[BCOLOR=transparent] |[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Aimi Minako[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]|[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Gym[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]|[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]“Turn your flash off![/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]”[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]| [/BCOLOR]
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“Do you let everyone treat you like that?”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Aimi’s nervous smile fled her face as she stammered, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“W-what?”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
She followed the girl’s gaze over to the second-in-charge of the Astrology Club.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent] Huh. Small world. Er, gym class. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
"Huh? N-no. She probably didn't mean all of that.I believe everyone's got a nice side." [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]That’s one way to look at it, I guess. Kind of delusional, but I mean..to each their own.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Suddenly, another girl appeared, and began rapidly speaking to Aimi, who had panic alarms going off in her head. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“Oh my gosh! We have more things in common! I assaulted her with a door and she assaulted you with a volleyball!”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Aimi plastered an uncomfortable smile onto her face as the other girl started laughing. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Ah, this is weird and uncomfortable now. More so than before, at least. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Meanwhile, the aggressor/agressed ("What do you mean that's not a real word?") girl was messing around on her phone before the quiet click of a phone’s camera went off. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“D-..Did you just take a picture of me?” [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
The taller girl nodded, and Aimi shrank further into her sweater. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Just when I thought I couldn’t get more uncomfortable…[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]
“Anyways...I’m--”[/BCOLOR]
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“Her name is Frey and mine is Abbie!”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Abbie blurted, cutting Frey off. The latter shot the red-head a cold look before returning to her phone, rapidly typing. [/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]
"Frey Soloviev. I know." [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Soloviev… that sounds European. Russia? Ukraine? Some other descendant of the Soviet Union, perhaps? That would certainly explain her appearance… and her personality, if she meets any of the Russian stereotypes I’ve heard.[/BCOLOR]
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As Aimi mindlessly continued along this thought process, Abbie wasn’t having the best social experience herself. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“O-oh, sorry! I’ll just...go over there…”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
The girl shuffled out of sight, and began playing with a basketball. By herself. Aimi frowned slightly, and thought about going over to talk to her. She would much rather hang around the hyperactive squirrel of a girl than someone who takes pictures of people for no apparent reason.[/BCOLOR]
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“Someone can walk all over you,”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Frey’s low voice stood out among the general chatter of the people around them. The blonde girl dropped the volleyball before stretching.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent] You know, at this point, I don’t know if she’s talking about me or Maggie...[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“Since we will be getting to know one another…Ask me for help if anyone troubles you.”[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent] O-oh.. a protector? That’s...interesting.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
After her statement, Frey resumed her constant typing before taking pictures of Aimi and Maggie, like she did Abbie. [/BCOLOR]
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Aimi flinched at the noise of the camera, startled by the unwanted photography. Was this her thing? Maybe she sold, say, school girl porn on the internet. Did she shop this pictures? What kind of heinous purpose could these images serve? The petite girl shuddered, though she admitted she was probably overthinking it. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]...Probably.[/BCOLOR]
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Frey resumed speaking after taking her Potential Porn Pictures, directing a question at the three girls. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“Are we playing volleyball or basketball?” [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Before she could protest, Maggie commented,[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]
"I-I just wanted to ask the two of you why you chose the Astrology Club."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Oh, thank god. I’m so bad at sports.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Nodding at Maggie, Aimi spoke for the first time during this conversation between all four of the girls, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“I, uh, actually joined.. To make friends? I mean, stars and stuff are great,”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
she enthusiastically added, glancing over at Maggie, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“But, I, uh, don’t get out much, to say the least. So I figured joining a club would be a.. Good idea.. I guess..”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Aimi trailed off nervously. Was that a good enough reason? Aimi didn’t know, but she had a slight hunch that Maggie would understand the feeling. [/BCOLOR]
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Before any other conversation could be had, the other kids in the gym began packing their things. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“O-oh,” [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Aimi mumbled, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“I think...the school’s closing.”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
She looked over at the other three girls before picking up her bag. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“It was nice to meet you three, officially! I look forward to seeing you guys in the club,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
” she glanced at Maggie and Frey, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“And seeing you around school,”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
now addressing Abbie. As she started to leave, she turned around quickly before exclaiming, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“Wait, my phone!” [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
The petite girl shuffled back quickly, grabbed the device that was still laying on the ground, and returning to the point from which she came. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before quickly saying, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“Anyways, bye..!”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
and escaping off into the sunset, on her way home. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]
| EVENING | [/BCOLOR]
=[BCOLOR=transparent] Gym → [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Dorm = サウンドトラック =[/BCOLOR]
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Aimi walked slowly down the street towards the dorms, scrolling through her phone mindlessly, the screen’s light illuminating her face. A warning message popped up onto her phone’s screen;[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]WARNING: BATTERY PERCENTAGE IS AT CRITICAL LEVEL. PLUG YOUR DEVICE IN NOW. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]
She let out a huff of agitation before turning her phone’s screen off. The petite girl continued to walk in complete darkness, aside from the full moon above. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Man,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
she thought. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]That thing is like a floodlight.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
She sighed absentmindedly. At least it’s pretty. Another few minutes of this empty thinking continued, before Aimi began to reflect upon the events of the day. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Late to school, new club, hit in the face with a volleyball, talked to a potential child porn distributor.. Yeah, that’s a little more involved than normal.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Typically, Aimi sat silently as the other kids talked to their friends, or asked the teacher questions, blah blah blah. Not her, though. Too nervous to approach anyone, she would only talk to people if they talked to her. And, most of the time, they didn’t. [/BCOLOR]
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Aimi ran a hand through her mess of auburn hair, sighing. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Mm..what a great life, isn’t it?[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
She looked up at the moon again. She had never really appreciated how pretty it really was. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Now that I’m in the astrology club, I suppose I should be taking more interest in you, shouldn’t I?[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
The petite girl laughed to herself as she approached her destination. [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Ah, home.[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Finally.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
The girl pulled out her house key and unlocked the door, stepped inside, and dropped her bag onto the floor. Then, she hopped onto her bed, pulled out her laptop, then stopped. [/BCOLOR]
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Out of the corner of her eye, she could still see the moon hanging in the sky through her window, like one of those solar system mobiles that people put in their baby’s room. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“Mm..”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
She frowned, then closed the laptop hesitantly. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“..Not tonight.”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
And with that, Aimi climbed into bed and positioned herself to that she could just barely see the sky. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
Closing her eyes, she quietly murmured, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
“Goodnight, moon,”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
and drifted off to sleep.[/BCOLOR]