The Value Of A Smile

Chapter 4 - Elementary School

Toshiros teacher ⬆️
Friday.

I woke up, shivering. My eyes remained closed as I sniffed and shuffled my legs closer, bringing them to my chest and hugging them with my arms. I remained like that, until I realised that I won't fall asleep anymore, so reluctantly I opened my eyes and slowly sat up, shivering from the cold. God it's cold in the mornings now. I shuffled over to my bag, took out my grey and white jacket, and put it on, enjoying the slightly warmer feeling.
After some time of rubbing my eyes, I stood up, took out my toothbrush, toothpaste and towel and proceeded to do the same thing as yesterday and the day before.

After I brushed my teeth and washed myself, I put my things away, and because it was still an two hours till school started, I decided to head out. After all, I needed 50 minutes to get to the city, 10 minutes to find the school, and about 30 minutes to find the principals office, talk to him, get my uniform and then another 20 minutes to get changed, brush my hair, get ready and find my classroom.
To tell the truth, I was extremely nervous. I don't usually get this nervous, but seriously, I've never talked to anyone except Elena and Yui and dad, I've never gone to school, and I don't have the right supplies for school, because I couldn't bring them with me here when I ran away. Actually, I don't think my dad bought me any; he didn't think that far through.
Eventually I decided on a plan.
Walk to town, then find my school, go inside and find the principals office, talk to him, get everything and ask him to lend some supplies, go to the bathroom, change and get ready, find my classroom and then sit down and avoid talking with anyone, unless doing so would seem rude.
Honestly, I was happy with the plan. I didn't understand what "friends" are and what that means, I only read about them from a dictionary, and I figured that because I lived for 9 years without any, I would survive without them for the next years.
Yes, the plan was fine.
I grabbed my bag with only my water bottle, some food and Ted in there, and started my walk to the city.

Eventually I reached the city, and the town's clock said exactly 8:00 am, meaning school would start in an hour. I jogged up to the giant buildings that said "Horikoshi Elementary School" and took a second to catch my breath. While I did, observed the school buildings.
The building were tall, nearly as tall as the clock tower. They were made of red brick and some had white walls. There were lots of windows, and, by the looks of it, the school had 3 or 4 levels. I've never been at the orientation, hell I haven't even seen the school uniform or talked to the principal, which also added to the nerves.

I straightened up again, and made my way to the entrance gate. They were opened, and they had a sign on top saying "Welcome to Horikoshi Elementary School" in black on a white ribbon. I walked up the pathway leading to the entrance doorway and slowly opened them. They didn't squeak, they just slowly opened and allowed me to see an empty corridor.
I walked in, holding my bag strap nervously. I closed the door behind me and started walking down the corridor.
I understood that it was still way too early for any student to be at school yet, but it still felt slightly scary to be wondering the school corridors by yourself.
The walls of the corridors were filled with pictures in a neat row, of student's awards, clubs, sport teams, teacher portraits and other things. I gulped as I turned a corner, and finally saw the door that I have been looking for with the words "Principal Office" on it.

I walked closer and took a deep breath before quietly knocking. I held my breath in as I heard shuffling behind the door, indicating that someone was inside. Soon though, a mans voice called out: "come in" and everything was quiet again.
I exhaled to calm myself down, and it worked. I turned the handle and opened the door, to reveal a surprisingly tidy room. I closed the door behind me, and turned around, taking in the room.
On the left wall, there were bookshelves, filled with loads and loads of books. The right wall was all cupboards, one cupboard being slightly opened and papers showing. The back window was literally just a window, presenting the view of a field. In the middle of the room, on the fluffy carpet that the floor was covered with, stood a large desk with two chairs on either side. It was filled with papers, books, pens and a lamp, and on the chair that was facing its back to the window sat a man, aged about 50 years old, smiling.