Though I realized that it was only the ridiculing from those girls that was making me overly self-conscious, this wasn’t the time to go letting my nerves be shot by random things like that. So I put my iPod earbuds into my ears and let the music play, blocking out the outside world. My personal philosophies of keeping away from others did not simply mean maintaining an emotional and physical distance. It was also important not to be influenced by others or influence them myself. That was the only way to protect both myself and everyone else.
Around the third track, when I had already lost myself to the music, my phone vibrated.
“About to start. A lot more people here than I thought.”
I laughed a little at the thought of Tousuke trembling, Pon-chan placing herself in front of him when she noticed.
“Gotcha. I’ll start headin’ over.”
I stood up, my out-of-character jacket swaying listlessly. The hat, which I would not normally wear, turned out to come in handy for the unusually bright spring sunlight as I stepped outside. Tousuke had taken a moped to the hall. I should have ridden my bike, but in addition to the ache in my feet from the unfamiliar shoes, it just seemed like a hassle, so I just took the two train stops there.
The station I disembarked at was on a line I did not normally take. The assembly was being held in a hall on campus, but it was a fair distance from the buildings that I normally had classes in, so the nearest stop was different as well. More succinctly, it was a part of campus I had never actually once set foot in at all. It made sense though—this was a university campus, so I only visited the parts of it that I needed to. When I first enrolled, I had probably felt as though this whole place was my oyster, but in actuality, I don’t think I was making use of any more campus area than I had during my time in high school.
It was largely empty within the train car, and when I arrived at the station, the only people I saw who looked like students were all wearing sports jerseys and appeared to be on their way to club activities. Though there were a number of college courses that ran even on the weekends, hardly anyone attended those willingly.
I left the station and walked through the school gates, careful to avoid the suited professionals who were probably late to popping in at the assembly. I pulled the brim of the hat further down over my eyes and walked towards the hall. I stopped by a vending machine along the way and bought a can of coffee. There were a few students around when I got to the campus proper, which probably gave me some cover, but just in case, I pretended to sip my coffee so as to hide my face.
This was all just a contingency anyway. I had no idea if any of them would even remember me.
I got just close enough to see the hall, when I spotted a signboard advertising the meeting. I stared at it for a few seconds, before a girl who was nearby called out to me, “Will you be joining us?” She was wearing a suit and holding a clipboard and pamphlets, and was probably there as a docent for latecomers. I politely told her something to the effect of I had come there for some other reason, to which she replied, “Oh, sorry about that. Our group is called Moai, though. This is the event we’re holding, so, if you have any interest?” Naturally, I politely declined the absurd invitation as well.
Despite my polite declination, however, I moved to a nearby shaded rest area and took a seat on a bench. I thought that I might keep an eye on this docent girl. It was lucky that I had been able to pick out a Moai member this quickly.
I looked down at my phone. It was quiet around me, which made it easier to hear the conversations of students passing by. The docent called out occasionally to the suited adults who approached, some of them going along with her, some of them refusing her pamphlets.
It was around the time that I had finished drinking the canned coffee that I had initially purchased as a prop that I got another message from Tousuke.
“The first discussion session is over. There’s a ten-minute break. I’m getting tired of hearing all the smug bragging from the professionals. Got some business cards. Gonna try to get in with some of the popular Moai kids for the next part.”
“Nice work. I’m keeping watch on a Moai guide outside of the building.”
Saying that I was “keeping watch” gave my current task something of a dutiful ring, but in truth, the fact that I was saying something like this without being the one to do the infiltrating just imparted me with a sense of guilt.
A few minutes after Tousuke’s text, a number of students and suited figures came walking out of the hall. I lifted only my eyes up toward them, not turning my face. They seemed to all be people who needed to leave part way through—the whole group was heading towards the school gates. The students, probably Moai members, were chatting in pairs with the suited adults. The docent called out a, “Thank you for coming!” to each of them.
Just as I was wondering whether someone else might not step in to relieve the girl, a man approached, taking the clipboard and pamphlets from her. It was none of my business really, but I was glad that he had arrived before she totally wore herself out. Despite my relief, however, I realized that this was the first interaction I had seen today between two Moai members, so I frantically strained my ears to listen. However, what I overheard was a frankly meaningless conversation.
“All right, good luck out here.”
“Honestly, this job’s way easier. Those discussions were putting me to sleep.”
“I’ll bet. Can’t wait to put on my best business face and collect all those business cards!”
Frankly, I was surprised at just how disappointed I found myself to overhear this pointless, disillusioned conversation, despite having already predicted such a thing. I should have been happy about this, I thought. Even those who had been trusted with the duty of being Moai’s guides were less than thrilled with it. It’s much easier to combat an enemy who is not a monolith.