"I made a new friend, Roxanne!"
"Oh, hi, Yui!" Roxanne waves her hand and greets Yui.
"Hi, Roxy! Hello, Yuki." Yui replies and sweeps her hand towards me.
"I do not know Yui calls you Roxy, too!"
"She does, but I think she was too shy to call me, so I insisted Yui call me Roxy, a shorter version of my name," Roxane says.
I wind up my mouth and sulk at the corner of my desk, swinging my chair like a chair used by grandmothers. Roxanne approaches me, but as soon as she notices my figure, she steps back/
"She has lost it." She says.
We are the only people inside the room, and the rest have yet to stop by. It is only eight o'clock since we have arrived earlier than usual.
I do this all the time, considering the pile of chapters I need to work on and the business I need to complete. With all the stress reactors raging inside me, I plan to note the meeting and ask for the financial budget or look into the documents, and I am free for today.
That is what I do as a secretary, for now.
After our exchange, Roxanne takes her leave while bringing the documents in her arms. Although we do not have any work that needs to finish for today, the president always runs around, making amends to the previous documents (from the field trip) and other tasks from the professors. Roxy is a girl who wants to finish the job on time, so she hates responsibilities more than me. She is a diligent president but could be a linguist for cursing.
As I see her going to the hall and towards the turn, I could hear Roxy mumbles, cussing the space. Lucky for her, she does not meet with any professors along the way, or else she would be in trouble.
Just as I am about to finish, Yui approaches me and says, "Do you want to go to the club?"
"Which club?" I ask.
"Drama club." Yui answers. "I think I can perform well right now, you know, the acting."
I sign the final paperwork and place it inside my desk. After checking all my things, I stand up and prepare to leave.
"I am on it!"
Yui beams at me with a smile, excited about what she is about to show me inside the room. Then she pulls me towards the door and exits the student council room. Since the drama club is on the second floor, we take a series of steps and go to the right side. As we tread forward, we stop by a room and lower our heads.
"We are hiding from someone?" I ask.
I could not hide my eagerness screaming from the top of my chest, craving for an adventurer. Yui shakes her head and responds.
"Yes, but not really."
With a dejected look, I lower my shoulders. Yui giggles to see me change my mood almost instantly as she tugs my sleeves and darts while crawling.
The two of us make our way to the room undetected and close the door. Once inside, Yui opens the lights, revealing the props, costumes, and scripts lying on the floor.
The smell changes into something similar to perfume as I move my nostrils back and forth. At first glance, the equipment lying around makes no sense to me. The tools are all made of homemade materials that look like coloured boxes rather than a tower.
"I made these," Yui pronounces.
She slides her hand across the fort I have seen. Her eyes turn into marshmallows while staring at the props, thinking to herself about the hardships she has struggled to form these.
"I take that back," I exclaim and regret what I have thought about.
"What?" she asks.
"Nothing."
With a long pause, I stroll away and meet with the stunning gown dangling on a hanger. My eyes widen at the sight of the dress while I reach my hands to touch the fabric.
As I run my fingers on the silk, an electrifying feeling rushes through my skin, tickling me for every stroke. Upon clamping my hands tighter, I can feel the silk passing through my fingertips. I raise my orbs and welcome the vibrant colours and designs, and when I motion the skirt, the hues relax my eyes.
Yui moves beside me. "Whoever is the best actor or actress on stage will wear the dress."
We both lock our eyes at the clothing in front of us and imagine ourselves wearing such a glorious dress.
"Then let us get started,"
I get a chair near me and sit near the gown. I clap my hands and act as a director, signalling her to make her move on stage.
After coughing once, Yui takes a step forward, closes her eyes, and deeply inhales. Her hands are slightly shivering with each other, but she continues.
"Eliza Hamilton: I stop wasting time on tears. I live another fifty years. It is not enough. I interviewed every soldier who fought by your side. I try to make sense of your thousands of pages of writings. You really do write like you are running out of time."
She puffs out a tired breath and gives me a bow. After finishing her lines, Yui raises her head.
"How was it?" She asks.
"Hamilton? That is a good theatrical play." I confess.
"But you need to work at some places... a lot of places."
I correct myself and ponder. Yui is not a terrible actress, but a nervous one. She almost falls off the ground if it is not for her noodle-like legs. Her voice also sounds less dramatic. I want to describe it as dull. But from her condition, she is unlikely to express what she yearns to display.
"Give it another try," I say, with my head leaning towards her.
Yui inhales a deep breath and starts her lines. I listen to her voice, but my ears wish to give up. I hate to say it, but every time she speaks my head quivers.
"Again," I tell her.
Hours fly by, yet we have made no progress. Yui still stumbles and falls, with her voice trailing behind. If I have to describe it with words, she is like a guitar without two strings attached. Or a singer that has drunk a lemon and sings in front of the stage.
Yui clasps her hands and squeezes her face in front of me. "Was it fine?"
I cross my arms and think once again. The words I would say might hurt Yui if I become too rushed, or affectless if she does not understand.
I gulp and clear my throat. "We need to work on your confidence."
"Okay." With a downcast smile, Yui nods and gives it one more try.
However, something catches us off guard.
We hear footsteps moving outside, probably towards this room. A group of students chit chat near the door, and we notice the doorknob twitching.
The wooden gate slides open, and the bunch of scholars widen their eyes at our sight. They look at Yui first and gawk at me afterwards, since I am not a drama club member.
"Yui, what are you doing here?"
The girl in front of the group steps forward and asks with worried eyes. With each step of the girl, Yui jerks back, afraid of what she might say.
"We were just practising her performance," I interpose the talk.
Their eyes glue onto mine with confusion. After a while, one girl tilts her head and asks.
"You are Yuki, the secretary of the school, right?"
I nod.
Before we could lengthen the conversation, Yuki dashes straight outside. I try chasing her, but her speed outmatches mine. My feet have grown tired after passing by five corridors and down the stairs.
"Where are you, Yui!" I try calling her name, butI hear no answer.
All the students passing by the corridor spare a glance in my direction. They have been wondering why the secretary is finding a student in the middle of the class.
I pay them no mind and continue my hunt for the girl with short hair and round puffy eyes. "She must be close to here," I tell myself and resume striding the busy hall.
A few minutes stream by, yet there is no sign of her whereabouts. I perch on the wall and slide down, hitting my bottom on the ground like a dramatic girl wailing from her problems.
"She really hates to fail, that Yui," I utter to myself and glance at the clock.
It is almost time for lunch, and I have not gone back to the student council room.
"If I go back now, I might meet her there," I claim to myself and proceed to the hallway.
But as soon as I descend to the stairs, a familiar voice echoes behind me.
"Can we talk for a minute, Yuki?" The girl from before, whom Yui has become afraid of, stops me from proceeding.