1 - Once Upon a Wish
"Blaire..."
Hmmm...
"Blaire..."
So noisy...
"Blaire !"
"Yes!" I screamed as I stood straight up.
I looked in front of me to see an annoyed teacher, around me were a bunch of my classmates who were laughing and giggling to themselves while others were mocking me.
"It will be great if you could avoid sleeping in my class" My teacher, Mr. Jin said with an annoyed look on his face.
"Yes sir! Sorry my bad haha" I apologized and tried to laugh it off.
He then sighed heavily, "I want you to answer this equation on the board" he said while handing out a piece of chalk.
I stood up and walked past my classmates who all eyes were on me, I took the chalk he was holding and diligently solved the equation on board then handed back the chalk to him.
He had this shocked expression on his face as I made my way back to my seat.
"Very impressive Ms. Akahana that's actually correct" he praised me which earned a lot of 'oohs' and 'aahs' from my classmates.
I listened attentively in class and diligently did the given tasks and activities. Until came the bell ring that signaled the end of classes.
I immediately took my stuff and went out of the classroom as I greeted some of my classmates goodbye but bumped into someone on the hallway.
"Oof!" I involuntary grunted as I fell on the ground. I looked up to see the person who I bumped into also fell on the ground with all of his stuff scattered around. He seems older than me with his jet black hair and slightly ruffled bed hair.
"Haha sorry about that" he said as he stood up, revealing how tall he really is and held out a hand to me. I was a bit hesitant but I grabbed it anyways.Ding!
A notification sound came from his phone which was apparently on the ground scattered with his stuff. I sneaked a peak and there I saw was a logo of a card and an interesting app with a design which looks like a game.
"Ah! Don't mind that, it's just some game I'm playing" he said as he nervously chuckled and quickly took his phone then hid it on his pocket.
I decided to ignore it then bowed down to pick up his other stuff, "im really sorry about that! I should've had paid more close attention to where I was going" I apologized then handed it to him.
"Oh it's alright it was kinda my fault to begin with" he said.
I started to walk away but then he grabbed my hand, "Hey what's your name?" He asked with his face quite serious.
"Blaire... Blaire Akahana..." I answered a bit hesitant and taken aback at the sudden question.
"Blaire... well I'll remember that name" he flashed a smile at me then continue walking away.
I started walking away too then a thought hit me.
I wasn't able to get his name...
♧ ♤ ♡ ◇
I arrived at the library and greeted the librarian with a smile then started arranging the books. I head to one of the section of bookshelves and there I saw a girl with a long brown hair tied in a ponytail and wearing the same uniform as I am as she was carrying a bunch of books. As she turned around and noticed my presence, she wore a big smile on her face.
"Oh Blaire you're here!" She started, "Thank you for filling in today for our absent member, it really means a lot to me" This girl who is named Rika and is also one year my senior, thanked me as we organized the books together."Its no problem Rika, I had free time on my hands anyways" I said as I flashed a smile at her then continued my work.
Helping people in need is something that is a part of me, I can't really quite refuse people and their requests since I knew what its like to feel helpless and no one to rely on.
I'm an only child living with my mom in a small run down apartment. My dad left home when I was 8 years old, I was clueless about why he did that and whenever I asked my mom she never tells me a thing. It's been harsh at first since we can't rely on any of our relatives nor any friends so my mom has been working hard trying to let me live a decent life.
"I heard that yesterday you also filled in for your classmate's cleaning duty" Rika started.
"Oh yeah that one, well he did say that he had important matters to attend to" I explained.
Rika sighed, "You know I heard rumours that he just hangs out around bars and arcades... don't you ever think that people might just be using you?" She said in a worried tone.
Well yeah i've thought about that and Rika isn't the only one who mentioned this to me. I've been lending a helping hand to everyone and I really don't have it in me to refuse people.
"Well then they must've had pretty good reason for it since i dont think everyone has bad intentions" I explained.
Rika then sighed again, "Blaire you know... you're just too kind for this world."
"But not kind enough to do your share of work" I teased as I stick a tounge out to her.
"Oh come here you!" Rika started chasing me and our playing around in the library earned us a scolding from one of the librarian. We then end up laughing and having fun as we continued our work and finished up for the day then started walking our of the school grounds and heading to the train station.
"Blaire.. you know I'd love to have you in my club, we always have a room for members like you and I bet we'll have so much fun together" Rika said as we entered a train.
"I'd love to but then it's gonna take a lot of time off from my self studies" I explained to her.
"Why are you studying so hard anyways? You're smart enough as you are you study bug" she teased and I just gave her a playful punch on her shoulders.
"I want to lessen the burden from my mom, you know how it is, she's working hard for my sake and I just want to hurry and be independent so I can help her" I explained with determination in my tone.
"Oh my~ aren't you an admirable kid" she said as she patted my head and ruffled my hair.
"Ah! You messed it up!" I complained then Rika just stick a tounge out at me.
We talked and played around until an announcement come out from the train's speakers signalling a stop at a station.
Rika then started running ahead when the train doors opened "Well this is where we part ways since this is my stop, see you tomorrow Blaire~" She said as she waved goodbye until the train doors closed and started running.
I waved her goodbye too then took out my phone browsing idly.
Now time for me to go home, I wonder what should I cook for dinner?
After a while I went off the train on the next stop. As I continue to walk my path home, the cold air blew and sent shivers to my spine. It's already dawn and the cool night air is starting to kick in. The path home isn't really filled with much people at this time of the day so I enjoyed my walk in solitude and peace.
That is... until a strange dark figure suddenly appeared before me as if it materialized from the air out of nowhere.
The cloaked hooded figure was standing so close to me that I was struck with shock, fear and confusion, that my knees started to get weak causing me to fall backwards.
"Oh my~ not one for jump scares are you?" A feminine voice coming from the dark figure said as she giggled and took off the hood, revealing a beautiful girl with long black silky hair and violet menacing eyes. Her black outfit seems like a black dress with a black cloak over it. But what strike fear in me the most... is the ridiculously large scythe she is holding behind her.
She reminds me of a Grim Reaper.
My throat went dry and my body still continues to shake as I try to analyze and understand what is happening. "W-Who... are y-you?" I tried asking but it came out sounding like a whimper.
"I am the Joker of Darkness, feel free to call me Dark"
She then took out a bunch of cards hidden beneath her black cloak and threw them all into the air.
"Pick a card" she said in a strong commanding tone.
I reached out my shaking hand and tried to catch the falling cards but it seems like they were intentionally flying away from me. One card stood out from the rest, it looks pretty much the same but it felt like it was calling out for me. I reached out my hand and it landed perfectly on it as if it was meant to be.
I took a peek at the card on my hand. It has a beautiful and elegant Victorian design pattern, I then turned the card around revealing a symbol of a black clover and a big letter A.
"Oh my what luck! To pick out ace of clubs out of all the cards, you are quite an interesting fellow!" She exclaimed.The card emitted a light glow and suddenly dissipated into the air as a ball of light then went to my pocket and merged with my phone. I took it out and saw a weird message.
'A new app has been installed'
'App? What is this all about?' I thought to myself.
"The registration is now complete, welcome to Reshuffle! The game where you bet your life in exchange for a shot at making your wishes come true!" She announced cheerfully striking a weird cute pose which is giving me conflicting feelings because of her scary attire.
"W-What is the meaning of... this?" I asked still visibly confused about everything that is going on.
"Ehem!" She cleared her throat as she went back from her cute pose to her normal standing pose, "Like I said, you now have a chance to make any wish of your desire to come true as long as you play this game while betting your life on the line." She explained.
"What do you mean betting my life?!" I asked still surprised at her explanation.
"Woah that's what got your attention instead of the wish huh? Well that's how most of them reacted too hahaha" she laughed to herself.
"Them?" I asked noticing the fact that I am not the only one she contacted like this.
"Other players of Reshuffle that you have to look out for" she explained.
"What do you mea--"
"Oops no more time for questions! If you have any concerns or further questions kindly check out the app and all will be explained there" she cut me off, "We'll now be seeing each other more often too, so bye for now~" she flashed me a wink then suddenly disappeared into the air before I was able to say anything.
I looked around me and there were no traces of her left, and no one seemed to saw what happened just now.
Remembering her words, I checked my phone and the new app that was installed.
Reshuffle
I clicked on the app and it revealed the symbol of the card which I got earlier.
Ace of Clubs
There were various stuff written too like e-points and stats as if it is a mobile game. What stood out the most was a picture of me and my name, just like how games usually go.
Just what did I got myself into?