April 15, 1999

It's a fairly nice spring day without rain. There are many parts of the city and surrounding area where cherry blossoms still cover the ground. The library, nestled among many other gray steel administrative buildings like the hall of records, is not one of these places. More light is coming from incandescent sources than the few windows on the third floor.

And there are no windows at all on the nonfiction biology shelf. It runs parallel to the staircase, with no furniture on the floor in front of it. This makes it easy for someone already on the floor to walk towards a library visitor patronizing the shelf, lower her hair ribbon over her eyes, and tie a knot.

Haruhi pulls Alice by this knot with one hand and hooks her other arm around her ribcage. She raises her voice for the first time when they've walked about fifty meters: "Oh, Alice, please work the elevator."

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General post info:

• The event is taking place at a restaurant. Anyone can make their own toplevels for talking among themselves here, describing when they arrive, or just for general use later.
• They are well into drinks and appetizers when Alice and Haruhi arrive, at which I will make a toplevel announcing the digging in to the main course of nabemono.
• Haruhi had no idea that this wasn't a major type of style in the West largely because the post-main-course includes French fries, though also udon and patties of catfish. Anyway, gift presentation takes place during this course. Minako is in charge of this.
• Then Maya is in charge of cake.
• Everyone is supposed to be wearing lanyards announcing they are minors (under 20). Except Peebs. probably