Chapter 82: Pretty Girl, Preparing for the Cultural Festival (Part 1)

Monday, the start of a new week. A steady drizzle had been falling since morning, and although the temperature usually shot past thirty degrees by the time I left for school, today felt unusually mild. The weather forecast had been shouting “mid-summer day” and “heat advisory” nonstop lately, but maybe today would settle for just “summer weather.”

When it rains, I can’t ride my bike, so I have to take the bus. And on days like this, all the students who normally never take the bus—people like me—end up crowding onto it. Rainy-day buses are always packed and always behind schedule.

Because of that, by the time I reached school, it was dangerously close to being late.

When I slid open the classroom door, all eyes swung toward me at once.

My class is normally noisy right up until homeroom starts, but today everyone was sitting quietly and staring at me. It startled me so much I nearly jumped.

I—I’m not late… right?

Panicking, I checked the clock hanging above the blackboard. Three minutes left.

"…Ayumi, what’s wrong? Hurry up and come in."

Ryoji, who walks to school with me, nudged me forward from behind.

The atmosphere in the classroom was clearly not normal, but I couldn’t just stand in the doorway forever, so I headed to my seat.

It felt like every single movement I made was being watched. It reminded me of my first days after enrolling—no, the stares felt even stronger.

Did I do something?

Even after sitting down, nothing changed. The tense atmosphere clung to me, and I could feel cold sweat forming.

Why is the air so hostile? This kind of tension is terrible for my stomach…

Homeroom finally began, and once Yamanaka-sensei walked in, the mood loosened—just a little. What on earth was going on today?

By lunch break, I sprinted straight to the clubroom. Normally, we walk there together while chatting, but today I desperately wanted to escape that classroom as fast as possible.

I unlocked the clubroom door, went to my usual seat, and exhaled all the air from my lungs in one long rush. Then I collapsed forward onto the long table.

I’m exhausted… I don’t understand anything anymore. But at the very least, my classroom has turned into an uncomfortable place. I don’t know the reason, but it’s probably because of me. Being stared at like that—did everyone start disliking me?

Ugh… In middle school I was practically invisible, and after entering high school I finally made close friends, only to end up being disliked now? How did it come to this?

Clack. The door opened.

Still slumped over the table, I turned only my face toward the entrance. Sakurako-chan and the other three walked in lined up together.

"Oh, there you are. What happened? You looked like you rushed over here like crazy."

"Sakurako-chan… What happened is that the classroom felt unbearable…"

Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan exchanged glances. Then, as if something clicked, both of them clapped their hands.

"Ahh, I see. Yeah, I can imagine Ayumi-chan felt out of place."

"It was pretty funny from our perspective, though!"

"There’s nothing funny about it! Did I do something wrong…? I can’t think of anything."

Both of them giggled. It felt like I was the only one who didn’t know what was going on.

Don’t tell me they talked about something before I arrived!? Some kind of rumor? That atmosphere felt almost like bullying…

"It’s not like you did anything bad, you know?"

"Eh, really?"

Surprisingly, Sakurako-chan said it wasn’t my fault. Well, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising—I really didn’t do anything—but then what was that hostile mood about?

"You know, the boys were all nervous about who gets to act opposite you in the play! And the girls too!"

The play casting…? Right, everyone except me was still undecided. They must’ve read the script over the weekend.

So they were going to decide roles after school. But for them to get that tense over who acts opposite me… It’s because of the kiss scene! Mita-kun must’ve been influenced by some weird manga!

"Sigh… This is all because there’s a kiss scene. Now everyone hates the idea…"

"Huh?"
"What?"
"Eh?"
"Whoa now."

When I muttered that, the four of them gave me identical “what are you talking about?” faces.

Looks like I got something wrong again.

"Ah—no, it’s just… Ayu-chan really has no self-awareness, huh."

"Mhm mhm. But that spaced-out side of you is cute!"

"I think it’ll be pretty rough for the boy who ends up being your partner though."

"Yeah, seriously…"

After each of them said whatever they wanted, Sakurako-chan cleared her throat.

"Ahem! In short, everyone wants to be Ayumi-chan’s partner! The number of people who dislike the kiss scene is exactly zero!"

Thank goodness… I’m so relieved. It’s not that they hate me or are trying to exclude me. If they’d been treating me like some kind of germ because of the kiss scene, I think I would’ve been crushed beyond recovery…

"Wait—what!? Why!? We don’t need a kiss scene! Isn’t everyone grossed out by it? And if they have to do that with me, it’s going to be a nightmare! Seriously, this is nothing to brag about!"

Honestly, practicing acting with me might be as difficult as raising a newborn baby.

I’d let myself fantasize for a moment—what if I actually had talent? What if I could pull it off with elegance… some hidden genius awakening…!
But fantasies like that belong only to protagonists in fiction. I’m the kind of coward who can’t even bring herself to sing at karaoke. Reality is cruel.

Working with someone like me would basically be a punishment game. And pretending to kiss a girl you don’t even like? Surely no guy would want that…

"Ayu-chan, you’re too naïve. Getting to work with you and teach you things step-by-step—that’s part of the reward."

Togo grinned smugly. Even if he calls it a reward…

"Ayumi, don’t worry. I’ll take the partner role."

"Eh? Ryoji will?"

If it’s Ryoji, that’s actually kind of reassuring. I’d still hate the kiss scene no matter who it is, but at least with Ryoji, everything else would feel easier.

"Hold it, Tagawa. We haven’t even drawn lots yet. The odds are one in twenty."

"Nope! I’ll crush that one-in-twenty chance! I pulled a one-percent rare drop in a mobile game yesterday—luck is on my side!"

"Ryoji-kun… isn’t that exactly where you used up your luck…?"

Oh… so it’s not settled that it’ll be Ryoji.

I mean, I think all the boys in class are nice. And I know it makes no sense to get nervous around classmates, but if it ends up being someone other than Ryoji, I know I’ll get nervous. I’d probably even get nervous with Togo…

A lottery, huh… One in twenty should mean all the boys in class. In reality the pool will be smaller, so maybe the odds aren’t that bad. Either way, I want Ryoji to win!

"Anyway, I’m just relieved I’m not hated. I was so scared everyone disliked me."

"Ahh… Ayumi-chan with watery eyes… so cute! I want to take a picture."

Sakurako-chan launched her smartphone camera, while Moeka-chan ignored her and used a handkerchief to gently wipe my eyes.

I’m so glad. I’m really not hated.

Now I can enjoy lunch properly.

Even in the afternoon, the tense atmosphere during class and breaks didn’t disappear, but knowing the reason made it much easier to handle. I still felt nervous, but at least I wasn’t trembling anymore.

And then came the fated after school… The teacher who started homeroom must have sensed the strange atmosphere, because he hurried through his announcements and escaped to the staff room.
Ah, well—that’s pretty normal for him.

"Alright then, let’s begin with what everyone has been waiting for… deciding who will play the protagonist’s childhood friend."

The Cultural Festival Committee member stepped to the front to lead the process. Since he had work duties on the actual day of the festival, he couldn’t take any acting roles, so he looked pretty relaxed about the whole thing.

"Anyone who wants to volunteer for the childhood friend role?"

Hands shot up with the force of a flash flood.

They really have no idea what kind of trouble it is to act opposite me. Still… seeing so many people raise their hands made me a little happy.

Although… it’s supposed to be a male role, so why are even the girls raising their hands?

"Um, this is a boy’s role…"

Even the Festival Committee member looked confused. His name, by the way, is Takagi-kun—the one standing at the podium.

"It’s fine even if a girl plays it! I want to act with Ayumi-chan!"

Takagi-kun looked troubled, and the one who stepped in to help him was Mita-kun, the student who wrote the script.

"Hmm. True, having a girl play the role might work, but that would narrow the appeal to only a very specific audience. And if we compete in the same lane as the student council president, it would only split the votes and wouldn’t help us at all."

Once Mita-kun explained, the girls seemed to cool down. Apparently the phrase “same as the student council president” had a strong effect.

Our class still hadn’t forgotten the incident the student council president caused right after the school year began. Saying something is “the same as them” is basically a magic deterrent. And honestly, a girl–girl kiss scene does sound like the kind of story the student council president would be into.

I personally think that’s a bit questionable too, but in the context of the beauty contest, if we want to capture a different group of supporters than the president, we can’t compete with similar tastes.

As for me… which is better? Honestly, both options are about the same. A kiss scene with a girl feels no different from doing one with a boy. As an incomplete “still in progress” girl myself, my brain still treats both as “the opposite sex…?” emotionally.

The girls who had raised their hands were eventually convinced by Takagi-kun and Mita-kun, and reluctantly withdrew.

But that still left eighteen boys with their hands up. Incidentally, that’s the total number of boys in class minus Takagi-kun and Mita-kun…

"Well, looks like we’ll have to draw lots for the boys."

Takagi-kun already looked tired. Meanwhile, Mita-kun seemed reluctant; when writing the script, he clearly had an ideal image of who he wanted to play the role, so he wanted to avoid a lottery if possible. But Class 1-A was in a situation where no one could just say “Let’s not draw lots.” Everyone had raised their hand because they wanted the role—instantly excluding people would make anyone upset. Knowing that, even Mita-kun kept quiet.

Takagi-kun and his partner on the Festival Committee—Shiiná-san, by the way—started preparing the drawing slips.

The boys in class were praying to the heavens, taking deep breaths, and psyching themselves up.

Um… this is just casting for a school play, you know? Sure, it’s an important role, but they don’t need to pour their entire soul into pulling a slip of paper…

But despite what I thought, the lottery preparations continued.

When I glanced over at Ryoji, he was also praying about something.

Does he want to be my partner that badly…? Or does he just want a chance to stand out?

I really can’t tell what Ryoji is thinking, but neither of us can influence the lottery. All we can do is wait for fate.

What will the destined casting be…? If possible, I hope it’s someone easy to work with…