"The first day of becoming an officer, here we go!" I spread my arms and twirl around the room with my office chair, cruising through the tiles. It is presently a Monday, and all nine of us are inside the spacious student council room. Each of us is doing what the previous officers exactly told us to do.
The student council activities that we need to accomplish before dismissal. That is what we have agreed upon during our oath-taking and speech.
I have already organised the paper works assigned by Byakko. She showed me the ropes, and now I am getting the hang of doing my stuff. All I have to do is to organise the paperwork, note everything to their categories, and write some more.
It is as if the position is for me.
"Yuki, can you watch the room for a bit? I will head over to the office and pass these requirements over to Mrs. Ai," Roxanne stands up and walks up to me, handing the documents to my waiting hands. I can see the layers of her eye bags getting heavier and duller each day because of her constant work. Fortunately, we have our makeups covering our face and concealing those unwanted spots.
Every time we get home, Roxy would lie out the papers and continue signing them non-stop until the long arrow of the clock hits midnight. She usually grabs hold of the electronic devices and completes a game within hours in the night time. Now, Roxanne barely touches her portable games because of these responsibilities.
But she can never do that again, now that the school bombards Roxanne with tasks to pass for the next day. I can see her grimacing every night, weeping over the number of games she could have played.
"Sure! I will do it before I eat breakfast!" I give her my reply and take the sheets away from her grasp.
"Was that an idiom just now, Yuki?" Roxanne tilts her head before going outdoors, together with Nickson without his glasses.
"Yeah! I have been reading these Japanese idioms, and the phrase I had mentioned means 'piece of cake'!" I provide her with my comment while giving Roxanne the wink of her lifetime.
As I have expected, my best friend expresses a gleam and finally proceeds to the classrooms, giving out papers for the upcoming events.
We already have the timeline of what we need to do for this semester. Sir Benjamin is holding a tour for the first years to visit the iconic Sakura or cherry blossoms at this sprint time. He believes that this is the absolute time to pay a visit to the local shrines, since most of us comprise international students. This field trip is particularly for freshmen students.
Professor Benjamin is a Chinese teacher, yet he can fluently speak both Mandarin and Nihongo. However, that is not the case for us, given our circumstances. We are new transferees in Japan, and we want to explore more about this country.
"So we're going to Mount Yoshino in Nara next month?" I mutter to myself and write it down on the papers given to me by Roxanne earlier. After completing and signing the files, I return them to the drawer and resume horsing around.
"Sounds interesting enough!"
The other students are busy doing their tasks, making it difficult for me to start a conversation with them.
But there is always time for next time, and we are all student council until the year ends.
I glance at my watch and notice that time has yet to move forward. It is still in the middle of the afternoon, where the sun rays its sunlight at the highest.
Having nothing to do, I stand up from my seat and plan on tailing my best friend and Nickson. They need to visit each room and hand out the note for the schedule and our plans as the new student council. They are also supervising every classroom and inspecting everything in order.
Roxanne and I could eat our lunch once they finish distributing the papers and carrying out their tasks.
"Being the president and vice-president sure is hard," I mumble to myself, knowing how hard the two are doing their jobs.
Becoming a member of the student council has its benefits. The terms specify it do not require us to attend our class. But we still need to present ourselves at nine in the morning. We can use our remaining time to join in with our classrooms or self-study inside the student council office as long as we can earn decent grades on our report cards.
According to Byakko and Washi, the president will receive more benefits than the rest of the members. But the two former members have mentioned nothing about the advantage they have apart from the officers.
I have asked nothing to Roxanne about the matter. I might pester her later about the perks she is receiving from the school.
But, for now, none of that matters, considering that my stomach is grumbling its way out of me! I forgot to eat my sandwich this morning and ate nothing recently.
Despite searching far and wide the first floors, I have not seen Roxanne and Nickson anywhere. I could never guess that they are upstairs in the upper years because that is their schedule for tomorrow.
"Roxanne must be in the dean's office." There is no other place that they can go besides there following their duty as student council members.
If my guesses are correct, they plan to send the last draft for the money and activities involved for the upcoming festival, right after our field trip.
After countless trials inside my head, I return to the usual road without touching my lunchbox. I do not want to eat my meal without having Roxanne around. We devour our dishes together, and nothing can separate us from doing what we want.
"I know, little one. It is going to be alright." I caress my hand around my abdomen, praying that this hellish pain would drift away. But I have to endure this for the time being since Roxanne has consumed nothing, even now. We are sailing on the same boat, so I might as well sink together as a team.
However, someone stops me from my tracks by moving onwards in the hall.
The handsome young man stares at the class 1-A, with his eyes narrowed down in woe. Despite the noise surrounding him, he still stands motionless, as if waiting for something to happen.
"Nickson?" I call out and lightly tap his shoulder.
The boy abruptly looks at me and places his glasses back on his face.
"What are you doing here?" Nick asks as he tries walking away from the room.
I hastily catch up to him and grab him by his hand, telling him, "Do you know where Roxanne is?"
"She's over there," Nickson points his hand over to the other side of the corridor, with my best friend talking to a crowd of students.
I lower my head and express my thanks before leaving him alone in front of the classroom. Afterwards, I rush over to the scene, wanting to meet my best friend.
Upon hearing their conversations, the students flocking around her are giving her praises about the presidential speech. I could not thank them enough for showering her with compliments.
But I know Roxanne is terrible at grabbing the spotlight.
I make my way towards the horde of pupils and wave my hand, introducing myself as a fellow officer of the council. However, their eyes suddenly change once they notice my face. It almost feels like that is not part of the show and just here for ruining their fun.
But I have a job to do, and it involves taking our precious friend away from everyone.
"Yuki?!" Roxanne gulps as she follows my hand, still gripped on her arm. As soon as we reach our student council room, I take out her lunch box and quickly invite her to eat.
"You better put this in your mouth, or you will never lay your hands on my consoles again!"
Roxanne heeds my warning and bravely gulps the rice using a pair of chopsticks. It is not something we could see every day, as she makes a scene inside the office. Six remaining officers stop and look at the talented Roxanne, finishing her packed meal.
I mimic her movements and slurp the last piece of noodles in my bento box. The flavour rushes inside my throat, creating a sense of temporary euphoria over my body.
"What? We are hungry!" I call out for their attention and wave my hands, motioning them to stop gazing in our direction.
Soon, we resume our day by working on the multiple projects assigned in our tasks for the afternoon. But as I rummage inside the drawer, I notice a photograph resting on the floor.
The picture belongs to Nickson, with an older guy standing beside him.