Truth

I froze in place, hesitating on whether or not I should tell Natsuki about the literature club I joined.

Natsuki looked up at me with a small pout.

"Something happened, didn't it?"

I blushed and covered my cheeks.

"Ah! I-I just."

Natsuki crossed her arms and averted her gaze.

"Don't try to hide it from me! You know I would be able to tell if something is wrong anyway."

I looked towards the ground.

"S-Sorry."

Natsuki sighed.

"Seriously... you don't have to worry about my feelings so much. I just want to know the truth, no matter how much it hurts."

I lightly pressed the tips of my fingers together.

"I agreed to join a club. So... we won't be able to meet at my house after school anymore."

For a split second, Natsuki seemed to be on the verge of crying, but quickly pulled herself together. She took a deep breath while her cheeks flushed.

"I-I see."

I twisted a lock of my hair.

"What if you join the literature club?"

Natsuki looked up at me with glossy eyes.

"I'm not sure if I can join, but I will try."

A small smile formed on my face.

"If you join then we will be able to spend so much time together!"

Natsuki smiled slightly, but quickly covered it up with a frown.

"Geez, it's not that big of a deal."

I giggled to myself.

Natsuki looked up at me.

"Anyways, I really should be going now. Bye."

I nodded.

"Bye Natsuki!"

With that, Natsuki ran off to her house.

Then, I walked back home to mine.

The streets were a little more empty than what I was used to. The people who leave after school was over were already gone. Because of that, there was only the occasional passerby.

The sidewalk was quite clean, but for some reason it made things feel even more empty. As for the sky, it was a light orange. Evening had just started.

I looked up to that orange sky.

Every time I am alone like this, my head begins to feel a little clearer. There was no need to think about other people, which meant my thoughts were left to go wherever they wished.

I put a finger on my chin.

What was the to-do list today?

There was no homework from school, as far as I remember. I think I didn't forget. So that only left designing those parchments and posters with Monika!

Hmm...

Would she mind if they were all cute and flowery?

Hopefully not.

Maybe I should just text her about it.

With that, I pulled out my phone.

I saw the two messages she sent, a greeting and her email.

Ah, right! I had to send her my email.

I hurriedly did that, then sent a greeting as well.

'Hi Monika!'

A few seconds later, I got a response.

'Thank you for sending your email!'

I smiled slightly.

'Of course! By the way, are there any specific things you want on how you want our posters and parchments to be made?'

My phone let out a soft ringing sound moments later.

'No restrictions! Other than the obvious ones like profanity. Please design it as you wish, I'm sure your creativity will naturally create something beautiful.'

My cheeks heated up slightly.

'I am not that good, but I will try my best!"

Another text came soon after.

"I am excited to see it!"

I felt a bit of warmth sprout in my heart. Hopefully, I wouldn't fail to meet Monika's expectations.

I put away my phone, already coming up with several ideas.

There definitely had to be flowers!

And also people smiling! The happiness from them should spread to those reading it and make them want to join the literature club!

Hmm...

It was a literature club, so there should be literature-like things.

Stories!

...Wait, that probably wouldn't fit. And most people probably wouldn't want to read a whole story.

Quotes!

They were very short, so even those that glance will read at least most of it.

...But there needed to be more content for the parchment. If it was filled with quotes, it would probably look like a mess!

Mm... Poems?

I wasn't sure if I could make a good poem, so...

Ah.

I was at my house.

After standing there awkwardly for a moment, I rested my hand on the doorknob and twisted it open.

I clasped my hands together and smiled.

Now was as good of a time as any to start making those pamphlets and posters!

And so, after changing into more casual clothes I got onto my computer. If other people saw it, they would probably call it ancient. It was a bulky desktop that even had a few cracks on it here and there.

I had to admit, it was definitely slow. But it still worked! And that's what mattered.

After waiting a few minutes for it to boot up, I got to work.

...

Several hours had passed.

I had searched the internet for images, finding many flowery things. Although I originally wanted to use smiling people, I found a picture of a really cute smiling stuffed bear, so I used that.

I also used a few quotes I found on the internet along with the afraid of light quote Monika told me about.

Though I tried making a poem, in the end, I didn't have the courage to put it on there. So instead, I tried my best to explain the literature club, despite the fact there was basically nothing to explain.

Currently, I had all the files attached to an email directed to Monika.

Then, I clicked the send button.

I let out a soft sigh and leaned back into my chair. Though they definitely weren't the best, I definitely worked hard on them!

My eyes drifted to the time.

It read, '9:27 pm'.

Though it was still a bit too early to sleep, I felt tired enough.

And so, I laid down on my bed and shut my eyes.