Author note: This chapter takes place during the events of modeling, confrontation, and sick day.
—
As everyone was walking to school with friends or partners, there was one man that stood out from the rest—completely alone.
And that boy was—
Nozomi Renji.
—
Nozomi Renji was 195 cm tall, a big guy overall. But the one thing he lacked was confidence. As he walked to school, he was slouched over, messy hair covering his eyes, holding his bag close to his chest.
"I just want to go home already," he muttered to himself.
He was being pessimistic as usual—no, no, no. He shook his head, remembering the words of Aozaki Satsuki from that day.
(I-I'm going to change.)
He stood tall, clenching his fist with determination. But as he did, he realized where he was and immediately got flustered. Embarrassed, he quickly walked into the school.
—
He was in class like the rest of the students. While others messed around and played, Nozomi sat quietly at his desk.
"Yo dude, what the hell are you doing? Haha."
"Heyyy~ Megu, did your boobs get bigger ❤️"
"Stop it, Shiki! Haha." Girls will be girls.
He listened to the others' conversations, sitting quietly and imagining himself as one of those "extroverts."
"H-Hey, watch it."
"Oof."
One of the guys accidentally bumped into Nozomi.
"Ah shit, I'm sorry, Nozomi," he apologized.
"Heh," Nozomi smirked. "It's okay, bro."
Out of nowhere, Nozomi's personality took a 180—from gloomy to shiny.
He patted the guy on the shoulder. "It's all right, brother." He smiled so brightly the whole class was in tears.
"You're amazing, Nozomi!"
"You rock, Nozomi!"
The whole class cheered his name.
"Nozomi!"
"Nozomi!"
"Nozomi!"
"…Nozomi?"
Reality snapped back.
He was creepily laughing under his breath with a weird smile on his face.
"A-Ah, yes!" He jumped a little out of his seat.
"Yo bro, I'm sorry for bumping into you," the guy next to him said again.
(Wait, this is my chance.)
Nozomi stood up.
"U-Um…" He was visibly shaking.
The guy stared at him. "You okay?"
"Ah, y-yeah, I'm fine," Nozomi said, sitting back down.
"Okay," the guy said, moving on to his friends.
Nozomi lowered his head, ears red, completely embarrassed.
—
After class was over, Nozomi did what he did best.
Being alone.
"Ugh, god, I hate this."
As usual, Nozomi was depressed. He walked to the stairs and sat down, waiting for his next class.
Lost in thought.
(Why is it so hard to be confident? Why?)
(Throughout my entire life, people always had high hopes for me. I had the perfect life growing up.)
He thought back to all the people who praised him during his childhood.
(I guess I was worried that I'd fail. Fail to meet their expectations.)
"Heh," he chuckled.
(They called me a gifted child—because I ran a little faster, because I was a little smarter.)
(My parents told me first place was everything. There was no second or third.)
(I wish I was normal.)
As he stayed lost in his train of thought, he was interrupted.
"Um…"
A girl behind him startled him.
"Y-Yes!" He jumped.
"Can I go past?" the girl asked.
"S-Sure, sorry…" He slid out of her way.
She walked down the stairs, but then turned back toward him.
"Are you okay?"
The question startled him again.
"U-Um… y-yeah. I-I-I'm fine…"
He wasn't.
"You know, when someone is talking to you, you should look them in the eyes," she said gently.
He lifted his head to look at her.
"See?" She smiled. "Was that so hard?"
She was bright and warm. Nozomi's eyes lit up.
"N-No…"
"So what's your name?" she asked.
"I-It's Nozomi Renji."
"Oh wow, that's such a cool name," she said.
(Cool name…)
"You're probably wondering what my name is," she giggled.
"I'm Hanagawa Uzuki, nice to meet you."
She leaned closer, smiling down at him.
"U-Um… n-nice to meet you," he said, blushing hard.
"Well, I gotta get to my class," she said.
"Bye~ Nozomi."
"Y-Yeah…"
After that interaction, Nozomi's feelings were in a blender.
(That girl… she was nice.)
A small smile appeared on his face.
(Oh shit—class.)
He picked up his stuff and ran toward his classroom.