A/N: Alright! The sequel to Those Times With The Dokis is upon us with Those Times Towards Graduation! Now we get to see if Tridon will finally make his decision during their final semester as high schoolers. Of course, as it should be with most sequels, there will be returning characters, but there will also be some new characters. Whether those individuals will be friend or foe is for me to know and all of you to find out. So for now, enjoy this first chapter as it has been ready for the last week. I'm currently working on the next few since I'm trying to figure out how the club is going to handle not being able to go on an adventure while Tridon is forbidden from using his power.
What I have so far are so learning sessions, like what I did with haikus, and other chapters like the bake sale chapter from the previous volume. So if you enjoy learning, you'll like those creative writing lessons I'll be posting, but if you're more into the relationship building chapters, then you'll be able to get those too. Anyway, enjoy the new beginning for Tridon and the Dokis as we dive into their new adventures!
Tridon rose up from his bed and stretched. He wiped his face and looked at his alarm clock that was blaring throughout his house. He sighed and hit the snooze button. His phone rung and he checked the caller ID.
He chuckled and answered, "Hey there Sayori."
"Just making sure you were awake."
"I'm awake." Tridon stood up and walked over to his closet, "Are you awake?"
"I'm talking to you aren't I?"
"I guess. What about the other 3?"
"Monika might still be asleep." Sayori peaked through her window and into Tridon's house. He nodded and said, "She is."
"I'll go wake her." Tridon out of his room and stretched.
Yup, this girl is living with me again. She went back up in the class rankings, but she's still not in the top 100. Her mom said that if she can get into the top 100 after our mid-term break, then she would allow her to live alone again.
He walked over to one of the doors and knocked on it before opening it.
"Monika," he called out, "wake up."
He heard her groan and turn in her bed. He sighed and walked over to her bed. He shook her repeatedly, but to no avail.
"She's not budging Sayori."
"Shake her harder."
"Fine." Tridon shook Monika a little more aggressively, "Wake up Monika." However, while shaking her, Monika moaned and grabbed Tridon, "M-Monika!"
"Mmm." She moaned, "Tridon. You're too rough."
"I don't know what I'm doing that is rough, but I'm not doing it now." Tridon as he tried to pull away, "Geez. Why is her grip so strong?"
"Oh Tridon. Fill me up."
"No!" Tridon yelled as he jerked up, picking up Monika in the process, "Wake up!"
Monika's eyes shot open while she looked around. She looked at Tridon and her face flushed.
"A-Ah!" Monika covered her face and rolled off Tridon's arms and back onto her bed, "Tridon!"
"Time to wake up sleepy head. First day of our last semester." Tridon walked out of her room while Monika moved to hug her pillow.
"Mmm..." She buried her face into her pillow and fell onto her bed, "So embarrassing."
"Sounds like you had fun." Sayori teased.
"Fun would be an understatement." Tridon fixed himself and sighed, "What about the other two?"
"I'll call them." Sayori answered, "You worry about getting yourself and Monika ready."
"I'm on it."
Well, this starts our push to graduation. After a very eventful previous semester, I look to keep everything normal and vanilla this time.
Tridon scrunched his face and looked towards an invisible void, "Oh who am I kidding. We're still gonna break the 4th wall and create some awesome adventures!"
"Tridon," Monika chimed in from her room, "don't break the 4th wall this early, please?"
"Oh alright."
Later at school, the club walked in greeting others and taking in the new school air. Sayori walked ahead of everyone and took a massive deep breath.
"Ah..." Sayori sighed and turned to the others, "This is it everyone. The final push!"
"That's right." Yuri agreed, "After many grueling years of elementary, middle, and high school, this is where it all ends on our final push towards graduation."
"Oh man." Natsuki jumped up and down in excitement while saying, "This is gonna be the best semester ever!"
"And we have our friend here who will help in doing that." Monika looked at Tridon and winked, "Right Tridon?"
"Yeah I guess so." Tridon scratched the back of his head and sighed, "So how about we head on inside and see what our schedules look like, m'kay?"
The club stood in a line of other students waiting to get their schedules. Sayori hopped up and down between them, but not out of excitement, but out of worry.
"What's up Sayori?"
"I'm worried that they didn't put us in the same classes." Sayori's voice shook as she looked at Tridon, "What if you and I aren't in the same class?"
"Sayori, we weren't in any of the same classes last semester. What's different this semester?"
"If I'm going to try and improve myself this semester, I need you to help me to improve Tridon."
"We still have club meetings."
"You don't get it. Club meetings are reserved for our adventures. Not studying."
"If we're not in the same classes," Monika interrupted, "why not start a study group." Monika pulled Sayori to the side and whispered in her ear, "Remember, I told you that we'd make one in order to get all of us into Lingston, remember?"
"Oh right..."
"Alright here we are." Tridon was handed his schedule and walked off to wait for the others.
They eventually joined back up with him and they slowly unfolded their schedules.
"So what's the sitch?" Natsuki started, "My first period is Statistics."
"I have that." Monika and Tridon say in unison, "First period." The three of them high-fived one another while Yuri read her next class.
"My second period is Photography IV. Do you have that Tridon?"
"Yeah. I guess we'll be in there again."
"Yes!" Yuri cheered.
"I also have Intro To World History." Tridon added, "One of those Dual Enrollment classes for Lingston." Tridon look at all of them and chuckled, "I guess that's one class I don't have with anyone. This class is one I'll have to take at the library since it's online."
"My 4th period class is..." Sayori looked at it and her face scrunched up, "AP Calculus!"
Sayori stood outside the principal's office while the others watched her practically lose it when she found out she was in an AP math course.
"This has to be some sort of mistake." Sayori mumbled to herself, "How can I be in an AP math course?!"
"Well," Tridon started, "you surprisingly got a high math score on the final exams. You were up there with the top 25 students."
"But how?"
"Maybe it was that cram session we had the night before." Yuri answered, "Maybe that cram session actually worked for you."
"But I don't remember anything from that session. Plus, I think the circulation to my head was being cut off by being tied to that chair for so long."
"I don't know how that would work."
The principal's door opened and they stiffened up. A middle-aged woman in her mid-30s stepped out smiling at them.
"Hello kids, what can I help you with?"
"Sayori," Tridon pointed over to where Sayori was, but found her missing, "where'd she...?" Tridon sighed and grabbed Sayori from his back and held her in the air, "Ms. White, she wants to figure out why she was placed in AP Calculus."
"Well, she received her scores from the final exam, right?"
"I did receive them." Sayori answered, "But it must've been a fluke."
"A fluke?"
"Ms. White," Sayori jumped down from Tridon's grasped and said, "you remember my past math scores on previous exams. They're not someone who should be in any AP classes. At least put me in Statistics or Bridge Math!"
"Well," Ms. White sighed and said, "you can test out of the class. If you score low, you will be moved from the AP class into a class more suited for your needs."
"When do I take this test?"
"Either at the end of the day or during lunch."
"I'll do it at the end of the day."
Later that day at lunch, Tridon stretched and stood up from one of the computers in the library. The librarian walked up to him and said, "Lunch time Mr. Pierce."
"I know." Tridon picked up his bag and noticed Monika smiling at him by the exit of the library, "Hey Monika."
"Hi Tridon."
Tridon looked around and asked, "Where are the others?"
"They have different lunch breaks." Monika answered, "I was hoping you and I would have the same lunch break and here we are."
"I guess we do." Tridon chuckled at Monika who was staring at the ground shyly while the two walked around, "Did you bring a lunch or do you want to share mine?"
"I brought my..." Monika paused and looked at Tridon, "Share?!"
-Inside Monika's Head-
Oh my god. Sharing a lunch with Tridon? I just couldn't. Is this within the confines of our competition for Tridon's affection?!
"Here you go Monika." Tridon held a piece of sausage to Monika's mouth as Monika blissfully took a bite of it, "Is it good?"
"Wonderful..."
"I know something else that would taste good..." Tridon inched closer as Monika's thought bubble popped.
"Oh!" Monika hugged herself as she wiggled around, "I just can't do this Tridon. Not out here in front of everyone..."
"Monika," Tridon sighed, "you just acted that whole thing out in front of everyone."
"Huh?!" Monika's mouth trembled as she covered her face and ran off, "What am I doing?!"
Tridon sighed and turned around. He ran into an older gentleman and quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry. I was just watching a friend of mine be weird for a second."
"That's fine." The older gentleman looked past her and then back at Tridon, "You're Tridon Pierce, correct?"
"That's right."
"I heard about your time playing football during your middle school years. Until your injury that is."
"Oh right. Practically ended my career before it even started."
"I see." The man handed Tridon a card and said, "I've seen you at the park and I gotta say, I'm impressed."
"Huh?" Tridon looked at the card and his eyes widened when he read the name on the card, "Y-You're..."
"I'm the athletics director at Lingston and I know for sure that Coach Johnson would love to see how you could perform at his camp this summer."
"No way..."
"Give me a call some time and we'll see to it that you get a spot at the camp and maybe you can be walk-on for the Lingston Black Dragons." The gentleman waved Tridon off and was on his way.
Tridon stood stone-still while other students walked past him in confusion.
Later that day in a classroom, Sayori sat staring at a test with Ms. White standing across from her.
"Okay Sayori, you'll have this last hour of the school day to take this test. You don't have to answer every question, just answer a minimum of 10 questions and you'll be graded on what you've completed."
"Okay." Sayori took some deep breaths and almost instantly, tried to burst out of her chair, but she found herself tied to the chair.
"Thanks you guys." Ms. White gave Tridon and the club at thumbs while they gave her thumbs up back.
"You traitors!" Sayori shouted.
"It's for your own good Sayori!" Tridon shouted back.
"Sayori, if you really want to test out of AP Calculus, you'll have to take this test."
"Alright..." Sayori took a deep breath and squeezed her arms out of the bindings, "Oh man..." Sayori brought her pencil up and brought it down.
The others waited an hour outside the school and Sayori rolled out of the school still tied to the chair and Tridon stopped her.
"So what's the sitch Sayori?"
"I..." Sayori paused and took out her paper, "out of the class! I'm now in Bridge Math because I'm terrible at math!"
"Sayori," Tridon started, "I don't know if that's good or bad."
"I'll just go to you for help best friend." Sayori smiled at Tridon before yelling, "Now get me out of this chair!"
"Nah." Tridon proceeded to roll Sayori towards the gate and said, "Remember girls, we have to have to wait a few weeks before using my powers again."
"So what are we gonna do for the next few weeks?"
"Just end it here?"
"What?"
"No adventures for the next few weeks so I guess the writer can just end the chapter here."
"Are we increasing the amount of 4th wall breaks this volume?" Sayori wondered while being pushed in her chair, "I swear, I wanted to say season so bad..."
"Yes and I want to be able to say season." Tridon and the girls slowly looked off at the distance while smirking and raising their eyebrows continuously.
"Oh you know what we're looking at everyone." Tridon chuckled, "If you've read the previous volume, you know what we're looking at."
"You know who we're talking to specifically." Natsuki interrupted, "We're talking about the people who started on this volume first and not the previous volume!"
"Calm it down pinkie." Tridon pulled Natsuki back and turned to the girls, "So what do you girls wanna do?"
"Nothing!"
They were now in Tridon's sitting around and doing nothing. Tridon looked around and sighed.
"Yeah, we should just not listen to Tiff and do an adventure sooner than later."
"Yeah..."
