You wake up to a blaring alarm clock. Groggily, you roll over to it, and see the time.
//Shit.//
You've woken up late, and on the first day at your new school. Moving schools in junior year wasn't ideal, but you have to yield under the powerful words of your busy parents. They must've left for work early, leaving you home alone.
You get up to get ready, and spy the school uniform folded at the foot of your bed. You quickly put it on, and [[head outside]].Across the street, you see a girl just leaving her house. She looks like she might be the same age as you.
[[Jog over]]?
[[Walk to school alone]].You jog over to the girl, and she looks surprised. She quickly looks around, as if for someone, and then smiles and waves at you.
"Hi, I'm new here, so I guess I'll just follow you for now," You say nervously, "I'm y/n."
"Oh, nice to meet you! I'm Sayori!" The girl beams, "I //was// going to meet my friend, but it looks like they already left."
She seems nice, and you make quick small talk on the way to school. As you near, you realise you forgot your keys at home. You mention this to Sayori, and she perks up.
"Oh! Well, if you need something to do after school, you could come join the literature club! There aren't many members, so it'd really be nice!"
[[Accept her offer]]?
[[Politely decline]].You choose not to interfere. She probably wouldn't want to talk to you anyway. You make your way towards the school.
The school day is uneventful, most classmates ignore you, staying in their own friend circles. Near the end of the day, you get a text from your parents saying they'll be home late. At that point you realise that you forgot your housekeys. You sigh, and pace around the school, looking for something to do. While walking around, you see a poster for a club, a literature club to be exact. It looks brand new, so you assume there won't be many people there.
[[Check it out]]?
[[Keep looking for something to do]].You decide to go to the room listed on the poster. As you make your way there, you see a tall, dark-haired girl headed in the same direction. You decide to introduce yourself. You walk up next to her and put on your best smile.
"Hi! I think we might be going to the same place. Do you mind if I walk with you?"
She looks nervous, but nods politely. You walk in silence, choosing not to make small talk. It's slightly awkward, but the company is nice. The two of you [[enter]].You decide not to join, and instead decide to just walk home and [[hang around your porch until your parents come home->Go home]].You tell her you'll meet her there, and you exchange phone numbers.
The school day is uneventful, most classmates ignore you, staying in their own friend circles. At the end of the day, you get a text from Sayori. She tells you the room the club is in, and that the others are excited to have a new member. As you make your way there, you see a tall, dark-haired girl headed in the same direction. You decide to introduce yourself. You walk up next to her and put on your best smile.
"Hi, I'm y/n! I think we might be going to the same place. Do you mind if I walk with you?"
She looks nervous, but nods politely and introduces herself as Yuri. You walk in silence, choosing not to make small talk. It's slightly awkward, but the company is nice.
The two of you [[enter the clubroom]].You politely decline Sayori's offer, but you exchange phone numbers and make your way to class.
The school day is uneventful, most classmates ignore you, staying in their own friend circles. Near the end of the day, you get a text from your parents saying they'll be home late. You sigh, and pace around the school, looking for something to do. While walking around, you see a poster for a club, the literature club to be exact. You remember Sayori's offer.
[[Look for Sayori]]?
[[Go home]].You look around for Sayori. You find her about to enter a classroom. When she sees you, she smiles. She takes your hand and pulls you in the direction of the clubroom. Apparently the class she was about to enter wasn't it. As you approach the room, you start to get nervous. Sayori notices this.
"Aw, don't back out now! There's only four of us, and we don't bite!" She laughs.
[[Go inside]]?
[[Back out]].You decide to go home, and not join the literature club. You fool. You buffoon. You've failed the game. The whole point is to join the club. Jeez, get it together. Maybe you should [[start over->Day 1]] and actually try this time.
''LAZY END''Sayori pulls you by the hand into the clubroom. The action makes you blush, and she stops suddenly, causing you to stumbling slightly. She laughs and begins to introduce you.
"Hey girls! I brought the new member!"
The other three turn and look at you. Your face is hot with embarassment. You wave nervously. Sayori squeezes your arm in encouragement.
"H-hi, I'm y/n," You sqeak out, "I'm new here."
"Nice to meet you, y/n! I'm Monika, the club president," says one of the taller girls, the one with light brown hair done up in a bow.You politely apologize for wasting her time and quickly run off.
[[Go home]].As you enter the clubroom you see Sayori. She's talking with a taller girl with long brown hair, done up in a bow. Sayori sees you and beams. She announce to the club, "The new member is here! And Yuri, hi Yuri!"
Yuri smiles softly and takes a seat. A few desks are arranged to create large table. The tall girl Sayori was talking to smiles at you.
"Go on, introduce yourself!" she says. She reminds you of an over-eager mother.
"Um, okay... I'm y/n, and I moved here recently. I guess I'm joining this club?" You say nervously, fidgeting.
A small pink-haired girl pipes up, "Ugh, you better not just be here for the cupcakes!"
[[Apologize]].
[[Ignore her]].
You hurriedly tell her that you're not, and that you hope to make friends with everyone here. She looks unimpressed.
The tall girl laughs.
"That's Natsuki for you! Don't worry, she's just giving you a hard time. I'm Monika, the club president. It's nice to have you joining our little club!"
Monika seems like the cool older cousin of the group. The kind who'd help you with your homework, or make fake sick notes to get out of fitness. Nothing //too// dramatic, but cool all the same.
You should take a seat.
Who do you sit by?
[[Natsuki.]]
[[Yuri.]]
[[Sayori.]]
[[Monika.]]You nervously wring your hands and look away.
Sayori pats the seat next to her, and you go sit by her. She leans up to you and whispers.
"You can ignore Natsuki, she's just feisty is all."
You nod, and ask Sayori what you should be doing.
"Oh, well, usually we just read until Monika tells us to do something," She admits quietly.As you enter the clubroom, you see three girls sitting at desks arranged in a table, one of which you recognize as the girl you saw this morning. One of the taller girls, the one with light brown hair done up in a bow, stands up and approaches you.
"Uh-um, is this the right room? The literature club? I saw a poster for it in the hall," you stammer nervously.
"You bet it is! I'm Monika, the club president! You must be y/n, right?"
You find the fact that she knows your name odd, but you brush it off. She must be friends with people in some of your classes. You nod, and shake her hand.
You should take a seat.
[[Sit with Monika]]?
[[Sit with the tall dark-haired girl you met in the hallway->Sit with Yuri]]?
[[Sit with the short pink-haired girl->Sit with Natsuki]]?
[[Sit with your neighbor->Sit with Sayori]]?You decide to sit with the club president, since she somehow knows you. Familiarity is good in an unfamiliar space.
She beams at you, making you feel comfortable and welcomed.
"Welcome to the literature club! I know it's small, but it's made up for with how close we all become!"
She's very optimistic. A little //too// optimistic, but you don't mention it because that would be rude. Monika reminds you of an over enthusiactic mother, or perhaps a kindergarten teacher.
[[Ask Monika about herself]]?You sit next to the tall dark-haired girl. She looks intimidating, but first impressions aren't always right. She's started reading a thick novel, and doesn't notice you sit next to her.
"Um, hi. I'm y/n, and I don't think I caught your name?" You say politely. The looks up quickly, surprised that you're talking to her.
"Oh! I didn't notice- Um, I'm Yuri. Nice to meet you," She mumbles. She seems shy, like a little stray dog. Actually, that's a weird thing to think about someone.
[[Ask about her book]].
[[Ask her about herself->question yuri]].You decide to sit with the small, pink haired girl sitting in the corner. She has her nose buried in a manga you don't recognize.
"Um, hi. I'm y/n and you are...?" You say, trying to strike up conversation. She doesn't look up.
"Mmhm," she hums, cleary not paying you any attention. The situation is extremely awkward. You ask again, slightly louder, but trying not to be rude. This time she hears you and answers.
"I'm Natsuki. Don't bother me while I'm reading."
The phrase hurts a little, but you don't let it get to you.
"O-Oh, sorry..." You say quietly, fidgeting with your sleeves and looking down.You walk over to the seat next to the girl you saw this morning. She briefly looks surprised, but she still smiles at you. You sit down and she introduces herself.
"I'm Sayori, nice to meet you! I think I saw you this morning, you should've introduced yourself!" She laughs.
You chuckle nervously and rub your arm.
"Um, well it's nice to meet you! Usually I'm the one recruiting people, being vice prez, but I'm glad you joined on your own!"
Seeing someone so bright and cheery helps you get more comfortable in a new space.
[[Ask Sayori about herself]].You ask Yuri about the book that she's reading.
"Oh, well, um..." She trails off, thinking. She bookmarks her page, and closes the book to show you the synopsis on the back.
It appears to be a gorey horror novel.
[[It's not your thing]].
[[Seems interesing]]!You ask Yuri about her interests.
"Eheh, well..." She trails off to think, "I'm fairly interested in psychological horror, and most immersive stories. Poetry is also near to my heart."You apologize politely, and tell her that that type of literature isn't really your thing.
Yuri looks slightly dissappointed. You tell Yuri that the book seems interesting.You take a seat next to Natsuki. Why the //hell// did you do that? You don't know. Maybe in another effort to get the small, feisty girl to like you. As she sees you sit next to her, she scoots slightly away, and turns to face away from you.
"I'm sorry if you think I'm weird or something..." You mumble, hopelessly trying to break down her defensive attitude.
Natsuki huffs and stays silent.You sit next to Yuri, hoping to get to know her a little better. She sees you do this, and politely smiles. She pulls a thick hardcover novel out of her bag, and places it gently on the desk.You sit next to your optimistic neighbor, Sayori. You know her the best, even though you just met her today. You've already exchanged phone numbers after all. She sees you sit next to her, and she grins widely. You see that she's writing something in a notebook. Sayori notices you looking, and flips to a new page.You sit next to the club president, Monika. She looks slightly surprised at this, but she smiles at you welcomingly.
She laughs suddenly and says, "You know, I didn't expect anyone to join this club. Well, no that's not //quite// true. I did expect someone, just not you,"
You chuckle nervously.
"Ahaha, that came out wrong, didn't it?"
You nod, smiling awkwardly.
"So, um, what kind of things are you interested in?" You ask feebley.
"Oh, I'm glad you asked! Well, right now I'm into-"
You didn't think you'd get this far. After all, isn't Monika popular? Why would she want to talk to //you?// Unfortunately, you stopped listening to her long list.
"-oh, and this might be a little weird, but, ahahah, I think I might be into //you//."
If you were eating something, you would've choked. A pretty, popular girl liking //you?// Impossible. She //has// to be bluffing.
[[Laugh]].
[[Cry]].
"So, uh, what kind of stuff are you interested in?" You ask, fidgeting awkwardly.
"Oh! Wel, there's a lot of things! But, um, right now I'm really into poetry!You laugh heartily, because she's //obviously// joking, right? Monika couldn't possibly be serious. You //just// moved here, after all.
"Ahaha, what's so funny?"
Oh. She //wasn't// joking. Looks like you fucked up, buddy.
"I, uh, thought, that you... were joking?" You say nervously.
Monika covers her mouth in embarassment.
"Oh, well- I, uh... I've got to go."
Monika quickly stands up and runs out of the clubroom, bringing attention to the other club members.
"What's up with her?" the pink-haired girl says.
[[Lie]].
[[Tell the truth]].You're so moved by Monika's short phrase of affection that you can't help but cry. It starts small, with just watery eyes, but soon you're full-on sobbing.
Monika takes this as an opportunity to get close, and pulls you into a warm, welcoming embrace. She hums softly, and strokes your hair gently. Slowly, the tears stop. You blush in embarassment, just realizing the situation you're in.
[[Pull away?]]
[[Linger in her embrace.]]"She, um, she felt nauseous?" You lie.
"Oh, alright," The small girl responds.
[[Check on Monika]]
[["Someone should check on her."]]"Well, she, uh, she said that she likes me... and I thought it was a joke... so I laughed," You admit, red with embarassment.
Two of the girls stare at you, silent and in shock.
The small pink-haired girl, though, looks unamused.
"You're bluffing. Why would Monika, the popular girl, the ex-president of the debate club, like //you?//"
"Natsuki, now isn't the time," the tall, dark-haired girl retorts.
"I thought she was joking!" you insist. You put up a defensive stance, arms crossed.
Natsuki stands up and approaches you.You pull away from Monika's warm embrace.
"I- uh, I'm sorry- I didn't mean to-" you stutter. You're beet red.
"It's okay, y/n," Monika says softly. Luckily, none of the other club members noticed. Or so you thought. Taking a quick scan around the room, you see two of the girls at their desks, reading. One of them, though, is looking right at you two, grinning. It's the girl from across the street, with the messy hair and red bow. She sees that you're looking, and quickly turns away.You stay in Monika's warm embrace, listening to her hum.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.