Chapter 6: Cultural Program Announcement
Monday Morning – Classroom 8-1
(Students settle in. The weekend is over. Yuki is already sitting close to Hiroshi.)
Sōta: "Morning, lovebirds."
Hiroshi: "We're not lovebirds."
Yuki: "Not yet."
Sōta: "Same thing."
Hiroshi: "It's not."
Yuki: "It will be."
(Sōta laughs. Hiroshi sighs.)
Teacher: "Good morning, everyone. I have an announcement."
Class: "Good morning, sensei."
Teacher: "This Friday is the school's annual cultural program."
Class: (excited murmurs)
Teacher: "That means no regular classes for the next three days. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are preparation days."
Sōta: "No classes?!"
Teacher: "No regular classes. You'll be rehearsing, decorating, and preparing for the program."
Yuki: (whispering to Hiroshi) "Three days with you."
Hiroshi: (whispering back) "Three days of chaos."
Yuki: "Same thing."
Teacher: "Each class needs to present something. Class 8-1, we've decided on a stage play."
Class: "A play?!"
Teacher: "Yes. A short romantic story. The script is already written."
Yuki: (raising hand) "Sensei, who are the main characters?"
Teacher: "Good question. We need a prince and a princess."
(The class looks at Hiroshi and Yuki.)
Sōta: "Oh, this is perfect."
Hiroshi: "No."
Teacher: "Asagiri, you're the smartest in class. You'll be the prince."
Hiroshi: "I don't act."
Teacher: "You don't have a choice."
Yuki: "And the princess?"
Teacher: "Hoshino, you have the most expressive face. You'll be the princess."
Yuki: "I accept!"
Hiroshi: "I don't."
Teacher: "Too late. Roles are assigned."
(Yuki grins. Hiroshi's eye twitches.)
First Period – Play Rehearsal (Instead of Math)
(Students gather in the gymnasium. A small stage is set up.)
Teacher: "Let's read through the script first. Asagiri, Hoshino, come to the front."
(They stand on stage. Yuki is glowing. Hiroshi looks like he's attending a funeral.)
Teacher: "Scene one. The prince and princess meet in the royal garden."
Yuki: (reading) "Oh, noble prince. The stars are beautiful tonight."
Hiroshi: (reading flatly) "They are balls of burning gas."
Teacher: "Asagiri, with emotion."
Hiroshi: "They are balls of burning gas... with emotion."
Yuki: (laughing) "That's not how you say it."
Hiroshi: "That's how I say everything."
Teacher: "Try again. Pretend you're in love."
Hiroshi: "I don't know what that feels like."
Yuki: (whispering) "Pretend it's me."
Hiroshi: (whispering back) "That doesn't help."
Yuki: "It helps me."
(She takes his hand. He doesn't pull away.)
Teacher: "Better. Keep holding hands. It looks romantic."
Hiroshi: "This is unnecessary physical contact."
Yuki: "It's acting."
Hiroshi: "It's uncomfortable."
Yuki: "Your hand isn't pulling away."
(He looks down. Their fingers are intertwined.)
Hiroshi: "..."
Yuki: "See? You're learning."
Second Period – Costume Fitting (Instead of Science)
(Students go to the costume room. Racks of old clothes and props.)
Teacher: "Find something that fits. Asagiri, you need a prince costume. Hoshino, a princess dress."
Yuki: "I want something beautiful."
Hiroshi: "I want something that covers my entire body."
Sōta: "You're no fun."
(Yuki disappears behind a changing screen. Hiroshi finds a plain white shirt and black pants.)
Hiroshi: "This will work."
Sōta: "That's not a prince costume. That's a waiter costume."
Hiroshi: "Same thing."
Sōta: "It's really not."
(Behind the screen, Yuki struggles with her dress.)
Yuki: "Hiroshi? Can you help me?"
Hiroshi: "No."
Yuki: "The zipper is stuck."
Hiroshi: "Ask a girl."
Yuki: "All the girls are busy. Please?"
(He sighs. He walks behind the screen.)
Hiroshi: "Turn around."
(She turns. Her back is to him. The dress is half-zipped. Her bare skin is visible.)
(He remembers Friday night. His ears turn red.)
Hiroshi: "The zipper is caught on the fabric."
Yuki: "Can you fix it?"
(He reaches for the zipper. His fingers touch her back. She shivers.)
Yuki: "Your hands are cold."
Hiroshi: "I'll be faster."
(He pulls the zipper gently. It comes free. He zips it all the way up.)
Hiroshi: "Done."
Yuki: "Thank you."
(She turns around. The dress is pale blue. It fits her perfectly. Her shoulders are bare. Her hair is loose.)
(Hiroshi stares for one second too long.)
Yuki: "Do I look pretty?"
Hiroshi: "You look... acceptable."
Yuki: "That's your highest compliment."
Hiroshi: "Don't get used to it."
(She smiles. He walks back to his side of the screen. His heart is pounding.)
Lunch Break – Rooftop
(Yuki, Hiroshi, Sōta, and Rin eat lunch on the rooftop.)
Rin: "You two are playing the lovers. This is going to be hilarious."
Sōta: "I'm playing the evil knight who tries to separate them."
Rin: "I'm playing the fairy godmother."
Yuki: "There's a fairy godmother?"
Rin: "There is now. I volunteered."
Sōta: "You just want to wear a sparkly dress."
Rin: "And?"
(Yuki is sitting very close to Hiroshi. Their shoulders touch.)
Sōta: "You two are really getting into character."
Hiroshi: "We're eating lunch."
Yuki: "Method acting."
Hiroshi: "That's not what method acting means."
Yuki: "It's what I want it to mean."
(She rests her head on his shoulder. He doesn't move.)
Sōta: "I'm going to be sick."
Rin: "Romantic sickness."
Sōta: "No, actual sickness."
Third Period – Rehearsal Continues (Instead of English)
(Back on stage. The class is running through the entire play.)
Teacher: "Scene three. The prince confesses his love."
Yuki: (reading) "My heart belongs to you, my prince."
Hiroshi: (reading) "That is... acceptable."
Teacher: "Asagiri, that's not the line!"
Hiroshi: "What's the line?"
Teacher: "The line is 'And my heart belongs to you, my princess. Forever.'"
Hiroshi: "That's unrealistic. Forever is a long time."
Yuki: "I'll take forever."
Hiroshi: "You don't know what forever means."
Yuki: "I know what it means with you."
(The class goes "Aww." Hiroshi's ears turn red.)
Teacher: "Again. With feeling."
Hiroshi: (forcing emotion) "And my heart belongs to you, my princess. Forever."
Yuki: (clutching her chest) "Then I shall never let you go."
(She hugs him. Her body presses against his. He freezes.)
Sōta: (from the side) "That's not in the script."
Yuki: "I'm improvising."
Teacher: "I'll allow it. It looks natural."
Hiroshi: "It's not natural. She's crushing my ribs."
Yuki: "You're fine."
Hiroshi: "I can't breathe."
Yuki: "You don't need to breathe. You need to act."
(She doesn't let go. He stops struggling.)
Fourth Period – Set Decoration (Instead of History)
(Students paint backdrops and arrange props.)
Sōta: "Hiroshi, you're good at geometry. Help us paint the castle."
Hiroshi: "Painting is not math."
Sōta: "Perspective is math."
Hiroshi: "...Fine."
(He picks up a brush. He paints straight, precise lines.)
Yuki: "That's beautiful."
Hiroshi: "It's accurate."
Yuki: "Same thing."
(She is painting flowers on a tree backdrop. Her hands are covered in paint.)
Yuki: "Hiroshi, I got paint on my face."
Hiroshi: "Wipe it off."
Yuki: "I can't see it. Can you help?"
(He looks at her. There's a small blue smudge on her cheek.)
Hiroshi: "It's on your left cheek."
Yuki: "Get it off for me."
(He hesitates. Then he reaches out. His thumb wipes the paint away. His hand lingers for a moment.)
Yuki: "Thank you."
Hiroshi: "Don't get more on your face."
Yuki: "No promises."
(She dips her finger in blue paint and touches his nose.)
Hiroshi: "You just painted my nose."
Yuki: "Now we match."
(She laughs. He stares at her. His heart does something strange.)
Fifth Period – Free Time (Teacher Absent)
(Students are allowed to practice on their own.)
Sōta: "I'm going to practice my evil knight speech. Don't bother me."
Rin: "I'm going to practice my fairy godmother dance."
(They leave. Yuki and Hiroshi are alone on stage.)
Yuki: "Just us."
Hiroshi: "I noticed."
Yuki: "Are you nervous?"
Hiroshi: "No."
Yuki: "Your hands are shaking."
(He looks at his hands. They are.)
Hiroshi: "I don't know why."
Yuki: "I know why."
Hiroshi: "Why?"
Yuki: "Because you like me."
Hiroshi: "That's not logical."
Yuki: "Love isn't logical."
Hiroshi: "I don't love you."
Yuki: "Not yet."
(She steps closer. He steps back. His back hits the wall.)
Yuki: "Nowhere to run."
Hiroshi: "I'm not running."
Yuki: "Good."
(She stands on her tiptoes. Her face is inches from his.)
Yuki: "Remember Friday night?"
Hiroshi: "No."
Yuki: "Liar. You remember everything."
Hiroshi: "I remember the storm."
Yuki: "You remember seeing me naked."
Hiroshi: "I'm trying not to."
Yuki: "Don't try. Remember."
(His ears are crimson. His breathing is uneven.)
Hiroshi: "Why are you doing this?"
Yuki: "Because you're worth it."
(She kisses his other cheek. Soft. Slow.)
Hiroshi: "You kissed me again."
Yuki: "I'll kiss you a hundred times. Until you kiss me back."
Hiroshi: "That's harassment."
Yuki: "That's dedication."
(She steps back. She smiles.)
Yuki: "Let's practice the confession scene again."
Hiroshi: "I need water."
Yuki: "You need me."
(She takes his hand. She pulls him to center stage.)
Yuki: "And my heart belongs to you, my prince. Forever."
Hiroshi: "...And my heart belongs to you, my princess."
Yuki: "You forgot 'forever.'"
Hiroshi: "I didn't forget. I'm not ready to say it."
Yuki: "Then I'll wait."
(She squeezes his hand. He squeezes back.)
(He doesn't realize he did it.)
After School – Walking Home
(The rain from Friday is gone. The sky is clear.)
Yuki: "Three more days until the program."
Hiroshi: "I know."
Yuki: "Three more days of rehearsals."
Hiroshi: "I know."
Yuki: "Three more days of holding hands."
Hiroshi: "That's not in the rehearsal schedule."
Yuki: "It's in my schedule."
(They reach their street.)
Yuki: "Same time tomorrow?"
Hiroshi: "School starts at the same time every day."
Yuki: "I meant the kissing."
Hiroshi: "There is no kissing in the play."
Yuki: "There is now."
Hiroshi: "There is not."
Yuki: "There will be."
(She waves. She crosses the street.)
Yuki: "Goodnight, my prince."
Hiroshi: "Goodnight."
(He watches her enter her building. His cheek is still warm where she kissed him.)
(He touches it. He doesn't know why he's smiling.)
End of Chapter 6