Author's Note: I added a little more stuff to the previous chapter. If you haven't read it yet, then please do so before continuing.
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"Performing?" Natsuki repeated, not knowing if she'd heard Monika correctly.

"P... Uh, Monika..." Yuri mumbled nervously.

"Yeah! We're going to be having a poetry performance." said Monika proudly. "Each of us are going to choose a poem to recite during the event. But the cool part is, we're also going to let anyone come up and recite poems too! Sayori's putting it on all of the posters in case anyone wants to prepare ahead of time."

"Ehehe~" Sayori giggled, holding up a coloured poster for everyone to see.

Natsuki was looking extremely irritated, "Are you kidding me, Monika? You didn't... you didn't already start putting those posters up, did you?"

"Eh? Well, I did..." said Monika, "Do you really think it's that bad of an idea...?"

"Well, you could have at least told us about this earlier. I don't like it when these things happen at the very last minute. It really stresses me out." Jake told her, "I thought clubs were meant to be fun, not stressful."

"I didn't sign up for this, either. There is no way I'm going to be performing in front of a group of people like that!" Natsuki snapped.

"I... I agree with them! I could never... in my life... do something like that..." Yuri said, shaking her head in fear. She looked as though she was playing out an embarrassing scenario in her mind.

"Guys..." Sayori tried to speak up, but Monika stopped her.

"No, Sayori... I understand where they're coming from. Remember, Natsuki and Yuri have never shared their poems with anyone until a couple of days ago, and Jake's still not very confident in his writing yet. It's a lot to ask for them to recite their works out loud to a whole room that's full of people. I guess I kinda overlooked that. So, I'm sorry..."

Natsuki crossed her arms and huffed, Jake rubbed his neck, and Yuri fiddled with her hair. Sayori looked at them all sadly.

"...But, I still think we should give this our best shot!" Monika continued, "We are the only ones responsible for the fate of this club. If we start the event and put on a good performance, then it will inspire others to to the same! And the more people who perform, the better we'll be able to show everyone what literature is all about!"

"Yeah!" Sayori agreed happily, "It's about expressing your feelings. Being intimate with yourself. Finding new horizons. And having fun!"

"That's right! And those are the reasons that we're all in this club today. Don't you want to share that with other people? To inspire them to find the same feelings that brought you here in the first place? I know I do. I know we all do. And if all it takes is standing in front of a room for two minutes and reciting a poem... then I know you can do it!"

Jake, Natsuki and Yuri remained silent. Monika's smile faded and she started to look upset. But it was Sayori who decided to speak up first.

"I agree. I don't think it's too much to ask. Monika and I have been trying our hardest to get more people to join the club. The least you guys could do is help us out a little bit."

Jake looked at Sayori, feeling a wave of guilt pass over him; it was clear that she really wanted to do this and it was pretty painful seeing her desperately trying to win the rest of the club over. He wondered how she managed to keep this up every afternoon after school.

"Well, maybe... but..." It seemed as though Natsuki didn't have any arguments left, "Uu... okay, fine! I guess I'll just have to get it over with."

"Alright~!" Sayori said cheerfully.

"Phew..." Monika sighed, "Thanks Natsuki. What about you guys...?"

Jake and Yuri both glanced around at everyone else's expectant faces. Jake dejectedly looked down at his feet in as Yuri sighed gently.

"I-I guess I don't really have a choice..." stuttered Yuri.

"Ahaha!" laughed Sayori, "Your the best, Yuri~"

Yuri looked away from them and whispered, "This club is going to be the death of me..."

"Oh gosh... you'll be fine, Yuri. But anyway, how about you, Jake?" asked Monika, looking at him with a smile.

"I guess so..." Jake said in defeat. He wanted nothing more than to say no. but if Yuri was doing it, then he wasn't going to let her suffer on her own.

"That's everyone!" Sayori cheered.

"Excellent. Now, let's move on to the main event! I want each of you to choose a poem of yours. We're going to practice reciting them in front of each other." Monika announced.

"N-N-No way!!" Natsuki shouted.

"Monika...! This is too sudden...!" Yuri squealed.

"Well, if you can't recite your poem in front of the club, how do you expect to do it in front of strangers?" asked Monika.

"Oh no..." mumbled Yuri.

"Don't worry, I'll start off to help people feel more comfortable." Monika told her.

"Can I go next??" asked Sayori.

"Ahaha. Of course. Now let's see... uh, Jake? Are you okay?" Monika asked, noticing Jake's rather annoyed expression. He looked at her with a frown.

"Not really, no..." He told her.

"What's the matter? You can tell me." She said.

"Alright, I'll tell you what's the matter. I'm starting to question your leadership skills."

"Eh? Why is that?"

"Well, for one thing, you've started taking piano classes that will probably make you late for your own club. Second, you forgot to tell me, Yuri and Natsuki about your plans for the festival, and now, you're trying to push us out of our comfort zone and expect us to just go along with it? That doesn't sound like a good leader to me."

"Jake..." Sayori tried to say, but Jake ignored her.

"I thought clubs were supposed to be about having fun, but this... this is not fun. Not for me, not for Yuri, not even for Natsuki. I get that you're trying to push us into being more open, but if you had informed us earlier, we might've been more willing to do this!"

"Jake, I only came up with this yesterday." Monika explained to him, "I assumed that Sayori was going to inform you guys about my plans when I told her to make the posters. That was my fault and I'm sorry about that."

Monika took a breath before continuing, "I understand that you guys all have limits, but I believe this is going to help us overcome those limits. I just want you all to do the best you can, so that I won't feel this making this club was a big waste of time... Plus, I need to have more than just one hobby, right? Please try to understand."

Jake remained silent and turned red, regretting what he had said. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, watching him as tried to avert their gaze.

He always hated admitting when he was wrong, and apologising was painful for him to do. But, he knew he had to swallow his pride and accept that Monika had a point; she was doing this to try and help all of them, not just to help the club or herself.

"I'm sorry, Monika. I just got frustrated..." Jake whispered quietly.

"It's okay, Jake. I understand and I accept the criticism. It always helps me to learn and improve on my skills and efforts. Thank you for sharing your thoughts." She replied with a sad smile.

"Your welcome..."

How was Monika able to be so calm and polite all the time? Even while she was getting criticised directly to her face? Jake had no clue know how she did it, but he admired/envied how confident and strong she always was. It was no wonder why people liked her so much.

Meanwhile, Monika flipped through her notebook and stopped at a specific poem that she had in mind for herself. She then stood behind the podium at the front of the clubroom.

"The title of the poem is The Way They Fly. Ahem..." Monika began reciting her poem.

Her clear and confident voice filled the room. Jake could feel the emotion she applied to each line she spoke. It was focused, powerful and (as Monika herself had put it), inspiring. Was this something she had done before, or was she simply it natural?

Still feeling awkward about his earlier rant, Jake glanced around. Everybody had their eyes set on Monika. Sayori looked amazed and Yuri had an intense expression on her face that Jake did not understand.

Finally, Monika finished the recitation. The other three applaud, but Jake kinda just tapped his hands together, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. Monika takes a breath and smiles.

"That... that was so good, Monika!" said a still amazed Sayori.

"Ahaha, thank you very much. I was just hoping to set a good example." replied Monika. "Are you ready to go next, Sayori?"

"I...I'll go next!!" Yuri half-shouted.

Jake's head spun around so quickly his neck cracked painfully. Everyone looked towards Yuri in surprise. She had a determined expression and clutched a sheet of paper between her hands.

"Uwah! Yuri's fired up all of a sudden!" Sayori said, surprised. Keeping her head down, Yuri stood up and quickly walked over to the podium.

"This poem is called—!" Yuri anxiously glanced at all of them.

"You can do it, Yuri..." Sayori whispered.

"It... it's called... Afterimage of a Crimson Eye." Yuri's voice shook as she started to read the poem to them. Jake stared at her in a amazement. Just a moment ago, Yuri pretty much refused to do this. Why was she suddenly putting in so much effort?

After Yuri got past the first couple of lines, her voice changed. It was almost like what happened whenever she got absorbed into her books. Her stutter and nervousness were replaced by that of a fierce and confident woman.

The poem was filled with twists and turns in its structure, all of which she brought to life with powerful emotion and perfect timing. All of Jake's guilty feelings were quickly washed away as he witnessed what was likely a rare glimpse into the whirling fire hidden in Yuri's mind.

Before Jake even realised it, Yuri had finished. Everyone in the clubroom was stunned. Even Yuri herself seemed bewildered as she snapped back to reality and glanced around, slowly returning to her timid self and looking very worried.

"I..." She started.

Thinking faster than he ever had in his life, Jake quickly rose from his seat and started clapping, giving Yuri the recognition she deserved. The others joined him afterwards. Not that they didn't want to applaud for her, but they must've been so caught off-guard they had forgotten.

As they continued applauding her, Yuri held the poem close to her chest and she rushed back into her seat.

"Yuri, that was really good. Thank you for sharing." said Monika.

Yuri didn't not respond. Instead, she looked down at her desk with her face hidden by her hair. It seemed like she was down for the count.

"Okay~ I guess I'm next, then!" said Sayori. She hoped out of her chair and cheerfully walked to the podium.

"This one is called... My Meadow... Ah... Ahaha! Sorry, I giggled... Ehehe... It's a lot harder than I thought. How did you guys do it so easily?"

With Sayori's reciting of her poem on brief hold, Jake decided to take the time to have one quick glance over at Yuri before she started. Just to see how she was holding up.

But when he did, Jake was surprised to find Yuri was already staring at him. quickly turned back to Sayori, who started reciting her poem.

Somehow, it felt like her soft voice was made as a perfect match. The poem she was reading was not aimlessly cheery like Sayori was herself. It was serene and bittersweet.

If Jake had read it on paper, he probably wouldn't have thought much about it. But hearing this come from the voice of Sayori almost gave the poem whole new meaning. It was as though Jake was seeing a new side of her that he didn't even know existed.

When Sayori finished reciting, Jake and the other club members applauded her, causing her to smile broadly.

"I did it~!" She cheered.

"Nice job, Sayori." Jake congratulated her.

Sayori giggled, "Eehehe, even Jakey liked it! I guess that's a good sign~"

"Yeah... That's what... saying 'nice job' means." Jake replied.

"It came out nicely, Sayori. The atmosphere of the poem fits you really nicely." said Monika, "But it might be that other poems wouldn't work quite as well with that kind of delivery..."

Sayori gave Monika a confused look, "Eh? I don't really understand..."

"In other words, I've seen poems of yours where that sort of gentle delivery wouldn't work as well. They might need a little more force behind them, depending on what your reading..."

"Oh, I know what you mean!" Sayori said, lighting back up. "That's... well, I've been practicing that kind of thing. It's just embarrassing to do in front of everyone. Ehehe..."

"Then next time, I'm going to make you pick a poem that challenges you a little more. We don't have much time before the festival, you know?" Monika reminded her.

"Okaaaaay." replied Sayori.

"Now, who's next...?" asked Monika, looking over at the remaining members, "Natsuki?"

Natsuki huffed, "Don't make me go before Jake. It's not I compare to you guys, anyway... Might as well let Jake lower everyone's standards a little before I have to do it."

"Nat..." Sayori said quietly.

Jake placed a hand on his chest, pretending to feel insulted. Then he realised something that made him feel really nervous.

"I don't actually have a big selection of what to read..." He muttered, "Can I just read my short story instead?"

"Of course, go right ahead." said Monika.

"This is gonna be good..." Sayori said.

Jake rose from his seat and stepped in front of the podium. Everyone had their eyes on him, but he didn't mind too much and recited his short story. Although he wasn't exactly confident in his own writing, he nevertheless put as much energy into it as he could.

Once he finished, Jake looked up at his audience. Monika, Natsuki and Yuri were staring at him with rather stunned expressions, but Sayori smiled and started to applaud him, with the others joining in soon afterwards.

"Jake, that was incredible!" Monika congratulated him, "You recited that perfectly. I'm so proud of you for doing this."

"Th-Thanks, Monika." stuttered Jake.

But his attention was focused more on Yuri. She was wearing an intense expression. Like the one she wore while reading her books. It was almost as though she was lost in a daze, enveloped by her own thoughts.

Upon making eye contact with her, Yuri's expression changed to one of embarrassment and she  looked away, her face turning bright red once again. Jake felt his own cheeks turning red and he turned his attention back to Monika.

"But I must say, you seem to have a lack of confidence in your writing. That's something that we can improve on over time, though." Monika added, seeing Jake's face start to fall a little.

"Yeah... maybe." Jake replied quietly.

"Alright, then! That just leaves you, Natsuki." said Monika.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." Natsuki groaned. She begrudgingly got out of her seat and made her way to the podium, "The poem is called... It's called... W-Why are you all looking at me?!"

"Because you're presenting..." Monika reminded her.

"Hmph... Anyway... the poem is called Jump." Natsuki cleared her throat.

Once she started to recite the poem, her sour attitude disappeared a little. While she still wasn't enthused, her poem had a rhythm and rhyme to it. It was Natsuki's trademark style, and worked surprisingly well when spoken aloud. When she finished, everyone applauded her and she went back to her seat in a huff.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Monika asked.

"Easy for you to say... You better not make me do it again." said Natsuki coldly.

"Ah, well... Do you at least feel prepared enough to recite a poem in front of other people?"

"I mean, doing it in front of other people will be way easier! I can put on any face I want for other people. But when it's just my friends... It's just... embarrassing."

"That's a surprise, Natsuki... I think it would be the other way around for me." said Sayori.

Natsuki placed her hand on her hip, "Well, that's just how it is, so..."

"Well, I guess in that case... You won't have much to worry about for the festival." said Monika happily, "That said, I want to thank everyone for coming through. It might be hard, but I hope that you all have an idea of what it's like now. Make sure you pick a poem and practice enough before the festival, okay? I'll be making pamphlets, so let me know ahead of time what you'll be reciting."

"Jeez... it's gonna be a nightmare finding a decent poem to recite." muttered Jake.

"Don't worry, it's fine! I can recommend some different ones for you to read. And I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised that you've put in all this effort for the club. It makes me really happy." She told him with a smile.

"Ah... Yeah, no problem..." Jake replied quietly.

"Okay, everyone! I think that's about it for today. I know the festival is coming up, but let's try to write poems for tomorrow, as well. It's been working out really nicely so far, so I'd like for that to continue. As for the festival, we'll finish planning tomorrow, and then we'll have the weekend to prepare for it. Monday's the big day!"

"I can't wait~!" squealed Sayori.

"I can do this... I can do this..." Yuri mumbled to herself.

"Alright—" responded Jake, standing up from his desk. There was no way he would be able to find the same enthusiasm as Sayori and Monika, but knew that he couldn't let them down, so he'd have to just do his best to survive until the festival was over. If it's for the sake of the club, and impressing its president, then he would have to push through it.

"Ready to go, Jakey?" Sayori asked him.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Look at you two, always going home together like that." Natsuki said smugly.

"It's kind of adorable, isn't it?" Monika agreed.

"Ehehe..." Sayori giggled nervously, looking at Natsuki.

"What?" Jake asked them, looking confused.

"It must be a little nice, though..." said Yuri.

"Well... Ah..." Jake didn't know how to respond to that.

"It's okay, Jakey, you don't have to say it." Sayori told him.

"Can we please go now?"

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Jake walked home with Sayori once more. Even though it had only been three days, a lot of things had already changed. But today, Sayori seemed to be a little quieter than usual on the way home.

"Hey, Sayori..." Jake spoke to her. Sayori blinked and quickly turned her head towards him.

"... Sorry! I was just spacing out!" She told him.

"Ah, no wonder..." He replied.

"Um... I was... thinking about something from earlier. I'm really happy you've started getting along with Natsuki better. I just noticed you two were a little..."

"What?" asked Jake.

"Ehehe..." Sayori giggled. It was the same nervous giggle she had used back in the clubroom. Jake wasn't sure what she was trying to ask him.

"Sayori... Why did you want me to spend time with Natsuki?" He asked her.

"Eh?! Well..." mumbled Sayori, "I just wanted to make sure that you two don't end up having arguments like she does with Yuri. Plus, I want you to try and make more friends with others who you might not be comfortable talking to at first. She's really beautiful and smart..."

"Smart, yeah... but I don't quite see her as beautiful though..." He said honestly. "Besides, you always seem to really like going home together... I wouldn't just ruin that for you."

"You're so silly, Jakey... Sayori replied with a smile, "You think about me too much sometimes. Natsuki would deserve it if she wanted it, so..."

Jake snorted, "I highly doubt that she trusts me enough to let me walk home with her. Besides, what's the point of speculating over something that's never going to happen. I can't really figure you out sometimes..."

"Sorry... But I just like to think about it." She explained, "It's not long before you won't need me anymore, you know."

"Yeah- huh? What do you mean by that?" Jake asked, confused.

"Sorry... It's nothing, really. I'm just happy you're finally meeting some new people and making more friends." She said with a sad smile.

"Sayori... I can't figure out how you're seeing things in your head. Everyone is different... Nobody in the club can be a replacement for you." Jake told her.

"Hmm... If you say so..." Sayori replied.

The conversation trailed off, leaving Jake feeling very awkward. Although, it was kinda her fault trapping him with such a random question... He couldn't just lie to her. If there was one thing in the world that made her happy, he would hate to take that away from her. That's why he said there was no point in speculating.

Then again, the festival was only a few days away. Who knew what would happen that time?

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And another chapter done! Hope you all enjoy it! Please point out any spelling mistakes so I can fix them. I'm honestly surprised that I've managed to get this far with the story and I'm really happy that it's still going. Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

~Cheesy