Chapter 4
Some people allow themselves to get a few extra moments of sleep, and in order to allow for these extra moments they use the snooze bottom. It was created in 1959 by the company Westclox, and I wholly believe that this particular invention was a mistake, perhaps even a stain on humanity’s past. It encourages such recklessness; if you need to wake up at a certain, than that it is what you must do. There is no excuse for this behavior of using a snooze bottom. It’s unhealthy... it’s inefficient... it benefits no one. This is why I never use it when my alarm goes off at 5:00 I quickly move out of my bed to start my schedule. There cannot be any hesitation in my movement or I risk doubt spilling in. ‘Just one day of sleeping in won’t hurt. Everyone needs rest. Nothing bad will happen if you skip one day.’ All thoughts along these lines are to be ignored; they are what cause people to fall into patterns of passiveness.
After dressing I go down stairs to fill up my water bottle and say go bye to my parents. On average it takes me approximately 3 minutes and 51 seconds to get dressed; today it took me 4 minutes and 3 seconds, and while this time is longer than usual it is not long enough to of genuine concern. My mother and father are both sitting at the table in my kitchen when I go to fill up my water bottle.
“Good morning, did you sleep well?,” I ask as I do every morning.
“Yes thank you. Are you going on a run today?” My father asks as I fill up my water bottle.
“Yes.” I answer, and I move towards the front door to put my shoes on. The time is now 5:07. Enough time for me to run for an effective amount of time.
“Be safe then Sayaka.” My mother calls out.
“Thank you and have a great day Mother and Father,” I bow and leave out the front door. I start my stretches I usually plan to have enough time for 5 minutes of stretching to prevent any injuries. Once I complete my stretches, I set my alarm for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, I will turn around and return home. For a while I would listen to my classical music as I completed my run, but I have found it to be too distracting. With my decision to run a different path every day, distractions could lead to me being lost and throwing off my schedule. Normally, I believe that consistency should come before all, but by following a different path each day I avoid the possibility of boredom. Not being able to know what will happen next can sometimes be beneficial, and I believe that my runs are an example of that.
Today I decide to turn right. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. At five seconds I make a right turn. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Left turn. One. Two. Three. Four. Five....
By the time my thirty minute alarm goes off I have run around 5.8 km and made twenty-nine turns. A decent distance; however, it could be better. By the end of year, my goal is to reach 7 km by the thirty minute mark. The area I’m in is unfamiliar, but this is not the first time I have found myself in new areas, so I’m not concerned. I have full confidence in my ability to defend myself in any situation.
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I arrive outside my house at 6:14. A minute earlier than my scheduled time; this is good. While many believe that a few minutes doesn’t really matter that much, the truth is returning home at 6:20 increases the risk of me arriving late to school by 24%.
The kitchen light in my house is on. This is quite unusual. At 6:15 my mother is usually in the shower and my father is usually commuting to work. Neither of them appeared to be sick this morning, so it is unlikely that one of them is missing work, and my mother rarely forgets to turn off the lights when she goes back up stairs to shower. Of course no one is completely perfect, so mistakes like this are always possibility, and even unlikely things can happen at any moment, so perhaps it was simply a mistake.
As I open the fence gate to my house’s yard and step in, a sudden movement from my rear left appears in my peripheral vision. A hand lands on left shoulder before I grab their upper left arm and twist it. As I twist her arm, I move my body around allowing my right hand access to their throat. I quickly punch their throat disorientating them, and it is at that moment I realize this is not a stranger but my brother, Yuuto. He starts violently coughing.
“I am sorry I thought you were someone attempting to rob me,” I move forward to place my hands on his shoulders to help him straighten up. His weak reaction is quite frightening...certainly he must have been holding back. No soldier should be so weak as to allow my punch to disarm them.
“What the hell sis? I just wanted to surprise you. Jesus nice punch,” His voice is gruff from the punch. “And get off you’re sweaty.”
“You are aware of my combat training. Why do act so surprised when I would use it?”
“Cause we’re in our on own yarn, and I only grabbed your shoulder.” He’s laughing now.
“I will admit it was a bit of an overreaction.”
“Good. Now go in the shower, so I can give you a proper hug,” He’s tone is still amused, but their is faint hint of concern as well.
I move to enter our house, but before I open the door, I ask, “Why are you home. I thought you were in active duty.”
“It’s just for a day. I’m moving locations and my superiors allowed me to visit home. Mom and Dad called out of work for today,” He’s smiling. I’ve missed him.
“Ok.”
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“You have to skip school Sayaka. You’re too smart to actually be concerned about it. I bet you’re years ahead of what they’re teaching,” He argues.
“While that is true, I cannot allow myself to use that as an excuse to skip; however, I will call out of work like Mother and Father, and I will inform the President that I will not be able to attend the after school meeting. She should find this to be acceptable,” I answer. The President is not unreasonable, and I’m certain that she will allow me to miss the meeting. My coworkers at the restaurant will also be okay with me calling out. In fact, I suspect that they might be happy I think they believe I’m too strict.
“She better be okay with it or else I’ll have to beat her up.” He’s joking I know, but still I cannot allow threats against the President to be made.
“Threaten violence against the President again, and I will use violence against you, Yuuto.” He laughs even louder now and pulls me into a hug.
“I missed you, Sayaka, and the President huh...Am I going to get to met her before I go back to military.” My face heats up, and suddenly, I am grateful for my short hight. No one can see my face hidden by my brother’s chest.
“No, you won’t.” He chuckles. “I have to eat breakfast now. The chances of me arriving late are rising by the second.”
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The time is 8:00 when I arrive at the gates Hyakkaou Private Academy. Late. I move quickly through the halls, I must inform the president that I will not be attending today’s meeting before my first class starts at 8:13. I could simply text her, the President insisted that I have her number, but that would be unprofessional and cowardly.
I arrive at the door at 8:06. This will be a key interaction; I must remain emotionless throughout the conversation or else Kirari might keep me longer than necessary. Any sign of a blush or weakness is just a welcome for her to play her usual mind games and tease me. If I keep my composure and use classes as an excuse, I will be out in approximately a minute. I move to knock on the door.