EGO: Explore Game Online (LAMBDA)

Chapter 10: Chapter 5: The Gaming Club



"Morning!" Aiko added, her tone as casual as ever.

 

Yumi tilted her head slightly, "So, Ichio, how's the club application going? Did the student council approve it yet?"

 

Ichio sighed, "Not yet. I'm still trying to convince them to approve it. I even asked Aiko to help me later today."

 

Aiko gave a quick nod of agreement, but before she could speak, Yumi chimed in. "Wait, can't you just ask Hiroshi to talk to his sister for you? Wouldn't that be a lot easier than going there to convince them yourself?"

 

Aiko interjected quickly, offering a reassuring smile. "No worries, Yumi. I don't mind helping out. Besides, I think it'll be fun."

 

Turning her gaze back to Ichio, Yumi said, "Well, why don't I talk to Hiroshi and see what he has to say? Maybe he already put in a word for us with his sister. Since he's a member of the club too, it wouldn't be strange for him to help out."

 

Ichio hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond, but Yumi continued, her voice softening slightly. "Ichio, is something going on between you and Hiroshi? I've noticed you've been giving each other the cold shoulder lately."

 

"It's not my fault," Ichio replied defensively. "He decided not to talk to me. Even if I try to talk to him, he just ignores me."

 

Yumi frowned. But before she could ask more, they reached the point where their paths diverged. "Well, I'll catch up with you two later," she said with a wave, heading toward her class.

 

"Later," Ichio muttered, watching her leave. He felt Aiko's gaze on him and turned to see her smirking.

 

"What?" he asked.

 

"Nothing," she replied with a chuckle. "Let's just get to class."

 

Inside their classroom, the usual buzz of morning chatter filled the air. Hiroshi was already there, seated at his desk in the middle of the room.

 

Aiko greeted him cheerfully. "Good morning, Hiroshi!"

 

Hiroshi looked up, giving her a polite nod. "Morning."

 

Ichio followed Aiko's lead, his eyes momentarily locking onto Hiroshi's. But just as Ichio opened his mouth to greet him, Hiroshi turned his head away, pretending not to notice.

 

With a sigh, Ichio and Aiko made their way to the back of the class, where Ichio took his usual seat by the window. Aiko slid into the seat beside him, casually leaning her chin on her hand.

 

Ichio, meanwhile, couldn't help but glance at Hiroshi again. The cold shoulder was unmistakable. He stared out the window, resting his chin on his hand, his thoughts swirling.

 

'Seriously, is he still mad at me because I talked to his sister? Ichio thought. What's so wrong about me talking to her? She's a person like anyone else.'

 

He let out a quiet sigh. 'Then again, I guess I can't judge what someone feels about their sister. Maybe it's a sibling thing. I wouldn't know—I don't have a sister.'

 

Aiko's voice broke through his thoughts. "Still hung up on him ignoring you?"

 

Ichio shook his head slightly. "Not really. Just trying to make sense of it, that's all."

 

"Good luck with that," Aiko said with a grin. "You'll need it."

 

The chatter in the classroom quieted as the teacher stepped in. Ichio, lost in thought, barely noticed until Aiko lightly tapped his shoulder.

 

"The teacher's here," she whispered, her voice just loud enough for him to hear.

 

Snapping out of his daydream, Ichio blinked and quickly stood up. "Stand, bow, sit," he instructed, his voice automatic yet commanding.

 

The students followed his lead, and the lesson began. The teacher launched into the day's lecture, but Ichio struggled to focus. His thoughts kept drifting back to his dream and the conversation with Yumi earlier.

 

About halfway through, the teacher glanced at him. "Ichio, meet me in the staff office after class."

 

Ichio stiffened slightly. "Yes, sir," he replied, his tone respectful.

 

The lesson carried on, and Ichio made a conscious effort to pay attention, though a part of him couldn't shake the unease building in his chest. When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, he packed up his things and headed to the staff office.

 

In the office, the teacher asked. "Ichio, is something bothering you?"

 

Caught off guard, Ichio shook his head. "No, sir. Why do you ask?"

 

The teacher leaned back in his chair, studying him closely. "You're an exceptional student, Ichio. You've always had perfect scores. But during the last midterm, you flunked one of your tests—English, of all subjects. That's not like you. What's going on?"

 

Ichio hesitated, his gaze dropping to the desk. "It's nothing serious, sir. I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

 

The teacher's expression softened. "You're still young, Ichio. Don't let unnecessary thoughts distract you from what's important. Focus on your youth—enjoy it. And make sure you're working toward a steady future."

 

'Yeah, right. A steady future', Ichio thought, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

 

The teacher interrupted his thoughts. "I don't know what's going on, but you need to get back on track. Don't let one slip turn into a pattern, okay?"

 

Ichio nodded. "Understood, sir."

 

The teacher smiled faintly. "Good. You're dismissed."

 

Ichio stood, gave a polite bow, and left the office. In the hallway, he found Aiko leaning casually against the wall, waiting for him.

 

"So, what did he say?" she asked, straightening up as he approached.

 

Ichio sighed. "He just brought up that English test I flunked and told me to get my act together."

 

Aiko raised an eyebrow, her tone teasing. "It was weird when you flunked. I mean, English is one of your best subjects. Nobody else in our class even gets close to a perfect score, but you usually nail it. So, what gives?"

 

"Nothing," Ichio said quickly, waving it off. "Just had some stuff on my mind that day. Let's just forget about it, okay?"

 

Aiko tilted her head, studying him closely. "If you say so. But seriously, if something's up, you can tell me. You know that, right?"

 

Ichio gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I know."

 

With that, the two started heading back toward their next class. But deep down, Ichio couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the last time he'd have to explain himself—not to Aiko, not to Yumi, and definitely not to himself.

 

 [But it kinda was]

 

The bell rang, signaling Lunch break. As students flooded out of the room, Aiko stretched, turning to Ichio.

 

"Let's head to the club room," she said. "The others might be there, and we seriously need to get that application approved. If we don't, we might actually lose the club room, you know."

 

Before Ichio could respond, Hiroshi walked up to them, addressing Aiko. "Are you heading to the club room? Let's go together."

 

Ichio raised a hand casually. "Sup, Hiroshi."

 

Hiroshi glanced at him briefly, his tone indifferent. "Oh, you're here too?"

 

Ichio stared at him for a moment, his inner thoughts biting. 'Jerk. I just said hello, and that's all you have to say?'

 

The trio made their way toward the club room. On the way, they ran into Yumi, who was waiting near the lockers.

 

"Hey, you guys heading to the club room?" she asked, falling into step beside them.

 

"Yeah," Aiko replied. "Figured we'd check in and sort out that application issue."

 

Together, the four of them walked to the club room. When they arrived, they were surprised to see Misaki, the vice president of the student council, already inside with their other club members: Kenji, Ryo, and Souta.

 

"Hey, guys!" Kenji greeted, waving them over. "Misaki's here with some good news."

 

Misaki smiled warmly, her posture relaxed. "Your application has been approved."

 

Ichio blinked in disbelief. "Wait, really? But we haven't even—"

 

Misaki interrupted with a light laugh. "Well, my brother mentioned it to me yesterday. He said you're the club president right Ichio, and honestly, I didn't want you to go through the hassle of explaining everything to Satsuki. You know how difficult she can be."

 

Ichio scratched the back of his head, still processing. "Uh… thanks for that. I appreciate it."

 

On either side of him, Yumi and Aiko exchanged knowing smirks. Aiko leaned closer, her tone playful. "Ladies' man."

 

Yumi giggled. "Totally."

 

Misaki didn't seem to notice their teasing. She adjusted her bag and gave them a small wave. "Well, I'll leave you to it. See you later." With that, she exited the room gracefully.

 

Ichio watched her go, his thoughts spiraling. 'Okay, this is kind of weird. Why is she so considerate toward me? Did Hiroshi really talk about me that much?'

 

He glanced to the side, where Hiroshi stood stiffly, his fists clenched at his sides. It didn't take a genius to see that he was boiling inside.

 

'Oh boy', Ichio thought, suppressing a grin. 'So this is about her being nice to me, huh?'

 

"Alright!" Aiko clapped her hands, breaking the tension. "Now that that's settled, what's our next move?"

 

Kenji grinned. "Game night planning, obviously."

 

"Finally," Ryo added. "We can focus on what actually matters."

 

Ichio sat down at one of the desks, still feeling the tension between him and Hiroshi. He sighed inwardly. This is going to be a long day.

 

Souta leaned back in his chair. "Well, now that we have our club room officially, the big question is—what are we calling this club? Every club needs a name, you know."

 

Ryo immediately perked up. "Um, obviously, 'The Gaming Club.' Straightforward and to the point."

 

Kenji scrunched his nose in distaste. "That's… kind of too simple, don't you think? I mean, come on, where's the creativity? A club like ours deserves something with a little more flair."

 

Yumi smirked and turned to Ichio. "You're the club president, Ichio. What do you think? The final call's yours."

 

Kenji's gaze darkened as he shot Ichio a look filled with subtle resentment. "Yeah, he's the club president, but that doesn't mean he gets to decide everything for us. We all have a say in what happens here."

 

Ichio sighed internally. 'What's with this guy? Why does it feel like all the guys in this club have some kind of grudge against me?

Did I do something to offend them?'

 

Ryo raised a hand, trying to diffuse the tension. "Alright, since we all have a say, how about we brainstorm and decide on a name together?"

 

The group erupted into a mix of chatter and ideas.

 

"Game Masters," Souta suggested.

 

"Arcade Warriors," Kenji threw in, leaning forward as if daring anyone to critique it.

 

After several more suggestions, Ichio finally spoke up, his tone calm. "Why don't we just call it 'The Gaming Club'?

I mean it's simple, straightforward, and there's no other club in the school with that name. It'll make it easy for people to understand what we're about."

 

Everyone paused, considering his words.

 

Ryo shrugged. "I mean… he's got a point."

 

Souta nodded. "Yeah, it's easy to remember."

 

Yumi grinned. "Alright, 'The Gaming Club' it is!"

 

Kenji folded his arms, visibly annoyed but saying nothing.

 

With the name settled, Yumi clapped her hands together, her expression shifting to one of determination.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's talk strategy. We've been stuck on floor 91 for way too long, and we have to beat that boss.

We're one of the strongest party in the game sooo,

Tonight, everyone logs in at 8 sharp so we can finally take the boss down."

 

Kenji frowned. "But how do we bring a weakling into a fight like that?" His eyes flicked to Ichio. "Won't he just hold us back?"

 

Yumi shot him a glare. "Don't worry, Kenji. Ichio can handle himself. He's an Artemist, and he's been focusing on intelligence stats,

 

so he'll actually be useful in battle. Plus, we don't have an Artemist in our group, and their Metra-based attacks will give us an edge against the boss."

 

Kenji hesitated, then shrugged. "Alright, fine. But if he screws up—"

 

Ichio cut him off, his tone firm but calm. "Don't worry. I won't hold you back. If there's something I know I can't handle, I'll stay out of it."

 

The room fell silent for a moment.

 

Yumi smiled, breaking the tension. "Good. Then it's settled. Let's make sure we're all ready for tonight. This time, we're clearing that floor."

 CHAPTER END.


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