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Longest. Day. EVER.

I sighed heavily as I walked through the long, empty, marble, sunlit corridor of Ouran High School. One of two students who had gotten in on a complete scholarship, it felt odd to be here. Everything was so elegant, and... well, expensive. This felt so out of place, wearing the donated uniform that hung much too low past my wrists and ankles, dragging on the smooth, cool floor. It was the male uniform, as it was the closest to fitting me out of all the uniforms available. This didn't really bother me much. As I marveled at the crystal chandeliers hanging high above me, spinning in circles to take it all in, I stopped in my tracks and realized with a sense of dread-

I was lost.

Hugging the books tightly to my chest and hitching my backpack up, I shuffled past the enormous windows and peered into each bifurcation to my left. They all looked the same! How the heck was I supposed to figure out how to get to my French class in time? I can't check every single corridor and still make it!

Now I was running, tripping over the baby blue uniform every once in a while. Where were the signs pointing to each designated classroom? I finally reached the end of the hallway, and none of them had seemed any more tempting than the rest. The thought crossed my mind that I might even be on the wrong FLOOR, which made this panic trip seem like a breeze. I rushed back to the stairs, checking each hallway as I passed.

All of a sudden I hit something. It felt like a wall, but I knew there shouldn't be a wall there. Either way it acted very much like a wall, and I flew back onto the floor, cracking my head against it. Pain shot through my skull like a constant electric charge, and the light was too bright. I shut my eyes tight and curled into as small a ball as possible, gripping my head in my arms.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" a loud voice boomed out. My eyes squinted open to see a tall, neon-red haired man kneeling over me. His expression was caught between annoyance and concern. But then his brown eyes widened. "H-hey... You're bleeding..." He helped me up into a sitting position and supported the back of my head. The annoyance left his face, which was quite close to mine now. When I pulled my hand back, I saw it was covered in blood. When the shock hit me that it was my OWN blood, it took all my willpower not to barf all over him.

The student lifted me up in his arms, and I closed my eyes to keep from being dizzy. The whole corridor was too bright. "I'm taking you to the hospital, ok?" he whispered. His voice was so close, his breath warm on my ear. I just nodded slightly, my whole body tense from trying to keep my consciousness. "Don't worry, it's going to be ok."

When I next opened my eyes, I was in a long white hospital bed surrounded by a flimsy white curtain. Everything was still so bright. I lifted my hand to touch the back of my head. Pain pounded through my skull just as my fingertips grazed the bandage wrapped around it. The bandages were wet, and on my fingers was the deepest shade of red I had ever seen.

The red haired man appeared to my left. He sat on the edge of my bed and wiped the bloodied hand in a white towel that had been hanging on the bedrail. "You're in the school hospital," he said as he wiped. "Don't ever pass out on me again, ok? I thought you were dead or something." His eyes were very stern at this point. They were nice eyes, although slightly squinty and mean-looking.

Wait... so it was MY fault I passed out?!

I pulled my hand away and scooted up on the bed into a sitting position. "I'm sorry I bumped into you in the hallway," I said, fiddling with my fingers. "And I'm sorry I got blood on your uniform and made you carry me to the school hospital and miss your next class."

I could feel his eyes on me and looked up into them. He was kind of shocked, for some reason. "Um... are you ok?" I asked uncertainly.

He shook his head and stared at the floor. "No one's ever said anything to me without being afraid," he muttered. "You're not scared of me?"

Slightly confused, I shook my head, which I immediately regretted doing. "Why should I be?"

He shrugged and stood. "I'm sorry I knocked you over," he said. "I know you're the second honour student entering in this school. This isn't a very good first impression, I apologize." He bowed slightly. I was surprised at his kindness. He raised his head and looked at me with those brown eyes. "I know who you are, but you don't know me. I'm Kasanoda."

Kasanoda. Nice name. Meaning in general one who is very muscular and has above-average physical strength. "Nice to meet you Kasanoda," I said, feeling slightly awkward because I was unable to bow.

Seeing my awkwardness, Kasanoda sat back down and continued to talk. "What class were you going to?"

I sighed heavily. "I was trying to get to the French class, but I was very, very, very lost. All the hallways looked the same-"

"I was going to that class as well. In fact I looked at the class schedules that I am attending and the students in those classes, and we have many of the same classes. Maybe I should stay with you so you don't get lost again." His face grew slightly blushed, and I wondered what I'd done to embarrass him.

"Thank you for your offer." I picked at the itchy white blanket and leaned back on the bed. "I could use a guide."

At that moment the nurse entered, shooing Kasanoda out of the room. As she undid the bandages and soaked my wounds in a bowl of warm water, I thought about my new friend. The first one I'd made at this school, besides Haruhi Fujioka, the other student who had received entry through a complete scholarship. And we didn't really have a conversation, just introduced ourselves.

But Kasanoda... What did he mean by afraid of him? He was the nicest, humblest, least-selfish person I had met at this spoiled rich kids' school.