The last of the council members exited through the towering blue doors, closing with an echoing slam behind them.

Chihiro jumped from her chair and stretched with an exaggerated huff. “Finaally! I didn’t know we had so many submissions. I guess they added some more after—“

“After, what?” Toshiaki asked. “You didn’t go snooping around without my permission again, did you?”

“N-no! Of course not, Prez!”

Reina stood up from her chair, taking a sip of her water bottle as Aisha walked in front of her. They exchanged glances for a few seconds before Aisha chuckled.

“Very interesting, Vice President.” She said.

The council observed her departure and then looked back at Reina.

“What was that about? You two know each other?” Fergus asked.

Reina glanced at the closing doors mid-sip, then locked eyes with Toshiaki.

“That was very unexpected of you, sticking your neck out for that second year,” Toshiaki said.

“Oh, was it?” Reina said with a smile. “I just thought his idea was comical at best and wanted to investigate further. Nothing more.”

“The council majority voted to decline his club submission. But I already know that Chihiro chose the opposite of the group because she’s just like that, so she’s the missing one percent… But there was one abstain. That was you, wasn’t it?” Toshiaki asked while crossing his arms.

Reina threw away her water bottle in a passing disposable with closed eyes. She then walked in front of Toshiaki, adjusting his tie without a glance.

“You want to clench the President position for next year, correct?”

Toshiaki cleared his throat with a nod. “R-right…”

“Well, did you notice how some of the council members showed interest when that boy mentioned the video game he was talking about?”

“I… I did not notice that…”

Reina dragged him down by the length of his tie so that they were a few inches apart.

“You need to start boosting the morale of other students.” She whispered. “The popularity of this game is evident, even from the recent survey of council students. Consider the positive image of supporting this club's existence. I’d say you’d be quite innovative and concerned with the views and customs of the student body.”

Toshiaki’s eyes widened as Reina let go of his tie. She then straightened it with a nod.

“Do you get it now? Though I may be seen as the villain for opposing the council, you can rectify this and claim the credit you deserve.”

Toshiaki turned around, scratching his chin with a pondering expression. He then nodded and sat back down in his chair.

“I see. Since it's new, the club will require an advisor.

Reina bowed her head. “I’ll make it a top priority.”

“No. I want it to be you.” Toshiaki said.

Fergus blinked, then burst into laughter. “Bwahaha! That’s hilarious! Now she must work with her rival. Excellent jest, President!”

Toshiaki smirked with several nods. “Yes, I know. I’m quite the jester.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“W-Wait, what? I don’t know anything about video games!” Reina exclaimed.

She then pointed to Chihiro, now busy mashing buttons on a red and blue hand console.

“Why not ask Chihiro? She’s always playing games on her phone and that… that thing!”

Chihiro pointed at herself with a gasp. “First off, it’s a Switch-X… And second off, don’t drag me into this! You decided to open your big mouth! You deal with it!”

She then stuck out her tongue and ran out the door.

With a pleading smile, Reina looked back at Toshiaki. “Darling, you wouldn’t make me do something I wouldn’t want to do ri—“

“Well, meeting adjourned. For all the students we didn’t get to, we’ll continue during lunch break, and after school.” Toshiaki interjected with a smile facing forward. “Have a great first period!”

He then lunged his arm over Fergus’s shoulder as they began walking. “So, about Health and Sports Day this year. I want to create a plan too…”

Reina backed into a chair, gazing at the floor in disbelief. “This… This can’t be happening… Why me?”

----------------------------------------

Chihiro and Reina strolled through the school’s halls. The white-tiled floors mirrored the glossy walls adorned with murals and Renaissance-style artwork. Passing students, and some professors, stopped in their tracks to bow toward them as they noticed the aiguillette on Chihiro’s shoulder.

“I can’t believe he threw you under the bus like that. Talk about totally unexpected!” Chihiro said with a giggle.

“I still don’t know why he would assign me to the club, anyway. I’m not a geek, and I especially don’t like video games. Why do I have to suffer?” Reina asked with a groan.

“Don’t think of it like that. Maybe no one will join the club. You need at least four members for it to be official. Well…”

“Well, what…?”

“Technically, you’re the second member acting as council advisor along with the President… So you’re already at two, haha…”

Reina stopped in her tracks and drooped her head. “I did not expect my first day of academy to be so dreadful…”

Chihiro giggled, pointing to a room down the hall. They proceeded down the corridor, encountering alternating black and white wooden doors, each decorated differently than the rest.

The dampened tunes of soothing flutes, banging drums, and lively saxophones sprung from underneath the Band Room door. Its black canvas was printed with golden instruments and musical notes, as a girl wearing an all-white band uniform on an LED screen served as its conductor. Concert stickers and posters covered the door’s sides, with one sticker noticeably faded.

A serene stream of water calmed their ears as they passed the Architecture and Design Club’s door. Like a piece of paper floating in the wind, the door’s unusual folding properties swayed inward and then out, as water sprayed down its inner workings, finishing its journey into a koi fish pond encapsulated in glass below the doorway.

Reina continued taking periodic stops to witness the creative doors in all their beauty, each marking their club’s skills in a construct of their creation. They stopped at the hall's end, facing the sole door adorned with a blank canvas and club sign.

Chihiro placed a hand on the door, causing it to lift open with a soft hum. The room had limited visibility, with artificial sunlight peeking through two front windows. Long black desks and levitating white-cushioned chairs were neatly aligned on the wall, along with styrofoam boxes of varying lengths stacked according to size.

“Kaugh… Kaugh…” Reina covered her mouth to cough, wafting the humid and dusty air. “How long since this room’s been used?”

“Well, a while now. The logs say it’s been about two years.” Chihiro said. “Whenever clubs with similar traits are formed, they usually end up sharing spaces. The only reason this club didn’t shack up with programming or Game-Dev is…”

“It might’ve created some friction. I understand,” Reina said while crossing her arms.

As she took a step, her leg bumped into an unidentified article. She then crouched down, noticing a human’s physique lying on a couple of boxes.

Chihiro walked over and tilted her head. “Is that Tiger? Talk about eager! He must’ve used his free study to come and check out the clubroom before classes ended.”

Stripes of sunbeams shone across his face as if playing on his name. The light made his long dark eyelashes on his cheeks and nose glisten, while his lips formed a smile that would never have been seen at the early council meeting. The gentle rise and lowering of his chest with each breath made the room itself tranquil.

Reina noticed a piece of dust sitting on his brown dreads.

I thought he was keeping his cool during the council meeting, but after seeing him like this, it was obvious it was tense for him. I hope I did the right thing by intervening...

She removed the piece of dust, then looked beside him at a cart of cleaning supplies.

“I guess he meant to clean but got lazy halfway through, and it doesn’t even seem like he started,” Reina said.

Chihiro, eyes closed and head nodding, bounced off the floor with wide eyes. “I’m… I’m awake!”

Reina chuckled and pointed at the door. “It’s been a long day, Chihiro. Why don’t you go to the council party and relax with the others?”

“You’re not coming? You’re the Vice Prez, and I’m sure Toshi would want you there too.”

Reina nodded. “I’ll be there soon. I’ve just got some advising duties to attend to.”

She picked up the dust polish and cloth and began polishing the outer desks.

Chihiro paused at the door's edge, smiling as she glanced back. “I knew Aisha was wrong. You have changed Rei.”