Chapter 2: Secret of the Book Club

Mystic's Book Club

For High School Students from Kageru High

Located in Room 301

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Every Wednesday and Friday

Come discuss your own tale with us.

‏‎‎Yuriko stood outside of the room in silence, staring at the piece of paper for what had to be about three minutes. She scanned the picture of the door on the front – it was cracked with light shining through as if displaying hopeful times beyond, but nothing was visible from the position the camera was in. Her eyes travelled from the old paper in her hand to the number above the door before her: 301.

‏‎‎Why had she come? Well, it was the only way to get answers. To know how Jayce recognised how she read minds, and what exactly he meant by people like you and me. Like her? There was no one like her. In her fifteen years of life, she had indeed discovered that there was nobody like her. As for the mind reading, it had to have just been a lucky guess from him. She didn't care if he knew about her curse, anyway. No one would believe it was true if he told them.

So why she reached for the door handle when she thought she knew all the answers already, she didn't know.

‏‎‎Yuriko slid the door open, blinking away the sunlight as it pierced her pale eyes of grey. Standing there, she waited for her vision to adjust before she examined the area. It was a regular classroom, except it was made to fit a clubroom at the moment. The desks were pushed back against the walls, with six of them made into a rectangle in the middle, closer to the teacher's podium. The windows were all closed except the one on the far left, which was open to let in a soft breeze.

What the hells? Someone thought.

‏‎‎"What the hells?" They then said.

Her gaze followed the voice, resting on the individual who had spoken. They were female, obviously, with a look of confusion spread across her face. She was wearing the uniform as well. Her eyes were a bright brown, and her hair was a red-brown that reached her shoulder blades in curls and a V-cut. She raised an eyebrow at Yuriko, sitting in one of the desk chairs by the open window with her legs and arms crossed. She seemed older, maybe sixteen or seventeen.

‏‎‎"What are you doing here?" The girl asked.

‏‎‎"I am looking for Miller," Yuriko said flatly, looking around – but there was no one else in the room. "He was not in class after lunch."

‏‎‎"Those boys were probably still messing with him," She mumbled, leaning her head back momentarily before she sighed and raised it again. "What do you need Jay for?"

‏‎‎"To return this," She held up the creased paper, walking further into the room and setting it down on one of the six desks. "I am not looking for a club."

‏‎‎"What? He invited you? Why would he…" Squinting, she stopped. "Wait, can you do something?"

‏‎‎Yuriko didn't look at her as she turned around. "No."

‏‎‎"Then how do you know what something is?" The girl inquired.

‏‎‎She paused. "Whatever something may be, I do not have any of the sort," She responded curtly, walking towards the door. "Tell Miller to keep his distance as well."

‏‎‎Yuriko didn't need a club, no matter what it was. This one had to be centred around the fans of supernatural fantasies, or else they wouldn't want her in so badly. Which was what she told herself over and over again, until it stuck to her mind like a tumour. As she traversed towards the door, though, the room felt darker – it was as if something was tugging at her back, coaxing her inside again, but she tried to ignore it with every fibre of her being. So, she kept going. Nothing would have stopped her. Except…

‏‎‎Man, what a pain.

‏‎‎Yuriko halted in her tracks as the thought entered her mind, and she looked up when the taller form of no other than Jayce hovered in the doorframe. He looked exhausted, rubbing the back of his head with his eyes closed while he yawned. His black hair was ruffled, and when he opened his blue gaze, they settled on Yuriko just in time not to walk into her.

‏‎‎One could hardly tell if she was surprised. Then again, This is my luck, she told herself. It's bad enough I have to sit by him in class. Now I run into him in the hallways and on rooftops, too. What is with this kid? As she stared at him with her blank expression, he stepped back as to not be so close to her, a look of utter shock on his face when he registered he was really seeing her.

‏‎‎"Oh, shit," He mumbled in English before continuing in Japanese. "You came."

‏‎‎"Looks like you can tell him yourself," The girl behind Yuriko mused.

‏‎‎"Tell me what?" Jayce asked, looking between them.

‏‎‎"That I did not come for pleasantries," Yuriko responded, her head tilted back slightly to see him.

‏‎‎ "Oh?" He said with a smirk following along his lips. "What did you come for, then?"

‏‎‎"To return your waiver," Yuriko answered. "And to tell you to keep your distance."

‏‎‎Jayce seemed to completely disregard the latter piece as he smiled. "You could have done that tomorrow before class," He pointed out. "I know why you really came."

‏‎‎She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "And why do you think I came?"

‏‎‎"Because," He started walking past her, and she looked at him as he turned on his heel to face her and spread out his arms. "You want to join the bookclub." He leaned forward, grinning. "Am I right?"

‏‎‎Yuriko stared at him. "No."

‏‎‎"Awe, come on," He practically whined, motioning around the room. "We're all like you."

‏‎‎"We, who?" She inquired, glancing at the sing-ular girl at the back. "I only see two of you. That is not much of a club."

‏‎‎"Well, yes, we bend some rules," The girl said, standing up. "But we don't bite."

‏‎‎Yuriko glanced between them, her eyes settling on Jayce. It was time for some questions. "Fine. What do you mean, like me?"

‏‎‎"Well, you see," Jayce motioned towards the girl behind him. "This is Mys. Short for Mystic. She runs the club-"

‏‎‎"What little of it there is," She announced sourly. "And only you call me that."

‏‎‎"-but you know who I am," He put a hand to his chest. "I'm Jayce. The co-owner."

‏‎‎"Self-appointed co-owner," Mystic corrected.

‏‎‎"And we can both…" Jayce hesitated. "Do… things. We'll start with me. I'm an e-"

‏‎‎"Woah, hold it," The club owner reached forward and grabbed his wrist, speaking to him then. "We

don't actually know if she's like us. How do we know?"

‏‎‎"I already know," He shrugged out of her grasp. "She's a telepath," He said it so matter-of-factly that it made Yuriko tense. "She can read people's minds. I saw her do it twice. Once with the teacher, and again with the boys she fought on the roof."

‏‎‎"Wait, she fought someone?" Mystic raised her eyebrows. "I don't want a troublemaker in my club, it's bad enough I have you."

‏‎‎"Hey!" Jayce faked a hurt expression before it quickly faded. "They deserved it, y'know. It was those guys who always take me around to do that. Don't you want them beat up?"

‏‎‎"Not if it's going to cause problems for the club," She hissed, then pointed at Yuriko. "Promise not to cause any problems for us?"

‏‎‎"As long as I get all the answers I need," She said. "I don't see a reason to mess with your club."

Mystic hesitated, biting her lower lip before she sighed. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

‏‎‎"First off," Yuriko closed the door behind her and walked between them, placing her satchel on the desks. "What are these things you can do? And how are you able to do them?"

‏‎‎"Well," Jayce started again. "I'm an empath. I can feel other people's feelings, through touch. If I try hard enough, I can even tell when a person is lying."

‏‎‎Mystic appeared nervous. "I can…" She said, before sighing. "I can turn invisible. Completely and utterly. You couldn't see me if you tried." She paused. "Well, unless you had thermal vision goggles, but obviously I haven't tried that. Although, I can only do it when I hold my breath."

‏‎‎"You didn't answer my latter question," Yuriko responded, pulling herself up to sit on the desks. "How did you get these abilities?"

‏‎‎Jayce simply shrugged. "I dunno. I've had them for as long as I can remember. The first time I think I used them was…" He thought for a moment, staring at the ceiling. "My mom was crying. I touched her shoulder to comfort her, but I started crying, too. That's all I know of that incident."

‏‎‎"I've used mine to run away from home a couple of times," Mystic said, a sad look coming over her face. "But I discovered it in swimming lessons. That was hard to explain…" She looked up. "What about you?"

"I'm the one asking questions here – you two are answering." When neither of them said anything, she continued. "Is anyone else in this club?"

‏‎‎"Yes," Mystic nodded. "A boy from my grade."

‏‎‎Yuriko watched either of them for signs of lies, but she found none. So, she went on to her final request. "Prove to me you can do these things," She said. "And I'll prove mine."

‏‎‎The two in front of her looked at each other, then back at Yuriko. For a moment, she wasn't sure they would do it, but then Mystic stepped away from Jayce. She hesitated, then took in a breath, closing her mouth as she began to hold it. Slowly, she started to disappear, and when she closed her auburn eyes, she was completely gone. All that was left was a floating uniform of the older girl, shifting and moving about as if someone was still standing in it.

‏‎‎The breath was audibly let loose, and panting was heard as Mystic slowly came back into view, fading in as if she was a video on a television screen. Yuriko said nothing as Mystic took a seat, then turned her attention upon Jayce. The dark-haired individual watched her, thinking, then took off his gloves before stuffing them in his pocket.

‏‎‎"There's no real way to prove something like this," He said, holding out a hand. "But touch me, and tell me a story. I'll inform you if you're lying or not."

‏‎‎Yuriko settled her gaze upon him for a moment, glancing at his hand with her steel grey eyes. She cautiously reached out, delving into his mind to make sure he wasn't going to do anything, and only finding sincerity there. She placed two fingers on his wrist – her pointer and middle – before she laid out her hand completely on his own, their palms touching.

‏‎‎"My mother's name is Jun Lei Romanov," She began, keeping her eyes on their hands. "She is a foul woman. Filthy rich because of her father, my grandfather, who now runs a dojo. He taught Niten Ichi-ryū, and he taught me how to defend myself. He's the kindest person in my life, and he gave me a pair of chopsticks with blue lilies on them. They're my favourite pair." Yuriko said all of that without hesitation, and when she finally looked up at Jayce, he was focusing rather hard.

‏‎‎"The chopsticks," He said confidently. "That was a lie. They're not lilies, but they're blue. As for the other lie-"

‏‎‎"I only gave one lie," She corrected, pulling her hand away from him.

‏‎‎His gaze trailed towards her face, and he smiled. "I can also detect lies that aren't purposeful," He said, pulling his gloves out again and placing them on, before continuing. "The other lie was your mother. You don't think she's a foul woman, in your personal opinion."

‏‎‎Yuriko watched him silently, gripping the edge of the desks she sat upon. She didn't plan on doing it, but now he pissed her off. Reaching out, she touched his forehead with all five of her fingers, and he stumbled back. A wave of invisible energy was felt between them, making her jitter, and him groan in pain as he grabbed his skull. He looked at her in confusion, and she lowered her hand.

‏‎‎"Your mother's name is Eimi Miller," Yuriko began. "Your father's name is Devin Miller." She hopped off the desks. "Your mother and father divorced at six years old, December thirteenth," She picked up her satchel. "Your father died at seven from a drug overdose, same date." Her feet took her towards the door. "You and your mother moved to Japan," She touched the handle. "You grew up with both languages so it was easy to understand what was going on." Her eyes travelled to him. "It didn't stop the bullies, though. Or from dragging you into gang drama."

‏‎‎He stared at her in utter shock, Mystic's jaw hanging open. She didn't say anything else as she opened the door, about to step out when she heard the footsteps come forward and a hand then rested on her shoulder. Her eyes darted over to Jayce, and he looked at her with pleading blue eyes that reminded her of a husky puppy.

‏‎‎"Please," He said softly. "Please come Friday."

Yuriko had been certain she had scared him off, but now it seemed no so likely. Her eyes, as grey as a stormy sky, for once twinkled slightly in the setting sun. Her expression didn't change, but there was a hint of something behind her usual emotionless demeanour. Reaching up, she brushed his hand off her shoulder, and started walking out the door as she said,

‏‎‎"Only because you said please."