Chapter Text
On the first day of school, Sayaka wakes up at 7:04 am: a bad omen. Four traditionally signifies death, and she’s always just personally hated the number seven. She’s not really sure why; she just does.
But whatever. Sayaka isn’t superstitious, so she tries her best to brush it off. She jumps out of bed with a smile on her face. Her first day at Kazamino Senior High School is going to be great! Even if her school is an hour away taking the bus, and the school colors are really ugly! She tries not to make a face at her mud brown skirt, barf green tie, and khaki jacket with brown piping. Why couldn’t whoever designed the uniform choose a nice shade of green, at the very least?
But whatever! She studied really hard so that she could get to this top-ranked school, so she doesn’t care that the uniform is ugly, and the commute is long. She doesn’t care because it’s a great school…
… And it’s only a five minute walk from the prestigious music school that Kyosuke attends.
Her heart skips a beat at the thought of Kyosuke Kamijo: childhood friend, prodigy violinist, and the boy she’s been in love with for years.
She shakes herself out of her thoughts and checks the clock. Shit! It’s already 7:18. She’s missed the 7:10 bus, but there’s another bus that leaves at 7:20. If she runs, she could probably make it!
She grabs a container of yogurt, a cheese stick, and her backpack before rushing out the door, her hair a mess and her shoes barely on her feet. Nearly missing her bus also feels like a bad omen, but Sayaka ignores it. Her first day of school is going to be great!
/
Long story short: her first day of school is not great.
/
Long story long:
Sayaka arrives on campus at 8:25. Kazamino Senior HIgh is known for a beautiful campus of gorgeous greenery and esteemed brick building, but Sayaka doesn’t really give a shit about that because she’s trying not to be late, goddammit!
She sprints into the gym to attend the Opening Ceremony at exactly 8:30, red-faced and sweaty. Probably not the best first impression to her new classmates, she thinks with an inward groan. She plops down in the nearest available seat next to a group of rowdy boys. Their Principal starts the ceremony, but Sayaka doesn’t really pay attention. Instead, she looks around the gym, searching for a particular pink head. Unfortunately, Madoka doesn’t seem to be anywhere nearby. All she sees is unfamiliar faces.
The Ceremony is kind of boring, but otherwise it ends without a single problem. That is, until she nearly gets trampled while the students rush to leave the gym. Why is everyone in this school so rude? Why is everyone shoving her?
Sayaka manages to make it to her classroom, room 1-C. She’s the last one to arrive, since she had to deal with nearly being trampled by the student body, so there’s aren’t very many seats left. She plops down in the nearest available seat: a seat near the back corner next to a snoring, scowling red-haired girl. Sayaka’s never seen anyone look so scary in their sleep. She’d rather not sit next to her, but she doesn’t really have a choice. Plus, she’s not the kind of person to be scared of scowling girls!
Her homeroom teacher starts the class, but Sayaka doesn’t really pay attention. Instead, she scopes out the classroom, searching again for that pink head. Unfortunately, Madoka isn’t in her class. In fact, not a single person that Sayaka knows is in her class.
Sayaka’s trying to stay positive, really, but she’s starting to lose hope.
/
Her classes are absolutely brutal, and by lunchtime, she’s absolutely exhausted. She’s grateful for the break, but then she remembers that she doesn’t have anything to eat because she forgot to grab lunch in the rush outside. Also, she doesn’t have any friends that she can chat during the period. Damn.
Well, the positive side of her suggests, now would be a good time to start making friends, wouldn’t it?
The red-haired girl happily munches on her lunch, a bag of chips in one hand and a sandwich in the other.
“That looks tasty,” says Sayaka, trying to start a conversation.
The girl turns to her. “Yeah?” she says, popping another chip into her mouth. She smiles in a manner so that Sayaka can see her unusually pointy front teeth. “Well, they’re all mine.”
“I wasn’t even asking!” Sayaka says, but the red-haired girl doesn’t seem to be listening anymore. Sayaka seethes silently in her seat. The nerve of that girl! Whatever! Sayaka doesn’t need her. She can make other friends who aren’t jerks. She looks around, but everyone already seems to be in their own little clique. The troublesome boys with brash voices and gelled hair, the smart kids with books and notes, the pretty girls with shortened skirts and lip tint. Would approaching them even be worth trying?
Her phone suddenly pings, solving her internal battle of whether to approach one of the groups or not. For a second, Sayaka’s heart leaps at the thought that maybe it’s a text from Kyosuke? But it’s only a text from Madoka.
Sayaka, I’m so sad that we aren’t in the same class :( How was your first day?
Terrible, Sayaka thinks, but she has to act brave for Madoka. Poor Madoka! She must be suffering just as much as Sayaka, with no one familiar in her class. So instead she texts back, It was okay! Wish you were with me, but I’m doing quite well :) What about you?
Madoka responds quickly. I’m doing great! I miss you, of course, but Homura Akemi is in the same class as me! I didn’t even know she was going to Kazamino! It was a good surprise to see her. She’s so sweet!
Sayaka frowns. So Madoka isn’t suffering after all… because she has Homura Akemi. Hmph! Sayaka’s never liked Homura; she had a bad feeling about the girl the second she transferred into Mitakihara Middle School. Why did it have to be Homura, of all people, who decided to attend Kazamino? Sayaka’s wondering what she should text back when a shadow falls over her desk.
“Is that a cell phone I see?”
Sayaka looks up to see a teacher with a birdlike nose and beady eyes, glaring at her phone. Sayaka tries to defend herself, but it’s pointless.
It turns out that Kazamino Senior High School has a far stricter cell phone policy than Mitakihara Middle School did, and she’s forced to hand over her phone. Since it’s the first day, the teacher is “merciful enough” to not file a report and call her parents. Sayaka should stop by the main office at the end of the day to retrieve her phone.
/
I was stupid, so stupid, Sayaka thinks as she finally trudges out of school, dragging her feet. Her new classmates are all unapproachable and cliquey. Her classes are so difficult that they make her head hurt, and her homework load is already unbearable. And on top of all that, her school uniform is hideous!
Why did she choose to go to this dumb school? Why didn’t she go to Mitakihara High School like most of her old classmates? All of this suffering, for the sake of some boy?
Her school is so awful that she can’t even summon some real anger and frustration. She can’t feel anything but exhaustion. She feels dead and empty and hungry… and the day isn’t technically even over yet. Sure, her classes are over, but she should check out the after school clubs. Her teachers strongly recommended for all the new students to pick a club and commit by the end of the week. But Sayaka isn’t really sure what to do. In junior high, she played softball and track: softball her first two years and track the third. She liked both of them equally.
After enduring an unreasonably long lecture from the registrar, Sayaka’s allowed to have her phone back. Madoka’s sent her another text, probably about how great Homura is or something, but Sayaka doesn’t even bother to read it. She shoves her phone into her backpack and decides to drag herself to the track.
Just her luck, she gets lost on the way to the track. She has absolutely no idea where the track is - or where she is, for that matter. Her head and feet both hurt. Sayaka decides that she might as well just call it a day and catch a bus to go home. She’ll look at the after school clubs later. Or maybe never. Who really cares?
She takes out her phone so that she can search up the nearby bus times, and since she has her phone out, she decides to read Madoka’s text. Anyway, what after school club are you planning on joining? Homura and I were considering art. Maybe we could all join together!
Upon nearly bumping into a fence, Sayaka looks up from her phone and realizes that she’s somehow stumbled upon the softball field. To her surprise, a familiar red-haired girl stands in the batting cage, her hair cascading out of her helmet and a stick of Pocky in her mouth. Her stance is nearly perfect, and her grip is steady and sure. When the ball hurtles towards her at breakneck speed, the girl swings with all her might, and the satisfying sound of a bat smacking a ball rings through the air. The ball, a white comet, flies through the sky.
“Wow,” says a tall, dark-haired girl near Sayaka. The girl is wearing a softball jersey and a cap, worn sideways, that reads Team Captain. Sayaka clenches her fist around her phone.
The jerkass red-haired girl drops her bat and casually finishes her stick of Pocky. And then she turns, and for a brief second, she makes eye contact with Sayaka. The girl smirks, her fangs visible, before turning away.
/
Sorry Madoka, Sayaka texts back. I’m joining the softball team.