Invitation - Application - Deliverance
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:27 am
by themocaw
I float into the classroom feeling like I'm walking on a cloud, then take my seat and take my books out of my bag. All around me, my classmates are chatting about various matters of vital importance, like last night's variety show and the impending release of some American-made first person shooter game.
"Hey, Hisao?"
"Hm?"
I glance up to see a dark-skinned girl with her left hand stump wrapped in bandages standing over my desk. Her expression is sheepish, but hopeful: the forced grin of a person who desperately needs help but wants to appear nonchalant about it.
"Oh, hi, Miki. What's up?"
"Just wondering: can I see your notes for science class?" Miki asks.
"What's wrong with yours?"
"They suck," Miki says, bluntly. "I can't follow Mutou's lectures at all. You seem to get him, though."
"Oh. Sure." I rummage through my book bag and pull out my notebook and pass it over to her. "Let me know if you need a hand with any of that."
"I could use a hand with a lot of things," Miki replies archly, picking up the notebook. "Two if you got them." She gestures with her stump for emphasis.
"Oh, jeez," I groan. "Sorry about that. I've been doing that a lot recently."
Miki laughs out loud and sits down on the empty desk next to me, swinging her legs. "Don't worry about it. It happens to all of us. When I first came here, I tried to get to know Hakamichi better, and asked her if she had any favorite bands. Boy, did I feel like a jerk."
I chuckle at that as Miki hits me lightly over the top of the head with the notebook. "Don't sweat it, man. I'll give this back after lunch. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Coolness. See ya, then." Miki hops off the desk and walks back to her seat as Mutou wanders into the classroom, looking a bit confused as usual, mumbling something at his usual measured, laconic pace.
I can't help but smile. When I first heard about Yamaku, I'd imagined it as a kind of nursing home with classes: a bunch of disabled kids being coddled by their caretakers while a bunch of saints in white labcoats stood around and clucked their tongues about how sad it was that they couldn't go to a normal high school like normal kids.
I'm starting to realize that that image was based on very false presumptions.
Mutou slowly walks to the podium, clears his throat, and opens up his class roster. He scans the classroom slowly, ignoring the continued conversations going on around him. "Hakamichi, Mikado, and Ikezawa are absent?"
I glance over at the desk next to me, the one Miki was sitting on. Sure enough, Shizune and Misha aren't in their seats.
"Excuse me, Mister Mutou?" I say, standing out of my chair.
"Hm? Oh, Nakai?" Mutou seems surprised to see me speaking up.
"I saw Shizune and Misha on their way to school this morning. They should be here."
"Hrm. Well, they're tardy now. Maybe it's student council business. In any case, could you do me a favor and take notes for them?"
"Oh. Sure." I sit back down as Mutou launches into a rambling, semi-coherent reading of various announcements and updates.
It does seem a bit odd to me that Shizune and Misha aren't here, but Mutou's probably right: those two are always busy with student council work. They were absent a couple of days in the week leading up to the festival, and they've probably got a lot of work to take care of dealing with the aftermath.
Thinking about the student council reminds me of the fight I had with them last week, and by extension, my encounter with them this morning, which causes a deep sense of guilt to rise up within me and cast a gloomy pall over what had been a rather pleasant morning. I sigh inwardly. Maybe I can drop by after school and see if I can give them a hand. I still have no intention of joining the student council, but given that I'm not in any clubs or anything, I have some free time after school, so I may as well put it to good use. Besides, it'll also give me a chance to drop off the notes.
So resolved, I return my focus to concentrating on today's classes
-----
The bell rings, indicating the arrival of the lunch hour. I get up out of my chair and head out of the classroom, picking up my bookbags along the way.
Saki's waiting for me by the stairwell, her hands clasped in front of her and her back leaning up against the wall. She smiles and waves to me as she sees me approach.
"Hi, darling!" she calls out. Saki walks up to me and puts her arm in mine, leaning against me and giving me a little kiss on the cheek. "How was your class?"
"Not bad," I say, as we head down the stairs. "Yours?"
"The same. Boring. And I missed you a lot too."
"I missed you too." I give her a little squeeze, feeling generally charitable and friendly towards the entire world.
"I was thinking that maybe we should meet Rika for lunch," Saki says, as we make our way down the hall. "Is that okay with you?"
"Sure thing."
We make our way to the cafeteria, where Saki and I pay for our meals and take them to a table in the corner. Rika is already there, slurping noodles and looking off into space with her characteristic thousand-yard stare.
"Hi there, Rika!" Saki says cheerfully, as she slides into a seat across from her friend.
"Hisao. Saki. Good morning," Rika says cooly.
"How was your day?" I ask Rika, as I break open my chopsticks.
"Not bad. Ran this morning with Miki. I enjoyed myself. You?"
"It was all right," I admit. "We had a bit of a run-in with the student council, though."
"Oh? Over wha--."
"It's nothing," Saki says, interrupting Rika. "Just the usual."
"Ah." Rika nods and takes another slurp of her noodles.
"So, darling," Saki asks. "Did you have any plans for after school today?"
"Today? Not much," I admit. "I was going to go drop by the student council and drop off a few things for them, but that's about it. Why?"
"Oh, actually, that's perfect!" Saki says. "You can do me a favor!"
"Oh? How so?"
"Well, darling, let me start by asking a question. Would you like to join the fashion club?"
"The fashion club?" I ponder this concept for a moment. I can't say that I've ever really had any interest in fashion whatsoever, but I do know that Saki loves it. "I don't know. Is there even a fashion club?"
"There was one," Saki admits, "but it was disbanded because there weren't enough members. However, I was talking to a few people, and there are three girls who would be interested in joining one if we can get it started. If you join, darling, that makes five members, which is barely enough to get it started."
"I see." I take another bite of my rather bland and unremarkable meal. "Well, I don't know much about this sort of thing, but if you need my help, of course I'd join up."
"That's great, darling!" Saki says cheerfully, as she gives me a little squeeze. "Besides, it'll be fun for you. You'll get to spend a lot of time with four cute crippled chicks. Won't that be great?"
"I guess, when you put it that way, yeah."
"Boo," Saki pouts.
"What?"
"You're not very good at this, are you darling? You're supposed to say something like. . . 'I don't care about that, because I've already got the cutest of the crippled chicks as my girlfriend.' Or something like that."
"Sorry. I guess you're right," I chuckle.
"You make me cry, Hisao. Boo hoo!" Saki pretends to cry, making a choking noise and dabbing at her eyes.
"You're not very good at that, you know," I point out.
"Yeah, I know," Saki admits. "I could never pretend to cry effectively."
Rika, who has been watching us in silence the whole time, puts down her chopsticks and stands up. "I'm done," she says. "Have a good day, Saki. Hisao."
She picks up her tray and carries it over to the tray return. I chuckle inwardly. "I guess we were a bit too much for her, huh?"
"Nah. Rika's always like that. Between you and me, I don't think she likes people very much." Saki picks up her fork and takes a small, dainty bite of her rather underwhelming-looking salad.
"Even you? Her friend?"
"I don't know if we're friends, even. She certainly likes hanging around me, that's true. I guess maybe we are friends." She takes another bite of her salad, chews, swallows, then turns back to me. "In any case, darling, would you be a dear and ask the Student Council for a copy of the application to start up a club? I'd go, but. . . you know."
"Oh. Right." I get it. After this morning, of course it would be a bit awkward for Saki to head over to the Student Council and ask them for help. "Yeah, sure, I can do that for you."
"Yay! You're the best, darling." Saki leans over and gives me a quick peck on the cheek, then goes back to eating.
And so the rest of the lunch period passes, without much further incident.
-----
The sound of the school bells ringing marks the end of class for the day. I pack up my bags and head up to the Student Council room.
When I knock on the door and look inside, I'm surprised to see that Shizune is sitting there alone, without Misha. It's probably the first time I've ever seen her without her interpreter.
Shizune doesn't look up from her work, so I walk inside and rap my knuckles against the desk. She can't hear the sound, obviously, but some kind of vibration or movement out of the corner of her eye gets her attention. She looks up at me in surprise, then her face darkens as she begins to rapidly sign at me.
"Woah! Woah!" I say. "I can't. . . I don't understand sign language. . ." Damn, this is pointless. She can't hear me anyway.
Shizune gets this right away, though, and she pulls a blank piece of paper from her desk and begins to write.
[You have a lot of nerve, coming here, after what your girlfriend did this morning!]
"What did. . ." Damn it. I gesture for the pen and Shizune passes it to me.
[What are you talking about?]
[I don't know,] Shizune writes back, [but whatever she said to Misha really upset her. She claimed she had a headache and went back to her dorm room.]
[Is that why you didn't come to class?]
[That, and because I thought if I saw you, I'd rip your head off.]
I've never seen Shizune this furious before in my life. [Look,] I ask. [If I talk to Saki and ask her to apologize, will that help to patch things up between us.]
[It might. But it had better be a good apology.] Shizune glowers as she looks at me over the top of her notepad. [I need Misha here, not sulking in her dorm room.]
I nod to her, and Shizune tosses the page into the trash and picks up another blank sheet of paper. [Is that why you came here? To apologize?] Shizune asks.
[I actually came here to give you some things, and also to ask about starting a club,] I write to her. [I was told I could get an application here?]
[You need five students and one teacher to sign the form,] Shizune writes. She gestures to me to wait a moment, then rummages through a file cabinet and pulls out an official-looking form, somewhat illegible from being a photocopy of a photocopy in God only knows how many iterations. [Also, if you plan to use a room, put down the name of the room here. Check and make sure it's not being used first, though. I have a list here if you want to check it.]
[Thanks. Will do.] I put the paper into my bag and turn to leave.
I'm immediately interrupted by Shizune grabbing my arm and shaking her head. She gestures to me to wait for a moment, then begins rapidly scribbling on another piece of paper.
[What club are you planning to start?]
Oh. [A fashion club.]
Shizune frowns at me, and her face darkens even further. I'm not sure if it's anger or disappointment she's feeling. [With Enomoto?]
I nod to her. She hesitates a bit before she plunges ahead and continues to write. [Are you dating her?]
Oh. I nod to her again. Shizune definitely doesn't seem to like that.
[Be careful,] she writes.
-----
>> Ask her to explain.
Thank her and leave
-----
I frown at that. I'm not sure why, but Shizune and Saki don't seem to get along. It's a real shame, too, because I think that the two of them have a lot in common: they're both incredibly energetic, and both very smart and driven people. Maybe if I can figure out the source of this enmity, I can help to settle things between them.
[Explain?] I write.
Shizune hesitates at that, then shakes her head. [It's vulgar to gossip,] she writes, [but I'll just tell you this: Ask Enomoto why the fashion club really broke up last year.]
I sigh. I'm really starting to get a bit frustrated at the culture of silence around here. It seems like no one at Yamaku ever wants to give me a straight answer to anything. [Thanks,] I write to Shizune.
She just nods and goes back to her work: a silent dismissal. I pick up my bookbag and head out the door.
-----
I'm almost at my dorm room when I realize I've still got the notes for Misha and Shizune in my bookbag. With all the distraction of asking Shizune about starting the fashion club, and with the subsequent discussion about Saki, I'd forgotten to give it to her entirely.
I consider heading back up to the Student Council room, but it's a long walk across the quad, and there's no guarantee she'll even still be there. I'm considering my options, when I remember that Shizune mentioned that Misha went back to her dorm room. The girls' dorms are much closer than the school buildings. Maybe I can drop it off with Misha directly.
So resolved, I gather up my things and head over to the girls' dorms.
-----
The girls' dorm building look pretty much like the boys'. Maybe it's a little cleaner, and there is more of a tendency towards pink rather than blue in the decor, but not by much.
I look around at the front desk for a resident assistant or other person to drop off the notes with, but there's no one there. I look down the hallway towards where the lounge would be in the boys' dorms.
"Hello?" I call out.
I'm surprised when I get an answer.
"Oh, shoot!" a girl's voice calls out. "Wait here, I'll be right back."
To my surprise, it's Miki who comes out of the lounge, grinning sheepishly at me. "Sorry about that, Hisao," she says. "I guess you're here to pick up your notes?"
"My notes?" Oh yeah. The notebook I loaned to Miki this morning. "Actually, no, but if you're done with them, I can pick them up, yeah. I actually came by to deliver some stuff to Misha."
"Oh yeah, the notes from class today? Yeah, if you give them to me, I'll make sure she gets them," Miki says. "But yeah, hang on a moment, I'll go get you your notes."
"Sure, no problem," I say.
Miki takes a few steps away from the front desk, then looks over her shoulder at me.
"Aren't you coming?"
"What?"
The dark-skinned girl laughs out loud. "To get your notes?"
"Oh. Um. Yeah. It's just. . . aren't there rules against boys in the girls' dorms?"
"Not until curfew, and even afterwards, they don't often get caught. The teachers talk a big game, but there just aren't that many people watching the halls." Miki grins at me. "Actually, it's not that hard for people to sneak across and spend the night with each other. If you know when the spot-checks are coming, it's not hard to avoid getting caught."
"Oh." I'm not sure whether that's supposed to be an invitation or just helpful information. "I'll um. . . keep that in mind for the future, then."
"Sure, no big. C'mon."
-----
Miki leads me up the stairs to the second floor of the building. This floor looks just like the equivalent in the boys' dorms. I'm almost expecting to have Kenji bust out of one of the rooms and start ranting at me about feminist conspiracies.
Instead, Miki unlocks the door to one of the dorm rooms and waltzes inside. I take a look inside from the hallway.
Her room isn't all that much different from mine. It's sparsely decorated: the major adornments being a poster of some singer with overly made up hair, wearing way too many belts. Miki opens up her bookbag and takes out my notebook, passing it to me. "Here you go," she says, cheerfully. "Thanks for your help."
"No problem. Actually, while I'm here, I might as well drop this stuff off for Misha in person."
"Sure, why not. I'll show you where her room is," Miki says.
She leaves her room, and I follow her down the hall. I'm really not sure what to say at times like this. I've never been the best person at talking to girls. In fact, this is my first time in a girls' dorm without a chaperone.
That realization makes me feel a bit strange. Yamaku's certainly an odd school, but despite the fact that the majority of the kids here are disabled, they still happen to be teenagers. I hadn't really thought about that fact before, but there would certainly be romances. And, like, most teenagers, some romances would lead, of course, to certain acts.
It's a small thing, but it's making me start to realize just how ordinary this place can really be, despite the odd circumstances in which I find myself.
"What's up?" Miki asks. "Thinking dirty thoughts?"
"What? No, no. Well. Maybe a little bit."
Miki laughs at my obvious discomfort. "Don't worry about it, I'm just making fun of you."
"Good," another voice interjects. "Because I wouldn't want to have to accuse you of trying to steal my boyfriend, Miura."
Oh crap.
I turn to find Saki standing behind us. She's leaning heavily on her crutch and frowning angrily at Miki. I suddenly realize what this might look like.
"H-hi, Saki," I stammer. "Look, I can explain."
"Oh? Is there something going on here that needs explaining, darling?" Saki says dangerously.
Oh crap. I find myself stammering uselessly and making odd gestures. My heart is pounding in my chest as I desperately try to think of what to say. . .
Saki suddenly laughs out loud at my distress, then leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm just teasing you, darling." She gives me a pleasant and rather possessive hug, then glances over at Miki, still smiling. "What's up, Miura?"
"Not much," Miki says. "Nakai and I were just going to deliver some things to Misha."
"Oh? School things?"
"Yeah," I say. "She wasn't in class this morning, so I agreed to drop off some notes for her."
"Oh, okay. Would you mind very much being a dear and giving them to her, Miura?" Saki asks.
"Actually. . ."
"Sure, no problem." Miki says. "We were just on our way out anyway."
I look over at Miki in surprise, about to contradict her, when Miki gives me a Significant Look. "Oh. Yeah." I take the notes out of my bookbag and pass them to Miki. "Would you make sure that Misha gets these?"
"Sure," Miki says. "I'll let her know you brought these over. See you later, Hisao. Enomoto." She nods politely to Saki, then heads on down the hall.
Saki sighs and shakes her head. "I don't like her very much," she says.
"Who? Miura?"
"Yeah. I don't trust her. She's always hanging around with the boys, trying to get their attention. I think she likes it." She clings to my arm. "You won't let her steal you away from me, right, darling?"
"Miki? No, we're not like that," I say. "She's just a classmate."
"Good," Saki says firmly. "Still, you should be careful. She's got the look of a thieving cat to me."
I can sort of understand why Saki's feeling a bit apprehensive. After all, she did just come across me and another girl in the dorm rooms, having a conversation that, out of context, might seem like flirting. "I'll be careful, sweetie," I say, giving her another hug.
"Sweetie?" Saki frowns at that.
"Just trying something out. After all, I'm darling, right? You should have a nickname too."
"Sweetie's not a good one," Saki insists. "It makes you sound like a dirty old man."
"Do you have a better one?"
"How about. . . princess? Or milady?" Saki says, teasingly.
"I think I like that second one. Well, milady?"
She laughs at that and gives me another hug. I sigh in relief. The tension I'd been feeling since she caught me and Miki conversing in the hallway is gone now, replaced with our usual comfortable cameraderie.
"While you're here, want to come to my room?" Saki asks. "We could hang out for a bit."
-----
>> Yeah, sure.
Actually, I should be heading back.
-----
I gulp nervously, but try to hide it under an air of nonchalance. "If you want, sure."
"Yay!" Saki says, cheerfully. "C'mon, darling!"
She tugs on my arm and leads me back down the hallway. I try my best not to tremble with nervousness.
I know there are no ulterior motives here, but the fact remains that I'm about to be alone in my girlfriend's dorm room with her. I wouldn't be a man if I didn't start to imagine the possibilities.
Doing my best to suppress my racing thoughts, I walk with Saki back down the hallway to the other side of the building.
