Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Club Prerequisites Part 1

Ask Shujinkou what his least favorite part of travelling through the Afghanistan desert and 98% of the time he would tell you that it would be the sandstorms. It was already bad enough that he had to sneak through Soviet-Occupied territory with no gear; the fact that he can't see makes him wonder if he'll ironically find himself heading towards the very thing he was trying to escape from.

I thought this was supposed to be fun.

Shujinkou closed his eyes and imagined sighing in disappointment, since it wouldn't be a smart idea to open his mouth at the moment. Then again it probably isn't a smart idea to not pay attention to your surroundings during a sandstorm, as his eventual collision can attest to. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find Monika and himself on the hallway floor surrounded by several books.

"Monika?! I'm sorry!" the flustered young man apologized.

He expected to be chewed out for not paying attention to where he was going, but instead Monika simply smiled.

"No need to apologize. No harm done," Monika assured him.

Shujinkou watched Monika start to gather the scattered pieces of literature and proceeded to help her.

"Where were you headed to with all these books anyway?" he asked.

"A teacher asked me to deliver them to the library, probably because I'm the Literature Club president." Monika answered with a giggle.

Shujinkou wasn't sure if Monika was joking or if she was genuinely serious, but he was sure that she was given the task because she was beloved by all the teachers in the school. In fact, everyone in the school loved her. She was the school idol after all.

They soon finished gathering all the books and neatly placed them in the box Monkia was carrying earlier.

"Alright, here we go again," Monika said, grasping the bottom of the box.

Shujinkou watched her slowly lift the heavy box and stagger forward, prompting him to instinctively grab the other side.

"Thanks," Monika said with a warm smile.

"No problem. Gotta let the new member contribute something," Shujinkou responded.

Working in tandem, Shujinkou and Monika started to make their way to the library. As they journeyed to their destination, Shujinkou wondered whether or not he should use this opportunity to talk to Monika.

Even though we were in the same class last year, I never actually got a chance to really talk to her. Though to be fair, what could I have talk to the school idol about? She's smart, athletic, was the star member of the debate club and I'm just... me.

It was during that moment of clarity that Shujinkou realized something... there was absolutely no way he could have started a conversation with her back then. Fortunately, at the same time, he realized that there was a topic that he could use to strike a conversation and satisfy a curiosity of his.

"Hey Monika..." Shujinkou started.

"Yes?" Monkia answered.

"...why'd you start the Literature Club? I mean you were the star member of the Debate Club."

"I wouldn't go as far as to say I was the star member," Monika responded, slightly embarrassed by the claim.

"But you lead the club to victory all the time," Shujinkou pointed out.

"Those were team efforts."

"So why'd you quit?"

"Well... I guess all the politics and in-fighting got to me," Monika answered. "But you could also say that I was kinda losing interest too. So I thought I'd start a club about something I liked."

"And that's how the Literature Club got started," Shujinkou concluded.

"Yep," Monika smiled. "But it wasn't easy getting it recognized as an official club."

Shujinkou was surprised to hear that before immediately realizing that it would be more surprising if it was easy to get the club officially recognized. He then realized that Monika was giving him a knowing glance, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I wasn't thinking...!"

"It's okay," Monika interrupted, giving him a calm smile. "I think we both know that a club about literature wouldn't be the most popular club in the school."

"So how did you get officially recognized?" Shujinkou asked.

"Well... Like every story, I would have to go back to the beginning."

A couple of weeks ago, Monika walked throughout the school with a satisfied look on her face. She was finally able to finish her club charter and now all that was left to do was to deliver it to her club sponsor. She happily made her way to the third-year floor and walked into the future Literature Clubroom where her club sponsor was waiting.

"Ah, Monika," the sponsor welcomed her. "I assume that making the charter wasn't an issue for you."

"Eh... It was a little challenging making one," Monika admitted, placing the charter on their desk.

"That's a good one," he chuckled, looking over the charter. "Alright, I'll submit this to administration and your club will be allowed to be considered for recognition."

"Considered?" Monika queried.

"For the club to be officially recognized as a club, you will need at least 4 members in total," the sponsor explained. "But I'm sure that it will be easy for you to do."

"Right..." Monika weakly laughed.

Later that night, Monika anxiously marched around her room. As exciting as it was for her to start her own club, the fact that she needed to convince others to join something that was naturally off putting to her own age group didn't register until it became a requirement for the club to exist.

Unsure of what to do, she plopped into her bed and started to brainstorm.

"How can I make literature appealing to others?" Monika wondered aloud.

"How'd you go about doing that?" Shujinkou asked, interrupting the story.

"Well, to be honest, I had no idea what to do," Monika admitted. "So, I just went with the tried and true method of getting the word out... I placed fliers around the school."

"And that's how the others joined right?" Shujinkou concluded.

"Not exactly..." Monika replied.

Continuing from where she left off, Monika told Shujinkou of how excited she was after placing fliers for the club around the school; so excited in fact, that she was unable to fully concentrate during her classes that day.

Soon after school was over, Monika quickly gathered her things and rushed to the clubroom, wondering how many people would be there. She opened the door and her heart sunk one she entered the empty classroom.

"Well, it's not like I should have expected this place to full of people right away on Day 1," Monika chuckled. "I guess I'll work on my story while I wait."

Monika reached into her bag and pulled a pencil and several pieces of paper. She then acquisitioned one of the desks and started to write.

Hours later, Monika packed up her things and walked out of the room. The next day, she walked into the same empty classroom, sat in the same desk and started writing once again. Hours of writing later, she packed her things and headed home, same as yesterday. She continued the pattern for Days 3 and 4 and by Day 5, she just sat at the teacher's desk with a downcast look on her face.

"If only I was any good with people, maybe things would be easier," Monika sadly smiled. "I wished I had someone to help me."

Suddenly, as if on cue, the door swung opened and soon the future vice-president of the Literature Club, Sayori, walked in with a cookie in her mouth.

"Is it too late to join?" she asked, taking another bite out of her cookie.