Meeting the Performers Circa Club

Hal was a bit taken aback upon returning to that room.

While crouching down and curled up like a ball, Eli broods in a dark corner.

He almost mistook her for a gruesome apparition with how murky she looked. Worried, he quietly approached her, biting his tongue to keep him from teasing her and unintentionally upsetting her more.

She looks like she needs comfort, anyway, so he'll play it nice.

"Hey, what got you looking like some kind of a goblin there?" he quipped, immediately forgetting his initial motives.

When she didn't respond, he knew he screwed up.

Eli, on the other hand, wasn't able to decipher his words properly due to how muddled her head at the moment, so she thought he's sincerely comforting her. Seeing how much he cared, she felt too ashamed to face him, thus the current misunderstanding.

"T-That's a joke. I didn't mean that. I'm sorry!" Hal hastily apologized, much to her bafflement.

"Why were you sorry? I'm the one who's burdening you with all those responsibilities. I should be the one who's apologizing!" Eli cried out in her head.

When she remained silent, eyes slowly glistening with tears, Hal started panicking. He should ban the 'goblin' word from now on.

Then all of the sudden, Eli bolted upright as a thought struck her, surprising the dumbfounded librarian.

Her eyes widened upon remembering the gifts she prepared for him and the Student Council the other day. With all the Venus drama, she completely forgot her plan to compensate, hence letting her presents collect dusts in her schoolbag.

With that, she suddenly excused herself and dashed to their classroom, leaving a very confounded Hal behind.

"There you are, Eli!"

Eli was rummaging in her schoolbag when Leah approached her out of nowhere.

She was beaming at her like a child asking for candies before taking something out of her pocket and handing it to her. Puzzled, Eli took it and read what's written.

It's a hand-out flyer for Canaan Private Academy's upcoming Club Recruitment Day.

"You do know that each club must showcase something to persuade new students to join, right? We decided to have a role play this year!" Leah cheerfully explained.

Every year, the academy holds a recruitment event where new students can look for a club to join in and watch different exhibitions prepared by various school organizations. It's a fun and lively occassion to many, and probably a one-of-a-kind experience to most.

That's because Club Recruitment Day gives new students a chance to turn into instant celebrities since a number of persistent and eager club members would tend to flock around them like salespeople at a mall.

An introvert like Eli had a really hard time back then.

"Oh, right. Leah's in the Performers Circa Club. Looking back, you had a dance show last year," Eli replied, mirroring her smile.

"Yep! We gathered quite a lot that time! It's a shame you didn't get to join."

"T-That's because I'm not into those stuff and I've got two left feet... Wait, are you going to convince me again?"

Leah just smiled ominously at Eli's dwindling figure.

Before she knew it, she was already held captive by the brunette.

She found herself being dragged all the way to the school's auditorium, which was currently being used for club activities. The facility was a bit larger than the library. It has a dim surrounding, with only the ceiling lights illuminating the place, a shiny marbled platform in navy blue colour, and a leaden wall backdrop at the centre front.

Like someone who'd been forced to go to a battlefield, Eli continued opposing to Leah, reasoning her otherworldly dancing and terrible acting.

"It's not like that, Eli. Of course, I won't force you."

"Then why did you take me here?"

"Well, you see, we would like to ask you for a favour. We're in dire need of a playwright right now. None in our batch could write an original script. Since you love reading and had experience in scriptwriting, we'd like to ask you to make one for the event. Is that okay?"

At that, Eli sighed in relief.

It wasn't her first time being asked by someone, but Leah always liked to beat around the bush when asking for favours from her. Maybe it's because she often turns her invitations down, which makes her a bit guilty.

"Of course, it's okay! I'd be glad to work on it," Eli answered with a reassuring smile. At this, Leah gasped in delight and tackled her into a bone-crushing embrace.

Eli was able to meet the other members of the club that afternoon. They're all very welcoming and chatty that she eventually lost track of time.

Leah also introduced her to the Club President, Carla, a gorgeous senior upperclassman and ballet dancer with long, slender legs, shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair, and azure eyes. She was the one who gave her all the deet for the script.

"Looking closely, you're actually kind of cute," Carla commented out of nowhere, catching Eli off guard.

"W-W-What...?" the ash-haired girl stuttered, blushing madly as Carla continued to scrutinize her from head to toe.

It's not every day that a nerd like her gets complimented, albeit a bit abruptly, and it embarrasses her so much that her whole face is heating.

"It's true! You've got a model-like figure and without those glasses, I bet you'd look even cuter!"

Later on, Eli found out from Leah that it's only a bluff made by their President to get people to join, much to her dismay.