"What are you all standing around for?" Kogoro Mouri asked, oblivious to the tension. "Work's over. Time to go home."
Right, I've got my bro!
Shuichi Hayashi, caught in a dilemma, grabbed Kogoro. "Didn't you want to talk about something? Let's head upstairs and chat."
"Talk about what?" Kogoro blinked. "Did I say something?"
"Don't play shy!" Shuichi said, dragging his friend toward the stairs. "We're brothers. What can't we say face-to-face?"
As Shuichi and Kogoro headed upstairs, Eri Hii and Yukiko Fujimine exchanged huffs and walked off in opposite directions.
The next day, in Class 1-A, their homeroom teacher, Ms. Yui Murakami, shuffled into the classroom wearing a T-shirt with a cabbage print, her eyes shadowed with dark circles.
"Teacher, are you okay?" Yukiko stood, concerned.
"Heh," Ms. Murakami gave an odd smile. "I'm fine. Just didn't get much rest."
"It was the weekend," Yukiko said, puzzled. "Where'd you go?"
You little punk, don't you know what I was doing? Ms. Murakami fumed inwardly. If you hadn't insisted on this showdown with Hayashi and made me come up with riddles and hide things, would I have had to work overtime at school on a weekend? I didn't sleep until past five this morning because of that last riddle!
Her teeth itched with frustration, but she forced a "kind" smile. "Enough about that. This weekend, I prepared three riddles. Each leads to a note hidden in this classroom, marked with the characters for 'class' (班), 'leader' (長), and 'member' (員)."
"By the end of the day, whoever—between you and Hayashi—collects the most notes becomes class president!"
With that, Ms. Murakami handed riddle papers to Shuichi and Yukiko.
Shuichi glanced at his and stuffed it into his desk.
Yukiko, however, studied hers intently:
A vegetable that can live to ninety-nine years.
On September ninth, we'll meet again.
What gets angry and makes even the prime minister bow before it?
"Fujimine, class first!" Ms. Murakami said. "Solve the riddles after."
As soon as class ended, students swarmed around Shuichi and Yukiko.
"Let's see the riddles!"
"Hayashi-kun, you've got this!"
"Fujimine, we're rooting for you to be class president!"
Shuichi's supporters were mostly girls, while Yukiko's were mostly boys.
Eri wanted to help her childhood friend but, seeing the flock of "twittering sparrows" around Shuichi, she huffed, sat back down, and buried herself in her textbook.
The girls' chatter gave Shuichi a headache. He crumpled the riddle paper and pocketed it. "Sorry, everyone. Ms. Murakami didn't say it outright, but this is a competition between me and Fujimine. I've got to keep the riddles confidential for now."
The girls, understanding, dispersed.
Shuichi let out a relieved sigh, stretched, and pretended to nap at his desk.
Meanwhile, Kogoro and a group of boys crowded around Yukiko.
"Any luck, Fujimine? Cracked the riddles yet?"
"No way it's that easy," Yukiko said, about to lay the paper on her desk for others' input. But after hearing Shuichi's words, she didn't want an unfair advantage and tucked it away.
The boys, seeing this, wandered off.
"Hey, Shuichi," Kogoro said, undeterred, nudging his friend. "You've figured out the answers, haven't you?"
"…Mm," Shuichi mumbled vaguely.
"Spill it!" Kogoro's eyes lit up.
"The answer to the first riddle is—" Shuichi started, only to have his mouth covered.
He opened his eyes to see Eri glaring at Kogoro. "You're fishing for answers to pass to Fujimine?"
"No way!" Kogoro protested. "Shuichi and I are brothers. I'd never betray him!"
"You're not talking to Fujimine today!" Eri warned. Then she leaned close to Shuichi's ear. "If you lose to her, we're done!"
Shuichi blinked, shocked. "…It's not that serious, is it?"
"Try me," Eri said with a cold smirk.
"But I don't even want to be class president," Shuichi said, slumping onto his desk, exasperated.
All four morning classes, Shuichi wrestled with whether to even try for class president, while Yukiko furrowed her brow over the riddles, barely paying attention to the lessons.
At lunch break, as Shuichi was about to call Eri and Kogoro to eat, Yukiko suddenly shouted, "I solved the third riddle!"
She dragged a chair onto her desk and started climbing.
Shuichi quickly stopped her. "Hey, you trying to steal my answer?"
Yukiko froze, wary. "You're not stealing my answer, are you?"
"Idiot, look at what you're wearing," Shuichi said, exasperated. "Climb up there, and every guy in class will get an eyeful."
Yukiko glanced down, realizing she was in a skirt. Climbing would mean flashing everyone! She scanned the room for someone familiar to help, but most of her friends were girls.
Among the boys, school had just started, so she wasn't close to any of them. Sure, plenty would jump at the chance to help if she asked, but she didn't want to owe anyone a favor—especially not if they asked her out later.
Seeing Yukiko's dilemma, Shuichi glanced at Eri, who wasn't looking, and shot Kogoro a subtle look.
Kogoro stood excitedly, only for Eri to slam her desk, startling him back into his seat.
Shuichi sighed and got up himself.
"Shuichi!" Eri bit her lip, grabbing her childhood friend's arm. "You're really helping her?"
"Don't worry, I'll win," Shuichi said, patting her hand. He bent down, removed the mat from his desk's leg, and pulled a note from the gap, marked with the character "member" .
"She already guessed the one up there," he said. "Even if I don't help, someone else will."
Seeing Shuichi's seriousness, Eri nodded reluctantly.
Shuichi walked to the door, turned off the fan, and waited for the blades to stop. He climbed onto a desk, reached behind a blade, and retrieved a note marked with the character "leader" …
(End of Chapter)
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