When I reached the club room, the door was already open. The earthy fraganance of books danced around my nose, I gazed at the large bookshelves filled with numerous books which were arranged neatly, in an organized manner. Although the club room was lit up brightly I couldn't see any of the club members around.
"Um? Is anybody here?" I tried to call out several times but there was no response no matter how much I tried. I ran out of patience and entered the club room.
"I'm coming in." I silently inspected the club room. Carefully analyzing the organized bunch of books, I let my eyes wander aimlessly.
There's really no one around?
I calmly turned the other way and encountered a person zoning out lifelessly.
UWAHHhh!
That took the life out of me. I exhaled fiercely, my heart still pounding violently. After calming down a bit, I approached the person and waved my hand before him, "Excuse me? Are you okay??"
Bang! The person got up quickly, dropping the chair in the process. I once again got startled by the sudden noise.
GOOD LORD!!!
"Who you may be? I'm sure I never gave you the permission to enter." Of course you won't know@!!
"I'm Izumi Fujita, the new club applicant. I tried calling out a few times before but there was no response so I helped myself. I'm extremely sorry for the forced intrusion. More importantly, are you okay?"
"I'm alright, it's a usual thing. The new applicant? well I wouldn't know about it. The vice president will be here soon, you can look around till then. I am Ishigami Tsukasa, a second year. Welcome."
Although the impression he gave at first was rude, it seems like he's not much of a bad person.
"What a coincidence! I'm a second year too. I heard that most of the members here were third years so, I didn't expect to meet someone in the same year as me. Pleased to make your aqcuaintance. How may I address you?"
"Really? That's great. No need to be formal just call me as you please. Titles are all empty."
"Then Tsukasa-kun....I'll look around for a while as I wait for the vice president."
"Sure, let me know if you have any questions, Izumi-san." he responded with a subtle smile.
"....."
This is rather...a pleasant feeling. I smiled subconciously, being unaware of the fact that I was actually very happy. I skimmed through the club room, picking a book or two occasionally, reading the introductory part and jotting down the titles of the books that interested me.
Now that I think about it, Tsukasa-san only mentioned that the vice president would be coming, not the president. I wonder how the president is like.
Soon, light footsteps were heard echoing through the corridor. Hearing, the familiar sound of clanking shoes, Tsukasa came by my side to assist me with the introductions. The clanking sound came to a stop. A tiny figure stepped inside the room.
"Were we expecting a guest?"
Why is everyone in this club so diconnected from the reality.
"This is supposedly the new applicant. I was certain that you would know about it."
"You know how the president is like, even I wasn't informed about it." She glanced up at me, with an unfamiliar judging look. She had a delicate, feminine appearance. With her presence, the whole club room was filled with a fresh citrusy fraganance. It mixed along with the earthy odour of books to give off a yet unique fragnanace. Though it didn't look like she had a good temperament, I couldn't help but think of her as an angry furball. Her hair flowed down till her waist, charcoal black. Contrasting it were her eyebrows, thin and light.
"We can't let you in as a member as of yet. I'll have to confirm it with the president and take a look at the application. I hope you understand, I'll send the word out for you once the verification is done."
"Alright....I understand."
"But Narumi-senpai, it won't be a problem if she atleast stays here for a little while, right?"
"Tsukasa-kun it's fine, I'll take my leave. Here, you can find me from the pyschology section with this ID, Class 11-B."
"Okay, I'll make sure to inform you."
That day, in the afternoon while walking home together with Satou I asked her if she really handed over the application form to the club president.
With her busy schedule it wouldn't be surprising of her to forget about it.
However,
"un? I'm sure I gave it to her before the lunch break. I even remember her being super delighted upon hearing it."
"Is that so....?"
"But why do you ask? Is there something that's bothering you?"
"Ah- No not at all." Satou had a vague feeling that I was hiding something from her. She decided to be patient and wait for me to tell her about it. But when she saw that sullen look on my face, she got agitated.
Satou abruptly stopped walking beside me.
Turning to her I asked, "What's the matter?"
"Actually I forgot about a task the committee president assigned me to do. You can go on ahead!" saying so she ran the opposite way.
"Eh? uh? Huh???"
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Tsukasa 'つかさ' meaning harbour or umbrella
'senpai' refers to senior
'-san' is a suffix used to be polite but not excessively formal. It's gender neutral and works functionally like Mr./Ms/Miss/Mrs.It can be broadly used to refer to anyone you don't know, regardless of status or age
Narumi 'なるみ' means roaring of the sea