It Starts With A Letter

Chapter 2

"Welcome to The Literature Club! My name's Sayori!" A bubbly, well-fed girl dressed in a school uniform grabbed Natsuki's shoulder and dragged her backward, "I've heard so much about you, Carmine! Even though Monika isn't here yet, I'm sure she'll be fine if I let you in." Sayori unlocked the door but didn't enter.

"Umm, that isn't Carmine." The other student apart from Natsuki and Sayori said in a soft voice, "Carmine doesn't have pink hair, and she's taller than four feet."

Sayori stood silent as she removed the keys from the door, "So two new people are joining? Pinch me because I must be dreaming!" She dropped the keys and wrapped her arms around Natsuki.

And just as requested, Natsuki pinched Sayori's skin to leave a bruise, "Firstly, don't hug me unless I specifically ask for one. Secondly, who said anything about me joining this stupid club? I'm just here to figure out–" Natsuki stopped. While she wanted to know who wrote the stupid note, she couldn't scare away the culprit, "I'm here to figure out if this club is for me."

"You hear that, Yuri? Someone's interested in joining!" Sayori dragged Natsuki in and Yuri followed. She turned on the lights and revealed an unused, extremely outdated classroom, "Before coming to a decision, you should learn about the club members. Yuri, you're first!"

"W-Why am I first?"

"Because the new member will most likely relate to you since you aren't president or vice president," Sayori explained as she pushed Yuri toward Natsuki.

"H-Hi. I'm Y-Yuri." The girl hid behind her hair and avoided eye contact with Natsuki.

"I'm Natsuki." She pulled her hand out and waited for Yuri to shake it, "Are you gonna shake it?"

"N-No, I mean, y-yes, it's just–"

"Yuri gets nervous easily. She's sweet, literate, and has beautiful handwriting. I'm sure she'll open up to you throughout your stay." Natsuki turned her head to the figure in the doorway. They walked in with their ponytail and green eyes and sat behind the teacher's desk.

"Monika!" Sayori ran over to the girl behind the teacher's desk and hugged her, "Natsuki here's interested in joining the club! Isn't that exciting?"

"It is!" Monika opened up her laptop, "How'd you hear about us? Nobody's promoted the club in months, and it didn't sound like you knew Yuri or Sayori before today."

"I found a flyer that fell from the junior bulletin board," Natsuki blurted the first excuse that came to her mind.

"Ah, neat!" Monika updated a list with the current members of The Literature Club, "Sayori and I sit on the right side... Why don't you keep Yuri company and sit on the left with her?"

"I don't need company, really..." Natsuki wanted to respond, but Yuri unveiled herself from her hair and spoke in her soft voice, "I've been fine without you two... So why make the change?"

"Because Natsuki doesn't know any of us, and you two sound like you'd make a great pair!" Monika smiled, "That, and if we're going to get more members, our ambassadors need to get along."

"A-Ambasadors? When did I become–"

"Who said anything about me being an ambassador?" Natsuki crossed her arms and overpowered Yuri's voice. She didn't care about this club or the people, and her irritable nature started to break through.

"Those are the roles left for the club since Vice President and President belong to Sayori and me. There's not a problem with your roles, is there?" Monika shot a glare above her laptop. Yuri nodded side-to-side. Natsuki did the opposite.

"Yeah, there's a massive problem: you gave me a role that I have no interest in, nor have I even joined this club." Natsuki fought Monika's glare with her own. She didn't sign up to be an ambassador. She wanted answers, not a happy, feel-good club full of nerds.

"But it'll be fun! Who knows, maybe you'll find answers to the problems you're looking for!" Monika smiled, "But for now, don't worry about the ambassador thing. Make yourself comfortable and ask any questions you have to Yuri."