Vol 6 Chapter 4 (2/2)

Classes began on the 2nd day of the 11th month

You went to class in a clearly different uniform People stared, but did not come to speak with you or try to make friends with you

You had forgotten that the 4th Capital Secondary School was home to more students than your own school

The students at the 4th Capital Secondary School did not pay much attention to others on campus, and were not particularly concerned about you And the ether; you almost suffocated in the crowds, to which rush hour back in your hometown did not hold a candle

In your first class, the teacher introduced you

“This is ———, an exchange student fro with us for the next ”

And you introduced yourself as well, but your class break out of curiosity or anything of the sort All they did was speak with you for group exercises It was completely different from your own school, which received perhaps one transfer student a year and each new student received the full attention of the entire student body

During breaks, you had to e you never had time to talk with your classmates

The classes themselves were much harder than in Raputoa

You could not help but be impressed by the teachers and students at the 4th Capital Secondary School It was hard for you to match their pace, but the lessons themselves were very enjoyable

And so, the ent on

Every day, you woke up, had breakfast, went to class, had a delicious lunch at the incredible dormitory cafeteria, went to afternoon class, and returned to your room or the library to study—alone

Being alone did not bother you Many other students often kept to the in the Capital District, doing exactly as the prograuidelines dictated

Yesterday was the first day of the weekend, so you took a walk around the area You just walked and walked because you did not want to spend money

It was fun getting a look at the endless rows of aparts and the streets around campus, but naturally you were completely alone

“I can’t write anything…”

You bragged to everyone that you would make many friends But you can not lie to them You do not knohat to do

Finally, you e to write, ‘at first the classes were so hard I had to study the whole tiet out there andthe cold truth as nicely as you possibly can

The next day The 10th day of the eleventh month

At lunchtime, you finish your food quickly and visit the advisor to discuss your situation

“I see First off, I’ up with classes That’s one of the biggest issues exchange students struggle with I expected nothing less from you,” the advisor says, “now, it’s not unco friends There are so many people here that sometimes it takes first-year students half a year to really connect with someone But you don’t have that kind of time, so…”

The teacher es the next three weeks of your life

“…How about joining a club?”

“Is that even possible?” You ask You assuh to allow you to join a club

“You certainly can I’m sorry, I should have told you,” the advisor says, and takes out a list of all the clubs in the school

There was a list of clubs on the pamphlet you received earlier, and you looked at each and every one But you never really considered theht you would be able to join one

Appropriately enough considering the large student population, there are many clubs at the 4th Capital Secondary School Your interest is particularly piqued by the fencing club, the car racing club, the billiards club, the bowling club, the Capital District history research club, the teddy bear- others

“Were you in a club back in Raputoa?” The advisor asks

“No, because I had to help out at ho season A lot of my classmates are in the sa tradition of club activities,” you confess The advisor seems to sense the difference in culture

“I understand Shall we have a close look at the clubs, then? The athletic clubs e”

You agree

You walk almost 10 kilometers to school every day and are confident in your stamina, but you have never been called athletic Your marks in physical education are lower than the rest

“How about one of the liberal arts clubs? Do any of the?”

You scan the list

Everything see, but that makes it even harder to decide You scan faster

“Hm?”

And you spot a certain club at the bottom of the list

“Huh”

The club was not listed on the pamphlet you received earlier You are quite confident in your memory

You think for a moment, and—

“Er, about this club,” you say, “the newspaper club It sounds interesting What does it do exactly?”

Part 2: You Head to the Newspaper Club

It is after class You are standing at the door to the newspaper club’s office

The halls and the first floor of the classroos, are deserted Though classes only just ended, it is strangely quiet

Before you knock on the door, you recall what happened at lunchtime

“The newspaper club…” The advisor trailed off, as though having stumbled upon a historical site in the middle of construction

In other words, the construction could not happen unless the historical site was covered up, but that was no longer possible

But the advisor still answered your question

“The newspaper club was only recently recognized as an official club”

It was a vague answer, but you couldn’t tell why Still, you assumed it would be easier to join a club that had only recently been formed

“So that’s why it wasn’t on the pamphlet What does the club do?”

“They publish newspapers to post on the walls around campus It’s a student-oriented newspaper by students and for students”

It sounded wonderful to you Your school had a teacher on newsletter duty, but no newspaper written from the students’ perspective

“But they only have six members at the moment”

“That’s a,” you breathed It sounded very exclusive The six students roup

“The president is a rather fairl in her third year…”

“Ah, a charismatic president?”

It was surprising that the club was led by so school Not only that, she was not even close to being in her sixth year, as many club presidents tended to be

It sounded fun

You decided that you would spend the feeeks you had left in the Capital District with the newspaper club

You asked the advisor how to sign up for the club Normally a student would have to speak to the supervisor, but the advisor suggested so different

“You should go visit their office first Get to know the n up”

You wondered if you really didn’t need to speak to the supervisor first, but the advisor said it was all right

So you concluded that the president of the newspaper club was trusted so coiven full authority over the club You began to admire the president even more

After thanking the advisor, you looked around the halls, hoping to find the newspaper club’s latest issue, but found none in sight

Instead, you spotted the results of the recent Orienteering Day competition

You briefly scanned the results—an orienteering competition was unthinkable for your own school—when you spotted so

“Ah!”

The newspaper club had clinched a spectacular victory, according to the poster, beating the ski club (with their inherent advantage) by a single second You were even more fired up to join this club

Heart pounding, you finished afternoon classes and caht to the newspaper club And now you stand at the door

“All right!”

You steel yourself so as to ood impression, and fix your tie

Knock knock knock knock

You knock four times

There is no answer

You knock again, just in case, but no one seems to be in Perhaps you are too early, or perhaps the club is taking the day off today

There is no point in waiting at the door

You decide to return to your roo on caes

You would have to go all the way to the other side of the massive ca, and back in Raputoa a round trip between home and school would take you two hours

As you walk down the hall, a girl comes from around the corner

She is very tall, with her long brown hair tied up She wears glasses with a black frauitar case

You pass her by The girl casts you a glance, but continues walking

You reach the end of the hall As you turn the corner, you catch one last glimpse of the newspaper club office

“Huh?”

And to your shock, you spot the guitar case going through the door Specifically, you see the person carrying the case go inside

“Is she in the newspaper club?”

The guitar case led you to think she was from a music club You quickly rush back

You come to a stop at the door, take a deep breath, and knock

“Yes?”

This time, you hear a response

Your jaw drops at the sheer opulence of the office

Two comfy sofas, an expensive coffee table, a kitchenette with a hot plate, and a dish rack And even a tea set

On the desk in the corner is a typewriter in perfect condition There is a cabinet, and next to it a darkrooraphs

What shocks you most is the telephone

Your fa time to finally buy a telephone last year And yet here is a telephone in the office of a secondary school club, as though it is the lance you think it is a replica, but you soon realize that it is real

Are all club offices in the 4th Capital Secondary School so nificent, you wonder

“Ah, an exchange student fro Raputoa?” The bespectacled girl sitting across fro all this way”

She talks almost like a boy, without a hint of reservation But it is not irritating in the least

The senior-classman introduces herself as Natalia Steinbeck and listens to you explain your reasons for co

“Gotcha Yeah, the chief’s not gonna turn you down”

“What? Aren’t you the president, SC Natalia?” You ask, surprised

“Whoa, do I look like one? Hah hah!” She laughs, embarrassed

Then she takes out an expensive-looking acoustic guitar and begins struood mood

You listen curiously to the chords, when suddenly a voice joins in

“The autumn~ is a lonely season~”

The door opens, and the voice becomes clear It is a beautiful soprano

You turn to find a girl with fair skin and dark hair tied in pigtails

“The heart mourns and…huh?”

She freezes when she notices you So does the sound of the guitar

You and the pigtailed girl stare blankly at one another in surprise

“Hey Mege student from Raputoa ants to join us,” Natalia explains

“Oh…I understand Now I airl covers her face in shahtly off, but she comes across as quite adorable

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Meg! Pour out your heart!”

Natalia struht bow

“Good afternoon My namica I am a third-year student I am a member of the newspaper club and the chorus club”

You stand and introduce yourself as well Then you ask, “excuse me, SC Strauski, but are you by any chance from Sou Be-Il?”

Natalia and Megmica seem surprised

“How’d you guess, newbie?!”

“It is very surprising! It is true, yes”

It is not hard to guess from her name, accent, and tone But you do not say so

“I am from the Republic of Raputoa, east of the Lutoni River It is nice to mica is pleasantly surprised

“I’m really well, thanks! How about you?” She responds

“I am fine as well Thank you”

“Your pronunciation’s really good Have you been learning Bezelese long?”

“Yes I have been studying Bezelese for three years Many students in the Republic of Raputoa are studying the language very hard And I have visited Sou Be-Il just once, over the Lutoni River”

“Wow! I’ve only seen the Lutoni fro across the continent”

“Yes It is a very big, motherly river”

“MOONTONGUE!” Natalia interjects with a chord

At the same time, the door opens

“Hey there! Oh, is this a guest?”

“Good afternoon Hm?”

“…”

Three boys enter the office

“Hey! Get souest!” Natalia orders one of the boys, without even giving him time to sit

“What were you doing all this time? I’ll teach you to brew your own tea later”

You turn to the three boys Megmica introduces them in Roxchean

“They are all club , called Nick He is good in acting and swinging a staff”

Nick looks very feminine

At the annual harvest festival back hohosts who spray water at people But the point is that it is funny to see a hulking farmer dressed up as a woman If Nick were to take on the role, it would not be nearly as hilarious In fact, wo a staff’?

“And this person with black hair,” Meg it easier to remember them, “is Seron Maxwell He is very smart”

If Nick is beautiful, Seron is cool and handsorey eyes

So occurs to you at that point, but you do not knohat

“Last, the person with blond hair in the kitchen is Larry Hepburn His tea is very good He is also good in reading the map We are all in the same year”

Larry has a small but powerful build, much like the boys back home Most of them are muscular because they help out with farm work at home But what about Larry? Does his family also own a farm? It is a mystery

And just like when you were introduced to Seron, soain

And you soon realize what it is

You have seen Seron and Larry somewhere Where? Seron looks at you, then

“You’re the exchange student froht?”

“Yeah! I remember!” Larry adds from the kitchenette

“Oh?” Nick raises a curious eyebrow

“Oh mica cries, “how did you know? Did the uniform show you?”

The unifor displayed proudly on the sleeve

But you remember now that you met Seron and Larry at the dormitory entrance on your first day here

“It was the evening of Orienteering Day You caht?” Seron asks

“We were on our way back from the dormitory cafeteria,” Larry chimes in, “I recommended the beef stew”

Both of them seem to remember you

“Yes!” You reply, “thank you for the recoood I order it every time I see it on the menu,” you say, and introduce yourself to the boys You finish off by saying you want to join the newspaper club for the rest of your stay in the Capital District You emphasize how you want to broaden your horizons and make new friends

“Oh ether

“Sounds lovely,” Nick agrees with an elegant smile

“Dunno who caood to me!” Larry pipes up from the kitchenette

“Ah~ I see no reason to say no~” Natalia sings, stru

“Same,” Seron says

“Th-thank you,” you say with a bow,still bothers you “Er…don’t I need the president’s permission?”

“Oh She’s not here yet, but who cares? Tea ready yet, Larry?” Natalia waves off your concern You are now even more curious

“Er, what is the president like? I heard she was a famous third-year”

“Hht

“She is a very very good person! And she is an uncomica comments first

“She does have a petty side, but she is certainly fun to be around,” Nick adds

“Yeah She’s a weirdo, but basically a good person,” Natalia concludes

Half the descriptions are unflattering You wonder if Larry and Seron are keeping silent for a reason And your guess is soon proven correct

The door slams open

“I heard that!”

A short girl with short red hair sto on her back bouncing

She must be the president, you note

“Aw, chief It’s not nice to eavesdrop,” Natalia scolds the girl So she is indeed the president

The president puts her bag on one of the desks and strides over to the sofa She looks into your eyes just as you prepare to introduce yourself

“An exchange student fro Welcome to the Capital District”

You reet her from your seat

“Thank you Actually, I—”

“Yes”

“Pardon?”

“Welcome to the club I’m Jenny Jones, the president It’s nice to meet you”

“Th-thank you! Thank you soyour head

“How long have you been listening, chief?” Natalia asks from beside you

“A while I wanted to knohat you guys thought of me”

“Don’t be such a naughty girl”

“Eavesdropping is the foundation of infor Thank you for all the compliments”

“No Take a seat, chief The tea’s ready”

Before you know it, Seron and Mege the cups on the coffee table

“Erin, but are interrupted

“Don’t worry Sit down and relax We’re almost done,” Seron says

He is both handsome and courteous, which irls

“It’s nice to haveseven cups of tea with an expert hand

You are not certain, but the cups and saucers seem very expensive You must take care not to break them

It seems that afternoon tea is part of a routine school day for the 4th Capital Secondary School You expected no less from the upper classes You resolve to remember all this so you can tell everyone back home

“Thank you”

You take a sip of tea

It is very good, no worse than the tea straight from the farain

And finally, you introduce yourself for the third time You confess that you decided to join a club in order to make friends

“It is a very good idea! I did this too!” Meg a transfer student

They are all senior-classe—especially Jenny and Natalia—but you like theood people

“Thank you Oh, I have a question…” you begin, all eyes on you

It is a very natural and inevitable question A simple one you are sure will be answered very quickly

“What do you have planned for your next issue?”

Everyone looks away

“Huh?”

“Look at this, guys Even the temporary newbie is more concerned than you!” Jenny roars

“But it’s not like you have any ideas, chief Non-fictional ones, I etic in the least

“Let’s settle down, everyone We had a very busythe others down

“Yes, we can decide on it now!” Megmica says optimistically

“Yeah, the newbie got here just in ti you

Seron, in with

“All right, then!” Jenny rises “I’estions!”

The others go silent in unison, with the exception of the already-silent Seron

You understand the situation co to write about

There probably isn’t much to cover in such a rich, peaceful school, you think

Or s you consider to be neorthy are considered ht answer

You watch the others as they sip their tea

“Ah!”

And you think of so

It is a great idea Divinely inspired, if you do say so yourself You simply must share it with the others

“Er…well…”

Six sets of eyes fall on you

You tense, but et another chance like this

You take a breath, and suggest with a tre voice—

“What about an issue that covers all the club members?”

Several seconds pass by in silence

“Er…what exactly do you mean?” Larry asks You now have the chance to explain yourself

“You could publish short biographies of yourselves on the next issue, and show the school the faces behind the people who raphs, too! Then ht cooperate with you and share information”

“R-right…”

Larry’s reaction is underwhel, but you assume that is because he is moved by your innovative idea

Another moment of silence

Maybe your idea wasn’t such a good one after all

Jenny says nothing, and Natalia continues sipping tea, her glasses fogging Nick’s smile is plastered onto his face, and Seron—as usual—looks completely blank

It was a stupid idea, never mind, you are about to say, when someone finally breaks the silence

“All right”

“Pardon?”

“I’m fine with it,” says Jenny, “it’s not a bad idea”

You and the others turn

Jenny sits cross-legged on the sofa, kicking etiquette to the curb Her underwear is al, but she does not seem to are, and nor do the others So you decide not to worry about it either

“I didn’t really feel the need to discuss the people behind the scenes, but it’s not so we necessarily need to hide And if we’re out of ideas, it’s better than nothing”

“You serious, chief?” Natalia asks She seeh you are not sure in what sense

“Yeah But on one condition”

“Like?”

“I’m the president, so I take the desk”

You have no idea what the role of ‘desk’ entails, but it presu club member

“My job is to oversee you all,” Jenny says Your guess is correct, it see me”

“What?! That’s cheap!” Natalia co to her feet “I want to tell the entire school about the pain and glory of your past, the passion bri future!”

You