Chapter 12: Truth of his Roots

[Noya Tamio, Class N Section K. Please report to the staff office.]

A sudden announcement rang in the class drawing everyone's attention. And before I knew it I had become everyone's attention.

"Damn, what now?"

As it was I was a little frustrated with my classmates in the first place and unlike in the morning I couldn't even tease Eri anymore. Before I knew it she was already surrounded by her friends and me invading in that didn't seem right. I was more or less and outsider at this point. An outcoust would be a better comparison. Deprived of her cute reaction I had only grown more frustated as I began to question why did I come today in the first place.

I sighed as I tried my best to bear the suspicious gazes on top of me.

'Come on now? It can just be a trivial call, can't it?' I tried reason with myself to not start stomping around like a fool.

To avoid the gazes, I left the classroom as soon as I could.

And before I knew it, I found myself in front of my homeroom teacher.

"Noya Tamio, what a surprise. I thought you won't be showing up anymore," he fixed his spectacles as he checked upon my silhouette. "If I am not mistaken, its been a while? You haven't perhaps turned into a shut in now, have you?"

"No, sir."

I shook my head in confidence.

It was true that in my first life I had more or less locked myself in my house with no one to stay company. And in this life too I was planning to do the same.

But by no means does that mean that I was a NEET. The decision for something like that refers to someone being 'unemployed'. But I was by no means unemployed. I simply had so much money that I never needed to work myself! And thus I lazed around.

"Hmm, I won't pry into what you were doing then, but you came today? Isn't that strange."

"Because it was the last day sir. I wanted to connect with my friends."

I was beginning to wonder if this teacher had too much time on his hands? He called me into the staff room of all places to talk about things like these? I was beginning to wonder about his uterior motives.

I followed him under my gaze. He slipped his hands into a folder and pulled something out. Some kind of document? And it had my picture on it.

"I am sure you are aware that our school is not some kind of charity? But you ain't really paying up now are you? And you even refused to show up for a month. There might be issues you know?"

"Wait, not paying? Perhaps you are talking about fees? But since when?"

I couldn't even believe what I was hearing now.

"It says 8 months dear."

"What really?"

He passed on the paper to me and I checked its contents.

Surprisingly he didn't lie, or so was what it was if the authenticity of the paper was legit.

But it was a bit too much for me. Not financially per se but in regards to something else.

Was I such a burden to them that they even refused to pay my school fees now? Isn't it basically a parents responsibility to at least ensure that their child studies and graduates despite how sour they are?

I was pissed. Very very pissed.

I couldn't help but grit my teeth as I felt my shoulders getting heavy.

Perhaps if I had been a child like my age signified I might have failed to understand the significance of the matter.

But I was an adult coming from the future. I could see every thing from an adult's angle.

I for all intent and purposes knew how wrong it was.

I for all my life had never been a parent but even I knew of a parent's responsibility.

How could those Tamio's be so cruel to their own child?

Why?

I had always thought that my parents and I just had bad chemistry until they died. But upon their death I had never shed a tear and was back to my everyday life as soon as the furneral ended.

I always wondered if there was something wrong about me.

'How could I be so emotionless?' I always wondered about that.

But now all of it makes sense.

Even those who I had blood ties with didn't want me.

I felt incomparably lonely in this vast world that refused to end even after my own death only to revive me back throwing me in the same loop.

The paper in my hand crushed against my fingertips.

A single drop of saline water died it moist.

I could only wipe my tears on my shirt sleeve.

"Noya Tamio? Are you okay?"

"I am sorry teacher. I just want a minute."

"Okay..."

I had tried... Tried so hard to hold it in.

If I was born under an unlucky star was it all my fault?

I had never asked them to give birth to me, so why was it my fault anyway?

They could only sneer and mock at me.

On second thought, they really deserved to die didn't they? And it makes me quite happy to know that they would have facing a premature death.

I could have never believed that there would come a day when I would curse my parents in my heart but it couldn't be helped.

Had they known that I was an unlucky child upon my birth would they have killed me too?

I could only wonder. I was cut off from my allowances and only given the bare minimum to be kept alive. At least they were giving me that much means that they weren't really looking for death although that could be just my wishful thinking.

"Hey, do you know him? Is he okay?"

"No, I don't teach in his class. I don't know."

Whispers resounded in the room.

I turned my gaze around.

I chuckled as I wiped off my face.

Really I had gone and found the worst place to cry. I can't believe I wept in the staff office.

I was kind of embarrassed and felt like laughing at myself at the same time. Ha Ha.

And here I was labelling myself as some kind of self proclaimed 'adult' from the future even though I started crying like a child.

*Sniff*

"I am sorry teacher, I showed you something unsightly."

"No, it's okay. You must have a lot of stuff going on. I am sorry for asking the unreasonable out of you. But trust me, I wanted to contact your parents on this matter but they were always out of reach."

Perhaps the homeroom teacher felt sorry for me. Ha Ha. I never really asked for his pity though. There was nothing really he could do to change my unlucky star.

Or perhaps, he didn't even know much about my background in the first place, and only acted out of pity?

"So my parent are out of reach huh?"

Kinda predictable at this point. Well whatever.

The teacher nodded.

"Anyway, you can go back to your friends. I would like you to enjoy your last day here with us."

"Well I will. But first... sir do you have a another copy of this. I kind of made a mess here with this one."

"Hmm, what will you... anyway if its a copy you want, I might have one."

The teacher nodded as he passed me another copy of the same.

I grazed my eyes through it for the first time ever.

"Sir, can you guid me where I can actually make this payment?"

"Yeah you can... wait, you are going to make the payment?"

The teacher replied as if he was spooked out or something.

"I guess yes?"

"Wait how? This school's fees is quite expensive you know?"

"Well I already have the slip in hand so I guess I already know how much I have to pay?"

"But how? Where did you get so much money? I thought your parents were running away from paying let alone you."

*Sigh*

"Teacher, that's not the question here. I can pay cause I am an adult and own a bank account can't I? The coming of age ceremony was enough of a proof to guarantee that."

The coming of age ceremony wasn't just a way to trigger a youngsters mana and find her ability. But rather it was also a sure fire test of adulthood. And while it might be weird but there was no denying that I have already passed the threshold of teenage life twice already.

But teacher seemed to be at a loss of words for something else.

The other teachers too turned their heads to me for a completely different this time around.

Just a single moment was enough to turn their opinion of me.

I had transformed from the pitiful child who was born under the unlucky star to a spoiled brat with a lot of money and the silver spoon in his mouth for the young age. There assumptions were completely off the mark though. But I had no reason to fix their misunderstanding.

But they weren't completely wrong.

I am different.

I am not a pitiful child who is moved around by the wheels of fate.

I refused to believe that.

I can hold my ground if I put my mind to it.

"So sir, can I pay?"

"O-of course!"