I look up at Bulwark with a confused expression. "You mean… you meant to push her?"
Bulwark simply shakes his head subtly. "No… truthfully, I meant to tap her to get her attention. I was going to ask to join your ice-breaker group." He says this all in a slow pace, as if his mind is speaking at the same time as his voice.
I tilt my head. Yeah that's bullshit. There is no way you "meant" to tap someone, and cause them to tumble over the way they did.
Maeve slightly stands up to face Bulwark, her voice inviting. "I understand. I'd be more than glad to have you in our group." She smiles at him charmingly, as she holds out her hand.
Bulwark seems indifferent, despite her attempt to lighten the mood.
He keeps his hands to his side, presumably rejecting the handshake. "It's nice to meet you," He simply says.
Maeve's smile falters a little, but she decides to brush it off. She pats the seat between both of us, as I give her a look that screams no!
Bulwark sits down.
He has a weird aura to him. Every action he takes seems to be well thought out, like he is always actively thinking about his next move.
Bulwark looks at Maeve again, completely ignoring my presence. "So tell me about yourself."
He turns to look at me. "You too." Now ignoring Maeve's presence.
Bulwark speaks as if giving us orders. This guy isn't trying to get to know us as friends, he is trying to get to know something about us. He doesn't necessarily seem unfriendly, but it definitely seems like he has a certain goal he is trying to reach with these questions. For now, it's best to answer very vaguely.
"Well… I play a lot of games, I like reading, and I like taking hikes." I smile.
Bulwark turns to Maeve, as if he is telling her to go next.
Maeve shoots an awkward smile at him. "Ah, um… well, my name's Maeve… and what I do…"
Maeve fidgets a bit with her hand—she seems nervous. Not in a flustered way, but in an uncomfortable way.
I put a supporting hand on Maeve's shoulder, encouraging her to speak with her full chest.
Maeve speaks. "I guess I really like supernatural stuff…"
Bulwark's eyes seem to light up, his earlier tense state seeming to loosen up. "I love supernatural things! Ghosts, aliens, and more! Do you read any books? Ever go ghost hunting? Ever go alien hunting?"
What a weird flip in his switch. He went from being all mysterious to bubbly.
I observe his body language, trying to sense if this is just a false persona he is putting up. Despite my earlier suspicion, the kindness shown in his eyes, the genuine smile on his face—this guy is not acting.
However, the real question is which one is his real personality—the earlier, dark one, or this bubbly one?
Meh
Regardless, it's not like he caused any real harm so far. I may as well just play along. But really? Supernatural stuff? I mean look at him—this guy doesn't seem like the type to be into such geeky hobbies.
Maeve doesn't really know how to respond. She simply stares at Bulwark in confusion, a small smile at her face, finding this sudden switch in demeanor a bit endearing.
She reciprocates a sweet smile to him. "I do read a lot of books about the supernatural! I will admit though, I've never had the guts to go ghost hunting or alien hunting. Maybe we could go together sometime! The three of us!"
Just as Bulwark is about to respond, he notices something off in the room—perhaps a shift in the atmosphere had caught his attention
He stands up, not explaining anything that's happening. He takes a good look around, seeing as his friends had entered the orientation room. They were late, as if they were preparing something, Bulwark thought. He grabs a medium-sized notebook that lays flat on his desk.
Just then, his other friends sneak behind him with a water bottle, ready to dump it over his head. Bulwark swiftly turns around, grabs his friend's wrist, and pushes him against the wall with his arms behind his back.
Mrs. Martin, who was monitoring the classroom, stomps forward. "What are you boys doing?" she says in a sharp tone.
Bulwark releases his friend, as they both chuckle a bit.
"Just… a scenario I thought up," Bulwark says.
Mrs. Martin raises an eyebrow at the two boys, not quite understanding what he meant. Bulwark had always been a weird kid. Last year, when he was a first year, she would often see him setting random things up in the hallways. At first, it was only natural that suspicion arose surrounding Bulwark and his actions, but investigating further, he had never caused any sort of trouble or harm to other students. This was just something he did.
She pinches her nose bridge, yet again confused by his actions. "Alright… just don't get into any trouble, okay, boys?"
They both nod, as they chat in front of Maeve and Syllius.
"I can't believe it. That's a scenario you wrote down in your book too? That's so… specific," his friend laughs.
Maeve and I give each other the same confused look.
Book? What is this guy talking about?
I decided to speak up. "Um, what are you guys talking about? A book"
Bulwark's friend puts his arm around him, smiling at the two girls as he holds out both his hands. "Oh, I didn't notice you two there. What are your names?"
Unlike Bulwark, this guy seemed very normal. No mysterious, weird vibe from him. Just authentic friendliness.
I grab his hand with a smile, and Maeve does the.
"I'm Syllius. It's nice to meet you"
"The name's Maeve. It's nice to meet you… what's your name?" Maeve asks.
Bulwarks friend smiles, firmly shaking both their hands. "My name is Gull, short for Gullbrand. Bulwark and I are best friends. We've known each other since kindergarten.
This guy is really charismatic. He holds himself very well, and speaks confidently. I like this guy—hopefully we can be good friends.
Gull smiles. "You don't know about his notebook?" He chuckles.
I shake my head, in question. "No, what is this whole scenario notebook thing about?"
Gull, with his arm still around Bulwark, speaks softly. "Well, you may not expect it, but Bulwark here is a bit of a nerd. He likes to imagine he is the main character in some anime or game, so he has this notebook where he writes every kind of scenario possible that he can think of. At first, we ridiculed him for it, calling him weird, but he's been able to predict and react to really specific scenarios. For example, the one you just saw. Ever since then, we, as in our friend group, try to catch him off guard, in hopes to show him a scenario he hadn't already thought out."
Bulwark adds on, not really ashamed to admit it. "I keep every scenario within reason though. It's not like I think of abstract things like if a coin were to fall in a specific spot. I only think of scenarios which could potentially cause harm."
Maeve's eyes widened in surprise. "How long have you been writing these down? Surely you have a ton then, no?"
"I have about five books worth of possible scenarios, each book with over 300 pages. I've started making these since I was nine."
Gull, showing no sense of mockery, says, "yeah, so if an apocalypse were to happen, you bet this is the guy to go to." He laughs.
I have a look of surprise. "Wow, Bulwark. You must be really dedicated to this whole bit of yours."
Bulwark shows an expression of distaste. "It's not a bit. Some of these scenarios are well thought out. It's not just a list—I've written down not just the scenarios, but how I would react to them and when they are likely to happen as well."
I get a bit defensive, but I do so, passively. "W-woah wait, Bulwark. I didn't mean that as an insult. I just thought it was a passion of yours, no?"
Gull steps in a bit, covering Bulwark's mouth with his hand. "A passion is pursued and applied—without application or a clear goal, it's missing its essence"
He looks at Bulwark, who has a bit of an irritated expression. "That's what you wanted to say, right?"
I see. This Gull guy is a bit of a smartass. Sure, he's charming, but he seems like the snobby type. Hopefully this isn't how he consistently acts. It's annoying to have a bug in your ear constantly correcting your actions and words.
Gull smirks and looks at me. Huh? Is something on my face?
"Don't talk shit in your head", Gull says.
I speak up, a bit confused by the sudden confrontation. "What?"
Gull speaks. "To understand one's own flaws is to acknowledge that you'll likely be misunderstood without proper context… I apologize. That wasn't supposed to be derogatory. You were probably thinking I was a smart-ass just now, weren't you?"
Does this guy think he's a philosopher? A simple "sorry" would have sufficed. Why is he dropping such random lines of dialogue? I'll hear him out for now—he seems wise, to say the least.
He goes on. "I have no way to confirm you were actually thinking that, but I just assumed. My body language, the way I interrupted him, my tone of voice—it all adds up. Let me explain."
He takes his hand off Bulwarks mouth. "When someone insults his passion for his interests, he tends to speak with a bit of snark and attitude. I just wanted to voice his thoughts nicely, knowing he'd probably be rude about it."
I look over at Maeve to see what she thinks about this.
She looks so uncomfortable. It's kind of understandable—these two are definitely characters.
Bulwark whispers something into Gull's ear, Gull's eyes widening in response to what he was told.
Mrs. Martin slaps her ruler against her desk enough for everyone in the room to hear. The room goes silent and she speaks up. "Alright everyone! Back to your seats! I have some announcements to make!"
Everyone scuffles to their desks, but I grab Gull's arm to hold him back for a moment. "What did he tell you..?"
Gull smiles. "It's nothing for you to worry about, don't worry… it seems Bulwark just… developed a bit of distaste for Maeve," he chuckles.
I let go of his arm and got back to my seat.
Mrs. Martin holds up the syllabus paper. "We need you all to sign this before your first day of school on Monday. It is Thursday right now, so you have more than enough time. No excuses to not get it signed. Dismissed."
I sigh and start packing my bags. Maeve? Seriously? What did she ever do to him, I thought.
I grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder and begin heading home. My house was only a few blocks down from school, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to get back home.
As I'm walking back home, I see Bulwark and Maeve talking to each other. As usually, Maeve looks uncomfortable—anyone would be talking to that guy. But what intrigues me isn't Maeve—it's Bulwark. His expression doesn't show that of anger, but of worry and fear. Could he be asking her out? I thought. No way that brute could get someone like Maeve to swoon over him. I should observe from a distance though, just to make sure he doesn't try anything funny.
Bulwark appears to say something, and Maeve reaches up to presumably pat his shoulder, but she pauses mid-way, with a nervous expression. Bulwark says something, which I can make out the words to be "see you tomorrow", and they both begin walking in opposite directions.