[ AUDIENCE: YAMATO ISHIDA ]

[dormheads]

Comments

[dormheads]

I don't really want to talk about it.

Being Dorm Head doesn't help fix my grade. It was a personal goal. A second chance to prove I'm not giving into failure.

[ghoststrums]

you brought it up. but alright.

who are you trying to prove it to? yourself? failing one class doesn't make you a failure.

[dormheads]

Myself, I guess. Failing puts me that much farther back from graduating. I won't be able to take the college entrance exam if I don't graduate.

[ghoststrums]

I see.
you sound a little like a friend of mine.
he wants to be a doctor, so he's always working and studying hard.

what do you want to do in the future? or is it just that you want to graduate that badly?

[dormheads]

I don't like to think quite that far ahead yet. I'll lose focus on trying for the exam. Right now, I just want to pass the entrance exam into college.

To say I was able to do it on my own.

[ghoststrums]

there's nothing wrong with needing help from time to time.
or is that about proving that you could to yourself?

[dormheads]

No, you're right. You shouldn't give in to taking the easy way out, like cheating. And it's okay to get help sometimes, like studying with someone else.

[ghoststrums]

right. stuff like that.

but I understand if graduating under your own power is important to you.

[dormheads]

I don't mind getting there with help anymore, but I do want to be the one to cross the finish line on my own.

[ghoststrums]

there's certain things people have to do for themselves sometimes. that's normal.

I'm not sure how grades work here. it's more american, right? how many years do you have left before your entrance exam?

[dormheads]

American?

I'm a sophomore. I have two more years after this one.

[ghoststrums]

never mind.
hey, what's this world called, anyway?

I see. so that's about the same as how it works back home. I'll be taking entrance exams next year.

[dormheads]

Uh, The World?

Are you nervous?

[ghoststrums]

nothing else?
just "The World"?

about entrance exams? not really. I don't really know where I'll go or what I'll do yet, so it's hard to be nervous about taking an exam. and there's been bigger things on my mind lately.

[dormheads]

Yeah.

I don't have anything planned yet either. But I'm worried I won't pass. What's on your mind if it isn't the exams?

[ghoststrums]

a lot of things were at stake.
it's over now, so it's fine.
but for a while it was just one thing after another. it's hard to explain.

I've never really been worried about passing classes anyway.
as long as I do the work, usually it's enough.

[dormheads]

I get it.

I've never worried about passing them before. The class I failed was tougher than I thought. I felt pathetic because I was struggling while everyone else seemed to do fine.

Then I started thinking maybe I was just stupid. What happens if I couldn't do it?

[ghoststrums]

it's hard when everyone around you seems to have it so much easier with something you're trying really hard at and failing.
I struggled with that for a while. I kept comparing myself to other people.
I wanted to be better than I was, but I didn't know how.
but a friend of mine told me different people have different strengths, and there are things only I can do no one else can.

seems obvious when put like that, but at the time, it felt like a revelation. so, maybe this is stuff you already know. I'll say it anyway.

you're not stupid for struggling. even if it ends up that's something you can't do, that's alright.
there's only one of you in the world. you have your own strengths and weaknesses, and other people will still want you around despite all that.

[ there's a pause after that wall of text and then a very quick add on: ]


sorry, maybe I'm answering this too seriously.

[dormheads]

[luke is probably sitting at a desk blinking in surprise at the friendship text so it takes a few minutes for anything to come back]

It's okay. Even if it sounds kind of sappy, your friend's right. I think I needed to hear it from someone who understands.

Thanks, Yamato.

[ghoststrums]

[ oh my god yamatos so embarrassed right now it's fine no one can see him OH GOD A DISTRACTION ]

no problem.

oh, the penguin.
beau said you sent it to her?
the files for it, I guess.
can I have it too?
it's cute.

[dormheads]

Yeah. I don't think she knew what a penguin was.

Sure. Here. He's pretty cool.

[yamato gets a file attachment for stickers.]



This you? Ichiro said you were into music.

[ghoststrums]

probably not. I don't think she has those in her world.
thanks.

oh. he talked about that?
yeah. I've got a band back home.
Knife of Day. buy our merch!
(I'm kidding.)
I play bass + sing.
I only have my harmonica here, though.

[dormheads]

Yeah, he said he was into music, too. I told him I thought about trying drums, but didn't get around to it.

Depends on if your band sounds as cool as its name. I might.

Do you like it? Being in a band.

[ghoststrums]

drums are cool. finding a good drummer is important. you should try it out sometime.

if I ever find a copy of our singles, I'll send it your way. you can judge for yourself. but we're really good.
no bias.

being in a band is great. it was a dream of mine when I was little, and I decided to just go ahead and try about
four years ago?
something like that.
we were called teenage wolves then.

[dormheads]

When I'm less busy, I might see if Ichiro will teach me. If he knows how to play. If you get a copy, I'll listen.

Lol. Teenage wolves? Really?