Komi Komi Literature Club!
Chapter 19: The Walk Home
Walking alone with Komi was an interesting yet unnerving experience. Alex was seeing more eyes on them – they were wondering about her and glaring at him. It put a pit in his stomach knowing that they were all probably thinking bad things about him, and yet, he kinda liked the attention that came with it.
He felt as if he was in some special place where he didn't belong but had been invited to.
"Do you need to grab anything before we go, Komi?" Alex asked.
"Mhmm." Komi nodded and pointed towards her locker. He followed her to it and stood by, leaning against the lockers and watching her gather her things.
Watching her get her stuff with her usual delicate grace, it wasn't hard to see why everyone revered her so much. She had this aura that was as mystifying as it was untouchable, like a work of art in a gallery.
Komi stood up straight and looked at Alex. She flinched a little, her eyes getting wide as she noticed that he seemed to be observing her closely. She let out a stifled 'huh?'. Alex realized that he was staring and quickly waved it off with his hand.
"Sorry, ha, I didn't mean to stare. I was just looking at your hair. How'd you get it that straight?" He asked.
"I went to a hair salon very recently. I have been going there since I was 12. The stylist there takes good care of me." Komi wrote her explanation.
"That's really cool. She did a good job then!" Alex laughed, "And you do a good job maintaining it. It's got a nice shine to it." He complimented her.
Komi's eyes widened again at the compliment. She found herself feeling embarrassed; she greatly appreciated him taking notice of it, but she wasn't sure how to respond. She couldn't think of anything to say to reciprocate, and yet a simple 'thank you' didn't feel like enough.
"Thank you very much. My mother says that she thinks it suits me. I think so too." Komi added.
"I agree. All you need now is a fan to blow it back." Alex joked, imitating the sound of wind and making motions with his hands as if brushing back imaginary hair.
"Hmm?" Komi tilted her head, not understanding what he was referencing.
"Never mind." Alex brushed it off.
Alex held the door open for Komi as they exited the school. She nodded to him and stepped through then waited for him to come up next to her. Then the two walked through the courtyard and towards Komi's house.
"I don't know where you live, so I'm just following you." Alex said with a chuckle.
"Do you live in this direction?" Komi asked.
"It's not far." He answered indirectly.
Silence fell between the two of them. Komi kept her hands down in front of her, walking with her lowered down a little to hide her nervousness. Alex swallowed and scratched the side of his face. Neither of them were sure how to continue the conversation.
"Hey, uh, now that you're settled into the Literature Club, how're you liking it?" He asked. Komi's head lifted up, and she quickly wrote her answer.
"I like it a lot. I've been enjoying it, even though I feel like I don't have much to contribute."
"Ah, you're doing fine. Just being there every day is enough. It's not a very big club so, like, it matters who's a part of it. You contribute positively to the dynamic, so that's great! And I know the others appreciate that you're trying your best." Alex said with a smile.
"Thank you for saying such nice things, Alex. It makes me feel better." She expressed appreciatively.
"I didn't realize that you weren't feeling to good about it." He noted.
"Only sometimes, because I get very nervous around other people." She admitted.
"That's ok. That happens to everyone. No one's gonna get mad at you if you don't always know what to say." He said with a chuckle.
"M-Mhmm." Komi nodded and looked down again, blushing slightly out of bashfulness. She was starting to understand what sort of positive dynamic that he brought to the club.
"When did you decide that joining the Literature Club was right for you?" She asked him, unsure of how else to phrase her question.
"Oh, ha, I...uh...didn't actually want to join the Literature Club at first. Sayori was the one who talked me into it." He revealed.
"Hm?!" Komi's eyes widened in surprise. Considering his interests, the Literature Club seemed like a perfect fit for him. Alex laughed at her surprise.
"Haha, yeah. So here's what happened, I'll tell you the story: I got called out by one of my teachers for writing in class – Sayori's in my history class," He explained.
"So she approached me about the club. I was iffy about it with the whole 'write your way into your heart' thing, but eventually I came and then I joined." He summarized.
"Do you like it?" Komi asked.
"Oh yeah, of course! I kina have to go out of my way with writing poems, but it pushes me. Plus, I really like Monika and the others obviously. They're all really good friends. They're half the reason I stay sometimes." He said with a chuckle.
"I like them all too. They've been very nice to me too." Komi agreed.
"That's what they do best." Alex said with a smile.
"Hello there!" A voice called out to them. They both stopped and turned around. Tadano was coming up behind them. He waved as he reached them, "Hey, Komi. I didn't expect to see you on my way back." He greeted her.
Komi waved back to him.
"Hi. You're Alex, right? The exchange student?" He asked.
"I'm not an exchange student. I live here." Alex stated.
"Oh, sorry, my mistake. I'm Hitohito Tadano." He introduced himself with a friendly smile, offering a hand out to him.
"Nice to meet you, man," Alex shook his hand. They started walking again. "I think Komi mentioned you before. You're her friend, right?" He asked.
"I...yes." Tadano answered with a bright smile.
"Cool." He nodded.
"This is my friend, Alex, from the Literature Club." Komi introduced him.
"Oh alright! Komi's been telling me a lot about the Literature Club! She seems to really like it!" He said.
"Good to hear. It's a pretty chill vibe. You should come by sometime." Alex suggested.
"Maybe. Hey, were are you from? If you don't mind me asking." Tadano asked curiously.
"I moved here from America." Alex answered.
"America? Wow! That's so cool!" Tadano exclaimed,
"I wonder if he's really rich. America is quite an amazing place. I'd love to hear about what it's like!" He thought to himself.
"Well, if you ever need help finding your way around, I've lived here for awhile. I'd be happy to show you." He offered.
"That'd be cool, man...actually...yeah that'd be a huge help. Thank you." Alex said appreciatively.
"Anytime!" Tadano said with a little laugh. Komi stopped walking, prompting the others to stop too.
"Thank you for walking me home, Alex. I hope you have a good evening." Komi wrote.
"Huh? Oh! We're here!" Alex realized that they had arrived at her house, "Yeah, you're welcome. You take care, Komi. I'll see you tomorrow." He waved to her.
Komi nodded and did a quick bow to express her thanks. Alex chuckled at this.
"Heheh. Nice to meet you by the way, Tadano. I guess I'll see you around." He said before turning and walking back the way they'd come.
"He seems nice," Tadano said before looking at Komi. "I'm really glad that you've made more friends in the Literature Club, Komi. It's turned out to be a really good thing for you." He observed.
"Mhmm." Komi agreed. "I agree with Alex that you should come to one of the club meetings. I think that you would really like it if you gave it a chance." She said.
"Hmm...mm," Tadano thought about it before smiling. "I'll see when I can make time for it, and we'll go together." He agreed.
Komi gasped a little at this – a part of her assumed he would say no. She nodded a little in excitement before going inside. Tadano waved to her before walking home himself...