The human lifespan is short. A mere 876,000 hours.
I sat in the corner of my classroom. With every breath they took, the timer towards death was steadily counting down, and yet none of my fellow sophomores seemed concerned in the least. I already had my first-period textbook out, as well as the complete set of notes we had to hand in today. I liked to use my limited time efficiently, and my current preparation was the result of that.
I looked around the classroom. There were clowns begging their friends to let them copy their notes, and girls who’d just given up on it all and resorted to mental masturbation.
My classroom was a circus.
It was their fault for wasting the ample time we’d had, and now that they realized, it was too late. Homeroom would be starting soon. While they scrambled around looking for spare notes to copy, I was getting on with my studies, so that I could improve my academic abilities even further. It wasn’t much, but in this competitive society of ours, it could make all the difference. Maybe I was biased, but I fully believed that I, Ooboshi Akiteru, was as average as they came.
Math, Japanese, English, social studies, science, physical education... I got around 80% in every test. For everything.
That might sound impressive, but it was the best I could do while using my study time as efficiently as possible. It was my very best, and the fact that I never got 100% on a test, or even top of the class, just meant that I wasn’t talented enough.
Though I didn’t have any major weak points, I had no noticeable strengths, either. I’m talking appearance-wise too, of course. If you looked up “average” in the dictionary, you’d probably find my picture.
Since I was so average, the only way to get ahead of other people was to use my time as best as I could. All I wanted was a guaranteed safe and stable future for myself. Though, there was one thing that set me apart from others...
“You dropped your eraser.”
“Gah! Ooboshi! How long have you been there?!”
“Uh... a while.”
“Oh... sorry. Guess I didn’t notice. No offense.”
The guy in front of me apologized as he rushed through his homework. He was popular and handsome, unlike me, but at least his apology was sincere.
I knew he meant no offense. Even if he was doing better than me in life, that didn’t make him a bad person. Actually, I quite liked him; even though we weren’t really friends, he often took the time to chat with me.
The problem was that he usually didn’t notice me. And there was a reason for it.
I had no presence whatsoever.
Humans usually pick out single features to remember and categorize each other by. If you wear glasses you’re the “four-eyes;” if you’re a pretty girl who wears make-up, you’re a prep; if you have a mohawk, you’re a punk; if your grades are good, you’re the teacher’s pet; and if you like to pull pranks, you’re the class clown. Some of these names are more flattering than others. And some get even worse: “fatty,” “baldy,” “ugly”... but in all these cases, people are reduced to a single characteristic.
And what about me? I didn’t have any of these negative features, but I didn’t have any outstanding positive ones, either. I was completely plain. That was why no one remembered me, or even noticed me in the first place. It did mean that I never got outright ignored or bullied. No one talked about me. No one invited me to join in their conversations; I had to join in myself. Once I did, though, they just treated me normally.
It was the most efficient kind of life I could imagine.
I had complete control over what to do with my time, since it was never wasted by meaningless conversation or people trying to socialize with me. It was utter bliss!
That wasn’t to say that I had zero friends, though. It just meant I could choose them. I could choose who I wanted to share my precious time with. And that’s what I loved about my life.
“Heya, Aki...” someone said.
“You look dead today, Ozu,” I replied. “As usual.”
“Yeah, I was up all night. Look how red my eyes are!”
“Man, you always do this. Well, don’t worry. You can borrow my notes if you want!”
“Thanks! You’re the world’s greatest friend!” He slumped down in the chair behind me, still letting out a series of yawns. I could practically see the fog of sleep threatening to come down on him.
This guy was so smart and handsome that he gave off a real main character vibe. Stick him in the middle of a poster surrounded by girls, and you’ve got yourself a perfect harem anime. That was my best and only friend: Kohinata Ozuma. I called him “Ozu” for short, and had decided to walk this life with him.
“I’ll buy you some anmitsu to make up for it, all right?” Ozu said. “I heard that new place by the station is pretty good. You like sweets, right?”
“Really?” My eyes lit up. The combination of bean jam and fruit was to die for, but... “Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.”
“I feel bad though, copying off you all the time... Lemme make it up to you, yeah?” He grinned at me with all the charm of a fairytale prince.
I felt a jolt in my chest and tears welling up in my eyes.
“You’re... the nicest guy I’ve ever met...” I mumbled.