Chapter 1 Part 5 - Game

"Heeeeeeey!"

Startled, a shiver runs down my spine as I jolt my head around. The girl who yelled at me is still about 10 meters or so away, but I vaguely recognize her. As she gets closer, I begin to notice her peach hair and bright red bow glimmering in the sunlight. My eyes widen as I realize where I am.

"Haah… Haah…"

I recognize this girl. As my memory fails me, I grapple to remember her name.

"I overslept again!"

Sayori!

At this realization, I can feel my breath get shaky. I'm now in complete and utter shock and panic.

Stay calm, Xavier. It's only a dream.

But what if it isn't?

"Xavier, you okay?" Sayori sounds genuine and concerned.

I pull myself together enough to say, "I'm good, Sayori. Don't sweat it."

"Oh okay. Are you thinking of joining any clubs, by the way?" She still sounds mildly concerned.

I guess there's only one club to really join, so I hesitantly say, "How about the Literature Club? You're the vice president, right?"

She looks shocked, but her clear enthusiasm shines through. "Really? I was just gonna recommend that to you!" She giggles.

As we walk to school I think about my situation.

This feels way too real to be a dream. Nevertheless, I need to assume the worst and act natural.

I suppress the urge to scream.

I notice that a small high school building is emerging from down the street

"Here we are!" Sayori says enthusiastically. Little does she know what's going on in my head.

"Yeah… I mutter under my breath.

The two of us walk over a wide bridge leading to the school building, with a somewhat large creek flowing underneath it.

So, what I know is that, dream or not, I'm stuck inside of Doki Doki Literature Club. I guess I'm taking the role of the protagonist. I was likely sent here by my computer's DDLC app. I don't know how to get out, since my conventional dream-exit strategies don't really work. I've always had really weird dreams, so I'm kinda panicky about it.

Fuck… I still can't grasp what's happening to me. I need to focus on not blowing my cover here. I don't know what would happen if I did.

Suddenly I realize that I don't even know where my classes are.

I say bye to Sayori as she enters her classroom and prop myself on a nearby bench to grope through my school bag.

There!

I find a crumpled-up timetable and scan it for my class number. I find it in no time, and head for the class, which was actually pretty nearby.

As I walk into my classroom, I only see a couple of semi-familiar faces. Sitting in the back right is Natsuki, and second from the front is Monika. She notices me, turning her head around to get a look at me. She gives me a confused look and turned around.

Does she know?

I take an empty seat next to her. She leans towards me, even more off-put than before.

"Listen, Monika," I say, trying to stay casual. "We need to talk."

"I know… Just act normal. We'll talk at the Literature Club."

"Deal."

The day flies by, but unanswered questions ring in my mind.

"Xavier!" I turn around. It's Sayori. "Are you coming to the Literature club?"

"Oh, yeah. Let's go."

As I walk down the hallway, I feel the imminent suspense behind the approaching door.

"Here we are!" Sayori chirps proudly.

I hesitantly open the door.