Chapter 1

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*Bzzt bzzt bzzt*

"Ugh!" I grunt and roll to the edge of my bed. While my eyelids are still heavy with sleep, I feel around my nightstand until my fingers wrap around the vibrating phone. I quickly shut off my alarm and glance at the time.

"7 AM?! It's too early!"

Somehow, I resist the temptation to crawl back under the covers and instead motivate myself to go to the bathroom. I start my morning routine of brushing my teeth, washing my face, etc.

I feel a bit rejuvenated afterwards, so I decide to take that big leap: opening the curtains. I brace myself for the harsh glare of the sun and throw the curtains open. Immediately, I'm blinded.

"Yup, still too early."

Through squinted eyes, I make out where my closet is and start changing into my uniform that I laid out last night.

Today's the day. I'm going to Shiratorizawa...THE Shiratorizawa. After studying till my hair turned grey and passing the insanely hard entrance exam, I'm finally starting my first year of senior high at Shiratorizawa.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S DO IT! I'M READY!" I shout to no one in particular, trying to hype myself up for the coming day.

Suddenly my black-haired sister pops her head into my doorway to check out the commotion.

"Looks like sleeping beauty finally decided to get up," Kiyoko teases.

"I bet you got up early 'cause you're excited to see a certain second year," I tease back.

"Not in a million years," she retorts.

I roll my eyes. My sister may be a bit indifferent and shy, but once you get close to her, you'll realize she's actually quite brazen.

"Have you eaten already?" I ask as I gather my bags.

"Yup, unlike someone I woke up at 6 and I'm all good to go," she says as she helps me adjust my uniform.

I roll my eyes again. Sometimes I wonder how we're even related when we're so different. She's tidy, I'm messy. She keeps to herself, I'm usually loud. She's always the first to get up, while it's a miracle how I make it to homeroom just in time every day. But maybe it's because we're so different that we get along.

"How do you wake up so early and not have any dark circles? Your skin is always sooo clear. It's not fair. You and niichan didn't leave enough good-looking genes for me," I complain.

"Well maybe if you actually put in some effort to clean yourself up, you wouldn't think that," Kiyoko replies as she tries to button up my jacket and straighten me up. I swat her hand away, but she just finds something else to do: comb my untamable hair.

"It's fine, I'll just put it up in a ponytail" I insist.

Kiyoko clicks her tongue as if I had just proven her point or something, and tries her best to domesticate the beast on my head anyways. It's a tough battle, but she works her magic and gets it to at least presentable.

"There we go," Kiyoko sighs with a smile.

Our parents are usually overseas for business, so it was always our older brother Kenji who took care of us. But he soon left for Tokyo to go to university in hopes of starting his own sports footwear business (an entrepreneur just like Okasan and Otosan!) Because of that, Kiyoko had to mature quickly. Now she's the strongest, most caring person I know! I usually followed Kiyoko around wherever she went, but I'm finally going my own way at Shiratorizawa. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared...

"Hurry and finish gathering your things, we have to go soon," Kiyoko nags, "I already packed your toiletries and some of your clothes. Be sure to check you have everything before we leave."

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