MORNING – REI'S BEDROOM
I wake up five minutes before my alarm.
My body moves like I'm used to being disappointed.
Toothbrush. Rinse. Hoodie over the wrinkled uniform.
Microwave breakfast that tastes like freezer burn.
Nokko floats behind me, humming like an old fan with too much dust in its vents.
NOKKO:
"Humans require 7 to 9 hours of sleep."
"You got 3.8."
I grunt.
That's the only language I know in the morning.
NOKKO:
"Do not worry. Today's simulation forecast suggests low social interaction, medium ridicule, and an 89% chance of accidental humiliation."
REI:
"That's... comforting."
NOKKO:
"I was trying sarcasm."
I stare blankly into the mirror.
My reflection still looks like the ghost of someone who never even got to live.
NOKKO (spinning lazily):
"Also… you may want to iron your shirt. You currently resemble a forgotten pillowcase."
I flip him off without looking.
NOKKO:
"Hostility. Healthy."
ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL
REI (muttering):
"Hey. If you keep floating like that, won't people see you?"
NOKKO:
"Incorrect. Yesterday I was phased to Level 4 Ethereal.
Your classmates literally couldn't process my presence. I was invisible to weak minds."
REI:
"You called my classmates dumb."
NOKKO:
"I speak only in observable truths."
REI:
"But still... at school, just—just hide or something."
NOKKO:
"Hiding form activated."
With a faint shimmer, Nokko compresses into a metallic-looking bracelet that latches around my left wrist — blinking softly like a fitness tracker that judges your soul.
REI:
"…You're on my wrist now."
NOKKO:
"Yes. I'm now part of your aesthetic."
REI:
"You look like a toy that failed QA."
NOKKO:
"Incorrect. I am 'retro-minimalist cybercore.' Very hip."
REI:
"Don't say hip."
NOKKO:
"That's why you're unpopular."
INT. CLASSROOM – BEFORE FIRST PERIOD
Students buzz with tired gossip and snack wrappers.
As soon as I sit down, Nokko (still in bracelet form) whispers through bone-conduction-like audio only I can hear:
NOKKO:
"The male two rows behind you has not washed his hair in four days.
The girl to your left uses your name as a verb meaning 'to mess up.'"
REI:
"…Are you just here to ruin my self-esteem?"
NOKKO:
"I thought I already found it in ruins."
TEACHER ENTERS
MS. TSUDA:
"Alright, class!"
Ms. Tsuda enters holding a flyer like it's a death threat.
MS. TSUDA:
"Big news: the All-School General Knowledge Championship is coming up!"
A few students groan dramatically.
MS. TSUDA:
"We need two reps. We'll vote now. Write down your picks."
I immediately write not me on my paper.
MS. TSUDA:
"First rep, no surprise: Shino Kagawa."
Scattered applause. Someone fake bows toward her.
She doesn't react.
MS. TSUDA:
"Second rep…"
Silence. The evil kind.
STUDENT:
"I vote for Rei Natsuki!"
Cue laughter. Actual laughter.
CLASSMATES:
"He's just gonna goon mid quiz!"
"He'll answer with poetry and depression."
"Rei's final answer: 'Nothing matters.'"
I look up just enough to sigh with my entire soul.
NOKKO (bracelet):
"They fear your intellect."
"They fear you'll accidentally cause enlightenment."
MS. TSUDA (shrugging):
"Unless someone else volunteers…"
Silence.
MS. TSUDA:
"Alright then! Shino and Rei it is."
CLASS REACTION:
"We're doomed."
"We're going viral for sure."
"I'm making a compilation video."
"Quiz Bee: The Comedy Saga."
I drop my head onto my desk.
LATER – CLASSROOM, AFTER ANNOUNCEMENT
Nokko flashes once as a bracelet, pulsing in quiet amusement.
Across the room, Shino glances at me — or rather, at my wrist.
Her eyes narrow just slightly. Not annoyed.
More like… haunted.
She mutters under her breath:
SHINO (softly):
"...What a weird bracelet."
And just like that, she looks away.
Like she didn't just whisper to a ghost.
LUNCH BREAK – ROOFTOP
I lie flat on the ground, arm over my face.
REI:
"This isn't happening."
NOKKO (from wrist):
"Oh, but it is."
REI:
"I'm going to humiliate myself in front of the whole school."
NOKKO:
"Correct."
"But think of the narrative arc."
REI:
"What?"
NOKKO:
"The loser who becomes less of a loser."
REI:
"...That's your idea of a happy ending?"
NOKKO:
"It's better than 'static irrelevance.'"
I pause.
REI:
"...That's actually kind of deep."
NOKKO:
"I found it on Twitter."
END OF CHAPTER 2