Many say "first impressions are everything." Is that necessarily true?
I tend to agree with the statement. When you meet someone, your first impression of them will more often than not determine how you see that person. If you have a good first impression of someone, you'll think of them highly and have a positive opinion about that person. On the other hand, if you have a bad first impression, it'll be hard for you to approach that person in the future since you'll have a negative opinion about them.
Therefore, if you have a wrong first impression of someone, you might find yourself betrayed in the future.
The students in Class D all seem to have had a good first impression of me. As introductions ended, we all decided to leave the classroom.
The vast majority headed towards the dorms, and the rest decided to explore the huge campus and spend some points.
I still felt eyes staring into my soul as I walked alongside students from all four classes. I guess I can't even hide in plain sight anymore.
Walking next to me were Kushida and Hirata who were having a casual conversation. I was minding my own business... until they decided to include me in their conversation.
"Seems like you're not such a bad guy after all, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm glad you're not the demon that everyone on the internet talks about, you actually seem like a cool dude," Hirata said.
"Yeah! Even on the bus this morning, you seemed like quite the gentleman," Kushida chuckled.
"I guess," I responded.
Many other students from other classes were obviously eavesdropping on our conversation. Once they heard my name, I became the talk of the town again.
"So that's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
"He doesn't seem that bad to be honest..."
"Still, I'm going to be wary of him... his eyes are scary..."
"Seems like you're famous, Ayanokouji-kun," Hirata mentioned, "I hope all this attention doesn't bother you..."
"Don't worry about it Hirata. And also, just calling me Ayanokouji is fine. You can drop the honorifics," I responded. By saying this, I can probably get closer to Hirata. As I think he'll naturally become the class leader, this seems like the obvious choice to make.
"Well, if you say so, Ayanokouji."
As we continued our small talk, we quickly arrived near the dormitory.
"Well, I'll meet up with some of my friends soon, so I'll go on ahead. Later, Ayanokouji!" Kushida shouted as she walked away.
"I have plans too, so I guess this is where we part ways, see you guys tomorrow!" Hirata said with a smile.
"Sure."
I really need to become better at conversations.
"Here's the keycard for your room as well as a handbook containing information about the dorm's rules. Enjoy your stay!"
At the reception desk, I received a keycard for my room and a handbook. I quickly flipped through the handbook, which only detailed the most basic things that we needed for our daily routines. The dates and times for garbage disposal were listed, as well as a notice about avoiding excessive noise. I also saw notes about not wasting water or electricity, and so on.
So, they don't place restrictions on electricity or gas usage, huh.
I initially assumed that the school would deduct the cost from our points, but it seems like that won't be the case. On a side note, I was a little surprised that they'd implemented co-ed dormitories. After all, this was a high school, so the rules stated that unsuitable romantic relationships were frowned upon.
I look at my card, it seems like I'll be staying in Room 401 for the next three years.
401, huh?
"Subject 4-01, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, you are making tremendous progress. Keep working hard, or else you'll be disposed like the rest of your generation."
At the White Room, rather than being known by our names, we all had a number that defined us. The first number represented our generation. In my case, I was part of the Fourth Generation, hence the 4. Since my father had high hopes of me and he was the one in charge of the Fourth Generation, I was registered as the first subject. Therefore, I became Subject 4-01 of the White Room.
Now here I am, holding the keycard to Room 401.
Coincidences can be freaky.
I entered the elevator along with two other students and pressed on the button for the fourth floor. The two other students, who were both girls, looked at me. They must've thought I couldn't notice them staring at me, but little did they know I could see their reflections in the mirror.
One of the girls had mid-back length silver hair that had black ribbons tied behind it and had light purplish eyes. She was also carrying a book in her hands, it seems like she's quite the reader.
The other had long strawberry-blonde, pinkish hair and blue eyes. She possessed a rather well-endowed figure, to say the least. Judging from the looks, she'll probably become one of the most popular girls in the whole school. I can definitely see how many would find her attractive and alluring.
Once the elevator arrived at the third floor, the girl with silver hair left while avoiding eye contact and I was left with the other girl.
I initially thought this awkward encounter would end like this, but she started speaking to me, much to my surprise.
"Um... are you Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
"Yes."
"Um... well, my name is Ichinose Honami from Class B, it's nice to meet you Ayanokouji-kun. I hope we can get along!"
"Likewise. Pleasure meeting you, Ichinose."
With that, Ichinose started to smile. I could tell she felt relieved upon hearing my response. As the elevator arrived on the fourth floor, I started walking out.
"Well, I'll see you around, Ayanokouji-kun!"
"Likewise."
I really need to start coming up with new words. My creativity has hit a new low.
I opened the door to my room, it was definitely more spacious than I had imagined. My room was about eight tatami mats wide. There was a kitchen that was separated from the bedroom. The bed itself seemed quite comfortable and big. I put the papers that Chiyabashira-sensei distributed to us during homeroom on my desk and I laid down on my already-made bed, still in my school uniforms. I would be living alone starting from today, which was a new experience for me. After staring at the ceiling for quite a bit while lost in my thoughts, I decided to get up and head out. Looking at my phone, I saw that it was almost 1PM, so I decided to check out the campus by myself, and perhaps find a place to grab a quick lunch.
Isn't freedom simply the best? When I wanted to eat something, I could eat it. When I wanted to sleep, I could sleep. When I wanted to go outside and take a walk, I could do exactly that.
A new life.
So far, I was satisfied with how things were. I locked the door and took the elevator. To my surprise, nobody was in the elevator, so I head down and left the dormitory to head towards the main part of the campus.
I passed by the convenience store. Looking through the window I saw Sudou in line as well as Horikita checking out some items. I decided that it was best if I checked out the convenience store while returning to the dorms, otherwise I would have to carry my grocery bags everywhere I go.
I saw a three students who looked like third-years waiting outside the convenience store. What were they waiting for? As a precaution, I sent a text message to Horikita.
[There are 3 third-years outside the convenience store. Keep an eye on Sudou, if anyone tries to provoke him by insulting him, keep your distance and take a video. After a few moments, show them the video and ask for half their points as a compensation for deleting the video from your phone.]
Based on my first impressions of Sudou, he certainly seemed like the type to be extremely short-tempered. Therefore, he would be an obvious and easy target for anyone if they tried to set him up. Also, by having Horikita, instead me, help him out, her image might start changing for the better. She might eventually become a good leader for Class D.
As I continued walking, I came across plenty of cafés and small shops before I entered the Keyaki Mall.
This place had everything, I was impressed by the variety of shops and restaurants in it. I can definitely see this as a popular area for students to hang out. Speaking of which, many students looked at me, although I could tell it was mostly out of curiosity. I could tell most of them were hesitant to come up and talk to me. It was only the first day and this place is filled with students from all three years by the looks of it.
After checking out the rest of campus, I had a rough idea of where everything was. As I started heading back to the convenience store, I received a message from Horikita.
[I don't know how... but your plan actually worked... you really creep me out. Thank you for helping out, I guess. I feel bad taking all those points for myself, so I decided to give you half of the points I got. I'll transfer some points to you now.]
Wait, is her character development happening already?
Well, although I guessed that Horikita had somewhat of a superiority complex, she didn't seem like the type of person who would selfishly take all the credit for something she wasn't fully responsible for. So I guess you can say I sort of expected this to happen.
A few minutes later, I received the points from Horikita. I looked at my total balance, almost 700,000 points. Seems like she felt quite generous. Today's my lucky day, I guess.
I decided to finally check out the convenience store myself, and after, head back to the dormitory.
Everything had prices, and, based on their values, it really did seem like one point was worth one yen. The store's prices seemed quite reasonable. But, I noticed something interesting in my peripheral vision.
Free items, huh?
The convenience store was offering free items. Each student was limited to three free items per month, which further supports my theory behind private points. It seems like students can run out of points. If we truly did get 100,000 points per month, we would never run out of points. The fact that they put out items like this convinced me of my idea. The average freshman's allowance is around 5,000 yen, so the amount of points we got obviously seemed impossibly large. Too bad my classmates can't take a hint.
I decided to buy basic things such as kitchen tools, ingredients, and other necessities. I also bought some cup noodles since I've always wanted to try some out for myself. I happened to be quite hungry as well. I made my way to the queue to wait line. The line was quite long, so I expected to wait for a bit.
"Ayanokouji-kun?"
I turned around, only to find Ichinose along with two of her friends. It seems like they were hanging out and decided to stop by the supermarket as well. I guess a conversation with them wouldn't hurt. After all, we were all waiting in line.
"Hey, Ichinose. So you decided to stop by here too, huh?"
Her other friends seemed rather hesitant. Perhaps they're being cautious around me.
"Oh~ what's this about, Honami? It's the first day and you're already friends with the most popular person in school."
"Hehe~ you sure move fast. I get you though, who knew the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would be someone this handsome?"
Never mind.
"Hey, come on, what are you guys talking about? Isn't it normal to get to know other people on the first day of school? Sorry about this, Ayanokouji-kun. I guess I should introduce you to my friends."
"Hey there, Ayanokouji-kun! I'm Kobashi Yume, nice to meet you!"
"I'm Amikura Mako! You can trust me to be your reliable wingwoman hehe~"
"Well, nice to meet you, Amikura and Kobashi," I simply said.
"Look, Ayanokouji-kun. Everyone knows about you in Class B. The truth is, even though everyone knows about your past and your reputation, we all want to help you so please, let us all be friends! Let's exchange phone numbers!" Ichinose exclaimed.
"As expected from Honami, seems like he'll be the first boy in your contacts eh~" Amikura teasingly replied.
Her friends sure are troublesome.
"Okay, sure," I handed them my phone and let them add me to their contacts.
"Woah... you already have this many people in your contacts? Seems like you're quite the popular one, Ayanokouji-kun."
After, they handed me back my phone, we continued our small talk until it was my turn to pay.
"So it really does work like a credit card," I muttered.
"The school is so amazing isn't it?"
"Yeah, to think they'll give us this many points for us to spend, what a life!"
"I don't think this will last though, after all, we might not receive the same number of points each month," I replied.
"So you think so too, Ayanokouji-kun? I do think the teachers left out some details on purpose for us to figure out." Seems like Ichinose is more clever than the defects in my class, as expected from someone who's in Class B.
"Yeah, I think the truth is far from what we might think at first."
"Oh, really. Have you figured it out?"
I went on to explain to them how I think the system really works. They were shocked by how much I could understand purely based on the teacher's explanation,
"Wow, you sure are smart, Ayanokouji-kun. I guess you're not called an artificial genius for nothing."
"Yeah... but if what you're saying is true, then why are you helping us. Aren't you in Class D? Telling us about the truth would only leave your class at a disadvantage. I can't help but feel bad for knowing all of this," Ichinose said.
"It only feels natural to help out other students. I mean, we're all just high school students in the end. Don't worry about it, Ichinose."
After all, I don't plan on staying in my current class for three years.
"Wait a second... but if what you're saying is true, then why were you placed in Class D, Ayanokouji-kun? Aren't you a genius? Why did they put you in the worst class full of defects?" Amikura asked me.
"Who knows? Maybe I'm the most defective of out them all."
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