Hell is other people.

I learnt that in my second year of middle school.

On the day I was pushed off the balcony, I lost everything.

I don't even remember the days I spent in that lonely hospital room.

All I remember is feeling the passage of time slowing down around me, and the flow of daily life grinding to a halt.

When I woke up from my coma, all I did was stare up at the white ceiling, spending my days doing nothing.

I didn't feel motivation to do anything.

Two years passed by and my life was rotting away.

Nothing could make me move a single bone in my body.

I was paralysed, not by the injuries, but by the thoughts in my head.

I don't care about this world.

Mom and dad said I was lucky to live, but I don't think so.

I think it's more unlucky that I wasn't put out of my misery the moment I hit the ground.

I would've been better off dying that day than being forced to live with no aim, no goals in life, no dreams, or ambitions.

I never even graduated middle school, so I couldn't go to high school.

At least, that's what I thought.

After I was discharged from hospital, I received an invite from GEN Academy saying they wanted me to join their school.

I scoffed at the letter, laughing scornfully at the proposition such a prestigious high school wanted a dropout like me.

It must've been a mistake...

However, before I absentmindedly threw away that letter, something in my heart tugged at me to keep it.

I don't know why, but I put it away.

At first, I didn't want to go. I was planning on becoming a NEET and dying quietly in my room so I wouldn't be a bother to anyone else.

However, my mom and dad found out about this and forced me to do something productive with my life. They didn't want me to fall into that pit hole and become a burden to society.

So, they gave me two choices.

I either go to GEN Academy and continue higher education, or I get a part time job and earn my keep.

Neither option seemed pleasant, but the lesser of two evils was to go to school.

Its not like I wanted to go back into education. I just figured that trying to find work with no qualifications would be a nightmare.

I'd be stuck in a crappy part time job and wouldn't be able to move up the corporate ladder at all.

If I was going to have to work, I might as well try and graduate from high school so I could get a good job. Even an idiot would know that much.

I dug up the letter I had saved from my drawer and filled it in, submitting my application to GEN.

I don't know why, but some twisted part of me was even looking forward to it. It would be chance to have a fresh start.

However...

When I arrived, I thought a sick prank was being played on me.

In my class were the two people who ruined my life.

Sakigamiya Alice and Matsushita Isogai.

When I saw their faces, I abandoned all hope and gave up.

Just as this cruel world gave me a chance to get back up, it put me down just as fast.

There was no point in trying if they were here.

Slowly, I was sinking back to that moment two years ago.

The day I was supposed to die.

If I got involved in the class, the cycle of hell would start again.

I plugged in my ear buds and shut up.

That was the only way to ensure my safety.

If I didn't do anything, no one would target me.

I lived three months alone in silence, wallowing in darkness.

I tried to sleep the monotonous days away, but the nightmares of that time plagued me whenever I tried.

My days became an endless cycle of getting up, going to school, and fighting insomnia.

I barely took care of myself and spent all my spare time scrolling idly through my phone.

I don't know why I was even living anymore.

It'd be easier to put myself out of this misery.

To finish this meaningless story that should've ended two years ago.

I was planning on dying quietly over the summer holidays as not to trouble anyone.

But before I could do that...

His persistent voice kept knocking at my door.

It was Takanori Yuuto, one of the other loners in our class.

I ignored him.

I would disappear from this world in less than two weeks, so talking to others was pointless.

Making connections with other people would only make things more complicated. I just wanted to keep things simple.

Every morning, I would hear him try to reach out to me. And each time, I rejected him.

He would usually go away after about fifteen minutes, but for some reason, on Wednesday, someone was with him.

And she tried reaching out to me instead.

I'll never forget the day I met Kazuraba Yukina.

It was an awkward and strange meeting.

I was naked, and she had threatened me about revealing my past to everyone.

But even so, she forced herself into my room and broke down the walls I had built around myself.

For the first time in my life, I told someone else about what happened to me in Minanohara Middle School.

And when I cried, she accepted my tears.

It was her kindness that saved me from the grips of death.

For the first time, in a long time, I thought maybe...

Just maybe...

Hell isn't other people.

Meeting these two changed my life.

I was able to confront Matsushita on the rooftop.

I came to terms with my traumatic past.

I can now go to school and look forward to seeing people I like.

It's not perfect, but I feel a little bit stronger now.

I feel like I can stand up again, even if it still hurts sometimes.

Those scars won't ever disappear, but they're starting to heal now.

And it's all because of those two.

Even today, they're waiting for me at the school entrance.

Kazuraba is waving at me with a smile, while Takanori nods at me.

I lightly raised my hand to greet them.

Today too, I was reminded that there was something worth living for.