I thought I would only see him during our extra classes here, but to my surprise, when I started sixth grade at my new secondary school, he turned out to be in the same class as me and Liana.
That day, Liana's mother (or rather, I call her "sister" because of how we address elders) picked me up to take me to the new school. Since it was a private school quite far from my house—about a 15-minute drive—I was a bit anxious at first. Luckily, the school offered a bus service, as many students lived far away like me.
On the way, she stopped at a house, and someone opened the car door, about to get in. That was when I realized it was him. The moment he opened the door and saw me, he froze, looking unsure about whether he should sit next to me. In the end, he stepped back, waited for his mother to get in and sit beside me, and then got into the car.
When I saw his mother, I felt a sense of familiarity. I politely greeted her, and she gave me a kind smile and greeted me in return. After a while, I realized she was a photographer whose photo studio had been across the street from Liana's house. It specialized in ID photos, and my mother often went there. Later, they moved away, no longer living there, but still within walking distance from Liana's—about 15 minutes on foot.
When we reached the school gates, my first impression was that the school was huge—really spacious. My mother had told me a bit about it before, as she and Liana's mother had already visited to meet the homeroom teacher who would be in charge of our class, and they'd taken the opportunity to look around the facilities too. The school had a dining hall, a canteen, a swimming pool, a football field, and more.
When I entered the classroom, my first impression was… two girls kept staring at Liana and me. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable, though on the outside I tried to stay calm and act like everything was normal. I looked around and saw that about a dozen classmates had arrived. Since class hadn't started yet, they were chatting and playing. Most of them had known each other since primary school here, including him.
When the bell rang, everyone settled down. Since Liana and I were the only new students—except for him, whom we already knew a little—we just sat together, making small talk while waiting for the teacher.
My first impression of our homeroom teacher was that she was rather petite, about 150 cm tall. (I don't mean to be rude; that's just the truth!)
She stood at the podium and began introducing herself, explaining the school's rules, schedule, and so on. When she finished, she decided to rearrange the seating. That caused a stir in the class: some were worried about ending up next to someone new, like me; some didn't want to be separated from their friends; and some were anxious about sitting next to someone they didn't like. As for me, I didn't really mind. From the way she spoke, I could tell she was going to be strict—it made sense, since our class was the top class in our grade, so of course she'd want to discipline us properly.
She started reassigning seats. Before that, I'd been sitting with Liana, at the third desk from the back in the third row from the window (each row had four desks). In front of me sat him and a boy who seemed very friendly—probably a long-time friend.
When she asked me to move, I was quite surprised and a little nervous because I didn't know who I'd be sitting next to—a boy or a girl. Then she said I'd be switching with the boy sitting next to him. That boy would take my place beside Liana, and I would move up to sit next to him. I felt both surprised and uneasy, wondering how he'd react and whether he'd say anything to me when I sat down.
It turned out I had been worrying too much. When I moved to the new seat, he just sat there quietly, even though just moments before, he and his friend had been playfully acting like they couldn't bear to part.
Once I settled in, my mind was still buzzing with thoughts. After that, the teacher asked some students to come up and introduce themselves so we could get to know each other. When Liana finished her introduction, I was called up too. I didn't think it was that important, so I just said a few simple sentences and went back to my seat. Of course, the teacher had us introduce ourselves—it made sense since everyone else had known each other from primary school, and only Liana and I were new.