"Excited Ethan?" My mom asked from the driver's seat, looking at me from the rearview mirror.
"No, not really." I replied, crossing my arms.
My mom sighed. "I don't know how many times I apologized, do I need to apologize more?"
"No, you don't." I say with a sigh. "I get it, new job as a principal in some remote part of the countryside, had to move because I can't live by myself in the city, etcetera."
She cracked a gentle smile. "Thanks Ethan, I'm glad you understand. Besides, I'm sure you're going to make some new friends here."
I try my best not to roll my eyes, and instead give a sarcastic remark. "Yeah, like I'll be able to find another Brian in a day."
As they pulled up to the school gates, my eyes widened in disbelief.
Standing before me was not the typical co-ed high school I was used to, nor the small rural high school I was expecting. Instead, it was a sprawling campus filled with vibrant gardens and elegant buildings, all surrounded by a tall wrought-iron fence.
The students too, also seemed very elegant. All wearing the same, probably mandatory, school uniform. But there was one problem: I didn't see any boys. There were just hordes upon hordes of high school girls.
As we drove into the parking lot, my confusion only grew. "Mom, where are we?"
Mom beamed with pride as she turned off the ignition. "Welcome to St. Mary's High School, sweetheart. My new job as principal starts today, and lucky for you, they have a special program for faculty's children."
My jaw dropped. "You mean... I'm going to school here? But it's an all-girls school! Not to mention a super rich private high school!"
"Which is why I mentioned the special program, and why I was so intent on moving." Mom replied, getting out of the car. "The pay is well over triple that of my previous salary."
My mind reeled, trying to process the information as I grabbed my backpack and hopped out of the car. Being the only boy in an all-girls high school? It sounded like the plot of some cheesy teen movie.
"The staff entrance is off to the side, you enter through there." Mom said, pointing to the elegant front entrance. "I'll text you after school, and be good. Oh! Here's a slip with your all of your classes and their room numbers."
She gave me a peck on the cheek. "Love you Ethan." And she hurried off.
I watched her enter the staff entrance, before turning my attention to the front entrance once again. "No time like the present." I told myself, as I walked inside.
Unfortunately I arrived a bit early, meaning all of the students were talking and walking in the halls. The second my shoe touched the marble floor, I heard a wave of shushes spread in the halls.
No joke, literally a few seconds after my presence, the hall was dead silent.
"Uhh..." I hesitated, awkwardly standing in the halls as girls began to murmur and whisper to each other.
I decided to just beeline start for my class. F-204.
Navigating my way through the bustling corridors, I couldn't help but feel the weight of curious stares following me. Literally everywhere I went, I couldn't escape the dozen eyes on me.
Trying to ignore the attention, I focused on finding my first class. But as I turned a corner, I collided head-on with a girl carrying a stack of books, sending us both sprawling to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, hastily scrambling to his feet and collecting the fallen books.
She looked up at me, her eyes widening in surprise, before adjusting her glasses and breaking into a smile. "N-No, it's my fault. I should've been watching where I was going."
I held out the books to her, and couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked, with long chestnut hair and warm hazel eyes.
"I'm Ethan," I said with sheepish grin.
"I'm Lily," she replied, returning my smile. "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen... you around before."
"Yeah, I am. My mom's the new principal," I explained, feeling a little self-conscious under her gaze.
Lily's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you're the new principal's son! That explains it."
"Explains what?" I asked, feeling even more confused.
Lily giggled, twirling a strand of hair. "Why, every girl in this school has been talking about you since the moment you stepped foot on campus."
"But it's only been a few minutes since I stepped foot here."
"It's because your the first boy to ever do so."
Lily chuckled, and began to excuse herself. Before she left, I asked her if she knew where F-204 was, and she told me I had passed it.
Luckily, with Lily's help, I managed to find my class before the bell. I thanked her and bid her farewell as I entered the room.
When I stepped into the classroom, I couldn't shake off the feeling of being a fish out of water. All eyes turned towards me, and I could feel the weight of their curious stares.
The teacher, a stern-looking woman with glasses perched on the edge of her nose, glanced up from her desk and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "And who might you be?"
"I'm Ethan," I replied, my voice sounding smaller than I intended. "I'm new here."
As the teacher introduced me to the class, I couldn't help but feel like I was under a microscope. Every move I made, every word I spoke, was scrutinized by curious eyes.
"You'll sit there." The teacher said, pointing to the empty seat in the far back-right.
"I even got the protagonist seat." I said to myself as I sat down.
As the class dragged on, I found myself counting down the minutes until the bell would finally ring, signaling the end of the period. When it finally did, I wasted no time in gathering my things and making a beeline for the door, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the classroom. That is, before I realized I had to endure that again twice before lunch. And then another 3 times after lunch.
"I just love my life."
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When it was finally lunch, the bustling cafeteria greeted me with a cacophony of sounds and a whirlwind of activity. As I entered, I felt a familiar sense of unease wash over me, knowing that I would once again be the center of attention in a sea of curious eyes. But, I braced myself, hoping that the food would at least make it worthwhile.
Sure enough, as soon as I stepped foot into the cafeteria, heads turned and whispers erupted. Girls from every corner of the room began to take notice, their eyes lighting up with curiosity and excitement.
Thankfully, they allowed me to grab lunch before a swarm of girls descended upon me like a flock of birds.
"Hey, are you new here?"
"What's your name?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
I tried to push through the crowd, but it seemed like every girl in the cafeteria was vying for my attention. Feeling overwhelmed, I searched desperately for a way to escape the suffocating attention.
That's when I spotted Lily, sitting alone at a table in the corner. Without a second thought, I made my way over to her, hoping to find refuge from the chaos of the cafeteria.
"Lily, can I sit with you?" I asked breathlessly.
"O-Of c-course, Ethan!" Lily frantically replied, shoving a notebook inside her backpack before clearing her throat.
I thought nothing of it and just sat down besides her, the noise of the cafeteria already sinking into the background. We didn't talk much, as every time I looked over, she would sheepishly turn run and face away from me, but I was glad I got some peace and quiet.
When the bell that ended lunch came, sooner than I expected, might I add, Lily hastily tried to leave for her next class, bidding me farewell.
"W-Wait!" I called out.
She stopped, and turned around. "Yes?"
"C-Can I... uh, get your phone number?" I asked, holding out my phone.
She paused for a few moments, before typing in her number and departing for her class. I looked at my new contact. "Lily Chang"
I felt my heart flutter, and I departed for my next class. Before rushing back to the cafeteria because I forgot my backpack on the floor.
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As the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, I couldn't help but feel as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The day was finally over.
Checking my phone, I saw a message from Mom. She apologized, saying she was swamped with paperwork and wouldn't be able drive us both home. She suggested that I find a club to join because I would have to stay at school for at least an hour after classes ended.
Sighing, I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and considered Mom's suggestion. Joining a club seemed like a good way to pass the time and maybe even make some friends. Plus, it beat sitting around in an empty classroom or the front courtyard waiting for her to finish.
I scanned a nearby bulletin board listing all of the available clubs and their meeting days, looking through the list of clubs available. There were multiple hobby clubs like Photography or Gaming, sports clubs like Basketball or Baseball, and martial arts clubs like Kung-fu or Taekwondo or... "Shibari"?
I had to double check that one. What was "Shibari"? It was listed in the middle of Taekwondo and Muay-Thai, so I assumed it was some kind of martial arts, but I had never heard of it before, so I interested me.
When I entered the room, I was greeted with the sight of a small group of students closely huddled around a girl, tightly bound, blindfolded, and gagged.
Upon sight, my first reaction was to instantly turn tail and run away, but the door suddenly slammed shut on me, and an almost comically short student with short beige hair blocked my path.
"Not so fast mister, you should at least introduce yourself to the Pres." She said, in an almost comically high voice.
At this point, my presence had already been detected, so I turned around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two girls quickly carrying the bound girl into a storage room, and the others all sort of... sat there.
One girl approached me and extended her hand, I accepted her surprisingly firm handshake as she introduced herself. "You can call me Miyu. I'm the President of the Shibari club."
"Ethan." I introduced myself.
She smirked as she let go of my hand. "So I'm told. Tell me Ethan, what brings you here to my... humble club room?"
I opened my mouth to tell her I saw it on the bulletin board, but I didn't really want to be involved in all... that. So I told her I was just looking for a room to hang out and do homework while my mom finished her paperwork.
Upon hearing this, another girl went into the storage room and then came back into the main room. The girl who was once bound came out, still with some restraints on and some restraints half-removed.
I excused myself to a small island of tables where the short student was, and began some math homework.
A few minutes later I looked up to see the short student looking intently at the bondage session. "You part of this club too?" I asked. "Or you just watching?"
"Kind of both." She replied. "But for today, I'm just watching."
She then turned her attention to me. "I'm Rin, by the way."
"Nice to meet you Rin." I said. "I didn't know this was a K-12 establishment."
She gave me a deadpan look at my innocent remark, the kind of look that said "Bro, seriously?".
"I'm a Junior."
"You're older than me?!" I said, jumping up from my seat.
The club members looked over at me, and I apologized for the noise, sitting back down.
Rin looked at me with a blank expression, clearly this wasn't her first time hearing it.
"Yes. Even though I may not look like it." She replied, as if reading it from a script.
"Sorry." I apologized sheepishly.
Rin didn't respond, and instead turned her attention back to the shibari session. I figured I could finished the rest of my homework at home, so I packed up and joined her in watching.
The girl was fully re-restrained and now in even stricter bondage than before. Miyu was giving a lesson in soft words, so I couldn't hear them, but judging by the looks of the other club members, I could only assume it was a good lesson.
Then, Miyu took a length of rope connected to the girl and stood on a desk. She latched the rope to a hook in the ceiling, and yanked down on it, sending the bound girl skyward.
I couldn't help but let a small "ooo" escape my mouth as the suspended girl wriggled and squirmed. It looked strangely... cool? If that makes any sense.
About 20 minutes later, I got a text from Mom saying to meet her at the car. So I bid Rin and Miyu goodbye, and hastily scurried over to the parking lot. I spoke of nothing about my experience today, dodging most of the questions from Mom and just answering with the basic, most boring responses.
But strangely, I wasn't not excited for tomorrow. And I took one last look at St. Mary's as we turned the corner.
A.N - Even though this chapter was mainly an exposition dump, I hope you did enjoy this first chapter. Next chapter will definitely be more focused on TUGs!
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