I trail behind my best friend as he leads me around school hallways and down staircases. The whole time, I’m wondering why I was even following him in the first place. Oh right, Feliciano wanted me to check out some clubs before I graduated this year. He recently became a member of the Newspaper Club, despite his dissinterest in reading. I always wondered why Feli, of all people, would join a club that requires you to read. Not only that, but I heard members also had to take turns writing their own articles, too. The majority of the school only ever reads the school newspapers for the short stories in the very back few pages anyways. It just feels like a deadend club to join.
Feliciano: “OK! We’re here! Eh? Are you even paying attention, [MC]?”
I blink dumbly in response. He sighs, his shoulders sinking along with his odd curl.
Feliciano: “Ahh, nevermind. It’s not like this clubroom isn’t too hard to find on your own. It’s got the club insignia on the door, see?”
True to his word, there’s a small symbol hanging above the doorway. It’s shaped like a newspaper bundle dangling by the knot of the strings keeping the seperate newspapers together. It was kind of cute how it swayed with the smallest breeze.
MC: “I see...so, what makes you think I’ll like this club over the others?”
Feliciano had to think for a second. In the end, he simply shrugged his shoulders and gave me a dorky grin.
Feliciano: “I-I guess you might like...the things we do?”
Even Feli didn’t trust his answer. Still, I didn’t want to abandon him. He did drag me all this way to show me his club. The least I could do is pay it, and his fellow club members, a visit. Without another word, the Italian pushed open the doors and let me in. I gazed around the room and immediately found the other members staring at me with bewildered eyes. I glanced at Feliciano as he joined my side once the doors were shut behind him. Clearing his throat, my neighborhood friend gestured to me with both of this hands and a large grin.
Feliciano: “Everyone! I’d like you to welcome my dear neighbor and friend, [MC]! She’ll just visiting, but she might join us too! Make her feel welcome, I’ll be back with today’s articles!”
Before I could stop him, Feliciano disappeared back into the hallway. The doors shut and sealed me inside the clubroom. I could hear the other members having a hushed conversation behind me until they rose one by one. I half expected them to ambush me since I was probably the first girl they had the chance to speak to for a long time. Luckily, they all appeared to be well mannered and approached me leisurely.
Male 1: “Do not look so scared, we are not pack of wild animals. Please relax, take free seat.”
The first member speaking to me is a tall man with short platinum blond hair and purple eyes. He also wore the blue varient of the male’s school uniform, and on top of it, wore an old cream colored scarf around his neck. The tails of the scarf nearly reached down to the floor and seemed to...move on their own? As if the scarf tails were weird enough, the way this man spoke was bizarre. His English was broken, but I could make put what he was trying to say. The tall student let out a quiet, amused chuckle as he watched the gears in my head.
Male 1: “Ahh, do not worry. They just appear to have mind of their own. Is just a simple handmade scarf. See?”
As the tall student shakes the dangling ends of his scarf to prove that, yes, it was just a regular scarf, I couldn’t help the smile that grew on my face. This guy’s accent was really thick. It was actually hard to tell what he was saying sometimes. His accent would make some words blend together into a mushy blob that I couldn’t figure out. It was kind of annoying, being unable to understand what this guy was trying to say sometimes. As if reading my mind, the next student steps beside the foreign student and gives him a pat on the back.
Male 2: “Here, lemme help you out,”
The second student to introduce himself wore the tan varient of the male’s school uniform, but he also wore a brown bomber jacket over his vest. He has bright blue and blond hair that reminds me of the color of the sun. There’s also a pair of reading glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose and a cowlick that defied gravity. Continuing with introductions, the teen pointed his thumb at himself before shifting to gesture towards his tall partner beside him.
Alfred: “The name’s Alfred, and this here’s Ivan. He’s actually a transfer student from Russia, so his English is a bit rocky. It’s pretty good though.”
Upon being called out, Ivan pulls up his scarf and tries his best to hide behind the fabric. Alfred simply laughs and gives him a few more back pats before returning his attention to me.
Alfred: “So, what’s a girl such as yourself doing here at the Newspaper Club? I’m pretty sure you’d find more excitement elsewhere, say, the Drama Club or the Cooking Club.”
At least they’re being honest. I didn’t expect an actual member of this club to come clean about how dull it was. I shrug my shoulders and speak my mind.
MC: “I wasn’t brought here because I was interested or anything, it’s just, Feli wanted me to check it out. He’s a part of this club, so I thought maybe I’d check it out and see what the whole fuss about it was. I guess I thought, I don’t know, for it to be a little more interesting.”
The looks I got were heartbreaking. I mean, yeah, the Newspaper Club sounded pretty bland and boring, but the way Ivan and Alfred reacted to my words hurt more than I thought. Ivan shifted on his feet and glanced at the floor, his hands catching the ends of his scarf to keep his hands busy. I couldn’t tell if he was mad or sad with what I said, he had half his face buried behind his scarf. Alfred, on the other hand, was disheartened. He gave me a buttersweet smile, confirming what I said was true. Collecting my apologies, I opened my mouth to make amends with the duo.
Male 3: “Our club may not be interesting to you, but it’s everything to us. I understand why you’d think so little of our club, but please refrain from saying your thoughts aloud for us to hear. It’s quite rude.”
Alfred and Ivan stepped aside to let the third member approach me, his words having cut through my heart like a sharpened knife. I didn’t mean to sound so dismissive. I can only imagine what my words meant to them.
MC: “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean anything bad with what I said, I probably could have worded it better.”
Looking at the two students who’ve introduced themselves earlier, I look at the last remaining member. He was taller than Alfred, yet shorter than Ivan by a few centimeters, from what I could tell. He had slicked back blond hair, steely blue eyes, and a powerful German accented voice. The man stood with perfect posture, as well. He was definitely well respected by the other members of the club, or feared. He sighed and held out his right hand for me to shake.
Ludwig: “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ludwig, Vice President of the Newspaper Club. If you just so happen to join our club, don’t hesitate to talk to me about any new ideas or activities you might like to see. I can discuss them with the President of the club and with the other members until we all come to an agreement. Other than that, feel free to visit if you wish. We do appreciate visitors.”
Ludwig gives me a small smile as he withdraws his hand. He looks between Alfred and Ivan, nods his head at me, then turns back to reclaim his seat at one of the three long tables. Alfred seconds him, but pulls a book from one of the book shelves to skim through as they wait from Feli to return with their things. I’m left standing with Ivan, who seems to be recovering from the blow I said about the club. I give him a hesitant smile.
MC: “Are you ok? I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”
Ivan peeks at me from behind his scarf. He lets the fabric fall into place before tucking his hands into his pants pockets.
Ivan: “I am fine, yes. Ah, Fredya is helping me with English, so...”
I smile patiently at him. I can only imagine how hard this was for him. Learning English after knowing Russian must’ve been very difficult.
MC: “I can always help too, if you’d want. It shouldn’t be too hard, and you seem to have a decent grasp on the language anyways. You’ll have it down in no time.”
A faint blush colors Ivan’s cheeks as he struggles to come up with something to say. In the end, he just buries his burning face back into his scarf whilst muttering something in, all I can assume, was Russian. I watch the tallest of the three sit back down with the other two, dealing with another round of back pats from Alfred and a few words from Ludwig. Watching them, I can see why Feli would like this club. Everyone was friendly and there for one another. I eventually take a seat for my own and join the trio, learning about their next activity.
After an hour or so passes, the doors open up to reveal Feliciano stumbling in with a large stack of papers in his hands. Ludwig and Alfred immediately get up to help him out while Ivan clears the table tops of any stray books and papers. All the while, the auburn student is apologizing for the wait.
Feliciano: “I-I’m so sorry guys! I thought the printer was free, but no! There were some things the teachers were printing off last minute and then the printer jammed when I tried using it, and when it started to work, I accidentally punched in an extra zero while I was adding the number of copies we needed! Ahh, I’m so clumbsy! Why am I even President of this club again?”
Ludwig: “You’re the President because you created this club! Now be careful, you’ll tip over the stack if you keep holding it like that.”
Very carefully, Ludwig and Alfred slipped their arms underneath the large tower of newspaper, freeing Feliciano’s arms in the process. The Italian sat down to give himself a short break while the other three worked to sort the sheets. I watch the process in amazement. I thought the paper stack would remain for another 10 minutes, but the trio had sorted out the seperate sheets in no less than 4 minutes. Once they had finished, they all took their seats for a breather.
Feliciano: “Oh, [MC], I didn’t know you were still here. I thought you would have left by now.”
I glance at the three blonds panting in their seats, their hands and arms covered with small knicks and cuts from handling all those papers. Alfred and Ivan seemed to brighten up a bit, even though I hadn’t said much. Ludwig even looked visibly better with what I was about to say.
Feliciano: “Hmm? What? What? Why’re you all smiling like that?”
MC: “I think I’ll like being a part of your club, President Feliciano.”
Feliciano: “...wait, WHAT!? Oh my god, you’re joking! You’re actually joining the Newspaper Club!?”
I give Feli my trademark smile. In a split second, I feel arms throw themselves around my body as my neighbor and best friend throws himself at me for a hug. He couldn’t stop the squeal that filled the room, and my poor ears, but he was happy with my answer. I look at the other members and see their reactions as well. While not as exaggerated as their President’s, each member had their own little moment of excitement for a new addition. I already feel at home with everyone here. With a little elbow grease and printing ink, I might just become friends with these guys, if not more. For now, I’ll just take things easy and follow my gut. Good fortune may rain down my way if I make the right choices.
If selling my soul to the Newspaper Club is all it takes to get close those those four cute guys, then I’d better start today’s assignment. Who knows, I might just impress someone with what I write about...
