The bus pulled up to the stop and Kenchi, Tena and May all followed one another onto the bus. The far back seat of the transport was empty so Kenchi sat down next to the window, Tena sat next to him and May sat at the other end. Tena continued to rattle on about herself and her sister. Kenchi at times caught May’s eye and saw the look of annoyance. “Do you think New Tokyo will continue to grow? I think with the projects that the military has been working on will create more jobs.” Tena continued.
“You never know. I was thinking about if I’ll get to see some of my friends this year, maybe I can introduce them to you.” Kenchi changed the subject.
Tena’s eyes widened again and she put her arm around Kenchi’s. “Really! I love to meet new people. May doesn’t really like to meet new people, but I like to reach out and encourage people.” Tena was thrilled with the prospect of meeting even more boys like Kenchi. The rest of the trip to the school was filled with Tena talking about her interest in music, art, dance, history and various other subjects. May sat quietly as they continued on their way.
Once the bus arrived, the teenagers from different parts of Tokyo disembarked leaving Kenchi, Tena and May last to leave the bus. As Kenchi stepped off the bus, there was an excitement building inside him wanting to experience new classes, old friends, and new teachers. Tena turned to Kenchi and smiled. “I hope to see you again. Meet me by those trees at lunch.” She skipped off to go and talk with some of the groups of girls gathering in front of the school. May came up beside Kenchi.
“She’s always like this with new people. It was nice to meet you and really if you want to come over after school, you’re more than welcome. Here’s our address. Bye.” May handed Kenchi the address and smiled as she wandered off in search of her sister.
“Thank you, May. See you later.” Kenchi called. May looked back and just smiled again and waved. She then turned and found her sister. He breathed deep and started for the school. All students were to report to the principal’s office for their schedule. Kenchi dreaded this part of his day. He was always nervous around the principal. Who knew if this one was new or old, he slumped his shoulders slightly as he walked closer to the front steps.
“Kenchi, Hey Kenchi!” a voice called out form the crowd.
“Roturo? Hey, I thought that was you!” Kenchi ran to his childhood friend. Roturo was a thin man with wire frame glasses that hid his large brown eyes, he had wild black hair and his shirt was always un-tucked. He came running up to Kenchi and hugged him tightly.
“I haven’t seen you in two years; where have you been keeping yourself?” Kenchi asked.
“Oh you know my parents; they thought moving to Okinawa would expand my knowledge. They were wrong. I’m so glad to be back. The girls in that school were really snobbish and stuck up. Here, it will be a new experience.” Roturo answered looking up at the sky.
“But Roturo, you were raised here? How can things be new for you?”
“Oh you know, new perspective, I’ve grown out of my weird withdrawn youth and into a full grown young man waiting for the right woman to come along.” Roturo smiled at his childhood friend.
“Things have really changed since you were away; they built the new Tokyo tower and created a lot of jobs for the space program.” Kenchi commented.
“Are you still going to go into that after school?” Roturo asked as they walked up to the school. They had to wait for their class schedule which could take up to thirty minutes to receive. A long line was forming outside the principle’s office.
“It’s still my goal to join the Galactic Patrol and you should join as well.” Kenchi stated. He watched as students filed out of the office with either a happy look or a look of dread upon their faces. Both he and Roturo landed in line behind Tena and May Oinyado. Kenchi could sense that Tena would commandeer Roturo very shortly. At least Kenchi would have a chance to talk with May. Almost instantly Tena turned around and saw Kenchi and Roturo.
“Hi Kenchi, Who’s this?” she asked politely.
“This is Roturo; he’s my best friend from grade school.”
Tena drew closer to the unkempt Roturo. “Hi, I’m Tena. Are you new here? I’m just so happy to meet so many new friends. Just a bit ago, I learned the names of four girls. They’ve been going to New Tokyo for three years. They all knew Kenchi and how shy he was a few years back.”
“Who were they, Tena?” Kenchi was finding sweat start to bead on his forehead.
“Oh, let’s see, Ionya, Sukuio, Meisa, and a transfer student from the Americas, Jennifer. I think that was her name. They all are on the School student council. They said that if I worked hard on my grades they could see if I could be voted to join. Isn’t that exciting?” Tena gleamed with joy. Tena turned to Roturo and hugged his arm.
“Maybe we can see each other more since your sister has taken an interest in Roturo. Are you nervous about this new school?” Kenchi asked May quietly.
“Yes and no, I look forward to being away from Tena, but I really have a hard time making friends.” May leaned toward Kenchi.
“Maybe I can help with that.” Kenchi smiled.
“The Oinyado Twins!” a voice called from the office. May and Tena walked into the office. A few minutes later Tena came walking out smiling and skipping about. “I have to go find my girl friends!” May walked out shortly after holding her head low. “I’ve got six classes with Tena.” She rolled her eyes and smiled just slightly at Kenchi before walking down the hallway.
“I’ll see you later okay?” Kenchi replied. Soon his name was called and he walked quickly into the principal’s office. It was a slender foreign woman with a neatly creased business suit that stood up and stared at Kenchi on his approach. He couldn’t take his eyes off her hair in a bun and the narrow glasses.
“Kenchi Ottonaga, here is your class schedule, have a good year.” She handed him his class assignment and then she went on looking for the next person on her list.
Kenchi thought she seemed very distracted and impersonal. He left the office and saw Roturo entering the office. Looking down at his classes he noticed Japanese Literature 1 was the first class and following that was solar aviation. That was a class he was looking forward to. He walked on to his first class. Entering he saw the teacher was a short, bald man with wide rimmed glasses. “I am Mr. Yamachi. Please take your seat.” Mr. Yamachi’s voice whined. Kenchi took a spot to the back. This would be his least favorite class. It was required to graduate, but still it wouldn’t be very enjoyable.
Soon though, May walked through the door, lighting up the room. Mr. Yamachi greeted her in the same fashion and then she noticed Kenchi. She took her seat next to his. They smiled at each other and noticed the different students entering the room. The class went decently enough, being Japanese Literature it was all the things that Kenchi had heard before. He maintained his concentration even with May sitting next to him. Before long the bell chimed and it was off to the next class.
