Things had fallen into a relatively simple pattern since I joined my friend Sayori's literature club. We'd always find each other after the last class of the day, and we'd accompany each other to the room she operated the club in. She'd unlock the door, and we'd sit around and talk as we waited for the other members: Yuri-the vice president-and Natsuki, who was another member who joined before me. Typically Yuri would arrive before her, but recently Natsuki has been making a competition out of beating her there. She'd show up out of breath most days, having to race here from what was essentially the other end of the school, but lately she had been getting used to it.

At first Yuri seemed confused and guilty as to why Natsuki elected to run to the club every day, but that's faded away in place of contentment. Sayori said she had been giving Yuri tasks that should've kept her busy so Natsuki would win every time, considering Yuri had a much shorter walk. She's also pretty sure Yuri had caught on to that and has been giving Natsuki her personal victory on her own volition. Sayori thought it was cute. I thought she was doing it out of pity, but I didn't say that out loud.

"Isn't it cool how Natsuki decided to challenge herself like that? Especially when she doesn't have to!" Sayori called out to me as I was pushing some desks together. I snickered at the way she phrased it. "Maybe I should start running to the club room every day…"

"Sayori…" I start, but I have trouble putting it into words why that was a bad idea. "You shouldn't run in the halls. Knowing you, you'd probably trip, or collide with someone by accident."

"Heyyy…! I'm more sure-footed than that! Gimme a break!" She whined, pouting towards me.

I snicker again, and decide to tease her a little. "Are you though?" Yeah, it was a weak comeback.

"Meanie!"

"Besides, if you ran, how would you expect me to keep up with you? I mean, you're clumsy, but you're pretty fast otherwise. I swear, Sayori, you could've been on the track team!"

"Ahahah… what, you really think so?" She tilts her head as she asks with a bashful expression. I nod in response.

Sayori smirks and shakes her head. She looks as if she was about to say something, but our conversation was interrupted by a familiar rhythm coming from the hallway. Natsuki's running.

Natsuki burst through the open door with glamour, already taking her backpack off. She threw it aside with reckless abandon like she always had. It was always a bit shocking to me, but I guess she doesn't keep anything fragile in there. "Haah… I've arrived!" Natsuki declared to us with pride.

"Hey Natsuki!" Sayori sang and waved at her. I nodded my greeting wordlessly.

"How's it going, you two?" Natsuki strolled over and sat on top of one of the desks I had moved. "Anything neat going on?"

"Hmm. Not really!" Sayori answered.

"Actually, there was something in the newspaper that caught my attention this morning..." Yuri's voice caught me by surprise. She was standing in the doorway. She must've waited for Natsuki to barge in from behind a corner before walking over. That image caused me to smile.

"Oh-hi Yuri!" Sayori waved at her, too. I thought it was cute how she always waved at us when greeting us each day. I was no exception to it!

"You read the newspaper?" Natsuki asked plainly. "I don't really go beyond the headlines."

"I don't read the newspaper at all! I hate the news!" Sayori cheered with a bright smile. "They stopped delivering it to my house!"

Yuri cradled her fingers with embarrassment. "Ahahah… well, I think it's important to stay informed…" She looked at me expectantly.

"I don't have the time to read it in the morning, but I sometimes get it on the radio when I'm getting ready, though. What did you want to talk about, Yuri?"

She smiled at my light encouragement and placed a hand on her chest briefly before clearing her throat. "That's right. I read this morning that a student at this school was detained yesterday after experiencing a psychotic break and lashing out at other students." She said with a serious attitude. "I believe she's just turned eighteen, and being tried as an adult. I suspect her lawyer is going to go with an insanity plea."

"Oof. What a nut-bar." Natsuki commented. "This was at our school? So who was it?"

"If I recall correctly, I actually shared a few classes with them one semester. The newspaper named 'Monika,' but the students she attacked were left anonymous."

Monika? Didn't I have classes with a Monika last year? Wasn't she all sorts of popular and talented…? What would cause her to do that?

"What did she do to the other students?" Natsuki asked, leaning forward. Sayori frowned, keeping quiet.

"The column didn't really… go into detail. But I overheard in the cafeteria she tried to strangle someone to death… but that's not all that I heard, I also heard different rumors that she had a weapon, or that she tried to claw their eyes out-"

"-Okay, that is enough!" Sayori shouted, interrupting Yuri. "I don't wanna hear about that anymore!" She placed her hands on her hips grumpily.

"A-ah, I'm sorry…!" Yuri apologized. "I really shouldn't have said any of that..."

"Jeez…!" Natsuki rubbed her eyes. "I hope at least they were jerks. That's messed up."

"Natsuki! Don't say things like that, that's horrible!" Sayori scolded her.

"Wasn't Monika a popular student and the leader of the debate club?" I ask Yuri as the other two had a small back-and-forth.

"O-oh, I believe you're correct."

"That's kinda scary… I never would've suspected someone like her to do that."

Yuri placed a hand on her chest again. "I'm sadly desensitized to it by now… I-I mean, horrible things happen all the time, really!" Her expression was quickly substituted for embarrassment. "It just doesn't... shock me as much as it used to… you understand, don't you?"

"I have to agree, really." I confess with a sigh. Yuri mirrored my sigh, as if she was holding her breath. She seemed quickly reassured with my agreement. "I just didn't think something would happen so close to home. And that it would be someone as well-off as Monika, too!"

Yuri closed her eyes and took a short pause before speaking. "I always felt as if there was a little devil inside us all, and that life was about conquering that devil. But in a case like this, they fail to vanquish it, and the devil takes over…"

"You know, this is why I hate reading the news." Sayori declared abruptly. I suppose her little chat with Natsuki had ended and she was waiting for a chance to speak again. "The news is always filled with stories about terrible people doing terrible things and I always leave it feeling more unhappy than when I started. That's why I don't bother with it! I'd much rather read a sad book if I wanted to feel that way, because at least those usually have happy endings!"

"What if school was cancelled tomorrow and you didn't know?" Natsuki chimed in from the side.

"Ehh? Well…" Sayori pressed her index fingers together and looked at me. "You'd tell me that, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would! Unless I didn't know myself." Maybe I shouldn't have said that as enthusiastically as I did.

"See? I don't need the newspaper, I have MC! They tell me what's important, and I can always feel happier around them!"

"Ugh." Natsuki rolled her eyes. "I'm never going to get over that stupid nickname. Quit fooling around and tell us your real name, eh?"

"My nickname isn't stupid…!" I whine in defense. I shouldn't have done that, because Natsuki's eyes lit up instantly when I did.

"Oh, it is now! I hereby dub you Stupid, until you tell me what your real name is!"

"N-Natsuki…!" Yuri stood beside me on the defensive. Before she could continue I took a step in front of her.

"Is that how it is? Just you wait until I find a ridiculous nickname for you, Natsuki! This means war!" I say in my best attempt to sound playful. It seemed to make Natsuki incredibly flustered.

"Nn… Whatever! You won't even come close to topping mine!" She folded her arms and looked away. I caught a glimpse of what looked like Natsuki trying to suppress a smile before Yuri got my attention again.

"I-If you don't mind me asking… why is your nickname MC? Is there a story behind it?"

"It's his middle name!" Sayori cheered.

"Hah, yeah… my middle name is Emcee, with E's. My parents like music. Not that I'm complaining…!"

Yuri giggled politely. "I think it's a nice middle name…"

"Oh, I see what you're doing! You're just trying to butter him up so he shares his real name! Hahaha!" Sayori laughed. "It's not gonna work! I'm the only one who knows his secret! And don't worry, MC, it's safe with me!"

Yuri seemed incredibly uncomfortable at the accusation. I just chuckled and shrugged. "Thanks for the compliment, Yuri."

"Alright everyone!" Sayori called out to everyone. "Now that we're all here and comfortable, let's get started with today's club activities~!"

[AN: Welcome, one and all, to my world... That was pretentious. Anyways, howdy. This is going to be the first and probably one of the only stories I upload officially. I don't know how to use this website, so bear with me if things don't make any sense! Because I don't really know what's going on over there. This is my first part! Be warned, things get a lot different moving forward, and trust me, there's so much more to see. If you saw this on discord or Reddit, this is the same author. Hope you enjoyed this first part. ~Stareo]