Early Morning Call and New Member

My phone rang near my bed. It was so loud, I couldn't even continue sleeping. Who was calling me this morning? I rolled over on the bed, trying to reach the mobile phone by the bed. My mobile phone was on the small table beside the bed. I reached for the mobile phone and hung up, then continued sleeping.

My phone rang again after I hung up. I tried to ignore it, but the more I ignored it, the louder it rang. I rolled over in bed, covering my ears to block out the sound. However, it reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed and fumbled to retrieve my mobile phone. "Who called me this morning?" I looked at the clock on my mobile phone, "It's 3am, who's calling me this early, it's Senior Takumi, I better answer his call now because he's already called me so many times".

I picked up the phone, a little sleepy from waking up at 3am. "Hey, Senior. What's wrong, why are you calling me so early in the morning?"

"What took you so long to pick up, Valdo?" Senior Takumi asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in bed. "It's 3am, Senior. Give me a little rest. People are trying to sleep," I replied, my frustration obvious.

"It's about what happened yesterday."

Concerned, I became fully awake. "Is it about the club? Can't we discuss it later when we're at the club room?"

"Yeah right, no, listen to me, I have an idea to save our club, we'll kidnap some 1st year students and force them to enter..."

Shaking my head in disbelief at what this Senior of mine was saying, I decided to end the call. "I'm hanging up now, Senior. Good night and see you later."

"Wait, wait, wait. It should be 'good morning'," he insisted.

"Really, I'm going to completely hang up now," I insisted, ending the call before he could continue with his ridiculous idea.

I tried to go back to sleep and salvage what little rest I could get.

The next morning, I woke up a little later than usual, due to the distraction caused by the early morning call from Senior Takumi. Feeling tired and restless, I yawned and sat at my desk while trying to sleep again, contemplating whether I should try to sleep a few more minutes.

Kazuki, who noticed my sleepiness, walked over to me and slapped my back to wake me up. "Hey, wake up! It's already morning. What are you doing, sleeping again?"

"Ouch! I'm still sleepy. Let me have a few more minutes of peace," I retorted while rubbing the back he hit.

"What's going on with you, man? You seem off today," Kazuki asked, concerned about my state of mind.

"Senior called me this morning for some ridiculous reason, so I ignored him for a while, but he kept calling me over and over again," I explained, hoping he would understand my tiredness.

"Why didn't you pick up the phone and talk to him?" Kazuki asked, curious about the situation.

"I answered his call, but Senior bombarded me with excuses and silly ideas while everyone was still sleeping," I replied, feeling a mixture of annoyance and fatigue.

"Excuses and silly ideas? What are they about?" Kazuki urged me to get more details.

"It's about the Game Development Club. We have to meet the membership requirements within two weeks, or else the club will be closed," I explained, emphasising the seriousness of the situation.

"This is serious stuff. This is the last club you can join now, right? I want to join your club, but I don't want to be a ghost member who just shows up and does nothing," Kazuki said, expressing his concern.

Kazuki was a member of 3 clubs in this high school. The football club, football played with feet and not hands or you can say soccer. It was my former club before I quit because it was very tiring every day. So, I limited myself to only 1 club which is my current club.

The other two are drama club and public speaking club. That's how Kazuki was able to get his girlfriend because he had experience in speaking and drama, which were mostly romantic dramas. Unlike me who has no experience in romance.

"No need, Kazuki. I know you're already busy with the three clubs you joined. I don't want to add to your burden any further," I assured him, thanking him for his understanding.

"That's very kind of you," Kazuki said playfully. "You want something from me?"

I moved closer to Kazuki and whispered near his ear, "Let me borrow 100 yen."

"Come on, did you forget to bring your wallet again?" Kazuki responded sceptically.

"Uh huh, I was a little tired, so I forgot to bring it," I admitted, a mischievous smile forming on my face.

Actually, I brought my wallet today because I wanted to buy the latest volume of my favourite manga. Even so, Kazuki took out some money from his pocket and gave 100 yen.

"Here, don't forget to return it later," he said, half-jokingly.

"Thank you, Kazuki. You really are my best friend," I thanked him.

"Yeah, yeah, this should be the last time I lend you money. I'm not your father," he replied jokingly.

"Don't worry, I'll return it tomorrow," I assured him.

After that, the school day went on as usual until the dismissal bell rang.

Approaching me, Kazuki asked, "Where are you going, Valdo?"

"As usual, I'm going to the club room to discuss Senior Takumi's plan," I replied.

"I see. Given the seriousness of this situation, I don't think there's much I can say. I can only hope your club doesn't close," Kazuki expressed his concern.

"Thanks, mate. I appreciate it. Have fun at the football club," I replied gratefully.

"Wait, aren't you considering returning to the football club?" Kazuki asked.

"No, I don't think I'll be returning anytime soon," I replied while shaking my head.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'll wait for you if you decide to come back," Kazuki said with a smile.

"Bye, mate," I bid him farewell.

"Bye, I hope everything goes as planned," he replied giving his hope.

After our conversation, we parted ways towards our respective clubs.

To my surprise, I saw Senior Takumi talking to someone at the club, probably a member of ours who dropped out and wanted to rejoin.

"Senior, who are you talking to?" I asked.

Unexpectedly, it was Ayame, the girl who harassed me a few days ago.

"Ayame, why are you here?" I asked.

"It's none of your business. I was just talking to your seniors here," Ayame replied in a dismissive tone.

Senior Takumi stood up and said, "Okay, let's go back to our seats."

I headed to my seat, put down my backpack, and sat in front of Senior Takumi. Ayame sat next to me.

I asked for an explanation, and said, "Senior, what's going on here?"

Senior Takumi reassured me, "Relax, Valdo. Ayame didn't do anything dangerous to me. She has good news for me."

However, I remained sceptical because Ayame was part of the student council.

Senior Takumi announced, "She'll be joining our club from now on."

"Wait, Senior, isn't it too hasty to make a decision? Why not discuss it with me first before making a choice?" I suggested.

"So you object?" Senior Takumi raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, don't forget that Ayame is a student council member. She might try something behind our backs," I explained, voicing my concerns.

"What do you mean? She's here to join our club. There's nothing to worry about, considering our critical situation," Senior Takumi replied.

I was speechless because our club was in a critical situation, and having one more member would be a great help. We still need two more members to join.

Senior Takumi confirmed, "So you don't mind now? Are we clear?"

"Yes, Senior, I apologise," I admitted.

"Alright, now let's go over the plan," Senior Takumi said.

After that, we talked about what we plan to do to get 2 new members for the club to avoid being kicked out by the student council.