Chapter 2: An overdue and overlong conversation

It was certainly a revitalising experience. Crying like a baby like that in someone arms. Wiping my tears, I feel fresh and alive like never before. But now… to deal with the fallout.

Aoi is standing in front of me with a curious look on her face. Her shirt is completely drenched at the chest. Wait, it is now see-through, I can see her bra even. Whoa, they are quite simple which falls squarely within my prediction. No, what prediction? Ha ha…, of course I never thought about something about that, I’m not a stalker…

Oh who am I kidding, sorry mother your son has grown up to be a pervert. Oh wait, it’s mother, I can already hear her asking me what kind of bra is Aoi wearing already.

“President, have you stared enough yet, this is rather embarrassing you know”

“Ah, sorry about that… and about before as well, suddenly throwing a tantrum like that”

I want to die, to end my life, to stop functioning or whatever right now. Aoi meanwhile is still looking at me curiously but now with a smile on her face. I need to gain back control of the situation, take the initiative.

I ask if we can both sit down and sure enough she listens, now with an amused look. I have given her too much ammunitions and Aoi now looks like a hunter trying to find which one to use against me. A cat playing with her mouse you might even say.

I still need to first address something first, which she probably left there for me to point out.

“Um, maybe you should put on your jacket or something, I can see through that you know”

“Oh right I should. So, did you enjoy the view President?”

Huh, that’s the first shot and it hurts, I really don’t know what to say in defence. I will just go where the wind take me.

“Well, it isn’t… bad per se”

Abort that plan immediately. After the beating dealt to my mind, I am in no condition to mince words nor to control my speaking. In times like that, I may enter rambling mood, which involves saying whatever come to my mind first. Even if it is something supremely idiotic like the previous sentence.

“You want some hot tea, President?”

I give her a silent nod, opening my mouth now is too risky. Aoi pours me a cup, still heated after an entire day. I really should get myself one of that containers. Blowing the tea, I notice Aoi is giggling.

“Sorry about that, you just seem too cute, blowing rapidly like a kid”

Did she just tell me ‘cute’, isn’t that something a guy would say? Come to think of it, mother did say I blow at hot food like a child. I always thought that was just a joke she liked to make. Taking a sip, I can feel the hot tea coursing through my body. Coherent thoughts finally return this tired mind of mine.

“Thank you, I needed that”

“No problem, President~ I guess you are here for my application”

Straight to the point and she is not being as pushy as normal. Guess that after my meltdown acting like that can be inconsiderate. It does make me think, all those times before when we talk, all the close up, was she trying to unnerve me deliberately?

When I think back about that, it does seem plausible.

“Yes, I was even going to turn you down actually. But something… happened, now I want to know why would someone like you want to join us?”

Of course, I did ask that question before but her answers have always been ranging from vague to the kind of ‘because it seems fun’. I could never ask for more detail seeing that I had always been overwhelmed by her pushy attitude. I am certain her shtick would not work now.

Aoi has something else on her mind, however.

“Someone like me? You say as if you know, or maybe you do”

There seems to be no trace of her usual energetic self. There is only a sly smile on Aoi face.

“You must have some idea, especially after following me around like that!”

She knows or is this a bluff? Probably a former seeing that there aren’t much to support the later. At least I need to find out how.

“And why would you say that, Aoi-san?”

Yes, that’s right. Act a bit surprise, vulnerable, that should boost her ego enough to spill the beans.

“Well, I guess as much. Or else how would the President knew to find me here”

That’s a good one I have literary gift-wrapped to her. I was so pumped after talking to Yuuko that I immediately dashed straight for this room. Should have wandered inside the building more, acting as if I stumbled upon her by accident.

I could perhaps act as if someone told me her location? No, Aoi is very confident and much slyer than what she normally would let on. Maybe I shou…

My train of thought is interrupted by Aoi who suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hah hah hah, look at you wrecking your brain like that is just too cute. President, try not to overestimate me too much”

Looking at the girl laughing so genuinely in front of me, who was that I saw before with a sly look. Or maybe she never existed in the first place.

“I was worry you know. But at least you seem to be back to normal now, I’m glad~”

Aoi literally jumps out of her seat to face me. She must have felt so tense before seeing me like that. I was just being paranoid and saw conspiracies everywhere even interpreting her awkwardness as calculating. The Aoi in front of me now is the one I have been observing all this time… still need to learn about personal space.

“You didn’t deny stalking me though”

Pfft, I forgot about that, oh well might as well admitting it “Well, I did look you up a bit. Just a bit!”

Aoi brings her face close to mine, our noses nearly touch even. Looking straight into my eyes she whispered “Pre-si-dent?”

“Ok, maybe more than just a bit. Just during some breaks and sometimes on the weekend!”

Satisfied, Aoi retreats back to her seat. Dragging her chair nearer to mine. She finally settles down, kicking her legs Aoi asks with that sparkling eyes of hers.

“Let’s have a quiz then, how much does the President know about me~”

“Um, maybe you can answer my question first…”

I try in a futile attempt to divert the flow.

“Well, I am not the one stalking another. Let’s start then, what is my three sizes?”

“How would I know about that!” This is the truth, trust me this is the truth.

“My sleeping posture?”

“No, I don’t know that!” This is also the truth, please believe me.

“My favourite underwear?”

“What kind of person do you think I am!” While I have my prediction, of course I don’t know for real.

“Sorry, that was a joke. I know you are not that kind of person… or are you Pre-si-dent?”

“All I did was just following you around for a bit, that’s for real…”

Aoi leans back to her chair, looking rather regretful for putting me through that. She seems to be serious now though.

“Anyhow, tell me, what is your conclusion about me, President”

“Nothing much really, I do know you are much more athletic than you let on though and you would always try to hunch slightly around others”

Remember when I said there are more behind her petite figure? This is it, the discovery is pure chance though. I was just walking through the street one day, I managed to catch a glimpse of Aoi prepared to run somewhere. She tied up her hair and did a short stretch before dashing away to buy some last eggs at the sale.

I have never since her doing anything like that at school. Even though I didn’t know anything about sport a normal person would never stretched like that. Aoi is definitely trying to hide her physical capability. That dash was lighting fast compared to her performance during PE. The later Aoi looked as if she needed to muster up all her strength to finish a lap, completed with fake panting even.

That also aligns with another detail which would normally fly over me.

“Your skirt, I wondered why you never rolls up your skirt like most of the girls do. Is it perhaps to hide your legs?”

“Well you are correct, President”

Aoi rolls up her skirt showing a pair of thighs, while thin but quite muscular.

“Have you ever felt a girl, President? Oh, that certainly came out wrong! They are so soft and smooth compared to mine, do you want to feel them~”

“O-Of course not!”

Ah, I am gaining the lead here, don’t let her throw me off.

“I also found out you are much smarter than your grade which is rather average, too average even”

This one was thanked to Yuuko. After several failed attempts to dissuade Aoi, our vice president suggested the girl might have been more savant than what I had expected. And that the girl was trying to overwhelm me on purpose. Her proof was that when Akihiko tried to talk to her, Aoi was busy or nowhere to be found. As if she knew he wouldn’t go down as easily as me.

So I spent my precious lessons with her, observing every movements. I noticed that anytime someone was struggling at some difficult question, Aoi would just drop a casual hint, always as if she was talking to someone else. Someone with her grade wouldn’t get half of those problems.

“After those two, I conclude that you just want to be… ‘cute’ like the other girls”

I expected more of a reaction out of that. Actually, Aoi looks rather sad even. As if she had expected her ruses to be exposed all along.

“Ding ding ding, that’s right. It was just that, my effort of an idiotic high school debut”

She smiles at me but I can see a slight hint of sadness behind. It may be minor but for a cheerful girl like Aoi this stands out like a sore thumb. I don’t want to see her like this!

“No, it’s not just an ‘idiotic high school debut’. I don’t know what happened to you before coming her. There is one thing I am sure of, you tried your best and I won’t let you call your earnest effort something ‘idiotic’. In fact, I do think Aoi-san is really cute!”

Yes, like me she transferred to this island for high school. In this place, everyone knows one another, everyone is each other childhood friend. It made asking other about Aoi absolutely useless though.

I had Akihiko helping me due to our ‘rotting’ bond but Aoi wasn’t that fortunate. But she managed to integrate herself, now she is the part of this community. For someone like me at least, such a feat is worthy of admiration.

“Geez, you are praising me too much! Still, thank you, President!”

Aoi looks at me with a gentle smile on her face. I didn’t try to hide anything, even my stalking activities and I have exposed her ruses.

We are seeing each other eyes to eyes, now for the first time.

“Now, it’s my turn, why did you want to join us?”

There is still more I wanted to ask, like how she knew of our (unofficial) club in the first place. Aoi did say passingly that accidentally heard me and Akihiko talking about it but that is one flimsy reason. Oh well, let start small at first.

“To tell the truth, I have something paranormal that I wanted to ask about. Someone to be precise”

She is probably talking about Dorian, I have to feign ignorant for now. Who knows what would trigger her dying memory.

“Then why didn’t you go to the Paranormal Activity club… the official one”

“Well, I tried to observed them for a while, it wasn’t hard to see they are just a bunch of students trying to have fun. Is that why you never even tried to approach them in the first place?”

Now that was a rather scathing remark to come out of her mouth but I can relate. To experience something out this world, to us the rot to her hearing Dorian, must have been daunting. I had Yuuko and eventually Akihiko to be my support, my compatriots.

Aoi, however, didn’t have anyone to rely on. Especially during the period when she was trying to integrate. The girl must have tried her best to find help, anything. The Paranormal Activity club (official) would appear to be what she was looking for. Turn out they were just some students trying to have fun while Aoi was suffering like that.

“Then why did you choose us then? How did you even know about us in the first place?”

Without any hesitation, Aoi immediately gives me her answer.

“It’s because of you, President”

“Eh?” That wasn’t what I was expecting.

“I have given up on trying to look for help but then you caught my eyes. Someone who is also much more capable than he looks. Someone who is good in subjects like history and geography, perhaps too good. Yet you are horrible when it comes to subjects like physics or maths”

Wait, couldn’t she have gotten it. My secret ability.

“Every time there are a pop quiz you would just take a quick glimpse at the book and nearly ace the test. Hm, is it… eidetic memory perhaps?”

That’s the ability to remember something with near perfection after a few instants of exposure. Commonly mistook for photographic memory which is still considered as a myth. For her to use the term ‘eidetic’, however, proved that Aoi must have look up about this a great deal. That’s close, but not enough…

“You probably memorise the whole textbook and only need to see the page slightly to remember all the content. But it is still not enough to get full mark”

That is partly correct. I still need to read the book again after a while to refresh the image. Also, looking at the page that fast isn’t really enough to recall everything to a tee. The ability to remember a perfect copy is the more well-known photographic memory which as mentioned before, is still hasn’t been proven to exist yet.

“But you never really try to think though. Hence the frankly atrocious marks in subjects that need more than just memory”

Huh, that hurts, because it’s true. She seems to have finished though. I let out a relieving sigh by mistake.

“Huh, judging from your reaction, is there something more to it, your eidetic memory”

“Eh, what are you talking about…”

Aoi can smell blood, she is coming in for the kill. She shoves a familiar piece of crumpled paper in front of me. It was what I drew jokingly on my first drawing lesson. She must have salvaged it from the bin.

“This is exactly the same as the picture that the teacher showed us. Not only did you copy it down perfectly but you could also mimic the colour perfectly and to do it fast enough to draw a dud afterward. This is much more than photographic memory even, although I doubt you can copy without the original but that is just a guess”

That… was spot on. Even Yuuko isn’t aware of this enhance version of my eidetic memory. Remembering something is extraordinary, to replicate it completely with sufficient tool is unheard of.

“I have searched everything but couldn’t find anyone with your talent. The most famous example is a man who can redraw something after a short observation but not a perfect copy. To me, this seems almost… no this paranormal”

Yes, I also feel the same, that’s why I have been keeping this ability a secret. It never felt like mine, at any moment it could just poof be gone without a trace. That’s why I have decided on never using it to benefit me in anyway. My eidetic memory is a different matter though.

“I guess that afterward you did follow me around a bit and eventually heard about the Paranormal Activity club (unofficial)”

“No no no, I am not done yet!”

Wait, what else is there of me left… Don’t tell me. Please no, anything but that.

“I only became truly interested in you after finding this masterpiece. Tada, your own drawing piece!”

It was a boring day, I didn’t have anything to do. Passing by the empty drawing room, I decided to draw something of my own. Using all the muscle memory of replicating painting I nearly finished it, my own piece.

“I didn’t expect you to draw a girl. The face is blank but I can still tell a lot of emotion was pour into this. She must have been quite a beauty for you to be this inspired”

Of course, she is, that jet-black hair, that lean figure. This painting was my effort to draw Yuuko. But even after drawing all those masterpiece, I still feel like her beauty isn’t something I could express with this meagre ability. That was also when I realised my love for her. Only till recently did she became my girlfriend and this painting slipped out of my mind. I must have left it here in a moment of air headedness.

Aghh I can’t say anything at all. Even without a mirror, I can still sense my face becoming bright red. I thought I have dig all I could about her, enough to demolish any sort of argument. Little did I know, Aoi had way more then all I could prepare against.

“Don’t worry, President I won’t tell anyone about this. But hang on to this, however, you must have poured a lot of effort into it”

I want to turn it down or maybe shred the picture. Now that I have the real Yuuko in my grasp this once proud piece of mine is now pale in comparison. But after my encouragement earlier about effort, discarding this would appear to be disingenuous.

Accepting the piece, I can feel more than just my failure but something else as well. This was drawn more than a month ago, and yet the canvas and everything is still in tip top condition.

This painting of mine has transcended as it now holds Aoi’s feeling. Her trust in me to resolve the mystery of Dorian Grey.

“I’m sorry, Aoi-san but I am here to say that you can’t join our club”

“Uh… I see. Guess I was getting ahead of myself there. Hah hah”

Aoi tries to laugh but nothing but meaningless sound comes out of her lips.

“But, as the president I will hereby declare for the first time the Paranormal Activity club (unofficial) would be mobilised to resolve this problem of yours until you can live your high school life at peace. So put your trust in us, Aoi-san!”

She looks at me with a mix of confusion and gratitude. After a while, she finally gives me nod.

“I will be in your care then. Please take good care of me then, Pre-si-dent~”

That few words are enough to fill me full of determination. Aoi is the cutest like this, energetic and full of life. I won’t let anyone or anything take that away from her.

I promise I will save you from that wretched, rotten fate.