A new reality (Sayonika)

Monika

I walked down the corridor, my footsteps echoing through the halls. No one else comes down here unless they have a lesson. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who practises. It was my free period so before the club started I thought I should continue with my piano lessons. I took the key from the chain around my neck and unlocked the door. The teachers gave me the key so I wouldn't have to ask. I walked into the room, breathing in the musty air. I closed the door behind me, cushioning it against noise even though no one else was around. I sighed with relief. I enjoyed playing piano. It was complicated but once you get the hang of it, the music just flows through you. I'm thinking of writing a song but that might be going too far. I might not be skilled enough for that. I sit on the stool and place my hands on the keys, feeling the spaces between each one. They felt smooth and when I pressed down on one it gave off a high pitched whine. I felt a massive weight suddenly lift from my shoulders. The peaceful plinking of the keys always soothe me. It's like my own therapy. I attempt to play my own notes, the ones I was thinking of turning into a song. I get most of them, only a few mistakes here and there but I was happy with it. I glance at my watch. The bell had gone five minutes ago. I stood up, slung my bag over my shoulder and rushed to the club room.

"Monika! I was beginning to worry,"Sayori was at the door waiting for me, she wrapped her arms around me.

"Hi Sayori, sorry if I was late. I had study hall last and I was practicing piano."

"It's fine, wait, you play the piano?" She asked.

Sayori began to back away but I held onto her hand. Her face went red.

"Anyways, you may want to come in," she moved to the side, allowing me past her.

I opened the club room door. A small girl with pink hair, sat at a desk with her arms folded.

"It's about time," the girl stood up and stomped towards me.

I froze, startled by her sour attitude.

"I'm Natuski, you're the president of the club, aren't you?"

I nodded. This made her frown.

"Say something at least!" She exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Welcome to the c-club Natsuki. I'll make sure y-you feel at home h-here," my face turned red. Why the hell am I stuttering? Especially at a girl so small.

She made a sound of frustration, then spun back to the desk and sat down. Sayori giggled nervously and put her hand on my shoulder. I didn't push it away.

"So that was something," she whispered into my ear.

"Yeah, she's quite... intimidating," I whispered back, brushing my hair out of my face.

She laughed again and went over to Yuri, who was hunched over a book. She seemed to be absorbed by the pages. She didn't notice Sayori at first, not until she was an inch from her head.

"Yuri?"

"GAH! Don't sneak up on me like that Sayori!" Yuri jumped out her chair, hitting Sayori's nose.

"Ow, Oh god!" Sayori clutched her nose, blood dribbled onto her lips.

"Jeez Sayori, are you okay?" I went to examine her face.

I cupped her face in my hands so I could take a closer look, concerned that she'd be badly injured due to the impact of YuriFor a moment, I wanted to kiss her but something stopped me. Maybe fear. I didn't know for sure.

"Nose bleed, I'll get you some tissues."

I went to my bag and took out the small packet of tissues I kept. I took a few out and handed them to Sayori.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Yuri put her face in her hands.

"It's fine, Yuri," Sayori held the tissues to her nose, mopping up the blood.

The other girl, Natsuki, was watching the scene with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Before I could even question what the look was for, sheburst out laughing, her loud cackles echoing through the classrooms and back into my ear drums, they didn't sound malicious though, they sounded joyful, like she hasn't laughed like this in a while.

"S-Sorry but that was brilliant," she wheezed, clutching her stomach, "comedy gold!"

One by one we all laughed with her, unsure of what to say or do, it seemed her giggles were to infectious to be ignored and I found myself unable to stop for quite some time. I still felt bad because Sayori's nose looked pretty bad but she didn't seem to mind, in fact she had the biggest smile on her face and seeing it really did something to me.

"This club seems quite cool," Natsuki joined us at Yuri's desk, "I thought you'd all be stuck up and stuff but that was fun."

I smiled at her, hoping igniting in my heart, maybe she'd actually join and be the final member to make this an official club.

"I think I might come back," she wiped a tear from her eye, still holding onto her stomach.

My smile dimmed slightly when I saw her face scrunch up a little, her expression twisting into one of discomfort; Natsuki's eyes twitched as each chuckled rolled out, a little wince that wouldn't be noticeable if you weren't looking, was she in pain? Sayori slid next to me, still holding the tissues up to her face, I'm guessing she had noticed the small girls pained looks as well because she had a concerned expression on her face; I turned to her, my brow furrowed with worry.

"Do you think she's alright?" She murmured, her voice a little nasally and muffled as she was pinching her nose.

"I don't know but it doesn't seem like it, I'll ask her about it when the meetings over."

Sayori nodded then turned to Yuri.

"What's your book about Yuri? Your face is always buried in it so it must be good."

"Oh, um, I-it's about a young g-girl who is living in a-an orphanage trying t-to find out a secret. It's q-quite a short read b-but I do like it," Yuri strummed her fingers on the table. She glanced at Natsuki, who folded her arms and looked away.

"What about you, Natsuki? What do you read?" I asked.

"Um, I mean you guys might not think it's literature but I do and it's something I find entertaining and..."

"So what is it?"

"Manga..." She whispered

"Well, that's nice, if you like it then it's definitely worthy of being called literature!" Sayori smiled warmly.

Natsuki sighed, looking almost relieved.

"Well, of course it is, dummies,"she turned away, embarrassed.

I decided to intervene there before Sayori could continue and probably make her feel more awkward.

"It's nice to have you here, Natsuki," I said.

We chatted for a little while longer but soon the conversation died down as Yuri finally lost herself in her book and Sayori had gotten distracted by the paper and gel pens, Natsuki had gone to her bag and retrieved what appeared to be a volume of a cutesy looking manga, I couldn't exactly see the cover from where I was standing but I could see the bright pastel colours and could kind of make out the figures on the front, it really seemed like something she'd like so I decided to not question her about it, I didn't want her to get the wrong idea and become aggravated. Unsure of what else to do, I pulled my notebook from my bag and opened it up, ready to start writing. I wasn't sure what the club activities would be yet but I had many ideas, I'll go through them with Sayori at a later date but for now we'll just do our own thing until we settle down and properly get to know each other. I picked up my pen and started to write.