After that, a few days passed without anything particular happening.
Kuki’s attempts to get me back on the soccer team had stopped. He was probably waiting for my answer now. Being the next captain candidate and the representative of the second years, he must be busy trying to rebuild the team. That’s only natural—among the seniors who were forced to quit recently, there must’ve been a few with real talent. It’s not like their strength dropped dramatically, but… the situation couldn’t be easy.
Would it really be okay for me, after such a long break, to just jump back into that mess?
Then, one day during lunch break, I happened to go to the staff room for some business.
“Who’s that? Did we have someone that pretty at our school?”
“No idea. First time seeing her.”
I heard the boys talking in the hallway outside the staff room. Curious, I looked over—and there she was, the girl they were talking about.
She had reddish, soft-wolf-styled hair and a lazy look in her eyes. Her uniform was slightly unkempt, and she was silently fiddling with her phone. But maybe she heard what those boys said—or maybe she just sensed their stares—because she glared at them sharply.
“Crap.”
The two of them quickly bolted down the hall.
Right after that, she noticed me.
“Sakura.”
The girl who called my name was none other than my senior, Misumi Ririka.
She didn’t seem aware of the attention she was drawing, too focused on her phone. But now that she’d called out to me, the curious stares that had been on her turned toward me too.
“So, today’s one of your rare school days, huh?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Since she was trying to graduate with the bare minimum attendance, it was rare to see her at school at all. And yet, with that appearance and attitude, her presence was impossible to miss. People who didn’t know her were always surprised, and those who did treated her like some kind of rare collectible character.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in uniform, Misumi-senpai.”
Now that I thought about it, this might be the first time I’d seen her at school this year.
“Don’t look at me like that, perv.”
“I wasn’t! …Anyway, what are you doing here?”
“Got called in by my homeroom teacher. But when I came, they told me to wait five minutes.”
What did she even do to get called in this time? Probably something about her attendance again. Still, calling her in just to make her wait was kind of rude, even if the teacher was busy.
“That’s pretty inconsiderate of them.”
“Right? Totally.”
So that’s why she was killing time with her phone here in the hall.
“Has it been five minutes yet?”
When I asked, Misumi-senpai looked at her phone.
“Oh wow, it’s way past already.”
“Then what are you doing? Go already!”
Somehow, the victim of the teacher’s whims had turned into the one causing trouble instead.
“You’re so annoying…”
She muttered that with an exasperated tone and walked into the staff room. …I just hoped she wouldn’t annoy the teacher too much and make graduation any harder for herself.
“Aoi-kun.”
As I was watching Misumi-senpai go, someone called out to me. When I turned, I saw a petite girl with sharp, determined eyes standing there—Yakushiji Asahi.
“Perfect timing. Do you have a minute?”
“What’s up?”
I also had business in the staff room, but nothing urgent.
“Has Mishio told you anything lately?”
That opening made me uneasy.
“No, nothing.”
“Well, she said she’s thinking about going back to the drama club.”
“What?”
I couldn’t help but raise my voice in surprise.
“It’s not like she’s decided for sure,” Asahi continued calmly. “It just sounded like something she’s been vaguely thinking about.”
I thought about that for a moment. Going back… to the drama club? Minase? The same Minase who said that place wasn’t where she belonged?
“That can’t be right.”
“I think so too.”
My tone had come out sharper than I meant, but Asahi nodded in agreement.
“I’ll ask her about it.”
“You will? Thanks.”
I nodded to reassure her. Still, even if I asked, I couldn’t tell her what to do. If she’d really just changed her mind, I had no right to tell her not to. Especially when even I wasn’t sure of my own direction lately.
§§§
Classes and homeroom ended for the day.
After packing up, I looked over at Minase. She was chatting happily with a few classmates. Looked like she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. So, I decided to head home first. When she noticed me leaving, she waved, and I raised a hand in return.
About an hour after getting home, I went over to Minase’s place.
I rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. Guess she wasn’t back yet. I decided to come back later and started heading down the stairs.
“Ah, Sakura.”
Halfway down, I ran into her coming up.
“Yo.”
I hadn’t expected to run into her like this, so even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I somehow felt awkward.
She glanced between me and the stairs above.
“Were you heading to my place?”
“Yeah. Wanted to talk for a bit.”
At least this saved me a trip, I thought, and followed her lead.
“Oh, that’s rare. Sure, come on.”
She walked past me and went up the stairs. I followed behind. The distance wasn’t long, so we didn’t talk until we reached her door.
“Wait here a sec, I’ll just check inside.”
She said that as she turned the key in the lock.
“Should I come back later?”
“Nah, it’s fine. Just being careful.”
She went inside. About a minute later—
“All clear.”
She reappeared and invited me in.
“You can use those.”
She pointed to a pair of slippers already set out. I slipped them on and stepped further inside.
“I’m gonna go take a shower.”
“Then I’ll just head out now.”
I spun on my heel, but—
“Kidding, kidding. I’ll just change real quick. Wait here.”
She disappeared into her room. Lately, all I’d been seeing was her walking away through a doorway. Symbolic, maybe?
I sat on the sofa like last time and passed the time scrolling through my phone.
“Thanks for waiting.”
When she came back, she was wearing a miniskirt. A simple outfit, but somehow it suited her perfectly.
“Coffee’s fine, right?”
She asked as she headed straight to the kitchen. I just replied with a short “Yeah.” Soon, the low rumble of the coffee maker echoed through the quiet room—twice in a row.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
I took the mug and added the milk she brought with it.
“I talked with Yakushiji today.”
She sat on the floor again like last time, and once she was settled, I began.
“Asahi? Oh, that’s nice. It makes me happy when you two get along.”
She smiled softly.
Sorry, but this wasn’t that kind of talk.
“You’re going back to the drama club?”
“Ah—yeah…”
She let out a small sound before admitting it.
“Asahi told me. …Yeah, I’ve been thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”
So she really was serious.
“I know it’s not my place to say this, but… why?”
That was what I really wanted to ask.
“Hmm… I guess I just changed my mind.”
“When you say that, there’s nothing left for me to argue, you know.”
I had a feeling that would be her answer.
“So, you’re against it?” she asked.
“Didn’t I just say I can’t say anything? So neither for nor against.”
In the end, this was her decision. Even if I voiced an opinion, it wouldn’t matter. If she really wanted to go back, I’d support her.
“Still… it annoys me.”
“Annoys you?”
She tilted her head.
“Yeah. Just thinking about you having to bow your head to those jerks ticks me off. Those are the same people who looked down on you, calling you a dropout, right?”
“Well, I did quit the school, so…”
“You quit, yeah—but only because your goals didn’t match theirs.”
The talent school Minase had attended wanted singers and dancers. She just wanted to act. Because of that, she didn’t fit in and got brushed aside.
“And your classmates there were insanely talented. The fact that you held your own among them means you’re amazing too. So why should you have to be looked down on?”
Minase gave a small laugh.
“What?”
“Nothing. I just think it’s sweet how angry you get for my sake. That’s one of the things I like about you, Sakura.”
“Shut up.”
She looked straight at me when she said that, and I couldn’t help turning away, feeling awkward. I leaned my elbow against the back of the sofa and rested my cheek on my hand.
As I thought things over, an idea came to me.
“Minase, lend me your phone for a sec.”
I held out my hand.
“Huh? Why? There’s not much in there except maybe some slightly spicy selfies.”
“That’s not—wait, what? ‘Not much’!?”
“Yeah, just a few. When Sera gave me some clothes, I took a couple for fun.”
She grinned mischievously while I froze in place. Suddenly, her phone felt like a bomb. But I couldn’t abandon my plan now. And really, I didn’t have to handle the phone myself.
“…I want to get in touch with either Sera or Shiera.”
I finally said, forcing my brain back on track.
They told me before to contact them if I ever needed something. I was going to take them up on that offer—but I’d need Minase to be the go-between.
“Ah, I see. Then Sera’s the better choice. Hold on.”
Made sense. A high school model in Japan would be easier to reach than an artist working overseas.
Minase started tapping on her screen.
“Hey, Sera? It’s me! Yeah, yeah, I’m good. So, um, Sakura wants to talk to you. Is that okay? …Yeah, him. …Really!? Thanks!”
She handed me the phone.
“Here.”
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”
I took it and held it to my ear.
“Hey, I’m Sakura. We talked a bit before—sorry for calling out of the blue.”
“Oh, Sakura! Long time no talk. What’s up?” came Sera’s cheerful voice.
Her casual tone made it easy to get to the point.
I glanced at Minase, then pointed toward her room, silently telling her to go inside for a bit. I wanted to talk about this without her hearing.
But for some reason, she put her index fingers to her cheeks and gave me an exaggeratedly cute smile. …No, that’s not what I meant, idiot! I waved sharply toward her door again, and she laughed before disappearing into her room—definitely on purpose.
Finally, I started explaining the plan to Sera.
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