WELCOME TO THE CLASS [i]

The sun was just blooming fully over the horizon, the sky a deep blue littered with wisps of clouds as the young girl found herself running through the streets, as fast as her short legs could take her anyway. Light brown hair flopped against her shoulders and back as she ran, clutching what few books she already had to her chest, trying to ignore people when she had to pass by. There were relatively few cars on the streets, as it was a bit late for the morning rush, but too early for a lunch rush or anything like that, so intersections and crossing streets weren’t a problem. It took a terribly long time to walk to school, and she’d underestimated just how long it would be. She could take the bus, but… that would put her in the middle of far too many people. People she didn’t know. Bad people.

Finally she turned a corner and the entrance to Karakura High, her new school, came into view. She’d practiced the walk several times to be sure she wouldn’t get lost on the way there today. She’d gotten lost several times while practicing, and had almost had a heart attack each time she needed to ask someone for directions to somewhere near her apartment to get back home. But now she was here, and she ran in the entrance and through the front doors. She prepared herself, and glanced at the clock. Only one minute! She walked briskly through the halls, trying to save as much time as possible. It was a rather large school, but she would not be caught breaking the rules. She found the door to her classroom, and opened it with barely twenty seconds to spare!

Nobody else was there. Not even the teacher had arrived yet; she breathed a sigh of relief, and made her way to the first desk closest to the door. She had sent an e-mail to the school when she first learned she’d be transferring to it, detailing her… condition… and they’d agreed to let her in a bit early so she could avoid the problems that would result in her arriving at the same time as the rest of the students. At her last school, she’d fainted several times in that setting, and she still couldn’t get over the idea that someone had done something to her while she was passed out. Something awful. People were awful, after all, as she had been taught for as long as she could remember. Until recently. Since her mother died.

Sitting at the desk, she crossed her arms and rested her head behind them, breathing deeply. This time alone would allow her to gather her thoughts, and be able to clear her head. Only then would she, hopefully, be able to make it through an entire day without any incidents. She looked at the clock, and realized it was time for other students to start arriving at the gates. She would need to leave earlier in the morning from now on. Much, much earlier.