Mostly the same

I usually come into school alone, so you can imagine the shock and murmurs of my schoolmates when anime characters walk in behind me. The murmurs are mostly a mishmash, but eventually a guy I've never spoken to gets up the courage to make a joke. "'Sup, Akeno?" Akeno turns to him with a polite smile.

"Hi, nice to meet you." The guy looks perplexed before regaining himself.

"Wait, your name is literally Akeno? Damn, your parents must've been ahead of the curve." Most people don't speak to me outside of pleasantries anyway, but with the new students, I'd say even that won't happen for about a week. When homeroom starts, they still follow me. They smile and show their schedules. Of course...Mom made them sync up perfectly with mine. The teacher introduces them, as we don't get new arrivals that often.

"Class, these are our new students, Akeno and Koneko. You know the spiel by now, no bullying, no pranks, be nice to the new kids." He begins the class as normal, unfazed by the anime robots. The students however...

"Dude, she looks just like her. It's uncanny!"

"Is that cosplay? Do they even make cosplay that good?"

"I've got to put this somewhere on the internet." By now the teachers all know about my unofficial condition. My mutism doesn't seem to stem from birth trauma or anything, I just don't feel the need to speak to people often. When I do, I realize I have next to no experience, which gives me a stutter sometimes...Anyway, by now, all teachers and most students know about it, so I'm never asked to speak in class. As long as I do well on tests there's no cause for concern, and I do do well. Not much else to do but study and watch anime when you're a teenage boy with no friends.

Lunchtime comes and I prepare to buy from the food vendors before Akeno stops me.

"What're you doing, little bro?"

"This is what I always do for lunch..." I've found that around the girls and no one else, I can usually speak clearly, but in a whisper. No one else will hear me over their various conversations.

"Not anymore..." She has a mischievous smirk, but I see little potential for mischief in this situation. What did she do? "Ta-da!" She produces a lunchbox that I've never seen before. My question must've shown, because she resumes explaining. "Mommy made it for you. You know how she feels about you eating this school food." I open it, and there is what seems to be a balanced, yet tasty lunch. Infinitely better than eating out of a vending machine. I sit down and my 'sisters' sit beside me. "Why's no one talking to you, bro?"

"M-Most people don't want to." From the caution in those who do speak to me, I'd say they think I'm that quiet kid who's eventually going to snap and shoot up the school. I never got that stereotype. I've never held a gun before, and I don't hate anyone just because I can't talk to them.

"Well that's no fun. What do you want to talk about?"

"I-In my sessions, I normally talk about my mom and anime. Doc may be my only real friend."

"Well, we can talk whenever you want, okay?" School passes normally, except for a couple more people mistaking the robots for anime characters or cosplayers. I wonder what's waiting for me at home?