badly by a teacher, and be watched for a while, and that's about it!”
“Maybe it is so in an ordinary school, but not in here. This is not an ordinary school. Also you are in the Home Economic course, aren't you? You should understand all that.”
“I have no idea at all. Why should I understand all that just because I'm in the Home Economic course?”
It's unfair. It is completely unfair.
Yes, it was my fault that I could not make it on time for the ceremony, but is it that much of a big deal which deserves for expelling?
Then she said,
“Are you asking me why? Don't you really understand at all? What did you come here for?”
“For what did I come? I came here to study.”
Is there any other good reason for a student to go to school?
“Study? Like a normal student?” She asked.
“Of course. I will study very hard here to get into a major university.”
“Okay, I see.”
As I made a protest, the girl in the white uniform tilted her head a little bit and looked at me like she was looking at some kind of weird animal.
“You....you really don't have any idea what it is like here. It is very unusual. Little did I dream that there is a girl like you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Because here, it is....”
The girl in the white uniform closed her mouth once for the moment and looked over my shoulder. There, as I followed and looked the direction she was looking, I saw someone, who seemed like a teacher, running and rushing toward us.
Perhaps, she was looking for me.
“Hey you. Shall I help you if you don't mind?” said the girl in the white uniform.
“Pardon?”
“The teacher, who is running toward us, she is in charge of discipline. There is a security system above the wall, so she probably was informed by the system. If she finds out about what you did, you will be expelled for sure either you are late or not. The academy definitely won't accept any student who climb over the wall to get inside.”
“What?!”
Oh dear! It is not surprising at all that the wall is equipped with security systems. It is even more understandable for this kind of castle-like place.
“Let's make a deal. If you can satisfy me with your answer, I will help you out.”
“Huh?”
I had no idea what “answer” she was talking about.
“I ask you really quick. We don't have a time. First, I want to ask you.... Um.... Let's see....Is it true that you came to this academy to study like an ordinary student?”
“Yes, it is true” I answered.
I didn't understand what was going on but she might be my only hope for that moment.
“You didn't come to this academy to become a maid, did you?”
“Pardon me?”
I was confused.
A maid? Why on the earth do I want to be a maid?
That was very random question.
Because I looked puzzled to her, she asked me again to make sure.
“You took an entrance exam to be admitted in our Home Economic course, you were accepted, and you are here. But you are saying that you did all that not because you wanted to be a maid but to study. Am I correct?”
“Well, yes you are. Although I don't really understand what you mean, I am not willing to be a maid.”
“Okay,” the girl in the white uniform nodded looking satisfied with my answers and then asked, “Then you definitely don't know who I am, do you?”
“Huh? No I don't. How do I? I just met you?”
Perhaps, she is someone very famous.
“Are you a celebrity or something?”
I wouldn't be surprised if she was because she was such a beautiful girl. The only problem was that I would not be able to recognize her even if she told me her name because I don't have any interest in celebrity's world and in entertainment industry.
“No way. I am not” she chuckled and said, “Okay I will help you out.”
Looked like that were all I needed to do.
I guess I passed her test. I still don't know why she wanted to know if I want to be a maid or if I know her, but it doesn't matter, it went well.
The girl asked me “What is your name?”
“....Misaki Hotaru”
“I see, I like your name. Well then Misaki, you will be my Seraph,” with her hand on her chest, the girl in the white uniform said with a big smile on her face.
“Excuse me?”
Hello anyone? Can anyone tell me what on the earth the Seraph is?
Her big smile could not help me understand what was going on.
Can anyone explain me what is happening here?
“I don't have a time to explain. Ask someone in your class. Almost everyone in this academy except you may know about the system.”
“Okay....”
Have I come to somewhere very weird by any chance?
She said,
“Put this on for now” and handed me a golden school badge.
It had a picture of a crown in the middle and feathers around it.
“This is a proof of Seraph which connects me and you, Misaki.”
A proof of Seraph....Okay....
Our regular school badge is in bronze color and with ordinary design. Comparing to that, this golden badge looks very special for sure.
“Excuse me. Could I ask your name?”
I asked because I felt bad about calling someone who would help me as “a girl in the white uniform”.
While I was asking the question. I switched my badge to the new one.
“My name is ....”
“Ms. Amanotsuka.”
At the girl in the white uniform was about to tell me her name, the teacher who was running toward us, finally arrived. She was out of breath.
I felt butterflies in my stomach.
If I cannot make through this situation, I won't be able to start my new life.
By the way, I noticed that the teacher just called the girl “Ms. Amanotsuka.”
Amanotsuka? It sounds the same as the name of this academy.
Ms. Amanotsuka whispered to me as like she answers my question.
“My name is Himeko Amanotsuka. Call me by my first name, Misaki. All you need to do is to follow my lead, okay?”
Himeko Amanotsuka. Shall I call her Ms. Himeko?
“I understand, Ms. Himeko”
“That's good”
As I called her by her first name, Ms. Himeko turned to me and smiled.
“Good morning, Ms. Minegishi”
“Good morning”
Ms. Himeko greeted the teacher in very calm voice. She looked really elegant when she pulled her skirt out to each side with her hands and curtsied.
The teacher looked at Ms. Himeko and then after she gave me a glance, she turned back to Ms. Himeko again.
“Ms. Amanotsuka, it seems like someone climbed over the wall....”
The teacher looked at me again.
I broke into a cold sweat.
Better try my best not to look suspicious.
“Oh, I apologize. It must be her. She is Misaki.”
Ms. Himeko put her arm around my waist and pulled me closer to her.
I slightly lowered my head, and let myself go to be by Ms.Himeko's side.
“Ms. Misaki?”
My introduction by Ms. Himeko removed hesitation from the teacher so that now she can stare at me.
“You are a freshman aren't you? If you are, you should have been in the auditorium with other freshman students by this time.... Oh wait, you are wearing that badge....”
The teacher noticed my school badge on the collar of my uniform and opened her eyes widely. As I thought so, may be this badge is something very special.
“Yes she is my Seraph. We were supposed to meet here because I wanted to make a contract with her on the day of her entrance ceremony. But I found the little kitten stuck on the wall, so I had Misaki to help it down. The security sensor must went off because of that.”
“Oh I see.”
The story couldn't sound any fishier, but the teacher easily believed it.
“I am very sorry for taking your time for the trouble. You must be very busy.”
Ms. Himeko lowered her head deeply and I followed her.
“That's alright. All I needed to know was what caused the alarm.”
“Thank you very much” said Ms. Himeko.
“Anyway, now I know why you, Ms. Amanotsuka, have not have a Seraph until now. You are waiting for Ms. Misaki, aren't you?”
“Yes. Maybe I should have explained it to everyone else but I didn't feel right about making it official before I make an actual contract with her.”
“You are right. All the girls were becoming very anxious about it, but I think what you did was very thoughtful decision.”
“Thank you very much.”
Ms. Himeko lowered her head deeply again. At the same time she gently held my hand just as she was saying “we did it!”
“Well, then, please join all the other students in the auditorium. The entrance ceremony will start in no time.”
“Yes, we will. Oh...and another thing, Ms. Minegishi. Misaki forgot to check in as a new student because she was as in hurry as possible to meet me here,”
Oh, yes. I almost forgot about that issue.
Whatever the circumstances may be, I couldn't be any more suspicious that I forgot checking in. However the teacher let us go saying, “I don't blame her. She did the best she could. I will let the teachers at the reception know, so you two, please be in hurry!”
Thanks to the power of so-called Seraph.
What on the earth is a Seraph? And what a mysterious girl Ms. Himeko is.
“I am sorry for troubling you. I appreciate your help. Well, then Misaki, let's go.”
Ms. Himeko took my hand and started walking.
“Um, thank you very much for your help. You saved my life.”
“It's my pleasure Misaki, because you are my Seraph.”
Being in a very good mood for some reason, Ms. Himeko kept pulling me and kept going.
“Would you tell me what the Seraph is?”
I asked because it kept bugging me.
“It's a secret for now. It would be very funny and interesting how you react when you find about what that is later.”
“You are mean.”
“I didn't expect to hear that from the person whom I helped.”
“Um....”
I knew I had no choice other than obeying her as long as she is the person who saved me, but at the same time, I could not help myself from being anxious about my situation which may be falling into something strange.
****
“Here we are” Ms. Himeko said.
We arrived at the auditorium without getting any clue from Ms. Himeko.
This was the castle-like building which I thought it was a school building.
But I found out that it was the building for the auditorium and other special rooms, not for regular classrooms.
As a result, the place for the entrance ceremony was very close by, but all the other regular classrooms were in another castle-like building.
The school with two high rise castles....
I sighed accidentally for its greatness.
“Although everyone is here, it looks like the ceremony hasn't started yet.” Ms. Himeko said and opened the rear door of the auditorium and checked inside.
“Oh, another thing, Misaki. Come and see me at the elevator hall located on the upper floor of this building at recess tomorrow.”
“An elevator? Is there an elevator in this school?”
“Yes, the elevator takes you to a little space for a tea party. My friends and I often get together and meet there. So I will introduce you to them.”
“Okay....I...Understand”
“Aww, you are dissatisfied?”
“Well, may be, because I have no idea what is going on at all. Unlike you, Ms. Himeko. You are having fun.”
I was being a little sarcastic, but it did not work for Ms. Himeko. Instead, she just smiled for the fun she was having.
“I really am having fun. Also it has been long since the last time I had such a joyful feeling.”
“I don't understand at all.”
“It's alright. You don't have to understand for now, Misaki. When you start getting used to your new school life, you will be understanding many things little by little. Until then, why don't you enjoy this mysterious situation?”
“I'll try my best.”
Ms. Himeko chuckled and said, “It has been a great day today for meeting someone like you, Misaki.”
“Um....”
Ms. Himeko opened the door with some happy energy as if she was going to hum to herself, and went inside without any hesitation. Being late didn't seem to be any matter to her.
I followed her to get inside.
All of the sudden, after I stepped inside, I could not stop myself from saying “wow,” and my discontent disappeared somewhere.
I was expecting that the auditorium would be something like gymnasium, but the actual auditorium here was more like a church or a music hall. Tons of chairs, which were not cheap steel chairs but expensive ones with cushions, were lined up neatly.
All the way in the front, there was a huge pipe organ, which I was almost overwhelmed by its splendor and grandness.
There were two girls in the white uniform, which was the same one as Ms. Himeko's, right by the pipe organ. One of them was playing the pipe organ and the other one was playing a violin. They both were together producing an elegant BGM, which I have heard before.
I guessed that it was a music called “Spring” from “Four Seasons” by Vivaldi. It is very happy and pleasant music, which motivate you to look forward and stay positive.
“Don't you just stand there. Come over here. We have to find which class you belong to, Misaki.”
“Oh, yes.”
While I was following Ms. Himeko's lead, I was observing the interior of the auditorium.
We were there for the entrance ceremony. It meant that all the students in the auditorium were supposed to be freshman.
However, when I looked around, I noticed something strange.
I could see those girls were clearly separated to the left and the right in two different groups. A group of girls with black uniform like mine, and a group of girls with white uniform like Ms. Himeko's.
There were more girls in the group with black uniform than the other.
“Ms. Himeko, is there two different type of uniform for this school?”
I asked Ms. Himeko who were leading my way.
“Two different type...Oh, I see. You don't even know about that at all, do you?”
Ms. Himeko answered and stopped to turn around. Then she told me,
“Students in the Socialite course wear black uniform, and students in the Home Economic course wear white uniform.”
“Wow, I didn't know there is another course besides the Home Economic course. No one gave me the information about the Socialite course when I took an entrance exam.”
“Basically, students in the Socialite course enroll this academy when they start Junior high school and then they proceed to the high school. So, excepting a special situation, the academy does not accept new enrollment from other junior high school as the freshman of our high school.”
“That means you are a Socialite course student and you have been in this academy since you were in junior high school. Am I correct?”
“Yes, you are.”
She only answered that question then turned around to start walking again.
No other detailed information was given.
Ms. Himeko said to me, “Stay here for now. I wonder which teacher I should ask. Give me a moment.”
“Yes, I will.”
Just about to reach the rear end of the black uniform group, Ms. Himeko went to talk to teachers alone to find out which class I belong to.
I felt uncomfortable being there alone.
Because all the students, except me, were already on their seat and politely waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Being at loose ends, I started to fidget. Suddenly I met one of the student's eyes. She probably wondered what I was doing there standing. The girl was looking at me just as if she was saying, “What is she doing out there?”
I didn't want to be rude by ignoring her, so lowered my head slightly, but all of the sudden, her facial expression changed from “suspicion” to “astonishment”. Her eyes were widely opened and she stared at me with those eyes.
Oh my god. Is there something wrong with me? Do I look strange?
I was wearing my uniform neatly, and I completely cleaned off the dirt I got from climbing over the wall.
Is there any holes somewhere on my uniform? No, of course not.
Nothing on me deserves that kind of facial expression with astonishment.
A second after I thought so, one possibility came into my mind.
Just as if it is backing up my thought, I noticed that the girl was particularly looking at one part of my body. Her eyes to me was so strong that I felt like it would make a hole on the spot she was looking at.
It was obvious that she was looking at my golden school badge.
I was right about it. The golden badge is not just a school badge .I wish I could hide it before it cause any trouble.
Although I tried to turn my body slightly to the different direction so that it makes hard for her to see the badge, it was too late.
“A Seraph?”
The word she said to herself spread out just like a ripple on the water.
I heard the voices saying, “Seraph?” or “What?” or “Really?” here and there and many students turned to look at me.
Yikes, this is really bad.
The babble of voices got bigger and bigger. The auditorium, where only sound of violin and pipe organ could be heard, turned into a chaotic place. Students were whispering about something to each other while they were looking at me. Their eyes were full of curiosity, envy, and jealousy.
I noticed something weird that only girls in black uniform, in other words, girls in the Home Economic course were overreacting to this incident.
None of the girls in white uniform, who are in the Socialite course, panicked like the girls in black uniform did. Only thing they did was giving me the eyes of curiosity.
That means the golden badge can be something special only for the students in the Home Economic course.
As my face started to twitch, Ms. Himeko came back looking innocent and said,
“O-oh, it is getting noisy here. I wonder if something happened.”
It's all you. It is all because of you Ms. Himeko.
As I was about to open my mouth to complain, the noise got even louder, incomparably louder.
“It's Lady Himeko!”
“Lady Himeko!”
“Oh my god!”
I could hear screaming voice here and there calling for Ms. Himeko.
“Oops! It may be because of me.”
Is she an idol or something? I was surprised how famous she was even for a new student.
“It is not ‘may be,' it is because of you indeed. Looks like they are making a fuss about my school badge too. What do we do?” I asked
“Oh, dear.”
Unlike what she said, Ms. Himeko looked like she was having fun.
“For the moment, Misaki, you need to sit. I see an empty seat in the section for class #2. So have a seat there.”
“Yes. All I need to know is the location of the seat, then I can go alone.”
I was walking toward my seat with Ms. Himeko pushing my shoulder to show me the direction. But the eyes...the painful eyes of these girls were all over on me.
The shrill voices to call Ms. Himeko's name never seemed to stop. Additionally, I started to hear some words toward me in jealous voice.
“Who is she?”
“Why is she with Lady Himeko?”
“Ahhhhhhh” “
Nooooooo”
Whoa! I hope this is not a red flag of bullying on me.
Is my life falling down to the hell just because I was late for the ceremony?
“Here, this is your seat, Misaki.”
Probably Ms. Himeko was used to this kind of situation, she didn't look to be annoyed or panicked at all.
After she put me on my seat, she turned around and crapped her hands twice.
“Please be quiet, ladies. The ceremony is about to begin.”
It only took some words from her to calm everyone down completely.
Wow.
How surprise it was that girls in adolescent age listened and obeyed what one girl said to them. She is not even a teacher.
Who on the earth is Ms. Himeko?
“Well then, Misaki, I will see you later.”
Ms. Himeko who were smiling at everyone, showed a mischievous smile just for me and walked away from to get on the stage.
On the stage?
Sitting on one of the gorgeous chairs lined up on the both side of the stage was Ms. Himeko. I assumed that those seats were supposed to be for guests and others who gives a speech. I thought how rattle pated Ms. Himeko was but a second after, a better answer came into my mind.
I got it! Ms. Himeko is a president of the student council.
If she is, it makes sense that even new students know who she is because she may be on the school brochure. That also explains why she is sitting on the stage. She probably will give a speech to welcome new students.
Even the leadership she just showed is understandable then,
“Seraph” may be some kind of jargon used among board members of student council and the golden badge may be representing the board membership of the council.
I still have no idea why she asked about becoming a maid, but assuming that it was asked to find out if I have enough time to join the council as a board member, it makes it all clear.
Okay, I see. It explains everything.
But why did she randomly put me in such a position? As I glared at Ms. Himeko, she noticed my eyes and waved her hand at me.
“Do you know Lady Himeko? Do you two know each other?”
“Excuse me?”
As I frowned at Ms. Himeko, the girl sitting by my side talked to me.
This girl with very sharp eyes had ponytail tied with star-shaped hair accessories.
The hair clip she had on her bangs was also with star-shaped decoration. It must be her favorite thing, a star.
The way she talked to me was very polite but sounded like she has a slightly sharp tongue.
It was just like she tried not to obviously show her suspicion and jealousy against me. She might be afraid of being in trouble by saying something bad to me because she was not sure how close I was to Ms. Himeko.
“Umm...no, not really.”I answered.
“Really? Then where did you get that school badge? Didn't you get it from Lady Himeko? I wonder if it had been reserved for you for a very long time because you became her Seraph even before the entrance ceremony. Besides, you are the only one came in late and why doesn't anyone blame on you for? Isn't it because Lady Himeko helped you out? What is going on here? Who on the earth are you for being treated so well by Lady Himeko and you two don't even know each other?”
Once she figured out that I am not Ms. Himeko's close friend, she started to talk on and on harshly like she was questioning a suspect.
“Um....”
Do you want to know why Ms. Himeko is being so nice to me? I'm the first person who wants to know the answer.
There was no way I could answer any questions which I don't know the answer for. Shall I evade her questions nicely?
But the girl was obviously in the same class, because she was sitting next to me in the same section so I didn't want to get in trouble for telling cheap lies.
I looked around to see if there was anyone who could help me, but obviously there was no hope. Moreover, everyone else around us looked like they are facing straight ahead but trying to concentrate on their hearing to find out what I would say.
They are all curious, I see.
“Umm, can I tell you later because it takes long if I try to tell everything from the beginning? Looks like the ceremony will start in no times and.... you know...teachers will yell at us if we talk during the ceremony...you know?”
I tried to keep the trouble later.
I, myself, had no idea what was going on, so there was no way that I could explain this situation for her.
Let's hope that time will tell.
Also the girl was very excited at that time so that I was not sure if she would believe my story even if I told her everything honestly like; ‘I was running late so climbed over the wall, and I met Ms. Himeko at the other side of the wall, then she gave me this golden badge when I told her I was not willing to become a maid.'
....... hmmm, yup, doesn't make sense at all.
At least I need to know what Seraph is in order to organize my story, or else I can't explain anything to this girl.
Even if I was right about being selected as a board member of student council, I still needed to find out what position I was selected for.
Speaking of which, I was not willing to become a board member so if I could, I wanted to say no.
“...Okay. But you need to tell me everything later. I was supposed to be.... no, never mind.”
I assumed that she was convinced for now because she was not asking me any more question for the moment. But I could still feel her enthusiasm to find all out about me and Ms. Himeko.
Instead of asking me a question about what has happened, she said
“Can I ask your name?”in a small voice that only I could hear.
Of course I could tell her my name as many time as she wants.
“My name is Misaki Hotaru. I'm a student here starting from today.”
“It's obvious because you are here. Anyway, I kind of knew who you are, Ms. Misaki.”
I didn't know why but she sighed when I told her my name.
She sounded like my name was familiar to her.
“Am I famous by any chance?”
“.... Yes, you are.....but only among certain group of students. You are the only student here who hasn't checked in for our dormitory.”
“Dormitory....Oh I see, this is a boarding school, isn't it? But, wait a minute. Was it possible to check in even before the entrance ceremony?”
“Of course you can. Didn't you read it in the school brochure? You may actually move in today although everyone except you have come to register in advance. Some students have done it as early as two weeks in advance, and even the latest student, except you, have done it by yesterday. I thought you decided not to enroll because you didn't show up no matter how long I waited.
“Oh, um......I could not make it until today for some reasons.”
Oh dear, I didn't know I could be here that much earlier. If I knew it, I would neither have had to spend extra money to commute nor had been late.
“But how do you know my....” As I was about to ask, she cut me off and said
“Why do I know your name? Because I'm your roommate Ms. Misaki.”
“I see....”
She is my roommate....which means....
“So don't you even think about playing me. I have plenty of time to listen to your story.
I guess she reads me like a book
“Hahaha”
I could not hold my empty laugh.
Well, it's not that I don't want to tell her, it is just impossible for me so far to explain because I am confused by the current situation. So, it would be a problem to tell her everything if I'm not clear about everything.
Okay, so this girl and I will live together in the same room for a year.
“Hey, um, it's very nice to meet you. Is the dorm room only for two students?”
“No, it is for four students.”
“Oh, then we have two more roommates.”
It would help me a lot because she may put too much pressure on me if we were alone in our room.
“By the way, can I ask your name too?”
“No.”
“What?”
“Just kidding.”
She sounded like she did really mean it. Is she treating me like an enemy?
“I'm Kirara Hoshino”
“Ms. Hoshino...Can I call you Kirara?”
Calling her by her first name should help us get along better, I think....
“No.”
“Awww...”
“Just kidding. Do as you wish.”
“Okay....”
I wonder how much bad impression I gave to Kirara by her misunderstanding that I was close to Ms. Himeko.
Not only does Kirara, I guess, but also may other girls be feeling the same way.
Better tell her that Ms. Himeko and I are not friends and we don't even know each other as soon as possible or else, it may cause a big trouble for me.
I sighed secretly.
Finally, the time had come for the ceremony to begin. The music of the “Spring” stopped.
I gave applause for the two music player as they vowed and left the stage. Then I straighten up myself.
I may not be able to call this a smooth start but I should appreciate that at least I was able to stand on the starting line.
My future depends on how much I will try to do my best starting from today. Yes, I will be alright.
****
What would happen during an entrance ceremony of high school is not much different from school to school. Even Amanotsuka All-girls' Academy, which seems to be extraordinary school, is no exception for that.
The ceremony kicked off with an opening speech followed by singing school anthem, school principal's speech, guests' speech, and other simple and boring program kept go on and on.
Siting there in the ceremony's solemn atmosphere, I could feel my heart beating faster with the excitement for the first day of my new school life.
Kirara, who were glaring at me until just a moment ago, now has sparkles in her eyes just like what her name means.
And then finally, the next program was a speech from representative of enrolled students. I thought it was Ms. Himeko's turn, but she didn't move from where she was sitting.
Huh? It is usually a principal of student council who gives a speech as a representative of enrolled students. So I thought it would be Ms. Himeko, but may be it wasn't.
While I was tilting my head in confusion, a student who was sitting across from Ms. Himeko stood up and walked up to the center podium.
“Ladies, congratulation for starting new school life here at Amanotsuka All-girls' academy. I, Rika Yasuki, would like to give you a welcome speech as a principal of student council representing all the junior and senior students of this academy.”
Okay, she is a principal of students council, not Ms. Himeko.
Looked like this Ms. Principal was also popular and famous because I could hear some little voices calling for her “Lady Angelica!”
Again, the only students in black school uniforms, who were in the Home Economic course, were making some noises for her.
None of the students in the Socialite course seemed to be excited to see her.
Since the principal of student council was wearing the white uniform, I could guess that she was in the Socialite course as well. I wonder if all the students in the Socialite course are very special to those in the Home Economic course.
I only have been here for a couple of hours but it is easy to see that the most of the students in the Socialite course are somehow elegant and graceful. They look like they are in the spotlight.
But...I mean.... Angelica? Didn't she just called herself “Rika Yasuki”?
“Hey, why is she being called as Angelica?”
I could not help wondering so I asked Kirara.
“When you write Lady Rika's name in Chinese character, it can be also read as Angelica, can't it?”
She explained it to me writing some Chinese characters in the air with her finger.
“Oh, okay, I see. So it doesn't mean that she is from foreign country, does it?”
“There is a rumor saying that she is, but no one has confirmed that. So we don't know. It is true that she doesn't look like an ordinary Japanese beauty.”
“Oh, yeah, that's true. She has soft silver hair, distinctive nose...she is too beautiful, isn't she?”
She is definitely as much beautiful as Ms. Himeko is.
No question about her popularity.
“By the way, how come you and all other new students know so much about juniors and seniors? It is not normal, isn't it?”
While I was listening to the speech by the principal of student council, I kept asking Kirara questions.
“Why? Because it is the way it should to do some research in advance.”
“The way it should be... okay.”
“You are very strange. You came in with Ms. Himeko, but you are saying that you don't know her, and you didn't even show up to check in to your dorm room. Sounds like you don't know anything about this academy at all. What did you come here for?”
Oh, I remember Ms. Himeko also asked me the same question.
“Is there any chance that this school is not an ordinary school?”
As I nervously asked her, Kirara's facial expression turned as if she saw something unbelievable.
“I knew it. You don't know anything. It is so humiliating that you beat me to it.”
Now, I can hear the sound of wall building up in between me and Kirara. I felt that I was getting along with her little by little, but not anymore.
“Umm.”
“You don't have to say anything. You will tell me about it all later, won't you?”
Kirara said and turned away with deep sigh.
“Y-y-yes. I will. So will you teach me about this school too?”
I started to feel like it would be very bad idea to stay here without knowing anything about it.
“Okay, it wouldn't hurt me to stay friend with you since you have a connection to Ms. Himeko.”
She gave me a calculating smile.
The next program of the ceremony following the speech from the principal of students' council was new student's oath.
A representative of us, new students, was a girl in the Socialite course. Every single move she made was very elegant, I was enchanted just by looking at her. I wondered if everyone knew about her too.
I decided not to ask Kirara because I didn't want her to say, “Of course we know her because we are all normal students” with her eyes rolled.
After the new student's oath, when the ceremony was almost over, I finally got an answer for my question, which I almost forgot about.
It was the question for the reason why Ms. Himeko was sitting on the stage,
Because Ms. Himeko was so natural to be up there, the question almost blew away from my mind.
“The following program is a speech from executive director of the academy. However, due to the various reasons, we will have an acting executive director to give us a speech today.”
As the host of the ceremony said so, Ms. Himeko stood up for some reasons. I could not help myself from getting confused, but Ms. Himeko was walking toward the center of the stage just as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And she started congratulating eventually.
“To all new students, congratulations! I'm feeling joy from the bottom of my heart for welcoming all of you on this beautiful day with full bloomed cherry blossoms.”
I could not close my widely opened mouth.
How can a mere student be an acting executive director of the academy? This is obviously not right. I don't blame if anyone shout out “Objection!” but no one did.
Seemed to be no one except me had doubt about this situation and they were all listening to Ms. Himeko's speech seriously.
Especially students in the Home Economic course were even enraptured by her.
An acting executive director? For real?
Well, it explains her popularity though
I was right about my weird feeling I had when I first heard Ms. Himeko's last name, Amanotsuka.
Himeko Amanotsuka and Amanotsuka All-girls' Academy. Amanotsuka clan, the family which Ms. Himeko is from, is the owner of this academy!
Everything make sense clearly now.
I unconsciously sighed, maybe because I was nervous or I was amazed.