The echo of my footsteps resonated in the silent high school hallways. I was heading towards the teachers' lounge, where I was supposed to write reports and grade papers, as always.
Suddenly, a loud crash coming from the library broke the silence. It was strange, considering the school day was already over. At first, I thought I had imagined it, but another thud confirmed my suspicions.
"Who's there?" I asked, raising my voice.
In response, a series of hurried footsteps and murmurs echoed inside the room. By the number, I figured there were several people, perhaps students hiding in the school.
"They'd better not be doing anything improper," I muttered as I opened the door.
Upon entering, I didn't see anyone, but a pile of books and papers scattered on the floor indicated that someone had been there recently. As I inspected the surroundings, I quickly identified the hiding spots.
"Closet... Shelf... Desk," I said, naming them one by one.
As I mentioned the last one, a head of blonde hair slowly peeked out.
"Guess you caught us," a resigned voice muttered.
It was Areika Matsumoto, one of my students. With her striking makeup and haughty attitude, she personified the classic stereotype of a fashionable girl.
"Hey! Don't just come out like that!" a voice shouted from the closet.
From there, a second student emerged, Leonard Paige. With his messy red hair and wrinkled sports uniform, he radiated annoyance towards his classmate.
"Shut up, idiot! We'll get into bigger trouble if we don't cooperate," Matsumoto retorted, glaring at him.
"You shut up, stupid! You didn't have to rat us out," he replied.
The scene was predictable: They were yelling at each other, proving once again how badly they got along. I couldn't deny that, in part, this was my fault. I was the one who put them together in an impromptu study group due to their low academic performance, something reflected in their poor grades. However, the group seemed to be missing one last member.
From behind a shelf, a girl with bluish hair and a timid gaze stepped between the two.
"P-please, stop arguing..." she whispered timidly.
It was Ritsuki Nerama, another one of my students. A shy and nervous girl who, despite having the best grades in the class, lacked social skills.
"Stay out of it!" Matsumoto replied.
"You better stay quiet!" Paige added.
Nerama hunched her shoulders, scared by her classmates' aggressiveness.
"Y-yes, I'm sorry," she mumbled, almost on the verge of tears.
It was clear that her attempt to stop the conflict had completely failed; my strategy of using her as an example for her classmates wasn't going as well as I thought. How naive I was.
But I still didn't understand why they were here. Were they looking for something?
As I pondered the matter, a crumpled note on the floor caught my attention. Without hesitation, I tried to pick it up, but as I did, both Matsumoto and Paige tried to prevent it. To their misfortune, I was faster and took it into my hands. I read the note and frowned when I finished.
It turned out the note said: "Possible ideas for the end-of-year project." A task I had assigned to my class in advance: Writing a book report.
I wouldn't be so annoyed if it weren't for one small detail: the submission deadline was tomorrow.
"Hey! What does this mean?"
The trio looked at me in complete silence, with guilty expressions on their faces.
"Answer me, or I'll fail you right here."
"Well... um... this..." Matsumoto stammered. "Nerama's going to explain it."
"Huh? M-me?" she stammered.
A shrewd move; she knew all too well that I wouldn't be as hard on the little one. But by making her speak, she didn't think about the answer she would give me.
"T-the truth is, we forgot to do the project," she said, lowering her head. "We're really sorry!"
Faced with that answer, both Matsumoto and Paige had no choice but to follow her lead.
"We're really sorry!" they both said in unison.
It was just as I suspected: since I had assigned the work, they hadn't made any progress.
"Honestly, it's not unexpected coming from the two of you," I raised my voice. "But coming from you, Nerama, I am somewhat disappointed."
I never expected her to fall into the same mistake; it was probably a result of being around that troublesome pair.
"Well... The truth is, I was distracted by something," the little one replied.
After saying that, she crouched down on the floor, right where the large pile of fallen books was, pulling one out from the bottom.
"I found this buried in the courtyard, inside a small metal box," she explained. "I thought it might be useful for the report."
In her hands was an old-looking but well-preserved book that piqued my interest.
"That nonsense again," Paige muttered. "It's just junk someone threw away."
Faced with the negativity, Nerama hunched her shoulders again. Her shyness made me feel sorry for her, so I extended my hand as a sign for her to give it to me so I could check it. She seemed to realize this and, without much trouble, handed it to me. With the book now in my hands, there was nothing else to do but open it to see its contents.
As I did, I was stunned.
On the first page, a photograph showed five young students, with the words "Club 114" written at the bottom.
As I touched it, memories flooded my mind all at once, memories of an ephemeral youth I thought I had forgotten.
Nerama watched me intently, with curiosity in her eyes.
"Professor, do you recognize the people in this photograph?" she asked.
"Yes," I answered honestly. "One of them is me."
My answer immediately caught the attention of everyone present.
"What?!" Matsumoto exclaimed, surprised.
"Are you serious?!" Paige added.
The trio surrounded the book without wasting time, eager to bombard me with questions. "Who were the people in the photo?", "What did 'Club 114' mean?" It was evident that they wanted answers.
"Calm down," I said, moving the book out of their sight. "I don't have to answer anything for you. Right now I should..."
Before I could finish what I was saying, Nerama started to show a pleading look.
"Please, could you tell us more details?" she said, tilting her head, pleadingly.
Seeing her, both Matsumoto and Paige copied her gesture. I now had three of my students in front of me trying to make me feel sorry for them.
"Nosy brats," I thought.
"Okay... I'll tell you everything," I conceded, looking away slightly. "Just stop looking at me like that, okay?"
As I said this, their expressions returned to normal.
"You sure know how to manipulate my soft side..." I sighed. "But oh well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you something about the past."
Their eyes sparkled with anticipation, eager to hear what came next.
"I'll tell you all about this journal," I added. "The story of Club 114."