Monday, June 29, 2022

📍 Cebu, Philippines

Word/Phrase Translations, Ch. 1:

Comfort room: Bathroom

Maayong Buntag: Good Morning

Sige: Okay

The bright morning sun shone through the window. Akira’s eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the sunlight, his chocolate brown skin glowing in the sunlight.  He turned to his nightstand, picking up his phone. The time read: 6AM. He rubbed his eyes, slowly getting up and heading to the comfort room. He tied his long white hair up into a messy bun, and began his morning routine. As he was brushing his teeth, his phone dinged. He curiously checked his phone. It was a text from his friend, Shiro.

            Shiro <3: Maayong Buntag!! Ready for the first day of school?

He tiredly stared at the text before responding.

  Akira: Maayong Buntag :) 

Kind of lol, not ready to see Ms. Reyes again.

Shiro <3: Eugh..yeah I forgot about her

Just try not to get dress coded again this year!

Akira: Haha, I’ll try!

Akira then set the phone back down to finish getting ready.

Once he was done, he checked the time once again, it was already 7 AM. He quickly untied his bun, letting his hair fall on his back and shoulders. He made some minor adjustments to it, then made his way downstairs where he saw his moms, Sora and Riku, preparing breakfast. He ran up to both of them, kissing them on the cheek.

“Buntag!” He exclaimed while running off to go grab a plate.

They both smiled at him as Akira came back, happily holding a plate. Sora cupped his face, gently kissing her son's forehead, “Maayong buntag my love, let me plate your breakfast.”

Sora took Akira’s plate and filled it up. Akira smiled happily, “Rice and Tocino! Thank you momma!”

Riku kissed Akira’s head, “I’ll be in the car, just meet me when you're done.”

Akira nodded, “Sige!”

 He then sat down at the dining table and ate his breakfast quickly. Once he finished, he grabbed his bag and headed to the car. As Riku started the car and backed out of the driveway, Akira put his headphones on and turned on his music. On the drive to school, he kept his eyes on the scenery outside. Admiring the green trees, and the vast blue ocean. When they arrived, Akira hopped out of the car and turned to the open window on the driver’s side, “See you later mom, love you!”

He then ran off, hearing his mom’s “Love you too” fade in the distance. He quickly made his way through the halls and entered the classroom. The moment he sat down, the bell rang, and he sighed in relief. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back, he looked up and smiled.

“You made it just in time!” Shiro said.

Akira laughed, “I know! I was almost late.”

The two boys smiled at each other, but Shiro’s face faded to shock. Akira tilted his head curiously.

“You’re wearing your short skirt…”

“Yeah…why?”

“But! Ms. Reyes!”

Akira scoffed, crossing his arms and turning to the front, “Who cares what she thinks! I like it-”

He was interrupted by footsteps stopping behind him. The two boys slowly turned, smiling awkwardly. 

Akira placed his bag on his legs, trying to cover them, “Maayong buntag Ms. Reyes! It’s so great to see-”

He was interrupted once again, but this time by her stern voice, “Office, now. How many times do I have to tell you, skirt to your knees or lower!”

Akira mumbled a quiet, “I’m sorry” and walked to the office.

10 Minutes later

Shiro was typing on his computer when he heard an annoyed grunt next to him. He turned, looking at an angry Akira with a new skirt that reached to his ankles.

“And you said you would try not to get dress-coded this year…”

“I look stupid.”

Shiro tried to reassure him, “No you don’t! I think it looks nice.”

Akira frowned, “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

Before Shiro could respond, Ms. Reyes called the class to look up front. Standing next to her was a new student. The new student walked to the front, introducing themselves, “Hi everyone..I’m Hyori! I just moved here recently from Korea. It’s so nice to meet you all, I hope we can be friends!”

The class clapped, and Hyori was directed to sit in the empty chair on the left of Shiro. As she made her way there, Shiro couldn’t avert his gaze, she was gorgeous. Her long brown hair was in a bun, her brown eyes glistened in the sunlight, and her smile was one that blew him away. Akira nudged him, and he shook his head, blushing out of embarrassment for staring. 

Hyori sat down and the boys smiled at her. Shiro stuck out his hand, “Hi I’m Shiro!” She shook his hand and he continued to talk, “This is my friend, Akira,” Akira waved.

 Hyori smiled back, “It’s a pleasure to meet you two!”

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Akira and Shiro said in unison.

20 Minutes Later

The bell rang loudly, signaling that it was time for their first class. The three teens walked side by side in the hallway, checking their schedules and seeing which classes they had together. Shiro clapped both hands together in excitement, “Perfect! We all have the majority of our classes together, this will be fun!”

They all then enter their first class and sit together once again. After a few icebreakers and introductions, the teacher handed out some worksheets to fill out. Hyori began her worksheet right away, while Shiro took a small glance at Akira. His hair was sprawled on his side of the table, and it had a slight glow from the morning sun. Shiro placed his pencil down, wrapping his arms around Akira, and resting his head on top of his. He closed his eyes and heard a small mumble from Akira, “Mmm, bayot kaayo ka..” (You’re so gay)

Shiro hummed, keeping his eyes shut, “No I’m not, I can’t hug my friend?”

Akira turned to face him, and Shiro copied his position, laying his head on the table as well. Akira smiled, “No straight man would hug his male best friend like that casually.”

Shiro chuckled and playfully rolled his eyes, “Whatever.” The two of them sat up and began working on their worksheets. Akira finished quickly, and his eyes scanned the classroom curiously. Everyone was still working. He sulked in his chair, resisting the urge to pull out his phone to avoid getting in trouble for the second time, two hours into the first day of school. Shiro noticed his boredom and tilted his head, “Where’s your laptop?”

Akira threw his head back dramatically, “ I forgot it at home..”

Shiro smiled, he pulled out his own laptop, placing it in front of Akira. Akira slowly put his head back down, staring at it. Shiro turned back to his worksheet, “You can use mine until I’m finished.”

Akira smiled happily, opening the computer to watch a movie.

Shiro completed his work a few minutes later, and not wanting to interrupt Akira’s movie time, he decided to watch with him. Eventually, Hyori joined in too, and the three watched together until the end of class.

Lunch Time

Hyori followed the two boys to their lunch table where another girl was already sitting. She had long black curly hair, and a small purple headband that matched her light purple uniform. Hyori sat down next to the girl and smiled. The girl smiled back, even blushing a little. The two shook hands, introducing themselves,

“Hi! I’m Hyori.”

“Hello! I’m Imani, it’s so nice to meet you! I’m guessing you’re in Akira and Shiro’s classes?”

Hyori nodded, “I met them in our homeroom.”

“Well just to warn you, they’re super close. So if you see them hugging, just ignore that.”

Hyori laughs, “I already saw them hugging in first period!”

“Of course you did…Shiro always denies it, but they definitely like each other.”

The two continue chatting, and Shiro glances over to Akira once again. He was silently playing with his fingers and looking down at his lap. Shiro scooted his chair closer, and leaned down to make eye contact with Akira. Akira smiled, then looked away, but Shiro maintained his worried expression, “Something bothering you?”

Akira let out a small sigh, frowning a bit, “My mom packed too much food..I don’t think I can finish it all.”

Shiro gently patted Akira’s head and smiled, “Just save the rest for later!”

Akira locked eyes with him once again, “I just don’t want to disappoint her…”

Shiro then sat up, opening Akira’s bento and taking out one lumpia and taking one pandesal from his own lunch. Shiro placed the lumpia in Akira’s hands and held up his pandesal, “We’ll take the first bites together, okay?”

Akira nodded hesitantly.

“1..2..3”

They both take a bite and Shiro smiles as Akira’s face warms up a bit. A small smile formed on his face as he continued to chew, “Yum…thank you Ro.” Shiro blushed a bit, but pulled Akira into another small hug.

Imani could be heard groaning, “Here we go again.”