The first thing that greeted Katsumi as he woke up was the cool hardwood floor. As he began to pick himself up, a rustling came from the living room. 

Peering over, he discerned the silhouette of someone on the couch.

"Mornin' sleepy-head," the silhouette said.

"...Nara? When did you get here?"

"Oh man, you really got messed up last night."

"...I don’t remember a thing."

The night prior, like almost every other night, Nara Takagi had come over. He never intends on doing this as often as he does, but Nara always has a different idea in mind.

Katsumi slowly reached around for his cellphone, which he found under the nearby chair. When he turned it on, the bright light burned his eyes and he quickly averted his gaze. His vision clouded with black dots. After a moment of adjusting, he slowly raised it to check the time.

"You’ve gotta be kidding me…" 

"Hm? What’s up?" Nara sounded uninterested in her response.

More rustling came from the living room and Nara was now standing by the balcony door curtains. They graciously prevented the sun's light from entering the apartment. With one swift motion, she threw them open.

The sun’s light flooded into the gloomy apartment, reaching almost every corner of it. The rays streaming in illuminated countless dust particles floating aimlessly through the air—along with the mess that was the apartment. Various bottles were scattered across the living room and kitchen table. Along with a plethora of used dishes and empty food containers.

"Ahh~ What a beautiful mornin’. Wouldn’t ya’ agree, Katsumi?" She turned her head towards him, flashing a wide grin.

Katsumi, still on the ground, let out a loud groan while slowly moving his hands to shield his eyes from the blinding light. "This was a terrible night for you to come over."

“Why’s that?"

Katsumi gave her a disappointed look as he stood. “It’s the first day of the semester!”

"And why does that matter to me?”

"You’re messing with me…" Katsumi said flatly, sounding unamused—his expression echoing that sentiment.

"By the way, it’s the second day already, the first day was yesterday. You slept right through it."

"Why didn’t you think to wake me up?" Katsumi sat up

"Ya’ just looked so cute while gettin’ your beauty sleep, I couldn’t."

"..." 

She laughed, "It’s all good, we’d already be bout’ two hours late anyway. So why worry about it now? There’s always tomorrow."

"W-what are you saying… it’s the first day—"

"Second."

"…I— shut up… I’m gonna go get ready. I know you won’t, but you should do the same."

Katsumi was shocked at what was coming out of Nara’s mouth. He knew already that during high school she would skip from time to time, but now, he was struggling to grasp what had changed in her.

He shook his head in a futile attempt to brush off Nara’s comments.

"Just imagine the looks everyone is gonna give you when yer’ two hours late. I mean, come on, that’d be terrible."

"...At least put some clothes on, you look like a mess."

“It’s not like I’m gonna be goin’ out today, who cares.” Nara grinned while slinking back to the couch, where she sprawled herself out. 

I keep giving in to her… I forgot classes started yesterday… What happened? It’s pathetic. We could’ve drank on the weekend but we— Katsumi rubbed his face trying to collect his thoughts. I have to stop drinking on weekdays. It should be easy.

Katsumi forced himself to fully stand up. When he did, it felt as if all the surrounding air was weighing down on him. His movements were staggered and he had a hard time getting balanced. With a bit of struggle, he managed to make his way through the kitchen and toward his bedroom.

Katsumi’s room contrasted greatly with the kitchen and living room. Someone seeing his apartment would expect an equally disheveled bedroom, however, the truth was quite the opposite. 

Entering and flicking the light switch, it revealed a surprisingly well-kept and organized bedroom. 

For most of Katsumi’s life, the idea of a clean living space leads to a better mental state was something he stood by. This idea was quickly deteriorated over the last few months though, as the messy lifestyle of Nara Takagi had encroached on his apartment. 

Leaving the one place she wasn’t allowed in as a bastion of Katsumi’s old ways of cleanliness.

A bed was placed in the back right corner of the room, nicely made with unwrinkled sheets and blankets. A waist-high bookcase filled with an assortment of textbooks, binders, and other books of various sizes was situated adjacent to the bed, along with a desk that had a laptop and a bit of miscellaneous clutter on it.

The laptop had a sticker that read Kashiwa University on it.

Katsumi went directly to the bed, where he stripped and hurriedly changed into some clothes that were lying on it—almost falling over a few times in the process.

"I’ll take it you’re not going?" Katsumi already knew the answer to this question. However, he still asked Nara as he came into the living room.

"Just feels like a waste of time, ya’know?”

“You’ll be kicked out if you get bad grades. Don’t forget you’re here because of a scholarship.”

“Yeah yeah. Can you get me a Cola on the way back?” Nara waved a hand, dismissing what Katsumi had said.

He didn’t reply to this, instead opting to let out a sigh and give a disapproving frown.

Katsumi made his way down the hallway that adjoined the kitchen to the front door, where he slipped on his shoes. 

As he stepped out, the fresh air hit him like a train. The difference from outside to the contaminated air within his apartment was nearly immeasurable. Katsumi drew in a deep breath followed by a satisfied exhale. A late-morning breeze blew on him, catching his hair as he looked out onto the street below.

He took a glance back into the dingy apartment.

While taking the elevator to the lobby, he pulled out his smartphone—the time read 10:42 AM. 

"I can’t believe I’m two hours late." He grumbled while shoving it back into his pocket.

The digital display read lobby, and the elevator dinged. The door began sliding open and once there was a gap wide enough for him, he dashed out.

After ten minutes of on-and-off sprinting, he made it to the university’s campus.

 

"I can’t believe this… Nara was right, I shouldn’t have gone, this is embarrassing." 

Now standing in front of the door to his classroom, he let out a sigh. Katsumi slid it open, being greeted by the gazes of everyone inside

She was right, this sucks.

"Nice of you to finally join us… Murakami, is it?" 

"I–I apologize."

The professor, Hasegawa-sensei stared at him for a moment, then pointed to an empty seat in the back-middle of the classroom. "Go sit down."

Katsumi turned his attention to the seat Hasegawa-sensei was pointing at—it was neighboring a girl with short black hair.

Do I know her…? This is so embarrassing. I think we might’ve gone to high school or some cram school together…

After a little more hesitation from Katsumi, he moved to his seat.

"M-morning…" Katsumi whispered to try and break the tension as he set his backpack down.

The girl gave him a vacant look as she pushed some hair behind her ear. She quickly redirected her attention towards the front of the classroom. 

Katsumi followed suit and sank down in his seat.