Sayori's Song

Taking A Stand

Suggested listening music: “I Saw It” by Barenaked Ladies

I got out of bed early the next morning. I wanted to make sure that Sayori was ready for school and I was hardly able to sleep due to the excitement of having a girlfriend for the first time in my life.  Was this really happening? Just a few weeks ago it was summer break and I hadn't talked to Sayori in over a year...and now we are dating?  It seemed so surreal but it felt right.  Joining the literature club made me realize just how much Sayori meant to me. I never really had the courage to talk to any girls at school, but when I started going to those meetings I realized that I had a decent chance to date Monika, Natsuki, or Yuri. I didn't want to. The only girl who I could ever see myself with was Sayori.
After I got dressed I picked up my bookbag and slipped on my shoes. When I opened my door, I was pleasantly shocked to see Sayori standing there to greet me. She had a bright sapphire bow that sharply contrasted with the color of her hair. It was quite different from the red one she usually wore but it was very attractive. I looked at my watch.
"6:30 am? This must be a new record for you." I said as I laughed.
"You meanie,"  a sour expression came over her face and she put her two index fingers together, "I just wanted to make sure we could walk to school together."
"I know, I'm just teasing you. I got up really early too you know.” She still seemed a bit off put by my comment.
“I like what you did with your hair. It’s really cute." I said as I looked at her bow.
Sayori blushed, "Thanks for noticing, I was hoping you'd like it!"
I took her hand and stroked it a couple of times, it just felt so surreal to actually be in a relationship. I had been waiting to experience this feeling for most of my life. Now that it was actually happening I didn't quite know how to process it. It suddenly occurred to me that holding Sayori’s hand like this out in public was a little odd, especially since nobody really knew that we were dating. I quickly stopped.
"Sorry, I was kind of lost in the moment."
Sayori smiled with a bit of confusion in her face, "It's okay, I'm not really sure how these things work either. Maybe we can figure out together, it can be an adventure!"
I laughed, "Maybe your right, how about we start our adventure by getting to school? We don't want to be late right?"
Sayori's eyes widened, "You're right, let's go!"
The walk was one thing about our relationship that didn't change. We always walked to school together from the time we were little kids up until around our middle school. It was nice to know that somethings were still the same. As we approached the campus I decided to break the silence.
"Do you want me to meet you after your last class or just meet at the classroom for literature club?" Sayori seemed a bit startled, "Uh, if it's okay, I would rather just meet at literature club like we usually do. It's nice of you to offer though!"
While I would have liked to meet her after class I understood that she would want to take things a little slowly around school. Honestly, standing outside of the classroom would have felt a little awkward. "Okay, well I'll see you at literature club then."
Before I even had time to react Sayori had given me a brisk hug and dashed off to her first class. I smiled and went off to mine. The day went by very quickly.  I was worried about having to explain my absence to the other club members but I didn’t end up seeing any of them the whole day. I thought that I would see them in the cafeteria but that day Monika took her lunch to the student council meeting, Yuri typically ate on her own, and Natsuki usually made her own lunch in the home education classroom. This didn’t bother me, it gave me plenty of time to think of a reasonable excuse for my absence from the festival.
My last class of the day was just down the hallway from the literature club’s classroom. Sayori's last class was right around the corner so it was no surprise that she was the only one there when I walked in. Sayori stood up and came over to hug me. It really set my mind at ease getting to see her again, though I started to worry when I saw a mixed expression of fear and panic in her eyes.
"Is something wrong?"
"I'm just afraid that everyone will be hate me for not being at the festival yesterday." Sayori said with a tremor in her voice.
"Don't worry about that, there will be plenty of other opportunities to have a festival again. Besides, if anyone is mad at you, they will have to be mad at me too. It will be alright."
Sayori's look of dismay quickly turned back into a smile. "You’re right Kyle."
All of a sudden there were footsteps outside the door. It was Yuri and Natsuki. Yuri was almost as tall as me. She had dark purple hair that stretched all the way down her back. A couple locks of her hair were held in front of her ears by matching purple clips that were almost unnoticeable to the untrained eye. She was wearing her school uniform with the bottom three buttons fastened which held her figure tightly. Natsuki was about 25 centimeters shorter than me, she had lighter pink hair, a couple of red ribbons that she wore in back of her hair, a red pin that she had to keep the front of her hair in place, and long white socks that came up to her ankles.
"Hey you two, we missed you at the festival yesterday," Yuri said with a mix of sadness and disappointment. "Unfortunately, there weren't very many people there, so you didn't really miss anything."
I figured I should speak up first so that Sayori wouldn't feel like she was put on the spot. “I’m sorry Yuri, Sayori and I both had a lot on our minds and we weren't feeling ready for the festival. We didn't mean to let you down."
Yuri's expression quickly changed into concern. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you two were feeling unwell.” Yuri turned to Sayori, "Is everything okay?"
Sayori nodded, "Yeah I'm doing much better today, thanks for understanding Yuri."
Natsuki quickly chimed in, "Listen, I wasn't really a big fan of the festival idea in the first place so you guys missing out doesn't bother me. What concerns me is what kind of mood Monika will be in when she gets here. She was really upset that you two never showed up and it didn't help that barely a dozen people came out"
I raised an eyebrow, I wasn't sure how Monika would react but I would have at least expected to keep a level head. Suddenly, I heard footsteps. The door was slightly ajar, I peeked down the hallway and saw Monika coming. Would she be angry? Furious? Would she kick us out of the club? I braced myself for the worst. As she came in the door she greeted me with a perky smile that seemed a little forced. Monika was a few inches shorter than me. She had long light brown hair that was tied into a ponytail by a large white ribbon. She wore long dark brown socks and white shoes with pink tips on the front.
"We missed you at the festival Kyle! I'm sure you have your reasons for not coming back though!"
I let my guard down a little, was she really taking this in stride? Maybe Natsuki was exaggerating or perhaps Monika had cooled off before the meeting. Then she turned to Sayori. Most of her demeanor stayed the same but her eyes changed. They took on a look that was more eager and sinister.
"I'll be honest Sayori, I'm not sure what got into you but not having you at the festival was disappointing. What's even more incredulous is how you were also able to prevent Kyle from returning to the festival. We had to cut it a lot shorter being that there were 3 of us instead of 5."
I was horrified, every word that Monika said seemed to make Sayori more and more upset. Monika either didn't take notice of this or just didn't care. Sayori's eyes were filling with tears and she was starting to shake. I attempted to interject but Monika put up a hand in my direction and went right on talking.
"I really don't know what got into you but, to be frank, you let us down. Did you even consider the rest of our feelings before deciding to stay home from the festival? You should be ashamed, you really put yourself before the Literature Club and that's what surprises me the most."
Sayori suddenly stopped shaking, the tears were still in her eyes but the guilt and shame had been replaced with strength and resolve.
"I can't believe that you would say something like that. This club is one of the most important things in my life. Some nights I get no sleep because I want my poem to be absolutely perfect or because I wanted to finish the book that we had chosen to read for that week. This club is everything to me. There's a lot that I will put up with but I'm not going to sit here and let you say that about me."
I saw the opportunity to step in and did so immediately.
"Monika, that was uncalled for. You are supposed to be the President of this club aren't you? Shouldn’t you be trying to lead by example? Yet, one little thing doesn't go your way and you decide you are going to chew out Sayori because of it. How come you didn't go off on me like that? In case you forgot, I skipped the festival too. Don't ever talk to Sayori like that again."

Monika glared at me with a mix of shock and betrayal. I guess she didn’t expect anyone to talk back to her. There was a tense silence in the air for a few seconds. I had never talked that harsh to anybody before. I was afraid to even turn and look at the other three. I began to wonder if I was the one in the wrong, but to my relief, Natsuki spoke up.
"Kyle is right. I'm not comfortable with you acting like this.  There's plenty of drama in school already. I don't want to put up with it here...honestly, I think it would be a good idea if you left."
Monika looked taken aback. She must have expected Natsuki and Yuri to be on her side since they were both at the festival. She quickly turned to the only person in the room who hadn't spoken.
"Yuri? You see my side of things, don't you?"
It was always difficult to get a clear idea of what Yuri was thinking.  She paused for a few seconds as if she was collecting her thoughts.
"I can certainly understand why you are upset Monika. It makes it a lot more difficult for the festival to be successful when almost half the club is gone."
Yuri stopped suddenly and studied Monika with a look of melancholy and inquisition. It was as if she was playing some strange game of chess with Monika and trying to see what her next move would be. She resumed speaking as abruptly as she stopped.
"However, the way you treated Sayori shows a grave lack of empathy and really isn't reflective of the qualities of leadership. I... don't think that I'm comfortable with you being here either."
Monika looked both panicked and baffled. I don't think she really understood why she was in the wrong, but she did understand that she wasn't wanted here. She glared at us trying to think of some appeal to make but eventually she gave in.
"F-fine, all the work I've done for this club, for all of you, and this is the thanks I get? So be it."
She stormed out of the classroom. I rushed to Sayori and wrapped her in a hug. She squeezed me tightly and sobbed a bit. It was heartbreaking to see her so upset. I didn't know how to process what just happened. The meeting ended as quickly as it started. Then I realized that amidst all of this turmoil there was something to be optimistic about, Sayori had stood up for herself. She saw her own self-worth and wasn't willing to let anyone take that away from her. I backed up a couple of steps and put my arms around Sayori's shoulders.
"You were really brave Sayori."
She looked up at me with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"
"The way you stood up to Monika showed a lot of self-confidence and took a lot of courage. I'm really proud of you."
"I agree Kyle. It might not seem like a big deal but to stand up to anyone when they verbally attack you like that is incredibly valiant" Yuri added.
She was absolutely right. Regardless of what might happen in the future between me and Sayori, it was good to know that she now had the confidence to stand up to anyone who tried to push her around. Monika was at least at one point a really good friend of hers. I knew this didn't mean that Sayori's depression would suddenly leave her alone but developing self-confidence would be a big step in getting her mental wellness back to where it needed to be. That is what really mattered.