The Loner's Middle School Past

It all began the day after entering middle school.  

On the first day, textbooks were distributed in bulk. They were heavy, so most students stored them in their lockers. Yet, for some reason, mine were missing.  

"Huh...? Why are mine the only ones missing?"

Since they weren’t there, I had no choice but to report it to the teacher. I went to the staff room and told my homeroom teacher.  

"Um... My textbooks are missing."

"We handed them out yesterday. How did you lose them?"

The male teacher questioned me harshly. I answered honestly.  

"I put them in my locker, but they were gone when I came today."

"That’s impossible. You must have been careless."

"N-no! I really don’t know what happened!"

"Well, then, you’ll just have to buy new ones. I’ll prepare a list of publishers after class. You can buy them today since we only have orientation today."

"...Thank you."

The culprit was never found. I ended up using the money my late mother left behind to buy new textbooks.  

The next morning, I woke up at 6 a.m.  

"Let’s see... Press this button on the washing machine, add detergent, set the cycle, and close the lid, right?"

After finishing the laundry, I moved on to preparing breakfast.  

"Ouch! Ugh... I cut my finger with the knife. There should be band-aids over there."

I went to the first aid kit, put on a band-aid, and continued cooking.  

"This potato is so hard... Ugh!"

I worked hard to make potato miso soup. It was my mother’s favorite dish, and my older sister loved it too.  

"Don’t cry! You’re not done yet!"

It took 30 minutes, but I finally finished making the soup.  

"Alright! It’s done!"

I poured the soup into three bowls, placed two of them on the family altar, and spoke softly.  

"Mom, sis, I hope this tastes good. I worked really hard..."

After clasping my hands in prayer, I set the table and started eating. Today’s breakfast was miso soup, tamagoyaki, and rice—everything turned out pretty well.  

"Well, time to head to school. I’ll be back soon."

I spoke to an empty house, locked the door, and left. The neighbors averted their gazes when I greeted them, and the parents of my classmates glared at me.  

"I was only defending myself... What did I do wrong?"

Every day, I asked myself the same question without finding an answer. Over time, I got used to the stares.  

When I arrived at school, I thought I’d spend my day studying. But instead...  

The homeroom teacher addressed the class with an intimidating tone.  

"There’s been a report this morning. Tanaka’s math textbook was found torn to shreds. I don’t want to accuse anyone, but the person responsible should come forward. I won’t be angry."

No one would confess, of course.  

"Teacher, I know who did it."

It was Kawada Natsu, a girl in the class, who raised her hand.  

"Oh? Who was it?"

"I saw Yuki Kiriyama do it."

"Is that true, Kiriyama?"

The teacher yelled my name angrily.  

"Did you do it?"

"I didn’t do it!"

"But we have a witness. Who else could it be?"

The teacher kicked the podium loudly, speaking to me like a criminal suspect.  

"I-I really didn’t do it!"

"But you’re a murderer, right? Someone like you wouldn’t hesitate to do such a thing."

A male student made this remark, and the class agreed.  

"Kiriyama, come to the staff room later."

"I... I didn’t..."

No one listened to me.  

When the teacher left, Tanaka approached me with a sneer.  

"You messed with my textbook, didn’t you? Take this!" 

"Ugh!"

He punched me in the stomach.  

"You’re lucky the teacher believes me over you, you murderer!"

He continued to hit and kick me, while the others held me down. No one helped.  

"Somebody... please..."  

No one answered.  

I endured such abuse daily. Even my childhood friends turned against me.  

"Stay away! You’re filthy!"

"You’re a stain on my life. Don’t come near me!"

"Naoya... Sana..."

Those words hit harder than the punches.  

"Disgusting."

"Just die already."

"You’re better off alone, right?"

I heard such words every day.  

By October, the abuse had escalated. During lunch, the class leader barked an order at me.  

"Go buy something for me!"

"W-we’re not allowed to leave school grounds..."

"What did you say? Just do it, and use your money!"

He glared at me menacingly.  

"You’re loaded, right? You’ve got all that inheritance money. Buying stuff at the convenience store should be easy for you."

He punched me again, then took my wallet.  

Something snapped in me.  

"Give that back."

"No way!"

I stood up despite the hits, glaring at him with a cold smile.  

"Do you want to die?"

The classroom fell silent as I retrieved my money and left.

---

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading! Please leave feedback and suggestions.

Prev        TOC        Next