We, 4/12
Wednesday, April 12th/ Morning.
On the bus ride from home, Yang mentions that she'll be staying after classes again.
"A lot of people signed up to enter the Judo Team, but the gym building was having an unscheduled check-up, so we couldn't use it yesterday." She lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm probably staying there tomorrow too. There are a lot of people trying out for the team and I'm not looking forward to this."
"Well, it couldn't be that bad." I offer.
"Most of the applicants are guys." She flatly says.
"And what's the matter with…" I notice the dread in Yang's voice and connect the dots. She's the captain of the team. the team uniform was most likely a GI. The image of Yang wearing a GI crosses my mind. "Oh…"
"Eeyup. Not looking forward to it. At all."
We arrive at MOS with only a few minutes more to spare, so we both head to our classrooms. Before I get there, Jaune catches up to me. "Hey Ruby! How's your morning?"
"It's been okay. How about you?"
"Meh, could be better." He comments offhandedly. "Look, I was reviewing the lists of topics for the research." Jaune says, producing a piece of paper from his pocket. "I wrote down a few that might be interesting to look up."
I grab the list and glance through it. To be honest, I haven't read the full list yet, but the topics that Jaune picked do seem interesting. "Wow Jaune, this is great. See how easy it is when you dedicate to it?"
"Yeah," he says as we enter the classroom and sit on our desks, "I kinda got excited and skimmed through the whole list yesterday. I figured I could help with that, right? You can keep the list, by the way."
I nod as I pocket the list in my bag. Soon after, Ms. Goodwitch enters the classroom and beckons me to her desk. I stand up and walk to her. "Is there something wrong, professor?"
"Relax, Ms. Rose. It was simply a mistake I made. I forgot to tell you that this classroom shares room duty after classes. Yesterday was supposed to be your turn for room duty, but I forgot to inform you of that." She calmly says as she orders some of her papers. "However, today you'll be assisting Ms. Scarlatina on her turn. Then the duty program will return back to normal."
I nod once before returning to my seat. Classes resume at their normal pace.
Wednesday, April 12th/ After School.
After class, I gather my stuff and slide my bag beneath my chair as everybody leaves the classroom. Only me and another girl remain in the room after everybody left. She was only slightly taller than I am, with long brown hair cascading down her back, with two short, dumb hairs sticking on top of her head, and deep brown eyes. She was wearing the summer uniform, with brown stockings covering her entire legs. She regarded me with a confused stare after noticing that I wasn't leaving.
I decide to take the first step and explain. "Hey, I'll be helping you today. Yesterday was supposed to be my turn, but I wasn't told then." I tell her, trying to sound apologetic.
"Oh, so that's what it is?" She finally said, speaking with a thick, tropical accent, and visibly relaxing. "Well, I can't complain 'bout it. It'd make things go quicker." She said as she walked toward the small cabinet on the back of the room and gathered some cleaning supplies for the desks and a box of disposable latex gloves. "I'm Velvet Scarlatina, by the way."
"Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you." I say as I walk next to the supplies and put on a pair of gloves. Meanwhile, Velvet had started applying detergent to the desk in the far left corner, so I began cleaning the one beside it.
"It must be tough being two years younger than everybody in here." Velvet comments after a while before letting out a nervous chuckle. "I'd be really embarrassed all the time."
"Yeah, I'm not too happy about it actually." I answer as I finish one desk and move to another. "I mean, most of the time it isn't a problem, until you notice how people act when you're not looking. Commenting behind your back…"
"Givin' you weird looks…"
"Treating you differently…"
"Lookin' down on you…"
"Yeah… Wait, what?" I catch up with what's just been said. Velvet also reels back and fumbles to find her voice.
"What I meant is… I kinda know how you feel." She says with a sigh. "I'm very self-conscious about myself, so I get a little anxious around too many people. I can't help it." She finishes with another nervous chuckle. "Wow, you must think that I'm a little odd now."
"Actually, I'm relieved." I tell her, which earned me a surprised stare from Velvet. "At least now I know that I'm not the only one feeling that self-conscious. Thanks for sharing that with me."
Velvet smiles broadly. "No, thank you."
I am Thou, Thou art I...
Thou hast formed a new bond.
It shall become a Path that leads to new Power.
Thou hast opened the road of the Priestess Arcana
Towards a brand new Destination.
We continue talking as we clean up the desks and the backboard, then put away the supplies and walk out of the classroom. Yang is still attending the tryouts for her team, so I leave for the bus stop with Velvet. We talk all the way before she gets down a stop before mine. After a minute, I get down on my stop and head back home.
Wednesday, April 12th/ Evening.
After arriving home, I bring down my laptop to check my e-mail while watching TV with the volume down. I check the lists of topics for the research and compare it with the one Jaune gave me. It is only a fifth part of the total amount, but these are really interesting subjects. I highlight the ones Jaune picked on the document and start working on my homework.
Around an hour or so, Yang arrives home, totally beat. She complains how most of the applicants aren't actually interested in joining the team just for the sake of joining the team, and how some of them were downright weirdos. We have dinner early and watch TV in the living room until 10 pm. I go to my room, change into my pajamas and crawl to bed.
"Goodnight Mom. Goodnight Fenrir."
Ruby Rose has forged the Shy Freshman Social Link of the Priestess Arcana
Social Links:
00. The Fool (Hunting Squad): Rank 1.
01. The Magician (Jaune Arc): Rank 1.
02. The Priestess (Velvet Scarlatina) Rank 1 (Initiated!)
19. The Sun (Sun Wukong): Rank 1
