Project: Socialize

I decided that I would follow Loyd and Muria to our club room that was located in the secondary building through the fourth floor accessway that connected the two buildings. It's quicker to go through the accessway since classrooms for second year students were on the third floor of the lecture building. Since we left for our club room a bit later than the other students, the hallway wasn't as crowded.

We opened the doors that led to the accessway and stepped foot on this short elevated pathway that connected the two buildings. For safety measures, the accessway had railings that was slightly higher than my waist. In addition, in times of rainy weather, there's also a roof overhead. From the accessway, I can see parts of the school from an aerial view. For example, there's the small courtyard between the two buildings and there's also the fields in the not so far distance. I

I paused momentarily for a second and leaned against the railing while using my elbows as a support. I enjoyed the cool autumn breeze that blew by and grinned, knowing that the first parts of my plan had succeeded.

All I have to do is wait for Irina to contact me. When she will do so, I do not know, but I do not believe it will be today since her mind is probably still in shock and is panicking. If she does contact me, the earliest time will probably be tomorrow, which is Wednesday. If not, then it'll be Thursday, which i do not prefer since I won't have as much time to solve whatever problem is bothering her. If she contacts me on Friday, which is the last day of the mission time limit, then I believe I will be in a trouble. I will truly be desperate by then and I might have to resort to desperate measures if it comes to that.

"Come on," Loyd called to me as he held the door that led into the secondary building open while waiting for me.

It wasn't long before we arrived before the locked door to our club room. However, Muria had the keys and she unlocked the door to allow the rest of us in. Once inside, I realized that it was left the way we had left it the day before, so we just wandered over to where we originally sat. However, for Loyd, before he sat down, he made sure to place the chairs set out for Muria and Emilia to the side so that the room will appear tidier and more spacious.

"Alright now," he said, initiating the meeting about Irina. "You guys have any idea as to what Irina's troubles might be?"

"No," Muria said with her arms crossed. She then glanced over at me with Loyd following soon after.

"I don't either," I sighed and set my phone down on the long rectangular table.

"By what you were doing at lunch," Muria started speaking, "I thought you had an idea."

"I was trying to get her to talk," I started explaining in detail what I was attempting. "I guess you all know already but what I was saying had a hidden message directed at Irina."

"Hey, that's quite disrespectful," I said in an unconcerned voice.

"So...you're blackmailing her?" Loyd asked with a concerned expression directed towards me. "I don't think that's the best idea."

"You got any better ways to get her to talk?"

I opened my eyes and looked in his direction. He seems to know that what I was saying is correct and is the most efficient way in doing things. However, I could sense his unwillingness and see it on his face.

"She's a celebrity," I started explaining to him after feeling somewhat guilty. "So she's used to being approached by people with ulterior and malicious motives. Therefore, she probably feels as if she can't trust anybody. I need to give her a reason to trust me, and by way of blackmail, she will believe in my intent easier than if I approached her with a friendly smile and say 'Let's be friends and tell me what's bothering you.' You know what I mean."

"There's gotta be another way," Loyd sighed in defeat and sat back down in his chair.

He seemed to be quite reluctant in accepting my ways, but I didn't care at all anymore about his acceptance. Although I, too, search for people that I can be myself with, if they will not accept me for who I am, which is the basis for me, then that person will not be someone who I can see myself opening up to.

I didn't say anything insightful for the rest of the discussion. In fact, I didn't pay much attention at all since all they were talking about was speculations as to what the problem might be and how they should go about helping Irina. When they would rarely ask me for my opinion, I would respond with a brief answer to express my lack of knowledge on the situation. Therefore, the day ended with quite the frustration from Muria's and Loyd's perspective.

On the way back to my house, since Muria was now my neighbor, we shared the same route. However, this time, I was the one walking in front. I stared at my phone as I walked, not worried about accidentally bumping into people since I had mastered the art of detecting pedestrians and avoiding them without taking my eyes off my phone.

I was glued to my phone because I didn't want to participate in an awkward conversation. As I walked, I could feel Muria's gaze piercing through me. She seems as if she wanted to talk about the issue but I wasn't in the mood to speak. Like why would I bother thinking of new plans when I have a plan laid out already? I have no time for child's play, so I ignored her.

The train ride back to Lumina Station was still quite awkward for me. As I stood there, one hand holding onto the hanging strap that suspended from the ceiling of the train car with my other hand holding onto my phone as I scrolled through it, Muria stood directly in front of me. Her eyes were fixed on me, which made me extremely uneasy. Imagine having someone stare at you for a prolonged period of time with a judgmental stare. That's the feeling I was having.

"May I help you?" I finally gave in.

"No," she said casually. "I was just wondering what it was that got you so invested on your phone."

"What is it?" I sighed and admitted my defeat. My heart just cannot bear her prolonged stare.

"What's your plan for Irina?" she asked.

"Get her to speak by blackmail and help her out then," I answered her with the basics of my plan.

"What do you have on her that you can use to blackmail her?"

"Well," I slipped my phone into the front pocket of my pants. "Didn't I tell you that she was crying in front of the door to the club room?"

Muria nodded. "But I thought that was because you approached and talked to her."

"You trying to start something or what?" I muttered and sighed. "The thing is, I feel like she's only acting the role of a popular celebrity with her forced smiles as she listens to those disgusting people crowd her all day at school. She want's to maintain the image of a down to earth celebrity so she must not show sadness in front of her fans. That's why I used her crying as a leverage. Whatever her problem is, it is what caused her to cry and have that melancholic look when she's alone."

"So that's your plan," Muria nodded."I can't believe you're actually quite smart."

"Never did I said I wasn't," I grinned proudly.

The train suddenly braked as it approached a station, and this sudden stoppage caused Muria to lose her balance and fall forward right into my chest. I brought a hand to her shoulders so as to support her and used the hanging strap to stabilize myself.

"T-thank you," she blushed as she looked up into my eyes.

She was still pressed against me for the large crowd behind her seemed to have restricted her range of motion. What this meant was that her breasts were pressing against me and it was quite difficult for me to control my body and prevent a reaction from it. I looked away and up towards the screen that was playing the news so that I can be distracted from her. However, even then, I could still smell from my nose the scent of her hair.

"I-I don't think I can move," she whispered to me as she shifted her body around somewhat.

"O-once we reach the next station it should be better," I said to her with a slight stutter from being flustered.

"Sorry," she apologized.