The small bedroom had three beds lined up beneath the window. Morning light slipped through the curtains as a boy slept peacefully. Suddenly, his eyes opened. He rolled over, then lay flat on his back, yawning loudly 🥱 as he stared at the ceiling.
Before he could relax again, the door slammed open.
"Wake up, wake up!" his dad shouted as he switched on the light. "Get dressed. The holidays are over."
Without another word, his dad walked out.
The boy slowly sat up and looked around the room. On one bed slept his sister, and on the other his little brother.
My name is Keenan, and I'm 16 years old.
My sister got up first and walked toward the bathroom.
"And that's my sister," I sighed. "Her name is Janine."
Janine brushed her teeth and walked back out without saying a word. Soon after, my little brother sat up and stretched.
"Morning, Dad," he said politely before heading to the bathroom.
Dad replied from the kitchen, "Morning. You're the only one who greeted me today."
I sighed. "Morning, Dad."
"Morning, Keenan," he replied calmly.
"And that's my little brother," I thought. "His name is Roger."
Roger brushed his teeth and came back out. "Dad, I'm done!"
Since our room was small and crowded with beds, all our clothes were kept in Dad's room. Janine walked in, grabbed her school uniform, and got dressed, clearly unhappy.
"I don't want to go to school," she muttered.
Dad greeted her, but she ignored him. He simply sighed and handed Roger his uniform.
When I finished brushing my teeth, I walked past Dad as he headed back to the kitchen. He returned with our school money and handed each of us ten.
"Thanks, Dad," Roger said cheerfully.
"Thanks," I said.
Janine took hers without a word.
Dad grabbed his bag. "I'm going to work now. Have a good day at school."
Outside the gate stood our aunt.
"Morning," Dad said. "I'm off to work. Make sure they get to school."
Our aunt, Veronica, smiled and walked in.
"Morning," she said warmly.
Janine suddenly brightened and ran to hug her tightly. "Morning, Aunt Veronica!"
I sighed. Janine never treated Dad like that… but she adored Aunt Veronica.
Roger ran over. "Aunt Veronica, can you tie my shoes, please?"
"Janine, let go," Veronica said gently.
Janine stepped back with a smile as Veronica tied Roger's shoes.
I walked in. "Morning, Aunt Veronica."
"Morning, Keenan," she replied.
Roger grabbed his lunchbox, and I followed suit, slinging my bag over my shoulder.
"I'm leaving," I muttered. "I don't have time for this."
As I walked to school, I sighed.
Why does Janine have to be so rude to Dad every day?
At school, I spotted my friends and walked over.
"Morning, guys."
"Morning, Keenan," they replied.
One of them smirked. "If you're looking for Mikara, she's over there."
My face turned bright red. I quickly hid behind another friend as they laughed.
"I still don't get why you like her," one said.
I peeked out—and then saw her walking toward us. My heart started racing.
I waved.
She walked right past me.
"Mornin', Ichirokaze," she said with a smile.
My chest felt tight as the bell rang. Everyone laughed as they walked away.
I sighed and joined the line.
Inside the classroom, Mikara sat alone. I took a step toward her—
"Ichirokaze!" she called.
I stopped.
Ichirokaze walked over, and she smiled brightly at him.
I looked down and walked to the back.
The teacher entered and wrote her name on the board.
"My name is Rinako Yurei. I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. Congratulations on reaching Grade 7."
Attendance went by quickly.
"Mikara."
"Present."
"Ichirokaze."
"Present."
"Keenan."
"Present."
"Yukari."
"Present."
A quiet girl sat beside me.
"Now," Rinako said, "find a partner."
Everyone paired up—except me and Yukari.
"Well then," Rinako smiled, "you two will work together."
I sighed and moved my desk closer.
"Talk about your goals," Rinako instructed.
I glanced at Yukari. She stared at her desk.
"…Do you watch anime?" I asked.
Silence.
The bell rang.
That was awkward.
During break, Rinako stopped us. "Yukari, Keenan—you can't stay here alone."
"There's a club called the Hope Club," she said after thinking. "You help people with their problems."
"I'll take it," Yukari said calmly.
"You need one more member."
She looked at me.
I sighed. "What a drag."
"If you join, I'll give you 100," she said.
"Yes," I replied instantly.
Rinako laughed and handed us a key.
The clubroom was empty—one chair, dusty shelves.
Yukari sat and read quietly. I wandered around and opened a closet.
Inside was a strange book.
As I opened it, a black pen fell out.
The first page read:
Kai Toe
"Kai Toe…" I whispered.
Suddenly—a black hole appeared.
BOOM!
A blinding light filled the room.
"What the hell?!" Yukari shouted.
When the light faded, a monkey demon stood before us, roaring.
"What did you do?!" she yelled.
"I don't know!" I shouted back.
We ran, slammed a classroom door shut.
"This is school," Yukari said, panicking. "But it's different."
I flipped the book.
Page 2: Defeat the demon to return.
"We have to beat it," I said.
Page 3: Write any ability.
I stared at the pen.
The door burst open.
I pointed—and suddenly the demon vanished.
It reappeared seconds later.
"Write something!" I shouted.
Yukari scribbled fast.
A massive rock cannon appeared and blasted the demon.
It vanished.
The room returned to normal.
"…We're back," Yukari whispered.
"Yeah," I said weakly.
I smiled faintly.
"What was that?"
To be continued…