As the bell rings, I can sense twenty-odd pairs of eyeballs trying to sneak glances at me; the poor fool who had incurred Mr Bradstone's wrath. Yuri gives me a sympathetic smile, but as a valedictorian in the making, I wasn't surprised to see her quickly depart for her next class. It's not like her waiting would've helped me anyway…

As the voices outside fade into the distance, the room takes on a different feel. Mr Bradstone had deposited a small private library along the walls, which he had brought in after hearing complaints from students (unsurprisingly, largely from Yuri) about the pitiful state of the school library. With the normal chatter of students, I almost forget about them, but with nothing else to focus on besides empty desks and a stern face I was trying my hardest to avoid, the beautiful spines of an incredible array of books really come into focus.

"Maki, come on, move up to my desk; there's no benefit to either of us in delaying the inevitable."

"Sir, you're clearly not familiar with procrastination, delaying the inevitable is the fu- friggin' best."

"A half hearted wit and a devoted half wit are nigh on indistinguishable in outcome. To waste a good brain is a travesty; to allow a wasted good brain to spread the damage to others is criminal negligence."

"Why sir, I'm flattered that you think so highly of my wit!"

"Don't be. There are plenty of witty people. There's not many with work ethic, and I'll be damned if I let you mess things up for one of the rare gems with both good wit and dedication."

"Sir, I don't blame you for thinking lowly of me after last year, but I assure you, the last two months have been transformative for me."

"Look, Maki, I'm torn here. You're surrounding yourself with fantastic role models for once, and that's great, but I don't know if they're bringing you up to their level, or if you're dragging them down to your level."

Ouch... That hits a little too close to home. It's pretty awesome to be part of the literature club, but being surrounded by several potential valedictorians, not to mention some of the nicest, most popular, and attractive girls in the school… it does leave me with a bit of an inferiority complex. I mean, my defining character traits when I was made for the game was that I had the emotional depth of a piece of paper, and that I was a massive weeb, and a NEET in the making. I like to think I've improved myself a lot, but I'm definitely still the weakest link in the literature club, and it kind of hurts to think that I could be making life worse for some of the nicest and most intelligent people I know.

"If they're bringing you up to their level, then great. I truly do believe you can achieve a lot if you actually put in the hard yards, and I would be extremely happy to be able to say at the end of the year that you're a top student. But if you're dragging them down with you, then it is my ethical duty to ensure that you can't ruin things for Yuri, or for Monika."

"Wait, sorry, what?"

"Allow me to elaborate. If I believe you are causing their academic potential to falter, as the Head of the English Department, I will have no choice but to force the Literature Club to kick you out. I will, in this unfortunate scenario, also have to force you to sit elsewhere in class. I can't stop you interacting in your free time, but where I can stop you disrupting them, I will."

"Sir, please, be reasonable."

"The position of reason here is to get you as far away from them as possible right now. Given how they behave around you, I figure there's a non-zero chance you'll get one of them pregnant. Our school has a terrible record with regards to teenage pregnancy, and it's only out of a desire to give every student a fair chance at redemption that I'm risking our record sinking further into the mud."

Yeah… turns out that when you develop a school purely for the purpose of making a setting in a dating simulator, it has the unfortunate side effect of ensuring there's romance in the air. Literally in the air; somehow Salvato took the concept of romance and made it into a molecule, one which composes 0.4% of the air in the school. On the plus side, it makes people here really affectionate, and there's a really nice atmosphere. On the down side, our school has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the country.

"Mr Bradstone, I assure you that I wouldn't do-"

"Nobody thinks they'd do it, and you've violated assurances many times. Actions speak louder than words Maki. Know that I'm keeping an eye on you. Dismissed."

As I walk out of the class, I notice two things. Firstly, my forehead is an absolute torrent of sweat. I made a joke in class, no need to bring in bloody FBI interrogation tactics!

Secondly, and far more importantly, I can see a red faced Natsuki pull away from the door. We both start to head towards our second class for the day, Classics.

"So uh, Natsuki, I appreciate you waiting up on me here for so long, but… why were you so near the door?"

"I- Well I just happened to be standing there, waiting for my friend to finally come out..."

"Ah, finally conceding I am your friend!"

"... of the closet."

"God dammit Natsuki. In any case, you definitely weren't close to the door to listen in on Mr Bradstone lecturing me?"

"Of course I wasn't liste- eh, who am I kidding? We both know that's definitely what I was doing."

"Huh. Appreciate the honesty, I thought it would take a lot longer to get you to admit that."

"I kinda figured you'd talk about it anyway. This saves me having to listen to the Sparknotes version of events; now we can just discuss it in earnest."

"A fair point. So, any comments?"

"First off, I can't believe he thinks you're hanging out with Yuri and Monika purely in the hopes of getting in their pants."

"Yeah, I mean, how would I even do that? I'd assume their pants don't have enough give to fit two people in them."

"It's a turn of phrase, Maki, not a comment as to the physical practicalities of-"

"I suppose their larger hips would mean they'd need reasonably wide pants, so my contribution longitudinally wouldn't be massive, but I don't see it working unless; how stretchy are their undergarments?"

"Wh-What are you looking at me for? Why on Earth would I know that?"

"I dunno, slumber parties?"

"What the- What do you think happens at slumber parties?!"

"Makeshift slingshot design."

"... You know, strangely enough, a combination of projectile warfare and our underwear never came up at slumber parties. Also, please move on, this conversation feels increasingly creepy."

"Fair point. So, anything else you learned from your spy operation that you'd like to note?"

"Yeah; Why the hell did he only care about Yuri and Monika? I get that Sayori and I aren't top students like them, but we matter too! If he thinks that you're going to get somebody in the club pregnant, why should it matter how good at schoolwork said club member is? Is having weaker grades a method of contraception or something?"

"Yes actually. I naturally examine all potential partners academic record to make sure they're not above a B+ average, because otherwise there's a 69% chance they'll get pregnant."

"Dang, you right. My bad. You're just too good at remembering things that are totally factually accurate."

"See, this is why I've got to be careful. With all these scientific facts, I've got to be careful to still get bad grades in spite of my genius. I need that contraception; otherwise, I might get pregnant."

"Maki, I assure you, you needn't worry about getting good grades."

"Thank goodness."

We finally walk into the classroom. Between being told off and being slow on our way over, we're a little late; but thankfully, the teacher here (Mrs Harmon) doesn't tell me off, because she and I get along really well. Even before the literature club, Classics was a subject I did relatively well in, as my knowledge on ancient Western civilization is surprisingly broad, and I'm very good at picking apart their concepts, so she's one of the few teachers who has only ever seen me as a good student. And she's basically just a grandmother type; friendly, excited for your successes, and caring. Sadly, in old age her intelligence has faltered; she's clearly still smart, but very easily loses her train of thought. That must be frustrating. In any case, she's a pretty good teacher, and more importantly, a good person.

Also, she hosted a gigantic LAN tournament of Sid Meier's Civilization VI for all the classics and history classes last year, which is a fantastic way to ensure I respect your subject a lot. Any class that allowed Pericles to become a religious fanatic and fascist, throwing nukes at a communist Teddy Roosevelt… That is a great class in my books. So this year, when I ended up in the class taught by the absolute mad lad who decided to do that, I tried a lot harder than in my other classes.

Natsuki rushes to the far-right desk group, and I reluctantly follow her.

"Hey Monika, thanks for saving us some seats."

"No worries, Natsuki. And nice to see you again Maki! Been a wee while, was almost worried you were avoiding me or something!"

"Sometimes friends just don't happen to bump into each other for a few days, no need to worry about it."

"You dove into a bush when I was walking towards you on Saturday."

"And thank goodness I did! Based on the impact crater, some loon had been jumping into bushes there! A full investigation was in order!"

The teacher cleared their throat.

"Only two things are certain in life; death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin. I'm sure many of you will have heard this saying before, and it's an interesting, if perhaps overly cynical view, of how life is to pan out. On the individual level, yes, that is all that can be ascertained; but the ability to surpass the individual level is our greatest strength as a species. Society isn't on the individual level. Within a culture, there'll be a few dozen figureheads with great influence, yes, but more importantly, in our individual pursuit of betterment, we contribute to the wider society. Our individual actions and legacies will almost certainly be forgotten, but the wider culture we helped to create lives on in the hearts and minds of future generations. Roman culture will live on, via art, tourism, and great compositions, as well as in our history books. A culture is unbreakable; while the individual may fall, our actions live on. Any culture, including our culture, cannot be taken out of the record, their history not to be deleted…"

Monika smirked at this part. "Wanna bet?" she whispered to me.

"It is for this reason that it is essential to ensure that the diligent and intelligent within future generations are taught about the very human composition of society over the years; as it is in this that we are given purpose. Now, to link this back into your question… Wait, Mark, what was your question again?"

Mark, who looked very confused and slightly threatened, quiveringly remarked;

"I… I just asked if I could go to the bathroom..."

As most of the class laughed, the teachers face went red, and she quietly returned to her seat.

I look over at Natsuki and see she's deep in thought. While the rest of the class continued to chuckle, she stood up, pulling out her lunchbox.

"Natsuki, what are you-"

Ignoring me, she walks up to the teachers desk.

Sniffling slightly, the teacher gave a rather forced smile and turned to face her.

"Oh, Natsuki, give me a moment to collect my wits, and I'll be with you momentarily. You still want me to recheck your work on the Odyssey project you were working on, right?"

"No. Well, yes, but this isn't about that. I just… I know what it feels like to talk about something you feel passionate about, but just end up with everyone laughing at your expense in response. So… I want you to have this."

She pulled out one of her signature cat themed cupcakes, and handed it to her, then promptly turned away to return to her desk before the teacher could respond.

She sat back down next to me.

"Natsuki, that was-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Ah… right. About three weeks ago, Natsuki started having some self esteem issues because she felt like her defensive nature made her uncompassionate and unlikable; so she had started trying to show more generosity. There had been a lot of issues like that lately; the cutesy anime roles the club members had gotten from Salvato were to the detriment of their happiness in the long term. For a week of game time, Natsuki being intensely passive aggressive, Yuri being painfully shy, or Sayori being ditzy and simple… that wasn't an issue. But after a month of it, it started bugging them, and they've each tried to find ways to improve themselves.

Still, while they may have developed as people, Natsuki's dad sure hadn't… and it worries me to see her giving up some of her already pretty paltry food supply.

Natsuki's proud to a fault, so she probably won't accept any food I offer her… maybe I should just offer to take the literature club out to eat something today, my treat? Yeah, that could work.

In any case, Natsuki seems too sullen to talk to right now, so in spite of my better judgement, I turn to Monika, who flashes me a cautious grin.

"Hey Maki..."

"Hello, Monika." I respond curtly.

"No need to be so formal, Maki! We're friends! I… I think. I'm not going to bite!"

"Firstly, I'm not taking any chances on the biting thing. I can very easily picture you biting me."

"Kinky."

."... No, badness. Also, having taken your recommendation on formality, I will henceforth greet you with the phrase "Yo wassup Mo"."

"... Look, we need to talk at some stage privately. This is the first time you've spoken to me voluntarily in weeks, and while I get that you're still mad, it kills me inside to see you treat me as at best a mild irritant."

"Considering you killed three people on the outside, my killing you on the inside seems like reasonable compensation."

"Hey hey now, ix-nay on the illing-kay talk, alright? Natsuki's right there, and we're in public."

"I apologise for my lack of consideration to the real-world equivalent of Cthulhu. In future, I will only insult universe destroyers in private."

"Come on Maki, please, I just want you to give me a chance here. Couldn't you give me that? We used to be friends, Maki, and I want that back."

"A long time ago we used to be friends, but I haven't thought of you lately at all."

"I'm… unsure if that's a Veronica Mars reference, or if you just genuinely dislike me."

"Yes."

"That doesn't… Wait, is that Sayori?"

I turned to look at the window on the door, and indeed, she does seem to be there for some reason. She's gesturing for me to come over.

This is an easy subject, and I'm hardly enthusiastic about continuing to chat with Monika, so I shrug and head for the door. I gesture a T towards Mrs Harmon to tell her I was going to the bathroom, and then went to check what Sayori wanted.

"Hey Sayo, what's the matter?"

"Follow me!"

She runs off down the hallways.

For a girl who almost never exercises and seems to live off a diet only slightly more healthy than eating rusty nails, she is weirdly fit. I'm panting by the time we get to her destination; the girls bathroom.

"Uh, Sayori… When I gestured that I needed the bathroom to the teacher, I wasn't actually planning on going to the bathroom. And certainly not the girls one."

"No, not that silly! Come on in!"

"Sorry, what?"

"Just do it! I need to show you something!"

"... Alright then."

It feels really weird to enter the girls bathroom. It seems… significantly cleaner than the boys equivalent, but otherwise surprisingly similar. Strangely, they still have urinals in here… our school administrators are very incompetent.

Well, the place is cleanly, with one very major exception.

"Look Maki, it's a squirrel!"

"Can't squirrels carry diseases like rabies?"

"No! Well… maybe. But Mr Cuddlesworth would never do such a thing!"

"Is that seriously; you know what, no, I'm not going to address the name. How am I involved in any of this?"

"Well, ever since I brought a stray tiger home in Junior year, my parents have banned me from taking home strays of any kind. So I was wondering if you could look after this sweet lil' chap for me?"

A glance at her reminds me that no torture technique was quite as proficient at extracting information as puppy dog eyes.

"... Do you have a cage for it?"

"I was kinda picturing it just being perched on your shoulder, like Abu in Aladdin."

"So your plan was dependent on the idea that in a modern school with health and safetty regulations to follow, this random wild squirrel is effectively the same as an intelligent fictional monkey was in the fictitious replication of the Middle East several centuries in the past."

"Okay look, I hadn't really thought that far ahead, will you help me or not?"

"Find some way to contain it, and sure."

Sayori enthusiastically leaped in and hugged me, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Thank you thank you thank you! Thank you so much Maki, you're a great friend! Although, now, uh, I did find this squirrel because I came into the bathroom for a reason, so I should probably go before my bladder gives up on me, and you should probably go back to class."

Suddenly, the bell rings.

"Oh, well, good timing then! Thank goodness you brought your bag along! See you in Art!"

Heading off to interval, I wonder who I should hang out with.

Sayori will be out in a minute, probably heading off to the courts to play some tennis (Now that was a hobby I did not expect her to take up, but she's gotten really into it the last week or so). I suppose I could join her, albeit at the risk of her lodging a tennis through my skull.

Natsuki is probably still working on her Classics project back in class. Seeing as that's my strongest area, I'm sure she'd appreciate a hand working on it. Besides, I'm ~90% sure I left my best pen in there (Although my original best pen got disposed of very quickly after discovering some interesting lines Yuri had made in-game.)

Speaking of Yuri, I bet she'll be in either the school library, or Mr Bradstone's room. I haven't read anything with her after Portrait of Markov, and it might be nice to read something together again (although preferably in a slightly less incredibly weird way).

Then there's her. She'll be in the Computer Labs. Normally I wouldn't even consider spending time around her after the atrocities she has committed, but she did sound kinda urgent on the matter… I wonder what she's worried about?

Mulling it over, there's really one option. Yep, I should definitely meet up with-

[Authors Note: Which Doki will we be spending some quality time with next chapter? I'm leaving it up to the comments! Let me know which one you'd like to see.]