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??? POV
'Hey, hey, do you hate going to school?'
'. . .I don't hate the idea of learning new things, but the system, I hate it.'
'I know right? They don't understand. Achieving 100 points doesn't mean anything in the real world. They have rules like memorize this formula, that chemical combination and such, but in this day and age, there's the internet.'
'That is annoying and all, but what I hate the most are the people I have to meet every day in school.'
'Right, right. There's always one person who will keep pestering you, people who will ignore you, and people who will approach you for recognition. Irritating and annoying, right?'
'. . .Also, it's noisy.'
'Ah! There's that too. Haha. . .'
•__________________________________________________________•
'This is still very awkward.'
I did just as I planned and followed her into class, but this is so damn boring. It seems that this is like a flashback and no one can see or touch me here, and I can't do anything to anyone either. All I could do was watch.
The subject that was being discussed was History. Specifically, History of Human Evolution. Seriously? This subject? First thing in the morning?
The teacher and the people around are all faceless. I found that very disturbing, they were clearly distorted, and their voice is like a buzzing static that happens with radio ever so often.
'Could it be because this is what she thinks of these people?'
The teacher asked a question that was difficult to answer for most students at this level, but I could clearly see that Naiko was writing the answer in her notebook.
'She knows the answer but won't volunteer to raise her hand and show off, eh? Yeah, that's just like her. Well, I would've done the same.'
The reason being that if she answered now, either she would gather everyone's attention, they'll be envious, and afterward, they'll ask her a lot of questions, or they'll see her as a show-off, and gossip about how she wants to suck up to the teacher.
'Both choices will be as annoying as hell.'
As the lesson kept going, she just kept on drawing stuff, and stare at the window, daydreaming.
'I wonder what she is always thinking?'
Her expression while staring at the window was a happy one, or rather, I think she was satisfied. It's probably because she is in her own world right now, not caring about school, shutting down every noise that reaches her ears.
'Right now, at this moment, is probably her time, for herself.'
•__________________________________________________________•
The school bell rang, it was already time for lunch.
"Haaaa. . .that was so exhausting."
Sitting in a chair for hours, avoiding eye contact with the teacher, so you won't be called, and all you can ever hear are your classmates talking about their favorite idol and what to do after class.
'My head hurts again, damn. It's still early in the morning for god's sake.'
I could clearly see the frown on Naiko's face. She must be dying to go home, lay in bed, and sleep.
'I definitely prefer home-schooling than this.'
She had a quick lunch and went to the library, it didn't even take her 15 minutes to eat. She probably wanted to make time for her own enjoyment, but still, there's an hour and 15 minutes left before the next subject.
'Why not take your time?'
After lunch, I found the reason why━
'She skipped the afternoon classes!! All of them!!'
After spending her time in the library, she went straight to the infirmary and spent the rest of the day laying in bed.
'Nice! That's right, when you're tired, rest.'
This must be tough for her daily life. She didn't seem to have friends. No one seems to approach her for the sake of having a decent conversation.
'Ah! I almost forgot! These are my memories!'
After realizing that these are my memories, I found out that this is an agreeable personality.
'Why would I hate it? More or less reject it?'
•__________________________________________________________•
The scene changes every once in a while.
This time, a group of students approached me and said━
'Why are you so quiet? You don't have any friends, huh? You're always alone. Come hang out with us. It'll be fun.'
'. . . . .'
Naiko didn't say anything, but I could see the tension.
I don't know why, but I'm kinda pissed off.
•__________________________________________________________•
'Shut up, will you? Stop asking me the same question over and over. I don't want your kind of fun. I prefer to be alone, is that bad?'
•__________________________________________________________•
I heard a voice and I know who it belonged to.
The scenery changed again━
This time, a teacher approached me.
'You should really try to improve your communication skills a little bit more. You don't participate in class either. You're too quiet.'
'. . .I will try.'
She politely answered and turned away, but━
•__________________________________________________________•
'Why can't they realize that I have my own way of doing things? I am more of a listener than a speaker.'
•__________________________________________________________•
This was clearly my own voice. A hint of annoyance and irritation mixed in her tone.
The scenery changed again━
This time, it seems like years passed by, a college professor approached her and said━
'You can't be this timid in the real world, a professional must always stand up high and must always be confident. If you keep this up, you won't survive in reality.'
'. . . . .'
I know that they're trying to help and give some realistic advice here, but their words may be different, they're still indicating the same thing━
Change yourself.
•__________________________________________________________•
'Shut up. Noisy. You're all noisy. Stop telling me what to do.'
'Why? Can't I just be myself? Do I have to pretend like I enjoy what others are doing?'
•__________________________________________________________•
She kept looking down, indifferent to what everyone is saying. I could clearly see her hand gripping hard. She must be enduring really hard suppress these words.
The scenery changed again━
This time, she was in her house, her classmates visited uninvited.
'Yo! We were planning to hang out, so we stopped by. Wanna come with us?'
'. . .I still have things to do. Sorry about that.'
Greeting them with a fake smile was tiring enough.
After they left, she was still furious.
•__________________________________________________________•
'Barging in like this. Can't they have some decency? If they're going to come to my house, why not say anything beforehand? What a disturbance.'
•__________________________________________________________•
It was indeed annoying, someone coming into your house so suddenly without warning, that's just━
'Ugh!'
And just when I thought that everything was fine━
This time, our relatives made a sudden visit.
'Come, greet your aunts and uncles. Go along now.'
Everything is such a headache.
•__________________________________________________________•
'I don't even know them.'
•__________________________________________________________•
I could see that she was getting really tired of all of this. People just kept appearing from the darkness. Saying the same things over and over again like a broken record.
'I wonder how I got through this.'
•__________________________________________________________•
As the girl explored different sceneries, the other one sat quietly in the library, observing, murmuring to herself. Literally to herself.
'Hey, did you know? When you keep the feeling of frustration inside, it will keep on piling up.'
'I know.'
'And when the time comes, it will all explode at once, to the point where you won't be able to control it anymore. All in a fit of rage. You won't be able to contain it all forever.'
'. . .I know.'
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