Clubs and colours

The morning sun bathed the school courtyard in soft gold, casting long shadows across the pavement as a gentle breeze rustled through the trees. Banners fluttered above the school gates, bright with color and bold with lettering "Join a Club, Find Your Place!" It was Club Fair Day, and the entire school was alive with anticipation.

Yue Xi stood just inside the main building entrance, gripping the straps of her bag. The air buzzed with voices and excitement, the kind of energy that felt almost foreign to her. She wasn't used to noise like this laughter echoing down the corridors, cheerful shouts bouncing off the walls, the sound of sneakers squeaking against the linoleum as students darted from one booth to another.

Tables were lined up in rows beneath canopies outside, each decorated with colorful posters and props some playful, others dramatic. A group of students dressed in cosplay stood near a "Drama and Theater" booth, handing out flyers while reenacting scenes from a play. The Music Club had set up amps and microphones, and a band was already strumming upbeat chords that echoed through the quad.

Yue Xi blinked slowly, trying to take it all in without shrinking away.

"Overwhelming, right?" came a familiar voice beside her.

Li Rui appeared, her bright eyes scanning the crowd. She wore a lanyard with "Science Club" printed in bold blue letters, and her clipboard was already covered in scribbled notes and club rankings.

"I usually hate crowds," she continued, nudging Yue Xi with a gentle elbow. "But this is kinda fun if you just stop thinking too much."

Yue Xi gave a small nod, thankful for Rui's presence. Her eyes drifted back to the fair.

"Come on," Rui said, already tugging her toward the booths. "Let's find something that doesn't involve group dances or public speaking."

As they wove through the crowd, Yue Xi couldn't help but absorb the atmosphere. The excitement was real. Students were handing out samples of club snacks, some even holding signs: "Cooking Club! Free cookies!", "Bookworms Wanted – Join the Lit Circle", "Are you secretly competitive? Board Game Club Welcomes You!"

Each booth had a different feel, a different energy. Some students were loud and charismatic, others calm and passionate about their niche interests. For the first time in a long while, Yue Xi didn't feel like she was outside the world looking in. Here, everyone was showing something about themselves, something they cared about.

She passed by a small sketching booth students quietly working on art pieces, pencil shavings scattered on the table, soft classical music playing from a portable speaker.

Her fingers itched.

She didn't draw anymore. Not since

"You okay?" Rui asked gently, pausing beside a table where the Psychology Club had set up a stress-ball-making station.

"I'm fine," Yue Xi replied, voice quiet but steady.

They continued exploring until a loud voice interrupted them.

"There you are!" Lin Ruoruo came bounding over with a half-eaten skewer of grilled chicken. "I've been looking everywhere! You're not allowed to ditch me, you know."

Yue Xi blinked. "I didn't "

"She's just messing with you," Yichen said, appearing behind Ruoruo with his usual lopsided grin. He wore a loose hoodie that read "Photography Club – See the World Through New Lenses."

Yue Xi gave a polite smile, unsure why the presence of these three made the air feel lighter.

"We've all split up to look at different clubs," Yichen explained. "It's like a game. Rui's scouting the nerdy ones. Ruoruo's hunting snacks."

"Guilty," Ruoruo admitted, raising her skewer proudly.

"And you?" Rui asked Yue Xi, nudging her shoulder. "What's caught your eye?"

Yue Xi hesitated. She hadn't really thought about joining a club. It felt like a commitment a tether to something when she wasn't sure she belonged anywhere yet.

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"That's okay," Rui said. "Let's just keep looking."

They passed the calligraphy booth next beautiful black ink characters displayed on hanging scrolls. Yue Xi paused again, drawn in by the simplicity and strength of each stroke.

"Want to try?" asked a soft-spoken club member. She offered Yue Xi a brush.

For a second, Yue Xi's hand reached out instinctively but then she stepped back.

"No, thank you," she murmured, looking away.

Ruoruo tilted her head curiously. "You looked like you knew what you were doing."

"I don't," Yue Xi replied, too quickly.

She didn't explain that once, long ago, she had spent hours with ink-stained fingers and careful brushwork beside someone she no longer saw. The past felt like a shadow today always lingering at the edge of her thoughts.

"Hey," said a new voice from behind.

Yue Xi turned and for a moment, the noise faded.

It was Chen Yu.

He stood in a dark-gray school jacket, holding a clipboard, his posture effortlessly relaxed. His presence seemed to cut through the crowd quiet yet commanding. His eyes met hers, and for a moment, Yue Xi forgot to breathe.

"I didn't think you'd be at the club fair," he said, tone unreadable.

Yue Xi blinked. "I didn't think I would, either."

Li Rui glanced between them and nudged Ruoruo with a grin, mouthing, "Ooooh."

Chen Yu glanced at Rui and the others briefly, then turned his attention back to Yue Xi.

"You should check out the Literature Club," he said. "It's quieter than most, and you don't have to talk much unless you want to."

Yue Xi tilted her head. "You're in it?"

He nodded once.

Of course he was.

Something about that answer made her heart shift a little.

"I'll think about it," she murmured, not committing but not walking away either.

Chen Yu didn't push. "If you decide to come by, we're in Room 3C after school."

He turned and walked off, clipboard tucked under his arm, vanishing into the crowd like a ghost returning to fog.

The silence he left behind was strange. Not uncomfortable. Just… lingering.

"He talks to you like a person," Ruoruo said after a moment, half-impressed. "He barely even looks at anyone else."

"He's mysterious," Rui said, more thoughtful. "Smart too. People say he got into this school under a scholarship."

Yichen shrugged. "I think he just hates people. Which is fair."

Yue Xi didn't say anything. She was still looking in the direction Chen Yu had gone.

Later that afternoon, when the fair ended and the school slowly emptied out, Yue Xi found herself standing in front of Room 3C. The hallway was quieter here, the bustle of the fair now a distant hum.

Her hand hovered near the door handle. Part of her wanted to walk away.

But another part small and brave opened the door.

Inside, the room was warm with late sunlight. Bookshelves lined the walls. A few students sat in pairs, reading or talking softly. And at the far corner, Chen Yu sat by the window, flipping through a thick book, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

He didn't look up, but as if sensing her presence, he said, "You came."

Yue Xi stepped in quietly, closing the door behind her.

"I'm just looking."

"That's allowed," he said without turning a page.

She found an empty chair near the back and sat down, heart oddly calm.

The room smelled faintly of paper and dust an oddly comforting scent. Books of all sizes and colors lined the shelves, their spines worn with use. A corkboard near the back wall was pinned with quotes from poems, lines of fiction, and photos from past club meetings. Soft instrumental music played from a speaker in the corner, a calming contrast to the chaos of the fair outside.

Yue Xi sat in silence for a while, her fingers trailing along the edge of the desk. No one asked her any questions. No one stared or tried to drag her into conversation. It was… peaceful.

And unfamiliar.

She glanced out the window beside her. The school grounds were still bathed in afternoon light, but there was something about this room that felt separated from the rest of the world. Like a different kind of space slower, quieter, and somehow sacred.

Chen Yu hadn't spoken again. But his presence near the window wasn't cold; it was steady, like a tree standing watch in a quiet forest. He turned pages with the kind of care that made books feel important, not just objects but doorways. She wondered what he was reading. What kind of stories caught his attention.

For a moment, Yue Xi let herself relax.

Her fingers curled slightly on the tabletop, remembering the texture of brush handles, the coolness of ink, the weight of silence from the past. Maybe this was the first time she had been still without feeling cornered. Maybe, in this quiet space of fiction and forgotten words, she could start reclaiming parts of herself.

A girl from across the room short hair and big round glasses stood and came over. "Hi," she said softly. "I'm Min Jie, the club secretary. Would you like a guidebook? It lists all the genres we explore and our reading schedule."

Yue Xi hesitated, then nodded.

Min Jie handed her a small, neatly stapled booklet. "You don't have to join right away. Just… visit a few times. People come and go. But most who stay find something they didn't know they were missing."

That sentence lingered even after Min Jie walked away.

Yue Xi glanced down at the booklet. Inside, there were sections on short stories, poetry, historical fiction, fantasy, even a handwritten page on "personal writing and journaling." Something fluttered in her chest a memory of ink-stained notebooks and the words she used to write late at night, when no one else could hear.

She hadn't written anything personal in years.

She looked up again and caught Chen Yu watching her. Not staring. Just… observing. With quiet interest, like he could see something beyond what she showed.

Their eyes met.

She didn't look away this time.

And for the first time that day, Yue Xi wondered not if she belonged but if maybe, just maybe, she could.