After all the speeches concluded, the students exited in order, and the parents applauded as they watched them leave.
"Everyone, return to your classrooms to rest. The homeroom meeting will start at 12 o'clock."
Teacher Fujiro gave this instruction and turned to leave, and the students scattered as well.
Tsuna glanced at his watch. It was already past eleven-twenty. The graduation ceremony had lasted for almost two hours, which was a bit excessive.
"Tsuna... I didn't prepare a bento..." Shouko looked down at her toes, feeling a little embarrassed.
Tsuna didn't mind. He gently patted her shoulder and said, "What do you want to eat? I'll go buy something at the convenience store."
"I'll go with you."
"It's very crowded right now. I'll just go by myself."
"I'll wait for you at the entrance!" Shouko interrupted quickly, her fingertips quietly hooking his sleeve.
The morning light danced on her hair through the corridor glass, making Tsuna momentarily entranced.
"Alright, what do you want to eat then?"
"The same as you."
"Let's go then. If we don't hurry, there might be nothing left." Tsuna took her hand and quickly walked toward the convenience store.
Even as they passed in front of the teachers, the two didn't let go of each other's hands. The exam was tomorrow, so Tsuna didn't care, but Shouko wanted to quietly show off to the girls who admired Tsuna.
When they returned to the classroom, Ajitani and the others were already eating their bentos. They saw the two's tightly clasped hands, which was a bit glaring, so they chose to look away.
These two weren't even pretending anymore. And if they remembered correctly, weren't they childhood sweethearts?
Is this really okay?
"Shouko-chan, you didn't prepare a bento today."
Ajitani was surprised. In the past three years, unless there was a special reason, Shouko would always prepare a bento.
"It's because of the graduation ceremony today. I thought we only had a half-day of classes, so I didn't prepare one..." Shouko casually brushed it off with a laugh.
Once this little interlude passed, the topic shifted back to whether everyone would attend the same high school.
Finally, Teacher Fujiro entered the classroom, interrupting their conversation. After the students finished their bentos and used the restroom, she began the final homeroom meeting.
Teacher Fujiro reviewed the past three years, played memorial videos and photos, called out all the students' names, and for the first time, hosted with a cheerful tone that they had never heard before.
This was meant to prevent everyone from feeling sad about the separation, but it still couldn't liven up the heavy atmosphere.
Faint sobs could still be heard from time to time.
"Clap, clap, clap..." Teacher Fujiro on the podium clapped her hands. "Alright everyone, this homeroom meeting is over. Next is the collective cleaning of the classroom."
Seeing that her attempt had no effect, Teacher Fujiro returned to her usual serious tone, "Those who need to use the restroom, go quickly. You have ten minutes, hurry up!"
Hearing this familiar tone, everyone started to move.
"Tsuna, what if we don't go to the same high school?"
In the noisy classroom, Tsuna still clearly heard Shouko-chan's words from beside him.
He turned his head and saw Shouko-chan with slightly red eyes, feeling a little helpless for a moment.
But before he could open his mouth to comfort her, Ajitani, who was sitting in front of Shouko, turned around and interrupted the words he had prepared.
"Shouko-chan, what if we don't go to the same high school?"
"..." Tsuna just felt that this sentence sounded so familiar...
However, her action successfully shifted Shouko's sad emotions. Shouko saw that there were still water stains on her eyelashes.
She quickly started to comfort her, and even Takagi behind them joined the two. However, the more comforting words they said, the more Ajitani wanted to shed little pearls.
"Hey! Cheer up, don't cry like a girl!"
"..."
Tsuna couldn't even bear to look at the three of them. He withdrew his gaze and turned back to chat with Nishikata.
"Miyamura, do you think I should confess to the person I like during these few days? Otherwise, I won't have another chance."
"Takagi?" Tsuna followed the direction he occasionally glanced toward and felt a bit speechless.
It felt like anyone in the classroom with eyes could tell that Nishikata liked Takagi, even Shouko could tell.
As for whether Takagi liked Nishikata, it was hard to say, but his intuition told him that she probably did, at the very least, she had a strong favorable impression.
As for why she had a favorable impression and when it happened, he couldn't remember.
"Wh-wh-what?!" Nishikata hurriedly waved his hand to deny it. "I didn't say it was her!"
"Yes, yes, I was just saying it casually, don't get so agitated."
These are teenagers in their puberty, Tsuna thought, he couldn't really comment.
"Seriously! Do you think I should confess?" Nishikata regained his composure and asked seriously.
Seeing this, Tsuna stopped teasing him. "There's no rush. We still have time to see if we're going to the same school.
If not, we can always ask Shouko to invite Takagi and them out for a get-together, and you and I can join too. Wouldn't that also be an opportunity?"
"Hmm... that makes sense."
Nishikata's gaze looked toward Shouko's direction and happened to meet Takagi, who turned back. He quickly withdrew his gaze and pretended to continue chatting with Tsuna.
However, his appearance made Tsuna even more unable to comment...
It turned out that when someone pretended to be busy, they could really make three or four fake movements in a second...
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Ajitani was also comforted by Shouko and Takagi, and Nishikata's impulsive idea was also changed by Tsuna.
Teacher Fujiro on the podium saw that everyone was back and immediately gave the command, telling everyone to start moving.
The entire class cleaned together, and for a while, many people were slacking off, but the cleaning was quickly finished.
"You have one hour of free time now. Gather in the classroom at 3 PM. I will talk about the exam information for tomorrow and the day after."
Teacher Fujiro on the podium left this instruction and turned to leave.
As soon as she left the classroom, the students in the classroom also walked out, wanting to explore the school properly. Of course, there were also those who stayed in the classroom to chat.
"Shouko-chan, where do you think is a good place for us to take pictures?" Ajitani took out her phone from her backpack and waved it in front of the two of them.
Due to the special circumstances today, the school allowed third-year students to bring their phones to school, but Tsuna and Shouko didn't bring theirs...
"By the cherry blossom tree?" Takagi suggested.
The other two agreed without hesitation. Shouko also called Tsuna, who was nearby. Takagi and Ajitani had no objections to this.
Shouko-chan was afraid that if she left him in the classroom, he would be pulled away by other girls to take group photos, the kind she didn't know about...
However, when Tsuna wanted to turn back and invite Nishikata, he only saw an empty seat. Just as he was about to be confused, he heard Takagi's explanation:
"Nishikata was pulled out by his friends to take pictures."
"Alright."
Tsuna didn't say anything else and got up to follow the three of them, but as soon as they left the classroom, they were blocked by an uninvited guest.
He saw a male student in a school uniform, holding a love letter in his hand, his gaze fixed on Shouko-chan, who was standing in the middle.
He instantly realized that the other party meant trouble.
"Th-those... Nishimiya, could you go to the lucky cherry blossom tree on the west side of the school?"