Shizune and Misha pull me towards the cafeteria, which is surprisingly not packed. Maybe some students favor eating in classroom or outdoors. Some of my classmates had boxed lunches.

After we finish eating, Misha has a silent conversation with Shizune before turning to me.

"Hicchan, do you have anything you're really interested in?" Misha asks. I warily follow this tangent, not sure where it's heading towards.

"Reading." And watching interesting people, though I don't think that would be received positively.

"Hm... There is a book club, right, Shicchan? Right! But! It seems like they have all the members they can possibly have right now. Sorry, Hicchan... It's a really popular club." I somehow do not find this surprising at all.

After all, there's got to be more introverted people at a place like this.

"Ah, okay! But, more to the point, does this mean that you don't have anything already in mind?"

"No..."

Wow, I was really slow on the uptake. I didn't make the connection until just now. Why is Misha (and Shizune?) trying to fit me into a club?

"Good! Great! That's great, Hicchan! Really great! Hahaha! Wahahahaha!" Oh dear.

"Do you guys run a club?" Misha grimaces. Aha!

"No." Misha responds.

"Participate in one?"

"No."

"Support one?"

"Not really."

"Well, then why are you trying to get me to join a club?" I demand.

There's an awkward silence where Shizune and Misha glance at each other. Shizune looks...almost offended.

"Student Council!" Misha finally exclaims.

Oh.

"Hahaha! Hm? Right, right... Hicchan, maybe you should join the Student Council! They could use more people. Yes! Definitely! You should definitely join!"

"Why?" The thought of being in any sort of mock government situation does not appeal to me at all.

"Well, for one, we could hang out every day, Hicchan! Shicchan and I are both in the Student Council." Misha explains.

I'm not too sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

"Actually, Shicchan is the president."

That explains the sales pitch.

"Hahaha! Of course, we're not trying to get you to join just because we would obviously benefit from you joining the Student Council and therefore have an incentive to try and get you to join." That smile on Shizune's face is immediately suspect, even if the context of the words weren't enough to set off alarm bells.

"So, you're admitting-" Shizune hastily signs as I start responding.

"Ahaha! No! We admit nothing! I mean, Hicchan, of course it would be nice if you joined, and we'd appreciate it." Well, you don't need to admit anything, it's pretty clear.

"But even without all that, joining the Student Council shows a healthy interest in the workings of one's school. Besides, don't you want to spend time with us after school, Hicchan?" I can't tell if she is being genuine or if this is just really good acting. Both of them seem to be trying hard to look their cutest.

I huff.

"Well..." It's difficult to just say no to those faces.

"So it's settled, then. Welcome to the Student Council, Hicchan!" Misha exclaims.

"What? No. No!" Until they open their mouths, anyways.

"Aww... See, Shicchan? Of course it wouldn't go so easily. Yup! That's right, though, it would be boring if it went that smoothly. Shicchan owes me candy now!"

"You were betting on it? Hey, my life is not a game here!" Shizune looks very intrigued by this when Misha signs it to her. The aggressive glint returns to her eyes.

It appears that she begs to differ.

"Wahaha! That's interesting, Hicchan. Let's play a game!" This evasion is clearly a product of Shizune.

"That's not what I said." And now I'm avoiding the obvious trap.

"How about Rich Man, Poor Man, Hicchan? If you lose, you have to join the Student Council."

I don't even know what that game is, let alone actually want to play it and tell them as much.

"Awww! Why not?" Misha asks, giving me disturbingly cute puppy eyes.

"Because...it's probably one of those games where two people working together can beat the one person working together, and you two would definitely work against me." I deduce. Though it's rather obvious. What a disappointing mystery.

"Hicchan! I'm very offended! Are you saying you don't trust us, and that we would pull something so d-dis-in-gen-u-ous...? That makes me sad..." She stumbles over the hard word. In fairness, I don't even know what that means, though I can take a guess.

"Yes." I say flatly. They both scowl.

"In order to atone for hurting a young girl's feelings, you should definitely join the Student Council!" Haha. Yeah...

"No!" Though it could have been said in a harsh manner, I'm not nearly as insulted/angry/worked up as I could be. It's all in good fun, after all, and I'm well aware. I'm not even sure if the offer itself is serious, given how playful the proceedings are.

"How about a game of paper football, instead of Rich Man, Poor Man?"

"Paper football?" I've never even heard of the thing.

"Yeah! It's a game they play in America! You make a paper triangle, and then you try to shoot it past goalposts that the other player makes with their fingers!" Misha explains, Shizune not responding. Apparently the concept is as new to me as it is to her.

"Isn't it cool? It's the ultimate form of competition between two people, Hicchan!" Shizune, looking rather distressed, signs something.

"...And it's also played by elementary and middle school children, Shicchan? Wahaha! That means it's a game that really separates the boys from the men!" So she knew what it was, just chose not to 'say' anything.

"More like the boys from the slightly older boys. But, if you're using your hands, why is it called football?" This seems to stump Misha, though Shizune has an answer.

"Huh? Oh. Well, in America, the real game sometimes has people kicking the ball with their feet, but normally they run around with it in their arms and try to get it past their opponents. Paper football just takes the kicking part and uses your hands to mimic that."

Someone actually came up with a game like that?

They're waiting for a response.

"Well, I'm not going to play that either. Just the fact that you know about it means you're probably good at it." The information Shizune revealed was enough to push me to the conclusion. From her earlier, playful statement, I suspect she wouldn't bother playing it, but I'm confident that Misha does.

"Hahaha! Yeah, that's true! How did you know, Hicchan?" Shizune frowns at Misha, telling me that she probably wasn't supposed to admit that so readily.

"It was obvious. Blatantly obvious."

I also now know to exploit Misha whenever Shizune's trying to get something over me.

As for the thought of a student council...

I've never been on one before, or even know anybody who was a member. But I know a little about what they're supposed to do, and I don't think I want that extra work without any real motivation to do it.

"Okay, Hicchan, how about Risk? The game of world domination!" They're persistent, I'll give them credit for that much.

"I don't know what that is." I only play one board game, but I'm very good at it.

"It's really fun, Hicchan. You fight for control of the world, with armies and everything."

"Did Shizune invent that game?" I ask dryly. The thoughtful look on Shizune's face after she receives the translation sends a shiver down my spine.

"Shizune accepts your compliment, but regretfully says that she wasn't responsible. She generously offers, however, to play with no strings attached. We can just play for fun, right after school; how about it?" Misha says cheerfully.

I want to test just how smart Shizune is, and a skill-based strategic game should do that for me. I assume it's a board game, given the concept of armies and world domination.

"Well, okay..." No strings attached, so I can play without feeling pressured. I guess, given this, perhaps they do want to just spend time with me.

"Okay! Okay, okay! Perfect! We'll see you after school in the student council room, then, Hicchan!" The student council room-

"Wait, why there?"

"Because! That's where we keep the game." Uh-huh.

Well, I've already agreed to it. I grimace to tell them how much I do not like this, but it's more for show than anything.

In the end I agree, but only after getting Shizune to acknowledge that I don't mean anything concrete just by accepting to take a look around and play a game with her.

Lunch ends, and we go back to class, Misha and Shizune engaged in some kind of sign-language conversation while I follow silently.

Sometime between Japanese and English, Hanako returns to class through the rear entrance. Everyone's head turns towards the door, but once it's clear that it's just her their attention drifts away.

This must be a regular occurrence, then. I don't give it a second thought, waving vaguely at her before returning my attention forward.

I'm surprised that the teachers allow it...but from the little I've glimpsed of Hanako's personality, it is not truly surprising. Crippling social anxiety, I think.

It's something I can relate to...though I've long bypassed that barrier. It doesn't make me a social butterfly by any means, but I can talk to people with ease.

Those scars...

They are the key to everything about her, I think. An explanation for her extremely introverted personality at a glance.

If there's one thing I've come to understand when working with disabled people, though, it's that pity isn't something we appreciate. As a general rule, we want to be treated normally.

The classes switch. I work on my unfinished picture of the mysterious morning running girl, using a gray pencil to shade in the shadows of her face.

Hanako continues to take notes, seemingly focused on her work. I leave her to it.

My watch silently informs me that there are three minutes before the end of classes. Glancing sideways, I realize that Hanako has silently packed up and is waiting to go.

Heh. Interesting.

The teacher's eyes skim over her, landing on me. I blink.

Fortunately, the English teacher doesn't call on me, singling out another victim for ruthless interrogation. The chime of the bell saves the poor student halfway through a stammering explanation.

Hanako's whispered goodbye is the only thing I hear from her before the rear door opens and slams shut.