For most new students, the opening ceremony was a familiar, dull, and tedious affair. For me, though, it was a completely novel experience.
Then again, not many schools made a big deal out of it.
It was always the same: some high-ranking person gave a speech, and then they wrapped things up with a quick welcome and dismissal.
"It's no different from middle school," Ichinose commented after the ceremony. I offered a token reply, sharing what I'd thought of it.
"Really? I thought it was pretty novel, even if the speech was a little dull."
"Novel? What were the entrance ceremonies at your old schools like, Raku?"
"I don't think we had an entrance ceremony..."
"Huh? You didn't?!"
"Yeah. If I remember correctly, they welcomed us with a few words, and then we went straight into class."
"That intense, huh..."
"I'd thought it was like that for everyone."
"Your old school sounds really unusual. It'd be nice if you could remember its name."
"Sorry, I really can't. Maybe I can look into it after I graduate."
"I didn't mean to blame you. I was just curious what kind of school wouldn't have an entrance ceremony. But I suppose that sort of thing might be pretty common. I just don't know much about it."
After the entrance ceremony ended, little groups began to form among our classmates. Almost no one was left on their own. I couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
It seemed I'd missed out on some very important, mysterious socializing session. But after checking that Ichinose was walking beside me, I no longer felt like I'd missed anything.
Was something wrong with my understanding, or was this class simply that carefree? I tried to greet the guy sitting next to me, Kanzaki Ryuji, but he immediately picked a direction and hurried off.
...Hesitate, and you lose. That saying really was true.
"Do you have any plans, Raku?"
"...I'm going to head back to the dorm and take a look around first."
"What a coincidence. That's what I was planning to do, too. Let's go together."
Well, first I should figure out what household items I was missing.
Following the map, I made my way to the first-year dormitory. The front desk attendant on the first floor gave me a key card labeled "301" and a handbook with the dorm rules.
Quite a few students were heading to the dorms, too. While we waited for the elevator, Ichinose and I read through the handbook.
"Oh, the dorms at this school are co-ed."
Though the dormitory was co-ed, the dividing line was clear: boys lived on the lower floors, and girls on the upper floors. The handbook also strictly forbade romantic relationships that went beyond what was appropriate for high school students.
Still, as long as there weren't any cameras, we could do those things without getting caught, right?
Just as I was daydreaming about the blissful sex life of a married couple, Ichinose asked me a question.
"What room are you in, Raku?"
Was that really something she could just ask me?!
Looking at Ichinose's unconcerned expression, I couldn't tell whether the world was crazy or I was too out of touch with it.
Well, I might as well try answering.
"301... Why do you ask?"
"301, got it. As for why, I want to remember everyone's room numbers. That way, if anything happens, we can quickly send someone to help."
No wonder it was Ichinose. She'd already thought of everything.
"My room's 1401. If you run into any trouble, come find me."
"I will." So it really was just a simple question...
"They even have gas?" I exclaimed, surprised to see a gas stove in the kitchen on the dorm layout.
"And... it looks like there's no limit on electricity, water, or gas, either. They just tell us to conserve." Ichinose added this beside me, sounding incredulous.
I'd expected them to take some points away for utilities, but our lives here were even more comfortable than I'd imagined.
"This is basically the same as living on your own."
"Maybe the school wants us to get used to society," I said, brushing off Ichinose's astonishment.
This would make a lot of things much more convenient.
Before long, it was our turn to take the elevator. When we reached the fourth floor, I said goodbye to Ichinose. We had different things to take care of, so we probably wouldn't be going the same way from there.
After leaving the elevator, I checked the cameras in the dorm hallway. They covered every angle. Unless I destroyed or covered them, there was no way to hide myself from view.
I opened the door with my key card. The room was about four tsubo, or 13.3 square meters. It had a private kitchen with a few basic cooking utensils, and a private bathroom, but no toiletries. A single bed stood against the left wall. There was a window in the wall opposite the door, and a desk, a small sofa, and a wardrobe on the right.
This was luxurious.
I'd told myself over and over that this school wasn't as simple as it looked, but I still couldn't help thinking it. I even began to seriously doubt that this school could produce outstanding students.
After confirming that there was nothing unusual in the room, I opened the window to let in some fresh air and calm my turbulent thoughts.
I didn't rush to check what I needed to buy. Instead, I began to consider how much of what I'd learned so far was reliable. The questions were the meaning behind the hierarchy from Class A to Class D, the huge monthly allowance, and the mysterious competitive system known as the "S System."
The only thing I could conclude about the first question was that it had some kind of balancing mechanism. I'd inferred as much from what he told me about switching classes. But I had no clue about the other two. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't figure out how the school could enforce such extreme differences in the points in our accounts, or what the "S System" entailed.
I stared out the window and pondered aimlessly for a long time, but I couldn't come up with anything useful. So I started checking what I needed to buy.
Bath products, toiletries, clothes, stationery...
I needed surprisingly many things.
By the time I'd checked and organized everything, it was already past one in the afternoon. I left the dorm and headed for the convenience store. The prices there were about the same as outside school, and in some ways, it was a small store with everything you could need.
I briskly dropped cheap shampoo and other everyday necessities into a basket.
"Whoa, we meet again, Raku."
"Ah, good afternoon."
The convenience store's entry chime rang, and Ichinose's voice came from behind me. I quickly greeted her.
"Are you here to buy household supplies, too?" Ichinose asked, picking up a basket by the entrance and coming over to me.
"Yeah. I went back to my dorm and realized I needed quite a few things."
"What a coincidence."
It really was a little too coincidental, no matter how I looked at it. After greeting her, I went back to picking up the things I needed. I hadn't expected Ichinose to keep an eye on what I was buying.
"You seem to keep picking the cheapest things, Raku."
"Mm, do I?"
I instinctively looked at the prices of the other products nearby and realized I really was doing that.
"Maybe it's because I wasn't well-off before. I think I picked up the habit without realizing it." I thought back to my former, "impoverished" life. If I wanted to survive, I had to scrimp as much as possible.
No matter how little there was to eat, it was still food.
"I see... I understand. My family isn't particularly well-off, either." Ichinose nodded, then smiled wryly. "I came here because the tuition is completely free."
A wry smile?
But her expression soon brightened again, warm as the sun.
"But it's better to pick higher-quality things for now. We get a hundred thousand points every month, after all."
"Right..." I trailed off. That was a mistake. I shouldn't let my thoughts show so clearly.
"What's wrong?"
"No, I was just saying, 'Right.'" I quickly recovered and picked out the best toothpaste.
"Exactly. It's a bit more expensive, but we still need to make sure we get good quality." As she spoke, Ichinose began checking things out, too.
After picking out our household supplies, I wandered over to the instant food section. It was stocked with all kinds of cup noodles, snacks, and drinks.
I picked up a stir-fried noodle cup with "UFO" printed in big letters on it. The packaging was covered in bright red, and just looking at it made me imagine how intensely spicy it was. Out of instinct, I swallowed.
I knew products like this existed on every street and in every alley, but I'd always been at the stage of "never eaten pork, but seen pigs run."
Should I buy one?
Just as I was hesitating, Ichinose suddenly appeared around the corner.
"I knew you'd be especially fond of convenient foods like cup noodles, Raku."
"...Why would you say that?"
"Isn't it obvious? They're filling and really convenient. No matter how you look at it, they're perfect for someone who believes in saving energy."
"Now that you put it that way, I feel like what I'm doing is insulting the whole idea of energy conservation..." I awkwardly set down the cup noodles.
"Oh, sorry. I just meant you shouldn't eat too much of this stuff. It's not very good for your health."
Those were two completely different things.
After Ichinose's warning, I decided not to buy any cup noodles—at least not in front of her. I didn't know why I was afraid to, but for now, I'd better hold back.
I gave up on the idea, but I couldn't help staring longingly at the word "spicy" on the packaging.
G cup, huh—
It sounded really full.
G probably stood for giga, right?
Did they classify these things by bra-cup sizes or something?
Thinking this, I couldn't help glancing at Ichinose's chest. But she caught me moving my eyes, then noticed the G cup printed on the noodles.
"Raku... You're not thinking about anything weird, are you?"
"...Would you believe me if I said no?"
"If you hadn't paused, maybe I would've believed you..."
"Sorry. I shouldn't have paused."
I reflected on my mistake, then looked away and continued picking out items to try to ease the awkwardness.
As long as I didn't pay attention to Ichinose, I'd be the one who wasn't embarrassed. Thinking that, I kept moving farther away. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt like Ichinose kept following me.
As it turned out, that tactic didn't work at all.
Looks like I had to apologize, no matter what. Once I accepted that, I took a deep breath.
"Sorry, I wasn't deliberately staring at Ichinose's chest—"
"Waaah, what are you suddenly saying?!" Ichinose hurriedly covered my mouth and stopped me from speaking.
"Don't go telling people about that!"
What did she mean? Was I supposed to apologize to her in private? Was this some kind of school bullying, where I had to kneel down and lick her feet or something?
"I'm not planning to make an issue of it, so don't go blurting it out, Raku. People will think you're a pervert."
"Mm, you're not planning to make an issue of it, Ichinose?"
"O-Of course not."
Ahhh, so in the end I'd just been fighting with the air all along? This was painfully awkward.
"So, did you keep following me because you wanted to talk to me about something else?"
There was no way to avoid her in this tiny convenience store, so I decided to make a move.
"Oh, that's why you asked. I don't really need anything. I just wanted to stick with a classmate. Being on your own can be a little boring."
Ah, maybe this was going to turn into something like, "I just wanted to walk back with you, Raku~"? But "I just wanted to spend some time alone with you" would've worked, too.
"And I'm also a little curious about what ordinary people buy at convenience stores," Ichinose added with a smile. That completely shattered my fantasy of a woman suddenly falling in love.
So I really had been getting ahead of myself.
"Are you saying you don't count as an ordinary person?"
What, was she some kind of psychic? If that were true, it'd be so cool!
"Mm, I suppose so. My family really is poor, after all. I hardly ever come to places like convenience stores, and when I do, I only buy necessities." Earlier, she'd smiled wryly as she said it, but now she'd completely hidden that emotion.
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