Opposing Perspectives Chapter 1 - New Environments

(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)

Rokurou Academy was a towering, blocky mass of gray that made it look like a giant, stone wall dividing the campus in two. Monika remembered her old school building being made up of a similarly towering building with several floors- Rokurou looked like that, except tipped over onto its side. Glass windows littered its sides, a massive clock right in the middle of the building, hanging just above the doors leading in.

Taking a glance down at her phone, she read the time.

6:25 AM.

Truthfully, she'd come a little earlier than she'd planned with the rest of her friends. Her father had discouraged her from going too early, but being at the school and getting acquainted with her new surroundings was still a better, more efficient use of time than just pacing restlessly in her house.

"They said they'd show up at 6:30..." She mumbled half-heartedly. After a few years of being friends, she liked to think she had the three's usual senses of time figured out already.

Yuri usually strived to arrive early or at the very least on time.

Natsuki was the same, but usually arrived a few minutes later than her promised time due to the distance of her house from the school.

And Sayori...

Well, Sayori was a lost cause. No matter how energetic and optimistic Sayori was, she wasn't exactly a morning person.

As if on cue, however, she spotted a familiar, tall figure walking just up ahead...at what could only be described as only slightly faster than a snail's pace. Hastening her steps, Monika quickly caught up to the taller girl with an energetic greeting.

"Yuri! Good morning~!"

It was always fun to see how Yuri reacted to having her name suddenly called out. The purple-haired girl's expression went from fearful and anxious, to a look of familiarity, to outright relief as she quickly made her way over.

"O-Oh, Monika...good morning."

For a little while, the two of them walked through the wide campus grounds. While Yuri was taking the moment to regain her composure, Monika allowed herself to look around and try to acquaint herself with her new surroundings.

Rokurou had a wider campus space than her old school did- numerous trees lining the paths, with a few pavilions and benches scattered about. Rokurou's students, with their navy blazers, and their ties and bows in different colors. Both old and new students were already scattered across the campus- catching up with friends or just trying to make their way to their classrooms.

"Are Sayori and Natsuki not here yet?"

Yuri's voice snapped her out of her observations.

"Not yet...then again, it's the first day of school so the traffic must be terrible right now."

As she turned her head to look at Yuri closer, she noted something different. The taller girl's usual horror novel was nowhere in sight- instead, she was clutching a bright, shiny magazine closely to her chest. It stood out so much from Yuri's usual reading material that the brunette couldn't help but ask.

"What are you reading?"

"Oh, this is the school's official publication," Yuri held up the magazine for the other girl to see. "They were only just setting out a rack with copies of it in front of the school gates..."

"Let me guess, you waited for the crowd to thin out before taking one for yourself, and that's why you arrived a little later?" Monika allowed herself a little tease. Almost like clockwork, Yuri's face flushed a little red.

"U-Uuu-! Don't..."

"Ahaha~" Monika directed her gaze away from her friend's flushed face to the magazine she was presenting.

The magazine was rather colorful, depicting students of all grade levels smiling happily in front of the school gates. Bold letters declared the publication's title on top, just next to the school logo emblazoned in the top right corner- Anthem, it read.

It had all the bells and whistles of a magazine one would expect to see at their local convenience store, but there was something decidedly unique about it that just screamed "student made"- from how the cover page was down to the large letters littering the page.

"BACK TO SCHOOL - A NEW STUDENT'S GUIDE TO ROKUROU ACADEMY"

"MORE JOKES, COMICS AND GAMES IN OUR NEW AND IMPROVED FUN SECTION!"

"CREATIVE FABLES AND SHORT STORIES IN THE LITERARY SECTION"

"Literary section?" That certainly got her attention. The school publication had a platform for showing off students' works of literature?

Noticing her obvious interest in it, Yuri sheepishly sidled up beside her and opened the magazine, thankful to shift Monika's interest from her to the contents of the publication.

The first page was a quick introduction to the magazine, along with photos of the publication members inserted just underneath, along with their names.

She didn't get that much of a glance at their names as Yuri quickly flipped through the pages. Sure enough, there were numerous articles contained within- news about the changes made to the school building from the past year, past events and their results, a school trip that the faculty went on...

True enough, there was a section for tips and tricks for new students contained within. It had a map of the school grounds and buildings on campus, humorous suggestions on where to eat and where to find the bathrooms, and the basic ground rules for every class.

Yuri pored over the information as if it were one of her immersive fantasy novels, running the tips of her fingers over the printed words and committing the map to memory. Monika found herself doing the same.

Finally, she flipped through the Literary Section. True to the headlines, there were short stories and even fables...but...

"They don't seem to have poems in here..." Surprisingly, Yuri voiced her thoughts. Monika gave a small nod, trying to keep her disappointment from showing.

"That's a shame..." Before she could say anything further, though, a high pitched voice cut her train of thought.

"Monika! Yuri!"

Yuri squeaked in surprise as a whirling- albeit clumsy- mass of coral pink hair approached them rapidly. Monika allowed herself to smile at Sayori's arrival, noticing Natsuki following suit at her own, leisure pace.

"Good morning~!" Sayori giggled.

"Good morning to you too, Sayori, Natsuki." Monika greeted back. Natsuki took a look around the campus, brow furrowing somewhat.

"Geez...we almost couldn't find you guys! There are way too many people here..." The shorter girl muttered, placing her hands on her hips.

"Ahaha~ It is the first day of school after all."

"And we managed to find them in the end since Yuri's so tall~" Sayori chirped, deepening the flush of red across the purple-haired girl's face even more.

"U-Uuu...!"

"Uh, guys, I hate to rain on your parade, but..."

It was Natsuki's voice that snapped them out of it as the pink-haired girl shuffled through her skirt pocket and took out her phone- an ancient but sturdy little pink block. Bold numbers read 6:50 AM.

Monika's phone buzzed as if on cue, and she glanced down at the reminder displayed on the screen.

"Reminder: 10 minutes until First Homeroom Session at Room 307"

All four shared a look.

"So," Natsuki broke the silence.

"Run?"

Monika nodded grimly.

"Run."

Though it took an insane amount of weaving and running through the packed school hallways- it was 10 minutes to the first class, why wasn't anyone rushing?!-, they finally found themselves standing in front of Room 307. Luckily, Rokurou's main school building didn't seem too complex- just two or three hallways littered with nine or so classrooms per floor along with the stairs.

The only downside was that there were no elevators. Just stairs.

"Awawa...I miss the elevators in our old building already..." Sayori spoke through heaving breaths, hands on her knees. It was a miracle the clumsy girl didn't trip over herself while they were rushing up the stairs.

"There's a special place in hell for architects who purposefully do this," Natsuki muttered- though slightly winded, she seemed mostly alright.

Monika stole a look over at Yuri, who had gone dead silent. Her face was all but buried into the school magazine again, eyes furiously scanning the map printed on the pages; though on closer inspection, she could see the tall girl fighting back trembles.

Before she could move to try and calm her down, however, a hearty voice reached their ears.

"Excuse me... Are you four lost?"

Turning, all four noticed a rather large and stocky man approaching them. His short, cropped brown hair and heavy coat easily gave away that he was no student- and the books tucked under his arm moreso. With the three others stunned into silence, Monika took the initiative and spoke.

"Oh, no! We were just about to head in for homeroom." It wasn't a lie, of course. The older man's expression softened, and he looked down to one of his books. Realization dawned over his face.

"Oh, you must be the four new students we're getting, then!" He offered a sheepish smile. "I'm terribly sorry, I just...I just thought you were first years since one of you was short and all...'

Monika stifled a giggle when she heard Natsuki almost splutter in indignation. Fortunately, the man didn't notice.

"I'm Keiichi Takada, the homeroom teacher for Class 2C this year." Shifting a little on his feet, he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Can you four stay outside for a bit while I inform the rest of the class? I'll tell you when it's time to come in."

"Yes, of course." As Keiichi headed into the classroom and closed the door behind him, Monika turned to the rest of her friends.

"At least the teacher seems nice~" Sayori chirped, ever the optimist in any given situation.

"I can't believe he mistook me for a first year." Natsuki muttered, folding her arms over her chest- barely restraining herself from stomping off in a huff.

Yuri had long since tucked the magazine back into her book bag, now settling on wringing her fingers to calm herself. It was almost worrying just how anxious she seemed to be- while she had learned to be more comfortable around them, she was thrust into an all new environment all too suddenly.

Not that the others weren't just as anxious as she was. The others just seemed to have their own ways of faking confidence.

It didn't take long until Keiichi appeared at the doorway again, holding the door open. A broad grin was on his face, seemingly excited.

"Come on in," He called.

And, without missing a beat, Monika took the first steps into the classroom. She heard the others eventually clamber in behind her, though she kept quiet despite feeling the numerous gazes settling on them as they wrote their names on the blackboard.

Sayori Fujiwara

Natsuki Miyamoto

Yuri Ishida

Monika Harriet

Of all the names on the board, hers drew the most interest, and for good reason. It hadn't really been hard writing her foreign name in katakana, but it was an odd sight all the same especially next to the more traditional names of her friends.

"These four students will be joining your class for the rest of the school year," Keiichi explained, flashing the rest of the class a sheepish smile, "so let's all make sure to get along with them, okay?"

There came a chorus of whispers afterwards- Monika faintly picked out the words "foreigner" and "cute" being tossed around. Keiichi instructed them to sit in whatever open seat was available, so she found herself taking one just a few spaces away from the very front of the class.

Homeroom went on fairly simply- Keiichi discussed the basic ground rules, which Monika took down into her notebook with gusto. There was also a brief discussion of how the grades were tallied, though she could tell that most of her other new classmates were beginning to zone out.

Truthfully, with all the necessities copied down onto her notebook, she was starting to, as well...at least until she felt a tap on her arm. Blinking, she looked over and found herself face to face with her seatmate- a girl with black hair tied into twintails with a gentle, friendly smile on her face.

"Hey," The girl greeted, smiling. "New student, right? Welcome to Rokurou."

"Thank you," Monika smiled back politely. It was always better to strike up the right first impression with her classmates. "I'm Monika Harriet."

"Yanagi. Ishikawa Yanagi." The girl briefly shook her hand before letting go.

"Is this your first time in a school away from your country?"

"Oh, no. I actually came from Katayama High."

Yanagi's brow furrowed a little. "That's the one that suddenly shut down, right? I'm really sorry. It must have been a shock."

"Yeah, it was...but Rokurou seems like a very nice school so far, at least." Monika took a cursory glance around the classroom to prove her point- the walls were all painted an off-white, and the whole room was air-conditioned despite the curtains not blocking the windows. Sunlight streamed in, making it appear brighter than it should have been.

"Oh, yeah. No need to worry about that." Yanagi smiled reassuringly. "Rokurou at least prides itself on its campus."

"Well, I wouldn't expect anything less from a school that can afford to print out multiple copies of its own magazine." Monika remarked. At this, Yanagi's brows shot up in surprise.

"You've seen Anthem already?" Yanagi's expression brightened. "Can you tell me what you think about it?"

"I don't mind, but...you seem very excited to hear feedback on it." Monika couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. "Are you part of the staff?"

"Yeah," Yanagi grinned. "I'm the editor in chief."

"Oh!" Monika's brows shot up in surprise. Thinking back on it, Yanagi's name did ring a bell. She probably spotted it in the magazine earlier.

Yanagi laughed. "I know- I don't look the part, do I?"

"It's not that, I just didn't expect I'd be in the same section as the editor-in-chief of the school publication."

"Two editors, actually." The twintailed girl looked around. "Though he hasn't shown up yet." The girl gave a resigned sigh, but soon looked back up with a grin.

"So, what did you think of the magazine? Comments? Questions? Violent reactions?"

"I haven't really gotten the chance to read through all of it, but..."

As she spoke, she watched Yanagi taking down notes on her phone as she listened intently to Monika's comments. If anything, she at least seemed very determined about improving the publication.

"Oh, and this is just a personal pick of mine, but...the Literary Section doesn't feature poetry, does it?"

Yanagi stopped at this, raising an eyebrow. "The Literary Section?"

Monika nodded. "Yes. It featured short stories and whatnot, but there didn't seem to be any poetry."

Yanagi hummed a little as she mulled the remark over. "I'll have to tell the editor for that section...though," She smiled sheepishly, "The Literary Section doesn't really get that many contributors. Our editor runs it on his own."

The brunette felt a small frown come to her face—that just seemed like a bit of waste. An entire section dedicated for literary works and nobody was contributing? "That's unfortunate…"

"It really is…" Yanagi seemed to perk up somewhat, her eyes alight with some sort of new thought.

"Why do you ask? Could you be interested in literature, Miss Harriet-?"

"Please," Monika offered a polite smile, "just Monika is fine."

"Monika, then," Yanagi relaxed, her own expression growing sheepish. "Sorry, it's not everyday we get a foreign student. Last one we had was way back in elementary!"

"No, no, it's okay. And as for your question—I do, actually! I used to run the Literature Club back in Katayama. The three girls I joined Rokurou with were all members, you know." At her mention of the club, Yanagi's expression shifted again, the twin-tailed girl's eyes now glimmering.

"Hey, maybe you could help out Anthem a bit, if you guys are comfortable." Yanagi grinned.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you could try contributing to the Literary Section! I'm sure our editor would appreciate the help, and I really don't want to be stressing him out too much…"

Monika took a moment to ponder the idea. She could probably do it, as would Sayori—if their club meetings and poem sharing sessions had been anything to go off on. Yuri and Natsuki had mostly gotten comfortable with sharing with one another, but with anyone else…?

She voices her thoughts to Yanagi uncertainly. "I can probably do it, but I'm not sure about the others."

"It's okay," Yanagi smiles reassuringly. "We'll take any help we can get, especially since Anthem's trying to get the club system back."

"The club system-?" Monika didn't get to finish the question as Yanagi looked up, her attention apparently being called by Keiichi. Both girls flush somewhat—it was a little embarrassing to have already been caught whispering to each other in class on the first day.

Yanagi peers over at her with a sheepish grin. "Sorry…tell you what, I'll bring you over to the publication office later and let you meet the editor for the Literary Section. He might be able to explain it a little clearer than I can." The girl tilted her head. "That is, if you want me to…?"

"I'll take you up on that offer, thank you." No harm in finding out more, she figured. She'd love for a chance to restart the Club after all, since all four former members were still here. At her words, Yanagi flashed her a relieved grin.

"That's good. So, I'll see you here after class, okay?"

Monika nodded, finding her curiosity starting to grow. Katayama didn't have their own school newspaper—it would certainly be interesting to see how one worked from the inside.

The bell rang, signalling the end of homeroom. A quick look around showed her that some of the students were already getting up from their desks- she noticed some coming towards her friends, probably intent on socializing with the new students.

With a small laugh and a sympathetic shake of the head for Yuri- who, upon noticing the numerous pairs of eyes honing in on her, retreated further into her book-, Monika turned to face the front of the class again.

"Looks like this is going to be a fun year..."

Author's Note: Trying to get some exposition stuff out of the way. I promise you'll be seeing the main OCs by next chapter, so just stay tuned!

There's not really much to say about the above chapter, so for the time being; feel free to leave a review if you enjoy the story so far, and I hope you look forward to the continued writing of Opposing Perspectives!