I've set aside some time recently to work on personal projects, giving myself a day in the week away from VN work, so now have time to work on this again. I started it with the intention of having a fun side project to work on, though realised how impractical that was when the workload increased. Now, after struggling with a minor blockage, I realise how much more practical it is to have more than one project, as it allows me to switch between them if I hit a snag, and clear my head to help work out solutions. Still, don't expect this to be frequent, I am only dedicating one day a week to development and will give that day up if I'm needed for VN work on that day. Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the first actual chapter of Lustre, I know a few of you have been wanting this
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During Mutou’s lecture, I find it difficult to stay focused. I keep throwing glances back at Naomi, wondering if the club will even take me. Alright Hisao, stop, pay attention to the teacher. Now what was he saying about the rate of combustion? Dammit, I’ve lost track.
“So, can anyone tell me the amount of magnesium hydroxide needed to neutralise the solution?” Mutou asks, though I can tell he’s looking at me for the answer. I quickly read the formulae he has written on the blackboard, comparing volumes and pH levels in my head until –
“Three point three mols, sir.”
“Very good Nakai.”
Alright, that was close. I need to stop looking back at Naomi and focus, the newspaper club can wait. Misha nudges me when Mutou turns back to write on the blackboard, slipping a small pink sheet of paper into my hand before continuing with her translations for Shizune.
I shove the note under my notebook for now, not concerned with whatever they have to say. My entire attention should be on what Mutou is saying. Sounds like he’s talking about combustion now, how did we get from acidic solutions to combustion? I give up trying to follow today’s lesson, instead turning to my notebook and doodling in the margin until the bell signifying the end of the day sounds.
Quickly gathering my things, I tidy my desk and make my way to the back of the classroom before Shizune and Misha can get a hold of me. Naomi has already formed a small group around her, making this feel a little more than awkward, but I squeeze my way past Hanako’s protruding chair and offer a nervous wave.
“Hey, Naomi.”
The group falls silent, their attention shifted away from whatever conversation they were having. Three pairs of eyes are focused on me, waiting for something to happen, when Naomi speaks up.
“Hey… Hisao, right?” She asks, a strange look on her face. I’m not sure whether she’s annoyed that I approached her or not. “Sorry, I’m not good with names.”
“Yeah, Hisao. Sorry to intrude, but I’m wondering if I can join the newspaper club, assuming there’s room of course.” I say, waiting for some kind of reason why I can’t join, a rejection that will send me back to the student council.
“Sure, whatever. I thought you were with the dynamic duo, but if you need somewhere to escape to, we’re open.” Naomi shrugs, ignoring my confusion at the nickname for Shizune and Misha. “We were just about to go to the editing room, if you wanna tag along. I’ll file the paperwork later, no worries.”
No rejection, no excuse. Hell, no formalities. I can’t help but smile.
“Naomi, don’t we have work to do today?” A shorter brown haired girl beside her asks. I quickly notice that her eyes are coloured differently, though I’m not sure whether to look away or not. “Stare all you want Hisao, I’m used to it. Natsume, by the way.”
“Oh, uh… Sorry, I’ve just never seen… You know what, forget I said anything.” I stammer, causing the rest of the group to laugh.
“But seriously, Naomi, the deadline. It’s due Friday and we barely have any – ”
“Shh, Natsume. We’ll get it done, we’re great at procrastinating, remember? Today we introduce Hisao to the club, tomorrow we’ll introduce him to work.” Naomi stops her, placing a finger to her lips and smiling at me when Natsume slumps her shoulders. “Alright, let’s go. You coming with us today Misaki?”
“Yeah, the photography club never shows up anymore anyway.” A third girl, whom I somehow hadn’t noticed before, says. I don’t know why, but I can’t look away from her. I probably look like some kind of freak. Surprisingly, she doesn’t react badly, giving me a quick smile before crouching down to pick up her bag.
“Have fun Hicchan~!” Misha shouts from across the room, drawing everyone’s attention to me and the departing newspaper club, much to my dismay. Naomi raises an inquisitive eyebrow at me, probably something to do with the nickname.
“Keep your head down and don’t make eye contact… They’ll eat your soul.” I joke, though the way things have been these past few days don’t make it too hard to believe. I got dangerously close to spending all of my time with Kenji, or alone. I’m still not sure which I’d prefer.
I shuffle out behind Natsume, avoiding eye contact with the so-called ‘Dynamic Duo’, letting out a sigh of relief when the door closes behind us.
“Wow Hisao, they really that bad?” asks the red-haired boy, who has been silent up until now.
“You have no idea… Every day so far has been some kind of contest, whether it’s a game of Risk or just classwork.” I explain as we walk down the hall, trying to keep my complaints to a minimum. “I’m sure they mean well, but god damn are they exhausting…”
“Yeah, that’s a common experience. Hey, Misaki, weren’t you on the council before everything broke apart?” Naomi asks, whirling around to face the quiet girl beside me.
“Never officially, but I helped with a few things when they asked. They kind of just stopped asking when I joined the photography club.”
“That was before Satou left, right?” Naomi asks, stopping and pulling out a set of keys before tossing them to Natsume.
“Yeah, I think it was when they ran the soba booth. That was my first assignment at least, get a picture of them in action.”
“Bet you’re glad we have you on interesting jobs now.” Natsume laughs, unlocking and opening the door marked ‘Class 4-2’. The group file in to the room, so I follow.
It’s dark. The only light sources are the three computer monitors that buzz away at the far side of the room, giving everything else a blueish tint. Stacks of paper cover a desk by the window, blocking out any natural light that might come in if the blackout curtains were open. All of the other desks seem to have been removed from the room, as the rest of the space remains empty, except for a few beanbags and a coffee table.
“Welcome to the lair, Hisao.” Naomi chuckles as she plops down into a big leather chair, swiveling around as the rest of the club find their seats. “We don’t usually get visitors, so whatever we do in here stays unknown to the rest of the school.”
“That sounds…”
“What, ominous? Fun?”
“No, not that. I don’t know, I just got this weird feeling when you said that.”
“Sexual?” She smirks, bursting into laughter when my face flushes red. “Come on Hisao, we’re all friends here. You can’t handle a little dirty humour?”
“I can handle it, I just didn’t expect it.”
“Well now you do, expect more of it as the day goes on. Akio, be a dear and crack open the minifridge, I’m parched.”
“What’s stopping you from doing it?” Akio protests, looking up at the cane he is currently spinning above his head.
“I have to keep our guest entertained, and you look desperately bored right now. Grape please.”
The cane stops spinning. A few seconds of silence pass, Akio unmoving under Naomi’s ‘sweetheart gaze’. She bats her eyes a few times, eventually cracking him.
“Fine. You guys want anything?”
“Gimme a sex on the beach, with the little umbrella. And make it fast!” Natsume teases, clapping her hands and shooing Akio away.
“Alright, grape for everyone then.”
“I was serious about that drink, Akio.”
***
So this is the newspaper club. Sitting around a table, talking over drinks about the latest gossip in school and how to make it sound official.
“Hey, how about we do an article on Hisao? New guy in town, we don’t get that much around this time of year.”
Wait, what?
“Naomi, for the last time, we already have work to do. We don’t need another article – ”
“Natsume, what ever will we do with you… We don’t need to worry about the festival articles until the festival is actually over.”
“I’m not talking about those articles, I’m talking about the retirement of Scruffy the janitor.”
“Scruffy retired?”
“Yes, and I interviewed him.”
“Good job, people loved Scruffy. So we need an article about that?”
“Yes, we need two pages. I promised him a special in this week’s paper.”
Naomi leans back in her chair, which is starting to make her look more like the head of a criminal organisation than a newspaper club, tapping her fingers against her leg.
“Hmm… Do we have pictures of him? Misaki?”
“We do, but there aren’t any recent ones…”
Naomi hums, tapping her foot against the air as she tries to come up with a solution. After about a minute, nobody has said anything new, so I decide to pitch my idea.
“How about a look back at his time here, like a highlight reel?”
It’s a strange feeling when four pairs of eyes set their focus on you, but the faces attached remain unchanged. Why aren’t any of them blinking?
“Hisao, you genius! We’ll just touch up some old photos, apply filters to give an idea of the time period, then write short recaps of what was doing at the time.” Naomi squeals, leaping out of her chair, almost like she was about to hug me before stopping herself.
She starts pacing, tapping her chin and tilting her head occasionally. Nobody else in the room talks, choosing instead to focus all of their attention on a single spot on the ceiling. The silence fills the room with a strange lethargy, where everyone was laughing and making jokes just minutes prior, they now lie unmoving.
About ten minutes pass, indicated only by the clock above the door. It’s set to the wrong time, but it still seems to function properly. Naomi finally stops pacing, instantly becoming the centre of attention again.
“Akio, Natsume. You’ll both work on the Scruffy special. Make sure to have jokes where appropriate, and Akio, work your magic on a touching goodbye message. We want him to shed some manly tears, but don’t go overboard and cause a breakdown. It’s his retirement, he needs to remember it fondly.”
“Hisao, you’ll be working with me and Misaki on the buildup to the festival, and the actual coverage of the event. It’s time to prove that you’re good for something other than just eyecandy, now get that sweet ass on a computer and I’ll give you a rundown of how we do things.”
***
“So all I do is separate into columns and type? You made it sound so complicated before.”
“No, there’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the basic idea. Look, you still need to justify, indent, title and sign the text.” Naomi explains, hopping up onto the desk beside me and pointing at the flaws that, apparently, are abundant.
“So, what you’re saying is that I’m close.”
“Very funny Hisao, but writing an article is only the first step. Formatting is the most important part of writing a newspaper, because if it’s messy, then people won’t read it. That’s why we justify text,” She explains, taking control of the mouse. “Fit everything into a block of space, add a title, indent paragraphs and sign.”
“Alright, so to justify I just highlight and click this button?”
“Yes.”
“And to indent I press the key with the arrows whenever I take a new line?”
“Yup, you’ve got it. Now, sign it as H. Nakai, and we can print it for the test build.”
I follow her gaze to a point below the article, selecting the area and pressing a few keys. I save the document, close the editing software and lean back in my chair, glad that it’s finally over. It’s a good way to learn more about the school at least, and God knows I need to do that.
Naomi hops off of the desk and places her hand on my shoulder, spinning my chair around to face her.
“Congratulations Hisao, you’re now an amateur journalist. Welcome to the newspaper club.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys know the drill, comments, criticism and corrections. The three C's baby!
For those interested in the VN I am working on, we have been posting information every Saturday on our subreddit,
found here, and greatly appreciate any support we get. If this is breaching an unwritten rule, feel free to remove this line Silentcook.
"Forsooth, that line was feeble." - Courtesy of Mirage_GSM
"It occurs to me that maybe I’m an idiot." - Thanks to Jaspirian
