My Romance Life System
Chapter 35: Next Step

Chapter 35: Next Step

The classroom was actually pretty chill for once. No drama, no one yelling. I was just doodling a sick-looking sword in my notebook. Life was good.

Then the door slid open.

In walked a girl with glasses, holding a clipboard like she was about to pass judgment on us all. Student council.

"Excuse me," she said, and the whole room went quiet. "Just a quick announcement. Club activities are resuming tomorrow."

’Whatever,’ I thought, going back to shading the sword’s hilt. ’Doesn’t involve me.’

"Also," she said, tapping her pen on the clipboard. "Due to a new school policy, club membership is now mandatory."

My pen froze.

My brain froze.

’Mandatory?’ The word just hung there in my head, blinking like a massive error message. ’Are you shitting me?’

"You have one week to sign up," she finished, completely oblivious to the fact that she’d just sentenced me to death. "That is all."

She turned and left.

The classroom went nuts.

"No way!"

"They can’t do that!"

"Does the ’Go Home Club’ count? It has to count, right?"

I just sat there, the sword in my notebook looking back at me mockingly. My entire defense strategy against the horrors of high school social life—a strategy I’d spent years perfecting—had just been obliterated by a girl with a clipboard.

’Mandatory.’

The word was a death sentence.

I heard the guys behind me already strategizing. "We should just join the least active club," one of them said. "Like, the one that meets once a month and just watches movies."

"The Newspaper Club?" another suggested. "Nah, you have to talk to people for that. What about the Library Assistants Club? You just put books on shelves."

That was a pretty good idea, actually. My brain immediately started sorting through the options, trying to find the path of least resistance. What club required the absolute minimum amount of... clubbing?

Sports were out. Hell no. I was not coordinated, and the idea of a locker room was my personal nightmare. Debate club? Public speaking? I’d rather eat glass. The student council that had just doomed me? Absolutely not.

Art club? Maybe. I could draw swords. But they’d probably want me to draw a bowl of fruit at some point. Pass.

That left the quiet ones. The nerdy ones. The ones hidden in the dark corners of the school where no one ever looked.

’The Literature Club,’ I thought. It sounded perfect. You just sit in a room and read. No talking required. It was basically what I did anyway, just in a designated location with other people who also didn’t want to talk. It was the ultimate loner loophole.

With my grand survival strategy in place, the rest of the school day flew by in a blur.

When the bell finally shrieked, I packed my bag with a sense of purpose. Operation: Help Jake with his love life was a go. But first, there was something else I had to do.

I walked over to Nina’s desk, a simple act that would have felt like crossing a minefield just a few days ago. Now, it just felt normal. The usual whispers and stares followed me, but they were like distant static.

She looked up as I approached, her smile easy and immediate. "Ready to make a break for it?"

"About that," I said, my voice low so only she could hear. "I, uh... I have to go home with Jake today. Is that... cool?"

She just blinked at me, her head tilted in that way she did when she was trying to figure me out. Then, a slow, teasing grin spread across her face.

"Why are you asking me?" she asked, her voice full of laughter. "Are we a couple or something?"

My face went from zero to a hundred on the hotness scale in half a second. ’Crap,’ my brain screamed. ’She’s right. Why did I say it like that? That’s what a boyfriend would say. So awkward. So, so awkward.’

"No! I just—" I stammered, feeling like a complete idiot. "I just meant, you know, since we’ve been walking together... I didn’t want you to wait for me, or think I was ditching you."

She just laughed, a bright, clear sound that made a few people turn to look. "It’s fine, Kofi. Go. Handle your super-secret boy business." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Just don’t get into another fight."

"No promises," I muttered, grabbing my bag and turning away before my face could get any redder.

I spotted Jake by the classroom door, looking like a nervous wreck. The second he saw me heading his way, he flinched, then tried to pretend he was just looking at a poster on the wall.

"Hey," I said, stopping next to him.

"Oh! Hey, man," he said, trying to act casual and failing spectacularly. "What’s up?"

"Let’s go," I said, and started limping out into the hallway.

He scurried after me, falling into step beside me. We walked in a tense, awkward silence for a full minute before he finally cracked.

"So?" he whispered, his eyes darting around the crowded hallway. "What is it? What’s this about?"

I didn’t answer until we were out the front doors and away from the main crush of students. I led him down a side street, the same one Nina and I had walked down, and stopped.

"Look," I started, turning to face him. "This is gonna be weird, but just... hear me out."

He nodded, looking like he was about to hear his own execution order.

"I saw you," I said, deciding to just rip the bandage off. "In class. You keep looking at Ruby."

The color drained from his face so fast I was worried he’d actually pass out. "I-I don’t! I wasn’t! What are you talking about?" he squeaked, his voice about three octaves higher than usual.

"It’s cool, man," I said, holding up a hand. I was channeling Nina, trying to be the calm, reassuring pillar. It felt weird. "I’m not gonna say anything. I’m not gonna make fun of you. I just..." I took a breath. "I thought maybe I could help."

He just stared at me, his mouth hanging open. "Help? Help with what? There’s nothing to help with!"

"Dude," I said, my voice flat. "You look at her like she’s a limited-edition holographic trading card and you’re broke. It’s not subtle."

His face went from pale to a deep, blotchy red. He looked down at his shoes, completely defeated. "Is it really that obvious?" he mumbled.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

We stood there for another painful moment of silence. He was just staring at the ground, a picture of pure misery.

"Why?" he asked finally, his voice barely a whisper. "Why would you help me? You don’t even like me. You think I’m an annoying gossip."

He wasn’t wrong. But I couldn’t exactly say, ’Because a goddess threatened me with chronic hiccups and offered me ten grand.’

So I said something else. Something that felt surprisingly true.

"Because you looked like you could use a friend," I said.

His head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. He looked at me, really looked at me, and for the first time, I don’t think he saw ’the loner’ or ’Nina’s new project’. I think he just saw me.

"Okay," he said, his voice shaky but determined. "Okay. What’s the plan?"