Chapter O1

"My upperclassmen say that he dated the teachers to get better grades."

"I heard from seniors that he stole things from the nearby store."

"Well, I heard a rumor that he pushed a child out of the window in the past."

Aki was flabbergasted by those rumours he had heard from his classmates every time he walked past them.

For some people, home might be an escape from school or other way around, but for Aki Hartez, it's none.

Aki is known for being really introverted and smart, but now he's currently sitting at the principals office because he got detention.

But how could an innocent and respectful student suddenly get detention? 

It all began ten months ago, in the lunch cafeteria 2B.

In Avan High School, there are two cafeterias, 1B and 2B.

The 1B cafeteria is for students from 1st to 5th grade, and the 2B cafeteria is for students from 6th to 10th grade.

The 2B cafeteria is divided into three sections, the food line area, the seating area, and room for special meetings.

That day, the cafeteria was really crowded and filled with laughing and chattering students.

Aki was silently eating his lunch and minding his own business, when suddenly a group of 3 boys approached him.

They looked a few years older than Aki, and they were, because their badges, which were pinned into their t-shirts, had the number "8" in it.

"Heyy, kid, mind if we sit here?" The brown haired asked.

Aki shaked his head. Kid? You're just two years older than me. Brown haired with short wolf cut hairstyle sat next to Aki, while the other two just sat face to face Aki and the brown hair.

"So, hey little kid, do you want our autograph or something? You are lucky we sat next to you, you know." The brown haired suddenly said with thick Russian accent.

He was looking at Hartez with his piercing green eyes and a cute smile that made his dimples appear.

Aki raised his eyebrow. That made the boys clear that Aki doesn't know them.

"Are you serious? You studied here for 6 years and still dont know who we are? Do you live under the rock?" The green eyed asked with a confused as well with serious tone.

"No, but you guys sure look like a bunch of popular high school bullies from American movies." Aki answered.

The brown hair and the blonde hair both frowned with annoyance at the same time. They looked at Aki with disbelief their face was saying, "You're joking, right?"

"Hey, Hey, guys, it's okay, not everyone has to know us. We aren't worldwide popular." The one with raven hair, long enough to tie in a ponytail, said.

"He's just a junior, guys. Instead, we should just introduce ourselves."

"Finally, someone uses the damn mind." Aki thought.

"Okay, so we are an alternative band called Five Crows, but now currently Four Crows." The black haired one explained.

"The brown haired one, also known as the annoying one, is Nikkita Andyrkovskyj." Black hair pointed at him. "He's our lead guitarist." Nikkita winked at Aki and gave him hand guns.

Did he really think this would make him cool?

"The blonde-haired one is Matyas Novotný. He's our rhythm guitarist." Matyas just slightly smiled at Aki.

"And lastly I'm Raven-"  "But everyone calls him Rav because Raven sounds too feminine." Nikkita cut off Raven's sentence.

Raven simply nodded. "I'm Raven Peňaz, i'm the bassist, lead singer, and songwriter. We have a keyboardist also, but he goes to another school."

Aki had thousands of questions popping up into his mind, but he didn't dare to ask. Instead, he just forcibly smiled at them.

"Uh, it was very nice meeting you guys. I have to study for an upcoming exam, so uh if you pardon me." Aki told them.

In actual fact, he already studied for the test. He just had to make up something to get away from these guys.

"We understand." Raven replied.

"Make sure to check our music, kid!!" Nikkita cheerfully exclaimed.

And with that, Aki left the cafeteria as fast as he could.

"What is wrong with these guys?" Aki thought for himself.

Present time:

Aki is currently in the principal's office, listening to Principal Marians' words.

Well, more like he was acting as if he was listening, but in reality, he's making up some fake scenarios in his head.

Scenarios like playing a big show with his made-up band in front of the whole school, or secretly practicing with his band in the school gym.

"Aki? Aki, are you still in here?" Principal asked and snapped his fingers to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh yeah, still here, alive."

Principal Marians sighed.

The principal of Avan High School is named Matthew Marians.

His shaved and clean mustache is the first thing everyone notices on him.

Not only he is an principal but he's also a teacher, teaching geography and history.

"Aki, you used to be a clever, straight A student, but now you're failing most of your classes and playing drums in the midnight?"

Principal Marians was right about Aki's recent behavior, but that isn't stopping Aki from changing again. The day after the situation in the cafeteria, Aki had a dream where him and the band played a big show in front of thousands of people.

That dream opened Aki's eyes.

People will finally appreciate him, and people will finally notice that he isn't just a piece of nothing by becoming a musician? He was happy that he could become a musician even if he was an introvert.

He learned that the band Four Crows is currently without a drummer since the drummer got a permanent arm loss.

In consideration of that, Aki was always seen with headphones. And because in Avan High school, you get five bucks every time you get A, he bought a drum kit by the money he had saved.

"Look, Aki, it's fine if you're learning to play drums, it's good to have a hobby, but please, do not play in the middle of the night and buy a soundproof wall like the band Four crows did, okay?" Principal Marians said with a kind smile.

Aki nodded.

"I understand. And I'm sorry for the mistake." Aki apologized.

"It's okay, you can leave the office now."

And so Aki left the office. He looked at his watch and realized that it's fifteen minutes after twelve. Shoot!

Because the band approached him in the cafeteria, from that day, Aki always went to eat in the cafeteria, hoping that they would approach him again. In the past he used to eat in the library or classroom, because he thought the cafeteria was too noisy. And he really hates himself for not being kind to them that day.

Aki's perspective:

As I stepped closer to the cafeteria, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.

And because i was too concentrated on getting to the cafeteria, I wasn't aware of the banana peel on the floor.

My legs began to slip out from under me, and I fell forward, the weight of my body pulling me towards the linoleum floor.

"Weee!!" I squealed nonsense.

Before my face could even hit the ground with a sickening thud, I felt strong arms wrap around me and catch me before I could fall. My heart leaped into my throat.

When I looked up to see who was holding me, I was dumbfounded.

Raven Peňaz, the least person i expected it to be, was holding me in his arms, giggling.

My story was supposed to be about being in a band, not a cringe romantic k-drama love story!!

He helped me get down. His long raven hair was tied into a ponytail as usual, and today, he had a black Misfits t-shirt that was twice bigger than his usual size.

"Wee? Is that help in Japanese or what?" Raven chuckled, his hazel brown eyes were directly staring into mine. I avoided the eye contact.

"Maybe." Aki replied. But that's when he realized. "How do you know I'm Japanese?"

"You have the exact facial features, like Japanese people do. Black hair, dark upwards angled eyes, and you're really short and really cute." Raven described and patted my head.

My face turned red as scarlet.

"Oh. Um, it's good that you know the differences. Uh, most Americans don't." I stuttered out.

Raven laughed. "That's true, but I grew up in Asia, so of course I know the differences."

"Eh? But you don't look Asian at all."  I got confused.

  "No, wait, I'm not Asian. I said it incorrectly. My parents loved to travel, especially to Asia, so the moment I was born, I was traveling all over Asia. That's how I meant it." He clarified.

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Well, my class is starting in a few minutes, so I gotta go. It was very nice talking to you. I hope we repeat this sometime again." Raven announced, and with a smile, he made his way to his next class.

I just talked to Raven Peňaz? And he told me that it was very nice talking to me? This is just a dream, right? RIGHT?

After my close call, I took a few moments to gather myself. My heart was still racing, but I couldn't help but smile. I sat down at an empty table next to one of the windows, overlooking the campus below.

I took a deep breath and focused on the present moment, aware of the sounds and smells of the cafeteria around me.

I quickly dug into my lunch.

As you know, I want to be in the band called Four Crows, which is a popular band in this high school, and mostly girls are obsessed with them. I'm not sure if they really like their songs or just the attractiveness of the boys from the band.

So, to get into the band, I have two ideas about how to. I know that the easiest way is to just directly ask them, but my social anxiety is declining.