|| Warakuma High School ||
Apr.7 2015. Tues
After School
Leiko Hamada: Class 2-1
Leiko's eyes flickered back and forth from the teacher back to the clock impatiently, her stomach tightening into knots as the lesson drew closer to its end. From the moment she woke up, she was filled with nervous tension and anticipation for her first day in the role of Drama Club President. It seemed fairly ridiculous for someone so prideful and exuding with confidence to be nervous about taking charge, but it was still a concept that she was getting accustomed to. Up until a couple of years ago, Leiko was nothing short of a loner, so her popularity and growing circle of friends was unsettling to her at the best of times.
Even so, she reminded herself that she was leading a club that represented one of her greatest passions. Yesterday was about publicizing and reaching out to the student body, so that she could acquire new members. Today was about proving to them why it was worth joining. And she would endeavour to do exactly that.
Through the thrilling method of selection that was auditioning, of course.
As soon as the shrill sound of the bell signalled the end of lessons, Leiko's chair pushed back with a screech, hurriedly packing her stencils and textbooks away before making a swift exit for the door.
Leiko Hamada: Auditorium
Drama Club meetings were usually held in a cramped room full of props and moth-eaten costumes on the first floor of the school. Leiko wasn't keen on the space offered to them, and she had tried to dispute this with the Student Council in the past, but she had garnered little success; the bottom line was that Warakuma was hardly a town that prized itself on its cultural influence, and she was lucky that a Drama Club existed in the first place. However, she had managed to bend some arms, and in doing so she was able to secure the auditorium for holding auditions for the new members. She wanted them to feel the presence of a real stage when they recited their lines, so she could judge how they would be able to handle being under pressure.
Before making her way over there, however, she ensured to emblazon a clear sign on the Drama room door telling students where to go for auditions. It was likely that some of the regular members would have missed her flyer advertisements from the previous day and assumed that the first meeting would be held at the usual place, after all.
On entering the auditorium, Leiko was relieved to recognise a few familiar faces from last year, already speaking to each other in their pre-defined cliques in a small cluster by the stage. Leiko raised her hand in greeting, and a couple of them returned the gesture before returning to their conversations. In truth, Leiko wasn't all that close to her clubmates; some of them found her personality overbearing, and her enthusiasm for drama a little jarring as not everyone took it as seriously as her. Still, she had been nominated unanimously for President, so that had to mean something.
"Good afternoon." Leiko cleared her throat politely as a way of drawing the attention of the people around her before continuing. "As most of you already know, I am Hamada Leiko, and I will be assuming the role of Club President this year. We suffered quite a few dropouts at the end of last year, so this meeting will be spent auditioning new members and profiling their abilities within the club. I will be constructing a judging panel that will consist of myself and two other experienced members, and our focus will be on positive and constructive feedback." She rested her hand on her hip as she spoke, her expression calm and slightly stern. "Please make the new members feel welcome when they arrive, and do your best for the coming year."
"Sure thing, President-dono!" One of the second year males gave a cocky thumbs up in response, causing a prickle of annoyance to run through her as a couple of other people chuckled slightly at the honorific. Masatomo was in the drama club last year too, and whilst he was a decent actor, his attitude was insufferable. And, considering how assertive and controlling Leiko could be at times, it wasn't a rare occurence for the two to butt heads over things. She also suspected that Masatomo was slightly embittered about losing the President role to her, but it hadn't been enough to steer him away, it seemed. Unfortunately.
"Anyway, let's make a start." Leiko clapped her hands, a signal that Drama Club had officially begun. "Whilst we're waiting for the new members, we need to get this place into shape. You, find and prepare a table for the judges." She thrusted an authoritative finger at one of the girls playing on her mobile phone, provoking a startled 'eep' sound from the student before she darted off to hunt for a table. "And you! I want you to adjust the stage lighting. A white filtered spotlight aimed at centre stage will do." Another student was targeted by Leiko's condemning index finger, which prompted him to quickly head for the control panel. "Come on, everyone, time to concentrate!"
Saya Ueno: Class 2-1
"Oww...my head hurts..." Saya whined as the lessons finally stretched to their conclusion, her head hitting softly against the polished wooden surface of her desk as she bemoaned her misfortune. "Second year lessons are already so much harder than the first. I thought high school was supposed to get easier..."
"Yeah...only if you study, Saya-chan," one of her classmates nearby rolled her eyes with a slightly condescending smile. "And we all know that head of yours is only filled with air anyway."
"H-Hey! That's mean!" Saya pouted, drawing out a hearty laugh from the girl next to her. It wasn't long before Saya's pout was broken into raucous girlish laughter as well, until a tear or two fell from the corner of her eyes. It had taken a long time for Saya to be at the place she was at now; had this been middle school, a remark like that would have broken her. But thanks to her friend Hama-chan, and the people she had befriended since, Saya was able to look at most of her flaws and accept them as they were.
Once the giggling died down, Saya wiped her eyes and glanced around the classroom. Speaking of, where was Hama-chan anyway? She had been unnaturally quiet all day, and bolted for the door as soon as the bell had rung without a single word. The action caused Saya to frown slightly as she wracked her brain for an answer. Was she forgetting something?
Deciding to cast the thought aside for now, Saya decided to just head home. Hama-chan was the secretive sort anyway, and Saya knew better than to intrude on the girl's privacy.
Before she approached the lockers, Saya felt herself stiffen, her eyes gauging her surroundings cautiously before making any sudden movements. She had made it her mission to stay well out of Rokoru-senpai's way today after yesterday's debacle. Saya could almost feel physical pain as she recalled the mortifying events over and over in her mind like a broken record. It was her first time meeting him officially and she had royally screwed it up.
Still, she needed to hand in her registration forms, so rather than confront the Archery Club President like Hama-chan suggested, Saya had chosen the coward's way out.
She had stuffed them through the gap of his shoe locker.
It appeared however that Rokoru-senpai was nowhere to be found. Deciding that the lockers were safe territory for now, Saya headed for her own shoe locker, slipping off her indoor shoes before retrieving a pair of stylish black knee-length boots. She zipped them into place before bouncing experimentally on her heel, an ecstatic smile lighting up her face. They were gorgeous and they were comfortable. Totally worth that 13000 yen I spent!
Except...now she had to pay her parents back. Saya groaned, the temporary distraction of her shoes subsiding as reality took hold. In return for buying the boots, Saya had to pay off her loan through shifts as the restaurant where her family worked. It was such a drag. It was bad enough that they harassed her into changing her views regarding her future on a regular basis, but when she had to work there alongside them, it only made it worse.
It was all for the boots. Saya reminded herself grittingly, bracing herself for the nightmare shift ahead as she left for the school grounds.
