Chapter 2: First Club Meeting
A week has came and went. After rising off my bed, I head off to the bathroom to get ready for the day. I get the shower turned on and then I realize that I didn't even bring my uniform with me to the bathroom... whoops. That's something I need to get used to.
Yep, this school has a uniform everyone must wear. A grey blazer over a orange sweater vest over a white shirt. Accompany all of that with a red tie... ew. Look, okay? I don't mind ties. They just take a while to, you know, tie up. rocking all of that with blue pants, and short length socks, you got quite a outfit.
But again, this is something I'm going to have to get used to. My old school didn't have a uniform system to it. And I think it would be in my best interest to freshen up for this day. After all, first impressions are rather important aren't they?
After that very refreshing shower I get fully clothed and head downstairs to see what there is to eat for breakfast. I head towards the fridge when i see a note taped to the fridge door.
"Hey sweetie! Have a good first day. There's eggs in the fridge if you are feeling up to making breakfast."
"Nice..." I say out loud. I begin to quickly make some scrambled eggs, all while having a watchful eye on the clock. It's 6:40AM now, so I'm left with roughly a hour. Classes start at 8. After eating breakfast I sling on my backpack and watch some videos to kill some time. Despite the memes that I'm attempting to consume, my brain continues to think about today.
Got to be honest here, I'm still a little nervous despite taking a week to digest what my near future will contain. The Literature Club... I need to remember why I'm doing this. It's all to overcome my anxiety I think? Maybe it's just to make my mom proud. Or maybe it's because I'm just too scared that I would become a NEET or something.
Well, regardless, I suck up some air around me, and march over to the front door. No looking back now.
The stroll there was surprisingly pleasant. A good look of scenery and a lot of fresh air, what more could you ask for? Once i approach the school I see the first big obstacle: stairs. A seemingly long staircase makes its way to the school in front of me. Ugh, stairs... I mean, its good exercise but god damn. Now that I've been here once before, I can take the minute and appreciate the architecture behind it.
There's 3 sets of doors at the front, presumably to prevent a massive pile-up of students. The school itself has this new feeling to it. The floors look shiny and really clean. You could slide across the floor with your socks if you truly felt like it. And man, would you take a look at the pillars and archways.
Past the front doors I can head in three directions. I dig into my backpack and fish for my schedule. Ah, there it is! Each direction I look has 2 pillars with a archway in-between. Not only do the floors look pretty, but so does the structure of the walls. Somebody here does a good job at keeping up on the beauty work.
Well, the first class I have is algebra. Shit. Yeah, math is not one of my best subjects to say the least. So many complex steps behind it, and it all requires perfection. It's basically like one big choreographed dance, where every step has to be done correctly.
I arrive in the classroom and slink into my chair. This is gonna be rough, even on the first day.
XXX
And now its 3PM... nice. The final class bell rings signaling the end of the school day, here's to another 100. Some people are a part of the 'go home club' since they don't have any clubs to attend to. I used to be with that crowd until I joined the literature club. Hopefully I don't go on to regret that decision.
I look at the list of classes and I see that at the very bottom, it lists the club name and room number. Its number starts with 3 so its on the 3rd floor... so more walking up stairs huh? Great. I step out of my chair and I hasten my pace to reach the 3rd floor. I don't want to appear late is all. I turn a corner and I start eyeing the door numbers.
Ah-hah!
Well, this is it. I either am fully accepted and I make all sorts of amazing friends, or I'll get bullied. So either or basically. I might as well flip a coin to determine my outcome. I twist the knob of the door and slowly descend into the room.
"Hello..." I manage to say rather weakly. I didn't mean for it to come out as weak, it just sort of happened. The girl from yesterday, Monika, looks over at the door and gets up to greet me.
"Hey Markus! Welcome to the club!" She said. Once again she is teeming with energy. Honestly after how slow today felt, it feels really refreshing.
"Really? You brought a boy?" I turn around a bit and I see a pink-haired short girl walk up to me with the tops of her hands on her sides. Wait, didn't I see this girl at orientation?
Meanwhile, Sayori tackles me from my side and she pulls me into a hug. "I'm so glad you decided to come here!" She says with much glee. And again, it's rather refreshing to witness all of this happen. "Thanks for making this commitment~" She whispered into my ear. Kind of odd but okay.
Monika regains my attention. "Markus, this is Natsuki." She points in the direction to the short girl. "And the other member you haven't been introduced to is Yuri." She points to a desk near the front of the room. Sitting on the chair next to the desk was the tall girl I saw yesterday. She seems to be reading a book.
Natsuki whistled towards Yuri which snapped her back to reality. She looked over at me and almost stumbled out of her chair.
"H-hi. My n-name is Yuri." She says with a hint of shyness in her voice.
It was at this moment that all words escape me. Here I am, in a room full of incredibly cute girls! Never did I think I would ever get lucky and end up in a situation like this.
Natsuki snapped me out of my train of thought. "What are you staring at? If you want to say something, just say it."
I put a finger to my chin. "You know, I never thought of it like that." I said half jokingly.
Sayori just giggled in response. "Don't mind Natsuki. She can be a little hot-headed."
Natsuki looked at Sayori with a bit of a shocked face. "Am not Sayori!" She stomps back over to the closet. Yeah, remind me to never get on her bad side. I'm pretty sure if I touch the wrong nerve, I'm going to get pounded into next week.
Yuri turns to look at me with a slight smile. "So, how did you find out about our club. I-I'm a bit curious on that myself."
"It was honestly a bit of an, um, spur of the moment thing." I reply. "All because my mom wants me to learn some 'real world' skills or something." I raise my fingers to make the air quotes. "But hey, this could serve as a fun experience."
Yuri nods at me. "I see... Well tell me, um..." She looks expectantly at me.
"Markus." I say, reiterating my name to her. I'm kind of doubting she overheard our conversation earlier.
She speaks up again. "So Markus, tell me, what kind of things do you like to read?"
Oh boy, here we go. I'm not much of a reader, unless you count manga as literature. Nah, surely they will see manga as pure literature, right?
"...manga..." I mutter half jokingly to myself. Natsuki turned her head from the closet and glanced at me with piqued interest.
Yuri looked at me with a sad smile. "Not much of a reader then?"
"Well, that can change..." I say reassuringly. "Reading may not be much of a pastime for me but, uh, I'm open to suggestions."
Monika looked at the clock on the wall. "Alright well, we should get on with todays events. Natsuki, did you bake the cupcakes?"
"Already got them." She pulled a tray out covered in tinfoil. "All of this was baked by yours truly. Think of it as a first day of the year feast." She said with a smug grin. Sayori and Yuri pull together some desks to form a makeshift table. I take a seat down next to Monika.
Yuri goes over to the closet and retrieves a tea kettle and some cups. The equipment in question looked quite pretty, with its purple and white design. "Markus, would you like some tea? I know for a fact that tea is a perfect comfort drink when reading." Yuri said while closing her eyes. "U-uh, I think anyways."
Monika chimes in. "Don't mind Yuri. She's just trying to impress you.~"
Yuri face turns red and she looks away behind her long hair. "W-well, You don't h-have to try it if you don't want t-to." Got to be honest, she's kind of cute when she looks flustered.
"Don't worry about it Yuri." I say reassuringly. "Tea and reading might not be a pastime for me but I like tea as a beverage anyways."
Yuri removes the hair in front of her face. "...I'm glad."
While Yuri is plugging in the electric kettle Natsuki places the tray on the table and removes the foil. "Feast your eyes on these!" The cupcakes all were made with chocolate batter, with white frosting on the top of them. Not only do the smell of these cupcakes make my mouth water, but the decoration of the icing looks exquisite. She made a cute cat design on each of these cupcakes, it honestly looks really, really good.
Sayori immediately snatched one and took a bit bite out of the side of it, already getting icing on her face. "'sho good!"
Natsuki made a small scowl towards her. "Please, chew with your mouth closed Sayori."
"eh-heh. Sorry..." She said while devouring the rest of her pastry. Afterwards, Yuri arrived at the table to place a teacup in front of each of us, with setting the pot in the middle of us.
I take a cupcake and twist it around in my fingers, looking for a good angle to take a bite. Natsuki looks at me in anticipation. I take a bite and I'm instantly wowed by the taste. For one the batter actually tastes soft and fresh. And also, the icing is full of flavor. It honestly has me wanting more.
"These taste delicious Natsuki!"
She looks at me in shock. "Why are you thanking me? It's not like I made them for you or anything."
"What? But didn't you make these as a first day of the-"
"Well yeah, but it wasn't for, you know, you, dummy!" Something has clearly made Natsuki upset, but I choose not to question it.
Sayori finished her second cupcake as she grabbed Natsuki's shoulders. "These cupcakes are once again proof that you are a master at being cute."
Natsuki blushed and pushed Sayori off of her. "I'm not CUTE! How many times do we have to go over this!? All throughout last year I keep on reiterating this point!
I glance at Monika. "Do these types of interactions happen often?"
She sighed and looked at the ceiling. "You have no idea. no matter if it's her baking or her poems, she's usually met with this same 'criticism.'"
"Is that something you girls do in this club? Discuss poetry?"
Monika nods. "Yes actually. We made it a fun activity to share our poems with each other. It helps get us a better understanding of each other." She points at me. "And now that you're here..." She trails off, seemingly getting lost in her thoughts.
I turn to the other girls. "I think its pretty neat that you all have some sort of gift for writing. I don't think I could do that."
Sayori shook her head. "Nonsense! All you need to do is reach deep down and throw your feelings onto the paper." She leans in closely. "Throw them, don't just drop them on the paper." ...I have no idea what to make of that. Sayori points at Natsuki. "She likes to write about cute things."
Once again she blushes up a storm. "A-ah. Don't say that!" Ignore her Markus." I don't really know what she's getting out of hiding that. So long as she's satisfied with the work she makes then that's all that matters. To each their own you know.
"Whatever you say Natsuki." I decide to dismiss her behavior.
Sayori turns to Yuri. "And she likes to write about horror and complex fantasy worlds."
Yuri smiles bashfully at me. "Ah yes. I'm always inspired by the worlds that my favorite authors can conjure up. And I feel like my poetry reflects that." When Yuri gets going its like any nervous part of her disappears. "Um, I-I'm rambling, a-aren't I?"
"It's fine Yuri. You're just passionate about this stuff."
Monika looks at the clock. "Okay, everyone." She grabs the attention of all of us. So for now we are going to stick to what we did last year. Is that okay with everyone?" Everyone in the club nods. I follow suit since I don't want to seem like a jerk for rejecting that idea.
"So I'm supposed to go home and write a poem to present tomorrow?" I say asking for clarity.
"Yes." Monika confirms to me. "I'm looking forward to seeing how you express yourself. hehe~" Yuri takes the now empty cups and Natuski disposes of whatever remnants of trash there was revolving around the cupcakes.
Got to be honest, now that the adrenaline has worn off, I'm feeling... nervous again. I've never had to write poetry before. Would it be enough to impress the girls in this club room? Well, whos to say what will happen. For now, I got my task at hand, just have to commit.
I pick up my bag and sling it over my shoulder. Damn. It's been a hour already? An hour of after school activities... Once again showing that this year can prove to be interesting.
I turn back to wave at Monika, Natsuki and Yuri. Sayori seems to already have left. That girl is rather quick isn't she.
I exit the school and walk down the massive staircase leading to the street. As I'm walking back, my mind bounced back and forth between everyone.
You've got Monika, club president and has a bubble of authority. But that's a good thing, since every good club needs a good leader. Not only that but she seemed really open to the idea of me joining anyways.
You've got Sayori, the ray of sunshine herself. At least that's the impression I got off of her. She seems like the 'happy glue' that keeps the club together. Due to her gleeful persona, I bet she can diffuse any argument that arises.
You've got Natsuki, the... hostile one? According to Sayori I shouldn't mind her so I don't know. For all I know she can be someone very reliable and cares deeply. Plus she gave me a look when I brought up manga. ...Is she interested in that? Never thought I would meet someone that would.
And finally you've got Yuri, the shy bookworm. She definetly looks more reserved and mature, what with her focus being on horror. Honestly, a stark contrast to Natsuki.
All in all, a strange but fun bunch of girls. But still, there's only 5 of us in there? I would of thought that there would be more. Maybe the reason why Monika was so happy that I would join is because they are struggling to find any new club members. I should have a talk to her about this.
I felt someone tapping my shoulder and i turn around and come face-to-face with Sayori. "Oh, um, hello." I say a little startled.
"Hey Markus! I just seen you walking down the street and, uh, I was wondering..." She put her index fingers together and was contemplating something.
"What is it?" I ask.
"So, now that you are a part of the literature club, you should join our group chat." ...huh? I mean I guess. I pull out my phone without much thinking and she snatches it from my hands. "Cool! You're the best!" she unlocks my phone and beings typing on the messaging app. I really need to put a password on my device. Also I never agreed outright to join this group chat but honestly its fine i guess.
She hands my phone back to me and we continue walking down the street with her whistling a tune. Eventually we reach my house. I try to break the awkward silence. "Well, I made it home so..."
"Oh... so you were the person that moved in next to me." She said widening her eyes.
"Yep. Just moved here a week or so ago." I look at the house next to mine. Where as my house is colored a deep blue, hers is a nice shade of lavender. "Nice color by the way."
"No, no. You have the nice color silly!" She looks at my house in awe.
I turn to walk up to my porch. "Well, anyways. See you tomorrow Sayori?"
I snapped her out of her trance. "Oh, yeah! Sounds good Markus!" She turns to head into her house as I do the same for mine.
XXX
After my afterschool snack and a quick chat with my mom, I decide to play one of the most intense video games known to man. A game that requires precise hand-eye coordination, a game that requires both skill and luck. One could even identify it as a real e-sport.
...Yep. I'm talking about Mario Kart.
Which is what I want to do but I realize I have some homework to attend to. Or rather, one piece of homework. I open my blank notebook and get out my pen.
"Poems..." I mutter to myself. Such a delicate form of literature. Sayori said to throw your feelings onto the paper but its not as simple as that. It takes true self confidence to achieve such heights. Do I have any self confidence though? It remains to be seen.
I start writing some lines on the paper. Hopefully I'm doing this right. Honestly I should have no reason to be afraid. The literature club was advertised as a judgement-free zone. So I should be fine, right? Then again, I'm a new comer. I'm assuming that everyone else has been in the club since last year.
Despite what my body is telling me to do I press onwards. Trying to write something good, something that at least feels passable.
A while passes and the sun is already setting. Crazy how much time I spent writing a poem that isn't even too long. I guess some of that time was trying to craft it to be good. ...Well, I've got a hour or so of gaming before I head off to sleep. Sounds like a plan.
I soon say goodnight to my mom and turn in for the night. "Night mom!" I say to her. She's currently laying on her bed with the lamp illuminating the room. She looks up from her book to smile at me.
"I already told you this but I'm very happy that you are making friends this year. It makes me feel good that my job as a mother was done successfully."
I chuckle a bit at this. "It's nothing really..." I rub the back of my head and turn away from her room.
"One more thing Markus." She said looking at me in the eyes. "Treat the club members with respect, alright? It can feel overwhelming to get put in a club with four girls huh?" She says with a smirk.
"Mom!" I yell while trying to contain my blush. "All I plan on doing is what they want me to do. And for tonight, I'm writing a poem."
She looks at me with her smirk growing. "What? So that you can impress one of them?" Ugh, I dislike her teasing sometimes...
I doubt any of them would want to see me as anything more than a friend.
Now my mom frowns a bit. "Markus, sweetie. We talked about this, remember? You can achieve new heights if you really apply yourself. Never sell yourself short."
I nod solemnly. "Okay mom..." I heave a big yawn and trudge off to my room, waving goodbye to her. I enter my bedroom and crash on the mattress. who knew that writing poems would take a lot out of you? I get one last glimpse outside before snoozing off to dreamland. One day down... many to go.