Exam result
The exam results were to be sent by mail, but it was customary to put up the bulletin board on campus to announce accepted students. There’d be a group of […]
Entrance exams
As the new year was approaching, the third-year students started to apply for universities. One exam cost about 30,000 yen ($300), but many students applied to 3 to 10 schools. […]
Free women in the library
What got me through the confinement of high school was the hope of leaving the first 18 years of my life behind. I studied hard. I was exhausted and would […]
Impressing the impressive
I lost touch with Izumi after high school, and then she emailed me seven years later when Miki invited both of us to her wedding. We talked on the phone […]
Izumi’s path
By the third year in high school, my energy was at the record low. I started to be absent from school frequently, and when I went to school, I took […]
Toxic parents
My relationship with my parents was toxic. My father only spoke to me when he was drunk. He would enjoy provoking me with hurtful words, and when he was doing […]
Miki’s dream
I had expected all the girls in the school wanted to go to university, as it was one of the top schools in the district. But Miki was different. She […]
Miki the roses
In the second year, I met two girls who took an interest in me. They were in the same class as Izumi the previous year, so maybe they thought I […]
Categories of girls
In the first year, I didn’t have particularly close friends. I liked that everyone was well-behaved and smart, but I wasn’t sure of myself. I could have relaxed and returned […]
Study of history
The history study was the worst. It was like we were given a terribly written book and told to memorize the whole thing. History teacher would come into the classroom, […]