Chapter 8: Dreams of Love and Literature



With the new characters and game mechanics, the notebook minigame that appeared after every day had its fair share of updates as well. For one, the little chibi stickers of the girls were reorganized into a two-by-two fashion in its current form. Sayori and Natsuki were jumping as they always do on the top spaces. On the bottom was Yuri and the new character, Yuka. Monika did not have her sticker appear, just like in the original game, and it was fair to assume that the bottom row will have Harumi if she ever joins the club.



You wandered your mouse around the screen to find more new content. When your mouse hovered over the right end of the notebook, a rectangle with an arrow appeared. You clicked on the GUI button and the stickers at the left of your screen would hop adorably away. The notebook flips to the next page and in place of the girls was a sticker of the nonchalant teacher herself, Miss Watanabe.



As opposed to hopping in as expected from the students, the teacher just appeared from complete transparency on the center of the left page. Instead of standing and hopping around in place, she laid on the air and floated with a smug look on her face. She’s really enjoying herself there.



Taking the place of the words on the right page were even more words. These words appeared to be complex however; an average person would never use these words normally. These were words that only an English teacher like Miss Watanabe would make you use—vocabulary words.



On the bottom of your screen was a little slip of paper. You clicked on the slip and the entire paper slides up to reveal itself. The paper partially covered the right page of your notebook, obscuring some words. On the paper were definitions but with empty boxes on top of them. The definitions were missing their words.



You clicked the paper again, sending it back down to look at your vocabulary list. You clicked on one of the words and you could drag the word with your mouse. At the same time, the page would slide up again. You realized that this minigame would create your sentences for the homework that was mentioned earlier. It was a drag-and-match game for Miss Watanabe.



You dragged the word around and attempted to find the right definition. You randomly put the word in a box, but an error noise was played. The page slid back down, and the word went back to its original place in the notebook. A little speech bubble appeared from Miss Watanabe saying, “Try again~.” It was the wrong word.



Now you were determined to complete this piece of homework, curious to see the results if the paper were to have all the words matched to their correct definition. You began to experiment with the words.



Unlike the minigame for the students, there was only one page of ten words. The words would as follow:





ebullient [ ih-buhl-yuh nt, ih-boo l- ]

adjective

1. overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high-spirited

2. bubbling up like a boiling liquid



elate [ ih-leyt ]

verb

to make very happy or proud



exultant [ ig-zuhl-tnt ]

adjective

exulting; highly elated; jubilant; triumphant



fainéant [ fey-nee-uh nt; French fe-ney-ahn ]

adjective

1. idle; indolent

noun

2. an idler



frothy [ fraw-thee, froth-ee ]

adjective

1. of, like, or having froth; foamy

2. unsubstantial; trifling; shallow; empty



lackadaisical [ lak-uh-dey-zi-kuhl ]

adjective

1. without interest, vigor, or determination; listless; lethargic

2. lazy; indolent



scintillating [ sin-tl-ey-ting ]

adjective

1. animated; vivacious; effervescent

2. witty; brilliantly clever:



soiree [ swah-rey ]

noun

an evening party or social gathering, especially one held for a particular purpose



woolgathering [ woo l-gath-er-ing ]

noun

1. indulgence in idle fancies and in daydreaming; absentmindedness

2. gathering of the tufts of wool shed by sheep and caught on bushes



zippy [ zip-ee ]

adjective

lively; peppy





For every word placed with their correct definition, a small dinging noise was played. Miss Watanabe would say complimenting remarks such as “Good job!” and “Nice work!” for doing so. The page is empty as soon as all the vocabulary words were with their definition. You moved your mouse to the left side of the right page and clicked on a button to go back to the page for creating your poem.



When the words reappeared on the right page, two of the words that were randomly generated by the game had a purple aurora around them. These were some of the same words seen in your vocabulary list. You click the glowing words, expecting them to make Yuka or Yuri happy due to their complexity. Instead, the Sayori sticker hopped up cheerfully by your decision. The Miss Watanabe sticker also appeared, flying across the top of your screen. The words your teacher picked were words that would match up with Sayori. Ironically enough, your friend probably doesn’t know any of these words. Despite that, your teacher chose those words to push for it anyways.



You clicked word after word, going for a Sayori route this time. This route appeared to be the route your teacher favored since all the words had to do with your friend after all. You thought it was best to do what she wanted.



As you picked words for your poem, you realized that some words that went for Yuri had disappeared; namely those that resonated a negative connotation such as “massacre,” “lust,” and “suicide.” Those words did appear in the last time you played this minigame. Now those words were replaced words pertaining to published works such as “book,” “library,” and “record.”



There were new words for Yuka as well. Her words varied from terms that associated with the high class, such as “mansion,” “wealth,” and “elegance,” to time, such as “clock,” “minute,” and “dial,” to chores, such as “cleaning,” “laundry,” and “duster.” She was definitely a well-rounded, young lady. The word “time” itself was now a term for Yuka, not Yuri.



One word that caught your attention was the word “knife.” You clicked the word and expected it to go for Yuri. It instead went for Yuka. You were surprised, but the logic behind this did make sense. Yuka did mention that her father owned a knife collection, and knives were a tool used for cooking. It was a word that could fit in with the terms that had to do with chores.



As soon as you picked all twenty words of your choice, the screen fades to black. It was now time to start the next day.