Morning comes barging in front of my window, yelling at me to wake my body. The alarm clock rings through my ears, which adds a more bitter taste to the start of my day.
"Who needs coffee when I am this mad with my life." I think to myself and get out of my fluffy bed.
I do my routine and fix myself as a presentable lady and secretary of the school. With baby-like makeup on, I am good to head over the bustling streets of Tokyo. I head over to the quiet hallway and finally arrive inside the student council once again.
As soon as I sit at my desk, Yui enters the room. We are the only people inside the office, but she refuses to say anything to disrupt the silence. I pay it no mind and continue doing my work. There is no harm done if she does not want to talk. I never want to have someone as noisy as Roxanne, who always disrupts me from writing my stories and begs me to play with her.
My eyes linger on her figure and see the documents in her hands, almost slipping from her grip. Yui desperately tries to clip her fingers on the files and is successful in doing so and catches the sheets before falling to the ground.
"Those must be the ones that Roxanne sent to the classrooms yesterday," I grumble to myself and expect more work for this day to come.
All the students evaluated our performance for the past few weeks of becoming the fresh officers of the school. Among those questions are the events we have managed, our availability during crisis-do not know if this is applicable- overall performance as leaders of the school.
The assessment serves as a draft to monitor us during our work. We handle every academic-related document of the entire school, so the students scoring us is a ticket for them to grade our jobs.
Byakko and Washi, former officers of the international high school, are the ones to check the output given by the students. They have the last word if they want to kick someone out of the council or remain an officer for the entire semester.
"Where should I place this evaluation form, Yuki?" Yui asks.
"Right there near my table."
The ditzy girl slams the mountain of work on my table. She does not mean to do it, but the weight coming from the files is too overwhelming for her fragile arms and fingers.
"Sorry." Yui excuses herself and lowers her head.
I shake my face. "It is fine."
Yui hears my validation and saunters behind, but immediately stops before she walks away. I resume my focus on the documents in front of my face and read the first word my eyes catch.
"Responsibilities." It is like a message from the future, haunting me and heaves out an exhausted sigh.
What an irony.
After a while of doing my work, someone stands before me as if she wants to catch my attention. I do not hear at first, but the girl makes an irresistible moan that sends radars inside my ears. Yui has her hands fidgeting while her mouth mumbles words to herself that I cannot hear.
"Are you the one moaning?" I query her but immediately take my question back, thinking it is an inappropriate quiz to ask.
"Yui, I thought you went outside."
"Yeah, but-," She answers.
She stands there for two complete minutes staring back at my eyes and averting her gaze every five seconds. I stand up from my chair and move to her side, urging her to speak out of her mind.
"I can help you with anything as long as it is within my power."
As if hope has spoken to her ears, Yui's eyes widen in delight. With a deep inhale, the shy girl finally explains what she wants with me.
"Can you come to the drama club and practise with me?"
I nod and give her my answer. "Sure. Meet you after lunch.'
She cannot believe the words I have said since she does not feel accustomed to asking a stranger, besides her friend Chang-Ae. I carve my face with a reassuring smile. Yui bows her head and goes for the door.
As soon as she reaches out for the knob, I call out her name. "Yui, I also asked Chang-Ae if we could borrow the entire room for our practice."
She has invited me over for the second time inside the drama club to watch and guide her in acting. Yui is a shy girl who dislikes being at the centre of the crowd. According to her childhood friend, Chang-Ae, Yui would only act vulnerable once she feels comfortable around.
Like a cat who has a trauma with humans, Yui always flees from the scene whenever she feels stuck in a sticky situation. She would not respond to you even if you call or turn her back around to see you shrink in the distance.
I experienced her frightened state when we accidentally crashed against each other and stained my uniform. We rushed inside the comfort room and had Yui clean my clothing. I told her it was not a big deal, but Yui insisted until she finished the job.
"You did?" Her voice pulls me back from reality.
I nod. Yui finally opens the door and leaves the council room. Despite being an officer, during her free times, she goes inside her classroom to listen to the professor or practise her acting skills alone in the club. Since everyone is busy with the ongoing lectures, no one would have the time to check out the "empty" room.
Time passes by quickly when you are doing something. After signing two days' worth of work, I finish all of them within two hours, and it is now lunchtime. The chiming of the bell from the speakers supports my hunch and sounds my break.
After finishing my work, I rest both my hands and my head on the desk. I use the unused pads as my make-shift pillow, hoping to get some snooze before the second bell rings soon.
Now that I have thought about it, Yui and I have not exchanged phone numbers yet. I do not recall that we have any means of contact at all! Even if we did, I doubt we would ever text or call each other-I think.
Yui is the type of person who would not use her gadget to communicate with other people. If she could use any technology, she must have sent a few words or emojis to cope with her shyness. These are all my hunches, and I have not seen her first-hand using a cellular phone.
"If I wait here inside this room, Yui might return and call me out!" I say.
I set my alarm on my watch for twenty minutes, contingent upon something that might happen, especially if someone would need my help during our duty. It will be a disaster if people find out I am sleeping on the clock.
The thought arouses me, and the attempted beauty sleep fails me. My eyes roll over to the side while watching the window outside. Upon glancing closer at the glass, I notice two people walking out of the academy. I want to call the two out, but I hold my breath and let them do what they want to do for now.
It is Nickson and a guy who has a freaking guitar behind his back. I have not seen that prick for a while, and maybe that is a good thing. He must be in the middle of his groundwork for his upcoming manga since we only have one and a half weeks to finish our manuscripts.
I push the stressful thought aside and stroll outside of the council. My stomach is not yet in the mood to growl and let me walk around the school.
My feet bring me inside a recognisable room. I reach out for the handle and slide the door open, revealing a young girl saying the lines of the theatrical play, also known as the Hamilton.
The girl stutters every time she bites her tongue by accident. With the exacerbating pain, she stops her practice and sits on the vacant chair beside him.
I clap my hands and reveal myself from the other side of the room. My foot kicks the door shut and walks in her direction. She smiles at me and stands up from her seat to greet me.
"I thought you forgot, but you came!"
I have never seen her this merry before. Although I have supervised her acting exercise a while back, her expression right now is nowhere comparable to that time.
"I was looking for you, so I went inside the club room and had to guess. Well, here I am."
I drag the chair towards me and perch on my bottom. With widened eyes, Yui snatches the documents on the chair before my butt lands and crushes the script.