Lovesick Girl
Chapter 3: The World's Greatest Collection
Monday, September 2, 2013 AF cont.
The room was full of archive-style drawers and bookcases filled with archive books and there were corkboards on the walls that were often trying to piece The Story and of course there were bins of material that the girl had not yet sorted out or found its place. And there was just so much stuff that barely any sunlight passed through and so artificial lights had to be permanently on. But what I found the most surprising is that at the center of it there was a computer and wasn't that a Commander PET? Isn't that sort of thing brand new? This girl was decked. What could she possibly be doing here I needed to find out sorry girl curiosity is the greatest driver of education.
I wished I could just say hi like a normal person but no I didn't I kept glancing at each and every detail of the room and I suppose the girl must have heard footsteps inside her little lair of information so she turned around and suddenly got a little shy and fidgety. "Oh hey I didn't notice you walk in I'm sorry I'm not that used to visitors, let alone people interested in my work so sorry if my introduction is a bit rusty I'm Flashlight Girl and I'm the head of the Doki Doki Internal History Department!" and I only "So, not a club."
"Yeah sorry this isn't a club and hasn't had a student as a staff member for a while but it's okay I got permission from Creative Emogal so I don't need the minimum 4 student members to run my operation!" but this girl had answered one question and opened the room for so, so many more and of course I was going to ask all of them right away.
"Okay, first of all, what are you doing right now even though it's not a normal school day?" and Flashlight Girl "Oh sorry it's just that whenever I discover any new photos that let me piece together the history of Doki Doki High sorting them out and placing them in an archive can't wait! So, that's what I'm doing right now. And I'm sorry but if I talk less and sort photos more I'll get the job done faster so you... you..." and for the second time ever Flashlight Girl turned around to face me again. "What's your name? And how have you gotten intertangled with Doki Doki High?"
"Oh my name is Madeline Myers and I just became a student this year." and Flashlight Girl facepalmed. "Of course! Madeline Myers! How could I have forgotten I literally had the list of new students of Doki Doki High for the school year of 2013-2014 AF in front of me and I already forgot and I'm so unreliable and a computer would be so, so much reliable and I need to enter that data right now but now I don't even know what I'm supposed to do and ugggggh!" She burrowed her face in her hands and I felt like I must do something to comfort her but I didn't know what. And I didn't know if comforting her would make her even more guilty that she's not doing her work I know I would react the same way.
So I thought of the most comforting thing to say to a person in a situation like this and the best I managed was "What if one person entered the student data into a computer, and then another person sorted the photos out?" and Flashlight Girl "Don't be silly there's only one of me to go around and do everything and that is the burden I carry wait a minute. Are you actually offering me to become a part of the Internal History Department? Please say yes or at least please don't insult me I've had so, so many students over the years just mocking me for even having a room at Doki Doki High and I just need to hear something else for once."
"I'll consider it. I just need to know whether one can join a department and a club at the same time." and Flashlight Girl "Really? This is possibly the best news I've ever heard in my life thank you so much have you ever used a computer before? And yeah the thing with clubs is Principal Creative Emogal doesn't let one person join two clubs at the same time so you guessed that that's a rule but the thing with departments is that I'm the only one who has ever attempted anything like this but I can run the question through her whenever I meet up with her again."
So she ran off with her speech once again but she had mentioned something about computers and I needed to respond. "Regarding computers. Sadly, no. In fact, this is the first time I've seen a computer in my life." and Flashlight Girl "No worries! In fact when Principal Creative Emogal took over she wanted some sort of oomph to make the students more excited to study here as opposed to any competitor schools so she established Computer Science lessons with Grant Sanderson as a teacher! And with his help I'm sure you'll learn how to use a computer in no time? Isn't this school just the best?"
While she replied that particular response I gave the room one more good glance and I noticed something strange on one of the walls: a graduation diploma awarded to Joey Claire for graduating from Samsung Group Adolescent Education Facility in 2008 AF. It was weird that a person's high school graduation was highlighted specifically but why would Flashlight Girl put this person on a pedestal? And so, like with everything else, I inquired. "Another question. Who's Joey Claire?"
"Why, she's the best collector of information that Doki Doki High has ever seen and she continues to labor so that an unbiased history of the school can be written!" and I immediately realized what's going on. "So, you're Joey Claire." and Flashlight Girl only hissed. "Don't call me that! Look I know the Claire family name has forever been tarnished by a certain journalist who was exposed for making shit up but I'm not that journalist and I'm trying my best to make things better it's all part of my master plan! Wanna hear it?" and Joey was just too funny I had to let her continue. "Of course."
"So I've got this entire compendium of information right? And it has details on every Doki Doki High student who has ever attended the school from opening till today (or whenever I stop updating things) and eventually a Doki Doki High student will be involved in a controversy and reporters and journalists will investigate and of course Flashlight Girl will provide them with the most detailed profile that has ever profiled. And once everyone starts adoring Flashlight Girl, boom! Revelation! Flashlight Girl was Joey Claire all along! And everyone will start adoring the Claire family name once again and my father will be able to get a job again and we won't have to make every piece of money count ever again. Maybe I'll even go to university after all this is said and done."
"You've... you've never gone to university." I didn't even know that people who only had high school on their resumés could potentially matter. I had my entire life being perceived wrong. "Yeah and money is part of the issue but in part I just like collecting information as a hobby and I wouldn't trade my place at the Internal History Department for anything. Well of course except if that place could be conceived as two places and another student took one of those places then I'd gladly accept them as a coworker!" and her incessant rambling led me to give the room one more glance and I noticed a pile of electronics that didn't resemble a computer and honestly didn't resemble anything.
"Hey. Is this a data station or something of the sort?" and Flashlight Girl "No! It's... actually let me give a minute to best describe what this is... it's..." and unfortunately before she could come up with an answer Creative Emogal came to visit us. "Hey I gotta lock the doors and in order to lock the doors I need every single person out of here so sorry Flashlight Girl and the other one you've gotta go." and she literally already forgot my name how is this happening does she even care about her students or does she only care about whimsical tours and love confessions?
But before I could make an angry outburst Flashlight Girl stepped in. "Of course we'll leave right away I just have one more question. Regarding departments like mine, could a student join both a department and a club?" and Creative Emogal "Has someone actually, genuinely offered to aid you in your work? I'm sorry but you've been bitten in the back so many times I can't trust you on this one." and it was my time to shine. "Yes. Going over the school's history would help me get acquainted with the town's culture, and typing it all on a computer would allow me to learn to type faster."
Creative Emogal then "Oh. Well this looks like a demanding job so I don't think you'll have any time for clubs but if you somehow manage to get it all under control then I don't see why not." and she was absolutely right I didn't even have any plans to coordinate the Internal History Department duties and my maid doll café job thing. So I "Of course. I'm genuinely interested, but this is still a hypothetical." and Creative Emogal "Alright girls time for one more question is over pack it up and go home." and the lights went off and both she and Flashlight Girl and I all went home.
So. Flashlight Girl is quite the specimen isn't she? If I do join her I feel like I could learn so much. Not in the school subjects manner (I don't need any help on that front, thank you) but I could know every student's background and their likes and dislikes and it would put me in such a better position to become their friend. And I do need friends in this world that was my honest mistake at Baldur's Gate I was only focused on the academics and not friends and that's probably why the whole thing about Madeline Myers being a creepy cold girl started.
But anyway that's enough for today and tomorrow I'll actually have some lessons and I'll see how I fare through those.
Yours truly, Madeline Myers.
