“Pledge! We will participate in the sports meet based on sportsmanship….”
Thump!
Finally, the sports meet has started.
“Go, Red Team!”
“White Team, win!”
As expected of an event for popular kids, an incredible excitement arose around.
Of course, I’ve snuck to the back, munching on a yakisoba bread I bought from the stand.
The cheerleading would start after lunch, before the group games began.
So, I could just sit back here, wasting time alone in the morning.
I honestly just want it to end quickly, regardless of who wins….
Having to come to school on a Saturday feels like true hell.
Sure, someone might ask if it’s okay since we get Monday off, but since we have to come on Saturday in the first place, it’s only fair to get Monday off!
There’s nothing I can do.
I can only use the ultimate technique that only a professional outsider can. Pass the time by daydreaming and zoning out.
“Ugh…”
I am a plant. A plant that grows bathed in this warm sunlight….
Someday, I will become a gigantic baobab tree that surprises the world….
“Kayanoh! What are you doing sitting here alone?”
“Ugh….”
My ultimate technique was shattered by none other than the most popular girl in our class, Tateyama.
“T-Tateyama….”
“Ah, are you the type who doesn’t really like events like sports meets?”
“Yeah…. I, um, don’t really like gym class….”
Well, right now, I’m in dance training, so I’m moving better than before, but fundamentally, I’m a person who’s used to indoor activities.
It’s impossible for me to show the incredible enthusiasm that popular kids display just because it’s a sports meet.
“What about your family?”
“They, um, couldn’t come.”
“I see. My parents are also busy, so they couldn’t come.”
To be precise, I had actually said it was fine for them not to come.
The reason families come to sports meets is to see their child’s good side or to take pictures, right?
But I’m not doing anything at the sports meet, you know.
In such a situation, wouldn’t it feel awkward for us if they showed up?
“Earlier, you know? Chii-chan and Sat-chan did a two-person, three-legged race, and in the middle, their feet got tangled….”
Tateyama naturally sat beside me and began to tell me a story I couldn’t understand.
Casually talking to someone you’re not close with, she’s really the top socialite of our class.
I mean, after White Day, I feel like we’ve gotten closer than before, but that doesn’t mean we hang out and chat regularly.
But thinking of moments like this as memories of our high school days makes me feel something different inside.
Above all, it was surprising that I wasn’t particularly flustered even though someone I wasn’t close with was sitting next to me.
Isn’t that a huge improvement?
Of course, it’s still impossible for me to initiate conversation, and making eye contact is also tough.
If it were before, I would have already gotten dizzy and made up some excuse to run away.
I’ll definitely brag about this and get praised by Koga later.
“Ah, have I been talking too much? Sorry! You probably wanted to be quiet by yourself, Kayanoh.”
“It’s, um, okay….”
Thanks to Tateyama’s story, I realized I had grown a step further….
[The next game is the obstacle race. Obstacle race.]
“Now it’s my turn. I’m going to get up first, Kayanoh! I’ll definitely come in first, so cheer for me!”
“Good luck!”
After saying that, Tateyama stood up, loosened her body, and then walked towards the sports field, glancing back at me for a moment.
“…By the way, Kayanoh, um, are you okay with the cheerleading team?”
“The cheerleading team? Ah, yes. It shouldn’t be a problem….”
“Right. Kayanoh probably accepted it because you thought you could handle it.”
“Yeah….”
Since I just have to sit in the back, it’s not really a matter of being able or not.
What should I say?
Yeah. Supporting the cheerleading team? That’s what Hinoshita-senpai told me.
When everyone is cheering, I just need to clap a few times from behind to cheer them on.
This is all it takes to eliminate my duty at the sports meet.
What a sweet deal!
“Okay, I’ll really go now. Kayanoh, do your best!”
“T-Tateyama, you do your best too…!”
With that, Tateyama waved goodbye to me as she dashed off to the field.
…They’re cheering for me to do my best, even though I’m not doing anything at all.
Popular kids really have such great personalities.
And Tateyama proudly clinched first place in the obstacle race, just as she declared.
Watching Tateyama eat the hanging bread was a sight to see…
★
I’m the type to pack my own homemade lunch for school.
That’s because my mom is busy, and my older sister has been living alone since I was much younger.
Of course, it hasn’t been long since I started packing my lunch on my own; it started in the second semester of my first year in middle school….
But there are exactly two days a year when I don’t take my lunch, and those are on the sports meet and cultural festival days.
For some reason, I just feel like I want to eat the bread sold at the stands during the sports meet, and during the cultural festival, there’s so much food around.
Can’t I just eat bread and my homemade lunch?
I’m sorry, but my stomach is ridiculously small, so I can’t eat that much.
They say girls have different stomachs for staples, desserts, and snacks, but that doesn’t apply to me.
I can barely finish a hamburger…
Anyway, today is the sports meet, so just like before, the moment I tried to go to the stand during lunchtime.
“Hey, Mina.”
“…Huh, Mom?”
My mom suddenly appeared in front of me.
…What on earth?
“I thought you weren’t coming?”
“You need to be clear! I originally planned to go, but you stopped me, didn’t you?”
“That’s true, but…. I told you there wouldn’t be anything to see since the only event I’m doing today is a group game. The cheerleading team is just going to be sitting in the back….”
“Still… it’s not often that I have free time like this.”
…There’s really nothing I can say to that.
I know my mom feels a bit guilty about always being busy with work.
“Do you… not want me to be here?”
And if someone else saw her like this, they’d say she looks just as blank as usual, but I could definitely tell.
My mom looked very gloomy right now.
“…Lunch.”
“Huh?”
“Did you bring lunch?”
“Yeah. I brought it.”
“Let’s go sit over there and eat together.”
“Ah… okay!”
Having lunch with Mom at the sports meet after a long time was..
“Ah, sushi!”
“I bought it on the way. Things you like.”
It was definitely more enjoyable than usual.
★
[Hinoshita-senpai: Please come to the science room by 1:30.]
Around the time the lunch was ending, I received that message from Senpai.
So, after telling my mom to wait in the parents’ viewing area, I headed straight for the science room.
“Oh, Kayanoh!”
When I arrived, there was only Hinoshita-senpai in the science room.
“W-Where are the others…?”
“Huh? Oh, they all went out to prepare in advance. We have a lot to do.”
“Ahhh….”
Right. I mean, I just have to sit in the back, but they must have a lot to do.
They’d have to check the things we practiced, after all.
“And the reason I called you, Kayanoh, is because of this.”
Senpai said and pointed to a coat rack behind her.
On that coat rack hung the gorgeous blue dress I had seen the other day, the one I was supposed to wear.
“I think it’s about time for you to change. Oh, and once you’re changed, come back here.”
“Understood….”
Taking the coat hanger from senpai, I walked to the changing room.
It was a bit uncomfortable to change alone, but since I had practiced in advance the other day, it wasn’t a big problem.
…But senpai’s dress wasn’t in the science room. Where could it be?
I wondered this as I changed into the dress and returned to the science room.
“Senpai! I’m all, all changed….”
“Ah, okay. Just a second….”
And for some reason, Hinoshita-senpai was wearing a gakuran (school uniform).
…Huh?
“Uh, Senpai…?”
“Wait, Kayanoh. Let’s talk while we move.”
Senpai said and suddenly draped a large cloth from the table over me.
Whoosh?!
“I’m sorry. There seems to be a bit of a problem on the other side, so we need to move quickly. Just follow me as I lead.”
“Uh, um… sure….”
Senpai stood behind me, holding my shoulders, and began to guide me slowly.
What the heck is this? If they’re busy, can’t they just go straight to the cheerleading team?
Is there really some problem happening?
But even if that were the case, there’s no need to handle me like this, right…?
And also….
“Uh, Senpai. Why are you wearing a gakuran…?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Uh, um, aren’t you supposed to be wearing a dress?”
“…Huh? This dress is only for you, Kayanoh, remember?”
“…Huh?”
What on earth does that mean?
Before I could even ask, senpai said we arrived and took the cloth off me.
“Alright, everyone, let’s get ready quickly! We don’t have much time! What’s the problem with the music earlier?”
“Ah, it sounds like it’s crackling. Even after replacing the audio source….”
I looked around, and the members of the cheerleading team I had seen on the first day in the science room were gathered, all strangely wearing gakuran.
And what caught my attention the most was….
“Uh, um, what is this…?”
That giant throne I had seen on the field in the morning.
I wondered where they had moved it since I didn’t see it earlier, but it was here all along.
But why the heck is it here…?
“Ah, Kayanoh, would you like to sit down?”
“W-What do you mean…?”
“Huh? I told you from the start. You just need to wear that dress and sit on this throne. Oh, and I’d like you to rest your chin on your hand and cross your legs. It’ll look cooler to everyone else that way.”
I can’t wrap my head around what’s happening right now?!
What on earth is going on?
I clearly heard that….
‘On the day of the sports meet, just wear the clothes we give you.’
…Huh?
‘Just sit in the back.’
…Huh?
…I, I was tricked.
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