Project: Socialize

With the day slowly coming towards an end with the slowly ticking clock slowly closing in on 3:55 PM during seventh period homeroom, I sat there in anticipation of going home. It was a Friday, meaning that the weekend has arrived. Therefore, I am ready to relax at home and entertain myself with television and the internet. A small smile appeared on my face as I imagined the comfort of being able to sleep in.

When the bell rang, I didn't immediately rush for the classroom exists as there exists a large crowd that streamed out towards the hallways. In addition to that, the hallways were crammed. Therefore, to maintain comfort, I decided to wait for a bit.

Usually, I would wait about three minutes or so to enjoy the comforts of an almost entirely empty hallway. However, I grabbed my school bag and started for the door after only a minute has passed. I was excited and wanted to return home as soon as possible. Once I get home, I'll grab a coke from the refrigerator, plop myself down on the couch with my tablet in hand and the television playing in the background, and enjoy life. These plans of mine were shattered when a voice halted me.

"Where're you going?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Muria who stood there by her seat with half-crossed arms.

"Home?" I said in a voice that lacked confidence.

"That can be your destination later. We still have to look for members for the club sis wanted you and I to form."

"Oh that?" I recalled what Muria had said yesterday and sighed, knowing that I will not be able to get out of this obligation with both sisters watching me. "Fine."

I walked back over to my desk, placing my school bag on it, and then sat back down in my seat.

"So," I asked. "What do you have in mind?"

"We'll go around and ask to see if anyone can join," Loyd said as he walked over from the doorway with a smile on his face.

"Loyd...I forgot," I looked over at him and muttered. "Mura did say he's in it..."

"Do you know anyone that might be interested?" Muria asked him.

"I don't," he frowned. "It's hard to ask people to join if we don't tell them what's the club's objective and activities."

"Activities..." I looked up at the ceiling as I began thinking about the issue. "So what will our club be doing?"

"..."

Silence was the answer to my question. This silence caught me off guard, making it so that I almost fell out of my seat as I looked at the two of them in shock.

"We don't even know what the club will be doing?" I exclaimed.

"Maybe you should help think as well," Emilia frowned and looked at me.

"Well..." I crossed my arms and closed my eyes as I focused on coming up with an idea. "The Go Home Club? Club activities involve...going home?"

"Nope," Muria shook her head. "That's a stupid idea."

"Well...That's not the best thing to ask me for ideas about," I said, looking at the two of them with an apathetic look in my eyes.

"Right," Muria sighed, bringing her right hand to her forehead as if she was having a headache. "We should've never asked you."

"See," I got up and smiled with closed eyes as I slowly started for the exit. "I'm of no help here. So, I'll just make my way out of here and stop being a burden to you two."

"You're still useful in other ways," Muria grabbed me by my writst, preventing me from leaving.

I looked over my shoulder and at the hand that wrapped around my wrist with a look of slight annoyance that I made no efforts to conceal. However, it would appear that Muria had no intent to be influenced by my obvious discontent and continued on with the conversation as if nothing had happened.

I was forced back into my seat by her as the conversation continued, and with nothing much to contribute, I sat there in silence. I listened in on their ideas, yawning occasionally out of boredom and the desire to leave and head home.

I then received a notification on my phone.

--

Current Objective

Help in the search of members.

Time Limit: 2 hours

Reward: 300 SP

--

"..."

I read the notification on my phone and a heightened sense of annoyance flooded my mind.

Emilia...even though I was so concerned about her after all that that had happened last night she still does me dirty like this?

With a sigh, I placed my phone back into my pocket and rested my head on my desk. All I could do is wait so I did just that.

"How about we put the club activities on hold and just try to get people to join?" Loyd suggested. "We can postpone on deciding what to do after the club is created.

"That is plausible," Muria brought her right hand to her chin. "We can create the club with Sis's support even without a clear club description."

There we go. The abuse of power by those in position to do so.

I chuckled at the thought and turned my head over on my desk so that I can see their reactions.

"Then let us go around the school and see if anyone wanna join," Loyd then proposed with a friendly look on his face.

Muria nodded and then glanced over at me from the corner of her eye, gesturing with the slight movement of her head for me to get up.

"Fine."

I sighed and used both hands to push myself up from my desk. We then proceeded to the now empty hallways outside, leaving our school bags in the classroom as we know no one at our school or in Vilhelm in general would steal school bags.

The after school hallways of the Vilhelm Imperial High School was quite empty. The sunlight from outside shined in through the windows from the side opposite to the classroom doors. On the bulletin boards posted in the hallway, there exists advertisements for school and club events. During testing time, the student score rankings would be posted on such bulletins.

"Where're we going right now?" I asked as I trailed behind the two.

"I'm thinking let's head to the gym," Loyd suggested without altering his stride. "I know a first year student on the basketball team. We might be able to get him to join."

"Would he have time though?" I asked. "Basketball season is coming up."

"He'll probably have time to occasionally drop by. Plus, all we need is for the club to be able to have enough members to start." He looked over his shoulder at Muria and I and smiled. "Right?"

"I guess," I responded with an emotionless face, not influenced by his act of friendliness.

"It's worth a shot," Muria agreed.

The three of us then continued down the hallway until we arrived at one of the many stairs leading down to the ground floor of the lecture building. The downstairs hallway was empty as well, meaning that we could walk in peace towards our destination. After making a turn, we exited the lecture building and stepped foot onto the field underneath the blue sky overhead. There existed a large field where the soccer team was currently practicing, as well as a track for the track team. Next to the soccer field was the baseball field, where the baseball team were conducting their after school practice sessions. Further out from the baseball field, by the fences that separated the school campus from the city streets outside were the tennis courts, which the tennis team used to practice. By the field was then the gym, which housed the practice grounds for the basketball team, volleyball team, and badminton team.

In the not too far distance was the long two-story building for the different sports teams and clubs. It served as the changing and resting areas for the different sports teams. On the left side of the sports building was the boys' shower and on the right was the girls' shower. Because of this, the girl's teams occupied the rooms on the right side of the sports building and the boys on the left. This separation was to prevent any perverts from trying to sneak a peek into any of the girl's changing facilities or showers since it would be obvious when a guy is on the girls' side of the building.

Since the person that Loyd suggested that we ask to join was on the basketball team, meaning that he or she was probably in the gym or the sports building. I didn't have a say on where we were going to check first nor did I care at all about it. All I wanted was to get this over with and head home.

Muria and I followed Loyd towards the gym, and once there, Loyd slid open the door to reveal the large gym that was about three basketball courts in width and a little more than one basketball court in length. There existed numerous basketball rims on the courts to maximize the efficiency for practice, although the basketball team only used two of the courts, leaving the last one on the far left of the gym for the volleyball team when practice schedules overlap. I

looked around the gym, feeling a negatively in regards to the energy that these student athletes put out as they practiced. The basketball players were scrimmaging, playing some team basketball. They ran up and down the court, with the players pushing the offense forward when their team had possession of the ball and sprinting back on defense when they lose possession. They played with enthusiasm, with dripping sweat drenching their jerseys and the hardwood floor around them. Practicing alongside the boys basketball team was the boys volleyball team, who were also having a small scrimmage on the court that they were given to work with. They had set up the net and all I could see were strikers jumping through the air, preparing to spike the ball when the setter tosses them the ball.

"So," I said, feeling uneasy around these student athletes, "who are we looking for?"

"Him," Loyd pointed at the blonde haired boy that just scored via a dunk. "Zaksus Andrei Leohardt."