𝙰𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚖𝚊, 𝙹𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚗, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟷

My first year of high school. I had chosen to go to Aoyama Gakuin High School, which was just down the street from my house. I could walk there every day if I wanted to. Most kids ride their bikes, but I haven't ridden my bike since that day in my first year of middle school. I guess I was still scared from that accident. Now, I just walked to school or took the train. Though most of the time, I walked.

Today was my first day of school. All the clubs had booths set up at the entrance of the school, recruited new members. I read a few of the flyers, but none of them really interested me. Then, one of the booths caught my eye.

"Do you like to read?" A third year was shouting from the booth. "Then join the book club!"

I do like to read. In fact, I love to read. I would probably love the book club. But... what if the people in the club were mean? There were around twenty people gathered behind the booth, so I assumed the club had around twenty members, possibly more. I hate big groups of people, so maybe the book club isn't the best club for me. After all, I've never had trouble reading on my own.

I walk past the book club's booth. Suddenly, just when I think I'm past it and safe from recruitment, someone grabs my arm.

I turn around in surprise. Standing behind me is the boy who was shouting. He looks at me, his mouth hanging wide open.

"U-uh... is there something I can help you with?" I asked, a little nervous.

"It's you..." he mumbles.

I frown. "Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over all the noise." I said, gesturing to the other booths who were shouting to catch potential member's attention.

"Oh! Nothing... I was actually wondering, do you like to read?" He asked, pointing at the book I was carrying.

"Yes, I do..."

He smiles and lets go of my arm. "Awesome! Would you like to join the book club? You can sign up over here." He says, walking over to his booth. Probably expecting me to follow him.

I stay where I am. "Actually... I don't think I'm going to join a club. Sorry."

I turn around and start to walk away again.

"Wait!" The boy shouts, running after me and grabbing my arm again.

"Hey! Let go!" I say, pulling my arm away. He lets go. "You have plenty of other members, so why do you need me to join?"

"Well, most of them are third years, so if we don't get any new members before the end of the year, I'll be the only member next year. If that happens, and if we can't recruit enough members next year, the book club will be shut down." He explains.

"Oh... well... can I think about it?"

His face brightens. "Yes! Let us know once you reach your decision!"

"I'll do that..."

He smiles, satisfied, and walks back to his booth. I let out a sigh of relief. Interacting with other people is exhausting. There's only one person that isn't exhausting, and that would be...

"YUI-CHAN!!" Shouts a girl, running towards me, her silver hair fluttering in the wind.

"Oh! Yuki-chan! Hey, what's up?"

"I'm so glad! We decided to go to the same high school! This is awesome!" She says, hugging me.

"Haha, yeah, it is pretty awesome! Speaking of which, what class are you in?"

Yuki-chan checks her schedule.

"I'm in class 1-C! How about you?"

"Same!"

"Yay! That's awesome!" Yuki-chan shouts, hugging me again. She likes hugging people.

"We should head to class now. Come on, let's walk there together!" I say, gently pushing her away.

"Yeah, let's go!" Yuki-chan says, linking her arm in mine.

Once we get to the classroom, we chose seats next to each other. Mine is next to the window. Out the window, I can see all the club's booths. The book club is still shouting, trying to recruit new members. If I listen very carefully, I can hear them through the window. The teacher walks in a few minutes later.

"Welcome class! I'm Yamada-sensei. It's a pleasure to meet all of you! Let's start by doing attendance..."

Soon, it's time for lunch. Most students stay in the classroom to eat. Me and Yuki-chan go to the courtyard. Unfortunately, this was a bad decision, because sitting on one of the benches in the courtyard is...

"Oh! Hey! You! Have you decided if you want to join the book club yet?" The boy from earlier asks me.

"Oh... well... uh... I still need some more time to think about it..."

"Oh! Okay! Take all the time you need! Just let me know sometime tomorrow."

If I have a deadline, how is that all the time I need?

"Okay, I will."

The boy smiles. "Well, I finished eating, so I'm gonna head back to my classroom. If you ever need me, I'm in class 2-A." He say, waving goodbye to me.

I nod and wave back, then let out a sigh of relief once he's inside.

"Who was that?" Yuki-chan asks.

"Oh. Just someone from the book club that I ran into earlier. He wants me to join his club."

"So why don't you? You love books!"

"I know... but... I don't know... if I joined I would have to talk to people. I like reading books, not discussing them."

"You should ask if you can get a trial. Maybe try it for a week or two, and if you don't like it, then just don't join. I'm sure they'll let you do that." Yuki-chan says, opening her lunch box.

"Yeah, maybe."

It actually wasn't that bad of an idea. If they'd let me do it.

Yuki-chan smiles at me. "You like the idea. I can tell. But..?"

"But what if they don't let me do a trial? What if I decide I don't like it, and they don't let me leave?"

"Yui-chan. All people who like books are nice. They won't force you to do something you don't like."

I pout. "That's not true. There's lots of people who like books that aren't nice."

"But that's not the point. The point is all the people in the book club are nice."

"How do you know? You haven't even met them!"

"I just know. Come on, we better hurry up and eat or we'll be late to class."

After we finish eating, Yuki-chan and I head back to the classroom. We sit through science and history, and then my first day of high school is over. Luckily, I don't need to worry about running into that boy from the book club again today, since he'll be in his club room. Yuki-chan takes the train home, since she lives pretty far away. I walk home. On my way home, I spot a cat walking on the sidewalk. There's no one walking next to it or anything, but it has a collar. It seems unusual that someone would let their pet walk outside by itself, especially through the streets of busy Aoyama. It's too dangerous for a cat to be walking by itself with no leash or anything. I walked up to it and crouched down next to it, checking the address on the collar. The address listed wasn't too far from here, and I would pass it on my way home.

I picked up the cat and carried it to its owner's house. I knocked on the door and waited. A few minutes later, a young boy opened the door. His eyes were red, as if he had been crying. He couldn't be older than eight years old.

"Oh my gosh! Mommy! This girl brought Aki home!" The boy shouts.

I hand him the cat, whose name was apparently Aki. The boy's mother walked over.

"Oh, thank you so much, dear!" The boy's mother says.

"No problem! I should head home now. Have a nice day!" I say, waving goodbye.

"You too, dear!"

I walk home, smiling the whole way.

When I get home, I head to my room and think. Should I agree to join the book club? Or decline? Or maybe mention Yuki-chan's idea? Yes... I should probably do that. If I could have a trial, to see if I even like the club, then that would be best. It's decided. I'll tell that boy from the book club tomorrow that I want a two week trial first, and then I'll decide whether I want to join or not.