I am joining Akane for lunch today. I have the past several days too. It has been the highlight of each day, getting to know her and my other schoolmates a little bit better.

  When we enter the cafeteria my eyes and ears are immediately drawn to the table where Shizune and Lilly are already sitting. This is because there is someone new there. And she's very loud.

  “Wahaha!~ Was Shicchan mad at you, Lilly?”

  While we’re in line Akane notices me looking over towards the table and says, “That would be Misha. The one who was sick the st couple days. She's still not 100% healthy but…you wouldn't know it from her voice. She can be…loud and a little annoying sometimes…but she grows on you.”

  I smile, “I-I’m sure she’s nice.”

  Akane smiles back, “She is. One of the nicest people I know, actually. But I know you’re a little timid and she’s…the opposite of that, so I’m warning you.”

  I nod, “Th-thank you. I’ll be okay.”

  We get our food and walk over to the table.

  Once we are closer, I see Misha more clearly. She has messy waist-length light brown hair and brown eyes and she’s wearing such a big smile that it makes me smile too. I also notice that like Akane, she knows sign nguage and is reying information between the two cousins.

  They have no way to talk when they are alone. I hadn't thought of that. That must be hard as family.

  When we get to the table, I take a seat next to Lilly again, while Akane sits next to Misha. When I sit down, Misha loudly says, “Hi Nagisa! I’m Misha! Sorry I missed you yesterday, but Akane told me aaaallll about you!” She gives Akane's shoulder a squeeze.

  “I-it's nice to meet you. You are a second year too?”

  “That’s right! Do I look older? Wahaha~!”

  Confused by her loud and out of pce ughter I look at Akane, who gives me an embarrassed shrug and smile.

  Shizune signs something and Misha says, “Shicchan says I need to introduce myself better. She wants me to also tell you that I also have css with her and I’m her…her…interpreter? and…” Misha looks confused, then she signs to Shizune and says, “That st part was too fast, Shicchan! I'm still sick! Slow down!”

  Akane finishes for her, “And you’re in student council with them too.”

  Misha smiles, “Thanks Akane!” She pats Akane on the back and smiles at me. “She's my sign senpai! I wasn't very good when I got here st year, but I’ve gotten so much better thanks to her helping me after css! Good enough to interpret for Shicchan. I’ll be just as good as she is, soon~!”

  She still has this much energy when she’s sick? Maybe if she had HIDS she wouldn't even notice.

  Akane ughs, “I’m just gd that you’re good enough now that I don’t have to go to student council meetings.”

  Shizune sighs and signs something to Akane, who sighs in response. “She says I should have just joined.” She signs to Shizune and says, “You have a one-track mind, you know that?”

  Lilly ughs softly, “That passion for student council is one of my dear cousin’s strong points. And…one of her weak points too.”

  Misha reys the information to Shizune, who starts to glower and move her hands furiously, to which Misha replies “Wha? Shicchan, that’s too mean.”

  Shizune gres at Misha, who reys Shizune’s words in a half-hearted voice, “Your weak point is that you don’t care enough about student council. And it’s such a big weak point it outweighs your strong points.”

  Lilly sighs, “Yes, we are of different minds about this.” She shrugs and looks toward Shizune, “I can’t be too upset with you. I was rude first. I apologize, Shizune.”

  Shizune hesitates for a moment and then sighs and signs to Misha who says, “I'm sorry too.”

  I start to feel very awkward in the middle of this tense conversation between three student council members, two of whom are reted. Luckily, it seems Akane has picked up on that and she steers the conversation elsewhere.

  “So Nagisa, how are you feeling a few days into Yamaku?”

  “U-um…I like it. I’m still getting used to…not being at home. But people have been nice and welcoming. Like all of you. I d-don’t feel like too much of an outsider.”

  Lilly smiles at me, “Well, you’re a very sweet girl. It’s hard not to be welcoming.”

  Even though she must be 3 years younger than me, somehow she feels like a big sister.

  “Thank you.” I turn to Akane, “So, you tutor sign l-nguage?”

  She nods, “It’s my mother tongue. So I don't need csses. But I want to teach sign nguage, so I convinced the instructor here to let me help out my first year, and I've kept at it.”

  Misha puts an arm around her and hugs her so close their cheeks are touching, “And she's great at it!”

  Akane blushes, “Um…th-thanks, Misha. But can you…let me go? This is…embarrassing. A-and I don't want to get sick.”

  Misha ughs loudly and lets her go, “Sorry, sorry! I'm just really thankful for you. You have me thinking I want to be a teacher too, you know.”

  Akane ughs but looks more than a little flustered, “I know. Actually, you want to teach too, right Lilly?”

  Lilly nods, “Yes. I love English, so I’d like to teach it.” She looks towards me, "As with Akane, I want to teach my mother tongue. Well, one of them. I have one Japanese parent and one Scottish parent, so I learned both at the same time.”

  “Wow, that's really amazing! My English is…awful.”

  Lilly smiles, “Well, come exam time I may be able to help you a bit.”

  “Thank you. I might need it.”

  “Shicchan says she wants to be a businesswoman and…and…” She squints for a moment and looks like she’s thinking hard, while Shizune repeats the same hand motion more slowly. Misha sighs and turns to Akane, “Sorry to ask for help again…I'm really off my game today. Brain feels fuzzy.”

  Akane pats her on the shoulder, “Phinthropist. Not the most common word, no big deal. Especially when you're sick.”

  Misha’s dejected face turns into a big smile, “Thanks!”

  Akane reys a message from Shizune “She wants to know what you want to do when you graduate. I think we’re all interested, actually.”

  The other two girls nod.

  I frown and look down at my food, feeling embarrassed in front of these more accomplished people who are already pnning their futures despite being so much younger than me.

  I quietly say, “Um…I…don’t really know. J-just graduating has been hard for me. My health has made it…h-hard. So I haven't thought thought that f-far ahead.”

  I feel a comforting hand on my back. I look up and see Lilly's warm smile, “You have plenty of time.”

  “Thank you, Lilly.”

  Akane nods and gives me her own warm smile, “She's right. Maybe if you like drama club this year, you'll do something reted to that.”

  I force a smile, “Yeah, maybe.”

  If I can make it through this year without getting sick for months on end.

  I'm at the informational meeting for drama club. So far…I'm the only one here, and it's 5 minutes past the scheduled time. I'm starting to wonder whether I will have to start drama club here too.

  Just as I'm about to give up, I hear the doors to the auditorium open.

  I hear a boy say in a disappointed voice, “Only one?”

  I hear a girl say, “Well…at least it's a girl. I won't be outnumbered anymore if she joins.”

  I start to feel very nervous so I clench my eyes shut and whisper, “Dorayaki.”

  Then, I stand up and turn to smile at the sources of these voices. I see two boys and a girl. The girl is walking arm-in-arm with one of the boys. They must be a couple.

  I recognize the other boy as one of my cssmates. He would be difficult to forget.

  He's the rgest person I've ever seen. He's so tall he has to duck under door frames and his shoulders are so broad that I think it would take five or six of me to match his width. In css, he has a special desk.

  He has short, dark, curly hair and brown eyes, and a rge square jaw. His appearance was a little intimidating at first, but even a week into css I’ve seen enough of him to know he's just a regur student who happens to be really big. He even seems nicer than most people. He also happens to be the best student in our css, even better than Akane. They have a little bit of a rivalry. But it's kind of one-sided according to her.

  He has a slight limp and he uses a cane, one that goes up to my shoulder.

  When they get close,he recognizes me too. In a booming, deep voice he says, “Oh, hi. Nagisa, right?”

  I nod, “Yes. You're…Daiki?”

  He smiles and nods and looks at his fellow club members, “ This is Nagisa. She’s a third-year transfer student.” Then he looks at me and points at them with his cane, “These are my friends Ken and Chiyo. We're…the drama club.”

  Chiyo ughs, “Sorry if you were expecting something more. We just started st year, so we're small. We’re both third years, too.”

  Chiyo might be the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in person. If she weren't wearing the same uniform as me, I would think she was a celebrity. She's a tall girl with green eyes and chestnut-colored hair that she wears in braided twintails. Her delicate facial features and very feminine curves have me feeling a little jealous. Especially because we have the same outfit on. On her, it somehow looks gmorous. On me, it's just a school uniform.

  The next thing I notice about her is that her nails are painted a very very vibrant red color, and they also seem to have some sort of design on them.

  I smile, “I'm very happy there is a drama club. It doesn't matter how many members there are.”

  Ken says, “Well…since it's just you, we can probably skip the really formal part and just have a chat. Let's take a seat together.”

  Ken's a tall boy, though you wouldn't be able to tell next to Daiki. He has short bck hair and dark gsses on. Now that he's closer, I think he must be blind. Like Lilly did when we first met, he is looking clear over my head when he speaks to me.

  Daiki sighs and says, “…I'll sit on the stage.”

  I am frustrated about being small sometimes and wish I was bigger. Before meeting Daiki, I had never stopped to think that being really big has some serious downsides. He doesn't even fit in these chairs.

  Ken nods, “Right. And we'll sit in the front row. I'm good from here, Chiyo.”

  “O-oh! Right.” She lets out a squeaky ugh. “Sorry, Ken.” She lets go of him and he takes a seat. I notice her face has turned red.

  The two of them leave a space between them, so I end up sitting between Ken and Chiyo. Daiki is seated right across from me on the stage.

  Ken says, “I'm technically the club president, so I suppose I'll lead. We're the drama club. We aim to put on one py each year. We’ll do one at the end of this trimester. That's…pretty much it.”

  Chiyo ughs, “It really is it, isn't it? Doesn't sound very impressive when you put it like that.”

  “It is impressive! Students working together toward a common goal is…beautiful. And doing a py as students i-is just…amazing!”

  Chiyo scoffs, gres at me and crosses her arms, “Did you seriously just come here to make fun of us? You seriously didn't have something better to do?! You're pathetic. Get out of here and stop wasting our time.”

  I look down and close my eyes to avoid her gre. And to hold in the tears that I can feel coming.

  I wanted to join the drama club. But they don't want me. They think I'm being mean. How did I mess this up so badly?

  Daiki quickly says, “Chiyo - she's serious. From what I've seen in css, this is real. She isn’t mocking us.”

  Chiyo responds, “What? Seriously?”

  He sighs, “Yes, seriously. It's okay Nagisa, we know you aren't making fun of us. Right, Chiyo?”

  Daiki's words make me feel a little better. I open my eyes in time to see Chiyo uncross her arms and looking at me apologetically. She pats my shoulder. “Oh…I'm…really sorry for misunderstanding. So you…really like pys that much?”

  I nod and look down at my hands while I fidget, “E-everyone at Yamaku keeps thinking I’m m-making fun of them. I’m sorry if it sounded that way. I d-didn't want to make you feel bad.”

  Chiyo waves her arms, “No, no, no. You did nothing wrong. We’re just…jaded, pessimistic people. It's on us, okay?”

  Ken ughs, “Us, huh? I only seem to remember one of us jumping to a harsh conclusion.”

  She groans, “Fine. Me. It’s on me. I'm very sorry, Nagisa. I was a total bitch. Please don't go because of me. I want you to stay.”

  She gives me a really warm smile, and it makes me feel a lot better. I smile back.

  “I-I'll stay.”

  She squeezes my shoulder, “Good.”

  Ken says, “Well…now that that's out of the way…Have you acted before, Nagisa?”

  “No.”

  “What experience do you have with pys?”

  I frown, “…none, really. I was in the drama club at my old school…but, I got sick and never did a py.”

  Ken responds, “Oh. Well that's okay. We'll teach you, that's what clubs are about, after all.”

  I smile, “So you three have experience?”

  Chiyo nods, “We did a py together st year and we did most of it on our own. Our advisor isn't really the hands-on type.”

  Ken ughs, “As you can see, he isn't even here today. We were te because we were waiting for him, but we gave up.”

  Daiki ughs, “Don't worry. She knows how he is, he's our homeroom teacher, after all. He didn't even make sure our cssroom had a desk for her on our first day.”

  I smile, “Oh. I didn't know he was the adviser.”

  Ken chuckles, “I don't know if he knows.”

  “Yes, he's a bit forgetful. B-but very nice.”

  Chiyo chuckles, “Wow, you really are sweet if you're defending him.”

  I shrug, “I like him. So…when you did a py st year, what did each of you do?”

  Chiyo says, “I acted. I also designed and made the costumes.”

  Ken says, “I acted and helped Daiki with the set, sound and props.”

  Daiki adds, “I directed and did all the other technical stuff, like lighting and set design.”

  They actually know what they are doing! They are a REAL drama club! We'll actually do a py!

  If I can stay healthy.

  I smile, “That's…really wonderful. I don't know i-if I can be of help but…I hope I can contribute. I want to do a py with all of you. I want to join drama club.”

  Chiyo smiles and says, “Welcome aboard!” while the two boys smile. They really seem gd to have me. I hope I don't let them down.

  Css just got out for lunch. As I'm packing up my things, I notice there's a shadow over me and my desk. I look up and see the source of that shadow, and smile at him. Daiki smiles back and asks, “Do you want to come to lunch with me and the other drama club members?”

  I look at Akane, who smiles and gives me a thumbs up. She's saying it's okay in this case for me to say ‘yes’ to this boy's request. I feel a little bad not going to lunch with Akane and her friends who have been so welcoming, but since she approves, I guess I shouldn't. Lilly, Misha, and Shizune have all been very nice to me, but going to lunch with my club does sound appealing. Shizune would approve of me becoming more involved in a club, too.

  I look up at Daiki and smile, “Yeah, sure.”

  Daiki ducks under the door frame as we exit, making me realize what a funny-looking pair we make. I can't even get close to touching the top of the door frame with an outstretched hand. But he has to watch his head.

  We head to the cafeteria, where I notice Daiki doesn't get a tray. With his cane, I guess that would be hard.

  “Do you need help?”

  He bends down and says, “Sorry, I didn't hear you. It's loud in here.”

  Yeah, and your ear is really far from my mouth.

  “Y-you didn't get a tray, so I thought you might need help.”

  He ughs, “I can get a tray on my own.” He grabs one and easily bances it on his hand with his palm facing up. It's so rge that it's plenty stable when he holds it like that. He puts the tray back and says, “We're going to the club room in the performing arts center, so we can't bring trays.”

  I nod and grab curry bread and melon bread. I haven't tried them here so far, but I liked them at my old school. After we make our selections, Daiki and I walk to the performing arts center. We chat on the way there.

  “How are you liking it here?”

  “I like it. I really miss my parents and some friends back home…but apart from that, it's great. People have been really nice to me.”

  “That's good. I have really liked it here myself. But…I can imagine coming in for your third year being…daunting.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well…first everyone here already knows each other and stuff like that. But, being around so many others with disabilities and medical problems for the first time can be overwhelming. It kind of was for me my first year.”

  “I've…kind of liked it.”

  He looks at me with a raised eyebrow, “Liked it?”

  “W-well…maybe that's not the right way to put it. I have people I love back home. But…no matter how much my parents or friends care about me, they've…never really understood what it's like to have health issues.”

  Daiki nods, “Well, that's certainly something we understand here.”

  We go into the performing arts building and stop in front of a door that says, ‘Costume Shop,’ in fading, peeling letters. Daiki opens the door and says, “After you.”

  I thank him and enter, and find a very big rectangur room filled with racks of dusty old clothing and costumes. There are also run down sewing machines and lots of old wardrobes and trunks. This isn't what I expected to see. It's kind of amazing.

  I find myself drawn to one clothing rack in particur, which has several sparkly dresses with sequins. One of them has stripes of gold, silver, and red sequins. I find myself oddly captivated by It.

  “Those are something else, aren't they?”

  I'm so startled by the question I drop my bread. I was so distracted I sort of forgot I wasn't alone.

  Chiyo ughs, “Sorry. I guess you were in the zone, huh?”

  She bends down and picks up my melon bread at her feet, while I get the curry bread.

  “Yeah. I got distracted, s-sorry.” I notice now that Ken is here too. He and Daiki are sitting around a table in one of the few pces in the room that isn't filled up by clothing racks and other stuff. Daiki is watching us with a bemused expression. Even though he can't see us, Ken is making a simir face. I think he is observing us in his own way.

  I take a moment to truly take in the massive quantity of costumes in the room and then say, “This is an amazing club room.”

  Ken ughs, “If you like dusty old junk.”

  Chiyo clicks her tongue at him, “I agree with Nagisa. This pce is neat. I've spent countless hours here and I still haven't seen everything.”

  Chiyo and I sit down with the boys. Only now do I see that Daiki is sitting on a very big chair. It is gold with countless fake gemstones, and it has huge arm rests. I try and fail to suppress a ugh.

  He smirks, “Ridiculous, isn't it? But it's one of the few chairs at Yamaku I can sit in. It's probably a throne from an old py, but I was pretty happy when I found it.”

  I smile, “I'm gd you found it too.” I sit down in a regur chair and kick my legs, which don't quite touch the ground. “I have the opposite problem.”

  Daiki ughs, “I suppose you do.”

  As I eat my bread I think about the room I'm in and realize I have some questions.

  I must have looked curious, because Chiyo taps Ken on the shoulder and says, “Expin this room to Nagisa.”

  He nods, “As you can see, drama used to be a much rger club. Kind of like band. With dozens of members and regur performances throughout the year.”

  “What happened?”

  “We’re not entirely sure. But by about 10 years ago it was defunct. We found that all out when we started the club again st year and then our advisor showed us this room. We found some stuff that told us a little about it in here, but not much.”

  I nod, “At my old school…the drama club was defunct too. My friends and I brought it back st year. My advisor there said…young people just aren't interested in pys anymore.”

  Ken ughs, “Given the attendance at our performance st year…your old advisor knows what he's talking about.”

  Chiyo sps his arm, “Don't scare her away!”

  He scoffs, “This coming from the girl who tore her head off within a minute of meeting her?”

  Chiyo pouts, “D-don't bring that up! I'm trying to forget how awful of a person I was. I was up all night cringing at myself.”

  Daiki ughs, “We all were.”

  I ugh softly, “I-it's okay Chiyo. It was just a misunderstanding. You d-don't need to lose sleep about it.”

  She smiles at me, “You're comforting me after I was awful to you? Are you like…the sweetest person ever?”

  “I…I d-don’t think so.”

  “Hmm…Yeah, the sweetest person ever probably wouldn't say they were the sweetest person ever.”

  Ken clears his throat, “Can we…maybe get back on track, Chiyo? We were talking about the meager attendance at the py, remember?”

  I nod, “H-how many came to your py?”

  “Maybe 20 people? About 19 of which were faculty, staff, or our families. So, not a whole lot of young people. It's like your adviser said, not many of them are interested in pys.”

  “Well, that's still an audience.”

  Chiyo nods, “That's right. Don't mind Ken, he's gotta be the most pessimistic club president in the history of Yamaku.”

  He scoffs at her, “I'm just a realist.”

  Chiyo giggles and pokes Ken's arm, “I think that's on page 5 of the pessimist script. You know it so well you’re off-book.”

  He ughs at her, “Fine, fine. I'm a little too negative. I should do better with new blood in the mix.”

  I'm at my first official club meeting, in the same room where we have lunch.

  Ken says, “It would be nice if we could pick out a py by the end of the month. Any ideas?”

  Chiyo says, “Well…how many willing actors do we have?”

  I wait for someone to respond. But then I realize that my three clubmates are looking at me expectantly. They already know who is and isn't acting except for me.

  Dorayaki.

  “U-um…I'm willing to act if it will help. I d-don't have any experience though. I don't want to hold you back. O-or…ruin the performance. So maybe I should stay off the stage?”

  Chiyo waves her hand at me, “If you’re willing, we’ll use you. The only way to get that experience is…well, to get experience.”

  “O-okay…I'll do it. If you two help me learn.”

  Ken and Chiyo both nod.

  Daiki says, “So…three actors, then. We should look for pys with three roles. We could have someone py multiple roles, but that’s pushing it.”

  I look at Daiki, “You don't want to act?”

  “Well, we need one person who isn’t anyway, for the tech stuff. And…there aren't a lot of roles that work for me anyway.” He ughs. “Maybe if we do Beauty and the Beast. I can turn into Ken at the end.”

  Chiyo and Ken ugh, but I don't. I don’t like how he's talking about himself. He's not a beast.

  “I-if you want to act, you should. I can learn the other stuff.”

  He smiles, “Really, Nagisa, I'm more interested in the offstage stuff anyway. Thank you, though.”

  Ken says, “Should we stick to one act pys again?”

  Daiki nods, “Those are the most feasible for our little group and non-existant budget.”

  Ken says, “So…I guess we should do some research. Why don't we meet in a week, after looking into some potential pys? We can each pitch one we really like.”

  Css just got out for the day, and I'm heading to the library to find some one act pys. When I arrive there, the pce looks empty. Even the circution desk looks unoccupied.

  I walk up to it, thinking that someone might see me and come help me once they do. My pn pays off.

  I hear “J-just a minute!” from behind me, just before I hear a grunt, followed by several thuds. I turn around and see a red-haired woman sprawled out on her back with books all around her. She lets out a pained moan.

  “Ow…”

  I rush over to her and kneel down, and pick up her gsses which must have fallen off during her fall. “Are you okay? Here are your gsses.”

  She reaches out for them and puts them on,and then sits up, “I…think so. How clumsy of me. I'm sorry.”

  People tell me I apologize too much. Is that what I sound like? Would I apologize for falling down?

  Probably.

  I smile at her, “Y-you don't need to apologize, ma'am. Let me help you.”

  As we pick up the books and carry them to the front desk, I realize there are so many that if she carried them on her own, she probably couldn't see over them. No wonder she fell.

  She smiles at me, “Thank you. You're very kind. I'm Yuuko, by the way. The librarian.”

  Now that she’s standing and wearing her gsses, I recognize her.

  “Oh! You work at the Shanghai too, don't you?”

  She looks at me for a moment and then smiles, “Yes, you're the dorayaki girl, right?”

  I blush at her name for me, “R-right. My name's Nagisa. I'm a third-year transfer student.”

  She nods, “Nice to meet you. Can I help you find something?”

  “Yes, ma'am. I'm looking for pys. I'm in drama club and want to do some research.”

  I feel far too proud at being able to say I'm in drama club. I think I may have even puffed out my chest when I said it.

  She nods and points, “You can find pys in that middle row, where the bean bag chairs are.”

  I thank her and walk to the general area where I was directed, but I haven't seen any pys.

  I notice the bean bags look pretty comfy. This looks like a nice pce to read. There is a girl with beautiful long dark hair taking advantage of one of them. The moment I notice her she silently points to the shelf in front of her beanbag.

  She must have overheard the conversation with Yuuko.

  “Thank you.”

  The girl doesn't respond.

  I approach her and she looks very uneasy. She holds up the book she's reading like she's afraid of making eye contact with me.

  She reminds me of when I first met Kotomi. She is afraid of me and she loves books. I wonder if she's a genius with a tragic past too? Hopefully not that second part.

  I position myself in between her and the shelf and she scoots her beanbag back a little.

  I find a book called, 10 Japanese One Act Pys. I pull it out and open it to the table of contents.

  The girl on the bean bag whispers something, but I can't make it out.

  I turn to look at her. Her book is still covering her face.

  “I’m sorry…I didn't hear you.”

  She whispers, “L-living…”

  Confused, I look at her for a moment while I try to understand. But I can't see her face so it isn't helping. Then I give up and look down at the book. When I look at the table of contents, I see a py titled Living with Father.

  I smile at the girl, even though she can't see it. She must have peeked over when my back was turned to see what book I would grab. She must be as well read as Kotomi, too.

  “You like Living with Father?”

  The book moves up and down. That must be a nod.

  “Have you seen it on stage?”

  The book moves from side to side this time.

  “Thank you so much for your help. I think I'll check this out and I’ll start with that py.”

  She mutters, “‘…w-w-welcome.”

  She is really starting to fidget in the bean bag now, and her hands are starting to shake. Her knuckles are white from holding the book so tightly.

  I really would like to talk to her more about the py and why she likes it, but I can tell she's very uncomfortable. I know she would prefer it if I left her alone.

  I thank her again and return to the front desk to check out the book.