Project: Socialize

The school day soon ended as time just flies by, and with nothing else to do, I decided that I would just head home immediately after school. All I had left to do was wait for the bell to ring as the clock ticked toward 3:30 PM. Therefore, I just sat there, paying little to no attention to the final period homeroom announcements by Mura as I rested my face on my right hand that was supported by my elbow which laid on the surface of my desk. I yawned and blinked out some tears as the fatigue from the long day of school gradually caught up to me. At my school, homeroom consisted of two periods: a ten minute period at the start of the day for taking roll and a thirty minute period at the end of the day for announcements.

The ringing bell interrupted Mura's final announcement, and with a silent and concealed sigh, she released the class. She placed her papers back into the black binder and left the classroom through the sliding door at the front of the room as the students got up from their seats. Some stretched, some walked over to chat with friends, and others left the room with their friends for either their clubs or heading somewhere after school for fun.

I plugged my earbuds into my phone and placed them into my ears. Then, I got up from my seat, scooting my chair back, and picked up my bag as I started for the back door of the classroom without much hesitation. However, I was stopped by the hand that was placed on my shoulder.

"Wait up."

Looking over, I saw Loyd smiling at me.

"Let's go together," he said.

I looked over his shoulders at the small group of other students that has an almost equal distribution of male and female who looked over at us with a somewhat disappointed and mad expression in their eyes. Then, I looked back at Loyd, who smiled at me as if nothing was wrong and that everything was the same as it was years ago.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, looking away so as to avoid making eye contact with the hateful crowd standing not too far behind Loyd.

Loyd glanced back at the crowd from the corner of his eye and looked back at me. "Don't worry about them. I'll talk to them."

Loyd then turned towards the crowd and started walking towards them. Then, he began speaking to them in a charismatic tone as always. As he did so, I realized that the girl that sat next to me, Muria, had finished packing up her belongings and was getting up from her seat.

"Hey," I said to her as she started walking towards the classroom door.

"Can't believe you would actually have someone who would consider themselves your friend," Muria smiled in an almost playfully mocking manner.

"Is that all your gonna say?" I muttered under my breath and sighed. "He's the only one that came to talk to me voluntarily. You happy now?"

"I don't know," I said with a blank face. "Maybe your usual image in my mind."

"I'm not that kind of person," she shook her head in disagreement.

I stared at her in silence, observing the complexity of this girl who stood not too far beside me in this almost empty classroom except for the few students that was talking to Loyd along with her and I. In this almost silent classroom, except for the Loyd talking to the other students, an awkward, long and enduring silence shrouded Muria and I, almost as if time itself had temporarily frozen as I admired her beautiful blue eyes as it almost seems to stare into empty space with melancholy. This melancholy was a mysterious one, with almost no obvious source, yet it was so captivating that it drew all my attention into the azure blue of her eyes as I stood there with my mouth slightly open in awe.

"Let's go now."

Loyd's words severed the moment of silence between the two of us as he smiled and returned from the crowd that he was talking to earlier. I looked over towards the crowd and discovered that they were now headed towards the sliding door at the front end of the classroom. As they left the room, on each person's face was no longer that disappointed or slightly annoyed look. Instead, it was more of an acceptance, almost as if a heavy burden has been lifted off their chest and that they're now relieved.

"What did you say to them?" I looked back at Loyd in shock.

"Nothing much," he smiled. "Just said something along the line that we haven't seen each other in almost four years."

"Really?" I nodded my head, acting calm on the outside while trembling at the horror of the manipulative powers of charisma on the inside.

"Then let's go," Loyd then turned to face Muria who stood not too far beside me. "Wanna go together, Muria?"

"What?" I shifted my eyes immediately from Loyd to the girl that stood next to me, eyes wide in shock at the fact that Loyd had just so casually invited her to accompany us after school.

Looking at her, she lowered her head and seemed to be in thought. There's no way this was going to work, right? No way it's that simple.

"Sure," Muria finally responded with a polite smile.

"Then let's get going!" Loyd started towards the sliding door located at the back end of the classroom with Muria following soon after, leaving me standing there in shock.

God damn charisma...

***

As the three of us walked down the streets of Nocisinis and towards the nearest train station, it was...well...kind of awkward for me. I trailed behind the two of them, who seemed to be able to communicate just fine as they walked almost shoulder to shoulder. Passing by us was the many pedestrians who roamed the background of the city, along with the many cars that ran by on the road. However, when the three of us reached the crosswalk, the traffic lights had turned red for the cars going in the direction parallel to ours, meaning that the crossing lights for the direction that we were headed in was also red. Therefore, an unfortunate stoppage was reached.

As I stood there, watching past their shoulders and at the cars that passed by on the adjacent road before us, I tried my best to make myself as invisible as possible. However, the occasional glances that the two of them gave me communicated to me that the topic of their conversation was me, which made me quite uncomfortable, especially when a soft giggle escape Muria.

With a sigh, I took out my phone from my pocket and checked the time, trying my best to not take a care into this incident. All I have to do is relax and soon it'll all be over. Come to think of it, of course she's so normal around others. Like I've observed before, when she communicates with others that are not me, she's quite pleasant to be honest. But when the target of communication is me, for some reason her attitude becomes quite different.

I sensed the crowd around me started moving, and when I looked up from my phone, I discovered that the lights had turned green and that Loyd and Muria were already walking on the crosswalk. I slipped my phone back into my pockets and started walking after them, increasing my pace and then slowing it down once I reached a certain distance behind them so as to not interfere them but still looking as if the three of us were together.

This must be so weird to others...Like if people saw us, they would probably think that I'm that one friend that no one invited but still tagged along... Whatever. They can think what they want to think.

"Well...he's bad at socializing back then, but not as bad as now," I heard Loyd said to Muria.

"Really?" Muria had a look of pleasant surprise on her face as she responded.

Oh wow, how nice. Are you two enjoying yourselves? If you are, then would you mind if I just walked ahead and go home?

The two of them walking side by side was almost as if an impenetrable wall that I can never break past. Despite the existence of the tiny rift between the two of them, that rift seemed to be slowly closing as the two of them were forced closer together in response to the large crowd of pedestrians as we neared the train station. Due to this fact, I am trapped here, like a lonely song bird that yearns for freedom and liberty, but is denied of such by the cage that holds them captive. I'm like a lonely prisoner of war at sea, destined to suffer this long trial of torment with no reinforcements in sight. Oh God, why has thou forsaken me?

I heard a muffled notification sound and buzz from my phone, which prompted me to reach my hands back into my pocket and pull out my phone. I looked at the screen, reading the line of text that popped up.

--

Current Objective:

Force yourself into their conversation.

Time Limit: 10 min

Reward: 30 SP

--

Without much surprise, I slowly slipped my phone back into my pocket. It looks like this is the God's answer to my prayers for aid. Another stupid mission that he wants me to conquer. At least this time it's God that's giving me the mission, not that stupid angel...what's his name...Ralus?...who's sending me the missions. Like if the mission was something like grab someone's breasts in public or something, I would really have to smash my phone on the ground.

So, with a sigh, I unwillingly hastened my pace so that I could catch up with them. If this is God's Plan for me to break through this impenetrable wall, then so be it. If God wants to guide me to success, then so be it. I don't know where this road will lead to, but hopefully at the end of it, I can find happiness. Well...hopefully...