The light of the early morning sun slipped through the cracks of the curtains, illuminating the dust motes that danced over the stacks of official paperwork in the semi-dark room.
Sora, perched in the President's chair, was trying very hard to look the part of the "cool, calculated leader."
"As you all know," Sora began, adjusting his glasses. "Sports day will start this Friday—which is five days from now. So, I would like to request your aid with the finishing touches."
I raised my hand. The gesture was so formal and out of character that everyone paused to stare at me. I didn't mind. It was just part of the fun.
"Do you… have a question?" Sora asked, blinking.
"Yeah."
The Student Council President cleared his throat, leaning back, his composure breaking slightly. "V-very well. You may continue."
If he was getting a kick out of acting cool for once, then I'd play along. There was no point in taking this too seriously, after all.
"Why do we have to help? If there are five days left, can't the staff do it? I don't remember signing up for this stuff when I applied here," I said, half as a joke, half not.
Sora gave an understanding nod, as if taking my complaint to heart. "Well, you're right. While students can volunteer and be asked to help, it's rare for them to have to come in on the weekend."
Remi let out a loud groan, causing everyone's attention to shift toward her. For someone who was always so proper, she was currently sprawled messily against the desk, as if this little farce had drained the last little bits of her patience.
"Sora—not to expose you or anything—but hurry up and tell them the truth. It'd make things so much easier, especially for me."
Sora flinched. The calm and composed mask slipped, revealing the shy, awkward teenage boy underneath.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "The truth is… I just wanted to hang out with you all. So I volunteered our group to the school."
Luna leaned her chin on her palm. She was struggling to comprehend this roundabout method, but her eyes portrayed no judgment. Only pure innocence.
"Then why not just hang out outside? I don't think anyone would have said no."
We all collectively agreed.
"W-well… we aren't that close outside of school," Sora stammered. "Sure, I'm childhood friends with Remi, and I was Yu's teammate, but that's only half of the group. I just… felt awkward."
Sora let out a long breath, sinking into his seat. "Maybe I was just overthinking it this whole time..."
I couldn't help but sigh out loud—loud enough to make the whole room freeze.
Yu gave me a long, wide side-eye that practically screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR YOUR WHIMS."
But I completely ignored him.
"That's perfectly normal," I stated flatly. "We are barely friends."
I paused.
Sora was right, and I wasn't going to say pretty words and tell him he wasn't. Even if you liked someone and got along with them, if you've only hung out with them once, you can barely call them a "friend." So, you're stuck in that awkward grey area where you want to invite them out, but can't bring yourself to because you're scared of rejection.
It seems like a lose-lose, but the solution was actually quite easy.
I took a deep breath, then put on—not a soft smile—but the same sarcastic grin I always had with my friends. "But—it doesn't mean it has to be like that forever."
While I didn't fully agree with how he went about asking, that didn't mean I didn't understand. And I wanted him to know that.
"I'd like to be your friend too. So, you don't need to do all this beating around the bush. You can just ask. I don't really care, so you won't ever be bothering me."
That's right. The only way to move forward was to ask. If they refused, then at least you tried.
The room stayed silent for a few moments, the last vestiges of my words slowly fading in the air.
…And this is why I hate having to be the serious one. I'd rather get laughed at than get whatever this treatment was.
Unable to take the silence any further, I loudly got up from my seat and headed to the door.
"I dunno about you," I called out to them. "But my version of hanging out isn't lingering at school. Let's hurry up and finish so we can actually do something fun."
I opened the door and walked out of the room. Shortly after, I heard the sound of scraping chairs and people scrambling from behind me.
Eventually, everyone had left the room, and we were all walking beside each other in the hallway.
"Sooo, are we still going to help the school set up?" Luna asked cluelessly to no one in particular.
Yu laughed, a happy, booming sound. "Well, it's too late now! Sora already said he'd do it. We can't ruin the image of our friend!"
I turned toward Sora and gave him a light slap on the shoulder. He shot me a confused, slightly embarrassed grin, clearly not used to this type of boyish, friendly behaviour.
"Next time, please don't make me come here," I pleaded unseriously. "I'd have a simple walk around the neighbourhood—and that's coming from someone who hates walking."
He let out an awkward chuckle, but his smile finally reached all the way to his eyes.
"Sorry. I'll keep that in mind for the future."
You don't have to be so formal, either—but I'll save that complaint for the future. Baby steps.
We all continued our pointless chatter until we arrived at the main field—the heart of the upcoming festival.
Luckily for us, everything we needed was already right here. All we needed to do was set everything up.
We started with the high jump area. Yu, being the tallest by a mile, was tasked with setting the bar.
That is—until his eyes widened. "Holy shit! Crazy idea just popped up!" he shouted, jumping down from the mat. "I know how to make the sports day more interesting!"
"More interesting." I've heard that phrase before. That was his way of saying "let's add more stakes!" As if there weren't enough already.
"What are you talking about?" Remi grumbled, clearly unamused.
"Hehe, I'm glad you asked. Let's make a bet!"
Oh god, the dreaded word. Of course, there always had to be some sort of bet between us.
Yet, I couldn't help but ask, "What bet?"
Yu stuck his finger up, like a teacher about to explain something. "Normally, our bets are 'loser pays for this' or 'loser has to do this'. I want to change things up a bit." He paused, letting the tension hang in the air. "How about… the losing class has to say who they like!"
We all went silent, with only the sound of my awkward cough filling the space between us.
"...Isn't that the same thing as 'loser has to do this'?" I pointed out.
Yu disappointingly shook his head. "Oh, you poor, naive soul. Saying who you like in front of all your friends is a top five most humiliating moments of all time. There's a reason we haven't bet that specifically."
I thought the reason we didn't was for this thing called privacy. Ever heard of it?
Luna rested her finger on her cheek, deep in thought. "Hmmm, I mean, I'm down. But what if you just don't like anyone?"
That was a valid argument. For now, at least, I didn't like anybody. So I didn't really lose anything if I participated in this bet.
Yu's expression flattened, turning serious. "Then you're lying."
…What?
We all had the same expression on our faces. Seeing this, Yu snickered and spread his arms wide like a lunatic.
"Think about it! We're in our third year of high school. There is no way we don't like someone! Romance is youth, I tell you!"
I gritted my teeth, struggling to suppress my desire to reel back in disgust. Geez, I know you want a girl, and I don't blame you, but to proclaim it so boldly… I didn't know whether he was cool for being openly honest or pathetic for the same reason.
"I'm in," a calm, composed voice cut in.
To my surprise, the first one to agree was Remi. There wasn't a hint of embarrassment on her face. She was serious—too serious. Indifferent, even.
Before I could ask her why, I noticed her gaze flicker toward Sora for a moment.
Ah, I see how it is now.
Maybe in another world, I'd think she had some hidden romantic feelings for him as his childhood friend.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Yeah—no.
If they were going to be a thing, they wouldn't have waited for this long. Someone would have made a move by now. No sane, real human being waited over a year to simply confess. If you did, the relationship was doomed from the start.
Which meant she was doing this because she saw this as a way to pull the group closer.
Huh. For the first time, I actually respect you—kind of.
"I'm game," I said, raising my hand. Then I turned to Luna.
She blinked once, catching my gaze, before turning to the rest of the group.
"Me too!" she chirped. "It'll be a great bonding experience!"
The only one who didn't respond was Sora. We all turned to him.
He looked each one of us in the eye, then shrugged. "As long as everyone is comfortable with it, I don't mind."
"Perfect!" Yu cheered, extending his hands to Sora and Remi. "Welcome to your very first bet! I hope you enjoy it!"
Both Remi and Sora grabbed his hands and gave them a firm shake.
With that, our bet was sealed, confirming our friendship.
See? It was that easy. Making a friend, being a friend, it was all so easy. So peaceful. So happy. This is what growing up was about, isn't it? The ideal school life.
"C'mon, Hoshino, let's go!" Yu called out.
Before I even realized it, everyone was already ahead of me as they moved on to the next event.
"Coming!" I replied.
With a smile on my face, I followed them to the next area. Although, I was only one step behind them.