Yesterday, I was wide awake at 5 AM.

I’m adaptable to most surfaces believe it or not. So this came as a surprise to me. Perhaps I had this issue a week ago, so I compensated by sleeping at midnight. Didn’t work but at least the issue disappeared until now.

Perhaps it was guilt.

I had a responsibility as a Council President, even if I merely used the role as a way to ensure I’d gain the best college possible. The school values were to my advantage after all. And even with that out of the question in our circumstances, morals are still applicable.

I tend to wonder what could’ve happened if I had tried to save the students from the field instead of calling for an ambulance. If we had at least a post-apocalyptic society of almost 200 students. Compared to where we are now.

Everyone in the ‘club’ has a role, with one notable exception of course. But I’ve decided that Yuki wouldn’t be much of an issue.

I’ll admit, recently Yuki had been passing by my office and checking up on me. At first, I thought Yuuri distrusted what I was doing loitering inside my own office, but I later just dismissed it as Yuki being bored.

I got up from my couch, wearing my school blazer. I hadn’t washed it in a while, mainly because when I had the time to, Yuki or Yuuri was already using it.

It’s partially my fault, to be honest. Constantly writing ‘science reports’ and contingencies as a hobby to make up for the fact that Kurumi had stolen my role as the scavenger of the group.

At this point, I might as well let her or Yuuri take the planning part of my

role. I did push her confidence after all.

The sun hadn’t gone out by then, so I had to contend with using a small lighter in conjunction with the moonlight to navigate my way. Once I reached the rooftop, I rested my arm over the nearby fence.

Jeez, there’s so many of them…

I haven’t been watching the outside world on the rooftop since day one. Despite the zombies being mindless creatures, their impact had caused quite the damage around. It was a relief we weren’t close to any power plants, or else it’d be a different story.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but grip my hair in frustration. We’ve been here for quite some time now.

It’s genuinely screwing me up.

Not because of anyone or myself. But where we were. I’ve briefly watched zombie movies through the remaining cell towers that stood during the first day as a sort of practice. It was all action and violence.

Yet none of them gave the question of whether we would be able to cope with it.

Almost all of them had the main character adjust to this zombie-ish world as if it was like moving to a different country. It never made sense. I hated most of it, except for a specific Korean movie that briefly touched on the mental aspect of it.

The fatigue. The inability to do anything. I loved yet hated everything about it. Because it was relatable. Not in a metaphorical or deep sense, but just plain and simplistic.

Although I wish I could keep the message of perseverance to heart.

I realized that I had left my phone inside my couch this whole time, with the battery at a lucky 17%. Sure, I could charge it, but Yuuri has been using it to look up recipes for lunch and dinner. And the charger is in their room.

I rested my head over the railing, continuing to stare into the horde. Honestly, I was starting to get sick of everything. I couldn’t understand why. Just how we lived in general. Our conditions.

I still dreamed of waking up in a normal life from time to time. It’s starting to feel more like a nightmare.

“Hey, Ryu-kun” Yuki’s voice came from behind me.

“Hey…” I responded.

“Were you able to sleep?” I looked over at Yuki’s figure.

“Mhm, I had a bad dream though"

“That’s a shame…” Yuki rubbed her eyes, “are you excited for today?”

“... of course"

“You don’t sound like it…”

“Just a bit tense for the time being…”

We stared at each other for a moment. Usually, Yuki would say or do something at this point, but perhaps I needed to make the move for now.

“I’d like to ask you something… if you don’t mind”

“Of course! Go ahead” Yuki leaned her face towards me.

“Tell me Yuki-san, when your world and those you’ve known have disappeared, what do you usually do?”

Yuki looked at me with a sort of perplexion. Perhaps my question wasn’t the best for her.

“What kind of question is that?”

“It’s just a question…”

“Well… wouldn’t I try holding my breath in when the Earth disappears? Hopefully, I can reach a spaceship…”

“Not what I meant silly…” I chuckled, “As if society collapses and everything and everyone goes crazy… just like now”

“Well… I would… make a new one?”

“What kind of answer is that?” I chuckled again.

“Mmmm, I don’t know. What about you?”

“I would say I’d adapt or cope with it. That’s what most people would say as well…” I stared at the field, “But realistically, I'd probably give up"

Yuki slowly created a determined look as she heard what I said.

“But… Ryu-kun. You can’t just give up” Yuki grabbed onto my hand.

“Is there a point?”

“Your mother said to not give up, did she?”

She overheard my conversation from yesterday.

Last night, I decided to read the voicemail sent by her on the day of the outbreak. Let’s say, I wasn’t happy.

“Mhm…”

“Don’t you want to fulfill your mother’s promises?”

“It was made a week ago. She wouldn’t know that we’d be in a situation like this"

“No! She knows that you’d be in a case like this! Unable to cope with what’s happening!”

“Really?”

“Of course!” Yuki’s eyes lit up, “She’s probably smart like you! She would know!”

“Hm…”

“C’mon Ryu-kun. You can’t always have a frown over your face”

“I always do?”

“Yea! You can’t always be sad all of the time!”

“Bu–”

“No buts!”

Yuki placed her hands over my arm, dragging me over to the door. At that point, the sunlight emerged from the hills, revealing Yuki’s cheerful smile.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Woah, don’t drag too hard”

“I know you may not feel like it, Ryu-kun, but you have to remain strong whatever the world throws at you” Yuki smiled, “Even if the world does ends up disappearing”

“Heh… you kinda sound like someone I know…”

“C’mon! Let’s get ready for the club"

We went down the stairway, Yuki giving out a little hum as she continued dragging me down to the third floor.

She reminded me of… someone.

“Alright, no need to drag me to the club room” I tapped over Yuki’s shoulder,

“C’mon. Yuuri-san is already up”

“Can’t I just stay in my room?”

“Isn’t a Council President a more sociable person?” Yuki smiled at me, releasing her grip once we reached the club room.

“Fine…”

“I have to go get ready anyway. Feel free to help Rii-san!”

Yuki instantly ran off with her teddy bear, leaving me close to the entrance. I approached through the front door, noticing Yuuri holding onto a steel pot.

“Hold on,” I approached Yuuri, helping her lift it.

“Thanks, Tanaka-kun” Yuuri smiled at me,

“So… I heard you’re being called Rii-san”

“It’s a good nickname” Yuuri smiled back.

Kurumi came in with her shovel over her shoulder. She gave a sort of surprised look at me before taking a seat.

“I’m surprised you’re helping Rii-san” Kurumi placed her shovel close to the table, “especially this early in the morning”

“Thank Yuki-san for it”

“You made quite the commotion up at the roof”

“I’m sorry”

Kurumi reached for her book on the table, opening it to a random page while dragging the ruler out of the page. Looking over at Yuuri, she seemed quite annoyed.

“Kurumi, could you try helping us instead of just sitting there?”

“Jeez, I thought I already have a lot of work,” Kurumi said.

“Keeping an eye on the barricades doesn’t count”

“Are you saying that my job is useless?”

“No. I’m just saying that you have it easy–”

“Do you think it's easy to use a shovel?” Kurumi shouted at Yuuri,

“How about you keep track of all of the items we have in storage and ration them for the next few weeks? Hm?” Yuuri retaliated, sliding the notebook off the table.

“I can easily do that!”

“Well go do it then!”

“Let’s get along,” I muttered, “This feels trivial”

“Shut up! You haven’t done anything for the past few days” Kurumi lashed out at me.

“Okay who do you think does th–”

“Is everything okay?” Yuki walked over to the entrance, still carrying her teddy bear.

Her presence completely changed the mood.

“Yeah, it’s nothing” Kurumi’s expression changed as she waved her hand around.

“You sure?”

“Of course” I responded, “No need to worry. Can you meet up with Sensei for us?”

“Okay…”

After Yuki left, we all looked at each other, almost forgetting the argument we just had. Yuki wasn’t exactly the source of it, but at the same time, we couldn’t help but avoid making a fuss for someone like her.

“Can we just come to the general consensus that our roles are equally important?”

Kurumi and Yuuri nodded.

“Sorry for being on edge…” Kurumi shrugged, “I’m getting tired…”

“Mhm…” Yuuri crossed her arms, “Megu-nee’s club idea is probably what’s keeping us up for now…”

“I’m kinda surprised, to be honest…” I mumbled in response, “Anyways, I’ll be working on something else…”

“Alright… see you Ryu-kun” Yuuri emitted a smile despite the tired face over her.

“Bye,”

I had almost forgotten the events of yesterday, especially that argument, after meeting Sensei in the Teacher’s Lounge.

Sakura didn’t seem on edge nor push us into going into any sort of emergency barrier nor make any notable discoveries in the school out of the blue. Although I kind of feel bad for her, since now she probably sees me as someone deceiving others.

“Tanaka-kun, can you come find Yuki-san for me?” Yuuri tapped over my shoulder.

“Yep”

In our brief skirmishes against the zombies, I had scratched my foot over the debris and shrapnel from the wooden floorboards. I was genuinely worried I’d get infected over it despite Yuuri’s reassurances.

I’ll admit, I watched too many zombie movies after the outbreak and it’s making my mind spin.

I’ve tried pirating a really popular zombie show but cell towers have started to shut down. So I’ve been forced to rewatch the first three seasons with Indonesian subtitles.

Honestly, watching the same show is starting to break my perception so perhaps I should stop.

I walked into one of the classrooms, hearing Yuki converse with who I assume to be Megu-nee or Kurumi inside the classroom. Entering the room, I only saw Yuki who seemed to sit on a table staring at the board.

She had that look that most people would have when they were in class.

Yuki looked at me surprised, before gesturing towards me to take a seat as if I had gotten into trouble. I couldn’t help but not understand what in the world she was doing, but perhaps she wanted to talk.

“Psst! Ryu-kun! Kamiyama-sensei is asking you something!” Yuki whispered loudly from across the room.

Kamiyama?

I looked towards the front of the class.

“Ah, sorry Sensei!” I chuckled, trying to keep a straight face, “I had an emergency meeting”

I looked at Yuki, who seemed to give me a normal look despite what I had done. It was stupid, especially since I wasn’t an actor. But perhaps I’ll understand what she’s doing.

I blinked rapidly at Yuki, who seemed to have looked at me weirdly for once.

“You gotta take a seat Ryu-kun!” Yuki whispered again.

“Sorry Sensei” I spoke to the front of the class again before walking towards the corner.

There weren’t any seats around me other than a broken chair at the adjacent corner of the classroom and Yuki’s. As I stood there, my mind rushed between what Yuki was doing and trying to play along in some sort of pretend world she was in.

“What’s the matter Ryu-kun? Are you unable to sit down or something?” Yuki responded in a curious tone.

“Right… This chair is broken. Please excuse me”

I walked out of the room, only to stand close to the door in sight of only Yuki and the back row. She seemed to be focused on the board, having that same look. It’s creeping me out.

I continued standing close to the door watching Yuki continue to interact with nobody. It didn’t make sense at all. Thoughts seemed to burst through my mind.

Was she hypnotized? Acting? Trying to remember the good times?

That’s when it hit me.

“Tanaka-kun?” I felt someone’s hand over my shoulder, causing me to flinch.

“Don’t scare me like that, Sensei” I turned to Sakura.

“Sorry. You looked a bit uneasy from afar”

“Look over” I pointed towards the classroom.

Sakura looked at Yuki, before glancing at me with almost a replica of my uneasy face. She couldn’t help but stay outside the room, trying to see what was happening. After Yuki gave a small chuckle, Sakura backed away.

“What… what is she doing?” Sakura mumbled.

“Do we have to play along?” I turned over.

“Don’t try it. She may give up on the act…”

“I have to… since I’m meant to grab a table and attend this fictional class”

“Is there another ‘teacher’ inside it?”

“Yea. Kamiyama-sensei”

Sakura placed her hand over her mouth.

“I know… gimme a moment”

I grabbed a table nearby, sweeping the dust over it before rushing towards Yuki’s classroom, placing it close to where my corner was while moving the imaginary table away from me.

“Apologies for being late…”

Yuki smiled at me as I played along with the imaginary class. After a few minutes of this, I noticed Kurumi and Yuuri walking by, whispering with Sakura in the meantime. It all seemed weird, playing in Yuki’s ‘new world’ that she had mentioned yesterday. Yet I’ve fallen into the trap of playing along with it. So nonetheless I had to engage.

“Hey! Ryu-kun and Yuki!” Kurumi shouted from the hallway, only to be stopped by Sensei.

“Please excuse us, Sensei”

I got up from my table, before giving a small pat to Yuki’s shoulder. She quickly got up, following the rest of the group. Despite what Kurumi and Yuuri had witnessed, they kept quiet on their way towards the classroom.

“So…” I looked over to Yuki, “I was zoned out a bit. What was Kamiyama talking about?”

Sakura gave me an odd look.

“Eh? That doesn’t sound like you” Yuki looked at me.

“I know… council matters suck”

“Can you stop it please?” Kurumi whispered to me.

“Sorry…”

“Hm, what seems to be the matter?” Yuki looked at Kurumi.

“Nothing… just worried over something like Ryu”

“C’mon! You’re all worried over something” Yuki grabbed onto Kurumi’s hand, “Let’s go meet with the Horticulture Club!”

“Why there though?” Sakura asked,

“Because we’re the School Living Club! We should participate in every activity there is here!”

“I can’t disagree with that…” I nodded.

We kept walking down the hallway, the silence among the group broken by Yuki’s unusually cheerful humming.

Even though I had maintained a normal face, thoughts still rushed through my mind. Has she truly gone crazy? Did something happen to her? Or does she know what’s happening? If I couldn’t understand, no one else could.

Except for someone.