The final bell has long since rung. I am in the literature club room, the late afternoon sun casting its light through the open window and the wooden floor. The club president, tall with dark long hair and wearing glasses, her name is Yuki Aizawa, is packing her bag, a gentle smile on her face. "I have to head out early today, Kurosawa-kun. My mother needs help with some errands. Can you make sure the window is locked before you leave?" I give her a nod, already reaching for the collection of classic Japanese poetry on the shelf. She gives a small wave and disappears into the hallway, her footsteps growing quieter.
The room settles into a peaceful silence. I find a spot by the window and begin to read. I am Bopy Kurosawa, I have black hair and black eyes. I am a member of the literature club but it's very unpopular and I am the only member. We and the president usually work on a shared table but sometimes she has to go home quickly. So me being alone isn't unusual.
15 minutes have passed. I was absorbed reading a poem until until I heard a sound. Knock. Knock. Two soft knocks. I look up there's someone standing in the doorway. She is short, has blond hair and has blue eyes. She is Hana Shinagawa, we are in the same class but it's my first time seeing her eyes as she is shy and always keeps her head down. She is also kind of cute. We have never talked with each other. She's gripping the doorframe with one hand. A book is pressed tightly against her chest with the other arm as if it is a shield. Her blond hair is slightly dishevelled, as if she ran here and her cheeks are flushed.
She flinches when our eyes meet, her gaze immediately dropping to the floor. "K-Kurosawa-kun." She whispers. Her voice is soft, almost inaudible.
She takes a single timid step into the room, then stops, as if waiting for permission. She's trembling slightly. "I... I saw the president leave." She says, still not looking at me.
I think to myself, "So she's one of those shy girls that stutters and takes 10 seconds to say a word." As I finished this thought, she clutches the book tighter. I can see her take a shaky breath.
She opens her mouth and says, "Would you... could you help me with this book?" Her voice cracks, and she finally looks up. I think to myself, "Finally, she stated her business." I look at her and my expression is neutral. I say, "Hmm, what does helping you out with the book mean? Is there a part that you don't understand?" She flinches at my question. She takes another step into the room. The door slides shut behind her. She approaches the table where I'm reading, she reaches for the chair across from me. She stands there clutching the book.
"Yes," she finally breathes out. "A part I don't understand."
She finally lowers herself into the chair, movement stiff and careful. She places the book on the table between me, her hands, don't leave it. Her fingers trace the spine slowly.
"It's about..." she begins, then pauses. When she looks up at me again, something in her expression has shifted. The shyness is still there, but beneath it, there's something else. Something hungry. "About a man who devoted himself to one woman. Completely. He watched her from afar for so long that when he finally spoke to her, he said he would die if she refused him." She pushes the book slightly towards me.
"I don't understand how someone could feel that way." Then her gaze flickers towards the poem book in my hands, then back to my eyes.
"Were you reading something nice? I always see you in the library. You check out so many books. I've noticed."
I think to myself atleast she brought up an interesting topic. I reply by saying, "Oh, I read various things." I shrug and say, "So about your book, let me guess something about the man, it's his first love right? But it's one-sided the woman doesn't know about him and feels nothing for him." She is listening intently. I continue by saying, "If that's the first thing he said, obviously the woman wouldn't want to talk to him. You can't just jump the gun. You gotta talk normally and build it up and then confess."
Something shifts in Hana's expression when I finish speaking. Her shy mask falters completely. Her eyes widen, and the hands gripping the table edge tighten.
" build it," she repeats softly. Then she laughs. It's a small breathless sound.
"But Kurosawa-kun," she says, tilting her head slightly. "What if... what if building it takes too long? What if someone else speaks to her first? What if she laughs with someone else? Spends time with someone else?"
"If you just keep watching, nothing will change, so you know you gotta talk with them regardless. If she doesn't know about the man in the first place she won't think about him." I say with a finality in my voice.
"Oh..." she softly replies and then her gaze drifts to the chair where the club president was sitting earlier. Long enough for her to notice and then turn to face me and open her mouth.
"You talk to the president a lot," she says suddenly. Her cheeks flush deeper. "I see you. Here. After school. You're always together."
"Is she someone you're building it with?" Her eyes are locked onto me.
"Oh, we are friends, and besides, if you wanna talk to me you know you can join the club right? I mean if ain't that hard to join a club." I say this while shifting slightly in my chair to face her.
"Join the club", she repeats slowly, as if testing each syllable. Then something remarkable happens. A smile spreads across her face. It transforms her entirely, it's as if she is glowing. "Really?You want me to join? To be here with you?"
"Nothing is stopping you from joining, so yea you can." I reply with a neutral tone of voice.
Then she sets the book down on the table, finally releasing it. And she clasps her hands in her lap. "I want to. I've wanted to for..." She stops abruptly, color flooding her cheeks. "I've read so many of the books on your shelf. I saw you check out Kokoro last month. I read it too. The same week. "And then she looks down at her hands, realizing what she said. Blushing a bit.
"That's a bit weird", I think to myself. She looks up, perhaps due to me not saying anything about what she said. She gains a bit of confidence and speaks. "So you and the president are just friends. I'll join. Thank you, Kurosawa-kun, for inviting me in." Smiling as she says this.
"Talk to the club's president tomorrow about joining the club." As I say this her smile falters for just a fraction of a second.
"Ah, the president." She looks towards the door, toward where the club president left earlier.
"I suppose I should. Proper channels. Forms. All of that." She murmurs. She turns back to face me and asks."Does the president approve of everyone who wants to join? Or does she have to spend time with new members? Alone?' She asks the question casually, but her fingers are gripping each other tightly in her lap.
"I only ask because I'd prefer it you showed me. You're here every day anyway, aren't you? You could just tell me what to read. What to do. What you like." She leans forward and continues her rambling. "I learn better from you anyway. I've always paid attention to you. In class. In the library. Here, even before today. I know how you organise the shelves. Which chair you sit in. Which poems you read twice." Her cheeks flush as she realises how much she's admitted. "I just mean- you're already here. So maybe you could.... introduce me to the club? Instead of... "She glances at the empty chair again. 'Someone else. If that's okay with you, Kurosawa-kun."
"I think about her words about watching me, and my heart skipped a beat. The air feels heavy now. I think to myself, "is this normal? I thought she was a bit weird when she entered, but this is something else." She continues looking at me waiting for my answer.