8 years later......
"Keiran, it was already stated in the protocol that every club should have a minimum of four members. Any club with members below four will be disbanded automatically" said Mrs. Santillan, the club administrator.
The youngster's eyes were filled with melancholy, and Krist, who was sitting next to him, felt bad for the boy. In an effort to at least lessen the boy's sadness, Krist lightly stroked his friend's back.
Keiran and his three other buddies founded their club because they have a passion for mystical and fantastical creatures as they aspire to become writers in such genres. Books about those topics are frequently written by Keiran and his buddies.
Even though their club barely made it, it remained active because there were four members at the time. not until a friend of his was moved to another school. They have made every effort to enlist additional members, but they are having difficulty because people prefer more interesting things than to believe in imaginary beings.
"Maam, please give us some time to get more members. I promise we will find someone. Please give us a chance" the boy plead. Mrs. Santillan sighed and also felt upset for the boy.
"Okay, I will give you a chance to get more members. But it would be just one week. If you failed to get someone, then you'd better join other clubs" the boy's expression enlightened.
"Thank you ma'am" The woman smiled and told them to return to class.
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"So, how was it?" Asked Rytz, one of his friends.
She saw her friend's frown and it brought worry to her eyes. Her companion might not have given her their responses, but the looks on their faces were too evident. So she made the decision not to inquire further.
"Hey, what's with your face huh? Think positive will you? We can do it, believe me" she smiled, trying to cheer them up.
Keiran was compelled to sigh deeply. How was he going to recruit someone to their club this week? The idea that the group that brought them together will cease is incredibly stressful.
The only group on campus that has nearly reached its breaking point is "White Fangs Club." For almost two years, Keiran and his friends have been guarding the club. Since others think they are nonsense, no one wants to join their organization.
When a hand touched his shoulder, Keiran suddenly stopped daydreaming. He glanced up to see his friend Rytz beaming at him."Don't worry, we'll save the club. Trust me." She said with an assuring and determined expression in her eyes. She didn't gaze away from her friend until Keiran smiled back.
Even though it has been eight years, Keiran sometimes finds himself thinking about the accident. He had a strange search for someone ever since that day. He has been attempting to recall every detail of that day, but he keeps coming back to the same image.
"Hello, earth on Keiran, where are you?" The child blinked his eyes and turned to look at Krist, who was looking at him bewilderedly.
"Huh?"
"I'm asking if you could come with us handing out flyers for the club recruitment. " Krist repeated his question.
"What about our class in research?" He asked dumbfoundedly.
"Where did you come from, huh? The class has been dismissed for minutes already. Look, there's no one in here except for us." Rytz joined the conversation and handed him the flyers she printed a while ago.
"Oh, sorry..." Keiran said apologetically. His friends sighed and held his shoulder.
"We can do it."
"so, are you coming with us?" Krist held a hand in front of him.
"Hm, of course. We only have four days to save our club. I can't waste a second." Keiran replied and eagerly held back Krist's hand.
So Keiran packed everything he needed into his bag before they headed to the campus's open spaces to start handing out flyers. Rytz chose the student lounge, Krist walked to the cafeteria where he usually sits, and Keiran headed to the gate.
They decided to cease handing out the flyers at five and assembled at Keiran's location.
"Uggh, this is so tiring. Why can't someone just pop out of nowhere and join our club even though they don't want to?" Rytz blurted out while wiping the sweat on her forehead.
"Oh, sorry I brought you into this..." Keiran replied and looked down. Rytz heaved out a sigh and patted his shoulder.
"Sorry, Keiran. I didn't mean to complain. I'm just frustrated, you know I also don't want our club to end. But we can't ignore the possibility if we can't have recruits within this week." She explained. The boy just tipped a smile and shook his head.
"It's fine, I understand." What else could he do, he felt the same too.
"Ah, everyone it's almost evening. Let's just wrap it up today." Keiran announced as they gathered back at their meeting place. However, the hope of saving the club successfully didn't leave Keiran's mind. He just has to think of something different.
"Oh, Keiran you came home late." he heard his mother utter as he arrived home. Keiran went to her at the counter and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
"Just busy with club activities, Mom. Nothing to worry about." He replied as he went to get some water in the fridge.
"I heard your club will soon disband." The boy paused and shortly glanced at his mother. Look how information spreads fast, tsk!
Keiran breathed deeply. Here it goes again.
"I was glad you were able to form a club at your school, I never thought it was a useless one. I told you it won't do you any good. If only you made one that is beneficial to your studies and not that nonsense mythological creatures that aren't even real."
"Mom, I've been doing everything for you to be happy. Why can't you just support me in the things I love?" Keiran uttered.
"It is because I know what's best for you. And I know you can get no good having an interest in those things." The lady walked and caressed his cheek, smiling.
"You can just give up with that stuff and join other clubs instead. You also love sketching, right? Why don't you join the art club?" Keiran drifted his gaze to the ground. Who would've thought that the person whom he believes will support him would be the one who will discourage him?
"I need to go to my room, excuse me." He spoke in nearly a whisper before running upstairs. As the child entered his room, the sound of the door closing reverberated throughout the residence. He dropped his bag on the couch, slouched on the bed, and let all of his feelings out on the pillow until he was exhausted and dozed out.
The following day...
Keiran went to school; he hadn't seen his mother since she went jogging around the neighborhood this morning. After a brief disagreement with her last night, Keiran's mind was also at ease with the concept.
As usual, the driver came to a stop in front of the school's entrance and waited for him to enter before moving on.
"Keeeiiraaan, Ohaay~" When Rytz saw him strolling aimlessly to his desk, she stopped.
"Why so noisy, Rytz?" Krist also came and went to his desk which is just in front of Keiran's.
"Waaaaaahh! Keuristeeuu! (Krist) Keiran is asdfghjk~" When Krist put his palm over Rytz's mouth to stop her, she couldn't help but whimper like a child.
"Hey, move your dirty hands off my face." Krist moved his hand.
"You should've minimized your voice and talked normally, our eardrums could've burst by your voice, tsk!" Rytz pouted and gave Krist a death glare.
"Hmp, I'm just trying to lift Keiran's mood." She mumbled.
"More like hurting his ears tho, tsk!" Krist commented and stared at his friend's gloomy face. He sighed and sat at his table.
"Hey, early in the morning, and you're like a walking dead. Haven't you got any sleep last night?" Krist was able to grab Keiran's attention.
"I did," Keiran replied and then slumped on his desk.
"What's with your face, then?" One deep sigh escaped from his friend before answering his question.
"I just had a short argument with Mom last night." Just a short response and Krist already understood what it is about.
"Come on, just forget about it. I'm sure we could find someone to join our club in no time." Krist gently pats Keiran's back to cheer him up.
"Alright good morning everyone, please settle down." Everyone returned hurriedly to their respective seats and greeted the teacher.
"Okay, so before we start our class allow me to introduce to you your new classmate..." The teacher announced.
Unlike before, there were whispers and light chattering across the entire class as each student followed the anticipation of their new friend with their gaze. Except for Keiran, who was still lying on his desk and didn't seem to be interested, everyone continued looking at the door.
"Please introduce yourself in the class."
"I'm Lucien Hart..." Unexpectedly, Keiran felt his spine tingle when he heard a deep, chilly voice.
And by the moment he raised a glance at the person standing. Strangely, Keiran suddenly felt like time had stopped ticking.
Who is he?