[i]First day of the new school year...
[center]...deciding not to go to the opening ceremony this time.[/center][/i]

Satsuki wasn't feeling any more glum than usual today. She was sitting somewhere far away from the school's crowds, resting in a secret place that none other had ever found. She didn't remember arriving here, but she was certain she knew why she did it. This was the only place she could go in the school where she could be completely alone, with no chance of anybody disturbing her. She was leaning against a familiar window, gazing out aimlessly over the empty grounds. For the first time in a while, she was...at peace. Somehow, over this entire day, she had not come in contact with a single human being. She wasn't aware of the fact that she was lonely, she had zoned that feeling out long ago. In this moment of solitude, she was content with not thinking about anything in particular...until she heard the noise. After an entire hour of silent stillness, the noise seemed deafening to her ears. It took Satsuki a few moments to place it, but once the noise repeated itself, she realized what it was. 

[i]My stomach is rumbling.[/i] That one thought sticks out in the subtle waves of melancholy enveloping her mind. She thinks on the matter for nearly a minute, before redirecting her attention to the grounds below. Just like before, not a single person entered her sight, the only movement being the falling and rustling of the leaves and flowers. Content with watching this peaceful scene for a few more minutes, Satsuki's stillness returns to her, until it is interrupted by another untimely rumbling. 

This time, she can't bring herself to ignore it, for she knew it would continue bothering her until she sated its hunger. She vaguely remembers something the nurse had told her, about eating more, but the notion is quickly lost in the sounds of her cushions as she shifts her position to rise. The stiffness in her limbs doesn't bother her, she's already made up her mind. She would leave her secret place, just for a moment, to venture out to the hall vending machine. Just a bag of chips, that would be all it would take for her to be content with her day. She could feel her depression lifting ever so slightly, minutely excited by the notion of soon grabbing one of her most favoured flavours of chips. But first, she would need to get out of her safe place, she would have to risk running into another person. 

Not hazarding a passing thought to her little alcove, Satsuki moves to the other side of the small room and squeezes through the only entrance. It wasn't much of a squeeze, especially with her rather thin frame, but it was still a bit of a squeeze to extract herself and travel out to the library. She left at a meandering, unfocused pace through the library, her nearly silent footfalls going completely unheard by the quietly sleeping librarian. Soon, she finds herself out in the hall, standing before a familiar vending machine. She stops, rummaging in her pocket for some loose change and carefully examining the machine for her food of choice. Luckily for her, there was a single bag left, a fact that brought her surprisingly close to smiling. 

[i]Maybe this day really will go well[/i], she muses, not taking the time to watch her surroundings...