The next day, the Student Council wasted no time. I barely got seated before Touya's voice echoed through the room:
"Your next trial has been decided. Drama Club."
Drama Club? I blinked. Of all the options…
Chisaki smirked. "What better way to test character than on stage? Lies, masks, roles… it'll expose what you're really made of."
Alisa Kujou's eyes glittered coldly as she crossed her arms. "And it happens that I'm involved. Consider this your trial by fire."
...
The clubroom was less "room" and more "mini-theater." Costumes hung on racks, spotlights glared overhead, and students bustled about with scripts and stage props.
At the center, a girl with silver hair and sharp blue eyes stood like royalty: Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou.
Around her were other familiar faces:
Kana Arima, fiery and competitive, already snapping at a stagehand.
Akane Kurokawa, calm yet chilling, flipping through a script with razor-sharp focus.
Mem-Cho, lively, recording a vlog intro about "Drama Club collab special~!"
Even Frill Shiranui sat elegantly, observing like a princess at court.
It was like stepping into the middle of a professional production, not a school club.
Alya's gaze fell on me instantly. "So you've come. Try not to embarrass yourself."
Kana immediately scoffed. "He will. No way a rookie like him can match me."
Akane's eyes flickered. "We'll see. Sometimes amateurs show unexpected talent."
Before I could even reply, a familiar voice cut through the air:
"SEEEENPAI~!"
Nagatoro practically tackled me from behind, laughing as she leaned on my shoulder. "He's mine, Drama Club! You can't steal him away for acting drills~"
"Who even let you in here?!" Kana snapped.
"I did," Mem-Cho grinned, filming. "Gotta spice up the stream somehow!"
The room was already chaos, and I hadn't even opened a script.
The script felt heavier than any textbook. My palms were sweaty as the spotlight burned on me. Alya stood in front of me, regal, poised, her gaze sharper than a blade.
I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.
The silence stretched. Then I mumbled something like a broken syllable. Alya's lips curled in disdain.
"…Pathetic," Kana Arima muttered from the side, crossing her arms.Mem-Cho's camera phone zoomed in gleefully. "Ooooh, this is so going in the highlight reel." Nagatoro cackled and poked my side. "Senpai, you're seriously bombing, aren't ya~?"
Even Hikigaya, leaning against the wall, sighed audibly. "What a drag. You're worse than I thought."
I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.
But then, something clicked.
This wasn't the old world. This wasn't the classroom I once knew. This wasn't even the same balance of genders, of expectations, of rules.
If I stumbled and kept treating this place like a half-real dream, I'd be crushed. Here, hesitation meant being swallowed alive by the gazes of all these powerful girls.
If I was going to survive… no, if I was going to live in this world, then I had to act. Not half-heartedly. Not timidly. Fully.
I straightened. My grip on the script tightened. My voice steadied.
"...I love you."
The words came out clear, strong, resonating under the stage lights. Not my words, but the character's.
Alya's eyes widened slightly, just for a heartbeat. Then she answered her lines, and suddenly the air between us shifted.
Kana's smug look faltered. Mem-Cho lowered her phone, muttering "Wait, he's actually good now…" Even Akane Kurokawa raised her eyes from her script, studying me intently.
Line by line, I slipped deeper into the role. The stutters were gone. My tone matched the rhythm. My eyes met Alya's without wavering. For those minutes, I wasn't the nervous new guy.
I was an actor.
And when the final cue came, I delivered it with conviction that even made Nagatoro's teasing stop short.
"…Scene."
Silence.
Then a burst of reactions:
Kana slammed her hands together, not clapping but in frustration. "Tch… you were supposed to flop!"
Mem-Cho spun her phone around, grinning wide. "That was seriously so clippable."
Akane tilted her head, lips curving in the faintest smile. "…Interesting."
Nagatoro hissed in mock outrage. "Ehhh?! Since when can you be cool like that, Senpai?"
Even Hikigaya muttered under her breath, "…Not terrible."
And Alya? She said nothing at first. Just studied me, her expression unreadable.
Finally, she turned, hair swishing like a curtain call. "…Passable. For a first day."
But there was a faint flush on her cheeks that she tried to hide.
When the lights dimmed and the rehearsal ended, I stumbled back into the hallway, heart pounding.
The Council's observers, Touya Kenzaki and Chisaki Sarashina, were waiting.
Touya's eyes glittered with something like approval. "Not bad. You adapted."
Chisaki smirked. "Guess he's not completely useless after all."
Rumors would explode tomorrow, I knew. Alya Kujou, the ice queen, paired on stage with me, and I'd actually kept up.
But for the first time since coming to this world, I felt a strange certainty: I could do this.
I wasn't just surviving anymore. I was starting to live it.
The air felt charged the moment I stepped into school.
It wasn't just me imagining things, every whisper, every sideways glance, carried my name in it. The performance at the Drama Club yesterday had turned into wildfire gossip overnight.
"They said he nailed the lines with Alya-senpai…"
"Akane Kurokawa even smiled. You know how impossible that is, right?"
"He's not even in the club, and now the whole school's buzzing about him…"
I exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of my neck. Just great. I hadn't even eaten breakfast properly and already my stomach was in knots.
At the shoe lockers, Yui waved both hands high in the air.
"Over here! Hey, hey! Everyone's been talking about you since yesterday so cool! I mean, I always thought you were cool, but now it's like, official! Hikki-chan even admitted it, right?"
Behind her, Hikigaya crossed her arms, rolling her eyes."I admitted nothing. Don't put words in my mouth, Yui. He flubbed half his lines at the start."Her gaze flicked my way. "But… I guess you recovered. Barely."
Her cheeks were a faint pink as she turned away.
I caught myself smiling despite the tension.
If morning was whispers, then lunch was open warfare.
"C'mon, let's eat together today!" Yui tugged at my sleeve, producing a bento with a triumphant grin. "I made these tamagoyaki just for you! Try them, okay?"
"Ah... actually... "
Before I could answer, Saika appeared, cradling a beautifully wrapped lunch box."If it's alright… maybe we could eat under the cherry trees? I... it's a perfect day for it."
And then Nagatoro swooped in, looping her arm around mine with predatory glee. "Senpaaai, don't let them hog you. You're my practice toy, remember? Hehehe~ Better come with me, or else I'll tell everyone what kind of face you made when you messed up your lines yesterday."
As if that weren't enough, the Nakano sisters chimed in from their corner.
"Sensei," Ichika smirked, "don't forget your actual students. You should be having lunch with us."
"Yeah!" Nino snapped. "It's irresponsible to run off with random girls when you've got quintuplets to tutor."
The entire classroom burst into laughter and chatter. I wanted to melt into my chair.
By the time the bell rang, I hadn't eaten a single bite.
Escaping the chaos after class, I turned the corner only to find myself blocked by two familiar figures.
Touya Kenzaki, arms crossed, and Chisaki Sarashina, sharp grin in place, stood like sentries.
"So." Touya's voice was low, measured. "You've stirred the hive."
Chisaki adjusted her glasses, smirking. "Honestly, I didn't expect you to survive the Drama Club's little test. But now? You've got the whole school wrapped around your finger. That means you're dangerous."
"Dangerous?" I blinked.
Touya's eyes narrowed. "Attention cuts both ways. Popularity makes allies… but it makes enemies too." She leaned in slightly, her presence overwhelming. "Tell me, can you carry that weight?"
I swallowed hard, unsure how to respond. But somehow, the answer came out steady."…I'll try."
For a moment, silence stretched. Then Touya chuckled softly."Good. You'll need that resolve. Because the next stage isn't optional."
The rest of the day felt like treading water. Even teachers gave me pointed looks, like they'd heard the rumors too. By dismissal, every corridor seemed to hum with speculation.
"Is he joining the Drama Club?""Maybe he'll transfer to the Student Council…""I heard he and Alya are already a thing!"
It was dizzying.
When I finally reached the courtyard, I found Alya herself waiting by the fountain, arms folded. Her silver hair caught the last rays of sunlight.
"You've caused quite the commotion," she said in her accented voice, half-irritated, half-amused. "I suppose I should thank you. Your performance yesterday… it was unexpectedly decent."
"Decent?" I repeated.
Her cheeks flushed slightly. "Don't get the wrong idea. You still need practice. A lot of it. But…" Her gaze softened just a fraction. "On stage, you looked like you belonged."
I stood there, stunned, as she walked past me toward the school gates.
Back in my room, the events of the day whirled around in my head. The whispers, the bento battles, the Council's warning, Alya's words.
This wasn't the same world I used to live in.And if I wanted to survive here… I couldn't just coast along.
Tomorrow, the Drama Festival rehearsals would begin.
The curtain was already rising.
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Thanks for reading. You can also give me ideas for the future or pinpoint plot holes that I may have forgotten, if you want.
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