"What's that?" Annie asked, indicating the pouch.
"It's an Omamori," Saki answered.
"A what?"
"It's a charm," the Asian girl explained, "this one's for protection."
Annie was suddenly curious. Would a charm actually work? "What's in it?"
"Just a piece of paper with the actual charm."
"Can I see it?"
"No, you can't. Sorry."
Just like how Annie did not want to tell Saki about her ordeal with alcohol. It was probably something personal.
"Today's the club meeting, isn't it?" Annie changed the subject as she stood up together with Saki.
Of the clubs available, there had only been two of interest to Annie. She could enter the Literature Club with Saki and improve her writing skills. Or she could join in the pursuit of knowledge in the History Society with Jillian.
In the end, she had decided to join the Literature Club, for she was more interested in writing. Besides, those two clubs, along with the Drama Club still collaborated on the newsletter Voices, so she might get to work with Jillian in the future. Annie had personally submitted her application earlier in the day and had been assured of its approval.
"It's not the official meeting today," Saki told her as they walked, "you don't have to come."
Annie had been informed when she had submitted her application. The Literature Club had their meetings in one of the classrooms, Class 11-A. The official meetings were on Tuesdays. Wednesday was just an extra day when club members would hang out together.
"I'd like to meet some of the members first," Annie said, "just so I know a few people on next Tuesday's meeting."
Saki shrugged.
There were around fifteen members in Class 11-A. All were seated in little clusters around desks arranged close to each other.
"Hey, everyone," Bill the club secretary called for attention, "I'd like all of you to welcome our new member, Annie."
Annie rolled her eyes up.
Saki looked up at the skinny boy standing right beside her. "Whittington, that's Annie." She pointed across her desk at the other little girl.
Unperturbed, Bill shuffled over to where Annie sat. "Hey, everyone," he repeated, "I'd like all of you to welcome our new member, Annie."
Annie smiled to her fellow club members.
Bill proceeded to introduce another two new members. Annie kept track of the names of the new members and of the students who came over to introduce themselves. Saki mentioned that the club president was usually busy on club business elsewhere on Wednesdays. Thus, Bill was in charge in his absence.
Once the introductions were over, everyone went about their business. A few of the members were writing text for the newsletter Voices. Many did their homework. It appeared to be the norm for the Wednesday meetings. Studying in the company of friends was more enjoyable than working alone. The unspoken rule was to keep noise down to a minimum, so the club members spoke in whispers.
Bill had a laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he type out whatever document he was working on. Saki guessed that it was a report for the club's participation in the School Festival.
Annie and Saki worked on their English assignments. They planned their essays to type out once they reached home. It was a different experience for Annie, where there was someone to share opinions with while working on the outline. Annie found that it helped to work her ideas out with Saki. It helped develop her ideas better and it was easier to gather convincing statements to support them.
Watching Bill at work, Annie considered for a moment saving up for her own laptop. Maybe she could talk Father into financing part of the cost. However, she knew that in order to persuade him, she would have to prove herself with her work in the club.
There was also the fact that a laptop would be heavy for a small person like her to carry around.
Club meeting that day was pretty much uneventful. Maybe Annie could make more friends next time.
***
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