Komi Komi Literature Club!

Chapter 30: The Delusion Dates

You and Yuri meet for coffee at your local bookstore. Inside, you find her already there, punctual as usual, wearing a beige sweater with black leggings, sneakers, and a pair of square-shaped glasses with thin frames. As you enter, she greets you with a warm smile, her voice soft, low, and smooth.

"I'm glad that you were able to make it. Forgive me for jumping ahead, but I already got myself a drink. I've already grabbed a table for us, so feel free to get yourself something. I'll wait patiently."

As you wait in line for your drink of choice, you look and see Yuri sitting there by the window, one leg cross over the other, her gaze fixed on the pages of her favorite book while she sips from a berry-flavored punch, since she's not really much of a coffee drinker.

Sitting there, her posture is proper and her movements are silent and graceful, like a picture in a magazine. She reaches from her drink and takes a sip from it without even needing to look away from the pages of her book.

However when you sit down across from her, she quickly marks the page she's leaving off on before closing the book and gently setting it down on the table. She gives you a little smile to show that she is now giving you her full attention.

"How are you doing today? Have you been keeping up with things alright?"

She starts off with simple pleasantries to get the conversation going. It isn't the most unique conversation in the world, but at least it breaks the ice. Still, you want to know more about her, so you decide to ask her about the one thing you noticed she brought with her.

You ask her about her book. Immediately, her eyes light up, and she begins to tell you the basics about the book she's been reading, the fifth book in a fantasy series by an author she recently picked up. You ask a couple questions about what the book is about, but soon you hardly need to speak at all.

Getting into the intricacies of the book is clearly a treat for Yuri as she talks for a little while about the different characters, the themes that she's picked up on, and more. She clearly has thought deeply about this series, and you can tell that she has a good grasp on the writing and what she likes about it.

"Ah, forgive me, I'm rambling. I do that a lot. Sorry." She apologizes when she realizes she took over the conversation. Suddenly, the confidence she once displayed melts away and is replaced fidgety body language; she plays with the ends of her hair as she blushes and looks away.

However, you reassure her that you don't mind. In fact, you like listening to her talk. You can tell that she's very passionate about it! You invite her to share more if she feels comfortable doing so.

"Really?" She asks, looking at you with surprise, her expression betraying just a little bit of hope, "I...well...thank you. I don't mean to be so...ah...maybe, if you would like, we c-could...read it together?" She offers.

You tilt your head and chuckle a little. You're not against the idea, but you do have to point out to her that she is on a later book in the series, so you would have to get caught up.

"That's okay. I like going back and reading the earlier installments sometimes to refresh my memory. And besides...it would be nice to share something with you. I think you would really enjoy it," She says with a sheepish smile.

"So maybe after this we can see if the first book is here? I wouldn't mind getting started soon."

"Wow! Alex, that was actually good!" Tadano said in awe.

"Thanks, I hated it." Alex replied with a chuckle.