"Der ist nicht der Herr des Seienden. Der Mensch ist der Hirt des Seins."
"The man is not the Master of Being. The man is the Slave of Being."
-― Martin Heidegger, Brief über den "Humanismus"
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(An hour ago, homeroom teacher's introduction)
Have you ever thought what it truly means to become a being?
Apparently, such a serious inquiry was too much for today's youngsters, particularly those who may have overindulged in modern electronics and the like.
However, there is an answer to this question: that creature is me, in this moment of boredom.
Apparently, I had no reason to attend the entrance ceremony but to ease such boredom feelings away from my sight, yet it had happened to have worsened it after, especially given that I never really liked the entrance ceremony in any form.
And with my presence or its lack thereof, it was impossible for me to consider my self as 'being' on the first place. Or, at least, that's what Heidegger had told me with all of his nonsense on being as an existence along with its purpose.
And what was the relation between this nonsense and the one I had been facing, if you might ask. It was pertaining the fact that not only I had no energy left, but after the long-winded agreement on not meeting nor talking each other a few hours ago, she was here, just right beside me, eyeing a suspicion on me as if I had planned to manipulate the seat placement on purpose. But there was something else I had been noticing, which is the presence of the class homeroom teacher.
When I first saw her, my initial impression was that she believed firmly in the value of perserverance as the essential form of discipline. If I had to make any conjecture, I would have bet her age at around 30 if not 35. Mostly characterized by her gigantic cup size and bust circumference, her brown hair appeared to be long as she had tied it into a ponytail shape with bangs swept to the left.
"Uhm. Greetings, class. Good morning. I am Sae Chabashira and from now on will be acting as your current homeroom class teacher. And if you ever ask me that question, you won't be changing teachers for the next 3 years..."
How terrifying, the way she figured that out instantaneously.
Just a moment when such a question popped into my mind, she already had the answer.
"... I usually teach Japanese history but I will be teaching all of subjects. It is a pleasure to meet you, so I hope to get to know all of you. The entrance ceremony will begin in the gymnasium in an hour. But first of all, I will hand out these written materials about the school's special rules along with the admission guide."
Not long after the homeroom teacher handed out the documents, students who sat in the front seats then passed those to other students behind them until reaching the students in the back seats, and one of them was me. Those were the exact same ones given during the students admission when I had been deemed to pass a period later after the interview.
Furthermore, as I had been familiarizing myself with these documents, to put it briefly, the school distinguished from the plethora of other Japanese high schools in a few, if not several, significant aspects. Here, all of students were supposed to live in school dormitories located on school basis.
Students were further restricted from contacting anyone outside the school, save in rare cases such as studying abroad. Thus, given those information, it would have been impossible to contact the immediate family had it not been done under the scrutiny of school's authorization, while the matter of leaving the school was hardly a question to begin with considering these rules and therefore forbidden to say the least.
However, the campus also provisioned with many excellent facilities with which came equipped for the students with places such as own karaoke spot, theater, café, park and many more. For the comparison, you could consider it as more or less a small city in a man-made island, with the campus spread over 600,000 square meters.
As if those weren't enough, the school boasted another unique feature: the S-System.
She then proceeded to hand out a rather eye-catching card that contains the name of student along with its identity number attached to it.
"I will now hand out your student ID cards. As you can see, this school has everything a student could possibly need, and this card on your hand is no exception. By using your card, you can access any of facilities on the campus, purchase goods on the store, and so on. It acts similarly to a credit card. However, it is imperative that you pay attention to the points that you spend. You can use your points to purchase anything at this school. Anything so long it is located on the school grounds is available for purchase."
Our points, loaded onto our student ID cards, functioned as a form of currency.
The lack of paper money would prevent many of these students from financial troubles, especially when they were troublesome enough to begin with.
However, student needs to keep an eye watchfully on their spendthrift habits.
In any case, the school provided these points free of charge.
Nevertheless, the primary concern was whether these students would have been able to do so without delay, given that a considerable number of them appeared visibly shocked after checking their smartphones.
It was evident that the students displayed a visible gleaming in their eyes, as if they had witnessed something extraordinary that was, according to their standards, supposed to be easier said than done, yet the school delivered it without any hassle.
I myself became visibly concerned by the considerable amount of currency points I had received at that moment. With regard to currency, it should be noted that there are three principal categories of currency convertability. The aforementioned currencies can be classified into three distinct categories: fully convertible, partially convertible, and non-convertible. A detailed explanation is beyond the scope of this discussion; however, it can be stated that the currency in question is partially convertible.
A currency is deemed to be partially convertible if one or more of the following three criteria pertaining to usability, exchangeability and market value are not fully observed. Firstly, it can be employed for all purposes without restriction. Secondly, it can be exchanged for another currency without any restrictions.
Finally, it can be exchanged at a specified exchange rate. In light of these considerations, it becomes evident that the practice of debasement may potentially serve to reduce the intrinsic value of a given currency. This is particularly relevant in the context of the Japanese currency, which, over the course of the previous year, exhibited an average exchange rate of approximately 106. Consequently, any such exchange would not be expected to remain static, with its value contingent upon the strength of the currency in question.
If you were to inquire as to why I have been discussing this topic with you, it is simply because I found the homeroom teacher's detailed explanation to be tedious.
In other words, there was no inherent purpose or usefulness of such a conversation to begin with.
"Your student cards can be used simply by swiping them through the machine scanner. The method is simple, so you shouldn't get confused. Points are automatically deposited into your account on the first of every month. You should all have received 100,000 points already. Keep in mind that one point is worth one yen. No further explanation should be necessary."
This was the point where the classroom had erupted, especially those who displayed visibly gleaming eyes, as they were supposed to be high schoolers who had never given such allowance during their prior times at school. As bewilderment spread among the students, Chiyabashira-sensei looked over the room.
Many of my classmates could not hide their surprise at the large amount of points.
"Surprised by the number of points awarded? This educational establishment assesses the abilities of its students. All applicants have successfully completed the entrance examination, which serves to demonstrate their value and potential. The amount you have received is a reflection of the evaluation of your worth. You are at liberty to utilise your points as you see fit."
"Please note that all points accumulated by students will be returned to the school upon graduation. As there is no option to exchange points for cash, there is no advantage to saving them. Once points have been deposited into your account, you are free to spend them as you see fit. You may transfer your points to another individual if you so choose, however, extorting money from your peers is not permitted. This school monitors bullying very carefully."
I thought the environment would be pretty cutthroat during such an announcement, given its prestigious image. Instead, these students seemed rottenly spoiled by such preferential treatment.
Apparently, this school doesn't seem strict as I thought. I concluded.
"This school is extremely lenient, isn't it?"
A female voice speaking from nearby startled me, errupted this tranquil conversation I had by interferring with my own train of thoughts.
Also hold on, I thought I was just talking to myself, or wasn't I?
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