Three Lifetimes - Chapter 31

Authors note: Im back home now, and since my body clock is still in European time zone, I cant sleep yet T.T huhu. So I just decided to post the next chapter earlier than intended. Btw, since Im back, therell be daily updates again! 

The opening ceremony for the new freshmen was led by our primary school valedictorian, Maria Izuno. She had stopped claiming to be a goddess or mermaid when we were in level 3 primary school, and it seemed she went and became a very studious person devoted to otaku things. Half of her time spent in the classroom was reading manga, and half of her time spent at home was studying for exams that were months away.

I was a bit of an otaku myself, and Gary and I read mangas on our iPads when we had nothing to do during recess. Sometimes I would catch Gary sneakily hiding his iPad under his desk, and once when I looked over, I saw that he was reading yaoi

well.

I wasnt going to judge him.

Anyway, it seemed that my class had expanded thrice over, numbering over 150 students. Not everyone in highschool came from affluent families. The Academy held scholarships for those who could not afford the extravagant tuition. I could tell many of these new students were not used to the Academys facilities as well. During the opening ceremony, most were looking around the gym in awe or staring out the huge windows to sigh at the billowing willows outside.

We were currently in the gym when Maria started her speech. I also had already introduced Sarielle to Gary and Kina. Gary was very friendly and chatted with her happily, however, Kina seemed more reluctant to join in their conversation. I couldnt understand it. Kina now had a girl she could talk to instead of boisterous guys such as Gary and I, so wouldnt she be glad?

When we went to the bulletin board to check our class arrangements, I was delighted to see that the four of us were all in section A! The whole batch was divided into six sections so as to prevent overcrowding in the classrooms. The seats were arranged alphabetically, so Sarielle Knox ended up my seatmate while Gary and Kina were seated two rows behind.

I did not know a third of my classmates, but I was hoping to get along with them as I had gotten along well with my classmates in primary school and kindergarten.

Gary and I signed up for various clubs again. We joined the high school division for swimming, basketball and soccer, and the coaches who had heard about the famous athletes of primary school welcomed us with open arms. The coaches didnt even care if we had other clubs to attend, as long as we attended the club at least once a week.

I thought Kina would stop waiting for me to finish my clubs now that we were in high school, but contrary to my thoughts, she didnt stop at all. Because Sarielle rode with me going back home, she waited for me as well. Both Kina and Sarielle ended up sitting side by side at the bleachers as they waited for me to finish practice, and their friendship seemed to grow. I was glad.

When my friends in the basketball team saw this, they started teasing me.

Hey, Hero! Who else is your victim, huh? A senior asked as he gave me a noogie, and I tried to desperately get away from his arms.

Hes just a freshman but he has more girls than you, Jo! A senior laughed as he approached me to give me a noogie as well.

Stop!!! My hair was a mess now! I looked at the girls on the bleachers for help, and I saw Sarielle give me the evil eye. Huh? Why did she look angry?

Who else are you going to add to your harem? Gary chuckled as he came and added another knuckle on my head. I tried to squirm away from the upperclassmens embrace.

You! I pointed at Gary with a teasing smile.

For some reason, Garys ears turned red. He looked away and said, Big brothers, lets play ball now!

With the upperclassmens attention diverted, I quickly dashed out from their clutches and towards the bleachers to gulp in some air.

Here, two girly voices said simultaneously as two Gatorade bottles appeared in front of my face.

Ah?

Kina held the orange flavored one while Sarielle held the grape flavor. I took both of their bottles in my hands and because I preferred grape more, I called out to Gary.

Yo Gary! I shouted. He turned his head then started jogging towards me. I saw that his ears were pink.

Catch! I threw the orange flavored gatorade at him. Its from Kina!

Gary caught it smoothly in his hands, and waved a hand at Kina. Thanks!

I turned to glance at Kina, but saw that she somehow looked glum.

Im sorry. Did you not want to give it to him? I told her. Gary and I were both close to her, and we all ate and drank the same food without reservations. So why did she look upset?

No, its nothing. She shook her head then mustered a smile for me.

Okay. I smiled at her and mussed her hair. She looked down with a small smile, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks.

I gulped down the contents of the Gatorade in front of Sarielle. I loved how the drink was still cold. It refreshed my parched throat in a matter of seconds. I downed the whole bottle, and wiped away the excess drops on my lips. I turned and saw Sarielles cheeks were a bit flushed. Mm? Did she have a fever?

I suddenly garnered a new nickname out of nowhere during my sophomore year.

I had to admit that I was a very well-mannered person *cough* on Earth. Because I was afraid of Earths Heavenly King and the tribulations He might bestow upon me if I ever screwed His world, I started becoming cautious with my actions. I promised myself I wasnt going to beat up anybody unless the situation called for it. I also tried my best to be kind to those around me, offering them a smile to brighten up their day. Who wanted to greet a person with a frown, anyway?

One day while my friends and I were going up the stairs to head for the physics lab, we heard a shriek from above. I saw a girl stumble backwards on the stairs. Afraid that she would hurt herself, I quickly ran up a few flights of stairs, clutching the railing with my left hand for support and used my right hand to catch her in my arms.

She had her eyes tightly closed as she expected a harsher impact, and when she slowly opened her eyes, her mouth opened in shock. The girl was a freshman, from the class badge I saw pinned to her collar, and she suddenly turned to stone in my arms. She continued to gape at me without a sound.

You go on ahead guys, I told Sarielle, Gary and Kina. Kina was hesitant, and seemed like she was going to follow me, but I shook my head at her. It wasnt like I needed help with carrying a girl who barely weighed fifty kilos.

I carried the freshman to the infirmary, as it seemed there was something wrong with her head. The doctor didnt seem to be around, so I told the nurse about what had happened on the stairs. She told me to bring the freshman to a spare bed, and I chose a bed beside a potted orchid.

P-Prince! The freshman suddenly declared with hearts for eyes.

Who? I looked at her as if she was a mental patient. I turned around to call for the nurse. This freshman seemed to be hallucinating.

Prince! She called again and started grabbing my sleeves.

My name is Ryle, not Prince. I forcefully pried her fingers off of me. Alarm signals were ringing in my head. This freshman was a dangerous creature.

I quickly pushed her on the bed, and she screamed kyaa! As she blushed.

What the hell!

She started to close her eyes with her lips puckered. I looked on in disgust as I quickly covered her with a blanket and sped out of the infirmary in the speed of light.