Shared Library/Transcript: Difference between revisions

''If Hisao introduced himself in [[Gateway Effect/Transcript|Gateway Effect]]:''

NARRATOR: "The girl still doesn't say a word, but simply stares at me, wide-eyed."

HANAKO: "H... Hanako..."

NARRATOR: "Her speech is stuttering and so quiet that it is barely audible even in the still library. Somehow I think that my “delinquent” impression of her was wrong."

NARRATOR: "She gently tips the book backwards so that I can read the title, at the same time hiding her face behind it. She must have noticed me staring before."

HISAO: "'Life of Pi'? I've never heard of it before. What's it about?"

HANAKO: "A boy... and a tiger... ...on a boat..."

NARRATOR: "I can see this taking some time."

NARRATOR: "She nods from behind the book, but stays silent. She looks kinda tense. A bit like Yuuko earlier, but in a different way. More like... petrified with terror, I'd say. So the mystery delinquent girl turned out to be anything but, and she is quivering in a way that makes it look like she is mortally afraid of me. The only way out of this, as far as I can tell, is to try to get a normal conversation going."

HANAKO: "N-no. It's mine."

HANAKO: "..."

NARRATOR: "A huge, huge blush spreads on Hanako's face and her eyes widen far larger than I thought it was possible for eyes to do. Uh-oh. Did she interpret my lame attempt at small talk as a feeble attempt to pick her up?"

HANAKO: "It... it's okay."

NARRATOR: "The girl certainly doesn't look like it's okay, but I let it slide."

NARRATOR: "She seems to be very uncertain whether it's okay or not for me to sit, but finally she nods, just a little."

HANAKO: "O... okay."

NARRATOR: "I take the seat next to her, and she hides herself behind her book. 'Life of Pi'... Never heard of it."

NARRATOR: "She looks up from her book, stalling a little before replying."

HANAKO: "I... know. We... are in the same... same class."

NARRATOR: "Her speech is stilted and so quiet that it is barely audible even in the still library. Somehow I think that my 'delinquent' impression of her was wrong."

HANAKO: "H-H-Hanako. I'm... Hanako. ..."

NARRATOR: "I resist the urge to say 'that's a nice name' just to have something to say, but really, it's the only thing that I can think of. I feel like an idiot. Everyone here must be used to being different to each other, and here I am being all bothered and fussed about that kind of thing."

NARRATOR: "She nods a little, and sighs a little sigh of relief."  

NARRATOR: "..."

NARRATOR: "So I try to read the covers and the introductions of the books I picked up and she buries her face in her book. Uncomfortable silence consumes us. My eyes still wander to her direction, and I sneak peeks at her flowing hair and the scars it's hiding. After a while I realize that she's doing the same, and only pretending to immerse in 'Life of Pi.' Her gaze is not inquisitive at all though, it darts around like a scared rabbit. When our gazes finally meet, the chain reaction is unstoppable. She stands up forcefully from the beanbag and takes a deep breath."|-|

HANAKO: "I..."

HANAKO: "I... I..."

HANAKO: "Ivegottogodosomething!"

NARRATOR: "Without warning, Hanako takes off and runs towards the counter. Her hare-like takeoff catches me so off guard that I don't manage to go after her until she has a good head start. By the time I reach the counter she is nowhere to be seen. Lilly and Yuuko are happily chatting away. Knowing that I won't be able to catch Hanako myself, I approach the girls."

NARRATOR: "Lilly hastily grabs her cane and hurries out of the library, leaving me alone with Yuuko."

If you selected: "Hi! I'm new here. Hisao Nakai. We're in the same class." =

YUUKO: "I guess you weren't 'wrong' so much as 'tactless.'"

NARRATOR: "Yuuko doesn't sound all that convincing. Then again, maybe this is just the norm around here. Everyone has their own problems, or else they wouldn't be here. Perhaps I was being a little tactless after all."|-|

HISAO: "Nothing! I was just looking for some books and then she got this fit and ran off. The most offending thing I can think of was that I might've looked at her general direction a few times."

YUUKO: "Well, she is a very timid girl. You have to be very careful around her. She can be very jumpy, I think, and she's not accustomed to talking with other people."

NARRATOR: "Yuuko doesn't sound all that convincing. Then again, maybe this is just the norm around here. Everyone has their own problems, or else they wouldn't be here."|-|

NARRATOR: "Yuuko fidgets, looking like she wants to say something to that, but resists it."

NARRATOR: "I guess she doesn't have a good sense of self-restraint. It makes me smile, and she blushes heavily."

NARRATOR: "Neither of us has anything to add so Yuuko fills the silence by shuffling some papers around. People who have papers on their desks really like doing that."

HISAO: "Oh. Yeah, I want some books, but I left them over there because... ...I'll just go get them."

HISAO: "I surprise myself with that too, honestly. At least, when I really think about it. I had a lot of free time earlier this year, so I just kind of... started reading books to fill that time. I couldn't do much else."

NARRATOR: "But she doesn't say anything else, and just checks out my books for me. I guess this is what they call 'tact.'"