“Why are you still up *$#$$##$@*?” I hear my fathers’ slightly concerned voice as he puts on his shirt in front of the mirror in my room .
“Couldn’t sleep” I reply , feeling slightly heavy at the back of my head and under my eyes as I look out the window once more , the sky is still dark as its only 4:30 AM … ‘Dawn should come in 15 minutes’ I think to myself as I get off the chair and stretch a little.
“I’m going for a walk” I say to my father as I start putting on my shoes .
“Okay , just come back and get some sleep” he replies as he leaves the room , I get ready, leave the building and follow the route I follow whenever I go for a walk , grabbing a snack from the grocery on my way back.
I open the apartment door with the keys I took me and enter a noiseless apartment , ‘Guess mom went back to sleep’ I think as I remove my shoes and head for the dining table , A pair of sunny side up eggs are waiting on the table for me and I dig in to my pre-sleep breakfast.
After sleeping a few hours I follow my daily routine as usual until classes are over and I see Saki waiting for me next to the door of the classroom, Joseph seems to be the only one who notices and eyes me suspiciously before leaving. I finally pack my bag and head over to Saki , we’re the only two people left in class .
“Let’s go” She says as she grabs her bag and we both head for the computer science lab ; before we reach the stairs I ask “Will I even do anything? Don’t I need to wait till you need the voice acting stuff?” to which she replies “You can be like me and do some non technical work” , ‘So she is like a manager’ I confirm in my mind and the rest of the journey goes without any conversation.
On entering the computer lab I notice the lack of the click-clack noises of keyboards save for a single computer being used and I turn to Saki with a questioning gaze.
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“They were seniors of the computer science stream who were working on an assignment due today” she quickly replied upon noticing my gaze and I nod in understanding. “Then who’s the guy still here?” I ask in confusion ; If the assignment deadline has already passed , the teachers won’t except any further submissions..
“Oh that’s Leni , he’s the only guy in our club who knows programming so he’s the one who’ll actually be making the game “ Saki says in a tone of admiration ; On hearing his name being mentioned , Lenis’ head popped over the backside of the monitor of the computer he was working on as he waves at us with a smile, His bright smile and light blue coloured glasses form a weird contrast with the multiple bags under his eyes and his ruffled looking hair , he also has a slightly patchy beard which makes him look older than how old he actually is.
After waving to us , he takes a short sip from a silver can which wasn’t visible from where I was standing and then disappears behind the monitor as the click clacking on his keyboard resumes.
By the time I come out of my daze from seeing Leni , Archie has already walked over to us and I see the now open store room door in the background. ‘I wonder why they can’t talk out here’ I wonder as I turn my attention to what Archie is saying to Saki.
“...two can look through them and find it” were the words I managed to catch from the conversation as Saki nods and Archie starts walking towards the store room.
Saki turns to me and says “So, we have to find a notebook which has the script for the first section of the game written on it , Elfreda left it in the library yesterday and the librarian said it should have been sent to lost and found , lets go”
‘Ah , menial labour sure is fun’ I think to myself as we head to the lost and found room on the first floor , after getting the teacher in charges’ permission we head inside to a room filled with around 30 cardboard boxes , all filled with random items ranging from wallets and handkerchiefs to an asthma inhaler .We divide the boxes into 15 each and start looking through them , after going through about 8 boxes which took about an hour in total , I find Elfredas’ notebook ; It was a generic spiral bound notebook with
“I found it” I say in a fatigued and relieved voice and turn to see a tired looking Saki stopping her hands and sighing , her now messy hair and relieved smile making me remember that I have a crush on her and the blood rushes to my cheeks as I hand over the notebook to her; ‘Luckily she’s too busy looking at the notebook to notice’ .
We spent another 15 minutes clearing up the mess we made and leave for the computer science lab after thanking the teacher in charge. On entering the lab we find Archie and Elfreda talking inside , since its about time for the last batch of buses to leave , the other kids have already packed up and left.
“I should be going to “ Saki says as she keeps the door pushed open , she waves goodbye to Archie and Elfreda with her free hand and turns to me and smiles before saying “See you tomorrow *$#$@e$#$*”
I feel my mind go blank as she leaves , the lab door slowly closing by its own behind her , I stand there motionless staring at the door before a hand latches onto my shoulder from behind.
“We should get going to” Archie says , and we head towards the bus stop.