Alone

Rays of sunlight slipping in between the gaps of my curtain woke me up. It was a chilly Friday morning, my mom was still sleeping so I decided to do things on my own.

I got out of bed and opened my room window, Birds passing by and the sound of the city greeted me. It was a school day and it'll be my first day at my new school so I wanted to be as early as possible. I proceeded to take a bath

"Today I'll do this myself, How hard can it be?" I mustered all my strength to lift myself to the bathtub.

A loud crashing sound echoed throughout our unit, Right after I heard someone running towards my direction.

My mom rushed over to see what happened as she entered the bathroom, She looked down at me.

"Oh dear I'm sorry Iris, I didn't wake up early" She said with a look of worry showing on her face.

I bowed my head, I couldn't look her in the eye, It was annoying, don't pity me I don't need it so please stop it. This is so frustrating that even basic daily activities are this hard for me. I hate it, I hate this life, I hate my crippled body I thought to myself.

I didn't hear what my mom was saying while bathing me. Maybe because I chose not to listen to her sympathy.

"Are you sure, You'll go to school on your own?"

"Yeah, Don't worry mom I'll manage" I smiled at her but I'm still filled with frustration knowing she'll worry about me throughout the day.

"Have a safe trip Iris" She smiled at me as I exit our home

"Yeah, I'll be back" I replied as I opened the door and headed to the elevator.

The town where we now lived was peaceful and quiet the noises I can hear are people, small vehicles, and birds chirping. What a calming place.

As I pass by I notice people looking at me "What's up with these pigs looking at me, Whispering and murmuring" I said to myself, I say that but I already knew why they were looking at me, I just lied to myself to protect my pride.

It was annoying every time I go somewhere people leer at me so I always move while slightly looking down it's a pain in the neck but I have no choice, It's painful to see how they look at me so I choose not to see it.

"What is this place?" I said as I found myself stuck in a dead-end. I never noticed I got sidetracked while moving.

"This is what you get for not looking where you're going Iris" I sighed and looked around it's not a dead-end it's a wall that normal people can climb over.

"What an unlucky da-" before I even had the chance to finish my sentence,

There he was flying above the wall.

He landed in front of me

"Kyah!, What are doing didn't you se-"

"Be quiet you" He covered my mouth with his hand.

"How dare this scum touch me with his filthy hands" I thought to myself, So I bit him.

"Argh!, What are you doing?"

"Shut up, How dare you touch a fair maiden like me with those hands! " I shouted

He looked really annoyed

"Did you hear that? It came from this way" Said by the people beyond the wall

Those were adults, Based on the voice I heard, Were they looking for him? But why? He looked really tired and beat up as I took a look at the man in front of me

"Shit, If they find me" He glanced at me " This is your fault"

"My fault ?"

"Tch"

Before I can even say something again

He sprinted away.

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After that weird encounter with the man, I continued to move towards school. There were only 10 minutes left before classes start.

"This is the worst, My first day at school and I'm late, How improper" I said to myself with frustration as I continued to move my wheelchair as fast as I could.

15 minutes have passed and I finally reached the school, It was big and looked new, Besides the school gate was a stationed guard. I approached him to inquire about the school,

"Uh, Excuse me, sir?"

The guard looked around until he finally noticed me below him, He was really tall for a Japanese citizen

"Hm?, Yes can I help you, young lady?"

"Uh well, I'm a new student, I was supposed to start attending this school today"

"Hm, Is that so? Shall I take you to the principal so you can talk to him about this?"

"Ah, Yes if you may, Thank you"

Because of the sudden transfer, I had to go through my dad enrolled me to a public high school, I think he was mistaken though because up until the transfer I always attended a private all-girls school. But if my dad has made me transfer here, I can't do anything about it anymore.

As the guard was escorting me I can hear whispering coming from the rooms as we pass by. I could only clench my fists I don't want to cause a scandal but it's so annoying, Why are they whispering? It's not like they haven't seen a crippled person before.

We finally arrived at the office it was a relief for me, I couldn't take any more of it. People kept murmuring and whispering to each other as we pass by. So I'm glad I'm not seen by anyone anymore.

Inside the office were a lady in her thirties and a man who looked like he's as old as my dad.

My dad is 40 years old by the way.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hashibara, I'm sorry but your son has been ditching school too often now if this keeps up he'll fail "

"Hm, A trouble child huh so there are those types of people here too" I thought

"I see, We'll try our best to convince him"

That was the only response the father had to give and he's already preparing to leave.

"I'm very sorry for his behavior, We'll try our best to convince him, I'm sorry once again" the mother said as she bowed her head and proceeded to leave the room.

The principal then quickly shifted his attention to me

"Ah!, You must be Ms. Iris Laurent"

"Yes sir, It's a pleasure to meet you"

"Likewise, I hope you can have fun and learn while attending our school. If you have questions or problems you can consult me and I'll see what I can do for you"

"Ah, Yes sir thank you very much for accepting me in such short notice"

"Not at all, Your father is an old friend so this much is nothing"

"Ah, Is that so"

He smiled at me

The principal was a friend of my father, Maybe putting me here at this school wasn't really a mistake. But I wouldn't mind, He looked like a nice and generous person. I took another look at him and he was still smiling at me.

It put me at ease.

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At school, word was spreading fast about a new and beautiful student, And everyone was eager to see and meet her, Little do they know that the girl has already misunderstood them and was angry at them.

Inside the room which will be her new class, The students were no exception.

"Hey Chika I heard Hajime isn't at school again today and his parents was summoned"

"Really!?, What is that guy doing, jeez" I said as I let out a sigh

I noticed that the boys are looking at something outside the room,

"Hey, What are the boys looking at outside?" I asked out of curiosity

"Oh, You didn't hear? Apparently there's a new student here, and words say that she's from France"

"Eh!, A foreigner huh, I bet she's super pretty" I replied

"No joke the boys are already head over heels about her"

"Tch, Already? She hasn't even showed up that much, What simple-minded people" I thought as I let out another sigh

A foreigner huh, I wonder what she looks like, I wanna see her and I hope we can be friends. But well it's not like we can get close to her or anything.

Our teacher finally entered the room as classes are about to begin,

"Everyone settle down it's time to start classes"

While everyone was scurrying to their seats something caught our attention.

"Please come in now Ms. Laurent"

The creaking sound of the wheelchair echoed throughout the room.

Everyone was silent while staring at her, They looked mesmerized, Couldn't blame them though she looks pretty

"Ms. Laurent you can introduce yourself now" Our teacher said to her

She was starting to turn red, She looked really embarrassed

"Uh, I- I'm I- Iris Laurent it's- it's N- Nice to Me- Meet all of Y- You!" She said emphatically

"Cute," I think that's what everyone thought at the moment. She seems shy and still can't speak Japanese that well.

She was seated three seats to the left behind me, and everyone has their eyes on her already. Well who wouldn't, I mean she is really pretty especially her long silky silver hair. I bet even Hajime would love her.

She looked really embarrassed as she was whispering to herself.

"Why is everyone looking at me? geez, Did I really sound that stupid while introducing myself" Iris thought as she pouted.

Everyone reacted and that shocked me, I wonder what's wrong with them.

It was a large classroom with good ventilation, next to our room you can get a good view of the city and there is

a tree.

There is a vacant seat besides me next to the window, I wonder if it belongs to that trouble child earlier.

Class has begun, It lasted for an hour. It wasn't that boring but the other students seem sleepy.

An hour later, The bell rang and it was heard around the school. It was time for lunch and everyone was hurrying towards the cafeteria,

"Lunch time huh, I wonder where the cafeteria is"

"Uh, Hey you don't know where the cafeteria is do you? " Said a girl who suddenly approached me

"Well, Y- yeah" I said as I was turning red from embarrassment, I didn't expect that she would approach me

"I'm Miyamoto Chika"

She extended her hands towards me

I looked at her and she was smiling at me, It looked like she really wanted to be close with me. Plus she didn't seem like a bad person.

I shook her hand and replied

"Nice to meet you"

"You know you're really pretty"

"Eh!?, What did you say?? "

"Hm? I said you're really pretty " She repeated

"Eh!?" Was the only response I could manage to give her as she surprised me.

Geez who says that to a person they just met,

She was still smiling as she offered me assistance and took me to the cafeteria.

I accepted her offer for assistance and we proceeded to have lunch.

She's a peculiar one.

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At the same time, In a riverside below a bridge near the school. A young man was being beaten up by adults

"You know kid we don't like this, so stop this shit " He said as he punched my gut

I was panting as I was trying to catch my breath, My mind's going blank I'm losing consciousness

"Listen kid, let this be the last time" He said as he punched my cheek, After that I lost consciousness.

Hours later.

I woke up to the sound of the train passing by above. I walked over to the river and washed my face.

I looked at my reflection in the water and said "Another mark huh, I should really stop doing this" I tried to laugh it off as I can feel stinging pain in my body specially in my stomach.

I was coughing continuously and it was hard to breathe.

I couldn't stop it but I vomited "Shit this is the worst if only that girl didn't scream so much, They wouldn't have catched me" I said while coughing after vomiting

After that I fell asleep again, And when I woke up it's already evening.

"I wonder if gramps is still open" I mumbled

I checked the time and it was 6:56 pm, I mustered all my strength to pull my body up and headed towards the old man's place as usual

Like yesterday on the way there I dragged my body, Everything really hurts

"Tch, We don't like this kid they said but they didn't pull any punches"

As I reached the road I saw students walking home, They are from my school and they stared at me with worried looks.

I ignored them and continued to walk.

I was on the verge of vomiting again but I finally reached the family restaurant. Every one looked at me, Well who wouldn't a kid who was beat up and was bleeding suddenly entered the premises.

"Hey gramps" I said with a smile on my face

The old man looked at me and let out a sigh,

He called his wife so that she could look at me. After checking my injuries I was treated by his wife

"Be careful now, here eat some sandwiches" The old lady told me after tending to my wounds

"Uh, Thanks grandma"

I can feel the painful stare of the old man behind me.

"What did you do this time?" He asked

"Eh?, Uh, You know just messing around"

"Kid I told you already you'll go to jail eventually if you don't stop pick pocketing, just go to school"

I let out a nervous laughter and thought,

"I'm getting lectured huh, nothing new"

"What is wrong with me, Why do I keep doing this again?" I said to myself

"After you eat go home, Rest well and let your wounds heal"

"Hm yeah, Thanks as always"

"Don't worry you're always welcome here"

Something like that was enough to make me cry honestly, If I wasn't so beaten up right now I might actually cry. But my body was too busy dealing with the pain.

After finishing I told them I'll go home now, And they told me to be careful and come back again.

"Goodnight" They said before I exit the establishment

I opened the door and I was greeted by the cold winds of the night

As usual the sandwich was delicious.

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Inside a fancy looking condominium, Two beautiful ladies was sharing a meal,

"How was school Iris?"

"Hm, Uh yeah it was good"

"I hope you make friends this time"

"...."

I couldn't say anything, To be honest I didn't really like making friends anymore it always feels forced and full of sympathy so it makes me uncomfortable. But I don't hate it if someone calls me their friend.

Mom just smiled at me and continued eating.

After we finished I went straight to my room,

As the night deepened I found myself embraced by the cold winds in my balcony.

"What a nice breeze" I whispered

I suddenly remembered that peculiar girl from class

"Chika was her name right?"

After lunch she pestered me every free time we had it was really exhausting, I haven't faced anyone that energetic in a while. She just kept showing me a collection of memes she found online, I couldn't actually keep up with her, I don't enjoy such humor.

"I wonder what she thought of me" I asked myself cause now that I think about it ignoring her was unladylike and is kind of rude.

"I hope she doesn't hate me" I whispered

I was filled with guilt.

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Also that night in the Miyamoto household,

"Chika!?, Chika? Can you hear me?"

"Huh?, Uh yes mom sorry what was that?"

"Let's eat now"

"Uh yeah coming"

I hurriedly went down to have dinner with my family.

Mom and Dad was looking at me the whole time.

"Uh, What is it?"

"You seem busy" They said

"Oh, I was just looking for memes to make Iris laugh" I said while giggling

They looked puzzled

"Iris?"

"Hm, Oh yeah she's a new classmate from France"

They looked at me softly and said

"You sure are friendly huh Chika"

I suddenly felt embarrassed

"Eh, Not really"

"We are happy you're enjoying school"

"Hmm, Me too"

I suddenly felt warm inside, It made me happy.

I smiled back at them.

We peacefully ate our dinner and proceeded to rest.

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The week has already passed by and today was a beautiful Saturday.

As usual you can hear birds chirping and people passing by. Another day has begun for everyone.

In a particular home, As the window and curtain opened a loud voice was heard,

"GOOD MORNING WORLD!!"

"Huh?, What? What is happening" Hajime woke up as a loud scream startled him

"Hey Hajime!, Haven't seen you in a while" Chika greeted him with a smile on her face

She's smiling but Hajime have an ominous feeling about this

"Chika what are you doing, I'm sleeping do you what time it is? Jeez" Hajime replied

"It's already past 8 you know"

"Huh?, Really?"

"Yeah really, So come on wake up!"

Chika said as she dragged Hajime out of bed.

She stood in awe while staring at him, She suddenly looked sad.

"What?"

She lowered her head and whispered

"Idiot"

Hajime remembered his body was covered in bandages because of the what happened yesterday.

"Uh, Ah You know this is nothing" Hajime explained as he was laughing nervously

"What have you been up to lately, I haven't seen you anywhere, You never reply to my messages" Chika said as she looked at the floor with sadness in her eyes

Hajime stood up and patted her head

"I'm sorry for making you worry"

"Idiot" She mumbled.

Hajime realized no one was home today, He thought that his father's wife might've asked Chika to accompany him today,

Chika was preparing breakfast for both of them

The atmosphere was heavy and awkward so Hajime tried to break the ice

"Ah, Hey Chika you busy today?" Hajime asked Chika out of the blue

A nonchalant "No" was her reply as she continued to cook

"Want to hang out somewhere?"

"Sure"

"Okay"

They remained silent after that and after a while, breakfast was served

The food Chika cooked was a little salty.

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After sharing breakfast together

Hajime took Chika outside for a walk.

They have been walking for a while but Chika remained silent.

"Is she really that mad? I don't understand how girls work" Hajime thought in confusion

"Uh, Hey Chika look it's a cute plush toy" Hajime asked in an attempt to break the silence

"Oh, Nice" Chika replied

"What the hell is up with that response? At least show interest that I'm trying to cheer you up, jeez" Hajime thought as he let out a short sigh

At the same time, Chika kept glancing over towards Hajime as if she's trying to figure out what he'll try to do next.

"Honestly I'm not that mad it's just we haven't been together in a while so it feels awkward" Chika whispered to herself

Chika feels a little bit pleased that Hajime is trying to cheer her up. But she can't let it show because she's embarrassed about the fact that they were alone together.

"Chika let's go to the mall" Hajime suddenly told her

"Huh?, Uh yeah sure" Chika replied in slight panic

"You used to drag me to the mall a lot remember" Hajime added

"Well, That's because you always have nothing to do" Once again replied

"Yeah, To be honest whenever you take me with you...It makes me happy" Hajime replied while covering his mouth with his hand

"Eh? Oh is that so?" Chika replied

At the same time, Chika thought

"Geez what is this guy saying, So embarrassing"

Hajime noticed that Chika's face has been turning red now, He was wondering if she's okay.

"Does she have a fever? or is she that mad?"

Hajime thought

"Hey Chika come here" Hajime said as he put his palm in her forehead

"Eh?!" Chika replied out of panic

"You seem fine to me. But why are you so red?"

"R- Red? Am I blushing?? What is wrong with me this is so embarrassing. And this guy just does whatever he wants jeez" Chika thought to herself out of panic and confusion before glaring at Hajime as she thought Hajime was teasing her on purpose to make her feel more embarrassed

Hajime glanced over towards Chika and started thinking

"She's glaring at me did I make her mad again? Girls sure are scary"

"Uh, Hey Chika wanna sit there for a while?" Asked Hajime while trying to change the topic

"Huh!?, Uh yeah sure whatever"

The two sat down for a while and Hajime was hopeful this would calm Chika down

"Chika, You got new memes to show me?" He asked

"Eh, You want to see?!?" Chika replied with a big smile on her face as suddenly she's now excited

"Seriously does this girl think about those pictures all the time" Hajime thought

"Uh, Yeah you said it was funny" Hajime replied

Chika rushed to open her phone and Hajime was shocked as she has over 2500+ pictures in just one folder.

After 30 mins of endlessly swiping through her gallery, Hajime decided to buy something for them also to escape the never-ending memes Chika was showing him.

"I'll be back Chika, Don't run off somewhere okay?"

"I'm not a dog you know" Chika replied while pouting

"Glad she looks a little better now, Compared to earlier she's back to her enthusiastic self" Hajime said to himself

That's a relief.

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Whenever I feel down in the dumps Chika was always there to cheer me up, even in the past she was always enthusiastic so whenever I'm sad I just get infected with her energy till I feel a little better. Every time that happens she has this triumphant look on her face as if she accomplished something that grand.

Once again, "How nice" I said to myself, Chika always have a reason to look forward towards tomorrow, She has friends, family, goals, and an optimistic point of view in life.

Now that I think about it she's now my exact opposite, Before I was optimistic like her but now I'm like this, I wonder why we're still friends and why she still wanted to be one in the first place.

But I can only wonder.

As I return to where she was waiting I saw her talking to some people

"Hm?, People from middle school huh?" If I recall correctly no one really wanted to be with me back then, I suddenly became pessimistic and silent so they thought I was weird. As time passed by I just became a troubled child who always ditched class and caused trouble.

"I'm sorry Chika" I whispered as I turned around to where I came from earlier.

This was the best choice, Chika is always surrounded by her friends if they find out she hangs out with someone like me, There's a chance that they might push her away making her all alone with no friends except me.

That's how human relationships work there are always people on top, People who are generally accepted by everyone and then there are those people at the bottom, The people no one likes. If some nobody like me tried to blend with people like them it'll disrupt their relationship bringing ruin to them.

So I chose not to destroy her relationship with them, It's better to lose someone like me. I only made the best logical choice that'll benefit me and Chika in our own ways.

"That's the best choice right?" I thought

And once again

I left Chika on her own.

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While Hajime walked away, Chika was waiting for him to come back

"It's been a while since Hajime left, I wonder where he went" Chika thought to herself

She continued to patiently sit and wait for Hajime.

"Jeez, That guy he told me to sit here and wait and there he goes" She added

Chika decided to wait around a little longer. She was starting to feel something was wrong

"He didn't ditch me did he" I thought

But as time passed by I realized that he really did ditch me.

Things always turn out this way, Whenever we go out and meet other people in the way he suddenly disappears leaving me on my own to deal with them.

Does he think that if people see us together they'll leave me too? Is that how he sees this?

Even if things do turn out that way it's fine I don't care about losing them as long as he's with me that's enough for me.

"How selfish" I mumbled

After a while I just gave up and decided to go home alone.

It was cold and I was walking back on my own.

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

After I got back home his house was locked, as if no one was home.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, I didn't see Hajime again.

I hate this, The feeling of being alone.

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For a really long time I've always wanted to write a story and finally, I had the determination to do so. I really hope you would like this story and I hope you'll be interested in what's to come.

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-Ecclair