SHHHH. (PHILIPPA)

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The library was never really a friend of Ester's; more like the opposite of the said sentence. It was just too quiet for her to handle. Sure there are some murmurs here and there but otherwise she prefers a noisy environment just so she can be noisy herself without getting scolded to much, but she would still get scolded regardless for being the loudest. She wouldn't really mind, but getting scolded for being loud while others are being noisy tells Ester something right there.


Entering in, the place was kind of packed, but not too crowded. Just the way she likes it. It was technically a free period for Ester to do whatever the hell she wants, that is until she has to drag herself to PE. It wasn't that she hated PE, but she didn't like some of the sports was all. One of them were differently soccer. Getting hit and tripping on a damn ball was never a fun task to take on, especially when you're a goalie. Still fun, just getting hurt isn't the fun part.


Slugging her bookbag on the ground near a table, she decided to look around on what books to read. There were probably thousands of books to choose from, but Ester didn't really care considering she wasn't much of a reader herself. One thing she liked about reading was Ester can picture out what's on the book in her own way, unless there's some wordy description about a scene that her brain can't process. She just ignores it and let her imagination flow.


Walking around the library, Ester began to start her adventure on searching for a good book to read. An actual book rather than manga for once. She needed to try something a little new today anyway, just for her own sake. There's a high chance of Ester falling asleep to a book with no pictures, but it's for the best to try not to.


Just two minutes from the start of her search, Ester stopped in front of a bookshelf to randomly pull out some book labeled Lives & Lies. She wasn't too sure what the hell this book was about other than some sort of military stuff judging by a young boy wearing a military outfit by the looks of it. .


For that, Ester stood there in front of the bookshelf while she began to briefly skim the pages in the book. Ester could use some action in her blood, but it wouldn't be too long before this book ends up being on the floor if it doesn't interest Ester enough.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

Ugggh.  The library.

It was full of old books, smelled like old books, and was crazy-strict about... everything.  No yelling, no running, no food, no drinks even (except water, but that didn't count because water was boring).

And yet, this was where Pip was spending her free period.  She usually hung around the athletic courts, playing whatever she felt like at the time, but... Her grades had been slipping recently, especially in Japanese, and that wasn't a good thing considering that she was supposed to be a writer.  It wasn't even the technical things, like grammar--just the writing itself.  Those dumb characters, and their stupid, precision-needy strokes.  Pip's handwriting in English, her first language, was a mess at the best of times--how was she supposed to manage with Japanese (nevermind the fact that she'd been learning Japanese for just as long as she had English).

Lugging her heavy backpack through the entrance, she started the task of trying to navigate through the shelves.  In her three years of being at Fukui, Pip had yet to fully understand the labyrinth that was the library.  She might have had better luck if she actually read the signs, but she generally just spent a good twenty minutes wandering as she looked for the right section.

After ducking and weaving through the shelves, Pip found herself in one of the fiction sections--not where she wanted to be.  She was looking for the languages.  And yet, she couldn't help herself from looking at what was available here, running her calloused fingers along the spines as she did so.  Judging by the titles, this was likely the historical fiction sec--

She felt her shoulder hit something soft.  Startled, Pip looked over, and realized that she'd just bumped into someone.  Oops.  "Sorry.  Didn't see you there--I should've been paying more attention."  She offered the stranger a sheepish smile, hand dropping from the shelf.  She'd seen this girl before in passing, though she didn't know her name.  They hadn't had any classes together this year as far as Pip knew, which meant they were likely in different fields or years.

...That, of course, didn't keep her from initiating some small kind of conversation.

"Whatcha reading, there?"

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Well, this book was already boring. There really wasn't much action going on; technically there was a bunch of stuff going on, but some of the scenarios weren't really relatable to the plot that's going on. Speaking of plots, did this book even had any? Wasn't sure.  To be fair and honest again, Ester was never really the type to read books. She actually reads, unless someone reads with her or some voice reads it to her. Like one of those things on the internet. And makes sure it would sound like the book was actually adventurous and fun. This book was definitely getting thrown on the floor, until she felt someone bump into her.


Ester fortunately didn't drop the book, but that was pretty much the unfortunate news. It's not like she hated books that much or anything, but there were some craptastic books out there in the world of libraries, and the book she held were one of those books. Oh well. Turning her attention from the book and to the person that Ester was bumped into, she first gave an annoyed look. If there's one thing she didn't like, it would have to be being bumped into, accident or not. Hypocritically, Ester would be the last one to talk.

"Obviously." Ester would respond in a snotty tone. Though, she didn't wanted to appear rude. Instead what she really said was, "No problem. Just be more careful." as she washed away that annoyed look. It would be typical of her to start bursting on how disrespectful it is to just waltz around and bump into someone, but again, that would be hypocritical; not that she cared about that fact or anything.


Asked on what book she was reading, Ester stared at the cover for a moment, then shrugged as a response. "A book with a shitty concept." Ester answered, shoving the book on top of other books on the shelf. "So, what brings you to the dreadful land of what you call the library?" She asked, turning back to the girl.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

Pip let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding when the other girl didn't make a big fuss.  She wasn't totally oblivious to the brief look of annoyance that had flashed across the girl's face, though she brushed it off.  If the chick wasn't saying she was upset or pissed, then it was all good.

She couldn't help but frown at the girl's answer to her question, though.  A "shitty" concept.  That was pretty vague.  Pip cocked her head to the side, trying to get a good look at the cover--it looked like it was about war, or something.  Child soldiers, maybe?  She wasn't sure how that could be considered a "shitty" concept--it was usually pretty interesting, if not totally grim and dark and heartbreaking--but whatever.  Maybe it was the writing that was bad.  But to each their own, and Pippa didn't end up pushing the subject, opting instead to let the conversation flow as the other girl had directed it.

"I'm here to... study, I guess," she grinned sheepishly, "My grades have been slipping a bit in Japanese.  Which is sad, 'cause, y'know, I'm s'posed to be a writer.  But English is my first language, and the Japanese characters have been giving me trouble lately--I've gotten a bit sloppy with my handwriting and my teacher keeps docking me marks for it.  Sooo... yeah.  I figured I'd use spare to study.  ...Which sucks, 'cause I wanted to go play outside or something."  Pip's voice almost turned into a low whine at the end of her sentence as she lamented about what could have been.  The fact that it was such a beautiful day out only rubbed salt in the wound.

And yet, she wasn't down for long.  Perking up again, she regarded the girl opposite to her with a curious look.  "So, why're you here?  Just for leisure?"

There was a pause, and then...

"Oh!"  She looked like she'd just been struck with a thought--which she had.  Sticking her hand out for the girl to shake, Pip offered her a friendly grin.  "I almost forgot to introduce myself--I'm Phillipa Akutagawa, but you can call me Pip.  Or Pippa.  I'm a third year.  'S nice to meetcha!"

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Studying... something Ester does one tenth of the time during her break. She would either eat, sleep, or play music. Usually it would be all three in that order. Oh, and pranks. Let's not forget about pranks. She also understands about grades slipping, but Ester's mentality on grades and just school in general was completely in a dark cloud, leaving things that should be left unsaid.



However, what really came to Ester would be the fact that this girl could speak English. As much as Ester would like to say she herself can speak English, which she can, she'd rather not take the chance of sounding like an idiot with her Korean accent barging in. She can speak fluently in a way consider she had an American dad and all, it's just that she can't really hide that natural accent. It's hard enough to hide it up when speaking Japanese, but she was able to catch on because the Korean language definitely had some similarities with the Japanese language... right?


"I'll say. Writing out the language is a pain in the ass, especially that whole kanji and kata-whatever-the-hell-it's-called." Ester said. Speaking the language was one thing, but having literally, like, what, a thousand kanji or whatever they're called characters to remember when writing them out? Hell, the Korean language didn't even have that much letters to memorize. But then again, that's just Ester right there being a little biased with her own mother tongue.

The girl then extended her hand out to Ester, introducing herself. Clearly Ester could tell that this girl wasn't fully Japanese just by the first name... right? But the last name was definitely Japanese, one hundred percent. And a third year too, go figure,


Grabbing the girl's right hand and returning the friendly grin with her own, Ester decided to introduce herself; might as well, anyway. "Ester Lee, also a third year. Nice to meet you too." She said, shaking Pip's hand. "If you want, I can actually try to help you improve your writing in Japanese... orrr we can just relax for a bit and then help you study... or just relax and do that crap later on today." Ester offered.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

"Kanji, Katakana, and Hiragana," Pip supplied the alphabet names automatically, nodding.  "They've got two alphabets too many, haha," she chuckled, grinning.  Finally, someone who shared her dislike of the Japanese writing system!  "I like English a hell of a lot more--sure, a lot of it doesn't make sense, but at least there's only twenty-six letters and one alphabet to keep track of."

She shook the girl's hand with a firm grip--weak handshakes were pathetic, after all.  She wasn't surprised to hear that the girl was a third-year (though it was odd that she hadn't seen Ester around before... Then again, the different disciplines didn't leave much room for meeting people in the different arts.  Pip figured Ester was likely in something that wasn't writing, going by that).

"As much as I'd love to give homework the shaft, I don't think I can afford to," she sighed, "Can't let my grades fall more than they have, or my parents'd probably kill me.  But!"  Her expression brightened immediately, and she gave Ester an impish grin.  "I can probably just breeze through it once or twice and then be done.  I mean, it can't be too hard.  And it doesn't have to be perfect."  It never would be perfect with that attitude, of course, but Pip didn't care much.  "I'm guessing like... fifteen minutes is all I need.  Just to brush up."  No, no it wasn't--she ought to have spent the entire period working on it.  But hanging out with Ester, even if she'd just met the girl, was far more appealing than sitting there writing and re-writing those stupid characters over and over again.