Project: Socialize

With a companion, everything about the School Festival changed. What I had perceived to be a poorly constructed tent that students sold food items from no longer appeared shabby, and instead, I started being able to perceive the effort that was put into them. It was odd how one's perspective can be altered that much by simply having a companion.

Walking with Luna, I noticed that she always had a content smile on her face, one that expressed a sense of joy for life. Although it wasn't particularly dazzling like that of Irina's, Luna's smile was quite comforting to see. It was at that moment that I sensed that she was like the polar opposite of me. Unlike me, she was like the bright side of the moon, always shining in the light with great confidence in her own abilities. Her clear amber eyes were never obscured by any sense of impurities, and seemed to always peer into the positive aspects of life. She seemed to be always able to see the light, whereas I lived in the darkness.

Every motion of hers were imbued with great authority and confidence, and was made with great fluidity and vitality. Even then, she was blessed with the gift of gentleness that I was only able to notice after standing a short distance behind her and observing her interactions with others. She always spoke in a caring manner, and numerous times her facial expression softened when approached by admirers.

"Is something the matter?" she asked after noticing me staring in her direction as we walked down the hallway of the lecture building that was filled with streams of guests and students calling for customers to visit their classrooms. All in all, there was a great sense of vitality in the youthful feeling that was able to be sensed.

"Nothing," I calmly responded. "It's just that you're not like how I had imagined you to be."

"Really?" she chuckled. "What's my image in your imaginations?"

"Someone who's extremely demanding, tough-minded, and very confident in oneself," I said.

"Is that so?" she laughed. Her laughter was imbued with such great amount of emotion and melted my heart upon hearing it. It seemed to have the ability to lower one's guard, which it did for me. "I must've had a bad first impression on you."

She continued laughing, probably mocking herself for the failure at creating a positive first impression. I didn't mind listening or even watching her laugh and smile. It was quite calming, and oddly enough, it made my mind quite peaceful and filled with joy. Her laughter stopped shortly after, and for a second there, I felt as if I had saw a look of grave sadness and melancholy on her face as she frowned.

"I'm not as strong as you might've imagined," she whispered, and immediately, as if it was a mere illusion, that frown of melancholy vanished, allowing for that confident smile to return.

"What's that sad look for?" she smiled. "Are you sad that I wasn't the kind of person you've imagined?"

Her simple words and smile brought me back to this world of color, dragging me out of that dark abyss of despair that I, too, was slowly slipping into. It was strange how much power she had over my soul, but... it wasn't a bad feeling.

"Maybe," I whispered and smiled. I was surprised at what I had chosen to say to her for it seemed to disobey my character.

"That's mean," she chuckled as we continued our walk down the hallway.

Our conversation came to an end after that, and she was then preoccupied with the task of chatting with students that had approached her. They invited her to visit their classroom, promising to provide whatever they were providing for free to her. However, she smiled and refused the offer. Her decision brought about a small frown on the students's faces, but that look quickly evaporated and was replaced by a smile once again. That must've been Luna's personal charm at work, for it seemed as if she could always elicit joy from people, a characteristic that I had missed during the Committee meetings due to my own gloomy attitude.

I noticed that her conversation with the other students were coming to an end by the look on her face. However, I wasn't entirely sure because I wasn't standing close enough to her to hear what they were saying and the hallway was loud with the presence of guests. I discovered that the students that had approached her ignored me entirely. That was probably... definitely due to the distance between where we stood. From an outsider's point of view, we were probably too far to be thought of as a group.

"Why'd you refuse them?" I asked her once we were alone. "You could've had a chance for free stuff."

"Now why did I?" She looked over her shoulder and smiled charmingly towards me.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as she turned in my direction, allowing me to take in the breath-taking beauty that she exhibited. The way her hair flowed in the air in accordance to the movement of her body, the way her eyes seemed to look past the barriers that I've erected around my heart, and the way that smile seemed to affect my soul, it was an image that I've carved into my memories.

"I don't know," I responded as time resumed its original flow and I jogged to catch up to her. I intentionally shortened the distance between us with this opportunity. I want to be closer to her. I don't care if I'm just in the shadows, but just a bit closer. Just a bit closer.

"If I were to accept their offer," she finally answered after keeping quiet for a bit to draw my attention, "then I would have to leave you alone out here. I promised you first that we would walk around together, so I need to fulfill that promise first."

So it's just her sense of responsibilities...

But even then, I couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness deep within my heart that she didn't choose to abandon me like so many people had done so. Therefore, I felt my facial expression relax.

We then continued our walk through the lecture building with me following her where ever she had wanted to visit. Because of this, we basically entered every single classroom. However, we never stayed for a prolonged period of time in any single class. What we did was that we visited the rooms, and she would then go and have a brief chat with the students of the classroom while I looked around. If it was a store that sold food, I would look at the menu, and if it was a store that sold handmade trinkets such as decorated phone cases or small plushies.

"I'm tired," Luna said after we walked about for about two hours or so. "Let's find somewhere to eat lunch."

"If that's what you want," I would respond.

"There's a cafe," she said, pointing at the sign that stood outside the opened doors of the classroom with the plate 2-A. It was my classroom. "Let's go there."

I didn't have any time to object or any real reason to do so when she started for the opened doors to the classroom. Therefore, I followed after her and into my classroom that was temporarily set up as a maid and butler cafe for the Festival.

"Welcome back, Master!"

We were greeted in the most cliche manner possible, but when they realized that their 'Master' was the student council president herself, their attitude became even friendlier. They spoke to her with great enthusiasm and started making brief chit chat with her. It was only when the considerate student council president reminded them of their duties as waiters and waitresses that they returned to their jobs, leaving a female student to bring Luna to a table as I was left standing by the door. No one seemed to have noticed me.

"What would you like?" my female classmate who was dressed in a maid outfit asked her. In her hands was a notepad and pen as she stood by Luna's seat and waited for her to look at the menu.

"Hold on." Luna smiled at her and waved towards me. "Come on." She called for me to come sit with her.

This gesture of hers had drawn the attention of not only my classmates but also the students from the other classes that had came to visit. They all stared at me as I uneasily walked over to the same table that Luna was seated at and took the seat opposite to her. I glanced up at my classmate who was serving our table and discovered a look of repulsive surprise on her face. She remained confused in regards to my presence and why I was with the student council president that everyone at my school seemed to admire and respect.

"Hmm... We can share a menu," Luna said, probably mistakening our waitress's inaction for their lack of menus.

She then stood up slightly and leaned towards me until her face was merely a few inches from mine. My nose was welcomed with a pleasant scent of flowers, one that proved extremely calming and alluring. The close distance our bodies made it possible for me to hear her soft breathing which increased my heart rate tremendously. I could feel blood rushing to my face, making it red from embarrassment, but... what's weird was that I actually wanted the moment to last forever.

Subconsciously, I took my time when looking at the menu and deciding what I wanted to eat, hoping that this way, we can stay like this for a longer period of time. However, despite my wishes, the confines of reality smashed my dreams into pieces as her endurance wasn't enough to keep up with time. Her knees probably were fatigued which led to her taking a seat which increased the distance between us. No longer was I able to smell that aroma of hers and hear her gentle breathing.

"You're quite indecisive," she chuckled. "Here," she said, handing the menu to me. "You can order first."

With nothing restraining me now, I quickly ordered a simple omelet from the menu and for drinks asked for a milk tea. For Luna, she ordered a sandwich and milk tea as well. After the maid/my classmate took the menu from us and brought our orders to the sectioned-off kitchen area that was at the front of the classroom, the two of us were left alone.

Luna hummed a soft tune as she waited, smiling while leaning her face on her left hand while looking in my direction. This made me quite uneasy from nervousness and caused my heart to beat even faster. To escape this situation, I looked around the cafe, and that was when I discovered people murmuring among themselves while looking in our direction. They were probably talking about me and asking why someone like Luna would choose to spend time with me.

"Hey Alev."

A familiar voice broke the moment of awkwardness for me, and looking over my shoulder, I realized that it was Loyd that had came to my rescue. He was dressed in the butler outfit the boys had agreed to do so in order to see the girls in maid clothing and was currently working his shift. Since it wasn't particularly busy at the moment, he had the time to come over and talk for a bit. In all actuality, all my classmates that were currently working could've approached us, but they lacked the courage to do so. Only someone as charismatic and confident like Loyd could gather enough courage.

"I never knew that you know the student council president," he said with a smile as he put a hand on the backrest of my chair to support himself.

"We ran into each other this morning," Luna explained.

"That's convenient." Loyd laughed at the simple reason of why we were together.

"How's business?" Luna then asked in a casual voice as if the two were acquainted with each other, which was likely true due to how social Loyd was and how Luna seemed to know every student at our school, In fact, she even knows me, which can serve as evidence.

"Better than expected," Loyd chuckled. "This morning we were quite busy."

"That's always good to hear," Luna smiled.

"Well," Loyd brought up a hand to wave us goodbye when he saw a group of customers entering the cafe. "I'll have to get back to work so I won't bother the two of you anymore."

Then, he walked off in the direction of the entrance to greet the customers who had just entered.

"Welcome," he said, smiling with great professionalism and handsomeness that made the female customers who had just entered blush. "A table for two?"

I then brought my attention away from the boy who I had known since elementary school and back to the girl that sat before me. Once again, it was just the two of us as we waited for our food to arrive. The maid waitress that had served us had brought us the milk tea we had ordered while Loyd was chatting with us so the two of us sipped the fluid out of the cup using the plastic straws provided.

"So," Luna began speaking, "you're friends with Loyd?"

"You can think of it that way," I responded. I glanced at the girl that sat before me, taking in the interested look on her face.

"What about Irina and Muria?" she continued. "The three of you seemed quite close. One of them your girlfriend?"

"No," I answered. "I wouldn't even say we're friends. The more accurate answer about our relationships is probably we're above acquaintances but not at the point that we're friends."

"Is that so," Luna nodded in a manner that seemed to imply a deeper meaning in her mind and paused her speech for a brief second before continuing. "What you did during the meeting," she continued and smiled, "it was quite impressive. Although I do not agree with how severe of a punishment you wanted to give out."

I nodded since I was unable to come up with anything to say in response to that comment. I looked up at her and discovered that she was gazing into my eyes in an observing manner. When our eyes met, she seemed to be humored by something since she smiled mysteriously for a reason that was unknown to me.

"You said that Irina and Muria will be in the play," she said, smiling, "let's go and see it later on in the day."

If that is your wish, then I'll oblige.