Ken exited the shower, enjoying the cool air hit his body. He looked in the mirror, focusing on the face staring back at him.
He couldn't help but notice that he'd grown older, particularly after the kidnapping event that took place in Tokyo. Ken had turned 18 a couple of months ago yet he had still yet to develop any facial hair.
Not that he minded, since shaving every morning would be a pain in the rear. It reminded him of his pitiful existence in his previous life, monotonously going to the job he hated ever day, with no goals in life.
But now, things were different.
He grinned in the mirror, quickly fixing his hair and heading out of the bathroom.
"Morning Kenny." Chris said, already sitting at the dining table.
"Morning."
He looked at his father who was dressed in a white polo, sporting the Texas Shorthorns logo on the front. It had been almost a month since they'd arrived in Austin, and he could already tell his dad was enjoying it.
"Did you decide what you're going to wear today honey?" Yuki asked.
"Ah…" Ken stood still for a moment, his mind going blank.
Yuki sent him a grin, "It's your first day of school today, you'll need to make a good impression." She crooned.
Unfortunately for Ken, he lacked any fashion sense. He had almost cried upon finding out that his school did not have a uniform, meaning he would have to dress himself every day.
"Don't worry, I'll pick something out for you if you like?" She added, excitement evident in her features.
"NO… Ahem. No thanks mom." Ken shouted out of reflex, before quickly adjusting his volume.
Chris stifled a chuckle in response, almost breaking out into laughter upon seeing Yuki's look of annoyance and puffed out cheeks.
Ken slowly backed away from the kitchen, maintaining eye contact with his mother. Only when he got close enough to his bedroom door did he turn around and escape.
"Hmph." Yuki harrumphed, feeling slightly offended.
"Now now honey, he's a teenager. Of course he wants to choose his own outfits." Chris said, taking a sip of his coffee.
Yuki grumbled, "I just pray our first grandchild is a girl, then we can do dress-ups without any complaints."
"PSHHHH" At the mention of grandkids once again, Chris spat his mouthful of coffee and began coughing.
"Haaah. Boys are so gross." She stated in a defeated tone.
Meanwhile, Ken was already moving through the clothing items in his closet. He knew that if he didn't pick out something his mother approved of, he wouldn't have a choice but to wear what she wanted.
Eventually, he settled on a simple polo shirt and long pants. The shirt was white and the pants were black, similar to his summer uniform back in japan.
"This will do." Ken nodded, happy enough with his choice. As for what he would wear tomorrow, he would think about that later.
Before he left the room, his eyes darted to the calendar on his dresser.
It was currently April 19th 2019. He looked greedily at the following day which was circled, practically salivating.
'The system comes back tomorrow…' Ken thought, every fiber of his being looking forward to the moment.
"Kenny, you're going to be late." Chris called from the kitchen, snapping him out of his reverie.
"Ah… I better go." He mumbled, resisting the urge to kiss the calendar.
He walked out his bedroom door, swooping up a piece of toast on his way past the dining room.
"I'm off." Ken waved.
"Take care."
Both Yuki and Chris responded in turn, watching his figure leave the front door.
There were a few moments of silence between the two before Yuki spoke up with worry, "Is he going to be okay?" She asked.
"Mmm. He'll be fine, don't worry. Just remember I attended High School in the US as well." Chris stated, sending her a confident glance.
Meanwhile, Ken walked into the car port and grabbed his bicycle, jumping on it confidently. The school was about 18 minutes away by bike, making it the easiest way to get there.
Soon enough, Ken was flying down the road, enjoying the wind that flew by. He of course wore a helmet, not wanting to risk hurting himself for a quick thrill.
By now Ken had gotten used to the surroundings, since he went for a run every day.
"You off to school Ken?" A ladie's voice called out, drawing his attention.
"Yes Mrs. Rogers, it's my first day." He said, slowing down and flashing her a grin.
"Well good luck with everything, try and make plenty of friends okay?" There was a hint of concern in her tone, causing Ken to smile.
He said his thanks and continued on his way. Mrs. Rogers was someone he would see most days during his runs, she was a lovely woman in her 50's who loved to chat. Too many times he'd been interrupted during his run, but he was too polite to ignore her.
Soon enough, Ken finally arrived at the school and hopped off his bike. The first thing that struck his attention was the mass of students walking towards the school.
'Holy crap…'
Back at Yokohama, there were only about 900 students, yet this school looked to have double that at least.
His eyes moved to the sign on the main building.
"McCallum High School…" Ken muttered.
He stood still for a few moments, but he quickly felt that there were many pairs of eyes on him so he got moving. There was a place to park his bike in a large cage which was starting to fill up quickly.
He parked his bike and triple checked the lock before nodding in satisfaction.
Ken's next stop was the administration office. He needed to be guided to his home room class by one of the faculty apparently.
He walked into the office, noticing that the facilities looked rather old.