Chapter 14: Her Decision



You looked around the club to see the aftermath of the poetry exchange. On one side of the classroom, Miss Watanabe was sharing her tips to Monika and Sayori. Your childhood friend appeared to be absorbed by all the information being served out on a platter by your teacher while your club president just listened with a small frown, wanting nothing from it.



“W-Woooah… I’m not even sure I can keep up! You gotta’ teach this in class one day so I can get a grasp on this!” Sayori suggested.



Miss Watanabe chuckled. “Will this lesson keep you and your prince away from cheating and sleeping in class?” She asked in a joking manner.



“Yes!” Sayori nods.



Your teacher swayed her eyes over to you, awaiting your answer.



The game gave you three options to pick from as an answer. The first said, “Hmm… Maybe,” the second said was a simple “No,” and the third was just an ellipsis, an omission from an answer. You picked the first option.



You smirked. “Hmm… Maybe.”



Your teacher chuckled again. “Maybes give me second thoughts, Riko. Be careful with what you say~.”



“Riko!!” Sayori whined.



“Hey, hey. It’s no big deal.” You said to calm your friend down.



Throughout the entire exchange, you noticed that Monika still had that slightly saddened expression. Then she spoke up.



“Hehe… I appreciate the feedback, Miss Watanabe, but I don’t think what you presented is all that necessary.” Monika said.



“Oh?” Miss Watanabe smiled at Monika. There was sarcasm in her eyes. “I’m interested, tell me more.” She anticipated her answer.



“W-Well…” Monika began to stutter. She did not feel comfortable opposing to what a teacher had to offer. “I just don’t think all the formal advice you’re giving us is anything important when writing a poem.” There was a bit of sweat coming rolling down her face. “Y-You see, I believe the thought and feelings solely from the author is what matters in a poem.”



Miss Watanabe chuckled. “Well, alright. This isn’t mandatory schoolwork so you’re free to write what you please, Madam President.” She continued. “Literature, especially poetry, is subjective after all. Interpretation is all up to the reader and the writer.”



“Y-Yeah!” Monika smiled, nodding just to agree with the teacher.



Sayori stepped in to comfort Monika. “Ah, don’t worry Monika. It’s okay, I think your poems are good regardless of how it’s written. I’ll be trying out what Miss Watanabe has told us, though!”



“Cool! Just don’t get ahead of yourself and burnout from doing so, hehe…” Monika said.



Miss Watanabe kept her smiled, glancing at Monika the moment she said that.



“Oh, no! I won’t! I’ll make sure this one’s better than the last.” Sayori said cheerfully.



Monika mutters. “(Seriously, who the hell is this wo—)"



On the other side of the classroom, Natsuki was sharing her poem to Harumi. Gazing at the scene, the disproportionate size difference was greatly significant to you. The 4’9 girl was being overshadowed by the 5’11 giant, who was reading the poem the girl wrote with a confused smile. Natsuki crossed her arms with a scrunched-up face as she looked up at Harumi. Despite Harumi never doing anything to her, Natsuki did not like the athlete before her. She just didn’t like big girls.



“Well, uh… I finished reading.” Harumi said, handing back the paper the poem was written upon.



Natsuki snatched the paper away and spoke with an attitude. “So! What do you think, huh!?”



“Not a poem girl… so I don’t really get it, but from the words ya’ picked, it sounds kinda’ mean.” Harumi said. “Is it about someone?” She asked.



“Uh-huh! It is!” Natsuki said.



“So… who is it about?” Harumi asked.



“Figure it out yourself.” Natsuki replied.



Harumi ponders a little, scratching her head, wondering what the poem could possibly describe. “Uh… Miss Amamiya?” She answered.



“Oh, wow. Where’d you get the answer from? I’m surprised you got that correct.” Natsuki said.



“Excuse me? What did ya’ mean by that?” Harumi asked.



Natsuki giggled. “Hehe, nothing. I just didn’t think you would answer.”



The music would stop playing for a moment.



“Wait! You’re implyin’ that I’m dumb!” Harumi realized.



And so, the Poem Panic! track started to play.



“Yes!” Natsuki proudly proclaims. “Very dumb! Even the teacher agrees with that.”



“H-Hey! Ya’ don’t need to be so mean! I didn’t do anythin’!” Harumi frowned as she looked down at Natsuki.



“Really? Is that true? How am I supposed to know you’re not secretly planning to make fun of me because of stuff I don’t have?” Natsuki said.



“Uh… What stuff? Dunno’ what you’re talkin’ about, and I won’t ever make fun of people! That’s mean, especially when it’s behind someone’s back!” Harumi said.



“Hmph! You just don’t get it, I’m not even surprised! It’s just all over you, giant! Giant everything!” Natsuki got a little frustrated. “I hate it!”



Harumi thought about what Natsuki meant by this for a little, and then she realized. She looked to the side, smiling a little. “Well… I meeeean…”



“See! You’re thinking about making fun of my body right now!” Natsuki ruffled her feathers.



“Yo’! That’s how I’m built, just deal with it, girl!” Harumi stepped up her game, raising her voice. “You’re the one who brought it up anyways!”



“And you’re making it worse!” Natsuki said.



You see the girls of opposing height groups argue, Natsuki being the one on the offensive. You couldn’t stop yourself from intervening.



“Hey, cut it out! You’re supposed to be sharing poems, not arguing about stupid crap like this!” You said. You turned to Natsuki. “Natsuki, stop being mean to Harumi!”



Natsuki grumbled and looked away. “Yeah, yeah… whatever…”



You turned to Harumi. “And you, keep being Harumi!”



“Yes, sir!” Harumi smiled and did a thumbs up.



“Alright… let’s put what happened moments ago behind us and apologize.” You offered.



Natsuki squinted at Harumi. Harumi looked back at her, appearing to be open to an apology. She didn’t want any hard feelings.



“Natsuki…” You spoke to her like a parent.



“…Fine.” Natsuki took a deep breath and looked up at Harumi. “I’m sorry, Harumi.”



“Yeah, yeah! It’s whatever. Let’s be friends now!” Harumi offered a handshake.



Natsuki stepped away from the hand, not wanting to touch Harumi. She walked away, grumbling more.



Harumi frowned, looking down. “Aww, man…” She felt really bad.



Sayori walked up to her. “It’s okay, Harumi… it’ll take time. Natsuki’s just the way she is.”



“Eh… I know. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be friends one day!” Harumi said with hope.



“That’s the spirit!” Sayori cheered.



“Good luck.” You said.



Miss Watanabe unfolded her fan. “I’ll be honest, that exchange was rather comedic.” She commented. “One’s situation is another’s entertainment, I suppose.”



Monika sighed at the situation, and then puts it aside, smiling. “Okay, everyone! I think that’ll be all for today. Nice poems, everyone! I’ll see you tomorrow.”



Everyone said their farewells and left the club for the day. As always, you strolled down the path to your home with Sayori. She was frowning a little, and you noticed this.



“Sayori, you look down. What’s wrong?” You asked.



“Heh…” Sayori gave a little smile and sighed. “We were having so much fun in club today, I had forgot about our situation with Yuri.”



You realized this too. “I can say the same for myself, honestly. Let’s not think about it too much though. There’s nothing we can do by letting this bother us for as long as it lasts.”



“But… there has to be a way.” Sayori said. “We can’t just let this slide! You know she needs help.”



“I know, I know. But we can’t force her though, especially with Yuka around. Yuri will just have to decide for herself, like I said earlier.” You replied.



“Ugh…” Sayori was saddened by the response. “Why would anyone want to be so hesitant from people to help them? Why are people so weird…”



“We’ll never know, Sayori.” You said.



And in the most ironic turn of events, the two girls that you and Sayori were talking about can be seen in the distance.



“I think we should take a different path today.” You said, noticing Yuka and Yuri.



Sayori nods. “Yeah… As much as I want to, I wouldn’t want to step in right now.” Then she squints. “Wait… are they coming over?”



You also see them approach you. “(They’re coming over? Has Yuri decided yet?)” You thought. “…” You kept your mouth closed as the girls came.



Yuka stepped forward with a greatly solemn expression. She spoke to Sayori with a serious tone. The formality the voice had was on the same level as a high-ranking agent in a corporation or an executive branch.



“Sayori, Yuri would like to speak to you.” Yuka said.



Yuri gestured her hand a little to notify Sayori to follow her.



Sayori nods. “Alright…”



“Riko, please wait here with me.” Yuka told you.



“Okay…” You nodded, agreeing to do so.



Yuri would step away with Sayori following her, spacing away from you and Yuka. You both looked at them. They appeared to be discussing about private matters.



You moved your eyes over to Yuka. She was now glaring back at you. It didn’t have the weight her more serious glares had, but it still unsettled you. Then she gave you the cold shoulder and glared away, not wanting to do anything with you. There was an awkward tension and it was making your heartbeat with anxiety. Yuka is truly not a young lady to play around with.



You spoke, trying to break the ice. “So… Yuka, how’s it going?”



Yuka ignored you.



“Nice weather we’re having, huh?” You said, trying again.



“Shut up.” She said, breaking out from her formality for a moment.



“Oh… alright.” You said.



It would be a very long waiting game with a thick atmosphere of tenseness. A soft wind came by, flowing between the locks of your hair and Yuka’s hair, which was occasionally strengthened by a car driving by. While you played this game with Yuka, there was a ringing noise coming out of Yuka’s schoolbag. She took out her phone, the first ever seen in this visual novel.



She looked at it and it appeared she got a text from someone. It was probably Harumi. She texts something back and closed her phone, putting it back into her bag.



You felt like this was going to be a while.



And finally, Yuri and Sayori came back. There was a small smile on both of them.



“Oh—, you’re back.” You said.



“Mhm!” Sayori nodded in a hopeful manner.



Yuka went over to Yuri to stand beside her. She was still silent, keeping her attitude, but she was a little confused by the expression that Yuri and Sayori had.



“Let us go, Yuka.” Yuri said.



Yuka nodded. “Very well.”



As Yuri began to walk away, she spoke to her friend. “Also, Yuka, you don’t need to be so defensive anymore. It’s fine now.”



Yuka was startled by this revelation. “Ah, well… if you say so.” She turned to you and Sayori. “I apologize for my behavior, please understand.”



“It’s okay! We completely understand.” Sayori said with a smile.



“Yeah, no hard feelings.” You said.



Yuri and Yuka would say their farewells before leaving away to their homes.



“You seem happy. Want to share what you discussed with Yuri?” You asked.



“She said yes. She wants to do my idea!” Sayori said cheerfully.



“That’s great!” You said.



“Though… she wants to talk about this more at lunch tomorrow, so we’ll have to go their table next time.” Sayori informed.



“Right.” You said, agreeing.



“We’re going to be helping Yuri now… I hope this works!” Sayori said.



“Same, let’s hope for the best.” You said.



The day ends at a great note for you. The tension between you and Sayori and Yuri’s friend circle has broken down, and now discussions can be made over the situations everyone has. You anticipated what tomorrow will serve.