Chapter Text
Going from school to school had become a daily routine for Knife. He caused trouble at some of them, got called into the principal’s office, and was eventually expelled, even if he wasn’t the one causing the trouble, even if he was just standing up for someone else. He didn’t expect anything new from this one, but the welcome he received was… exceptionally strange, especially given the look on this principal’s face.
"¡Greetings and salutations, I'm your host MePhone4 and this is Inanimate Insanity!"
Knife blinked uneasily and looked at the girl sitting next to him; he sensed she was his secretary.
"Principal, that show ended a long time ago, you’re scaring the new guy."
"Ugh, no one plays along with me. Why is everyone so boring around here?"
"Maybe because they’re students, not circus clowns."
"What are you implying?"
Knife was perplexed, falling completely silent as a minor argument broke out between the director and his secretary. Soon, they both turned to look at him and cleared their throats.
"My apologies. He is going to behave for once in his life and explain a few things to you, RIGHT?" She jabbed him hard in the side while glaring at him angrily.
"Anyways, I'm MePhone4, the principal. This is Gaty, my secretary. Hmm, I haven't checked your record yet. Give me a moment—"
"Forget it, I'll do it myself," Gaty snatched the record from his hands and began to speak, "I actually checked it. I know you've had some... Issues at your previous schools; you’ve been expelled repeatedly because of them. But many of the attached cases don’t seem very clear to me because there isn’t enough evidence in them. Uhh, also I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but for now we want to avoid major problems, at least this week. Is that okay?"
"Sure." Knife replied without much enthusiasm. It wasn’t something he hadn’t been told before, although the timeframe was strange. After that week, could he cause as much trouble as he wanted or what was she trying to say?
"We’re gonna start a project soon. We know it’s hard to change overnight and break some bad habits, so we hope this will bring out the best in everyone. They’re not all bad kids, they just need a little... support."
"I don’t get it."
"You don’t need to fully understand it yet. Let’s just say… Help is coming soon. Okay! You’re free to hang out with your classmates. You can go to the library to pick up your books and then head to your classroom. Good luck on your first day!"
"Hey, I was going to say that!" MePhone turned toward her, looking like a kid about to throw a tantrum.
"Too late. You didn’t say it. See you later, Knife!"
Knife nodded, saying nothing more. He turned on his heels and began walking toward the library, passing some groups of students who looked at him curiously. And he couldn’t care less about it; he was used to being seen as a delinquent as soon as they saw his piercings and the clothes he wore. So stereotypical.
He walked calmly for some minutes before realizing that he actually had no idea where the library was; he’d been walking on pure impulse and was now lost. He sighed in frustration.
Great, yet another problem.
He thought for a moment; the building was big enough that there had to be a map somewhere, so he wandered through the hallways for about five more minutes. Then he saw it. Bingo! A map, though somewhat small, was posted next to one of the windows overlooking the sports field. He frowned as he studied it; the letters were small and hard to make out.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He slowly turned his head... it was a girl with glasses and short, shoulder-length hair; she was wearing a soft yellow cardigan and a brown skirt, and to top it all off, she was also carrying at least 10 books. Knife’s first impression was clear: a bookworm, she must know where he was.
The girl stopped a few meters behind Knife, adjusting her glasses with one hand while the tower of books teetered dangerously in her arms. She blinked at him, once, twice, as if trying to decide whether he was a threat or just another confused exchange student.
Then she smiled. A slight smile. Polite.
"Umm… hi? Are you lost?" Her voice was soft, a little higher-pitched than expected, but not annoying like MePhone4’s antics.
"Actually, yes. Do you know where the library is?" Knife got straight to the point; he didn’t want any unnecessary small talk.
The girl blinked again, as if she’d been expecting something more formal, perhaps even a brief conversation, but Knife’s directness didn’t seem to offend her.
"Oh! Yes, absolutely." She adjusted the stack of books to hip height (without dropping any), then tilted her head slightly toward the hallway. "Go straight down that way and turn left at the big floor, and you’ll see it right there." She paused. "Do you need textbooks or something like that?"
"Thanks." Knife said, turning away; he didn’t need to say anything else, even if he’d been rude.
The girl’s smile faltered, just a little. Not because she was offended, but because… well, most people at least responded with something. She watched as Knife spun around abruptly and began walking down the hallway without saying another word or looking back.
"...Fine. All right." In a low voice, she adjusted her glasses again and continued on her way; her footsteps echoed softly on the linoleum floor.
The hallways fell silent once more; all that could be heard was the distant murmur of classroom conversations and the slamming of lockers. The girl walked with her books, trying not to trip over them.
His brusqueness didn’t hurt her. It just… disappointed her a little.
But not everyone had to be nice from the very first day. She understood that. People could be awkward or reserved for all sorts of reasons.
Knife, for his part, arrived at the library and quickly gathered his books; he hadn’t brought a backpack, so he’d have to carry them. It didn’t matter, even if there were 20 of them, he wouldn’t have any trouble with the weight.
He retraced his steps back to the map he’d seen earlier; he didn’t want to ask again, so he was going to try to figure out the map one more time. One minute, two minutes, three, four, ten minutes.
"I give up." Knife said, looking around. Maybe there was someone nearby. He didn’t see anything, but when he heard a loud crash, as if something had fallen, he knew it must be a student. He walked over there; as he rounded the corner, he saw the same girl from before, it seemed the tower of books had finally lost its balance.
The scene unfolded like a slow-motion disaster.
There were countless books scattered across the floor, some sliding a few meters away. The pages fluttered open in the light breeze coming through a ventilation grille in the ceiling.
And there she was: the girl with glasses, kneeling with one hand still outstretched as if she’d tried (and failed) to catch them all before they hit the floor.
Her face was red, not with anger, but with embarrassment. She hadn’t expected anyone to see her.
Knife stared at her, and almost instinctively she adjusted her glasses and immediately began tidying up. Her hands moved quickly, frantically, in fact, as she hurried to gather up the books. One slipped from her hands and slid straight toward Knife’s feet.
At first she said nothing, too focused on containing the damage.
The titles were varied: Advanced Algebra, Biology Notes Vol. 2, Essays on Classical Literature, all heavy textbooks that clearly weighed a ton. No wonder they fell.
Some pages were creased from the fall, and the cover of one book was slightly torn at the edge.
Knife grunted. A favor for a favor, he’d help her quickly and then head off to his stupid class once and for all.
He just wanted that day to be over.