Act II: Welcome to the Club!
Sayori and I've been running across the school and into a section of the school I've never go to since said building only been used for storage of spare chairs and tables.
Sayori dragged me by the hand up the stairs and into the room just next to it. Swinging open the classroom door strong enough to make a bang, she called out her fellow club members, gaining their attention.
"Everyone! Our new member has arrived!" She exclaimed, putting me in front of her.
I looked around the clubroom and saw that there were only three members. Four, if you would count Sayori.
"Matsuyuki-san! What a nice surprise." Said a brunette with her long hair tied together with a white ribbon. "Welcome to the Club!" she exclaimed. I remained impassive as I looked around the clubroom while Sayori introduced me to her club members.
"Hey Sayori," I heard the pink-haired girl say. "Are you sure he wants to join the club? He doesn't seem to look interested."
"Natsuki..." The girl with the long, purple hair said which made the pink-haired girl, whose name's Natsuki, to cross her arms and huff, making the purple-haired girl sigh.
"Anyway, this is Suzuki Natsuki," Sayori said, pointing at the pink-haired girl, who rolled her eyes at me and crossed her arms. "She's always full of energy."
Sayori then pointed at the purple-haired girl." and this is Chiaki Yuri. Our resident bookworm and the smartest in our club."
"P-please don't say that," Yuri said, averting her gaze from everyone.
I took out a notebook from my bag and wrote down my reply. 'Matsuyuki Mallory.' Natsuki looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Why did you write down what you're going to say? Can't you talk or something?" Natsuki said.
"N-Natsuki!" Yuri scolded her. "That's not a nice thing to say." I wrote down my answer.
'Mute.' Sayori stepped in between us.
"Natsuki, please don't ask Mallory about his condition." She said with her hands in a prayer. "It's a very sore spot for him." Natsuki huffed and turned away from us. Sayori looked at back at me and introduced the club's last member.
"And it looks like you and Monika already know each other right?" She said. I nodded slightly, almost as if I didn't move at all. I moved my feet towards an empty desk by the window and began to read off my phone. I could hear Sayori apologizing to her club members for my behavior, as she always does. I tuned out her voice and my surroundings and immersed myself in my reading...
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I feel a hand on my shoulder, shaking me out of my reverie. I stopped my reading and looked at Sayori, who was holding my shoulder.
"Natsuki made some cupcakes." She said. "Do you want some?"
I nodded. I began to write down my thanks in my notebook and stood up, walking towards the makeshift table the girls did with the desks with a tray of cupcakes on it. I took one and showed my note to the three girls and immediately returned to my desk, where I devoured the cupcake while I read from my phone.
I could hear the four of them talking again, with Natsuki's voice being the dominant voice over the four girls. I tuned them out again as I focused once more on reading from my phone...
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I felt someone shaking me again. I shifted my eyes to my right. It was Monika who was shaking me this time. I put down my phone and faced her.
'What?' I signed.
"You should probably join us." Said Monika with seriousness. "You need to get to know your club members if you want to stay here." I rolled my eyes and thought of ignoring her, but the thought that she and Sayori would keep pushing me to talk to them came up so I grabbed my bag and the cupcake I didn't eat and walked towards the makeshift table, pulling on a chair and sitting on it. I could feel the atmosphere freezing around the table as if my presence could make snow within the clubroom. The tension was so thick, one would need a hot knife just to cut it.
"S-So, Matsuyuki-s-san," I could hear Yuri speak. "W-what kind of books do you read?" I wrote in my notebook and showed it to her.
'Anything. Mostly Fantasy with down-to-earth elements.' I immediately wrote another word. 'You?'
"O-Oh... well I prefer novels that build deep and complex fantasy worlds." Yuri began. I could understand from her voice that she is passionate about her reading. As she talks, I could understand that she takes comfort in the world of books, like me.
"But I also like other things." Yuri continued. "I find stories with deep psychological elements that uses one's lack of imagination and throws them for a loop immersive as well." I quickly wrote down my response and as soon as I finished writing, I immediately showed it to her.
'I see. For me, stories that are thought-provoking and interesting to read. I really cannot put down a good book that makes one think how it changes our perception of reality.' She nodded as she pulls back a lock of her hair to her ear.
"Recently, I've been reading a lot of horror novels." She said. I raised an eyebrow as Natsuki groaned.
"Ugh, I hate horror." She said.
"Oh? And why is that?" Asked Yuri. Natsuki seemed to stutter, her eyes keep shifting between me and Yuri.
"N-nevermind." She said, turning away from us and crossing her arms.
"That's right," Monika said. "You usually write about cute things, don't you, Natsuki?"
"W-What gives you that idea?" Natsuki asked.
"You left a scrap paper behind the last meeting. It looked like you were making a poem called-"
"D-Don't say it out loud!" Natsuki said, her face heating up. "And give that back!" Sayori giggles and hugged Natsuki from behind.
"Ehehehe... Your cupcakes, your poems. Everything you do is just as cute as you are!"
"I'M NOT CUTE!" Natsuki said as she broke out of Sayori's hug and tried to smack Sayori, who seems to avoid it with ease. I began to write again in my notebook and showed it to Yuri and Monika.
'Does Natsuki write poems?'
"I could see her write sometimes," Monika replied. "But she doesn't usually show them."
"I understand how Natsuki feels," Yuri said. "Sharing poems takes more than one's confidence. It is exposing one's true feelings and sharing it with your readers."
'You write poems too?' I asked through my notebook. Yuri nods.
"Maybe if you share some of your poems, you can set an example and help Natsuki feel comfortable enough to share hers." Said Monika.
"..." Said Yuri, wringing her hands out of shyness. An awkward silence fell over us.
'How about we share our poems?' I wrote. 'That way this activity could bond you all together as a club and as friends.'
"Good idea Mallory," Monika said as she stood up.
"Okay, everyone!" Monika called the club's attention. "Mallory and I were talking," Wait, why am I included in this? " And we decided that every club meeting, we should all share a poem we made. This would act as a bonding experience for all of us as a club. What do you say?"
Yuri and Natsuki immediately looked unsure, but Sayori, being the eternally cheerful ray of sunshine she is, immediately agreed.
"Yeah, Let's do it!" She said. "That way, we can get to know each other more, especially Mallory since he's a new club member." Which reminds me...
I tapped Monika's shoulder" Yes? What is it, Mallory?" She asked.
'Do I have to fill up a form to sign up for the Literature Club?' I wrote.
"Oh, yes. I completely forgot about that." Monika said, opening her bag and producing a fill-up form. "Here you go." I took the form and began to fill it up with the necessary information needed. Once filled up, I gave the form back to Monika.
"Thanks a lot. Now it's official!" She said. "Welcome to the Literature Club!" I bowed a bit, thanking her. Once again, she faced the girls.
"Okay, everyone! I believe that that concludes today's meeting. Please remember to write a poem so that we can share it with the rest of the club. I look forward to seeing how you express yourself."
I wasn't really that excited to share poems. I can only make mediocre poems at best, so I already expect that the girls would surpass my writing skills.
"Hey Mallory," Sayori called. "Since we're here, how about we walk home together? It'll be just like old times." I immediately nodded. It has been a while since we walked together. We picked up our bags, said goodbye to our clubmates and began our way back to our homes.
It was a quiet walk back home. The two of us were comfortable in the silence that surrounds us. The sun was starting to set, giving our surroundings an orange glow. I tapped Sayori's shoulder, gaining her attention.
'It's been quite a while, hasn't it?' I signed.
"Yeah." She breathed out. "I miss this." She said.
'I do too.' Sayori walked closer to me, her shoulder and my arm brushing.
"So, what did you think of the club?" She asked.
'The club was nice.' I signed. 'I'm glad that you've made friends there. That's always nice.'
"But you've made friends in the clubroom, didn't you?" Sayori asked.
I shrugged. 'I guess. They're alright, I suppose. Except for Suzuki-san. What's her deal?''
"It's alright. We usually ignore her when she gets moody." Sayori said.
'Alright...' We stopped talking after that. Eventually, we reached our houses, right next to each other. We said our goodbyes and entered our houses.
After eating dinner, I quickly went to my bedroom and began to answer all the homework I had. It wasn't that much, so I had time to think about what I'd write for the club. I tried to come up with anything, but it didn't seem like the right one. Eventually, I stopped writing and just went to bed.
Closing the lights I just stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to invade my dreams. I turned to my side when I saw a yellow-green glow flashing on the wall. Curious, I stood up from my bed and approached the light, only for it to leave the wall and circle around the room, as if trying to find a way to escape.
I came to realize that it was a firefly. I immediately opened a window, letting the insect escape. I stared at the glowing insect when I suddenly got an idea.
It was past midnight when I was finished, but I didn't care. I only needed 4 hours of sleep, anyway. I slipped the poem on the notebook I used for talking and I slipped under the covers, sleep already taking over the excitement I felt for tomorrow.
I thank you for your support. I hope this chapter is to your liking. I hope to see you again.
-Mallory