Episode 1:The girl who failed at everything

If there was an award for the most hopeless student in class, I would probably fail that too.

My name is Mina Kurose, and unfortunately, my grades are living proof that effort doesn't always equal success.

Yep, that's me.

You might be wondering why I'm saying this, so let me explain.

I have studied day and night for as long as I can remember. I don't know what it's like to watch the latest movie premiere, follow the new J-pop idols debuting next week, or spend hours doing things normal teenagers enjoy.

Because apparently, my life was created for one purpose.

Studying.

I've been doing it for eighteen years, and do you know what I have to show for it?

An F.

I still remember the day my teacher asked me to solve for X.

I stared at the question for five whole minutes.

"Find X."

Who was X? Why were we looking for him? What did he do?

It wasn't my fault the question was unclear.

So I told my teacher to ask the person she recently blocked for cheating on her.

Her ex.

Before you judge me, hear me out.

I didn't know.

But somehow, that moment earned me a permanent place at the bottom of the class rankings.

A VIP seat reserved just for me.

I still don't understand how I made it to my final year of high school.

But one thing is certain...

I am special.

I giggled to myself.

"Mina! Hurry up, you're going to be late! And stop talking to yourself. I wonder when you'll finally get a friend."

That's my mother.

"I used to be the beauty queen of my school, you know."

"Okay, Mom. I get it."

I've heard that story a million times.

But anyway...

I'm late.

I grabbed my bag, hopped onto my bicycle, and headed to school like I always did.

Head down.

Not because I was ashamed, but because I didn't want to bother anyone.

The bell rang just as I entered the classroom.

Perfect timing.

Ms. Yuri walked in with our test papers and started calling out the results.

I already knew mine.

Another F.

Or at least, that's what I expected.

"Mina Kurose... D."

I froze.

A D?

I looked at my paper like it was a miracle.

I did it.

My hard work was finally paying off.

I was still the girl who sat by the window, writing random thoughts in the margins of my notebooks...

Especially thoughts about him.

Ren Akiyama.

The golden boy of our school.

The person everyone admired.

And my first love.

Of course, someone like him would never like someone like me.

That was impossible.

Until that day.

After Ms. Yuri left the classroom, I heard a voice.

"Mina."

My heart stopped.

Ren Akiyama was standing in front of my desk.

"Can I borrow your eraser?"

An eraser.

He wanted my eraser.

It wasn't exactly a romantic moment, but for someone like me, it felt like a scene from a movie.

Everyone stared.

Then, before I could say anything else, Ms. Yuri returned.

"I almost forgot. We have two new students joining our class."

The door opened.

"Hello, my name is Yuna Shimizu, and this is my twin brother, Kaito Shimizu. Let's all be friends."

She smiled.

And for some reason...

It felt like the whole classroom became brighter.

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