Komi Komi Literature Club!

Chapter 5: The Kindred Spirit

Komi took in a deep breath, gathering her courage before stepping out the front door of her house. She had on her favorite white dress with blue jeans, purple and white sneakers, as well as her favorite sunhat. With her notebook and pen in hand, she started walking to the library.

After the club meeting yesterday, Yuri texted Komi again. They made arrangements to meet at the library so that they could pick out a book to begin reading together. Yuri suggested that they meet sometime between 10:30am and 11:00am, so Komi arrived promptly at 10.

Arriving early allowed Komi time to prepare mentally for Yuri's arrival. She was still getting used to having friends and meeting with them outside of school, let alone meeting with them by herself (and not having Tadano there to assist her).

Finally, just 5 minutes before 10:30, Yuri appeared. She had on a nice white long-sleeve shirt and black leggings with simple sneakers. She looked very pretty as she approached; Komi was very impressed with how pretty she looked.

"Hello, Yuri. You look very nice." Komi greeted her, holding up her notebook as Yuri walked up to her. After reading Komi's greeting, she smiled politely and nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you. You look very nice as well. I love that dress." She complimented back.

Komi flinched in surprise and gasped a little. She then blushed and began to fidget nervously, unsure of how to take the compliment. Yuri simply smiled again and began making her way inside. Komi fell in step next to her, and they entered the library together.

"I've never been to this particular library before. It looks nice though. I like that they have areas to sit and relax too." Yuri commented as they made their way inside. Komi nodded in agreement.

"Oh wow, look at those two pretty girls! They must be related or something." People commented as they watched Yuri and Komi make their way into the fiction section of the library.

"So, Komi, have you thought about what sort of book you'd like to start with?" Yuri asked, turning around to face her.

Komi flinched and started to become nervous. She had given a little consideration to what she might be interested, but she honestly had no idea where to start. But how would she relay that information to Yuri, who was expecting her to have an answer?

"I was thinking perhaps something more fantasy-based? I have a friend who likes those sorts of things, so I'd like to try that." Komi explained.

"I see. Well, there's plenty of options here for sure. In fact, I've been quite hooked on a fantasy series that has more of a medieval setting to it." Yuri brought up.

"Really? What is it about?" Komi asked.

"Ah, well, it has to do with a band of warriors that have to travel across kingdoms on behalf of their queen, encountering many different types of people and monsters in search of ancient relics. It's quite well written, and there's so many intricate details to it.

"For example..."

As Yuri began to start explaining how much research and detail went into her book series, Komi found herself understanding less and less. It was starting to make her head spin trying to keep up with everything that Yuri was saying.

Also, even though she figured Yuri was shy and quiet like her, Komi had never heard her talk this much. She was clearly very passionate, which Komi found to be cute if not also overwhelming.

"Ahem...I'm sorry, I have a bad habit of rambling about these things. How juvenile. Do forgive me. Maybe something more simple and straightforward would be better suited for you, at least starting out." Yuri suggested.

Komi quickly nodded her head in agreement before writing, "I'm sorry that you have to slow down for me."

"It's hardly an inconvenience, Komi," Yuri said to reassure her. "After all, we're in two different places as far as reading goes. It would be rude of me to judge or look down on you for that."

Komi began to shift in place a little. After taking a moment to put her thoughts together, she wrote in her notebook again, "I think your love of literature is amazing."

"Oh," Yuri was going to say something else, but her words got caught in her throat after reading the unexpected compliment. Her cheeks grew faintly red; even Komi could see the bashfulness in her expression and she started to worry.

Had she said something wrong?

"U-Um, thank you, Komi. But it's nothing really; just a hobby of mine. Books are...where I find comfort most of the time." She admitted while shyly rubbing her arm.

"Why?" Komi asked.

"It's a bit embarrassing for me to admit, but...when I was younger, I had a really hard time making friends. In fact, most people I talked to I only knew online. In person, I was always afraid that my interests would be considered strange, or, I guess, that I'd be considered strange...

"It's hard to find people who share a common interest, which is why I joined the Literature Club in the first place. And even then, with how different everyone is, it still feels like I'm branching out." Yuri commented with an ironic chuckle.

Komi put a hand over her chest, staring at Yuri with a meaningful expression. Immediately, Yuri's eyes widened and she shrunk back ever so slightly. Komi began to shake a little. That feeling of seeing Yuri as a kindred spirit had suddenly returned.

"Talking to people is terrifying for me." Komi admitted.

Yuri read over this sentence once, then twice, and then again. Komi could see the wheels turning in her head. It made her very nervous, and suddenly she began to wonder whether or not she should've waited to share that about herself. She held the notebook up in front of her face and turned her head away.

"I...I didn't realize that you were feeling that way, but it makes a lot of sense, all things considered. Is that why you write in your notebook? You're writing down what you want to say?" Yuri asked, curling a finger over the top of the notebook and gently pushing it down to reveal Komi's face again.

Komi blushed again and nodded. Yuri nodded too, showing that she understood.

"I see," Yuri acknowledged. "I will do my best to be patient with you if it takes time for you to formulate your thoughts." Yuri promised. Komi stood up straight and quickly began to write again.

"Thank you. But I have been trying my best to get better at speaking and even making friends." Komi informed her.

"That's good, of course," Yuri nodded again. "But I still will do my best to be mindful." She promised again. Komi nodded appreciatively.

Yuri nodded back and turned around, now ready to resume their search for a book to read. However, she stopped again when she noticed that Komi was still standing in the same spot. She took in a breath, trembling as her lips slowly began to part.

"Th-th...th-thank y-you." Komi spoke softly in a quiet, shaky voice. Her voice was light and much more delicate than what Yuri would have expected, what with Komi being both taller than her and more elegant in beauty than her. However, Yuri smiled kindly and nodded once more.

"You're welcome. Let's go take a look at the books. I'd like to find something that interests you that we can begin reading together. How's that sound?" Yuri offered again.

Komi pumped her fists in front of her and nodded quickly to show her excitement. Yuri giggled a little, and off they went...

After searching for awhile, they settled upon a relatively simple book series with multiple installments already available. Yuri reasoned that if they ended up enjoying the first book, they'd be able to continue together from there. Komi agreed to this, so they both took out a copy of the same book and exited the library together.

"Well, this was quite nice, actually. I'm glad we could meet, Komi. Outings like this are uncommon for me too." Yuri said.

"We'll have to do it again sometime." Komi wrote in response.

"I agree. I look forward to it. I'll see you at school. Enjoy the rest of your weekend." Yuri said cordially, waving to her as she took a step back. Komi waved back, and the two went their separate ways from there.

As Yuri began walking home, she pulled out her phone. She paused for a moment and stopped walking so that she could sent a group message to the other girls in the club:

"Hello everyone. It has come to my attention that our newest club member, Komi, suffers from severe shyness. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that it could be some form of social anxiety. I want to be respectful of her privacy, but I also think it's important that we're all aware of this so we can be mindful and patient with her at the club meetings. This is clearly hard for her to deal with. Also, I ask that you don't tell her that I shared this to you. Thank you."

Yuri sighed to herself as she put her phone away. She felt bad for Komi, and she also related to Komi's struggle, since she too had a hard time speaking to new people; there were times when it was so bad that she ended up doing things she was embarrassed by simply because she couldn't initiate the conversation.

Somehow, it seemed like it was even harder for Komi. After all, she had just witnessed how much Komi struggled just to get out two short words...

Monika was the first one to respond to Yuri's text:

"Thank you for sharing this with us, Yuri. We'll all be mindful moving forward"