There’s also the question: what if The Club at my school didn’t exist?

See, at school, there’s a certain bunch of kids in my grade. They always hang out with one another and eat together, and have no friends outside their group. They all can’t do anything after school, because, as they tell all the teachers and students who ask them to join these after-school, extra-curricular activities, “Sorry, I’m already in a club.” Hence the name for these kids, The Club. They won’t let anyone else join, either. They’re a source of extreme mystery among the students; thanks to them, there is never a lack for gossip at my school.

There are twelve kids in The Club—6 boys and 6 girls, to be exact. The boys are:

Ronin. A grungy hottie (according to the girls) with attitude and “bad boy” charm. The girls fawn over him completely, and call him “Ryo”. He seems to be the leader for the males of the club.

Akeno. A good student, naturally; otherwise lax, but not so much so. Hangs out a lot with Ronin.

Takeo. A seriously quiet and skinny athletic. Beats everyone in gym class, 100 of the time. Hangs out with Ronin and Akeno.

Mamoru. I don’t know much about him, except that he’s an average student and is quiet and relatively in the background, kinda like me.

Haru… well, Haru. Let’s forget about him. He’s a longish-haired flirt, all his friends are girls.

Shoda. Creepy, quiet, and philosophical, and always hangs out by himself. It almost seems like he’s a Vibe.

For the girls, there’s Natsu, who’s pretty and a bit of a flirt as well. Guys hang out around her a lot.

Yuri is a cute athlete. Plays competitively, like Takeo, but nowhere near as silent.

Momo is short, short-haired, and cute, and worries cutely as well. When she’s not worrying, she’s bouncing. She reminds me of a bunny. Too much sugar for me.

Kaede is quiet, and has a bit of an attitude if you talk to her. For me, a quiet Yankee comes to mind when I think of her.

Satsuki… she’s probably a Vibe, too, ‘cause she’s just got this aura of darkness around her… more creepy than Shoda, even. But she’s not a loner, like Shoda, because she’s friends with Asuka.

Asuka… there is not single boy in the school, even those that hang out with Natsu, that doesn’t think that Asuka is the nicest and most beautiful girl in the entire school—no, the world. That includes yours truly.

She’s even nice enough to tutor me in math after school, ’cause I’d be failing otherwise—so I tell her as we sit down after school.

Asuka, who can only be here for a half-hour because of her membership in The Club, smiles and says, “It’s our job to help one another out. Don’t thank me.”

Gosh, isn’t she nice?

As we reviewed what we had learned in Algebra the past week, and as I did practice problems, I solved another problem of my own.

Gosh, she’s just so nice that I can’t stand it. And I’ve had enough with not knowing.

Asuka, you leave me no choice.

Tonight, I am following you home!