บท 3: The Literature Club
Here goes nothing.
As I stepped foot inside the classroom, Sayori's voice filled the room with excitement.
"Everyone! The new member is here~!"
"I told you, I'm not a member."
I turned my attention to a girl with long, straight, dark purple hair and captivating light purple eyes. She had purple barrettes adorning her hair on both sides. It was Yuri.
Yuri approached me with a warm smile. "Welcome to the literature club. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Sayori has spoken highly of you."
"Ahh, Really?"
Then the short girl with straight pastel pink hair, cut around chin length, and pink eyes took a close look at me. "Seriously? You brought a boy? What a way to kill the atmosphere."
"Sharp-tongued short girl," I smiled at her, but behind this smile was annoyance.
"Huh? Shut up! I'm not short!"
Then the last girl also approached me. "Oh? Maki, what a surprise."
Monika... The one I should be aware of. If you know Doki-Doki Literature Club, you'll know that over the course of the game, it is revealed that Monika is self-aware. This self-awareness is a result of her position as the president of the Literature Club.
She is fully aware that she is inside the game. After all, in the end, she gains control over the system files, allowing her to manipulate the other characters' actions and personalities.
But that changed now since I also have control of the system.
"Hello, Monika." I smiled at her.
"Hm? You two know each other?" Sayori asked.
"Yeah, Kinda."
The main protagonist and Monika know each other, although they rarely talked. they were in the same class last year. Monika was the most popular girl in class--smart, beautiful, and athletic. Basically way out of my league.
"You too, Monika."
"Come sit down, Maki! We made a room for you at the table so that you can sit next to me or Monika. Meanwhile, I'll go get the cupcakes~"
Oh, speaking of cupcakes, I can finally taste Natsuki's cupcakes.
"Hey! I made them, I'll get them!"
"Hehe~ Sorry, I got a little too excited~"
"Then, how about I make some tea for you as well~,"
Natsuki and Yuri walk over to the corner of the room, where Natsui grabs a wrapped tray and Yuri opens the closet grabbing the tea set.
I slightly feel a bit awkward so I decided to sit next to Sayori.
Natsuki proudly walks back to the table with a tray in her hands. "Alright, Are you ready?" She is grinning "...Taa-daa~"
Sayori and Monika both look at the cupcake with awe. "Uwooahh~"
Natsuki lifts the foil off the tray to reveal a dozen white, fluffy cupcakes decorated to look like little cats. the whiskers are drawn with icing, and little pieces of chocolate were used to make ears.
"So cuuute~" Sayori's hands tremble as she can't resist the temptation of the cupcakes.
"I had no idea you were so skilled at baking, Natsuki!" Monika exclaimed in awe.
"Ehehehe. Well, now you know. Now hurry and take one!"
Sayori immediately snatches one cupcake and starts munching, followed by Monika.
"Mmmm~ It's delicious!" Sayori talks with her mouth full and manages to get icing on her face.
"Sayori... Seriously?" I chuckle as I wipe the icing off her face.
"Ehehehe~ Thank you, Maki!"
"Stop eating with your mouth full!"
Now then my turn.
I grab the cupcake from the tray, then turns the cupcake around in my fingers, looking for the best angle to take a bite. Natsuki is quiet. I can't help but notice her sneaking glances in my direction.
I guess she's waiting for me to take a bite. Well, here goes nothing.
I finally take a bite. The icing is sweet and bursting with flavor, just as I expected from Natsuki's cupcakes.
"This is really good!"
I'm not even kidding! These cupcakes are even better than the ones I used to buy from a bakery in real life!
I turn to Natsuki and beam a smile. "Thank you, Natsuki! These are really delicious!"
Natsuki blushes slightly as she crosses her arms. "Wh-Why are you thanking me? It's not like I-."
"Made them for you or anything," she mutters under her breath.
"Hm? But didn't Sayori say you did?"
She looks away, still blushing. "Well, maybe! B-But not for you, dummy!"
Uwooahh... So this is how tsundere really act! This is my first time experiencing this.
"Alright, Alright." I continue biting down the cupcake. Yuri then returns to the table carrying a tea set.
She carefully places a teacup in front of each of us before setting down the teapot next to the cup of the tray.
"Wait, you keep a whole set of tea in the classroom?"
"Don't worry, the teacher gave us permission. After all, doesn't a hot cup of tea help you enjoy a good book?"
"True."
"Ehehe, don't let yourself get intimidated, Yuri's just trying to impress you." Monika chimed in as she takes the cup of tea.
"That's not," Yuri murmurs, blushing as she looks down. "I meant that, um, you know..."
"I believe you," I smile and reach for a cup of tea as well. "Well, tea and reading might not be a pastime for me, but I at least enjoy tea."
Yuri looks at me then smiles at herself feinting in relief. "I'm glad."
Monika raises an eyebrow, then smiles at me. "So, what made you consider the Literature Club?"
"Uh..."
I was afraid of this question, but one, I can't tell her that I'm here to play; two, I am not allowed to tell her that I am not the player; and three, I do not know the answer.
"Well, I haven't joined any clubs yet, and Sayori seemed really happy here, so..."
"That's okay! Don't be embarrassed!"
"We'll make sure you feel right at home, okay?"
"As president of the Literature Club, it's my duty to make the club fun and exciting for everyone!"
My eyes widen, and I smile. "I'm surprised."
"How come you decided to start your own club?" I asked, sipping on the tea. "You could probably be a board member for any of the major clubs. Also, weren't you a leader of the debate club last year?"
"Ahaha, well, you know... To be honest, I can't stand all of the politics around the major clubs."
"It feels like nothing but arguing about the budget and publicity and how to prepare for events. I'd much rather take something I personally enjoy and make something special out of it. And if it encourages others to get into literature, then I'm fulfilling that dream!"
Sayori chimed in. "Monika really is a great leader!" Yuri also nods in agreement.
"Then I'm surprised there aren't more people in the club yet. It must be hard to start a new club."
Monika laughs awkwardly. "Haha, well, you could put it that way. Not many people are interested in putting in all the effort to start something brand new... Especially when it's something that doesn't grab their attention, like literature."
"You have to work hard to convince people that you're both fun and worthwhile. But it makes school events, like the festival, that much more important."
"I'm confident that we can all really grow this club before we graduate!" Monika turns to everyone. "Right, everyone?"
"Yeah!"
"We'll do our best."
"You know it!"
Everyone enthusiastically agrees. Such different girls, all interested in the same goal...
I turned to Monika and looked into her eyes.
Well except for her who will change their fates. But again, I won't let that happen.
"So, Maki, what kinds of things do you like to read?" Yuri asked.
"Hm? Ah... M-manga, light novels and v-v-visual... novels." I replied, feeling a bit embarrassed as I glanced down at the ground. amn it! That's so embarrassing!
Meanwhile, Natsuki's head suddenly perks up. It looks like she wants to say something, but she keeps quiet.
"N-Not much of a reader, I guess."
"W-Wait, That can change..."
Shit... What am I saying? I spoke without thinking seeing Yuri's sad smile.
"Anyway, what about you, Yuri?"
"Hmmm, Let's see."
Yuri traces the rim of her teacup with her finger.
"My favorite are usually novels that build deep and complex fantasy worlds. The level of creativity behind them is amazing to me. And telling a good story in such a foreign world is equally impressive."
Yuri goes on, clearly passionate about her reading. I wish there was a skip button somewhere. I can do that but I'll get suspicious when I suddenly swipe the air and act like a weirdo.
"But you know, I like a lot of things... Like stories with deep psychological elements. Isn't it amazing how a writer can so deliberately take advantage of your own lack of imagination to completely throw you for a loop?"
"Haha... Right." I should get off this topic. What should I do...
"Now that I think about it, Someone left a piece of paper on the desk last meeting," Monika says as she grabs the folded paper on her pocket skirt.
Natsuki perks up as she looks at Monika.
"From the looks of it, It looks like Natsuki's handwriting." She then opens the folded paper. "It looked like you were working on a poem called--."
"Don't say it out loud!! Also, give that back!!"
"Fine, Fine." Monika gives Natsuki the piece of paper. I kinda want to see it.
"Ehehe, your cupcakes, your poems... Everything you do is just as cute as you are~" Sayori says as she puts her hands on her shoulders from behind.
"I-I'm not cute!"
"I kinda want to see it now."
"W-Why do you care?"
"I think it's impressive. Why don't you share the poem with everyone?"
She then crosses her arms and averts her eyes. "N-No, You wouldn't like them."
"I see, not very confident writer yet?"
"Oh, I have an idea!" Monika stood up from her chair and turned to us. "I have an idea, everyone"
The four of us turned our attention to Monika, curious about her suggestion.
"Let's all go home and write a poem of our own!" she continued. "Then, next time we meet, we'll share them with each other. That way, everyone will be on an even playing field!"
Sayori's face lit up with excitement. "That's a great idea, Monika! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!"
"Plus, now that we have a new member, I think it will help us all get a little more comfortable with each other and strengthen the bond of the club, right, Maki?" Monika smiled warmly at me once again.
I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts. "Hold on... There's still one problem."
"Eh, What's that?"
"I never said I would join this club."
The four look at me with dejected eyes.
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง