The Young man sat down in the spot next to Sayori. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, he would technically have the closest connection to her.
"So this is The literature club?" He asks me; taking out pens and paper and carefully positioning them. Something I find odd of someone with such an appearance.
"Um yes." I hastily respond. This would be difficult. I was actually interactive with another sentient consciousness; or at least a really well done script.
"So what do you mainly do here? I mean; Literature is a broad spectrum. It includes books, poetry, articles, film scripts-even game storylines and scripts I suppose." He spoke in such a calm, carefree tone. I could feel butterflies in my stomach. He was so real; so human and so enthralling. He also mentioned games, something that felt a bit odd and Meta to me.
"At the moment we are focusing mainly on poetry and reading. But by all means if you wish to write prose or a script, g-go right ahead." I stuttered momentarily, still a little overwhelmed. He smirked a little at me.
"Ah- I see. Sounds splendid. I hope I impress you all. I've never really done any writings in front of a group. Except for... Well scientific papers I suppose. "He admitted, and I saw the tiniest bit of hesitation. Perfect. He even has natural flaws. This can't simply be an A.I; I refuse to believe that.
"Science? What are you, a nerd?" Natsuki scoffed, making her usual mocking tone. And yet she too has a voice. Real speech. And it seems the Presence of this person is forcing the others to work off-script, at least somewhat. The young man started to laugh, unfazed.
"By definition-yes. But trust me pinkie, I'm more than meets the eye." He joked almost flirtatiously, waggling his eyes in such a show of self-confidence.
"H-hey! Don't call me that!" She raised her voice defensively, crossing her arms. Jake simply chuckled again and leaned back on his chair.
"So Jake." I began; toying with some ideas. "Tell us a bit more about yourself. We'll have a bit of an icebreaker." I decided with a smile.
"Well. I'm 19 years old; I'm proficient in my academic studies, except for geography and sport. I like videogames and uh..uh…solving mysteries. Yeah. I think. I do enjoy writing too; I just don't write that often. Uh; my favourite food is pizza. But done properly, italiano style on sourdough with authentic topping." He proudly discussed, oddly stumbling at a key point. I found that increasingly suspicious. Solving mysteries? That's an oddly specific hobby. I had to know more.
"Mystery solving? What does that entail?" I asked, opening my desk and setting out y own writing supplies. He paused for a moment, slightly nervous. Strange; like he was struggling to remember.
"Uhh...well it's hard to explain. I usually follow a lead, sometimes a murder or disappearance, and find out as much as I can. Often I go for the more unusual cases." He explained.
And yet; such an honest but jarring response. He appeared ashamed of it, yet passionate. It couldn't be a glitch, but such a pastime must be fascinating.
"Most interesting." Yuri mused; writing down a few notes. "Sounds like your life's a lot more interesting than mine…" She looked down shyly, as she often did when talking to people.
Natsuki just shook her head. "What a stupid lie." She scoffed, paying him no mind. "A-anyway; I'm Natsuki. And Um..I like baking and writing simple poetry. And…" She sighed. "Also read manga…." She muttered briefly.
The young man grinned.
"Really?" He piped up. "Like Jojo's Bizarre adventure?" His grin widened, looking like a bit of a joker. I saw Natsuki hide the briefest of blushes.
"I've heard about that one, but not gotten around to reading it." She confessed, chewing her pen for a moment. I noted the smallest glitch in her file as her A.I struggled to cope with such different dialogue. However, her file was growing in size I could see. As are the files of everyone else. Jake also had a file. But it was huge. Several zettabytes in size. I guess that must be the data of a human brain. But impressive that a computer could run that size of file, unless the brain itself is hooked into the system.
"And I'm Yuri. I enjoy reading mostly. And ….not much else." She shyly described herself. Yeah; 'not much else'. You keep telling yourself that Yuri. I admit that was a bit harsh to think of, but she really did have a habit of self-harm when she gets too excited. A fact that is sometimes my fault for messing with her files, but well.
Jake seems to fit in rather well here. We all began to write, a way to show our own unique styles to him. I eagerly anticipated his work. Would it be poetry, prose, or something else? About fifteen minutes later, and I announced it was time to show our working. Natsuki, Sayori, and Yuri in turn shared their poems, all which I had seen before. Jake seemed impressed by all of them.
-
Boring days, endless nights
nothing changes, same old fights
But then, a shooting star
and now my life is more Bizarre
Since that day, I felt truly alive
my spirit renewed with new drive
I hope this feeling stays a while
for this feeling brings me a constant smile
Shooting star, I thank you now.
For my life has already changed, and how!
Perhaps I will get my special day
for this possibility I pray
I showed him my poem, and he clapped. But it was an honest clap. Not sarcastic.
"So thought provoking!" He chirped with a warm smile. "It's funny what fate can give us, isn't it?" He said rhetorically. Indeed, very funny, I think to myself. I wonder how aware he would be of me? I will tread carefully. Maybe I can just convince him.
Then he showed us his writings.
-
A hero; stalwart and Proud
In his quest he makes no sound
he has no face, for he needs none
the war has already been won
He made a choice, long ago
made his mistakes and stuck in limbo
master of his fate, so he thinks
at least after a round of drinks
but he is lost, on the inside
his thoughts and sadness within all hide
His love he lost, to a man of hate
but what can you do-such is fate
I had to reread that. It was so outlandish. So surreal. More like the special poems in the files. It definitely held hidden meaning. Everyone would leave their poems here as usual, so I could decipher it later. It was almost time to go. But first.
"Um. Jake. I'll need to stay behind a bit longer, just to brief you on club responsibilities and current events and all." I requested. I anticipated Sayori's response before she even spoke.
"Aww! But who am I going to walk home with?" She pouted. Natsuki sighed.
"I'll go with you if you really want…" She groaned, probably secretly liking the idea. That was different. Oh well.
So everyone else left. And I was left there with him. I could interrogate him properly.