Infinitely Zero
Chapter X - Changing Seasons
Thursday, March 31st 2011
Weather: Rainy
I liked to sit and watch people sometimes.
Just see the things people do on a daily basis, how they interact with those around them. It was a habit I'd picked up when I was younger, not having many friends then had been one of the reasons. Even after meeting everyone else I still tended to do this every now and then, just sit back and watch and listen. You could learn a lot about what people were feeling just by watching them. For example, their was a guy in a suit that was nervously checking out some chick that was sitting at a table by herself.
He was psyching himself up, and his friends a bit behind him were quietly cheering him on. The chick wasn't ugly by any means, she had blonde hair, a decent body, and was overall fairly pretty I suppose. The way she kept checking her phone briefly told me she was waiting for someone, as she was checking the time every 3 to 5 minutes.
It was a bit rainy outside, but she didn't seem particularly bothered by it. Even though it was rather chilly, she had came sufficiently prepared and had brought a warm jacket with her. She twirled a straw in a cup of a latte that had come earlier, and glanced around a bit. She had also more than likely noticed my staring, I continued it anyways. It kept my mind off of my own problems, at least for a little while.
Oh, the man walked over to her. They're talking...and he's been shot down. It was almost like watching guys hit on Mitsuru, I didn't feel bad for the guy however. I empathized with his plight somewhat, but I simply didn't know enough about him to truly care.
And now she's walking over towards me, latte in hand and smug grin on her face. She's probably about to do something to make my life just a tad bit harder, however I wasn't going to simply get up from the table I sat at. It would be a pain to try and get home while it was still raining still, so come what may be I'd see what this girl wanted. Mentally swapping the Persona that was at the forefront of my mind to Alliat, I could feel my outward appearance changing ever so slightly.
I sat up a bit straighter, and instead of the uninterested look that my face normally had, I was able to easily put more emotion into it and return a smile that belied the disinterest I felt. I disliked cheating emotions like this, but Alliat was more for protection than anything. While having it equipped I was physically invulnerable, or at least the closest thing to it.
She must've sensed something was off, as she shifted ever so slightly and instead of walking towards me, simply walked past my table after a few moments. Behind me, I could feel her still staring at the back of my head as she continued walking by, it felt like I was some sort of fascinating puzzle to figure out and it was slightly annoying to be completely honest. Letting go of the emotional aspect of my Persona, my face returned to the blank look I normally had.
"Sorry for being a little slow sir, but here's your coffee and donuts." A waiter says, placing my coffee and two donuts I had ordered awhile ago down on the table as they get to my table and break me from my thoughts of the blonde girl. This place actually brewed their coffee in the store and didn't use any of the cheap instant stuff, while also being rather affordable. It was a small solace of mine I suppose.
"Thank you." Replying politely I let out a sigh as I took a sip of my coffee. It wasn't something I drunk frequently, but it was enjoyable every now and then. Tomorrow was the day that I would have to do whatever that person on the phone told me, but how could I do whatever I was supposed to do if I had no idea what I was going to have to do? Running a hand through my hair, I let out a sigh. I disliked when things were complicated like this, but sometimes I just didn't have a choice in the manner.
"Yo! Makoto-san!." A loud and cheerful voice broke me from my reverie. Looking towards where the voice had come from, the familiar short hair and grey eyes along with the wide smile on his face made me realize who it was. It was Naoki, I also noted he was accompanied by some unfamiliar girl, both of them were carrying umbrellas.
"Hmm?"
"Always the silent one, huh, Makoto-san?"
"I suppose."
"You mind if we take a seat?" Despite his asking, it was clear that he would more than likely sit down either way, so my response was quite obvious.
"Go ahead."
"Cool." Taking a seat in-front of me, Naoki stretched out whilst the girl that had come with him took a seat of the right side of the table. Turning my gaze towards her, she looked a bit older than me or Naoki, probably 21 or 22 if I had to make a rough guess. She had chin length dark hair, and her eyes were a very light purple. However, her choice of outfit was decisively unique compared to practically every other normal person I had seen out here today.
Around her neck was long navy necktie that hung a bit loosely, and her outfit looks custom-made and unique. The jacket is a beige-and-brown color with a silver lining and on her chest are two pink hearts with silver lining. The skirt was pretty much the same design and color scheme as the jacket, and to complete her outfit, she was wearing some knee-high brown boots. Overall, her outfit seemed like something that she had either gotten as a custom job or made herself, either way it was nice. She was also looking back at me with a small frown on her face, weird.
"Oh, you're probably wondering who this is huh?" Naoki said after a moment, pointing towards the girl who looked to be sizing me up or something. I nodded in agreement to his question.
"Well, I know I don't talk much about my family, but this is my big sis Maya. She was out-of-state for the past few months and only recently came back so my mom insisted that I spend some time with her an-"
"You need to cheer up!" Maya chose that time to speak, interrupting Naoki. I simply turned to looked at her and found myself under her inquisitive stare.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You've got this aura of wicked negativity just sorta floating around you, y'know? It's times like this, where the world's beating you down that you just have to follow my motto. Let's Think Positive! Thinking positively is the first step towards fixing whatever is going around in your life. The world is what you make it, so think positively and don't be so glum." She finished her small speech with a large smile, not noticing that the few patrons who were sitting out in the drizzle that was going on were looking at her.
"Sis!"
"What?"
"People are staring." Naoki supplied helpfully.
Looking around, Maya became slightly flustered but seemed to take it in stride that she had drawn a small crowd with her impassioned words. Waving politely to a few people, the patrons turned away as the situation quickly became a bit awkward. Admittedly, it could've been worse but I'd give her a solid 6 out of 10 for how she had handled it overall. Though, more important were her words. They made me think a bit. About my current attitude and all of the things that had happened in the past week or two.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that I was drawing a crowd, Naoki?"
"Well, you were kind of getting into it and it was only a short speech anyways. Like, 30 seconds or so."
"I could've did some promotion for my magazine company if I had known, blockhead!" She then proceeded to wrap one of her arms around Naoki's head and then rub her fist vigorously against his scalp, it looked really unpleasant to be honest.
"Ahh! Stop it, sis!"
"Nope!" She grinned widely as she rough-housed with her brother.
As the two went back and forth, I couldn't help it anymore.
I laughed.
