"Man, nothing feels better than getting out of the shower and watch some anime in the comfort of my-"
Exiting the shower, I head into my room as I anticipated watching some of the left over anime episodes I had. However, the clock already struck 11:30 pm which signals for bed time. It'll be Monday tomorrow which means I have to wake up early for school.
"...Where did time go? No, a better question would be, what did I even do today or this weekend?"
Sitting against my bed, I dry my hair off with my towel as I try thinking of any important tasks I've accomplished today. But of course, nothing comes to mind.
"Oh well. Bed time, bed time."
Throwing my towel onto the hook, I slip into bed and begin thinking of scenes that could potentially happen in the episode I could be watching.
...
"Sayori, Sayori!"
Ringing the door bell, I call her name out as I hope she can hear me. For someone who's so energetic all the time, it's strange for her to be so terrible in waking up in the morning.
"Five minutes, that's all I'm giving you!"
I usually just leave her alone, however for some reason today I feel somewhat generous. Taking out my phone, I take the time to browse the web as I wait patiently for her to eventually show up.
"Sorry! I- oww!"
Hearing Sayori from behind the door, I could almost feel the impact in which she bumped into something, perhaps even stubbed her pinky toe. That's a terrible thought.
Opening the door, she appears to be in good spirits even after potentially stubbing her toe. I guess that's just how she is, always happy, bubbly no matter what life throws her way.
"Morning, Sayori. Sure took your time, didn't you?"
"Good morning, sorry~ I was ehh... sleeping."
She sticks her tongue out playfully as I could only sigh.
"Yeah you were, anyways, let's go."
I begin walking off ahead as Sayori tries desperately to catch up. If we're delayed any further we'll surely be late.
"W-wait up! You're walking too fast!"
Answering her plea, I pause for a moment as I watch her slowly catch up.
"You should probably invest in an alarm clock."
"Heehee, even if I do I'd most likely sleep through it. You know Mum bought me one for Christmas last year."
If only she bought one that didn't turn itself off after the first chime, what sort of alarm clock shuts itself down anyways?
"Yeah, I know. Maybe you should try a little harder to wake up every morning."
I too hate mornings myself, however I do try to make it on time for school every day. It's a record I'd like to keep with me until I graduate.
"I'll do my best to not disappoint! But, Yuki, you sure are nice today, did something happen?"
Grinning ear to ear, she steps a little closer to me as I have a hard time looking away from her.
"N-not exactly. I think I'm like this every day."
She shows a small smile and if I weren't so conscious over what she's thinking, I'd probably be smiling too.
"Hmm hmm, I wonder.~ You know, you said you would only wait five minutes."
Obvious to what her intentions are, I feel slightly embarrassed. I waited more than double the time for her to step out.
"Plans change. I was watching this video I really like."
Lying through my teeth, I open a random video I have saved on my phone and show it to her.
"Let's see, let's see... Oh this. You must really like this, don't you?"
Everyone has that show they can re-watch no matter what the occasion is.
"I'm sure there are some things you never tire from, Sayori."
"Hmm... Like eating! Speaking of which, I had eggs, bacon and salad for breakfast. What about you?"
"Me? Ehh, I just had toast. Not much of a big eater in the mornings, I'll probably buy a can of coffee at school."
"You can't just have toast! At least have some sort of filling, breakfast is important!"
Spouting actual facts, it doesn't seem fitting for Sayori to lecture me on something like this. It may be important but it's mostly because she just loves food.
"Right. I'll be sure to add a slice of toast between them."
I walk off ahead as Sayori stood still for a few moments trying to find a proper retort.
"A slice of...- T-That's not what I meant!"
Chasing after me, she unleashes a flurry of fists against my bag.
"Geez, quit making me worry about you. Your happiness is very important to me, you know?"
Pouting, she appears to be upset as I couldn't help but smile at how cute she is when she's worried for someone. Seeing her worry so much, I place my hand upon her head as she looks up at me in surprise.
"Yeah, I know. Which is why I should join a club too, right?"
Even if it's a little, I should ease her mind before classes start.
"Oh, you remember that? I thought you've forgotten!"
"Can't forget when you remind me all the time."
...
We manage to arrive with a few minutes to spare; I part ways with Sayori as I head towards the vending machines just outside the main block.
There, I spot a short, pink hair girl just before it. Jumping up and down, she appears to be reaching for the drinks at the far top. It makes me wonder why they even have large vending machines in the first place.
Not sure what to do, I stand behind her and patiently wait.
"Why the heck do they have to make these things so big!?"
She exclaims her inner thoughts freely as I'm not sure if she realised that there's someone else close enough to hear her voice.
"Just. Press. The. Button!"
She rhythmically says those words between her jumps as I get the feeling I offer my assistance.
"Umm, is this what you wanted?"
Stepping to her side, I hover my finger over the option for the strawberry milk.
"Hah? Who are you? N-No, don't answer that, I can do this myself, I'm not short!"
Despite me not even mentioning her size, she denies my offer and continues to jump.
"Hmm..."
With there being only one vending machine for the drink I want, I feel as though the bell's going to sound before she even gets her drink; which means she'll have no actual time to drink her selection.
In due time, however, she manages to press the button and out comes her strawberry milk.
"Yes I got it, finally!"
She excitedly takes her drink out and stabs the straw into it whilst looking to me after she finishes her first sip.
"Hey you, um..."
"Ah, yes?"
She looks to the side as it appears she's having trouble with her words.
"T-Th... I mean, n-nothing! Next time, don't even try to help me, okay?"
Watching her run off, I scratch the back of my head and ponder if she was simply being too shy to express her gratitude, or if she just told me to mind my own business.
"There'll be a next time..? Oh well. Coffee time."
Placing my change in; the coffee drops with a satisfying thud as I proceed to chug half the can. Now if it were black I'd most likely throw up so I enjoy my coffee with sweetness to it.
...
As the school day passes like any other, it's over before I even knew it as I stare blankly at the wall.
"Hmm... I feel like life is escaping me."
Looking around the room, it appears everyone has already disappeared in a rush to return home or go to their respected clubs. Which reminds me, I promised Sayori I'd join a club today. Though she wouldn't know if I were to somehow leave the school grounds...
"Ah, there you are!"
As though she detected me from outside, Sayori pops her head in.
"Clubs, right? I was just thinking about it."
Coming up with yet another lie, I sling my bag across my shoulder and rise to meet her.
"Really? Is that really what you were thinking?~"
Stepping in to my personal space, she looks straight into my eyes as I unintentionally look away.
"Ah see! I knew it! You were just going to go home because you think I'd be none the wiser!"
Perhaps it's not wise to try to lie to someone you've been with your entire life, and that's not an exaggeration.
"Hahh, you got me... I'll check some out. There's actually one I'm interested in at least."
"If it's the anime club I think their list is full."
"..."
Blankly staring at her, it's possibly the only club that I can see myself in, a place in which I can possibly just sit around in and procrastinate.
"But don't you worry, Yuki! I know a perfect club for you and what's great is that they're accepting members!~ Isn't that wonderful?"
She beams her smile but I can detect something strange in it.
"...You want me to join your club, don't you?"
"E-Eeehhhh!? How did you know?"
Vice President of the Literary Club, I believe she only joined because they declared she'd be vice president and liked the sound of it. I never seen Sayori with a book, let alone can I see her discussing about them and their wholesome meaning. What drives authors to write, what's their mind set; better yet, why do they write at all?
"A wild guess... Hahh, how long is it?"
"Eh?"
Perhaps she thought I'd simply bat her off and find some other club to waste my time with.
"How long do you usually stay back after school?"
"N-Not too long! Perhaps only for an hour or two, three at most."
Gesturing with her hands, she puts three fingers up as I wanted to squeeze them a little. Three hours is cutting it awfully close to a program I always watch on TV.
"All right. Show me the way. I can't promise anything but-"
"Great! Then let's be off, a perfect world awaits you!"
Suddenly grabbing my arm, she starts running out of the class room and through the empty hallways. Now if she were faster than I, then I'd have a hard time keeping up, however it's rather dangerous to be running upstairs, let alone holding on to someone. If students were still loitering about I would've cut her off the moment we left.
Up onto the third floor, it's a section that's generally used for third-year classes and activities. It's not surprising that I rarely visit as I have no business here.
Forcefully sliding the door open, I expected for it to be a little small, however, that's not the case. In fact, it's the size of a classroom with a bunch of tables and chairs. It appears to be a normal classroom, and I expected a mass selection of books similar to a library.
"Natsuki~ I've brought someone.~ Do we have any cupcakes left over?~"
"Hah? Cupcakes? I made them the day before, ain't no way there'll be any left; let alone edible."
Closing her book with a thud, she hops off her chair and places her hands against her hips.
"So, who did you bring?"
Looking to Sayori's side, I try not to look her in the eye as for some reason I knew there'd be some sort of conflict between us.
"Oh, I brought a new member! Yuki, I mentioned him a couple of times before, right?"
"Him? You never stated that it was a him; but really, Sayori? Recruiting a boy? Way to sour the atmosphere. You sure Monika and Yuri would be okay with this?"
She heaves a heavy sigh as she seems to have something against boys in the club.
"I'm sure! Yuri seems to always be bored or something so I'm sure a new member would spice things up. As for Monika, she's the president so she wouldn't have it any other way, they'd be delighted to return and see a new face here."
"Monika..? As in the Monika from our year?"
Feeling strangely curious, Monika's well known throughout our year, an ace in appearance, academics and athletics, she's perfect in almost every way and she has a strange way with words; almost as though she knows too much. She went on vacation earlier this month to France though, much to a lot of people's dissatisfaction.
As for Yuri... The name doesn't ring any bells.
"Oh, do you know Monika?"
"Well you can't really get by not knowing who she is. A-Anyways, I feel as though I'm not welcomed here so...-"
Feeling her glare getting sharper by the minute, I turn back and attempt to leave.
"Wait. Shut the door, Sayori!"
"Roger!~ Nullifying escape route one!"
Before I knew it, Sayori shut the door in front of me as I was forced to face the girl behind me.
"Ahh, it is you! You're the one who thought I was too short to buy from the vending machine! Bet you look like a big dummy, didn't you?"
"..."
Well I wasn't the one jumping for strawberry milk. Though of course I wouldn't say that to her face, just think of the rumors that'd spread. Gossip is a powerful weapon. It can bring down even the most popular of people to nothing but a pile of horse ****.
"Well I just wanted to help so I can then buy my can before classes started."
"Hmph, sure and I was just getting your way. What sorta books do you read anyways? No offense but I don't see it."
Saying no offense to potential offense doesn't quite solve the problem. Anyhow, it's true that I don't read much books, but she could've given me the benefit of the doubt.
"Complete zero. The only thing I read in my spare time is manga."
She slightly jolts and begins coughing; she probably didn't expect such an answer.
"M-Manga, huh?"
Crossing her arms, she closes her eyes as though to avoid eye contact.
"Hm hm, well it's not my place to speak; if the vice president thinks it's a good idea then sure."
She seems to have more to say however, she drops the topic and extends her hand towards me.
"I'm Natsuki, 1st year."
With such change in attitude, I'm left a little baffled as I accept her gesture soon after.
"Yuki, 2nd year."
"Yuki, aha! It really is a girlish name, you should be glad it suits you."
She flashes a grin before returning to her seat and continues reading her book.
"Is she always like this?"
I ask Sayori as she appears to smiling after our exchange.
"Yup, that's Natsuki~ She's so small and cute, I could just take her home and gobble her up.~"
The moment she took a glance at Natsuki, a small item flew by me and nailed Sayori square in the face and lands in her hands in which she tried to block the projectile with.
"Don't think I didn't hear that, Sayori."
It really seems she doesn't like people pointing out her height, though... I can't blame her; people are sensitive to lots of things. Like me for instance, my arms are slightly longer than others. Quite a useless trait if you ask me.
"Owww... I was just saying how cute you- Oo!"
Looking at the item, it appears to be some sort of packaged confectionery.
"If you have time to talk then you can suck on that while you read. A. Book."
Sayori giggles as she unwraps the candy and pops it in her mouth before turning to me.
"Well then, Yuki. We should start reading, we usually discuss topics and such but since Yuri and Monika aren't here it's pretty pointless. There should be some books in the storage room in the back."
Leaving me to it, Sayori takes out a small book from her bag and sits upon the table.
"You know, out of all the years I've been with you, I haven't seen you read in your leisure time."
"Heehee, doesn't it make me look smart?~ I finished a book the other day about someone who kept their emotions in bottles, wouldn't it be great if you could do that?"
"Hmm..."
Looking at Sayori, she appears to be clueless to my gaze. If I could see Sayori lost in a book against a backdrop of falling sakura petals, my image of her would most likely change. If she wore glasses perhaps she'd further her appeal of looking smart... at least to a certain extent.
"Well emotions can be bottled figuratively I guess but literally? I think that'd require a lot of bottles."
Swinging her legs, she laughs at the thought.
"That's just like you, Yuki.~ But yes, they did require lots of bottles and in the end the person couldn't keep them all down. It all un-bottled by themselves at once and the person couldn't handle the surge of emotions."
"..."
I could detect a strange sense of sorrow, and coming from Sayori it's a bit unsettling. So like always, I place my hand against her head whenever I try to cheer her up.
"They should've bought those 2L bottles of soda from the convenience store and ensured they're tightly sealed."
She was in a daze but soon happily accepted my gesture rustle her soft, short hair.
"Heehee, that's an idea.~ The other day I actually saw a 10L bottle in the supermarket, can you believe it? Maybe I should I buy one."
"Let me know when you do, I want to see it for myself."
Smiling in response, a 10L soda bottle does sound intriguing, there's more I'd like to say on the topic however I could feel a piercing glare coming from Natsuki.
"Can you two like stop flirting and start reading already? Gosh, flirt when you're alone."
"Ehee, are you jealous, Natsuki?~ Look, you can flirt with Yuki too!"
"W-What!? D-Don't be ridiculous!"
Slamming her book down, she makes exaggerated hand gestures to forcefully decline. It's not like I want her too, though I feel a slight jab at my pride.
"D-Don't look at me like that. Creep! Gross!"
"See what you've done, Sayori? I haven't done anything and I'm being verbally abused right now."
"Heehee, I think you'll fit right in, verbally attacked, Yuki.~"
The sole person who caused this mess is smiling ear to ear, clearly she's feeling no remorse to this situation.
"Well whatever, I'll just go grab a book and do some light reading."
Batting off the issue, I could still feel the ferocity of Natsuki's stare, as I proceed to the storage room. I bet if I get too close to her she'd bite my hand straight off.
"Let's see..."
Opening the storage room doors, a few books were neatly placed upon the shelf. Books ranging from fiction to non-fiction all neatly divided into their own genres with ascending level of difficulty. Some were pretty tattered; perhaps they buy used books with the club funds or bring them from home.
"Not quite in the mood for complex things so..."
Trying to find a random book to waste my time on, I happen upon a medium sized box just off to the side. The contents of it actually seem like manga of some kind.
"This is..."
I take one out but before I could even look at the cover someone snatches it from my hand.
"That's not for you!"
Natsuki pulls it towards her chest and it appears that I've somehow made her upset.
"Ah, sorry. I thought the books were free picking..."
"T-They are... but..."
Having trouble putting her thoughts into words, I couldn't read her intentions.
"You said you read manga, right? I heard you bring it up, what kind do you read?"
"I did?"
Thinking back, I do recall myself mentioning it, though why is manga here in the literature club? Or better yet, will I get flamed if I answered honestly? It's difficult to talk about your favourite genre unless you know where the other person stands. At times the situation can turn rather chaotic when someone finds out you prefer cutesy stuff compared to complicated stories that spans across several manga, into an animated serious, plus movies and ova's. What a mess.
"I mean it's sort of obvious. Your face just makes it clear as day. So, what kind?'
I'm not so sure if I'm to be offended by that statement or not.
"Hmm... Action?"
She looks at me questioningly as though she's not satisfied with my answer. Though it was rather half baked.
"You don't even know what you like? How do you live with yourself?"
"It's more of a matter of reading all sorts honestly. I think I get along with myself just fine knowing that."
"Hmm? Well, whatever. Here."
Placing the volume she has in her arms between the center books, she takes the one from the far left and hands it to me.
"Eh?"
"Don't 'eh' me. You said you don't read books, right? But well, books, manga, it's all the same thing. In the end, literature is literature. Writing is writing. In other words, so long as it has some form of storytelling, it's literature whether you like it or not."
"Right..."
Taking one close look at the cover, it's mostly pink and exceedingly cute to the point where I can't seem to grasp the demographic of the manga. Though I can detect a hint of shoujo from the art style itself. Parfait girls, is the title of the manga, featuring four girls striking feminine poses. I'm not quite sure if this is what I'd choose to read in my free time.
But, speaking of parfaits, I can go for some right now. But of course a single teenage boy entering a cafe and ordering a parfait doesn't seem like a good idea.
"...You're judging it now, aren't you?"
One can't help but judge on what's before their eyes.
"N-Not exactly."
"Well I'll show you, think of this as a lesson. If you covered all books in paper and simply write the summary of the book, you'd likely find that you judge things based on what you see. Cover art plays a heavy role in today's society."
She nods proudly to her own statement.
"That's just how things are now; books need some form of visual to draw people's first attention in, whilst the words do the rest. I'm surprised that you actually seem like a literary club member, I guess you're not here to lounge around after all."
"Hehe, right right-... Wait, what's that supposed to mean!? Hmph, well whatever, I'll ignore that last comment. So."
"So...?"
"Hurry up and read it, you won't be leaving this room unless you finish the first volume."
"...Say what?"
In complete and utter shock, she takes me by the arm and drags me towards the window and proceeds to take a seat below it.
"Come on, come on.~"
She's more eager to read it than I, is it that good? I feel like simply accepting the situation would be a lot quicker than trying to escape.
"Yes yes..."
Accepting her offer, I sit just off to the side to create some form of distance between us.
"Why are you sitting so far away? We can't read together like this."
Clueless, she inches towards me as the sight was rather strange. My initial thought of her was that she disliked guys. Better yet, I thought our first meeting left a sour taste. And yet here we are, about to read manga together. I haven't read manga with someone in my entire life, let alone someone I've just met.
"I just thought well, you didn't want to get close to me."
"D-Don't say that, you're making this weird! We're just reading manga together, that's it!"
"Y-Yeah, that's right. Sorry for bringing it up."
...
The manga starts off with introducing the protagonist and her friends, and then proceeds to show their daily life with each other. It's a classic, slice of life story, girls doing cute girl things and it's centered on baking. Each one of them has their own favourite parfait and has strong feelings to the construction of one. They also work in the same cafe together and it seems that's all there is to this manga, or so I thought.
"Further in, ehh... I don't want to spoil it but I can see that your mind is wandering just by looking at you. It gets pretty dark, and I'm not talking about night time, real serious stuff goes down."
"Serious dark stuff? Like black magic, demons and giant grotesque monsters?"
"No you idiot, what the heck kind of story do you think this is?"
She pushes me on the shoulder as though she hasn't heard of the extreme twists of some manga's out there. One day its ordinary life as you know it and the next, some demon has your friend locked in a contract that'd spell their death and then it's up to you to save them and the many girls who fell victim to that lying cat demon...
"I don't know... something spicy? Wouldn't have guessed though, I didn't take you for the horror kind of person."
"Horror? No no, not horror, just like the... umm, just read it."
Jumbling her words, I'm not so sure if she's having trouble properly explaining it or because she doesn't want to spoil it for me.
"I could really go for some parfaits right about now. They look great."
"Right!? Hehe, I had the same feeling the first time I read it."
"Want to get some parfaits after this?"
Not thinking too heavily on it, I throw up an invitation as I continue to read through the manga.
"Hah? No way, I need to be home after club ends."
Declining my offer with the bat of her hand, I guess curfew does exist. Or maybe she's putting up an excuse to skip getting parfaits. Not like it really matters.
"Ah, well that's too bad. I would've paid since their parfaits are actually quite cheap."
"Hmm..."
Natsuki thinks aloud as I put a halt to reading until she finishes. I'm rather surprised she's giving it some thought.
"If you want parfaits so much, then make sure to uphold your end of the deal."
Rising from her spot, she dusts her skirt and stands before me.
"At this rate we'll never finish. You can borrow it for today but make sure to bring it back tomorrow so we can start on vol 2."
"Eh? Wait, you were serious about that?"
"Of course. You don't have anything else important to do, right?"
She appears to strongly believe that statement as her expression doesn't change. I mean it's not like I do have anything generally important, but I have my own interests...
"S-Sayori... Can you talk some sense into Natsuki here?"
I request help from Sayori to save me from the situation as she looks over from the front of the room.
"Ehe, it's good that you two are getting along.~ It reminds me when Yuki and I exchanged textbooks back in elementary.~"
Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she walks towards us and hands a book to Natsuki from her bag.
"We should make this a club activity! I don't think you can read that entire book overnight, so you can have it till the end of the week. I hope you enjoy it!~"
"Hah? Don't give me that, you're only doing this because you feel left out, aren't you, Sayori?"
"Heehee, yup I was feeling a little lonely but now I feel like I'm part of the club again.~"
Accepting her offer, she opens the book and flips through the pages. It's not an entirely large book; however it may be a difficult one.
"But man... you sure are underestimating me."
Perhaps the latter was false.
"Hahh... I don't think it's possible for the vice president to feel like they're not part of the club."
I rise from the spot as it appears we're almost done for the day. The sooner I get home the quicker I can finish this manga before dinner.
"I'll be going now; Dad will be back home soon. Be sure to read the rest of parfait girls by tomorrow, okay?"
Grabbing her bag, Natsuki prepares to be the first to leave.
"Yes yes, see you tomorrow then, Natsuki."
"Bye bye, Natsuki.~"
...
We talked for a few more moments in the club room before leaving, it appears that Natsuki and Sayori never walked home together before. It lead me to believe that perhaps she takes the bus or gets picked up, but she walks generally in the same direction for a few minutes.
"It's strange, we haven't walked home together ever since junior high."
With Sayori being the first to speak up, it reminded me that I'm always left walking home without the company of others.
"Has it really been that long?"
"Well we could've continued if you joined the literature club earlier.~"
"Think of all the stuff I would've missed out on last year, I can catch up on a lot of things in those hours spent in clubs."
"Boo... You would've spent that year with your beloved Monika. You had the opportunity and you blew it!"
"Hey, I never would've thought Monika would be president of such a club! And since when is she my beloved? All I said is that she's highly admired among our peers!"
"Yes yes.~ And now you're stuck with Natsuki and I."
"Sure am... Hah, though I can't say I hate it."
Thinking about it, ever since high school started I feel as though the two of has started drifting apart. I mean, it can't be helped but it feels strangely fulfilling.
"Hm?"
Sayori looks to me questioningly as though she was expecting a snarky response.
"It's nothing. Let's make a small detour; I'm in the mood for some soda."
About to reach the fork at the end of the road, we take the path towards the left and soon into the convenience store as I begin browsing the sodas.
"What flavour are you looking for, Yuuki?"
"Haven't thought that far yet, ever get hit with the feeling of wanting something fizzy? At that point any flavour will do."
"I get that occasionally... hmm, let's see... Ahh!"
It appears something caught Sayori's eye as she rushes down the aisle as she beckons me to follow her.
"It's here also, 10L soda!"
On the bottom shelf, a few bottles of soda were lined up. The price is actually a bargain if you're willing to drink 10L worth of soda, I don't think Natsuki or I are up for that though.
"I'm going to buy it!"
"You were serious? I mean I know it's a deal and I know I said to show me when you do but imagine what your parents would think!"
Not listening to a word I say, Sayori prepares to lift the soda bottle off the shelf in a safe fashion. I was afraid she'd throw her back but it appears she's actually carrying it by herself. What a girl.
"Ehhh, but look at it. The bottle is so big, if you help me drink it, I can keep it all sorts of things in here.~"
"That again? Come on you-"
About to take it off of her, a stray tear drop falls from Sayori's eyes and before I knew it...
"S-Sayori... You're...-"
Despite smiling and acting her usual self, I haven't seen Sayori cry ever since we were children.
"Hmm? What is it?-"
It took longer for her to notice the steam of tears, not knowing what to do; she continues carrying the soda in her arms as her tears wouldn't stop.
"H-Here, I'll carry that. There are tissues in my bag."
"Oh, thank you. Sorry I don't know why I'm crying, heehee."
Taking the tissues out of my bag, she begins wiping her tears with a smile.
"You all right now?"
She nods as she puts the tissues into her pocket and offers to hold the soda once again.
"I'll hold on to it, let's get going before people start thinking we're up to no good."
...
On the way back, Sayori didn't say a single word and despite her smiles, something tells me things are a little off. Frankly, I'm a little worried but its Sayori, she'll probably be up and at it again by tomorrow morning. I'll just wait until then.