Club and Afterschool Activity (2)

After a few games we took a break for a few minutes. During the break, I looked around the clubroom and noticed that there were only two of us in the club. I looked at my watch and checked the time.

"It's been 1 hour since I came to this room, but there's no one here, where are the other seniors?" I asked Senior Takumi.

"I don't know, they're probably busy, maybe studying for exams, some of them have left the club. So basically, it's just the two of us in the club now," Senior Takumi explained as he took off his headset.

"Yesterday we got an ultimatum," he continued.

"What? Who?" I asked.

"It was from the evil tyrant student council. They asked for more sacrifices," Senior Takumi replied in frustration.

"So, they want us to have more members to keep the club running," I concluded.

"Ah yes most likely, we only have 2 members now but they want us to have 5 members within 2 weeks," Senior Takumi explained, the burden of the task evident in his voice.

"What? They expect us to get 3 more members in 2 weeks, that's crazy, we're not a popular club like football or basketball clubs that attract members easily," I exclaimed, feeling overwhelmed by the expectation.

"Well, our club is just a hobby-based club, I also founded this club when I was working on a game project in my first year because I wanted input from others for my game project," Senior Takumi said.

"I know the story, Senior. You've told it to me many times. We can't get 3 members in 2 weeks, that's impossible, especially for a club that focuses on game development," I expressed my concern.

"I forgot to tell you that the student council told us to display something at the club bazaar next week, so that we have a better chance of recruiting more people into the club," Senior Takumi revealed.

"What should we display?" I asked.

"Um, maybe we can show off my game from last year?" Senior Takumi suggested.

"No, Senior, we can't show your own project, it has to be ours," I insisted.

"Alright, but we have... er... nothing?" Senior Takumi replied hesitantly.

"Damn it! We've got nothing. That means our only way out is to make a new game within a week. But I don't think we'll be able to do it before the club bazaar," I expressed my frustration, sensing the severity of this challenge.

"We can definitely do it. What we need is a solid plan to break free from the shackles of the tyrannical and evil student council. Give me some time to think. You can go home now," Senior Takumi assured me.

"Are you okay doing this alone? I can help you think about it," I offered, concerned about her situation.

"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry," Senior Takumi assured me.

After our conversation, I picked up my backpack and left the clubroom. As I walked down the corridor, I could hear Senior Takumi's laughter echoing from the club room. I guess we will have another crazy day tomorrow.

When I arrived home, I opened the door and Mom was there to greet me.

"Oh, why did you come home so early today? What happened? No after-school activities?" Mom asked, her worry evident.

"It's really bad, Mom," I replied, feeling the weight of the situation. "Senior had another mental breakdown today, so he asked me to leave the club early. We don't have enough members to keep the club running, so Senior is trying to find a solution."

I took my shoes off and put them on the shoe rack before entering the living room. I flopped down on the sofa, feeling exhausted and worried. My mother followed me into the kitchen after sweeping the floor near the front door.

"Your senior is so reliable that he had a sudden mental breakdown," she commented.

"He's our club president, he's the most responsible among us, but I didn't expect so many club members to leave suddenly. Huh, now it's just the two of us doing everything," I explained, feeling the urgency of the situation once again.

Usually, third-year students quit club activities in the second half of the third year because of university entrance exams and final exams. Unexpectedly, they left the club so quickly and without notice, and it gave me a headache to think about it.

"It's a shame, let's hope everything goes well," I said, feeling the weight of the situation once again.

"I hope so," I replied, my mind already racing with thoughts of what I should do.

Then Alda walked into the living room. "Huh, you came home early today? Got kicked out of the club, eh?" Alda teased.

"No, that's not it, I came home early because Senior told me to let him think in the club room, so I left the club room and I didn't want to disturb him while he was thinking hard," I quickly clarified.

High school students usually go home around 3pm. Sometimes they can go home around 5pm due to their club activities. They can go home earlier, around 1pm instead of 3pm if there are no club activities. But most of them use this excuse to hang out with their friends after school.

"Good move, bro, because you're useless at this," Alda teased.

"Can you stop being annoying for five minutes! I also have responsibilities as the last member of this club,"

"If you stop being a loser," Alda teased, undeterred. "By the way, what happened to your club?"

"Huh so, the club didn't have enough members, the club was closed, simple as that, now we need more members to convince the student council not to close the club," I explained.

"Oohh, your seniors are probably thinking hard right now. You should do something instead of complaining about everything," I replied.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I ignored his words, my mind already filled with plans and worries. "It's been a hard day. I'm going to the bedroom to rest now."

Having said that, I went upstairs and entered the bedroom. I put my bag on the chair by the computer and lay down on the bed.

Now we only have 1 week to make the game and recruit more members for the club. Tough day, hopefully tomorrow will be better.