Radmond Elementary School First Day

After completing the paperwork and introduction with the principal, Asahi said to the Principal,

"I'll drop him to his class"

He held Tendo's hand and started to walk towards different corridors that were leading to his classroom.

Outside the classroom, Asahi took both of Tendo's hands in his own and get down to his level,

"Are you nervous?", he said while looking into his eyes.

Tendo nodded his head in response.

"Don't be. You know you'll be fine and remember what I told you yesterday?", Asahi hinted towards the discussion they had yesterday about not telling anyone in his school who they are. 

Tendo again nodded his head in understanding. 

"My good boy"

My good boy

For a moment in those words, he heard his mom's voice.... far into the distance. 

"Best of luck for your first day. Now go back to your classroom. I'll pick you up after school", Asahi was saying while rubbing his head.

Then he entered his classroom. As the teacher was introducing him to the class he could hear the whispers of every student in the class loud and clear. 

"A new kid"

"I'll make him my friend if he won't sit with the scaredy-cat"

Scaredy-cat? Who is scaredy-cat?

"Ah that meek spongebob"

Spongebob?

"Why is he here in the mid of the semester?"

"He looks good"

"Yeah his blue eyes are very beautiful"

Tendo looked towards the girls who were whispering to each other.

He then started to walk towards one of the empty seats in the class besides a chubby-looking guy wearing round glasses. 

"Ah there goes my friendship"

He heard the guy who was just saying something about the scaredy-cat. 

“Hi. What’s your name?”, he took the initiative to talk to his deskmate who was drawing something in his notebook. The guy raised his head and looked at him through his rimmed glasses.

"Hi, I am Kaito" 

After responding to him he went back to doing his work.

"Served him well, who told him to sit with that chubby nerd"

After hearing this, understanding dawned on him. 

So they were talking about this guy. What's wrong with him? Why can't I sit with him?

Throughout all the classes he couldn't focus on what the teacher was saying because his head was filled with all kinds of noises. From the sharpening of pencil and moving of desk to the fluttering of pages and whispering of students, every noise was loud and clear hammering his head continuously, he didn't know how to block those noises. He didn't realize this before that he could hear the tiniest bit of the sound around him, before that day he has spent his time in the woods, it was always the sound of nature, falling of dewdrops on leaves, chirping of cicadas at night, the rustling of leaves when the wind blows, all of these sounds were so appealing to him. If he recalled it back, all of this started the day when his parents died and he heard his wolf for the first time. 

Before the lunch break, his head was terribly hurting. As soon as the bell for the lunch break rang he put on his backpack and ran outside. All the students were running towards the cafeteria while he was running in the opposite direction, towards the ground where for some time he could get away from all the noises. 

The ground was empty at that time because it was a lunch break and all the students were having their lunch in the cafeteria. He found a place below a large tree and sat there. He rested his head against the bark of the tree and closed his eyes. Only the sound of birds and wind could be heard, which was calming his nerves. He remained sitting there for quite some time when he heard someone was calling him. He then opened his eyes and looked in that direction and saw Haruto was coming towards him,

"I've been searching for you all over the school and you are sitting here. Why aren't you eating lunch in the cafeteria?", he asked Tendo and sat beside him. 

 "I brought my lunch from home. It was so noisy in the cafeteria so I came outside", he couldn't tell him the real reason because Asahi asked him not to tell anyone. 

"So how is your first day going so far?"

Tendo made a pouty face and then said, 

"No one wants me to be their friend because I sat with a guy who is chubby and nerdy. They call him scaredy-cat. I didn't know they were calling him, I found some empty seat that was beside the Kaito that chubby guy, who would've thought they were calling him a scaredy-cat."

"What's wrong with being chubby and nerdy?", Haruto then looked at him and asked. 

He didn't know what to say. Haruto then said,

"He is your class fellow. If they are calling him names and mocking his appearance then they are on the wrong side and you shouldn't befriend such people"

Tendo nodded his head obediently. 

"Ok let's have lunch", Haruto said while taking out his lunchbox from his bag.

After they had their lunch they heard the ringing of the bell. Tendo who was happy a moment ago became sad because now he has to go back to his class where there were so many noises. Then he saw students coming towards the ground and then he heard Haruto saying,

"Next is PE class. We will be having this class together"

After hearing this Tendo became happy again. Haruto looked at him and then said, 

"What's with your expressions?"

Tendo then said while showing him a toothy grin,

"Nothing"

Haruto shook his head and then said, 

"Let's go"

Tendo held his hand and they then started to walk towards the students who were now making the rows. 

They also stood in a row, Haruto went towards his own class’s row that was right beside his class’s row. After some time, the PE teacher came and all the students became silent. Tendo then saw that some students were still whispering but they were far so he couldn’t hear them and suddenly he realized that strangely he couldn’t hear all the voices around him like before. 

What happened? What changed? Did I lose my ability? But how could that be possible? I just had my lunch with Haruto.

Haruto.

He then looked towards him who was looking at the PE teacher. 

Is it because of him?

His PE class went by like this with his mind filled with all of these thoughts. 

After this class, students then started to move towards their classrooms. He ran towards Haruto who was also walking towards his classroom and said to him innocently,

"Hyung can I go to your class?"

"Hyung?", Haruto looked at him while raising his eyebrow.

"Yes Asahi told me to call you Hyung because you are older than me"

"But you were not calling me this before and I don't think he told you this today"

"That's... that's because I recalled it just now", Tendo's face was blushing a little after saying this. 

Haruto laughed at his childishness that he was witnessing for the first time. He then said, 

“You can’t go to my class just because you want to. This is not how the school system works. I am one year older than you and got admitted to school before you that’s why I am ahead of you. And it’s your first day that’s why you are feeling like this, after some time you’ll have many friends in your class. Besides you are new to the class they don’t know you thus they are behaving like this. You just have to keep good behavior and study hard, eventually, they’ll become your friend", 

He always felt like Haruto talks so wisely. He wanted to tell him that his problem was not that nobody wanted him to be his friend but all the voices around him that made his head hurt and he can't bear it. 

"Go to your classroom now ok. We will meet after school", Haruto then gently pushed him towards his classroom. 

He then spent the last two classes with great difficulty and immediately ran outside in search of Haruto as soon the bell for the last period rang. When Haruto came out of his classroom he saw Tendo outside waiting for him. They then together went towards the school gate where Asahi was waiting for them. 

When Asahi saw them coming out he walked forward picked up Tendo and held Haruto's hand. He then walk outside towards his car and made them sit inside it. After dropping Haruto at his home, they were now heading towards their home. Asahi then asked him about his school's first day. Tendo who was desperately waiting for this moment told him everything from A to Z. Asahi was listening to him calmly. 

"So I think when I am with Haruto I can't hear the voices", 

When Tendo was finished telling him everything, Asahi looked at him through the rearview mirror and then said,

"No that's not because when he is with you then you can't hear the voices. It's because whenever he is with you, you only focus on him and tune out all the voices around you. So the main thing is your focus, if you focus on certain things you can channel your mind and cancel out all the rest of the voices you don't want to hear"

So that's how it works.