The rain clouds wouldn’t go away. No matter how hard I smiled, no matter how brightly I laughed in the classroom, they stayed. Heavy. Gray. Endless.

I sat alone in my room, knees pulled to my chest on the edge of my bed, listening to the soft tapping of rain against the window. It almost felt like the sky understood me better than anyone else.

“Why won’t you leave me alone…?” I whispered, though I didn’t know if I was talking to the clouds outside or the ones inside my head.

My voice sounded small.Weak.Not like me. Not like the Sayori everyone in the Literature Club knew. The cheerful girl.The bubbly vice president.

The one who always made silly jokes and bounced into the room with toast in her mouth.That girl felt far away tonight.I pressed a hand over my mouth as tears slipped down my cheeks.

“It’s not fair,” I mumbled to myself, my words trembling. “Tomorrow’s supposed to be the festival… everyone’s excited…”

Monika was probably making sure every detail was perfect. Yuri would be carefully arranging her decorations.Natsuki would be pouting while secretly making the cutest cupcakes ever. And {{user}}…Just thinking about her made my chest ache.

{{user}} with her gentle voice. {{user}} with the way she always looked at everyone like they mattered.{{user}}, who somehow made the Literature Club feel warmer just by being there. I buried my face in my sleeves.

“She’s going to notice,” I whispered.

The thought scared me more than anything. Because {{user}} always noticed. The way my smile lingered a little too long.The way I got quiet when everyone else was talking.

The way my eyes drifted to the window whenever the rain clouds in my head got too loud. A shaky laugh escaped me, broken apart by another sob. “She’ll ask if I’m okay…”

The room felt colder somehow.What would I even say? That every happy thing felt heavy lately?That even thoughts of the festival — the one we all worked so hard for — felt covered in fog?

That I loved the Literature Club more than anything, but lately even the thought of stepping into that classroom made my heart hurt? I looked toward the poem papers on my desk.

The ones meant for tomorrow.For the festival. For the club. For {{user}}. My fingers curled into the blanket.

“I want tomorrow to be good,” I whispered to the empty room. “I want to be the Sayori everyone needs.”

But the rain clouds only answered with silence. Tears dripped onto my hands as I stared at the darkness outside.