The restaurant venue for the NQSC sleeper reunion was a family restaurant in a plaza near a quaint little park. Children and adults alike laughed as they rode the swings, came down the slides, played frisbee, or had simple conversations on a blanket laid over the grass with sandwiches to eat.
Combined with the overhead sun, I was quite taken off guard by the ample peace in my eyes. I wasn't quite used to such a sight in a while.
Ravi opened the glass door of the restaurant for us, we shared a nod with him as he closed the door behind him.
The second the door closed, there was a loud cheer as Manmi jumped into the arms of many people. Glasses full of juice and beer were raised, and there was no shortage of people wearing leis assorted with the most vibrant plastic flowers.
I looked around the place, there were cardboard stands displaying a palm tree, a buffet full of luxurious seafood, and a few games littered around the tables and sections of the restaurant. In one of the private booths, there was a small movie theater showing the critically-acclaimed and widely praised 'Song of Light and Darkness.'
To be honest, I wasn't all too interested in the Forgotten Shore. The only reason I spent studying the place was during the academy since there was a possibility I would be transported there, though the chance of it was infinitesimally small.
I looked back at my group as Manami was raised high into the air by multiple people as they chanted, "Party Goddess! Party Goddess!" Camille was under Manami with a frantic expression on her face, likely to make sure her friend didn't fall from the haphazardous hands of the many people holding her.
Manami already seemed euphoric in this scenario, so I decided to leave her and Camille alone.
I accepted a lei from a woman at a table and took an orange drink, sipping it from a straw as I watched the celebration. I found people who I both recognized or seemed unknown to me. I assumed the unknowns were just people I forgot seeing at the academy.
However, I was surprised. A lot of people survived.
If my count was right, there were at least forty people and more coming in from the door of the restaurant. Sure, the number was small compared to the hundreds of sleepers who attended NSQC awakened academy before this year's winter solstice, but it was large anyway.
I smiled to myself and sat on a barstool halfway facing the window, I didn't get any food. While I hadn't eaten properly ever since I came from the waking world yesterday night, my appetite seemed to disagree with anything I tried putting on my plate.
My stomach was being tangled from the inside, but the hollow feeling clutching my heart was more prominent.
For the first time I came to WQSC, the place seemed suffocating. Too many people were laughing while…
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to look at Ravi. His shaggy dark hair covered part of his brown eyes.
He pointed at the barstool next to me, there was a second of silence before I understood what he meant.
"Oh yeah! Go ahead, you can sit." I hurriedly grabbed the top of the barstool and pulled it back, giving him space to sit. He accepted it with a grateful smile, taking off the brown jacket he was wearing earlier and laying it on the table.
Ravi then rummaged through his large pockets before pulling out a pen and yellow lined notepad. A couple trinkets and gum wrappers came out of his pocket in the same action and clattered against the floor.
I smirked, "You're still into spelltech?"
Ravi shrugged in an exaggerated manner and rolled his eyes, he quickly swiped the pen's tip against the surface of his notepad. He then turned the notepad around to let me look at what he wrote.
'You good? You have a pretty solemn look.' There was a little frowny face next to his message.
I shook my head with a smile and tossed the curly locks of black hair that covered my eyes. "Nah, I'm just a little taken aback by this cheery atmosphere. You know that I'm not too good at communicating."
Ravi quickly wrote down another message, 'You're saying that to the guy who can't speak?'
I barked out a laugh, quickly shaking my head. "Wait, no! I didn't mean it like that."
Ravi raised a mocking eyebrow and waved a hand, 'Yeah, I know LOL. You're good.'
I took a breath and sunk into my seat. Ravi's Flaw was quite dreadful, being unable to speak and having to communicate in other ways. However, the Flaw didn't bother him too much–actually he seemed more than thrilled finding new, innovative ways to talk to us.
Camille also mentioned Ravi was quite the joker back in their high school, his last joke at his highschool was hang gliding off the school roof. You wouldn't expect it from his unassuming look, but he also used to be quite loud too. I suppose his Flaw was the chain holding back his deafening voice, quite ironic really.
I also couldn't help but notice that Camille mentioned it was his 'last' joke, not 'biggest' joke at his old highschool. What other kinds of pranks was this guy capable of…?
"VINCENT! My little brother!" I almost jumped out of my seat at the loud mention of my name. I turned back to look at Manami. She had a cheery expression that bathed the room in light.
"Oh, Manami…you good?" I replied slowly, seeing that the girl was quite wide-eyed.
She nodded her head vigorously, "This place is amazing! Did you see that they're screening the 'Song of Light and Darkness' in one of the private booths? I walked in on the scene where Caster of the Han Li clan died! Man, that moment where he and Lady Nephis both clutch each other, arm in arm–I can only wish I get a moment like that. Well, maybe not the dying part, I'm kinda cool on that part. Also–"
Ah, here was the chatterbox. While I haven't personally experienced this side of Manami, I was told she often unleashed this phase of herself whenever she was at a party. I didn't mind too much, I spent hours on forums on the internet talking about Mongrel or yapping away about the dream realm.
After a while, she was pulled away with a few of her friends. Ravi alos left after quite a bit with some other guys who talked about bowling. I waved them off.
Then I went back to looking outside, pondering quite literally nothing.
I was that way as the sky turned dark.