Chapter 10: A Hard Decision

"Alright, see you guys next week!" Alan says as the bell rings.

"Bye Alan!" Sayori and I say in unison. We grab our things and head out the door. It's been around a week since I confessed to Sayori, and it's one of the best weeks of my life. No one but Alan knows as of this moment. He noticed a difference in Sayori's behavior and immediately guessed we were dating. Guess he's good at picking up on that stuff.

"I really like Dr. Tycho. He's so calm and welcoming." Sayori says.

"Yeah, he's chill. That's probably why you have such an easy time talking about stuff with him. He's certainly a good counselor." I comment.

"No doubt about that." Sayori replies. "Anyway, let's get going! I don't wanna be the last ones in the club!"

Sayori and I scheduled our weekly meeting with during last period this week, partly because we wanted to walk to the literature club together and partly to get out of class. Of course, he's really chill and let us miss last period. I really like him.

We arrive at the clubroom doors. Before heading in, we let go of each other's hand as to not raise speculation. We walk in the doors and find Natsuki and Yuri already in the clubroom having a conversation at the front of the room.

"Hey guys!" Sayori exclaims as she goes inside. "Is Monika not here yet?"

"No, she hasn't arrived." Yuri says. "Strange, she's usually the first one here."

"Yeah, it's weird." Natsuki adds.

I sit down at my usual seat and pull out my poem notebook. Looking through it, I have a good collection of poems. Grabbing my pencil, I begin to modify some of them. Cleaning up my word choice, fixing grammatical errors, things like that. While doing so, I hear the door open. I look over and see Monika standing in the doorway.

"Sorry! So sorry!" Monika apologizes.

"What took you so long?" Natsuki snaps.

"Oh, um…, well my last period today was study hall, so I must have not heard the bell."

"Wait, how can you not hear the bell?" Natsuki further questions.

"Ah, I was practicing piano." Monika says proudly.

"Oh, you play the piano? I never knew that, Monika." Yuri comments.

"Yeah, I kinda started recently. I've always wanted to learn piano."

"Wow, first the literature club, and now piano! You're really talented Monika!" Sayori praises.

Monika blushes. "D-don't say that…" Monika takes a breath and regains herself.

"I think it's just determination rather than skill, to be honest."

"Still, it's impressive to have that level of determination." Yuri comments.

Monika blushes again. "Oh, thank you…"

We begin to do our own things. Recently, I've begun working on a short story. It's about a man who lands on a planet covered entirely by a deep ocean. He must use the materials he has onboard and the things he finds whilst exploring the depths to survive while he fights off the aliens living in the ocean. I'm currently about 3 chapters in, and I must say writing is hard.

Monika puts down her book and calls out to the club.

"Okay, everyone! Please come take a seat at the front of the room. We need to talk about the festival."

Everyone reluctantly puts their stuff away and shuffles towards the front of the room.

As we sit down, Monika begins.

"So, as you know, we're going to be putting on a poetry performance for the festival."

"I still don't get why we have to do something for the festival." Natsuki complains. "We'll look dumb compared to everyone else."

"Well, Monika and Sayori have put a lot of effort into this. Least we can do is support them." I retort.

Natsuki hesitates, then nods her head in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Natsuki says unenthusiastically

"Thank you, Natsuki. I know how embarrassing this is." Monika says.

"Anyways, for sharing poems today, I thought it would be a good idea to perform them outloud as practice for the festival."

Monika barely manages to complete her sentence before Yuri and Natsuki interject.

"N-n-no way!" Natsuki yells.

"Monika..." Yuri stammers. "This is too sudden…."

"Well, if you can't recite your poem in front of the club, how do you expect to do it in front of strangers?" Monika retorts.

"Oh no…" Yuri mummers.

"Don't worry. I'll go first to help everyone feel more comfortable." Monika assures the group.

Monika pulls out her composition notebook and places it on the podium in the front of the room. "Now lets see…" Monika murmurs as she flips through the notebook, looking for a specific poem.

"Ah, here we go!" Monika exclaims. "The title of this poem is The Way They Fly."

Monika begins reciting her poem. Her voice is clear and confident. She knows how to perfectly put power behind each word, further emphasizing its impact. She's clearly had practice, no one can just be that good right off the bat.

Monika finishes and we all clap. Monika does a curtsy and sits down.

"Ooo, me next! Me next!" Sayori says cheerfully.

Sayori jumps up from her desk and walks up to the front of the room.

"This one's called...My Meadow."

"Ah.."

"-Ahaha!"

"Sorry, I giggled…." Sayori shamefully admits. I chuckle to myself. This girl is too cute.

Sayori takes a breath and composes herself. She begins to recite her poem. Her soft and cheerful voice complement the poem very well. It's not that it's a bad poem, but it's probably better performed than read I comment mentally.

Sayori finishes and beams at us. We all clap for her.

"Great job, Sayori."

"Ehehe, Thanks Nathan~" Sayori giggles as she sits down.

An awkward silence fills the clubroom. I speak up.

"Hmm, guess I'll-"

"I-I'll go!" Yuri interrupts. We all turn to look at her, shocked.

"Uwah! Yuri's fired up all of the sudden!" Sayori comments as Yuri hurries up to the podium.

"This poem is called-..." Yuri stammers as she anxiously stares at us.

"It's….It's called Afterimage of A Crimson Eye."

Yuri voice is shaky as begins to read the poem. However, as time goes on, her nervousness disappears. The strong and confident persona she displays whenever she talks about literature comes out and is on full display. The poem is amazing, the word choice mysterious and sophisticated.

Suddenly, she's done. I immediately start clapping, and the others follow suit. Yuri, clearly embarrassed, rushes back to her seat.

"That was great, Yuri!" Monika praises. No answer. Guess Yuri's over and out.

"Ok, do you wanna go next, Natsuki?" Monika asks.

"Don't make me go before Nathan. It's not like I can compete with you guys anyway…" Natsuki's voice trails off.

"Ahh, don't say that Natsuki. Your poems are good. C'mon, be confident!" I say.

Natsuki glances at our expectant faces before sighing loudly.

"Ughh, FINE!" Natsuki pouts as she walks up to the podium.

"The poem is called…"

"It's called…"

"W-Why are you all staring at me?" Natsuki complains.

"Oh, sorry Natsuki. It's not like you're-" I slam my hands on my desk for dramatic effect. "PERFORMING!" I say as sarcastically as possible.

That entices a laugh from everyone but Natsuki, who just stares at me menacingly. I can see the anger in her cute little pink eyes.

"S-Shut up, Nathan!" Natsuki retorts.

"A-Anyway, this poem is called...Jump"

Once she begins, her saltiness disappears a bit. The rhythm and rhyme of the poem gives it a cheerful beat. Her voice, while unenthusiastic, doesn't fail to give life to her poem.

She finishes and we applaud. Praises are exchanged, but I'm not listening. Instead, I'm mentally freaking out. Wait, why the hell am I stressed again? I'm getting paid to do this shit!

With that realization, a newfound confidence pulls me out of my desk and puts me in the front of the room. The girls stares burn a hole into the chalkboard behind me.

I open up my poem notebook and look for a good one to recite.

"Decisions, decisions…." I say as I flip through the book.

Finally, I find a good one. "Ah, here we are! This one's called Fortune Days."

I clear my throat and completely tune out my surroundings. I'm alone, sitting in my room, reciting poetry to myself. Yes, I'm alone…

"Only yesterday did the world change,"

"But it's felt like years."

"The mind cannot comprehend time properly,"

"When given that much of an influx."

"It's been that way for a span a time so long,"

"Even a sane person wouldn't understand."

"The sun still shines, but my shadow is gone."

"The leaves still fall, but they all turn black."

"Colorless."

"The world has changed, I understand,"

"But what has changed is beyond me."

"For I believe my fortune days live on…."

I pause for dramatic effect.

"But that's not the truth."

"Time is up."

I look up and stare directly at the girls.

"Wake up."

The girls stare at me, completely dumbfounded. Only after I close my notebook do they finally start clapping.

"Wow, that was great!" Sayori exclaims.

"You're really good at this, Nathan!" Monika praises.

"That was...incredible…" Yuri says.

"Yeah, it was good…" Natsuki adds in.

I silently accept the praise and sit down at my desk. Monika takes my place in front of the podium.

"Okay everyone! I think we're ready for the festival!" Monika happily exclaims. "But...we still need to work out the other things. Food, decorations, things like that!"

Natsuki immediately chirps up. "I'll make cupcakes!~"

Monika laughs. "Ok, you can do that."

"Now, Sayori and I will be working on the pamphlets for the performance over the weekend, and Yuri…."

"Umm, Yuri…." Monika struggles to find her words.

"Yuri can do decorations! Like, atmosphere, and lighting…" Sayori interjects.

"Ummm…" Yuri comtemplates. "I love atmosphere!' She suddenly says.

Her sudden enthusiasm threw us off guard, but he hurriedly dismiss it.

"So, that just leaves me, eh?" I say.

"Guess so." Monika says. She thinks for a bit, then speaks her mind.

"Well, Natsuki and Yuri have some pretty heavy tasks to handle, and helping them would come a long way."

"Or, you could always help me…" Monika slyly adds.

I'm at a crossroads. I would like to spend time with Sayori, but I was told to avoid any unnecessary confrontation with Monika. I remember that conversation well…

Flashback Begins:

"What the hell was that?" Lewis says angrily.

"I didn't say anything specific…" I retort.

"But you still said something!" Lewis grimaces. "Listen, we may be close, but we're not done yet. You need to, first of all, shut the hell up." He says jokingly. "And secondly," Back to serious again "You need to stay away from Monika as much as possible without drawing suspicion."

"Okay, I'll try." I assure him.

"Good." Lewis replies before sighing. "This has to go smoothly…"

"Yeah…"

Flashback Ends:

While contemplating, I see Sayori look at me expectantly. She gives me puppy eyes. Goddamnit…

"I'd be glad to help you and Sayori with the pamphlets." I say with a smile. Sayori's face lights up.

"Wait a minute!" Natsuki interrupts. "Monika and Sayori can do the pamphlets themselves!"

"Y-Yeah! If anything, Nathan should help me or Natsuki!" Yuri adds.

I put my hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright...Sorry guys." I say to the disappointed faces of Sayori and Monika.

Yuri and Natsuki look at me expectantly.

I let out a long sigh.

"I'm not very artsy, and cupcakes sound fun, so I guess Natsuki."

"W-Wait, really?" Natsuki asks, clearly exciting.

"Y-You don't have to artsy! I can give you easy things to do! I can-" Yuri's sudden interjection is interrupted by Natsuki.

"Yuri, he already made his choice. Don't try to change his mind just so you can spend time with him!"

Yuri blushes and fumbles with her words.

"W-What? No! That's n-not what I…"

"Hey, hey, that's unnecessary." I interrupt with a disappointed tone.

"It's just work, nothing personal about it. Doesn't matter who helps who, alright?" I say to Natsuki and Yuri.

They both prepare themselves to say something back, but stop themselves.

"O-Ok…" Yuri mumbles.

"Yeah…" Natsuki adds.

"Alright, glad we got that settled out. Natsuki and Nathan, you'll be doing cupcakes. Yuri, you'll be doing decorations. Sayori and I will be doing pamphlets." Monika says.

"Sounds like a plan." I comment.

"Good. I'll see you guys at the festival! Have a good weekend!"

And with that, we pack our things and begin to head. Before I can make it out of the clubroom, I feel a tugging at my arm.

"Hey, dummy! I-I need your phone number!" Natsuki says with a blush.

"Oh, right."

Sayori waits for me as Natsuki and I exchange phone numbers.

"Alright, see ya Sunday."

"B-Bye…" Natsuki says.

I take Sayori's hand and we walk home. On the sidewalk, Sayori rests her head on my shoulder as we walk.

"So, I have things to do tonight. What do you say we spend Saturday together?"

Sayori's face lights up. "That's sounds great!"

We reach my house. I give Sayori a kiss before heading inside. Once inside, I immediately collapse of exhaustion on my couch.

Author's Note: Sorry for not uploading in a while, but I felt like releasing Chapters 9 and 10 together. Anyway, more coming soon. Stay tuned!