Project: Socialize (Chapters 1-197)

25. But that's so Cliche

After walking for a few more minutes, we finally came to a stop. It would appear that the destination was the restaurant in the building to our left. It was a restaurant that was quite famous in Palisia and often requires reservations for a seat.

"Let's go in."

Mura smiled as she looked over at me. Her smile for some reason was quite unsettling to me, almost as if she's scheming things.

She probably is to be honest, since she's just that type of person. Mura is someone who, like her sister, could be described with perfection. However, it is probably due to the fact that she could conceal her faults better than most. There's no perfection in humanity. All that there is is the ability to conceal one's fallacies.

As for Mura, I believe I can sense what fallacies that she was trying to conceal, yet I could not pinpoint what it was exactly. Like I have a general idea, but not exactly.

The four of us entered the building and proceeded to the escalators. Mura presses the button for the twelfth floor and we were then taken to the twelfth floor by the elevator.

Once the elevator door opened, we were immediately greeted by a waitress dressed in the special uniform of the store. The atmosphere of the restaurant, along with the professionalism of the staff, made me quite tense. I was never the best with formal circumstances to be honest.

We were led to our seat, which was booth seating by the window. Muria filled in the seat by the window with her sister sitting beside her, and as for me, I sat in the seat closest to the window opposite to Muria with Emilia sitting next to me. The waitress immediately brought us some iced water and then asked us for our drink orders. After receiving those orders, the waitress left our table and returned not too long after with the drinks.

"Get whatever you would like," Mura announced to us. "It's on me and Emilia today."

The waitress then took our food orders and left our table.

"So," I sighed, leaning my face on the palm of my right hand, "why did you call me here today, Ms. Edel?"

"Just call me Mura outside of school," Mura smiled.

Her statement elicited a surprised reaction from Muria, and she looked first at Mura and then at me. However, when she glanced at me, there was a hint of...sadness? in her eyes.

"You two are quite close," Emilia commented with a chuckle.

"He is a problem student that I have to deal with on a regular basis, Emilia," Mura explained to her. "He's so bad that even you realized it on your first day." Mura smiled slyly towards me, almost as if reminding me of my antisocial problems.

"I don't think I have a problem," I quickly avoided eye contact and looked out the window at the rainy city outside. "More so, I think it is a problem with society."

"That's your problem right there," Mura sighed. "Unwilling to notice anything wrong with yourself and laying the blame on others..."

"..."

I understand her reasoning, and I do realize that in the eyes of others, my behavior is considered abnormal. However, that is who I am, or at least who I was forced to be.

My ensuing silence continued until the food arrived, and when I picked up the fork, I could sense an anticipating gaze coming from Mura and Emilia. I was uncomfortable with this, but...what could I do about it? I slowly moved the fork over to the steak that I had ordered, used the provided knife to cut it, and then slowly brought it up to my mouth.  Just when I placed the meat into my mouth, I saw a smile from Mura.