The chapter opens with a flashback to the high school years, when the narrator was a member of the tennis team. He is now a student at a university in Japan, where he has been invited to join a literary club and a philandering club. The narrator is excited to be a part of such a great group of people, but he is also nervous about joining a club that he does not know how to join. He tries to convince himself that joining the club would be a great way to meet new people and meet new interests, but it is clear that he will not be able to do so.