After walking for what felt like forever, I finally reached the location marked on the map. Great was my surprise when I came face to face with what looked like an old wooden door at the very end of a long corridor.
Above it hung a sign—barely clinging on—that read:
"Storage Room — Unauthorized Entry Prohibited."
I stared at it skeptically, wondering if I had come to the right place.
Still doubtful, I approached one of the windows so I could peek inside and clear up my confusion. Through the dusty glass, I saw rows of shelves lined up next to each other, all filled with useless junk. A thick layer of dust covered everything, stretching across the floor and walls like a forgotten relic.
It was clear no one had opened this place in years—maybe even decades.
As I observed, I heard a couple of voices coming from inside. Carefully, I moved to another window to get a better look.
Inside, I could make out two figures. The first was unmistakable: the clumsy girl from this morning's collision—Annabelle Sugise.
She wore a tense expression as she faced the person standing in front of her—a short girl with brown hair, arms crossed, watching Annabelle with clear irritation in her eyes.
I recognized her instantly. She was someone no one at this school wanted to mess with: Minerva Nevara, the student council spokesperson.
"This can't keep happening," the spokesperson said firmly. "The council has been tolerant of your recklessness, but enough is enough."
Sugise, visibly nervous, tried to defend herself.
"I… I don't understand…" she stammered shakily. "What's the problem?"
"Everything! " the spokesperson snapped. "Not only did you submit incomplete documentation to the council room, but you're also using a restricted space without authorization."
As she spoke, she pulled out several crumpled papers—ones I quickly recognized as the same ones I had helped pick up that morning.
"We don't have time to deal with your nonsense!" she shouted, throwing them to the ground in disgust.
The sound echoed through the silence of the storage room, causing Sugise to flinch and lower her head. Her voice trembled so much she barely managed to form coherent words.
"I just wanted to…" she mumbled weakly. "Create a place where people could… you know…"
"Don't be ridiculous," the spokesperson cut in coldly. "You don't even meet the most basic requirement: having more than one member involved."
At that moment, I couldn't help but remember the invitation Sugise had given me earlier that morning—the enthusiasm, the childish insistence. Now I understood why she had acted the way she did.
But now, all of that energy was gone, replaced by anxiety and desperation.
"I'm not asking for much…" she pleaded. "I just want…"
"Enough! If you can't even handle something so basic, then there's nothing more to discuss!"
Faced with that, Sugise could only lower her gaze, clearly affected by the whole situation.
"You need to be realistic," added coldly. "You're the only one who actually cares about this stupidity."
I couldn't keep watching her be treated like this—it made my stomach churn. I considered stepping in, but quickly dismissed the idea.
Getting involved in something like this would be too much for me. I didn't even know this girl, so there was no sense in dragging myself into her problems. And with the student council involved, it was too big of a risk to start any kind of conflict with them.
As I weighed the consequences in my mind, a desperate cry echoed through the storage room.
"That's not true! I have found another member!"
Silence filled the space as the spokesperson stared at Sugise with clear disbelief.
"Don't feed me lies!"
"They're not lies!" she declared firmly. "This morning, I met someone who's interested in joining. That person will come—I'm sure of it."
"Don't drag me into this! " I screamed internally.
After all, I had never agreed to join her club. And now, especially after seeing this situation unfold, I wanted nothing to do with it even less.
Determined to leave, I took a step back, ready to walk away and forget all of this. But as I did, a wave of guilt started creeping in.
It was obvious she was desperate—and though I hated to admit it, something deep inside me just couldn't let this go like that.
I couldn't ignore what looked like her last hope.
Without thinking twice, I walked toward the entrance. I knew this was a bad idea—but I kept moving anyway.
With trembling hands, I reached for the doorknob and stepped inside.
Though I tried to open it carefully, the door swung open forcefully and slammed against the wall, creating a small crash that immediately caught their attention.
"Sorry to interrupt," I said, stepping further into the room.
I moved toward the center, placing myself between the spokesperson and Sugise. For a moment, neither of them said a word—as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Damn it… why did my entrance have to be so dramatic? " I thought, frozen in place.
It should've been normal, but now it felt like the grand entrance of a hero coming to save the day. I could feel the embarrassment crawling up my neck.
"Who exactly are you supposed to be?" the spokesperson was the first to break the silence.
"I'm… Daiki Aiga. Another member of this club."
I tried to sound calm, though on the inside, I was anything but. I was already starting to regret what I'd just done.
Sugise, on the other hand, completely shifted her attitude. Her worried expression vanished instantly, replaced by a radiant smile that almost lit up the dim storage room.
Filled with renewed confidence, she stood tall and turned the spokesperson attention back to me, pointing enthusiastically.
"There he is!" she exclaimed, her voice bursting with joy. "I told you—I did find another member!"
The spokesperson let out a sharp scoff, clearly annoyed by the unexpected turn of events. Her face twisted into an expression somewhere between disbelief and irritation.
"Never thought I'd see someone else getting mixed up in your silly games," she snapped, then fixed her eyes on me. "Tell me—aren't you lying?"
I swallowed hard, feeling my nerves spike with every word she said.
"Of course not!" Sugise shot back before I could even open my mouth. "He's really interested. He even helped me with the paperwork to apply for the club."
She really had no problem lying through her teeth, huh? I thought to myself.
But I couldn't blame her—it was the only thing left to do if she wanted to get out of this mess. Still, after a quick glance at her face, I noticed several obvious signs that might give her away.
From avoiding eye contact while speaking, to the very noticeable giveaway of her fingers crossed behind her back.
I was wrong before—she was terrible at lying.
There was no way we were getting out of this situation without helping each other. Even if that meant lying straight to the council's face.
"It's exactly as my partner said!" I blurted out nervously. "We both worked really hard on this…"
I tried to smile as I said it, but it came out so forced it practically screamed guilt. Just like her, I was also a terrible liar.
Nevara simply stared at both of us with one eyebrow raised—it was obvious she saw right through our nonsense.
"What a pile of dirty lies!" she snapped angrily. "That's it! As student council spokesperson, I hereby decree that—"
Before she could finish her rant, the storage room door swung open again.
We all froze at the presence of a new figure—one whose mere posture demanded instant respect.
Blond hair and thin glasses—he didn't need an introduction for us to recognize him: Joseph Myers, the student council secretary.
"Spokesperson Nevara, what are you doing here?" he asked calmly, though his voice carried firm authority. "Didn't we have an important meeting in ten minutes?"
The spokesperson, who just seconds ago seemed like the most arrogant person in the world, now looked visibly nervous.
"Secretary Myers, I was just—"
She swallowed hard, her eyes darting briefly between Sugise and me before responding.
"It's all their fault!" she declared with sudden confidence. "They tried to start a club without following the rules—it was my duty to step in before things got worse."
The secretary studied all of us closely, then let out a long sigh.
"Didn't I tell you not to waste time on trivialities…?" he said, sounding more tired than angry. "Besides, I see they meet the basic requirement—at least technically. They just seem to be missing the proper documentation."
"Actually…" Sugise cut in, pointing at the floor. "It's right there…"
The secretary lowered his gaze to the crumpled and messy stack of papers. His expression remained unreadable for a few seconds—but soon, his brow began to slowly furrow.
In a calm tone that nonetheless carried a subtle threat, he turned to his colleague and asked:
"Tell me… isn't that what I think it is?"
The spokesperson paled instantly, unable to form a single word. She swallowed hard again, her guilt now unmistakable.
The secretary didn't say another thing. Without warning, he strode toward her and, with surprising speed, grabbed the back of her head—gripping her hair tightly as he began dragging her toward the door.
Sugise and I stood frozen, watching the scene unfold in a mix of terror and disbelief.
"That's why some pages were missing from my desk," he said coldly, not even glancing back at her. "Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"I swear, those documents were done poorly!" she cried out, terrified. "I was doing everyone a favor by throwing them away! They didn't even deserve to be reviewed!"
He ignored her excuses, tightening his grip even more.
"Stop already! You're going to crush my skull if you keep this up!"
Before leaving, the secretary turned his gaze toward us. For a moment, I feared for our lives—but instead, he spoke in a voice so calm it was almost eerie.
"My apologies for any trouble my colleague may have caused you," he said with a polite smile. "As a gesture of apology, I'll allow you to resubmit all the paperwork next week."
Without another word, he closed the door behind him with a loud slam.
We stood in silence for a few moments, trying to process what had just happened.
My body trembled slightly, and I could feel cold sweat running down my back. Finally, I collapsed to my knees, breathing heavily, heart pounding.
That had been, without a doubt, the most stressful experience of my entire life. I prayed I'd never have to go through something like that again.
Sugise, on the other hand, looked relieved—as if she had just overcome an impossible challenge.
Noticing my shaken state, she approached and extended a hand toward me in a gesture of concern.
"Are you okay?"
I looked up at her, feeling a mix of frustration and exhaustion.
"Okay? Of course I'm not okay!" I snapped. "What the hell were you thinking getting into a conflict with someone from the student council? We could've gotten suspended—or worse!"
"But we got out of it, right?" she said cheerfully. "Now we just need to redo the paperwork to officially form the club."
"No way in hell," I refused without hesitation.
"Huh? I thought you were actually interested."
"Not at all. That whole thing earlier was a lie," I said, a hint of weariness in my voice. "I don't have any real interest in joining a club or anything like that—especially not one that could drag me into situations like today's."
Wanting to end the conversation, I turned to leave.
"And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading home."
"Wait a second!" she called out, making me stop in place. "I just wanted to tell you… Even though you won't be part of this, I'm still really grateful for everything you did today. It truly meant a lot to me."
Her words left me with a strange mix of embarrassment and resignation.
"It… wasn't anything," I replied, without looking back.
Sugise smiled widely, completely ignoring my attempt to sound distant.
"See you tomorrow then!" she exclaimed cheerfully.
I frowned, finally turning my head toward her in disbelief.
"I already told you I don't plan on coming back," I said with slight irritation.
Still, her smile didn't waver for a second.
"That's fine!" she said happily, waving her hand in farewell. "I still hope to see you soon!"
Her goodbye left me puzzled, as if something inside me hinted that this wouldn't be the last of it. But it was better not to dwell on it.
I'd had enough drama for one day. Now, I just wanted to go home and rest.
There, I wouldn't run into any kind of trouble, right?