I writhed in my covers when the morning sun's blinding illumination met my half-lidded eyes. I am fond of school, homework, exams, responsibility, and a little bit of challenge in my mundane life. Unfortunately, there's no other way to end and start by our day other than sleep. Don't get me wrong, I'm also fond of sleeping, but I despise its alternate latter.

Waking up.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to leave your bed? Well, you probably do, but it sucks either way. At night you refuse to sleep, and when morning comes, it seems merely impossible to leave your bed.

The sun's orange rays lit up my dull apartment unit. It's nothing special actually. I have a bathroom, a mattress with no sheets, a stove with no vents whatsoever and a coffee table in the middle of the whole room. In other words, I'm broke. I'm not even in the right age to work, yet I have no choice to live alone.

For those who're wondering, my name is Sumiko Shinohara, a 16 year old who is already living on her own. My mother died last month because of a car accident, and ever since then, I blamed myself. Why? I know this is ludicrous but, the only day I didn't get to say these words; 'Bye, always stay safe!' is the day that she wasn't safe. I never knew if my words meant good luck, or a bad omen and I have a lingering feeling that it's partially my fault. And because of me living alone, a lot of stress piled up and became impossible for me to properly mourn. Maintaining your place to be part of the rank five and finding a job that accepts kids in illegal age to work is harder than you think.

You're probably asking 'Don't you have any friends you could live with?' or 'Where the rest of your family? Surely your mom is not the only one left?', I have tons of reasons. After my mom's death, I had nowhere else to go but at my paternal grandfather, the only one left of my relatives. But his house was.....uhm....how do I say this delicately.......dilapidated?

Years of heirloom and it finally fell apart. He asked me to live with my friends, but Mikoto also lives in an apartment, and Kyouko has a six membered family. No matter how much of a sweetheart they could be (does a former gangster and lone wolf count?) I didn't want to be a heavy burden for them. They swore an oath to my mom that they'll protect me with all their might (I'm perfectly capable of fending for myself). I don't have a lot of friends, but I'm no lone wolf either. It'll take a lot for a person to be granted a title as my friend, and no I'm not conceited. And no I don't have trust issues. I just prefer less drama in my life, considering that I'm in a dire situation, and I like to keep my circle small. The others are just kind associates, which I consider pleasant.

I used to work as a housemaid and it didn't last long. The owner pitied my jobless status, and gave me the job, but when I started to often get sick and frail, he fed me and then fired me. And also gave me a complimentary gift basket filled with canned goods, fruits, and hygiene supplies, and now, only a little of that is left.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah, school. I kicked of the covers and scratched my waist long hair. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, ate toast, and head to my nightstand, where a portrait of my mom smiling stood. The nightstand didn't have anything else rather than flowers, her wedding ring, and her personal belongings, so I'm not surprised if it'd be mistaken as a shrine. On the contrary, no one knows that I live in an apartment. It's not that I'm hiding it or either ashamed of it, but no one actually asked. And I'm grateful for that. My reticence pretty much holds me back and explaining is not one of my best.

"I'll be going now. I'll leave the place to you, mom!" I chirped and sent a flying kiss to the shrine before walking out. Still half an hour early so I don't have to rush to school, like most days.

I headed out of the building and took the route to school. Small, numerous clouds hovered the blue sky, the lush green leaves perfectly contrasted with the cherry blossom's pink petals, that glided with the breeze and met the warm asphalt. Students with different uniforms passed by, some with the same as mine. Our uniform consists of a white Polo shirt with a jet black blazer on top, a red ribbon and a red tie for boys, and finishing it with a dark gray, plaid patterned skirt and for boys, dark gray slacks.

I smiled at the tranquil atmosphere. I never considered myself the positive type, but my mom was. I was quite the pessimist and she would be the one comforting me and saw beauty even in the most hideous of creatures. My mom told me the story of she and dad met. My father used to be a notorious delinquent and my mom, the beautiful good girl. And as they say, opposites attract.

I used to gag at her stories, telling her how gross love is. Now, I would give everything so that I could her stories again, to her harmonic voice. In the midst of my thoughts, I heard grunting coming from the sides of the sidewalk. I averted my gaze to a black haired man, who seemed in distress with his car.

"Is anything wrong, sir?" I asked and walked up to him. He swiveled his head to the voice and his eyes met mine. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties, and did I mention that he is unearthly handsome.

He gave me a close-eyed grin. "Sorry for the trouble, but do you have a phone I could borrow?" He said sheepishly with a hint of embarrassment. I rummaged through my pockets and took out my flip phone. It didn't seem wise to lend a stranger a personal belonging, but he seemed nice and incapable of doing such a thing.

I handed it to him. He smiled again and awkwardly chuckled. "Thank you, I've been stuck here for almost half an hour."

"What happened?" I said, trying to be concerned.

"Ran out of gas. Forgot to refill the gas tank before I pestered Sohma to ride my car." He lamented. For a stranger, he talks casually.

Wait! Sohma?

"Sohma? As in Ryube Sohma?" I asked.

After dialling, he faced me and smiled. "Yep! I'm his brother! Shouta Ryube at your service." He proudly stated and gave back my phone.

Sohma Ryube is the school's campus prince, given the title for his unearthly good looks and charismatic choice of words. Despite being handsome, he doesn't use it as an advantage to get girls. In fact, I heard he never had a girlfriend. I saw him multiple times turning down a girl's confession. Now that I thought of it, same hair color, eye color, and terrifyingly looked like the future Sohma, why didn't I notice before?

"That explains the striking resemblance." I grinned back.

"Judging from the uniform, you're from the same school my little bro is from, right?" He said cheerfully, nearing his face with mine. I arched my back and looked away from the stilted proximity.

A bag struck down Shouta's head as he crouched and held his head.

"Don't do that to a girl, pervy-nii-san." Shouta's younger alternate reprimanded, coming out from nowhere.

"Sohma-san?" I whispered and frantically bowed. "G-good morning!" I could feel my own heartbeat racing against my rib cage. To avoid any misunderstanding, no, I do not like Sohma-san that way. It's more of an admiration, considering the fact that he excels at everything, may it be academics or physical education. And I always end up second, just a meter away from him. Not that I'm not grateful for my rank, I believe that I've done my best, he's just better.

He faced me and beamed a heartwarming smile. I couldn't help but smile back. He's unblemished skin glowed under the sun, and his hair was properly gelled, if he wore something other than his school uniform he would've been mistaken as an actual prince.

"Stop it with the formalities, Shinohara-san." He chuckled charmingly, and adjusted his red tie since it was crooked and wrinkled. He always has proper grooming, but his tie was always unkempt.

"Are you in need of assistance?" I asked and he chuckled again, this time it seemed like I actually did something funny. I only gave him a blank stare.

"You talk in a very sophisticated way, didn't I tell you to stop with the formalities."

Nostalgia struck me. My manner of speech was pointed out numerous times, and I can't help but be.......offended. They said that the way I communicate is oddly polite and people often get uncomfortable around my presence. They said that I speak to them like of a higher authority, like a king or queen, but there's nothing I can do about it. Besides, if I attempt to talk like everybody else, I'll sound like an idiot. Tried it once, Mikoto got a stomach ache from laughing too much.

Sohma noticed my crestfallen expression and the amount of time I spaced out. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that I feel like I'm always being prioritized. I just want people to act normally around me."

"It's fine." Without any permission, I reached for his tie and fixed the creases, especially the spot near his collar. His cheeks grew red from my sudden action. He's always being surrounded by girls, but he probably never had one this close to him, so he tends to be shy.

"Thanks..." he muttered and I just nodded in response.

"I'm still here y'know."

~•~

HELLO EVERYBODY! How's my first chapter? Terrible right? Stick around and it'll get worse.

Thank you JoelleAu for the beautiful cover! Please go check her cover studio, because she's one of the best cover makers!

Thank you for reading!