Where My Happiness Lie: 

By Seina Douglas

For the longest time, when someone asks me what makes me happy, I could never give them an answer. Happiness was a hard thing to find in my childhood until I was adopted. Even after finding my family, I still had a hard time making friends with people. Sometimes, I often worry that it would stay that way. However, that all changed when I joined the C.L.U.B! At first, I was a bit jittery about joining a club out of the blue, but I was talked into it by one of my friends. It can be pretty stressful at times, being the vice president and all, but it's also really fulfilling. While I enjoy being in the club itself, the reason why I stay is because of the friends I made there.

As of right now, there's only 3 1⁄2 members in C.L.U.B, including me. Don't worry, no one's cut in half yet! It's only because one of our members is not officially part of our club, but she's around all the time to help. She's pretty popular around the school, connecting us with clubs that need our assistance. I really love how confident and laid-back she is, no matter what my president says about her! It's also been pretty long since I had a gal pal around, so having her here is kind of a breath of fresh air, no offense to the other guys.

—OD—

Being the only person in the clubroom at the time, Seina decided to keep herself busy by organizing the room a little bit before the other members arrived. As she stood up from her chair, the girl placed her headphones over her ears, putting on a song to get her motivated. "La, La, La..." Seina sang to herself, as she picked up the books and papers that were strewn across the room. After a while, she found herself being swept up by the music going through her body, hypnotizing her to dance and sway to the rhythm. As the song continued to consume her, she failed to notice the other girl in the room.

"I'm riding on a cam-EEK!" When she turned around, she jumped at the sight of Nico, who was leaning against the desk with amusement on her face. Seina quickly paused the music on her phone.

"Oh, don't let me stop you." Nico said lightheartedly. "You were really busting it down."

"H-How long have you been standing there?!"

"You really wanna know?"

"...No." Seina said in defeat, face red with embarrassment. Nico strolled towards her with a smirk, suddenly plucking the headphones from her head. "Hey!"

Ignoring the objection, the older girl put the headphones over one ear. "Play it." she requested.

"What?"

"Play it. It gotta be something good to make you dance like that." With some hesitance, the younger girl obliged. As the song went on, Seina watched Nico bob her head up and down, grooving with the music. "What's this song called?"

"Sugar Water."

"Huh." In a split second, Nico disconnected the headphones from the vice president's phone, allowing the music to flow throughout the room while she continued to dance. Seina stared at the grooving student in confusion. "What are you doing?" She asked humorously, giggling at the sight. 

Nico simply grabbed her hands, subtly inviting the younger girl to dance with her. "Don't laugh, I'm just trying to appreciate the vibes." She lightly chided. "Come on, let's dance." 

With no objections, Seina joined the impromptu dance as the two girls enjoyed the song together.

—OD—

Besides me and the president, our official third member is what my president calls our 'enforcer.' I don't know what he means by that, but I guess it must mean that he protects all of us. Personally, I think he is more of a softie if anything, people just don't see that side of him. Once I got to know him, I saw him as more of a big brother than someone scary. Although, he is more kind to animals than other people.

—OD—

After a meeting, Eddie and Seina walked across the track field to get back to the main campus. Eddie huffed out an annoyed sigh. "I get the shed was the only place we could work, but damn." He sulked. "Did it have to be so far away?"

Seina agreed as she walked behind him. "Yeah, sometimes I wish it was a bit closer. Feels like we've been casted out of society. But Que Sara, Sara right?"

"That's a new one. Where' you learn that at?"

"I've been looking at new sayings online! Do you know if I used it right?"

"How the hell would I know? I don't say that." While he made the retort, something on the ground caught his eye. Suddenly, the tall boy stopped in his tracks. Not noticing his sudden halt of movement, Seina bumped straight into his back, as if she ran into a brick wall.

"Oof! Hey, what's the hold up?" She followed his gaze to the ground, finding the cause of the delay. Perpendicular to the two students was a black caterpillar making its own way across the field. Seina crouched down in adoration as she observed the tiny insect. "Aw~ it's so cute!"

"Don't know if I would call it 'cute.'" Eddie remarked, also squatting down to observe it. Seina turned to make a face towards him. "Oh please, you're the one who stopped for him. You like bugs, right?"

"I'm cool with them. Unless it's spiders. You can keep that to yourself." He waved her off. "Besides... I kind of respect these little things."

"Really?" The girl questioned with curiosity.

"I mean, imagine being this small in such a big world? I bet going across this field was a journey for this oruga. All of this just to survive? I just think you need to be real tough for that."

Seina stared at the caterpillar in deep thought, taking in Eddie's explanation. "...I guess. I never thought of it that way."

The two students continued to sit there, watching the tiny caterpillar crawl to wherever it's heading.

—OD—

Then finally, we have the president of C.L.U.B, the one who convinced me to join in the first place! Ever since he told me his dream of making the biggest club in the school, we've been working together to make that a reality. It's been really fun so far, but sometimes his ambitions can be a lot. Even though we do butt heads from time to time, I don't see myself doing this with anyone else. He's the first friend I made since coming to Bruma, and the main reason why I went to this school at all. I owe a lot to him, really, despite his antics.

—OD—

While Seina sat at her desk, working on her homework, the clubroom door swung open with haste as Oliver dashed inside. Without saying a single word, he shut the door and ran behind Seina's chair, much to the vice-president's surprise. "Oliver! What are you-?!" Seina started, but the cowering student just shushed her. He then spoke with a hushed tone.

"Answer this question, Seina: Do you care about me?"

"It comes and goes."

"Funny. Either way, I am NOT here. Got it?"

Before Seina could get any more answers out, vicious knocking erupted from the other side of the door, along with a voice to match.

"I KNOW YOU RAN THIS WAY, SHITTYWEATHER! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!!!"

The girl looked at Oliver with a troubled look, only to be met with a thumbs up. With a sigh, she went to open the door, coming face-to-face with a furious Veronica. "Can I help you?" Seina asked with an innocent smile.

"Where is he?" The redhead asked curtly, peeking around the vice president to search the room. Still looking unbothered, Seina kept her cool to keep up the charade.

"I saw him run by here, but he didn't come inside."

"Seriously? There's nowhere else he could have gone."

"If you want, you could look inside." The younger girl offered to the incensed student. She thought it was a daring bluff, for sure, but it wasn't her life that was on the line. After a brief staring match between the two, Veronica was the first to relent, seeming to have calmed down.

"Whatever." She exhaled, as her hand ran through her hair. "Look, when you see him, tell him to stay his sleazy ass away from my club. We're not interested."

"I'll pass it on. Do you want me to emphasize the 'sleazy ass' part?" Seina asked jokingly, only receiving a slight scoff from the redhead as she started to leave.

"Please do." She responded sarcastically. Before she left for good, she slightly turned to Seina. "Oh, um... Sorry for the yelling, by the way."

"Don't worry about it!" The younger girl exclaimed as she waved her off. After a couple of silent moments, Oliver peeked over the desk. "Is she gone?" He asked with a whisper.

"Yes, she's gone. By the way, stay your sleazy ass away from her club."

"I heard, no need to repeat it." Oliver retorted as he popped out of cover with nonchalance, like nothing ever happened. Walking towards his desk, the president noticed Seina's look of exasperation. "Don't look at me like that! Ronnie's always had anger issues."

"...You so owe me one." The girl declared to Oliver as he took his seat.

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

—OD—

Joining the C.L.U.B has been one of the best decisions I ever made. Ever since I joined, I've made so many friends than I would ever have made by myself. Before all of this, I felt like I was on an island, with people only visiting and leaving. My happiness was the same, always fleeting. Now, I have people who're willing to stay with a weirdo like me for a while. All I hope is that my happiness will stay this time, too.

—OD—

"Well, what do you think?!" Seina asked her teacher, optimism in her tone. The teacher scratched her head.

"I think it's a nice and heartfelt essay, Ms. Douglas. Although there is one thing..."

"Huh?! What's wrong with it?"

"All I asked was for a paragraph."

"...Oh."

END!!!