A SIGH ESCAPED ELLIE'S LIPS AS SHE LOOKED DOWN AT THE SIGNUP SHEET BEFORE HER, deadpanning at the sapphire eyed brunet. "yawa-kun, i'm not joining."
"oh come on, natsukashi-san! we could really use the help, and you know you want to!" he griped out before turning to his friend for help. "watari, tell her!"
surprised to hear his name, the libero looked up from his textbook, blinking at the pair. "tell her what, exactly?" he asked, and kosei groaned.
"forget i even asked.." the shorter of the two boys wallowed, dropping his head on his desk in defeat while the female shook her own head.
"i told you before, i'm not cut out for that sort of thing anymore, and i wanted to focus on writing outside of school work." ellie explained, sliding the paper back to the boy seated across from her. "i'm not like you and watari-kun when it comes to balancing school and club activities.. it's why i chose to stop playing in the first place." she finished, trailing her eyes to the rain filled clouds.
"besides- i'm fine with just watching, it's just as fulfilling for me." the female spoke again, an absentmindedly smile on her lips.
but kosei knew. without having to look, he knew.
finally lifting his head, the brunet loosed a breath before sliding the paper back over to her. "at least hold onto it, in case you change your mind." he began, rising from his seat to take his leave. "fine if you don't want to or can't play, but at least give this, some thought."
with that, the wing spiker through the defense specialist a glance before departing with him. leaving the girl with her thoughts and an empty application form.
for a moment she stared down at it, examining both sides. on one, the application for the girls' volleyball club, and on the other, the boys'.
context aside, it was a good way to save paper; but again, that wasn't the point.
with one final look, ellie slid the sheet into her bag at the second ring of the bell, packing the rest of her belongings.
there was no need for deciding now — not that she would, anyway. she had made it clearer than crystals that she wouldn't be joining the team.
but giving it some thought, couldn't hurt that much.
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"how about here, natsuko-san?"
"that will do. thank you, ellie-chan." the female in question affirmed, lowering the box of books in her arms to see where the younger had placed hers. "perfect — i think the club is starting to look up.. more or less." she trailed off, grimacing at the vacancy of the room. "it's definitely on the empty side.."
ellie dusted her skirt off, placing her hands on her hips to have a look around. "i suppose last year consisted mostly of third years. but um- i saw some forms on the way in here. maybe they're just a little late?" she forced a smile, wanting to remain optimistic.. though it was becoming increasingly more difficult.
"that's not really reliable.." the third year mumbled back, sinking back into her chaise in defeat. "in order to keep our club and space, we need a minimum of four members." she continued, flipping through the stapled applications. "and so far only seven people have applied," a suspenseful pause. "including ourselves."
known for its sports and less 'boring' clubs, of course aoba johsai's literature club would get minimal attention in comparison. as there were very few students who took enjoyment in both reading and writing. not when a good spectacle of a sport was more entertaining.
even so..
the brunette lifted her head after a moment in her thoughts, turning to the president with a look of determination. one that only crossed ellie's features when her passion burned as bright as the stars in a moonless sky. "there's still a half hour left and all we need is two more people. i don't want to give up on them yet or have them show up to an empty room.. so if you need to be home soon, i can just-"
"no, no." natsuko intercepted, pushing her glasses up. "that won't be necessary. i'll stay as well.. it'd be wrong to leave it without seeing things through all the way." she tried saying, lowering her hand. "even if the result remains to be the two of us."
ellie smiled at her change of heart, nodding in agreement. "i couldn't have said it better." she laughed a little before getting comfortable on the sofa. "anyway, i guess we just wait now for-"
"sorry! is this the literature club room? we're a lil' late.." a feminine voice spoke, thickened with what sounded like a kansai accent. or well, it reminded ellie and natsuko of one. "found this guy on the way! not sure what his excuse is, though."
the elder of the two rose from her seat, dismissing the brunette with a wave. "that's quite alright — you're the transfer student from hyogo. miyu kozakura from class 2-5, if i'm not mistaken?"
"bingo! that'd be me~ glad to make yer acquaintance." the girl named miyu grinned before pointing to the boy beside her. "and this dude is uh.."
an exasperated sigh. "kasui nishimura, class 3-6." he introduced, lowering his headphones. "there's no excusing my tardiness, i just didn't hear the bell because of these."
"3-6 is tooru-san's class.." ellie wondered to herself, but pushed the thought away as quick as it came. "no worries, it's nice to meet you both! i'm ellie natsukashi of class 2-6 — but please call me ellie..! my last name can often be a mouthful.."
kasui nodded. "noted."
a pregnant silence.
"well um.." natsuko began, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. "i'll be your president this year, natsuko yumeri — welcome to aoba johsai's literature club-!" she spoke a little louder this time, holding the stencil to her chest. "to start off simple.. what made you choose this club?"
a thoughtful hum fell past miyu's lips before her features brightened up, recalling the reason she had prepared to say. "in all honesty i haven't properly written before.. i'm more of a manga artist, so i'm restricted to dialogue usually — but i wanna improve my storytellin' abilities!" she tried explaining, not wanting to be judged right off the bat. "so i was hopin' i could achieve that here." the chestnut haired girl beamed, hoping her reason would suffice.
and it just about did, as the third year nodded in understanding. "well i hope we can help you out with that, kozakura-san." she answered softly, smiling a little before turning to the only male of the club. "nishimura-san?"
"i just wanted a quiet place to read before practice." he answered curtly, pulling a book out of his bag as he crossed one leg over the other.
"and here i thought yer reasonin' would make up for that monotonous voice of yers." miyu breathed out, ignoring the cold stare that was thrown her way.
ellie on the other hand, found herself lingering on the word practice, as her eyes trailed to the blank application form peeking from her school bag. was it a sign?
psh, no. a simple word like practice didn't mean volleyball. many other sports and hobbies existed. it was foolish to think that something like that could be a sign to look again at the sheet she was given.
unlike the girl beside her, natsuko thought little of the word as she nodded slowly. "very well- i suppose i understand that — to an extent." a peaceful space to read was always ideal. as an introvert, the iridium haired maiden understood. "and yourself, ellie-chan?"
awoken from her daze, the second year let a sheepish laugh out, raising her hand to rub her neck. "i'm just here for extra practice with my writing since i want to be a published author someday — and maybe as an excuse to rant to people about books.." she finished quietly before her eyes sparkled in remembrance. "which reminds me.. i heard sarah j maas is coming out with a new book in august!"
piqued, the gray haired male finally looked up from his book, lifting his teal colored hues to meet ellie's chocolate ones. "throne of glass, right?" it was the first he's spoken with a genuine care for the conversation.
hearing the near unnoticeable change in his tone, the female blinked in surprised before inclining her head slowly. out of everyone in the club room, she least expected kasui to react. "that's the one, yeah.. are you a fan of her writing, too?"
a nod. "i'm all caught up with her electronic novellas about celaena. just waiting for the fourth now and for throne of glass to release."
natsukashi was nearly in tears. a man who reads, and has good taste.
"ahem.." yumeri cut through, sending the younger a warning glance. "before ellie-chan continues, club activities during the week are from 3:30 to five. saturdays, the clubroom is open till around six — but the hours you come and go are flexible since it's a weekend." she explained, straightening her papers out. "that's all from me, thank you for coming, and i hope to see you all again tomorrow..!"
as if on queue, the bell rang — signaling the end of the very first club session.
though not quite the end of the school day as yet.
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"EXCUSE ME. I SWAM FASTER!"
"NO, I DID! I TOUCHED THE WALL WAY BEFORE YOUR FINGERS COULD EVEN GRAZE THE SPACE BEFORE IT!"
"LIAR! YOU'RE FULL OF IT — I WAS SO THERE!"
"NO- YOU!"
ellie blinked at the pair before loosing a breath. "these comebacks are getting lamer and lamer by the years. are they usually this fired up after practice, fuyohito-kun?"
the teal eyed boy, now face palming, nodded slowly. "unfortunately, so. it's a shame you caught them like this, they were doing fairly well earlier." he explained before flattening his lips. "until kitagawa-senpai splashed water onto oikawa-senpai before she put her swim cap on."
the brunette sweated, letting out a defeated laugh. "of course he did.."
"did what, ellie-chan??" a male with amber colored hair inquired, draping himself over the girl- who shuddered beneath his coldness. "i was only playing around!" he reasoned, huffing quietly. "it seems sky-chan just wasn't very fond of my methods! but you definitely would have been, right?" he pressed, pouting a little.
"not while i'm wearing clothes that are soaked with pool water, akira-san.." ellie whispered in defense, struggling to free herself while the ginger laughed behind her.
"just pool water?"
"what."
"AKIRA!" sky reprimanded, smacking the back of the taller's head. "there are CHILDREN here. watch that filthy mouth of yours!!"
"never~!" the ocean eyed third year sang, sticking his tongue out.
shiro cringed at their banter, turning on his heel to avoid hearing any further comments from his upperclassmen. "i'm leaving."
too busy trying to pry akira off of ellie, sky failed to notice the albino haired first year departing as she continued to tug on her teammate. "let ellie-chan go! she doesn't deserve to be covered in your nasty, sweaty water!! I BET YOU PEED IN THE POOL!"
a gasp. "i would never do someone so crude. if you're telling me that, then i bet you do it!"
"I DO NOT!" sky bellowed out, pulling harder. "NOW LET GO!"
kitagawa blinked for a moment before releasing the second year. "okay." he shrugged, throwing his hands up in defense. "all done."
"good!" the younger oikawa huffed out, cracking her knuckles. "any last words?"
a smirk crawled to his lips when he caught sight of two figures walking through the doorway as he neared the aspiring writer. "forgive me, ellie-chan."
"akira-san..?" the second year called out, looking up between him and sky, before she spotted the approaching pair. "what're you.. wait- NO. AKIRA-SAN!"
with that final plea of his name, ellie screamed as she was shoved into the pool with the ginger, clutching onto him for dear life.
meanwhile sky had barely managed to register her actions as she covered her mouth in terror. "oh no.. oh god no — he's going to kill me if he sees her."
"if who sees her, sky-chan."
"EEEEEEEEEK! TOORU-NII!" she jumped back, shivering as he approached her slowly, menacingly.
"you have ten seconds to explain." the setter warned, his tone low. "or gible gets it."
the swimmer backed away in horror, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "NO — PLEASE. A-ANYTHING BUT GIBLE, HE'S INNOCENT!" she cried out looking to his best friend for help, only to find him looking away. "TOORU PLEASE- I DIDN'T MEAN TO PUSH HER IN, AKIRA-SAN — HE GRABBED HER AT THE LAST MINUTE WHEN I ONLY MEANT TO PUSH HIM IN!"
tooru was silent for a moment before he moved away from his sister. "consider yourself and gible spared." he finally spoke before turning to akira. "as for you." the captain called, marching up to the amber haired male with a fire in his mocha hues.
hajime could only roll his eyes as he went to check on the fearful brunette, scarred from the threats against her gible plush at home. "here he goes.."
"HOW DARE YOU TAKE ELLIE-CHAN INTO THE POOL WITH YOU! SHE WAS THE INNOCENT BYSTANDER OF YOUR SHENANIGANS WITH SKY-CHAN!"
akira kept the innocent look on his face, batting his eyelashes. "so cruel, tooru-san.. your sister makes a violent act against me and i'm the bad guy." he sniffled, wiping some pool water from his cheeks. "how could you, tooru-san!"
the older was fuming by now as he grabbed onto his classmate's shoulders, "THAT'S OIKAWA-SAMA TO YOU! AND I CAN BE AS CRUEL AS I WANT TO! ONLY ELLIE-CHAN CAN CALL ME THAT!" he bellowed, knocking his forehead into akira's — who fell back dramatically into his rear.
"i wonder who taught him that one." the ace commented dryly, rubbing sky's shoulders. "you alright?"
"he threatened gible.." she whispered, turning to iwaizumi before opening her arms to throw herself at him. "WAAAAAHHH, IWA-CHAN! I WAS SO SCARED, I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT!"
catching her awkwardly, the wing spiker patted her back for her, pursing his lips. "i know, i know. gible's not here though, so oikawa can't do anything."
"BUT HE THREATENED HIM! WHAT IF HE TAKES GIBLE WHILE I'M ASLEEP — THAT'S IT, I'M PULLING AN ALL-!"
"shh. gible's fine, so you're gonna be okay too."
"bUT-"
"shh." he hushed her again, slowing his hand on her back. "relax." hajime beckoned, and begrudgingly, she did.
ellie on the other hand.. found herself beyond annoyed as she squeezed the water out of her hair crossing her blazer over her chest. "hello?! your kohai could potentially get sick and you're all sitting here fighting and comforting each other?!" she interrogated, watching as they all turned to her. "some senpai, you guys are! adios, pendejos!"
as the door slammed shut, sky looked to the three boys, sweating. "quick, what did she say.."
"beats me." hajime shrugged.
"ellie-chan!" tooru called after the girl, shoving akira into the pool again, before chasing after her. "don't leave — I'M A GOOD SENPAI, I SWEAR!!!"
𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗨𝗦' 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗥. another update cuz i felt
silly or whatever. realizing now i have not one
but two chapter titles referencing spongebob..
ANYWAY- hope you guys enjoyed, i ended up
adding more ocs into the batch for the sake of
nostalgia; so to the small audience who reads
this book, hope you enjoy and drop feedback
if possible! anyways take care, see you soon!