The Fifth Member

Thomas knew just the right person for the job to fill in their fifth slot for their party. He left the classroom in a hurry and headed towards the library. Like always the person in question left the classroom immediately once class was over.

Reaching the library, Thomas went ahead and scoured through the rafts to find her. It took some time but he caught a glimpse of her hair and followed her to the next section before popping his head out.

"Emily! There! I finally found you!" Thomas smiled.

"What is it? I am busy…" Emily flicked a page in the book she was reading and avoided eye contact.

Thomas pretended to look for a book on his own and touched or pulled out a few to fake read a bit.

"As you know from class, everyone has to form parties… have you decided on one yet? Else I thought you would like to…" Thomas slowly tried to invite her.

"No thanks," Emily interrupted him.

He thought to approach her from a different angle.

"Has anyone else asked you…" Thomas scratched his cheek.

"No…" Emily interrupted once more.

More awkward silence followed for a few minutes. Thomas remembered from inspecting Emily something peculiar.

[Race: Half-elf ??]

It was tempting to ask her to find out more about it, but last time she pulled him towards a raft and almost threatened him. Since her stats were shrouded just like Alex's before he leveled up, Thomas figured she was at least at Level 5.

"What is your plan then? You have to pick one or dropout!" Thomas kept up his persistence.

"I will figure something out… hopefully they will make an exception and I will not be forced to…" Emily replied.

"Is that because you are an hal…" Thomas halted his sentence.

Emily swiftly looked at him and stared intently.

"Are you implying something?" Emily asked to confirm whether he knows or not about her identity.

"Ha-ha, no… I will leave you be! If you change your mind, let me know!" Thomas laughed nervously and took his leave.

Thomas skipped lunch and got something from one of the vending machines instead. He sat down in their usual park outside and pondered for a few hours.

"Is there any angle I can convince her? I know she would be a perfect fit! She has the skill… the intelligence… and not to mention the looks…" Thomas got a bit embarrassed on the last part and shook his head.

This was no time to admire nor compliment her. If anyone else found about her identity she could be subjugated to all sorts of bullying or discrimination. It was in both of their mutual interests that she joined Thomas and his group compared to the other ones.

"But how do I convince her without blackmailing or revealing her identity?" Thomas sighed.

In the end Thomas could not come up with a persuading argument that did not involve revealing her identity or blackmailing her. His only plan was to ask her nicely one more time to reconsider.

"If she does not want to join then, I guess she will have to drop out or join someone else's party!" Thomas made up his mind and jumped up from the park bench.

It was time to head towards the library and ask Emily one last time. Like last time, it took a while to locate her and he managed to catch a glimpse of her.

"Em!" Thomas attempted to call her out but quieted down when he noticed a group of guys surrounded her.

Amongst the group was one of the other library bullies who was friends with Simon. This looked like they were aiming for their next target since Peter was no longer around.

"Come on Emily! Join our party, we would love to have a girl with us…" One of the guys smirked.

Emily kept reading and ignored them.

"Do not ignore me you bitch!" He slapped away her book.

Thomas believed the boy's name was Dennis if memory served him correctly.

"And why do you wear this cap all day?" Dennis reached for the cap and Emily finally responded by slapping his hand.

Dennis now smirked even more and signaled two of the guys to hold her. Two boys instantly grabbed one of her arms each and held her still.

"Is there something you are hiding perhaps…" Dennis laughed and slowly removed the cap.

This was the moment Thomas decided to rush in, although it was too late. Emily's cap was removed and dropped onto the ground. The two guys let go of her hands and took a step back in shock.

"You are a half-elf?! How dare you dirty me?!" Dennis shouted and slapped Emily's left cheek hard enough for her to hit the ground.

Dennis rolled up his sleeves, their group was dead set on beating her. Thomas rushed in and unsheathed his sword and kicked down behind Dennis' kneecap for him to fall down.

"Leave her alone, she is with us!" Thomas said, "Yo Corbin, Ashley, I found Emily she is over here!" Thomas yelled out with one hand over his mouth and looked behind his own shoulder.

Their group started to panic.

"Shit… let's hurry up and take our leave!" One of the guys started walking backwards.

"Shut up! I know!" Dennis got up and they high-tailed out of there.

Thomas walked up to Emily and offered his hand to help her up, and to his surprise she accepted it.

"Thanks…" Emily dusted herself off.

"No problem!" Thomas grinned.

Emily scanned Thomas from head to toe.

"Quite clever, how you pretended your friends were here," Emily complimented him.

"Yeah thanks, and quite stupid how you decided not to fight back! Are these books that precious to you?!" Thomas scolded Emily.

She immediately blushed and averted her gaze for a few seconds. Thomas knew Emily was strong, but her genuine care and interest in books must have held her back in this sort of environment.

"Sorry…" Emily apologized.

"Well… I can guarantee you, our group does not discriminate against half-elves, care to reconsider?" Thomas went back to a gentle smile.

Emily nodded and reached out with her hand to accept his invitation.

"Welcome onboard!" Thomas took and shook her hand in good manners.

They walked back together to try and find Corbin and the rest to inform them of the good news. Emily halted for a second to stare at Thomas.

"You knew did not you? Ever since that day…" Emily referred to the day when she pushed him against the rafts.

Thomas gave off a small nod.

"How…" Emily asked.

"Your ears were sticking out a little," Thomas lied, "But I felt since you wanted your identity hidden, I would not say anything. I know my fair share of struggles," Thomas concealed his lie with sharing a bit of his past.

Emily immediately looked a little better and less stiff.

"Okay! I look forward to forming a party with you," Emily smiled for the first time and Thomas shyly looked away.

"Yeah… likewise…" Thomas replied and nervously scratched his cheek.

Thomas thought that his white lie was something harmless. Also that the lie would reassure Emily about himself moving forward if he showed kindness and honesty.

However little did Thomas know, Emily knew he was lying. She only agreed to join their party since he was interesting and seemed to have a hidden ability of some sort. Not to mention Thomas saving her and not caring about her being of a different race.

It was enough for Emily to accept Thomas' invitation and see what role he would play in the future.