Your Best Friend

“Ah… Er… sure.” The other maybe didn’t realize yet, but Sou knew what was really happening here. It wasn’t news to him, that he wasn’t the strongest man around here. But that he failed at opening a door was even news to him. And truth to be told, he was really thankful that the guy struggling with him before, seemed to misunderstand the situation. 

That was why he just followed him, before the library would ‘lock’ itself again. Darn it, what was wrong? He did open this door before. Sure, it was a heavy one, but still… Maybe it really was the lack of coffee and sleep that added to this problem as well. But for now, he should just be thankful for no one else noticing it. He didn’t want to seem this pathetic in front of others… so, that was a close one. Phew!

“The printer is over there, right? Good luck! I go get my book now…” Though, before he left for good, he adjusted his beanie in a little nervous matter. Maybe there should be more said, before parting for good. “Ah er… I think we didn’t introduce each other yet, right? I’m Sou Hiyori, a computer science major. So if the printer gives you some trouble… You know where to call for help now, huh?” If he liked it or not, the truth about the door would be revealed to him, as soon as others would enter the library with ease after them. But maybe he at least could save his image with his knowledge about technology… or at least it was what he hoped for.

Why didn’t the other appear more excited when they were able to enter the library? It was a bit confusing, but Joe just assumed it was exhaustion. It was pretty early after all, maybe Joe had felt more energy due to the time pressure of printing. Still, whoever thought it was a good idea to delay opening the library must be out of their mind, it’s like they’re asking to put university students under an even more time crunch! 

As they both entered the library, Joe quickly ran through his mind if he had everything on the assignment so it could be printed and get a decent grade. Cover page? Yep, Bibliography? Yeah, not entirely sure about the formatting though. Page numbers? They should be one there. That seemed like it should be all! 

@gildedclasp​

When taking another break from her work, she did get herself some juice in the cafeteria. When she was looking for a place to sit down, there was someone who did stand out from the general looking crowd, and as an artist, Nao of course had an eye for something like that! 

And just like that, her mind was right back to art. So she decided to approach him, and take a seat next to him. “Oh, um… sorry, is this seat free? Actually, I wanted to ask for some of your time, if that’s okay?” Was it too forward to talk to a random student she didn’t know yet like that? Maybe. But there was something about him, that just made him look like a perfect judge for one of the pieces she was working on right now. Not that he looked like an artist himself, but he sure did look like a dog person! And the thing she was working on at this moment, was dog related… so… Oh, but she didn’t want to scare the poor guy!

“Oh, excuse me, that was a little rude of me! I should introduce myself first! I’m Nao Egokoro, a fine arts major here! What’s your name?”

Joe did stand out among a group of average university students, but that was just his sense of fashion. There were people who said he dressed ‘too gaudy’ though it’s not like that was going to change anything for him. Sometimes people would stare, not usually going past that often. 

He got startled a bit when the girl sat down besides him. Sure, he had been sitting by himself at the table, but did he seem so lonely that she pitied him? Who knows. “Yeah, it’s alright.” Joe stated briefly, racking his brain around to see if he knew her from somewhere else.  Was she in the board game club? Or a student in another class? Knew him from work? By having all of these possibilities it seemed hopeless for Joe to know unless asking her. 

@gildedclasp​ // starter 

Ah clubs. There was one part of the ever friendly campus regulations handbook that went into detail about the various rooms and advisers that each club was affiliated with and the protocol behind checking them out if there was suspicion if the improper rooms were being used. Keiji didn’t read it. Not anything beyond quickly skimming through it anyway, stuff like that seemed to be grasping at straws when it came to campus offenses for the most part. It wasn’t like any of these kids were hardened criminals or anything. Look, that sort of gaudy looking guy over there mildly struggling to stack up all those board games into a carry-able stack wasn’t going to do anything like grand larceny any time soon. 

Boy, they really left him there with all those boxes, huh? The board games club sure was living up to it’s hype, Keiji watching try again briefly before just making his way over. 

“Need a hand? Wouldn’t be right for your friendly campus policeman to just ignore a student in need, don’t you think?” 

You know, Joe should have probably thought about it deeper before offering to clean up the room. Everyone was having so much fun playing the games, but they all discussed all the work they needed to get done. Whether it be for classes or an actual job, both took a lot of time. A few others members tried to insist that they stay with him, though he had stated it would be alright on his own. However, now stood the challenge before him, fitting all of these large boxes into a carrying bag. Why in the world do games come in such obscure box sizes? It was becoming more of an obstacle than he anticipated. 

That’s when he saw the police officer come his way. The first thoughts in his head were about being in trouble, what had he done to get written up for?! Was he here too late? There have been multiple times where Joe was on campus later in the day, but he didn’t thing it was that big of an issue! Joe was becoming more nervous as the awkward time passed on by. 

“Oh, printing something last minute, huh? They do say printers smell fear, but… let’s hope that’s not true once we get inside!~” It was supposed to be a joke to lift the mood, though to be frank, he was getting worried too. Though once the gaudy guy suggested sneaking in there through the backdoor, a sudden sneaky smile appeared on Sou’s face. That probably wasn’t allowed, was it? But, as a hacker, sneaking around to reach his goals, wasn’t anything he’s not used to. So it wasn’t a bad suggestion, really. Still, in order to get there without getting into trouble, they had to be careful. This better be planned out well. “Alright, I know it’s early, but to avoid any professors catching us in the act, I’d say we-” Just when he wanted to discuss a detailed plan, a girl came out of the very ‘locked’ library door they were standing in front of just now.

“Wh-” He was speechless. Just speechless. How was that girl coming out of the supposed closed library? Why wasn’t he able to open it before?! Not even he should be as weak as that, right? Maybe that was also a sign that he should work on his messed up sleep schedule. “B-but, how…?!” It definitely was time for his long overdue coffee…

Printers could definitely smell fear, this is a proven fact. If there was a research study conducted to see the number of printer malfunctions connected to the person being under a time crunch, the correlation would be so high. Maybe if more assignments were turned in virtually, then the printers wouldn’t be able to detect the stress levels as much. Well, not like it mattered now, the only thing on Joe’s mind was getting in and printing this thing. It didn’t seem like this guy was against sneaking in, the opposite was true actually. That’s better though, don’t need a guy here who’d tell on Joe, getting him into trouble. Just as Joe was listening to the plan the other thought up, that’s when it happened. The event that changed it all. 

Shouko looks up from the online article she has invested her attention in when she sees a classmate of hers approaching her. She doesn’t need to make him write down what he’s trying to say to know that he’s in need of a seat. The library is rather packed today and Shouko is quite glad that she arrived here hours earlier before the rest of them because she got the best table in the room, or at least it’s the best in her book.

She smiles at him anyway and gestures to the empty seat across from her. She then reaches down into her backpack to pull out a small pack of dried strawberries. Snacks and drinks are prohibited in the library but tiny snacks such as the one Shouko has doesn’t seem to bother the librarian as much as it should.

She then offers it to her classmate, her friendly smile still intact. 

“Thank you!” He says while placing his two hands together, he was very thankful for allowing him to sit with her. There were some people that would simply ignore him, push him away, or any other mannerisms as such. Even though no words had been exchanged, he was appreciative! She must’ve been very intrigued into whatever assignment she was working on, maybe a deadline was approaching. Joe definitely understood that type of pressure well. 

A smile emerges on his face upon seeing the small snack. Joe was aware of the ‘no food or drinks allowed’ rule for the library, but to be honest a lot of people didn’t follow this. It was pretty simple to hide a drink in your backpack, just support it with a pencil case, and keep it away from your folders in case a bit escapes as you walk. Before accepting the strawberry, Joe reaches into his bag and pulls out a bottle containing one of those flavored water - raspberry flavored. 

She couldn’t help and laugh at his comment: “A whole pizza? I’m not that hungry, Joe.” It really was in his nature to look out for his friends– That was always a trait Sara couldn’t help and admire about him. She really did feel lucky to have someone like him around. “I was thinking of something simple.. Maybe some olives?”

    Once they were close enough to the pizza place, Sara could already smell the aromas coming from inside. “Ah, the scent alone is enough to make you hungry. So.. Did you decide what you want yet?”

Joe had no idea how much Sara has been eating lately, maybe she secretly did want a whole pizza to herself! Even with the busy schedule she maintained, it’s important that she gets enough to eat as well. “Just olives? You can get more than one topping on a pizza!”

@gildedclasp​ // starter call

It wasn’t good to stay cooped up in her apartment even if she didn’t have any classes today! That was Lili’s reasoning behind setting herself up at the student union with a coffee and some assignments to maybe try and work on. If she stayed at home, she wouldn’t even want to look at all of the projects already on her plate, but… being here really was a different kind of distraction too. She had already been here for half the day! With a sigh and another sip from her coffee, she resigned herself to a quick break and had a short look see around the place from her seat. It wasn’t long before someone caught her eye.

All of the accessories on this person’s body really made him pop out from the crowd, even during lunch hour. It was hard to miss those hairpins and whatever that golden mishmash was on his ear, but what really had Lili interested was whatever he seemed to have tucked into his pocket? She peered over the screen of her laptop and luckily, it seemed like he was heading over this way! She squinted and squinted until – it was a dog! It was a dog? A bubble of laughter pushed out of her in a pretty undignified manner, Lili only stopping when she realized the person was right in front of her!

“O-Oh! I- you have a dog in your pocket! I was just, it’s cute!” Oh god, she would run away if she could, but that wasn’t how she wanted to be remembered! 

His stomach growled as he walked into the coffee shop, there had to be something here to give some energy - besides the coffee of course. Luckily this shop wasn’t a far distance from his own dorm, making it a convenient location to stop at, though they didn’t exactly have a large menu. Initially Joe thought it’d be a quick in and out trip, but it was a lot more crowded than he’d imagined. Glancing around to see if there was open seating, he waited in the line with everyone else. 

Grabbing his food when his name was called, he roamed around through the tables to find one himself. That’s when he noticed the girl staring at him, had he done something weird to get her attention? Did he know her from somewhere? It’d surely be embarrassing if he forgot about a friend if that were the case. Either way, he continued on over towards her. There’s no other way to find an answer to his questions! Though, she seemed to laugh when Joe got closer, having him look down, to see if anything was wrong with his outfit.

YET ANOTHER SYMBOL MEME  

🗨️ - verbally praise my muse  

YET ANOTHER SYMBOL MEME 

☂️ - shelter my muse  

You know it’s a pretty good thing that Joe could run pretty fast, and that his dorm wasn’t that far from this building. The rain started pouring down all of a sudden, causing a large group of people to stand under the covered section, staring at the sky. It really didn’t appear as it was bound to lighten up, at least he had an umbrella with him too. As he was ready to leave the crowd, he saw another doing so, but they were unprepared without an umbrella. The other wasn’t a student like him, you’ve got to help those older than you right? 

         he’s got to admit, he doesn’t really mind the general classes he’s in ─ sure, he might not ever need to know the molecular structure of various atoms years down the road, but at least it’s interesting? somewhat ?? unfortunately, though, the professor is admittedly … hard to follow. using terms he’s only briefly explained or just merely mentioned and going at a speed that makes notes a bit difficult to complete. well, not every class can be perfect. 

         attention turns towards a fellow classmate, one looking rather disheveled and discouraged. his gaze softens, as he knows the feeling all too well.

          ❝ i agree, he can be difficult to follow. ❞  rantaro sympathizes,  ❝ but i think i have a general idea? once you break down the equation, and if you reference the elements, it makes it a bit easier. ❞  he tips his head and considers that he’ll definitely have to go over his notes again later …  ❝ you can take a look at my notes sometime, if you’d like? it can help to see it done in a different perspective, i’ve found. ❞

There was relief knowing he wasn’t the only finding this professor and material difficult. When you see a majority of the students diligently taking notes, and answering questions correctly, it makes you wonder if it’s just you. It didn’t help that science wasn’t his strong subject, but it’s not like he had a choice in taking the course. 

“Yeah, I’ve got the element equations written down, he just goes so fast I don’t know how to put the information in. How are we supposed to know what number goes in N when he doesn’t even mention it?” At this point it seemed more like Joe was venting to the other about the class, which wasn’t his intention. 

   While observing the other guys features, Sou quickly noticed, that the other seemed to be even more stressed out by the circumstances than him. It was true though, that he didn’t try knocking on it yet… But was anyone else up at this ungodly hour, besides him and that other guy? Without trying to show how embarrassing it was, that he didn’t think himself yet about this simple plan B, the green haired boy cleared his throat: “Er, sure… Hopefully someone’s inside already…” With that said, he knocked three times, but even after waiting quite a while, there was no one who would open the door from inside. 

   Damn it. He really needed that one book for some references. “You also trying to grab a book last minute?” He tried to calm down, while doing some small talk. A sheepish smile appearing on his face. “Well, before we give up, let’s give it one last try, shall we?” So, again, he reached out for the doorknob and started pulling. Ugh, did it just move a little, or did he just imagine it? He probably did. It was still way too early in the morning, and on the inside, he was just yearning for his cup of coffee.

   “See? It won’t budge! I told you, it’s locked!” 

Watching the other guy approach the door, Joe stood behind, hoping that somebody would answer it. It’s strange for the library to have nobody in there, he knew they weren’t open 24 hours a day, but come on! They should open them early enough so that students can get their materials before class. Some might say that students could also not procrastinate on doing their assignments last minute, though that wouldn’t change many university students attitudes. Maybe he really should have invested in a printer for his dorm room when he first moved in, it hadn’t seemed like a big issue in the past. 

“I’m trying to get to the computer lab, I need to print an assignment really soon.” The other probably felt stressed as well, what if he needed that book today for points? Then they’d both end up having their grades go down today! All due to the library not opening when they are supposed to! He continued watching the other pull on the door, with no hint of success. Joe walked besides him, starting to look defeated. If this guy was constantly pulling on the doorknob this much, it had to be locked right? It would’ve been open by now, and he had knocked a few times. 

—       [     ♔     ]      ;        ; 

                 ❛  ——— has anybody ever told you that it’s rude to stare  ,  my dear  ?   luckily  ,  i’d expect your eyes would be on me  .  ~  ❜   &&   turning on ivory heels  ,  a hand falls ‘pon the hip  ,  giving a rather guileful smirk towards the incomer  .  ❛  and I would hope not  .  you see  ,  everything that I choose is of a unique kind  .  I cannot be caught dead wearing a duplicate of another  ,  unless I set the trend of course  .   far as where I get them .  .  .  ❜  the sentence hangs  , pointer finger ghosts her lips  ,  azure hues cutting towards the male  . ❛  .  .  .   that’s my secret  .  there’s a reason not many people has seen my accessories elsewhere  .  ~  why do you ask  ?  want to dress like me  ,  maybe  ?   ❜        

The voice and way in which her name was spoken was a good indicator that it was Joe. Maneuvering herself to face him, she nodded her head. It’s true that she had been tied up with activities and work lately, but she’d always make time for Joe.

“That’s fine with me. What kind of toppings are you getting today?” She let out a little laugh– This would be a good opportunity to catch up with him.

She accepted his invitation without a second thought, that was great! He’d hate it if she tried to state all she had to get done, which would make him feel a bit guilty. 

He didn’t mean any offense, but he couldn’t help and look at the girls outfit. There were many people who chose to wear more comfortable, and standard than go ‘outside of the box’. Joe added accessories to his outfit, and was often questioned about them, sometimes even being told his appearance was gaudy. Maybe that’s why he was more interested in her clothing, it was more unique.