infinite_reflection | Casual: potential socializing with the deadpan girl

It was yet another day where a teacher had made Seiya their assistant. She didn't particularly mind, but lately she had a lot to keep her mind occupied with. The mirrors, her persona, her relationships...

Knocking gently on the music room door, she entered with a large stack of papers. Searching for the desk, she spotted a classmate. "'Scuse me, where should I put these...?"

Practice was over for the day, but Seung Mi was hard at work mastering the notes to the club's most recent song. That is, until a knock on the door interrupted her concentration. She lowered the mouthpiece from her lips and eyed the student. Huh. It was a classmate she recognized, but of course one she never took the time to speak to. But right now it appeared she would have to, and she opened her mouth, uninterested as ever, “Top left drawer. The others are usually locked.”

The girl gestured to the desk as she spoke, but made no move to assist.

"Thanks." Seiya flashed an appreciative smile, heading to the desk. Easing the drawer open, she slid the papers inside.

"Your music sounds great, by the way."

Drama club was over for the day. They'd been practicing for a play, and Miho had been on the lights. Those things were heavy and hard to move, but somehow she'd managed. Now, walking down the hallway, half in a daze, she found herself in front of the music room! It seemed to be empty, judging from the quiet beyond the door... Empty, minus the occasional soulful note of the clarinet! Aha! Seung Mi was in music, wasn't she? Perhaps she'd like to walk home.

With a little grunt she pushed the door open. “Senpaii?”

The girl blinked, but was otherwise unaffected by the compliment. Sure, it was nice to hear, but eh. “Thank you.” Once the papers were put away and Seung Mi saw no need for correction, she turned her gaze back to the stand in front of her. It seemed she was going to practice more. Not very talkative, this one!

Seung Mi's response to her schoolmate came delayed. Eyes focused on the stand in front of her, the music room was filled with the sound of her clarinet. It sounded like the song was nearing a close, though, and sure enough it was. A minute or so later the music stopped, and the girl turned to face Miho.

“Hello, Tanaka. What is it?”

“Aha, hello, senpai! You play really wonderfully.” The girl shifted her weight on her feet a tad nervously. Seung Mi always made her feel a little... judged! The girl was so quiet and deadpan, afterall. “I keep telling you to call me Miho, you know..” Pout, pout. “But that's okay! I was wondering if you wanted to walk home with me? Anddd maybe get a pastry on the way.”

“First names are too personal,” Seung Mi replied. It was an indication she didn't think very highly of her housemate yet, ouch! Then again, the exchange student was on a last-name basis with everyone... So at least poor Miho wasn't singled out.

“Hmm.” The upperclassman disassembled her instrument with ease, and carefully placed the pieces in its case. She made a mental note to clean it later tonight, and then spoke up again while clicking the case closed. “Sure. It's getting late.” She didn't say a word about the pastry, but surely she meant 'yes' to that, as well?

Ouch! Miho winced with the comment, rubbing at the back of her neck. Her expression shifted to a slightly more on edge smile.. But that wasn't any reason to take back her offer of walking home together! “G-good, that sounds good! Um, what type of pastry do you like? There's a bakery at the mall that sells really good cakes, but that's more out of the way.. There's a really cute one along the path home, too.”

Seung Mi picked both her schoolbag and case up, giving the classroom a once-over to make sure nothing was out of place. Good, everything looked fine. She looked to Miho from the corner of her eye, before turning around fully to join the bespectacled girl at the door. “I don't have a preference, and I hate malls.” Her blunt reply left only one option, it seemed.

“Oh, you hate... Well, that's okay! The one on the way home is pretty good, too. They have a really good banana spring roll. With a chocolate drizzle. Ever tried it?” Miho offered the much more bland faced girl a cheerful smile as she held the music room door open for her.

She shook her head. “Not around here.” Of course, it sounded like a 'yes' at the same time. She just didn't get out much, and often shut herself up in her room to practice or study. Whether she was out and about back home was a mystery, but from the way she acted, that was probably a no. “I hope they make it as good as you say.”

Seung Mi bowed in thanks to Miho – honest manners at last – and stepped out of the music room. “Thank you.” And with that, she was already walking ahead of the second year.

Miho had to boot it up to a slight trot to keep up with Seung Mi, but honestly... She was used to that! She was just naturally a slow walker. “It's really good, I promise. If you like banana and chocolate, anyway.” The walk out of campus took then around nine minutes, and passed in relative quiet. Fortunately, at least to the second year, it didn't seem too awkward of a quiet! When the bakery (about another ten minutes later) was in sight (it was really close to their apartment, too!) she spoke up again.

“Do you want to split one, or get one each? Maybe a smoothie to go with it, or something, hmm~.”

Miho's senpai wasn't the best conversational partner, for sure! Seung Mi was content to walk in silence, occasionally saying a word or two to the girl trailing closely behind her. Though, her steps slowed after she realized that she didn't know where the bakery was. On the path home, was it? Hmm, she decided to let Miho lead the way, and memorized the location in case... In case she ever wanted to come here, again? Probably wasn't likely, but who knew.

“We should split one. I'll go half-and-half with you on the price.” The third year had to be careful with how she used her funds. She didn't have a job, after all, so...

“No smoothie for me.”

Being the social bee she was, Seiya gladly did the talking for both of them. "I'm Seiya Yamada. Would you mind if I watched you play? Or I suppose I should say listen." She laughed at herself, taking a seat before waiting for an answer.

Seung Mi flipped through the pages of sheet music on the stand. She avoided eye contact with Seiya, and seemed to not even acknowledge the other girl's existence further. That is, until she found the notes she was looking for and finally spoke. “Seung Mi Lee.” It was only proper to introduce herself as well, wasn't it? It's not like she minded people knowing her name.

With a shrug, she lifted her clarinet once more. “I don't mind.” That was code for 'I'll pretend you're not there.'

"It's nice to meet you." Reverently, she silenced herself as Seung Mi prepared to play. Seiya crossed her legs, hands folded politely in her lap as she awaited the first note.

“Are you sure about half and half? I don't mind just paying.” She had a big allowance and all, and sometimes took pay for her tutoring... Miho didn't mind spending her money on others, because of that. They'd arrived at the bakery, as well. A sweet odor drifted out from the double doors, and as the bespectacled girl held said door open for her senpai, they were both assailed by the scent of baking bread (and something like cookies, as well, if either of them had a keen sense of smell). “Mm, I bet they make the best buns here..”

The club had agreed on an intermediate classical piece as their first song of the year. Like most other subjects, it was hard enough to require lots of practice and dedication from everyone involved. As Seung Mi began playing, it sounded it, too! The notes switched between slow and fast, and high and low, and one wrong movement would've messed her up for sure. But for Seung Mi, who practiced more often than she probably needed, it was a piece of cake!

The song continued for about five minutes at most, with the occasional pause to flip the sheet music, or retry a part she deemed off. If there was a section in particular that bothered her, she quickly wrote an annotation is music-lingo above the line. The third year rehearsed the song as if she was in complete solitude, but she was still aware of Seiya's presence. She half-expected the other girl to leave, though. It's what Seung Mi's awkward silence usually did...

((So wordy, I AM SORRY))

“Positive. If we share the food, we split the price.” Poor Miho. Seung Mi would have absolutely none of this generosity business, today. “If you prefer a whole one, I can buy my own.” To the third year, it was a reasonable idea; even if it left a dent in her already low funds. Thinking back on it, a job would be a good solution, but... People. Eh, she'd think about it later.

The smell of delicious baked goods wafted to her nostrils, and Seung Mi was instantly drawn inside. She nodded a thanks to Miho. Huh, were those cookies she smelled? Perhaps this bakery would be promising after all. She quietly stood for a moment to look around.

“N-no, no, splitting is fine.” She nodded seriously as she floated over to the glassed counter. Mmm, so many baked goods! There were three rows on each counter and three full counter lengths of baked breads and goodies throughout the bakery. Talk about a wide variety, too. It ranged from plain old buns to jalapeno bagels. Vanilla cake to tiramisu to cupcake balls! “This must be Heaven~.” She remarked quietly. Her mouth was practically watering. It was a little embarrassing to act so childish in front of her senpai, but hey... Bakery!

The man behind the counter, a middle aged looking man, seemed to recognize Miho as well. “Mi-chan! Back again, are we? What'll you be havin' today?” He had an accent straight out of Osaka. “A big plate of your deep fried choco banana spring roll, please! For me and my um..” Could she call Seung Mi her friend? P-probably not. The result of that was an odd hang in the girl's sentence. “F..friend. For my and my friend, please.” THERE! She did it anyway!

A little red faced, she turned away from the counter as the employee went about preparing their dessert. “If you see anything else that catches your eye, I c-can tell you if it's good or not.” The employee scoffed. “Mi-chan, Mi-chan. Everthin' here's good. I keep tellin' ya that~.”

Apparently Miho was a regular in all bakeries around these parts, hmm.

Seiya was absolutely captivated. She hung on every note, eyes lit up with appreciation. It certainly wasn't every day that you heard something so beautiful. When Seung Mi corrected herself on several parts, Seiya's brow furrowed. It had been so beautiful the first time.

Knowing little about musical structure, she didn't say anything. At the end of the peace, she clapped enthusiastically, jumping to her feet.

Apparently getting caught playing games on your cell phone meant you had to stay after class and clean almost everything yourself, while the rest of them went home or to the mall or wherever early. Punishment for doing something against the rules was okay in Greg's head, but something so time-consuming and stupid was not! All right, so it wasn't his first offense... And he'd received two warnings in the past... It was just annoying, all right? By the time he finished and the teacher let him go clubs had already let out and no one was left in the school.

Well, he'd assumed no one until he heard music coming from down the hall while heading toward the exit. Gregory, not so much a big music fan, couldn't really figure out what instrument it was on sound alone... That piqued his curiosity, and he headed for the music room where it seemed to be coming from. The boy poked his head inside the slightly ajar door, blinking a few times while everything registered. Oh! It was... Uh... Well, he forgot her name. 'That girl who lives with Miho' would do for the moment.

Greg wasn't one to interrupt people in the middle of doing something, so he leaned out of the door... Just in time to smack into another student who was passing by. The poor guy lost his balance, wobbling and then falling against the door and then into the music room when it pushed inward. All he got from the jerk he'd run into was a laugh and something about a 'clumsy American', to which he grumbled from his position on the floor. Well, she was bound to notice now!

(( Hi super long post YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THREE PARAGRAPHS IN RETURN I just got wordy ok cool ))

Friend? The term didn't sit well with Seung Mi. It made her stomach churn for one reason or another – something she couldn't quite point out, but it was uncomfortable. Luckily for the Korean girl, she'd already perfected the art of remaining blank-faced, and so her discomfort didn't show through. She appeared to ignore Miho, and stepped towards the glassed counter.

“It all looks good,” Seung Mi admitted. It was the truth, so why not? Several pastries piqued the bland girl's interest, in fact! Particularly the ones with adorable decorations... Only one thing at a time, she told herself.

“Hmm.” There was an awkward pause in the girls' conversation, as the third year neglected to further answer Miho's question. Instead, she sat her clarinet case by her feet, and began fishing around in her bag. Where was it... Ah. It took a moment, but Seung Mi produced a small silk pouch, and counted out a decent amount of yen. She offered the money over to Miho with the explanation, “Half-and-half.”

“You're still here.” It was more of a statement than a question. She didn't sound it, but Seung Mi was surprised to still have her one-person audience in the room. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about the applause, either. The normal reaction would be to smile and say thanks, right? It was also a well-mannered solution, but...

“Thank you.” Seiya's enthusiasm was met with indifference and a shrug. “It sounds best when the group is together,” she followed up, offering at least that much conversation, since the other girl seemed to enjoy the piece.

More work was a strange thing to reward yourself with, but Seung Mi genuinely enjoyed the extra practice. The classroom was clean, and the last of her fellow club members had left around... Oh, half an hour ago? Possibly more, but she'd been paying little attention. The third year returned to her seat and grabbed her clarinet from its stand. She flipped through the sheet music until she came across her part, and soon music filled the room. The instrument produced a high-pitched, bright sound; and even the low notes retained its cheerful quality.

Seung Mi was lost in her music. The girl had an incredible talent for being focused – one that could surely be admired, should she ever display any actual emotion. At least her music didn't reflect her disposition! Her focus was about to be interrupted, however. The sound of Gregory falling into the room startled her and she hit a wrong note, the clarinet making a sound akin to a small dying animal. Then the music came to an abrupt stop.

She stood from her seat, attention snapping towards the door. The urge to frown was strong, but Seung Mi held it back. She sighed.

“Hello, Harman. Are you all right?”

((i like wordy ok))

This entire situation was tense tense tense! Down to Seung Mi’s bland faced browsing of the sweets to her offering of money. Poor Miho’s hands almost shook when she reached forward to accept the proffered yen, and the smile on her face was no doubt a hint ‘on edge’. Hanging out with her senpai was always like this, though. She wanted very badly to not do anything to annoy her upper classman, but at the same time she still wanted to hang out with her! The result was a lot of mental flailing around on the second years part.

“Half-and-half It is! It’ll be really good, I promise. They make good cupcakes, too. They’re s-so cute, ehe~.” She gestured at a display of them as she paid (halfn’half, of course) for their spring roll. The cupcakes were marvelously decorated, with all sorts of icing done in different and adorable styles.

Thankfully he hadn't landed on his head or face, so the initial daze that came with falling over faded quickly... Into embarrassment, but at least there wasn't the potential for any real damage as a result. "Uh, hey... Yeah, I'm good. I got..." What was the word for it? There wasn't 'detention' here, it was more a punishment for him and him alone. "Well, I had to stay late." That's all she needed to know! Greg wanted to change the subject, anyway, before she asked too many questions.

"That's a clarinet, right? Sorry for, uh, interrupting. You looked pretty... In the zone, or whatever." He stood up, rubbing the side of his head, and then glanced back out into the hallway. Whoever smacked into him was gone. What a dick!

“They are cute,” came the older girl's rather neutral-sounding agreement. She picked up her case, eyeing the desserts again. Seung Mi had an unspoken fondness for all things adorable, and the cupcakes definitely fit the bill – particularly the ones with pink frosting layered to look like flower petals. Ah, and were the centers chocolate? Before she could catch herself, Miho's upperclassman seemed to actually be showing genuine interest! (Who knew baked goods could do that to a girl?)

A most unusual response followed, “I'll have to try them next time, yes?” It was still blank, still bland... But the third-year had indirectly invited Miho out, again! And of her own volition, too.

Sadly, the spark of interest vanished as quickly as it had come. Seung Mi turned and, without waiting for an answer, moved to take a seat.

Had to stay late, huh? His words were met with a head-tilt from the girl, but she inquired no further. Curious or not, Seung Mi felt it wasn't really her business. “It is.” She nodded. “You don't have to apologize. There was no harm done.”

She straightened her chair (which had skidded to the side when she jumped up, creating a horrible screech to accompany those incorrect notes), and sat back down. Seung Mi was embarrassed herself for reacting such a way, but like everything else, she ignored it. But she was met with another dilemma: what should she say, now?

Needless to say, the third year was the last person to go to for conversation!

Well, Greg was here now... He had no other plan but to go home, and all that was waiting there were textbooks and maybe some television. Several hours of them, and that sounded honestly pretty boring. He could stay and chat a while, yeah? "Right, uh, yeah. Didn't break anything, thank goodness..." His knees were a little sore, which sucked, but it wasn't anything horribly painful. "I didn't know you were in, uh, music club. I don't really know a lot about you at all, really."

All right, should he tell her? It seemed like a mean thing, but if they were going to chat he had to use her name at least once! Guessing it would probably go badly... Greg sighed internally and then let it out, cheeks going a little pink and his normal flat expression taking a turn for the slightly embarrassed. "Jeez, I'm sorry. What's, uh... What's your name, again? The apartment was a little freaky, I think I just forgot in all that mess."

Progress! That was progress, wasn't it?! Miho's spirits momentarily soared from the one off-handed comment by her senpai. They didn't really drop either as the girl turned to find a table. Instead she happily smiled to the cashier, spun on her heel and trotted off after Seung Mi. She helped herself to a seat, carefully setting her dessert down. “Ah, senpai... Have you noticed anything weird lately? L-like, around town and stuff.”

“Weird?” Seung Mi blinked, setting her belongings to the side. Other than the reputation for crime Okachi seemed to be gaining, she couldn't say she had. That, and most of her days were spent studying indoors. The third-year looked at her housemate, studying her behind that indifferent expression, before responding. “No. Why?”

“M-mm, no, no reason. I was just wondering. ” She brushed it off with a bit of a laugh, but the third year would no doubt be able to notice something momentarily off about Miho’s expression. She looked worried about something. Worried, that is, until she tasted the banana spring roll in front of her! That unhappy face melted into something more along the lines of pure ecstasy. “Oh! Goodness, you have to try this! It’s so gooood.” She fore-went her usual manners and heaped another big ol’ spoonful into her mouth.

Easing back into her seat, she grinned. "You're welcome! Thank you for the wonderful piece."

Seiya took in the full view of the room, admiring all the seats. She could almost imagine each and every musician playing in unison. "I bet. I'd love to hear that some time."

Seung Mi could see there was more to it than Miho was willing to tell – after all, why would she bring up an odd subject like that, and then dismiss it as nothing? The third year briefly wondered what the other girl's reaction would've been should she have said yes. More suspicious, perhaps. Though as it stood, things were already teetering on strange, and she was curious about her fr... housemate's behavior.

“All right.” Seung Mi decided to leave the subject be after the worry seemingly vanished, but she would remain extra vigilant. If Miho continued to act off, then it was question time! For curiosity's sake, she told herself.

“Let me grab a spoon for myself and I will.”

As Seung Mi stood to fetch herself a spoon, Miho let her chin rest lightly on her palm. While her senpai was distracted she seemed to tense up a bit. Her brows drew together, and she frowned at nothing in particular. Life in Okachi had been odd for her, lately, what with the 'shadows' and the death of her classmate... Seiya and two others had 'personae' now, too, and had to protect the city or something. It was all really confusing, and here she was not being a help to anyone. It was odd for her to be a little sad when the weather was so nice, and she was eating something so delicious...

When Seung Mi returned, she'd no doubt notice a state of thoughtfulness about her housemate. The girl perked up, however! “Try it, try it. It's really good, I promise.”

"My name is Seung Mi Lee." That was easy enough for the socially inept Seung Mi to respond to. Her name was the one piece of information she cared to be so open with, anyway! "Yes, I suppose that storm was troublesome. It's okay."

The stormy night was one to remember, and one that embarrassed Seung Mi whenever she recalled her mishap. (Whoops, clinging to people -- how horrid!) Luckily, it wasn't a subject she brought up too often, if there was ever the off-chance she initiated chit-chat to begin with. She had a nagging feeling that she should perhaps try on occassion, though, lest her days in Japan be filled with nothing but practice and schoolwork... Neither of which she minded, but even she got bored sometimes. Today was truthfully one of those days.

"So..."

Hmm, strike two for odd behavior. The blank-faced upperclassman raised a brow, pausing to look Miho over. The shift in the brunette's body language was immediately noticeable, and something Seung Mi was very close to pointing out. Really, did Miho think she was fooling her, here? Anyone could see through the act, even if they weren't observant – in the third year's opinion, at least. Of course, perhaps she was giving her peers a bit too much credit there.

Wordlessly, she gathered some of the dessert onto her spoon and tasted it. Seung Mi was surprised to find it really was as delicious as it smelled; and the silence on her end lasted a bit longer while she let it sink in.

“It's good.” A bit of an anti-climactic response, but hey, since when did she ever seem excited?

“It’s the best. Um, there’s a bakery in the mall that makes carrot cake that’s on par with this. I’ll buy some and bring it home for dessert one day? Or maybe as lunch for school!” Miho scooped up another mouthful of deep fried dough, and banana, and chocolate sauce, with an oh-so contented sigh. It was hard to be worried about things when you had so much sweetness in front of you. “I-if you want to have lunch with me one day, that is..”

"Right! Okay, uh, I can remember that now." Remembering was easy, but figure out which of those words to add the '-san' after would be the real challenge. Oh, jeez. Y'know what? Fuck names, until he could ask Miho or something. "The storm was pretty crazy, right? There hasn't been one, uh... One like it since then, though, so that's good. I live on the top floor of our little apartment, so... Y'know, storms are really weird when you're up high." Greg had never really been asked to carry a conversation before, and if he ever had been asked he probably would've said it was impossible... He was almost managing here, though, even if he didn't realize it. That was something to be commended for, right?!

Greg shifted in place after that, still lamenting his sore knees, and glanced back and forth while he thought of something to say. It was after school, right? A little late after school, but there was still time to get to the mall if he (or she) wanted to. "Well... Since I'm here, uh, anyway. Do you want to..." What was the right word? The boy didn't often ask people to spend any amount of time with him. "'Hang out', or something?"

Seung Mi took Miho's words into silent consideration as she helped herself to another spoonful of delicious spring roll dessert. Lunch was a boring time of day for Seung Mi. She usually spent it writing in her journal, with a bite of food here and there. She wasn't entirely opposed to Miho joining her, either; they often ate meals together, the Tanakas being her host family and all.

“Sure. I don't mind.”

“That’s great!” Hooray, she didn’t miind! Miho was really making all sorts of progress with her upper classman today, wasn’t she? That alone put another smile on her face as she went about polishing off her banana spring rolls. Maybe one day, Seung Mi would even refer to them as friends. “Did you want to do anything else after school today? We could play some games at home.. Though I think we both probably have homework.”

The Korean girl shook her head 'no' at the offer. She had plenty of homework – particularly studying – on her agenda, and all this agreeing had been exhausting. “Sorry.” Was she really? It was back to being hard to tell! “I have a lot of work. We should leave soon.”

“Mmhmm...” Seung Mi glanced to the clock hanging on the wall, figuring she could get in at least another half hour of practice before she had to head home. Company or not, she was determined to get her part just right! “We don't have a performance date set. It might be a while.” She may not have been too enthusiastic, but interest in her club's projects was always worth addressing.

Casual: potential socializing with the deadpan girl

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