Chapter 22: Club Activities

Two hours passed uneventfully. The bell rang and school officially ended.

Theo and Shirley were on their way to the clubroom.

The orange glimmer of sunset illuminated the hallway. Compared to the morning traffic jam from earlier, the halls were near empty. Distant commotion sounded out from somewhere far away. Judging by the direction, it probably came from the various sports clubs. For them, the end of the day was merely the start of something else.

“So, what type of club is it anyway?” Theo asked. He walked with his hands behind his head. He stared out at the windows and watched the slow-moving clouds quietly meander through the horizon.

“The Paranormal Research and Strange Phenomenon club,” Shirley stated in one well-practiced breath.

“Paranormal research… you really joined that sort of weird club?” He raised his brow in curiosity.

She nodded. “It’s not really that weird. We mainly just hang out and eat snacks. Sometimes the president brings tea.”

“If that’s all that you do, then why not just call it the ‘Afternoon Tea Party’ club or something.”

“Because that’s not what the club is about!” She sighed in annoyance. “Geez, you don’t understand, Theo. Even if all we do is eat and play around, we do it within the context of the club.”

“Meaning?”

“We eat cookies while talking about spooky stuff. We drink tea while watching scary movies.” She huffed her chest up with pride.

“That…” Theo shook his head. It really did sound like they were just messing around. Still, he had to admit, his curiosity was indeed piqued.

“So, your club, the Paranormal Research and Spooky Phe—”

“Paranormal Research and Strange Phenomenon.” Shirley corrected. “Or PRSP for short.”

“PRSP?” He repeated. “Really just rolls right off the tongue now, doesn’t it?”

Shirley shrugged. “It’s not a very good acronym, I know, but the president likes calling it that. Says it makes us sound more professional.”

“Judging by the name, it should deal with stuff like ghosts and monsters, right?”

She nodded. “More or less. Although we do delve into other things, like ancient artifacts, supposedly real ‘lost footage’, and urban legends. Stuff like that.”

“And this is all during or outside of your designated snack time?”

He laughed at his own joke, to which he received a rather miffed punch from Shirley. As he rubbed his sore shoulder, he turned back towards her and asked. “Why’d you decide to join a club anyway?”

Since as far back as he could remember, Shirley really wasn’t one for extracurriculars. Her suddenly joining a club like that… without a doubt, his disappearance probably played a role in her decision.

As if to validate his theory, Shirley answered. She shrugged her shoulders, a faint smile etched to her lips. “It kept me distracted.” She looked at Theo with a begrudging glare. “I don’t think I need to tell you why, do I?”

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.

“Also…” she continued. “I—I thought that your disappearance might have been related to something… paranormal.”

“Paranormal?” He raised his brow.

“Right. I know how silly it sounds, but… I was at a really dark place back then. I wanted to believe… I wanted to believe in anything that might keep the hope alive.” She paused for a moment. She looked down at her feet. “I… my greatest fear was that you… you might have…”

Before she could finish, Theo suddenly placed his hand over the crown of her head. He stayed quiet as he ruffled her hair.

He sort of understood how she felt. On the battlefields of Mistelhan, he experienced death countless times. Some of those deaths were the enemies’, but many more were the friends and warriors that fought alongside him. He knew what the gravity of death felt like. Even the mere thought of it was already a heavy burden for most people.

Although the summoning was out of his control, he couldn’t help but feel partly responsible. Staring at the teary-eyed Shirley before him, he was infinitely thankful that he wasn’t stuck in one of those stories where the protagonist never returns to his original world.

They walked in silence for a while. Eventually, Shirley sniveled. She wiped her eyes with the cuff of her sweater. “… Sorry about that.” she whispered. “But yeah, I thought that maybe you got kidnapped by aliens, or you were spirited away by the ghost of the mountain. Nonsensical stuff like that. In retrospect, it really was kind of stupid, but a part of me really did believe it at the time.”

Theo broke out in a cold sweat. She was close! Although he wasn’t abducted by any aliens, he was forcibly summoned to a fantasy world. To think, although the specifics were a bit wrong, Shirley was on the right track. His disappearance did involve something paranormal.

At the very least, when the time comes, I don’t think it’ll be that hard to convince her… Theo thought to himself, just as the duo arrived in front of a certain door.

“This is…” Theo looked up. The door looked half rotten. The knob was missing, and the glass panel on its surface had a giant crack running down the middle.

Looking at the rest of his surroundings, Theo’s expression fell even further. He hadn’t noticed it when they were walking, but the two of them were currently standing in the middle of the decrepit part of the school.

The school was made up of three separate buildings joined together by a series of open courtyards and skyways. This place was a part of the first floor of the oldest building. Despite how badly damaged everything was, for one reason or another, the school board never bothered fixing the place up. For all intents and purposes, it was effectively the ‘abandoned section’ of the school.

The hallway was lined with rotting floorboards. The lockers had long turned brown from rust, while mold grew along the edges of the walls. A slimy dampness filled the air.

This place was so destitute, that not even the delinquents bothered coming here.

“This is the clubroom.” She enthusiastically introduced. A beaming smile was on her face. Shirley opened the door and waved Theo forward. “Welcome to the PRSP!”

“Oh, what’s this?” While Theo was still hesitating, a feminine voice suddenly called out from somewhere within the clubroom. “Shirley, you brought someone with you?”

Theo peered inside. Almost instantly, he sucked in his breath and reflexively widened his eyes. Staring back at him was a beautiful girl!

“This is my friend, Theo.” Shirley introduced, snapping Theo out of his daze. She snickered. “I know how Prez is always worrying about our lack of members, so I thought we could rope this guy in. It’s not like he has anything else to do.”

Theo wanted to protest. He had plenty on his plate, what with having to catch up to seven months’ worth of curriculum, but he held his tongue. A part of what she said was true. Aside from training, he really didn’t do all that much.

“Oh, is that so?” The beautiful lady inspected Theo with probing eyes.

Before he could respond, Shirley pulled him into the room. It was a bit unexpected, but the interior of the clubroom wasn’t nearly as bad as he first assumed. Although the paint on the walls had faded, the room itself was well maintained. There was a large table placed directly in the middle of the room.

Soft light illuminated the interior, while large shadows danced within the periphery. Tiny little dust particles danced through the air. It felt as if he had suddenly stepped into a whole other world.

As Theo was inspecting the room, the girl from before suddenly slammed her hands on the table. “Great!” She nodded enthusiastically. “I can ‘t say no to new members. Mary, prepare the gentleman some tea.”

Theo jumped back. Within the far corner of the room, something suddenly moved. The far side of the room was covered in dark shadows. It was also outside of the range of his accumulative perception, so Theo wasn’t able to properly discern everything within the room. Stepping into the light, Theo saw a short, somewhat petite girl with azure blue hair.

In Plume, natural blue hair existed. This girl’s hair did not appear dyed.

What the hell!? Another beauty! Theo was inwardly surprised, but he did not let his shock show on his face.

Before he could gawk any longer at the new girl, something suddenly pushed him forward. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of the first girl. Theo did not know when she had gotten so close. She had her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she dragged him forward.

Theo wriggled his nose. She smelled faintly of lavender. His heart couldn’t help but race. Her breath brushed against his cheeks. Theo gave her a sidelong glance.

She really was a beauty. A soft oval face and light brown hair. She styled her hair into a pair of braids that fell all the way to her waist. When she smiled, Theo couldn’t help but notice how white her teeth were.

She did not talk. The girl kept smiling at him, her blue eyes stared piercingly at his face.

In order to alleviate the awkwardness that he was feeling, Theo was forced to make conversation.

“So, you’re the president of the club?” He asked.

“The one and only.” She grinned a toothy grin. “The name’s Mao Lin. You can call me Lin.”

“Lin.” He unconsciously spoke. He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue. The pronunciation was the same for his Aunt Lynn, but knowing the fact that it was meant for a different girl, he couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of nervousness. He inwardly vowed to just call her Mao Lin.

Mao Lin laughed. “Although I said you could call me Lin, I didn’t mean now.”

Theo scratched the back of his head and sheepishly smiled.

Inwardly, a wave of relief washed over him. Mao Lin was the club president. That meant that the mysterious guy that he had been worrying about before did not exist. In fact, that mysterious guy turned out to be a girl. All was well with the world.

“Me, Shirley and Mary, three people, the three members of PRSP. Impressed?” Mao Lin asked playfully.

“I am.” He truthfully responded.

Three girls, three beautiful women who would not look at all out of place on a fashion magazine. The small blue-haired girl that gave off the impression of a harmless squirrel, the boisterous club president with the playful personality, and of course, his one and only childhood friend. He did not know what sort of otherworldly divine being bestowed him with this miracle, but nevertheless, he felt immensely thankful.

While Theo was busy fantasizing, Mao Lin suddenly pushed him into a chair. He looked up at her, only to see a soft smile plastered on her face. She snapped her fingers. Shirley and the blue-haired Mary suddenly appeared, one person on each side.

“Shirley?” Theo felt that there was something wrong with the current atmosphere. “What’s this about?”

“Theo, I’m sorry for this.” She lowered her head and sighed somewhat helplessly. In her hands was a long string of rope. Before he could react, Shirley and Mary suddenly tied him to the chair. Thirty seconds later, they finished. Theo tried to pull himself forward. The rope had been tied pretty tightly. Unless he was prepared to dislocate a bone or two, then there was no way he was getting out of here anytime soon.

Still, despite Theo being tied up, he wasn’t really that worried. In fact, the majority of the thoughts that filled his head were that of confusion.

Shirley and Mary took a step back, while Mao Lin stood a mere foot away from him. She had a wide grin plastered on her face.

“Now, what do you think?” She asked.

“What do I think of what? Tying me up like this? Well, it’s pretty kinky, and I’m a bit unsure whether I have the ability to take on three women at once, but I guess I can give it a try…”

Mao Lin looked over at Shirley. “Is he usually like this.”

Shirley cheeks flushed red. “W-well…” she really did not know how to answer.

After a few seconds of thought, Mao Lin shrugged her shoulders. “Well, outside of his flappity mouth, is his personality any good?”

“Yes!” Shirley vigorously nodded her head. “That I can guarantee!”

“Since you’re the one saying it, then I trust you.” Mao Lin smiled appreciatively.

Watching from the sideline, Theo tilted his head in confusion, but otherwise remained silent.

Mao Lin turned around to face Theo. “Now, without the perverted comments; what do you think?”

Again, he asked, “What do I think of what?”

“The PRSP.” She answered. “We are a club determined to search for the romance hidden beneath the ordinary eye, but outside of that, we are also a club composed of beautiful girls. Three beautiful, ripe, and in the prime of their lives, flowers! Don’t you feel some sort of shame for trespassing into such a sacred flower garden?”

Theo gawked. He thought his earlier response was bad, but Mao Lin’s flamboyancy really was too much for him to even compare. He did not know how to respond to her words. Luckily, she did not give him any time to reply.

Mao Lin suddenly pulled out a piece of paper. She pushed it towards his face. “now, we don’t have a lot of people here. That’s mainly because I have a very strict requirement when it comes to member application. It is only by recommendation! And Theo, my boy, you happen to be someone that’s been recommended. What’s more, it is also a recommendation from someone as shy and careful as Shirley.”

“What are you getting at?” Theo narrowed his eyes.

She smiled mischievously. “For sullying this sacred flower garden, won’t you take responsibility and join the club?”