Club Day (2)

"Alright class, I explained how this will go to you on Monday but I'll recap it nonetheless. I've handed out a document to each of you which contains all the clubs that have orientations today, where to find them, and the timings for each session. Plan out your day accordingly, you won't have time to visit every single club so choose only the ones you have been considering for the past month! Understood?"

"YES SIR!"

The teacher gave the students a breakdown, and then allowed them to leave for the club building.

Students rushed out in their groups, some even running off to get a head start for whatever reason. The Main Cast also left together, and Reiji couldn't help but wonder what they would end up picking.

In the game, Haruna would almost always choose the same one as Hina to spend more time with her. More often than not, it ended up being the reading club.

However, the protagonist's actions earlier on in the plot could sway this, steering her to pick something more dynamic and active which all three would enjoy such as the table tennis club, music club, or even the art club.

If that happened, Haruna would only join them if the club they chose didn't require purchasing their own equipment or supplies, since she couldn't afford it otherwise.

But Reiji had a feeling that Riku might just ignore these nuances and pick whatever he wanted to do. If the players chose something that neither heroine was interested in, it would lock out many avenues for gaining affection, but unlock new game modes within the chosen clubs.

For example, if something like basketball was picked, the player can unlock new content and be able to play a game within a game. The degree of freedom was incredibly vast, which was another selling point of the dating sim.

Let's not forget the third heroine either, because the Student Council was also considered a club to a certain extent, and the player could choose to enter it as a secretary to open new interactions with Noa. That's why it was said that the plotlines were HEAVILY determined by the player choices.

This made the upcoming choices so interesting for Reiji, who wanted to see how this version of Riku would decide his path.

"Reiji-kun, stop spacing out, we're wasting precious time!" Airi exclaimed, tugging hard at his sleeve to pull him forward.

"Sorry, sorry, let's go!"

The three mismatched students made their way to the building, which was already bustling with noise. Reiji groaned internally at the sight of the crowd, his eyes narrowing with frustration.

This made him look a little scary, and the students blocking the path quickly parted to let them through.

"Woooow, Reiji-kun you're like an insect repellant! Very useful," Airi giggled. Even Greeny had a slight smile on his face, though his similar discomfort at the noise overpowered it.

"Shut it, let's just get going. Where are we heading first?"

"Hmm, the closest one that looks interesting is the broadcasting club. Do you two want to look at that first? The session starts in two minutes," Airi suggested.

"Sure, let's go."

They arrived at the broadcasting clubroom, which was essentially the school's radio. They announced important details, relevant news, played music, and even told random jokes throughout the day. During school events, they acted as announcers and hosts, thus attracting students that were considering a career in media.

When they entered, there were only about 5 people seated in the audience section, and three students at the front who had gold tie pins which indicated that they were third years.

Second years had black tie pins and freshmen had silver ones, making it easy to differentiate between them.

"Oh? You guys made it just in time! Have a seat, we'll get started soon!"

Looks like none of them recognized Reiji, considering their inviting faces. His reputation was the worst among the freshmen because it had only been a month since school started, and adding on his makeover, not a lot of third years knew much about him.

The three of them moved to the back and took their seats, curious about what the events would be like. The game glossed over this part, so Reiji wasn't sure either.

"Alright, first we'll tell you guys about why this club exists and what we do, and then wrap it up by letting you guys try out the radio system and make your own announcements to the school! Exciting isn't it?"

Everyone perked up a little at the second half of the senior's introduction. There was one woman and two boys, and they each spoke a little bit about the club's activities. None of them particularly interested Reiji, and he more or less already knew what they did so it didn't make him surprised or anything.

One thing to point out though, was that all the senior's had very unique or strong voices, well suited for the club's purposes.

Soon, the orientation part of the session ended and the seniors called up each of them one by one to make a broadcast.

"Don't be nervous, just press that button when you're ready and keep it held down while you speak!"

"Att-Attention Souhei High! This is a reminder to st-stay organized and not get too excited. Acc-Accidents are very unpredictable, so be careful," a shy girl spoke into the microphone nervously, her voice breaking at times due to nervousness.

"Woow! Not bad for your first try, you have potential, Junior!" The kind senior gave her a thumbs up.

Just like that, more and more people made a small announcement, until it was finally Greeny's turn.

"M-Maybe I shouldn't do this? Right, Reiji-kun?" he asked with his entire body trembling with anxiety.

"You don't have to force yourself, but think about it this way. This is a really unique opportunity that you may never have again, so why think about what could go wrong? Just live in the moment and enjoy doing something that you never thought you might do!" Reiji whispered to him softly, patting him on the back to calm him down.

Though his trembling didn't stop, it subsided a lot and a determined look replaced the fearful one. He stepped past the kind senior, who was looking at Reiji with an amused face.

"Look at that! You look like a delinquent but act like a teddy bear," she chuckled.

"....Please don't tease me Senior, what am I even supposed to say to that," Reiji rolled his eyes in exasperation.

At the same time, Greeny pressed down on the button and spoke.

"Ah..Erm, at-attention Souhei High! Don't lose your guiding documents, th-they are vvv-veryyy *cough* im-important so um.... so keep them handy and thafe (safe)," he mumbled quickly, his face reddening at light speed.

Everyone in the room struggled to hold in their laughter when his voice squeaked in the middle, and then completely lost it when he bit his tongue on the last word.

The Senior herself, who had been patient with everyone's mistake was tearing up at the effort of holding in her chuckle, her hands clenched at her skirt. She had never seen a boy whose voice went that high, and she felt bad for finding it funny. But there was no helping it.

Greeny turned to Airi and Reiji with an aggrieved expression, but he found them both with contorted faces and hands covering their mouths.

"Th-that's not fair you two! I tried my best!" He snapped tearfully.

"I'm not laughing Greeny, I uh....my face was itchy," Reiji looked away guiltily.

"Yeah right!" Greeny responded with a frown, walking down from the broadcasting set.

"Al-Alright! Who's next!" The senior attempted to change the atmosphere by moving on.

"ME! ME!" Airi ran up excitedly.

"My, My! You're pretty pumped up! Take it away, you know the drill by now!"

"Yes! Ahem ahem. Attention Souhei High! Apologies for the last announcement, there was an issue with the microphone. There are teachers stationed on each floor, if you have any specific queries you can ask them for guidance. Thank you."

Airi even ad-libbed her line and apologized for Greeny's mistake, eliciting a chuckle from the people in the room again. She did pretty well, earning her a shining thumbs up from all three seniors.

"Did you really have to bring up my announcement??" Greeny frowned slightly, scrunching his nose in annoyance.

"Hehe," Airi simply giggled and pushed Reiji forward. "Your turn Reiji-kun."

"Ah Mr Teddy, you're the last one huh?"

"What the hell? Don't call me that, please," Reiji replied with raised eyebrows.

"Haha, sure sure, go ahead whenever you're ready."

Reiji sat down in front of the mic, and chose a line from the list given by the club.

"Attention Souhei High, we have received reports that students are shoving each other to enter club orientations before them. Please refrain from causing trouble and proceed in an orderly manner, otherwise the student council will start marking down the troublemakers. Trust me, you don't want to piss off that block of ice," Reiji stated in a deeper tone of voice than usual, trying to replicate the 'commentator voice' you see in the media.

"Oh wow, that's pretty impressive Mr Teddy! Your voice is pretty deep, and that's something we've been lacking! How about it, want to join the broadcasting club?"

"Ah, that was fun but no thanks. I've already decided what I want to join," Reiji turned her down respectfully, making her pout in a disappointed manner.

"That's a shame, but did you really have to add that last part? Though it's true, you'll definitely get into trouble," She smiled as she brought up his ad-lib.

"Oh shit, did I say that out loud?"

Reiji scratched his hair, responding sarcastically. He just wanted to have a little fun.

"No way that wasn't on purpose," she responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Who knows? Hopefully she won't find out," he said, looking at the senior with hope.

"Join the club and she definitely won't find out," the senior grinned evilly.

'....Why the fuck is everyone blackmailing me these days."