Kagari Enju had the misfortune of not being born into a loving family
Her mother had not known which of the many men she had slept around with was the father and she had hated the daughter even before she was born
Her mother had lacked the courage to leave her with an institution In a way that was only more bad luck A child was less happy being raised by an irresponsible parent than being separated from their parent From her earliest memories Enju had been verbally and physically abused by her mother and even burned all over her body by cigarettes I’m hungry
That was the most common phrase she had uttered Her mother would grow angry if she so much as spoke to her but if she said that her mother would give her some bread or a snack while yelling at her She had only gotten one meager meal a day but it was enough to survive However her last moments had also come from those words
Not long after turning four her mother had been more irritated than usual when returning from work Informing her mother of her empty stomach must have gotten on her nerves because she
had suddenly slapped her
Her mother had hit her plenty of times before but this one had been especially strong and her feet had given out below her When she had toppled backwards the girl’s head had struck the corner of the table After realizing her daughter had stopped moving the mother had panicked but only for a few minutes After calling out to her a few times and realizing her breathing was shallow the woman had gathered her bankbook and her favorite lipstick from the dresser and some expensive-looking clothes from the closet She had done it so quickly she had almost looked gleeful When Enju had come to the woman was no longer in the room
The front door’s lock had been broken and the malnourished girl had not been strong enough to open the rain shutter
It had taken her a while to realize she was trapped inside It had taken her much longer to realize her mother had abandoned her
Before long she had found herself unable to move or speak properly
The long long wait for death had taught the dying girl one thing her mother had hated her
Everyone I hateeveryone
Adolescent Adam 4 Chapter 1 - The Usual Scene
Ange seemed to have been napping for once so she opened her drowsy eyes
It’s lunchtime Aren’t you going to eat
Mutsuki smiled bitterly at the girl’s sleepy look and handed her today’s lunchbox
Only then did she realize their lunch break had started
It was midsummer and they only had two days until summer break Her window-side seat was not exactly comfortable with the sunlight falling directly on it but it was cool enough even without the air conditioning because a typhoon was approaching With the sound of the rain and the chilly wind reaching her through the opened window it was hardly surprising she had dozed off
You have some sleep in your eye
Mutsuki chuckled and pulled out a handkerchief
Without taking the handkerchief Ange sullenly wiped her eye with the back of her hand and turned away with a lopsided frown on her face
This was the usual for her so he returned to his seat
Okay time to eat time to eat We’re in the middle of the period of growth that has to support our futures so this is another way to enjoy our school life to its fullest
His childhood friend Sakae walked over with a ton of bread in his arms
Let’s push our desks together Outta the way Sakae Mutsuki over here over here
Sure
Deh heh heh heh heh Ange-chaan Let’s eat together
Th-that’s fine
Lucia moved his desk behind Mutsuki and Saya moved over to Ange’s desk
As usual Machina remained in the neighboring seat On her own she pulled a water bottle and a single apple from her bag
Mutsuki and Ange ate together Lucia Sakae and Saya wanted to eat with them and Machina sat nearby
Recently the six of them spent most of their lunch breaks together like this
They all pulled out their lunches
Saya’s was quite girly Sakae lined up the bread he had bought at the school store Lucia had a lot of portable foods like dried meats and seeds and Machina had her single apple
Mutsuki and Ange’s lunches were the same since they lived together
Once again it at least looks normal enough
Ange sighed when she opened the lunchbox she had been given
It contained sakura denbu on rice pickled cucumbers rolled omelets bacon soaked in chili oil and spinach salad The main dish was pork dumplings
The sakura denbu was shaped like the Lazy Bear character the girl liked and the pork dumplings were star-shaped so it had a real focus on presentation It did indeed look like a delicious lunch
Okay let’s get started
Mutsuki clapped his hands together
On that signal they all started eating Machina was not even looking in their direction but he had
a feeling she brought the apple to her mouth after he clapped
With six of them there they naturally split between boys and girls
Mutsuki Sakae and Lucia formed one group and Ange and Saya formed another Machina did not speak with anyone