Another Like Me - Part I (CoTE x OC) ?

Chapter 21 - No Break

"Oh look, it's Mr. Baller here," Ike murmured sarcastically.

"Hey, wanna join us in our plan?" Yamauchi asked. Plan?

"Hey, I didn't say we could allow him on this! It's only a feast for us poor souls! He gets them everyday, doesn't he?" Ike cried out indignantly, but suddenly calmed down and widened his eyes. What was happening?

"Wait! We could use him as bait! He attracts most of them, after all!" Ike whispered into the group loud enough for me to hear. I saw all their faces light up at once, and I knew that was my cue to leave.

"Wait! You can join in! We'll give you a free premium ticket!" Ike shouted, but I couldn't hear him as I shut the door behind me. So much for going into a room to rest for a bit. I shouldn't have known that wasn't a really wise choice, since Sudo happens to be in my room as well.

My phone suddenly vibrated, and I noticed an unread message from Kushida, saying that she had booked the private pool for everyone in Class D for tomorrow, so we could all have some quality time for ourselves. They booked the private pool? That baby was almost always booked. It surely would have taken quite some time and tries to get their hands on an empty booking slot. Suddenly, everything that the Idiot Trio was talking about back in the guest cabin made perfect sense.

I idled my time away by walking around the ship, and occasionally stopped to look at the various activities everyone indulged themselves in. Over half of the Class D boys were in the arcade, and all the girls were spread out over the ship. I had heard Yamauchi talk about it before during the Deserted Island Test — the different girl groups that apparently existed in the class. Unlike the boys, who didn't really have particular groups, and just usually hung out together, there was the Empress Team, led by Karuizawa, the Friendship Team, led by Kushida, and the Arrogant Team, led by Shinohara. Apparently the groups don't merge and mix unless necessary. It struck me as quite odd. 

I glanced at my wristwatch for the umpteenth time — it was 9:30am. You've actually got to be kidding me.

I strolled around the ship for a while, before deciding I was definitely wasting time. I moved over to my favorite spot on the ship — yes, the deck — and continued staring out into the ocean.

"You sure like this place, don't you?" a dreamy voice said.

I turned to find a girl of our year, with long silver hair reaching up to her waist, tied up with 2 black ribbons. She was holding a book in her hand.

"I do like it around here," I said. "It's calm and refreshing."

"I like it too. Whenever I read a book, I always prefer this spot on the ship. It's quiet, peaceful, and calm. It really helps me get in the mood for reading."

"You sure like reading books, don't you? I've seen you here a couple times before."

"Yes, I love them! Do you read books as well?" she asked, her pleading eyes suddenly staring into mine. I didn't have the heart to turn down this girl. She looked just so innocent.

"Yeah, I do," I said. "I've been to the library at school before; it has quite the collection."

"Yes, I really do love the school library. It has such amazing books lined up, and there's so many of them! My goal is to one day finish reading everything there is in the library!"

I softly smiled at her genuine appeal. We talked a bit more, and I learned that her name was Hiyori Shiina, from Class C. It looks like Class C can have nice people in them as well. Our topics ranged from books, to books, to more books. I was honestly impressed at her knowledge in literature; Shiina's passion for literature was unfortunately not shared by anyone in her class, so she often came across as a loner. But someone like me, who had the same taste in books as she had, she had immediately classified me as a close friend. We exchanged our contact numbers, after she forced me to read a book that she mysteriously took out of her bag.