Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

The One Left Behind

Time to wake up.

Slowly, but surely, Shujinkou opened his eyes. Golden beams of light spilled into the room, illuminating the room to a near intolerable level.

Ugh... What happened?

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Shujinkou was surprised to discover that he was not in his room. Adding to his confusion, he found his friends sleeping all around him.

Oh that's right, too many milkshakes... Still can't believe I lasted as long as I did.

A yawn slipped out of him as he reached for his phone. The first day of the final exams have arrived.

It was finally time to see if all of their efforts would pay off.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

His horrified scream shattered the tranquil atmosphere, awakening the others in the process.

"Shiko, why are screaming so early!?" Sayori cried.

"We slept in!"

Three words. It only took three words for everyone to realize what was at stake. Their school, like most others, have a strict policy on attendance and their exam days were no different.

An absence would automatically cause them to fail their missed exam. Failing their exam would significantly impact their overall grade and may lead to them requiring to attend cram school. And if their overall grade for a class is low enough, they may have to retake it – or even worse repeat the year depending on individual circumstances.

"Ah, you're finally all up." Mali stepped into the room, already dressed for school. The panic she found on most everyone's faces was such an amusing sight; she couldn't help but smile. "And here I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Natsuki wasted no time demanding an answer from Mali.

"Because I thought the morning would be more interesting like this." Mali's response was instantaneous and shockingly honest. She didn't even bother pretending to care.

Natsuki opened her mouth, ready to retort, but she was swiftly stopped by Monika. "Natsuki, we don't have time for a back and forth. We need to get ready!"

Following her lead, the group scattered to collect all their possessions while finding the time to take care of basic hygiene. Some handling both tasks at once to mixed results.

Mali watched the chaos unfold, relishing the anxiety directing every desperate movement.

Moments later, everyone was ready to depart, but there was still a lingering doubt in the air.

"How are we going to get to school on time? We're not exactly close." Natsuki said.

The answer came from an unexpected source.

"...We're going to have to run." Shujinkou was surprisingly frank, something the others saw as another sign of how serious their predicament was.

"Even if we broke into a full sprint, would that really be enough to make it in time?" Yuri wondered.

"Only one way to find out," Kiyoko said.

"RUN!" Sayori cried.

They took off, dashing for school with reckless abandon.

They ran and they ran. There was no time to catch their breaths and no time to worry about the attention they drew.

All that mattered was making it to their exams in time.

"Ugh...!"

From the corner of his eyes, Shujinkou noticed a woman fall to the ground, hunched over in pain.