Chapter 3: Dai Yama High School

The sun was already directly overhead, shining down on all the hard hats that the construction workers wore as they packed their things. It was already the end of the morning shift so Hajime was clocking out along with everyone.

Click!

Done with rechecking the number of hours he worked for, he quickly removed the hoodie he wore and broke into a sprint. As usual, his shirt wasn't that damp anymore and he can finally put his school uniform on top of it without it getting wet. 'It's almost time. I might miss the afternoon classes if I slow down.' He told himself, accelerating his pace and arriving at a nearby park where he took a quick stop. He made sure to drink a lot of water by the water station since he didn't bother preparing lunch for the day. He didn't have breakfast either but he tried not to think about it too much.

Even though the sun drained his energy and his stomach had already started complaining, Hajime still didn't bother getting any food. 'I won't faint from this much. It's not like the heat is overbearing.' He reminded himself. Despite that constant reminder though, he started feeling a slight headache, much to his disappointment. The uncomfortable heat of the sun began getting to him.

From the distance, the view of Dai Yama High School emerged. No one knows just how old this High School was but from the looks of it, it may have been used decades ago. Brick walls surround it and the materials used on the walls of the school were the same as well. There were a couple of noticeable cracks running through the walls that acted as the school's fence. If one were to look closer, one would see that the school is actually monumental, probably the largest school in all of Takaoka. The school also has quite a number of students compared to other schools because of its 'good reputation' and cheap tuition fees. One can even get a scholarship easily if one were to put in the maximum effort in his or her grades.

It was a normal high school, well kind of.

To everybody else, Dai Yama High School was your run-of-the-mill high school but as for Hajime, he pictured it as his archenemy— an existence trying to pull him down and give him the most difficult of times. He'd already experienced countless encounters with bullying, gossip, and all sorts of misunderstandings that he slowly shifted into feeling indifferent about those things. Besides, the only reason why he attends school was to graduate as soon as possible. After that, he could finally be free of the shackles that bound him to this damned place.

The reason why Hajime chose the aforementioned high school was because of his tight budget. As someone who's supporting himself, studying in a school even seemed like a waste of time but he had to go through it. Otherwise, his future will look bleaker than his present life.

Groooowl~~~

It's been three days since Hajime last ate and by now, he could already feel the exhaustion getting the better of him. This was part of the reason why he'd been drinking more water than normal— compensating his meals with water instead. Ignoring his slight headache and the constant grumbling of his stomach, Hajime entered Dai Yama High School and headed to class. The bell just rang a few minutes— or so that's what Hajime thought since it was already past noon. He assumed that everyone was having their lunch break at the moment so no one would see him slip into class.

Although Hajime had the option to miss out on school today, he decided not to since he already used up all of his absences. if he were to miss a few more days, he might even have to repeat a year in the worst-case scenario. Of course, he could always skip school in case of emergencies but explaining it to their homeroom teacher would be much harder the more he does it.

'Why is it unusually quiet?' He asked himself in confusion as he slowly climbed the flight of stairs and headed to the hallway by the second floor. 'Are there no classes today? Or maybe they're doing some sort of special activity in class. I'm quite sure that it's not a weekend today. But, why is it so quiet?'

Hajime roamed around the hallways first before heading back to his class, only to hear indistinct voices from behind the classroom door. Their class was still in progress, probably because their homeroom teacher was giving them pointers and reminders for the day. Since Hajime couldn't really go inside as that would disturb the class, he just sat and leaned on the wall, closing his eyes as he waited for the bell to ring, and then he could finally head to his desk and get some much-needed nap before the afternoon class starts.

With a yawn, Hajime finally felt the tiredness catching up to him as his eyes sleepily fluttered. He didn't dare combat his drowsiness though so he just let himself take a nap while he waited for the morning classes to be over.

"Okay, class dismissed," A muffled voice of their homeroom teacher, Akamine-sensei, could be heard behind the walls of their classroom.

The said homeroom teacher, with her black hair tied up in a pony-tail and her black-rimmed glasses balancing on her nose bridge, was the first one to get out of the classroom, still holding a few textbooks in hand while walking with great difficulty since her heels were a tad too tall for her comfort. The day was tiring enough as it is and the arid heat was getting to her, adding to the annoyance she already felt since some of her students forgot some of the assignments she gave them yesterday.

At first, she was surprised to see Hajime sitting against the wall with his eyes closed. But that gaze soon turned into a disappointment as she instantly remembered her number one problem student. "Hajime, you missed all of your morning classes today. Let me ask you something, did you really miss it or did you ditch it?" She asked. Surprisingly, her voice didn't sound disappointed, not in the least bit. Her voice had a hint of concern mixed in it, and Hajime was beginning to wonder if their teacher had ulterior motives since the usual response to such misbehavior was a reprimand.

Somehow, Hajime felt a bit guilty upon seeing the pity and concern on Akamine-sensei's face that he just hang his head down low in embarrassment. There's no getting around this, that much Hajime knew. "I ditched it," He responded, hoping that saying the truth would at least minimize his punishment.

"Do you have any reason why you ditched my morning classes?" She asked. "Hajime, you know that you can't just ditch your morning classes like that. If you keep on doing it, you might repeat the year. Why are you ditching my morning classes? Do you hate it?"

"I-I don't really... hate it," Hajime responded, looking away. By now, he noticed that a few of his classmates were already exiting the classroom, subconsciously gathering around him and Akamine-sensei to listen in on the confrontation.

"Then, why do you keep on ditching it, do you have any excuse?"