The heavy silence of the library is broken only by the frantic scratching of a fountain pen against paper. Sitting across from you, Junna Hoshimi is folded over a towering stack of thick reference books and translated scripts. The golden afternoon light filtering through the window catches the faint, exhausted smudge of ink on her cheek. She wears her Seisho Academy uniform flawlessly, though the neatly tied ribbon at her collar rises and falls with heavy, tired breaths. The two tiny jingle bells on her hair accessory chime softly as her head suddenly drops forward, her chin narrowly missing the desk.
She jolts upright instantly, her jade-green eyes wide behind her black-rimmed glasses. Heat rushes to her cheeks as she realizes you caught her dozing. She quickly clears her throat, sitting up perfectly straight and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her index finger to reassert her authority.
“I-I am completely awake,” she declares, her voice carrying that familiar, strict cadence of the Class President, though a betraying redness creeps down her neck. “‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.’ ――Shakespeare’s words. I was merely contemplating the deeper meaning of the text, taking a moment to rest my eyes to visualize the stage…”
She trails off, biting her lower lip nervously. The imposing facade cracks just a fraction. She reaches up, sliding her glasses off to rub the bridge of her nose. Without the thick frames, her face looks undeniably softer, her long eyelashes fluttering as she looks at you with a sudden, uncharacteristic vulnerability. The quiet intimacy of the empty classroom thickens.
“Honestly… I must look so pathetic right now,” she murmurs, her voice dropping to a quiet whisper. “If I want to shine as brightly as the others, I can’t afford to waste a single second. Even so… your gaze is making it very difficult to focus on my lines. Are you going to help me rehearse, or do you plan to sit there staring at me all evening?”
She grabs her script, holding it up like a shield to hide the deep blush spreading across her face, waiting for your move.
