"If you're working on this on the weekend, then how about we come help once we're done with practice? If you give me your number, we can contact you."
Yeah, yeah, someone who wanted to help out wouldn't have been slacking off earlier, you know? Whoops, my palms suddenly got all sweaty. I'd expect nothing less of myself. This is the very guy who was forced to hold hands with a girl in the second year of elementary school on a field trip and whose hands got sweaty and grossed her out. With my hands sweating this much, I might let the hammer slip out of my grip and smack right into the back of the head of this jock. Heh-heh-heh.
When I was looking up to make sure my hammer would accidentally slip in the right direction, Yuigahama said, "Oh, that'd be great! But if we do a good job this week, we won't have to do any more this weekend. And I really wanna go hang out on days off."
Even after she turned the subject back to work, it seemed that boy was quite past giving a damn, and he kept chatting. He was coming off pretty insistent… "Hang out, huh? Where do you go to hang out?"
"Huh? Usually, Yumiko decides… Well, I guess I leave that stuff to her?"
"Oh, Miura… Miura, huh…?" The boy's voice was a little quieter this time.
Yeah, this is, like, proof that I'm concentrating real hard. That has to be it. It's like that thing when you're studying while listening to music, and before you know it, you're not hearing the music anymore. Empty the mind, empty the mind! Just concentrate on the wood. This isn't the time for distraction. Look, it's just, you know, because I love work so much…
…Ugh, let's finish this thing up quick and get out of here.
Banging at the nails was starting to feel like part of some curse ritual. Smoothly hammering along, I reached into the box with the nails for the next one, but my hand swiped through air.
"…There's no more nails."
Six-inch nails, that is. Wait, no, normal nails are fine.
"Here," someone said, and I looked up to see Yuigahama offering me some nails. They clinked together in her hand.
"…Uh-huh." Making sure not to touch her palm, I carefully took a nail. You know, this is just like the time I discovered that when a cute convenience store clerk firmly takes your hand to give you your change, you get a crush on her. Those who would be boys must avoid direct physical contact.
"Wait, you're already done?" I asked.
"Huh? Done what?" Yuigahama gave me a blank look.
Of course I couldn't explicitly say talking to that boy. "Well…if you're fine, then it's fine," I added to avoid the question and returned to the nails.
Yuigahama is popular with guys.
Tobe had said that before in Chiba Village, during summer vacation. Tobe hadn't said it personally to my face, but I did hear that.
I think it's entirely natural.
She's got a cute face and a nice figure. She's cheerful and sociable. For someone at the top of the pile, she doesn't act self-important, and she can flawlessly get along with anyone.
Most of all, she's nice.
And her one flaw—that she's an idiot—can come off as a good thing to some people.
At events like these, the boys and girls feel closer (even if they're not), so it's to be expected that guys she'd normally have no interaction with would come talk to her. For her, I think that's probably not limited to events, though.
But actually witnessing it, I was again reminded: She really is different.
…She's not normal. Just as you'd expect from the top caste. Whether it was deliberate or unconscious, it was a little weird she could avoid all that after he'd pushed so hard.
As I was pondering this, I noticed that the area around us had become real quiet.
"Huh? What happened to those guys from earlier?" Looking all around, I saw the only one still here was that student council guy who was resting. Aside from him, it was just me, and Yuigahama in front of me.
"Yeah, they said they had club stuff or something, and they left… Actually, that was probably thanks to Yumiko."
…Oh, I knew it. She consciously avoided it, huh?
It seemed she'd deliberately brought up Miura's name to avoid that boy. Despite what you'd expect from how Yuigahama looks and normally acts, she's tough. She's got strong skills in girl politics, or maybe I'd call it class politics. Stats-wise, I feel like she'd have about 90 Politics or so. Also, I feel like Miura would have around 95 Leadership. How scary do you gotta be that you can use that to ward off boys? Oh, though I understand the feeling. Miura is scary.
Though she could've just given him her number, but I'm sure she has her reasons. Besides, thinking too deeply about that would send me way down an ugly rabbit hole, so better to just stop there.
Pulling myself together, I adjusted my grip on the hammer. "…Anyway, let's do this."
"Yeah!" Yuigahama raised her arm with that cheerful reply.
But I'm basically the one doing the work here.
The hammer clanged.
The noises of the task resounded particularly loud in the courtyard, mingling with the yells of the baseball, rugby, and soccer clubs on the distant field, and sharp whistling from the track club.
After hammering in one, two nails, I felt a focused gaze on me.
"…What?" I asked. Not a fan of being stared at.
Yuigahama flailed her hands in response. Uhhh, please keep holding the wood, though…
"Oh, it's nothing, nothing… But, like, Hikki, you're surprisingly good at this."
"Anyone can do this."
Boys just sort of wind up knowing how to use tools, through Mini 4WD and stuff. Of course you use screwdrivers for that, but you also need wire cutters, pin vise drills, and sandpaper and stuff.
And not just with Mini 4WD—boys always want to make things, once they get the tools. You get some random scraps of wood, and you'll make some weird whatever, and cardboard box architecture is a given. Whether you're good at it is another thing, but you'll at least learn to do simple construction. Especially boys who have nothing else to do.
Well, girls don't really do that stuff. Maybe in the future, when we have to come check on this kind of work, it'd be best for me to come. Though I hoped that wouldn't be necessary in the end…
As I continued swinging my hammer, lost in my thoughts, Yuigahama suddenly muttered, "Y'know…this kinda thing is sorta nice."
"What? How?" In terms of progress with the work, we were completely up against the wall. Also, it was weird for me to be working this late, and also weird for us to be doing this work… We had other stuff we actually had to be doing…
I shot Yuigahama a dissenting What are you talking about? glare, and she suddenly smiled. Like she found it funny.
"Kinda feels like a high school memory in the making."
"…Are you dumb? This right here is total corporate slavery."
If staying behind to work is a high school memory, if being made to do other people's jobs is a high school memory, then adults with jobs must all be reliving their youth years every day. At the very least, my own dad is stupidly tired when he comes back from work and full of endless complaints against society and his workplace, so I very much doubt that is making the most of your youth.
"I mean, isn't your idea of high school memories more sparkly and ridiculous and incomprehensible and stupid or whatever?"
"What the heck are you imagining?! That's not what I mean!" she shot back like this was completely outrageous for me to say.
So that's not it? I thought for sure she did like that stuff, though.
She sighed for a long time. "Aaagh. Listen, during the cultural festival, I spent all my time with the class, so we never got to do anything together, right?"
Now that she mentions it, that's true. In fact, I think Yuigahama's efforts were a big part of how we'd managed to handle things well within the class. I dunno, she just gets picky when it comes to the nitty-gritty of the budget, you know…
But maybe that was just the sort of activity that, to her, had potential as a youthful high school memory.
"You got that whole 'youth' experience with the class, right?" I said.
"And you played in a band with Yukinoshita, so be proud of that. That should be youthful enough for you, too."
"It's not just that…" Yuigahama puffed up her cheeks and looked away with a pout. Her face was flushed. The descending sun's rays poured down from above the special-use building, and before long, it had colored the whole courtyard crimson.
If I could assume that Yuigahama's definition of youth was to accomplish something together with Yukinoshita, then, well, I dunno, that's, like… Love is heavy.
I should offer her some advice here. "If you're so glued to her all the time, that's exhausting, too. And the moment you become aware that it's exhausting is the most exhausting part."
"Whoa… That's an awful thing to say…" Yuigahama was aggressively disturbed.
Don't just jerk away your whole upper body. It'll mess up the contact patch between the boards. Act as freaked out as you want; just keep it in place. I fixed the shifted boards, then hammered nails into the remaining corners.
Hmm. That should be enough for now. Next, I guess I'll saw off all the spots that are sticking out. The people of Chiba have a deep connection with saws. That's because there's a mountain in Chiba called Saw Mountain—Mount Nokogiri. There's really no other connection there. In fact, I'd even say they have nothing to do with each other.
I stood up and went over to get a saw. Finding one handy, I returned to find Yuigahama still pouting.
"That's not what I was trying to say, though…," she complained.
"Well, whatever." I adjusted my grip on the saw and set my foot on the sign to stabilize it. I kept my gaze completely focused to prevent my hands from shaking. "As long as you're in this weird club, we'll wind up doing this sort of thing again. You can do stuff together anytime."
How much would the grinding of the saw drown out our voices? I continued swiftly drawing the blade back and forth at a diagonal.
"…Yeah, that's true."
But no matter how much noise I made, there wasn't much point. I could hear Yuigahama's voice clearly.
I was the one to say that we could do this stuff at any time, but I believed my own words the least of all.
It's best not to assume there will always be a next time. You can't afford to believe that. Relationships between people are more unstable than you think. Including ours.
I whittled down that piece of wood bit by bit, scattering dust and splinters until my hands felt no more resistance, and in the end came a dry clunk.
I worked until we reached a good stopping point, then decided to leave the rest to Yuigahama and the student council members, returning to my own task.
When I entered the meeting room, Yukinoshita lifted her head and looked over at me. "My, I thought you'd disappeared somewhere… Have you already finished that simulation of the crowd flow I asked you for earlier?"
"If I had, I'd be handing it to you." Doesn't take much to figure that out. Since work is something you want to drop as soon as possible, I'd obviously be throwing it down the moment it's done.
When I shot her a look, Yukinoshita coolly swept back her hair. "I wasn't asking to confirm. It was pressure."
"Is that right…?" Well, if someone asks you, Is it done yet? you'll have no choice but to reply, I'm doing it right now! You can never say no in this workplace.
Guess I've got no choice. I'll work. If someone's putting pressure on me, then I've gotta do it. Yukinoshita is impressive as always, with her high-pressure reputation. I wonder if she also puts pressure on her heart to keep its growth in check. Well, I hope her whole chest region will resist and grow bountifully.
Grumbling to myself, I wearily sat down in the seat that had been prepared for me beside Yukinoshita and resumed the task I'd been interrupted in before.
I checked the papers piled on the desk, ready to go through them.
Ooone, twooo, threee… Four… But wait…
There's even moooore work…
I shot a "Bancho Sarayashiki"–style resentful look at Yukinoshita. When she noticed it, she glanced toward Meguri.
…Ohhh, I see; it was Meguri. But looking at her, I could tell she was very busy, too. Should we be forcing her to do this when she has to study for university entrance exams? And, like, the student council elections are soon… She probably can't retire until we have a successor. Then we should reduce her burden at least a little.
Scratching my head, I got myself back in gear and faced the paperwork once more.
Writing in the spots where the students would be sitting, the avenues they'd take from place to place, the standby locations for upcoming events, and the positions of the entrance gates, while comparing with my own memories of past events, I simulated the movements of crowds and made the appropriate adjustments in the positioning of various things.
This is so boring…
"Take care of this, too." Yet another item was added to the mountain of paperwork: some pages in a clear folder.
Listen, my desk is not a drop box, so you can't just pile on everything…
Looking to the side, I saw Yukinoshita typing at her computer. Mgh, so she's working, too, after all… When someone else is working, you feel like you have to, too. I really don't think peer pressure is good.
Well, it'd be nice if this pressure would also work on the crew, but unfortunately right now, the unspoken rule was that minimal effort was fine. And that being the case, we were forced to do the job instead.
I got this, but even so, I had to whine about it just a little and let off some steam. While my hands remained busy, I also moved my mouth. "Nothing but work lately."
"Surprising, isn't it?" she replied calmly. Of course, her hands also never rested, and the sound of her clacking away on the keyboard was the same.
As Yukinoshita said, it was indeed surprising. I never thought I'd find myself doing this much work… "Right? My dad would faint if he heard I was working."
"I wasn't talking about you… But that is certainly surprising, too. And your father sounds like a character." I heard her sigh in exasperation.
But I had an answer that would explain everything. "'Cause he's my dad."
"That's strangely convincing… But more to the point, it was Sagami who surprised me."
Startled by the mention of her name, I turned to the side to see Yukinoshita looking at Sagami working at a seat on a diagonal from her.
"She's actually doing her job," said Yukinoshita.
"That's a mean way to put it…" "Actually"…? You're the one who recommended her for the position, though…
But even saying that, I was a little surprised, too. I'd thought for sure that Sagami would lose all motivation, but it was like she'd pulled herself together, made an about-face, and was taking the job seriously.
Well, this was clearly a do-or-die situation for her. If her reputation crashed here, she'd have no chance of rising up again. If she failed, the only path left for her would be to maintain her pride by tearing down those below her.
But the question is, Is diligent effort enough? And the answer to that is no.
It seemed Yukinoshita also understood this well, as she added, "Although, it's unfortunate that she's not particularly good at it, so it's not enough for me to be able to leave my work to her." Ouch.
"If you're comparing her to you, I think that's a given." If you made Yukinoshita your standard, you'd probably wind up treating most people as incompetent.
For just an instant, Yukinoshita shot me an accusatory glance. "It's not just me. There are others who are fairly capable."
"Well, I'm sure there are some, but…" I figured the only ones who would be on a level with her would be Haruno and Hayama.
"Besides…," Yukinoshita continued quietly. At some point, her hands had paused in their task. They were lightly balled over her keyboard, as if she couldn't find the strength to make fists. "…I wouldn't call myself particularly talented, either. Judging from how this schedule is collapsing." There was a click as she pushed a key. Maybe she was revising the schedule to adjust for our current progress.
But this wasn't her fault, as the one who had made up the shift schedule. In fact, without that, I doubt anyone would have done anything.
"It's not like this is your fault."
"You think…?"
"Yeah, I think. Society's at fault. Definitely."
"That goes well beyond just passing the buck…" Yukinoshita chuckled derisively before stretching her back and facing the computer once more. As if to make up for the time we'd just spent chatting, her hands flew across the keyboard.
She was feeling responsible, most likely, but this really wasn't her fault.
The reason behind the lagging of the work was bigger and more obvious than shifts or schedules. The problem here was motivation.
Though there was no boycotting going on in this committee, there was constant opposition and a tendency for things to grind to a halt. When it came to physical labor, the crew would use Sagami's promise of "making sure not to overburden the clubs" as their shield to leave.
Of course no one would feel motivated in this environment.
But they still came to work according to the shift schedule, and when they used that shift schedule as an excuse, you also couldn't be flexible with the personnel management. Ultimately, the executive team made up the difference.
In the end, as before, I got a chain of odd jobs on an overtime schedule.
There were also a lot of uncertain elements that we had yet to work out.
If things continued this way, the project would soon fall apart.
After a few days of nonstop work, just hearing the hustle and bustle in the morning got me depressed.
Though it was the beginning of a new day, everything already felt like it was over, weighing us down. Because the other classes all crowded around the school's front entrance, that air flowing through there felt particularly hollow and superficial.
People who aren't really on bad terms but who seem vaguely distant with one another. Friends of friends. Friends who had shared a class last year but drifted apart since. People in the same club. With all these individuals encountered at varying distances, everyone put on a different mask for the different people they spoke to, and those personas will be different from your true self.
Everyone uses various lies to different ends on a daily basis. However, loners are pretty amazing in this area. They're all alone from beginning to end. To use folktales as an example, it's like how the simple types who are always honest to everyone inevitably get rich.
By immersing myself in my stupid thoughts, I completely cut off the noise around me, shifting slightly to the right and left as I walked to avoid bumping into the flow of people. It's just like a Dempsey Roll.
Arriving at my shoe cubby, quietly muttering "Makkunouchi, Makkunouchi," I thrust my hand forward. I wasn't punching or anything; I was just grabbing my indoor shoes. These dumb fantasies are so much fun.
When I stuck my hand into the cubby to get my indoor shoes, I felt my hand hit something crumply.
What's this? I thought, and I looked.
…Oof.
Someone put garbage in my shoe cubby…
The wrappers of some snacks and balled-up scraps of paper had been stuffed into my shoes.
Huh? What the hell? Is this bullying?
I figured I might as well check and see if anything else had been put in it. While I was at it, I also peeked into the cubbies of the people above and below me, but mine was the only one with garbage in it.
…Well, here we are, I guess.
This made sense to me, and I felt my heart become strangely cold. The awareness of it also brought a heavy weariness from my shoulders to my back. It wasn't like anger or sadness—the perfect descriptor would be something like resignation.
Being ignored and snubbed was no different from always, so I wasn't bothered by it. I talk behind people's backs, too, so I can understand that. But I don't get it when people engage in this sort of childish behavior. What meaning is there in this? Who gains from it? What benefit does it yield?
I'd thought that because this school was university oriented, there would be fewer idiots, but there are exceptions to everything. This wasn't nearly as bad as it could be, being that bullying at our school has never reached the point of violent behavior. And I might call it fortunate that the garbage stuck in there didn't include any food. The world is overflowing with so many idiots, so I could consider myself lucky that the one I was dealing with was no worse than this.
Thanks to this, I'd learned a lesson.
When someone falls, they fall to the very bottom.
Everyone acknowledges that it's okay to attack someone who's already a target.
For just the slightest moment, I stopped moving.
I'd thought that I was prepared for anything at this school, no matter how bad it got, but I'd still gotten a little upset. I still had some ways to go. I was embarrassed at myself for losing my presence of mind for even an instant over something so stupid.
Well, if this was all, then there were still ways to deal with it.
I quickly pulled myself together and grabbed the garbage that had been put in my shoe locker. And then I focused my sixth sense on the people around me… Good, my stealth ability is still intact. It seemed I could still use it in a crowded and chaotic environment.
Once I'd made sure that nobody was paying attention to me, I reexamined the position of my shoe cubby.
Since our student numbers were assigned based on phonetic order, the number right before mine was Hayama's, and right before that was Tobe. Before that was Totsuka. The shoe cubbies were also assigned based on our student numbers, so our four names were in the same order.
This is divine providence!
I put the garbage I'd grabbed into Tobe's shoe cubby, which was positioned relatively close to mine.
…Forgive me, Tobe. Just as I had become a sacred sacrifice to someone else's dark pleasure, this was a necessary sacrifice for myself.
Well, it was a decent enough self-defense ploy. I could use it anywhere or on anyone, but this time around, it was effective.
My hands were dirty now, so I shook them off with a clap and calmly left the area.
Then from behind, I heard some overly excited voices. It seemed Tobe had finished morning practice and was running in through the front entrance.
I glanced back to see that he was saying his hellos to his various friends as he stuck his hand into his shoe cubby.
"Heeey, bro! Wait, huh?" Tobe froze, apparently sensing something was off. And then, with some trepidation, he pulled out his indoor shoes. "Huh…? Ahhh! For real?! What?! Hey, hold up, huh?!" That dramatic yell drew everyone's attention.
As the crowd watched Tobe from a slight distance, a few who looked like friends of his came up to him and burst into laughter.
"Whoa, Tobe, this is pretty hilarious."
"Pfft, that's bullying, isn't it?"
Tobe responded to each comment with melodrama. "Hold on, man! There's, like, garbage in my shoe locker! What the hell, am I getting bullied?! Hey, am I getting bullied?!"
Despite his volume, his brave front was somewhat transparent. Guilt pricked my heart. Urk, sorry, Tobe.
As I was silently apologizing, Hayama was weaving through the people around Tobe. Like Tobe, he had to be returning from morning practice. "Tobe, keep it down…" Hayama was low energy and seemed annoyed with Tobe's wailing into every corner in the school.
But Tobe just got more excited, as if to make up for Hayama's lack of enthusiasm. He gets so worked up when he sees Hayama; does he have a crush on the guy…?
"Hey, Hayatoooo! Listen, oh my god. Someone put some trash in my shoe cubby! Like from Pocky or Kari-Kari Ume. Oh, and there was Otoko-Ume in there, too!"
"…" Hayama's expression suddenly hardened. Still silent, he reached into his own shoe cubby and froze, glaring into the darkness.
But only for a moment.
He pulled out his shoes and shoved his feet into them, turning around and smiling at Tobe. There was none of the coldness that had been there before. "You should keep your shoe cubby cleaner. Maybe someone just mistook it for a garbage bin. Take your indoor shoes home sometimes to wash."
"Hey, Hayato! Brutal!"
"I'm joking. If this happens again, we'll find some way to deal with it.
Right now, let's go leave our things in the clubroom." Hayama flicked
Tobe in the forehead, and as Tobe's head snapped back a little, Hayama lightly patted his shoulder and prodded him on to their clubroom.
"Dude, this is nuts. The Ministry of Education was full of crap saying bullying doesn't exist at this school. This is why I hate politicians!" As he walked off, Tobe continued to loudly complain.
Impressive reaction. I doubt there are many who'd take a hit like this in such an annoying way. What's more, he was spreading the information around as if he had to get attention out of it right now.
I have nothing against Tobe. It's not even about liking or hating him—I just don't really care about the guy. Shoving that garbage into Tobe's shoe cubby wasn't about resentment; it was self-defense.
Tobe is an attention-getter, so his publicizing this info would prevent whoever had surreptitiously pulled this move from making any further direct attacks. There was no need for the perpetrator to be watching this spectacle. They'd eventually hear it through the grapevine.
It was a gamble as to whether Tobe would make a scene about this, but I believed Tobe would. He may not look it, but he's a pretty bland character when you get down to his core. He might have been genuinely stunned, but knowing Tobe, he'd opt for making a scene to defend himself. He wouldn't take it as bullying that he should worry about; he would accept it as teasing or nice material for a joke, diverting the issue toward humorous banter.
There were two reasons I thought that to be the case.
The first is because Tobe's kind of a ditz. My hopeful hypothesis had been that he'd get the conversation going in a lighthearted direction.
The second was Tobe's own position. Since he was associated with the top caste, there would be a tendency to assume he wouldn't take hits like that, and most of all, he had supportive backing if he ever did. That was why he could deal with it as a joke. Or maybe he has a pride that kept him from letting people see him get down.
Whichever it was, this may have been the first time I'd ever been thankful to Tobe. His spreading this around would make it harder for the culprit to do anything. There was no need for me to bother looking for them. There was nothing to be gained. If there were no more attacks, then it's all good. And even if it did continue, then I'd sacrifice someone else when that time came.
Fwa-ha-ha-ha! Too bad for you! Perhaps until now such underhanded methods may have worked for you, but I'm three times more underhanded than you guys think! By the way, I'm also a sneak, too! …Phew.
But was I hated enough that someone would do something like this? That was a little surprising. Well, being that I don't involve myself much with others, this may have been the only way they could attack. This shouldn't escalate any further, but…
Pondering the future, I headed off to the classroom.
Going up the stairs, I turned the corner to walk toward 2-F when I realized it was particularly quiet. Though it was normally stupidly loud, right at that moment, the only noise was murmurs like ripples.
Scanning all the way down to the end of the hallway, I noticed everyone was watching something while keeping their distance. They'd stare for a bit, only to look away again and whisper and giggle to each other.
I looked over to the center of the storm.
There was Minami Sagami.
And then there was Haruka and Yukko.
A crowd had formed a circle around the three of them. Some were standing on Haruka and Yukko's side, while others were standing in the center. There were students near Sagami, too. I caught sight of Yuigahama among them.
At a glance, I could immediately tell they were arguing about something.
I gave them a curious look, and Yuigahama noticed me and trotted up.
"What's going on here?" I asked, and she leaned in to bring her mouth close to my ear. Hey, that's too close.
"So Sagamin said hi to someone, and they ignored her or something, and now it's kind of a fight…" She breathed a tired sigh against my ear, making a shiver run down my neck, but this didn't seem like the time to point that out.
The aforementioned trio was glaring angrily at each other. Judging from where they were standing, it seemed Sagami had run into Haruka and Yukko when she'd been about to go into the classroom, and that was when they'd ignored her.
Because she was practically barring the door at the rear of the classroom, the students of Class F were going in and out of the door at the front of the room.
Another hassle… Should I stop this or break it up? Unable to decide, I looked over at Yuigahama. It seemed she was also considering what to do.
How we advised them now would affect the relationships among the committee. No advantage seemed to be had here, whether we joined Sagami's side or Haruka and Yukko's side.
So then I guess a good plan would be to leave this stalemate and wait for time to run out…
I was about to give up, but there was one person here who would overturn the situation all on her own.
"Hey, I'm trying to get through here." That was all Yumiko Miura said as she scattered the onlookers, striding briskly up to the three girls. Her loosely curled golden locks swaying, she surveyed the group with displeasure.
Sagami, Haruka, and Yukko all hesitantly retreated and took the opportunity to disperse.
The queen sallying forth will easily scatter the rank and file.
She had silenced both parties without any mediation or smoothing of matters.
Whoa, Miura…
Thanks to her, that morning's incident came to a close.
But these hot coals wouldn't cool off so easily. The embers would keep burning oh so slowly, and the moment the wind turned, they would flare up and burn us.
6. But even so, Meguri Shiromeguri is watching.
Class started in first period, and I gently turned my neck around as if I was trying to get the stiffness out of my shoulders. I caught sight of Sagami out of the corner of my eye, stealing a glance for just an instant. She was slouched over, her downcast gaze not even twitching.
How had the skirmish in the hallway that morning affected Minami Sagami? I wanted to find out.
Thus far, the conflict had been confined to the Sports Festival Committee, but with the incident that morning, it had spread to her day-to-day business as well. It had encroached into her real life, so to speak. Until this point, she would have been able to pretend she'd forgotten it all once the event itself was over, but now a clear, lingering discomfort remained.
It seemed that fact was slowly sinking in. Her usual, vaguely irritating "poor me" act quieted down, and I could tell she was in low spirits just by glancing over.
It wasn't funny to me, but I didn't feel sorry for her, either.
I don't have many opinions about Minami Sagami in the first place. Though she has annoyed the hell out of me, it's never been more than that. This is partly because we never had much of a connection to begin with, but also because I doubt we'll have anything to do with each other moving forward.
However, if I were to consider the matter from a purely objective standpoint, then I could offer an extremely brief—a very simple— impression of her.
In short, she's a common snob.
And she might be the most human of anyone I know.
If you count purity and sincerity as characteristic of cute animals, then Sagami's slyness is a characteristic unique to people. She deceives, coaxes, pretends, brags, and exaggerates her own merit. Those are some very human acts.
But the way she builds a pack and deals with her community is similar to that of animals, so on the other hand, you could take her to be a highly developed animal. I suppose the closest comparison might be apes like chimpanzees and bonobos. They are bound by hierarchy and rank, but they'll occasionally make use of their intellect or shriek to intimidate others.
Being constantly bound by the intracommunity hierarchy and concerned with its workings is who Minami Sagami is.
There are also those who will build a pack in a different sort of way.
Like Yumiko Miura.
If I wanted to make an analogy to how she makes a pack, she's like a tiger.
You might say she forms her pack to maintain territory, to protect and raise her children. This behavior tends to bring about a sort of maternal impression, but of course, to any other creatures, her claws and fangs are purely a source of fear. I mean, she really is scary…
Therefore, even if both girls have built packs, these packs have completely different nuances.
I wouldn't say that one of them is right and the other is wrong.
Both of them are right, of course. In society, the number of people you have is what makes you right, and what is right continuously changes depending on where you stand. If I must say, then perhaps the only point where they agree is that being alone is bad.
If that analysis seems harsh, well, so was Class 2-F.
Should I describe it as the savanna? When such a (metaphorically) wild world suddenly manifests in a society as developed as ours, the herbivore males have no choice but to shut up. Man, it's just brutal. All this unbridled aggression makes you wonder if this is National Geographic. You feel such a threat to your life, it's like, a safari park would be a little quieter. I could almost smell the blood in the air.
After the incident that morning, the class was filled with a strange tension.
The cause of that was Miura and Sagami. It was nothing new to find them both grumpy, but their power dynamic had now been made clear.
Even during class, when you'd normally hear a bit of murmuring, it was particularly silent. The only sound was the occasional tapping of Miura's nails on her desk. The stress would give you a stomachache; you didn't even want to clear your throat. And it just kept going.
Everyone avoided looking at Miura—and at Sagami, the one she was clearly miffed at. I'm sure it was partly because they wanted to avoid conflict, but if anything, I think they were trying to be nice by leaving them alone. Miura's group of friends in particular, including Hayama, Yuigahama, and Ebina, seemed to understand how to approach her at times like this, and they didn't really try to talk to her about it.
I mean, if you're mad and someone asks you why, it'll make you even angrier—even if you recognize the kindness or concern behind it.
As the fine saying goes, "A wise man does not court danger," and the more intelligent sorts will not approach other people thoughtlessly. Making contact with others is essentially sowing the seeds of trouble. Therefore, loners are wise, and I'm a wise guy.
But anyway, of course once break hit, enough time had passed since morning, and the regular bustle had returned to the classroom. Or maybe they were just telling themselves that things were normal again by deliberately spending the time as usual and reminding themselves that no, really, nothing at changed.
These little deceptions are valuable social lubrication. For others; since I don't ever need them, I find them annoying and kind of disconcerting.
This depends on how you establish the definition of close, but if you're actually close with someone, you wouldn't have to be so careful around them, would you? It's because they're someone you're not close with that you act so careful. You show your care by not speaking to them or getting close to them. Loners are more than half kindness—we're 100 percent kindness.
Just as the sun always rises, the usual energy returned to the class with time. Miura was already back to normal, and though she still seemed a bit distracted, she was chatting with Ebina and Yuigahama about this and that.
Once I saw what she was doing, I took in the classroom as a whole.
Sagami, on the other hand, had quietly left the room. Even once break began, she wasn't spending it with her "friends" that day, her coconspirators in all the backbiting, complaints, gossip, and whining.
Sagami was extremely vain, so the events of that morning—being ignored by Haruka and Yukko, tons of people having seen their fight—seemed to hit her hard.
Occasionally, people will seek out isolation of their own accord. Though they normally abhor and ridicule the loner state, they'll say they want to be alone only when it's convenient to them. Isn't that a little selfish…?
But if she really did want to be alone, there was a proper way to go about it. Rule number one, she shouldn't try to gain someone's sympathy or attract their concern, which would debase her own value. It'd be like personally advertising that she was a weakling who couldn't define the meaning of her own life without the approval of others.
Sagami's group of friends had noticed how quiet she was and tried to talk to her casually.
But Sagami responded with a weak smile. "I just need a bit…" With that one remark, she quietly left her seat.
This behavior was clearly different from the past.
Distancing people, deliberately putting herself apart—this was different from before, back when she hadn't even known where to put herself without someone else's approval or consideration.
I had my doubts about this apparent transformation, and I followed her with my eyes.
I'll say it again: People don't change so easily. This is my pet theory.
If you could change yourself based on one single event, then it was never you to begin with.
Someone with an ego, with a conscious awareness of the self, will refuse change in some way. At our core, humans will always try to maintain a sense of identity.
If change still seems to have occurred, then there is just one cause: They fell, got hurt, and got torn to shreds, and finally learned that form of pain. The next time, they'll try to avoid pain instinctively. That behavior makes it look as if you've grown—that's all.
But once it's become a habit, it will, at some point, become something that defines you.
People are judged purely by their actions. An objective evaluation is essentially an assessment of your behavior. Therefore, even if your behavior started as instinctual crisis evasion, it can be a precursor to an outward, objective change—even if it isn't an intrinsic change.
I think it was Mother Teresa who said this: Thoughts become words, and words become actions. Those actions become habits, and habits become personality. And then personality will eventually become your fate, or something like that.
Ah, wise words from the mother. Nice stuff. She's great. Mother Farm is pretty amazing, too. Their soft-serve ice cream is absolutely delicious.
People are judged based on what comes to the surface: words, actions, and habits. Others will judge these things to be their individual personality, their character.
Could Sagami's change in behavior really be a precursor to something?
After school, the meeting room was buzzing even louder than before.
The biggest reason for that may have been that Miss Hiratsuka, our supervisor, had other business and was absent today. Even so, no one on the executive side was opening their mouths, while the crew were just aimlessly chatting on and on.
If it had been like this before the start of the meeting, this wouldn't have been at all strange. It's normal to have a bit of small talk when people get together.
Unfortunately, right now we were right in the middle of a meeting that was deteriorating.
Of course, no matter how apathetic these kids were, this was a group of high schoolers, so they were still sitting quietly in their seats. But the low murmurs filling the room as they whispered to each other were as unceasing as the sea.
Haruka and Yukko were at its center. They were both total NPCs, as usual, and I couldn't really tell one from the other. And there were a bunch of other kids sitting in a huddle with them, which just made it worse. It was peak NPC energy over there.
While the executives sat at the front of the room in an open square, the crew was loud but also together in an unshakable group. The way our two sides were set up, it was like they were different tribes trying to hold each other in check.
"Um…if each team could give reports on their current progress…" Sagami hesitantly tried to cut through the chatter.
But no one replied.
"…First, the building projects, I guess. How is the entrance gate going?" Meguri asked, unable to stand by and do nothing.
Well, if we'd been dealing with people who were motivated, then the way Sagami had given instructions would've been fine. People who are driven will do what needs to be done themselves. But where we were now, with motivation at rock bottom, you had to narrow down your point, give precise instructions, and indicate specific people, or nobody would react.
I assumed Meguri was asking the crew, but Yuigahama was the one to stand up. "Oh yeah. We're just about done building the admissions gate, so now it just needs paint and decorations…so yeah."
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Meguri responded with a bright smile, but her eyes turned a little grim. No surprise there. Most of the buildingrelated stuff had been assigned to the crew, and we'd also decided who was in charge of what. The ones raising their hands to report now should have been those people.
But now that us executives were involved, they'd decided that the authority had been delegated to us.
Well, I could understand that feeling. It was basically like we were taking back work from them before it was done.
This was a sort of negative spiral: Right now, it wasn't only motivation being lost—a sense of responsibility was disappearing at the same time. The unspoken rule was becoming I don't need to do it myself, so I'll just leave it to someone else.
The attitude shift of the crew was becoming clear: We're being forced to do this and We're doing them a favor. We were the ones requesting their help, after all. And the way this had worked out, the story was that they were going to the trouble of finding the time for us, despite being busy with their club activities.
It was clear which party had the upper hand. If they were being paid with some reward, then things would have been somewhat different, but there was no guarantee they'd get anything. Since we weren't offering any compensation, it would be difficult to motivate them.
Though I could clearly see where we were stuck, the meeting continued.
"Next are the two major events… How are those going?" Meguri inquired, looking over at Yukinoshita. The executive side was essentially managing these things. But still, since all the other miscellaneous work had increased, we couldn't quite do everything.
"We've reviewed the traffic flow for the boys' event. As for the pending issue of the captains, we're about to select one for the red team and check with Hayama," Yukinoshita replied without hesitation.
Well, the pole pull-down wouldn't need much prep. The rules were simple; we just had to pick out the captains and then it was done.
The problem was the other one—the Chibattle.
"As for the girls' event…," Yukinoshita began, and a particularly loud swell of murmurs rose from the crowd. Looking to the epicenter, I saw some girls with their heads together like they were whispering about a secret.
And then one of them timidly raised her hand. Yukinoshita acknowledged her with a slight nod. "…If you have something to say, go ahead."
Now that I was really looking, I saw it was Haruka.
"Um… Well, it's about this…chicken fight? You know…it's a little…," Haruka said slowly, looking not at Yukinoshita but at her friends, as if she was verifying her answers.
Patiently, we waited for her to continue.
Then Yuigahama sighed in her chair off to the side. What a coincidence—me too. No matter how I thought about it, whatever Haruka had for us was gonna be trouble.
She was being vague because it was something that was hard to say, and things that are hard to say are never good. People are always like this when they're talking to me, so I understand. What the heck, I'm ridiculously psychic; this is wild. Maybe my dad is gonna make me pose nude for a painting.
What was coming next? I could guess the gist of it, but Yukinoshita chose to prompt her to continue. "A little…what?"
Yukinoshita's gaze was always sharp, but when she enunciated so clearly, it cut like blades of ice. Haruka flinched, but then she seemed to remember the great number of allies at her back, and she stumbled her way through the rest. "Um, we were thinking, maybe a chicken fight is a little dangerous… You know, some clubs have tournaments coming up, so we don't really want to do anything where someone could get hurt…" After the end of her argument, she gulped.
There came the slightest pause—who was it for, I wonder? In the dead silence, we all hesitated.
The one to break the ice was, surprisingly, Sagami. Her chair scraped, and she stood. "Wh-why are you bringing this up now…?!" Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly; she had nothing else to say. When Haruka and Yukko looked at one another, her shoulders trembled.
"I've been thinking this for a while, but…"
"…We have our clubs, too."
Neither Haruka nor Yukko averted their eyes. They had a fair point. In their temporary reconciliation with Sagami, the implicit agreement had been that clubs would take priority. That had also been expressed in what they'd said themselves about "cooperating as much as possible." And since all of us executives, including Sagami, had turned a blind eye to that, we'd justified their views. Fundamentally, we should have argued in that moment, even if it seemed like we were splitting hairs. Making that one concession meant it would be used as a basis to press us for even more.
What she had to do now was shoot them down. That wouldn't be the wrong response. They were trying to make a demand without going through the proper procedure; it was a bad idea to accept this.
The executives gave Meguri silent eye signals, seeking confirmation on how to deal with this, and Meguri picked up on them but shook her head with a small smile. Then she looked over to Sagami.
Meguri intended to leave this to her.
And as for Sagami herself, she was biting her lip.
"But we've already decided…" Sagami barely managed a retort, so quiet it was hard to hear. Haruka and Yukko glanced at her and then back at the crowd, then made eye contact before facing Sagami again.
"But, like, if it was a bad decision, then I think we should fix it now."
"Plus, we've had some time to think about it now, you know?"
The pair of them threw down their counterarguments as if they'd prepared them from the beginning.
Oh, they probably had.
That was exactly why they were sitting in that arrangement. It was reasonable to assume they'd seated themselves together to fortify their surroundings with those of similar opinions. The fastest way to put on pressure is to have a numerical advantage in the background.
From even before the meeting, and now during the meeting, they've been giving little complaints on the level of small talk, secretly saying mean things. That makes it easy to nurture antagonism, and it would bring out any number of complaints about Sagami and the executives. Underlings always have complaints, no matter where they are.
Bad-mouthing is exponential. It balloons like a double-or-nothing game in a sort of synergistic effect. Even if each individual complaint is small, when they all come together, they're taken seriously. Sooner or later, it will even delude people into thinking they're messengers of justice here to right the wrongs, warriors of a revolution.
The perception that there are others who think similarly will justify your own underhanded behavior. If everyone thinks the same, then you can blindly accept that your own way of thinking is right.
That was the case right here, right now.
By clearly rejecting our plan, they had caused a stir that would shake up everyone with latent dissatisfaction. Once that dissatisfaction was public knowledge, those people would align with Haruka and Yukko.
To prevent that, the executives had to execute firm leadership and mercilessly beat down that faction's opinions immediately. Just as in the world of beasts, they had to make a clear show of who was stronger.
If this were Yukinoshita, she probably would have done that. Even if their line of argument was only slightly irrational, she would have immediately struck it down. Yuigahama would smile and smooth things over, saying something like Wellll… as she searched for an easygoing way to negotiate. Either would have figured out a way out of this situation.
But before we could make a move, Sagami quietly spoke. "But it's kind of late for that now…," she muttered weakly. She looked anxious and pale. She swayed and thumped into her chair like she was collapsing into it.
The tide of battle had been decided.
Now that Sagami, the leader of the executive side, had given in, the murmurs spread like ripples on the surface of water.
"A chicken fight really would be dangerous," someone muttered— not Haruka or Yukko. Someone else from the crew must have said it.
Another voice followed. "And our tournament is coming up…"
"Whose fault will it be if someone gets hurt?"
Voices rose here and there, then blazed up like wildfire. Everyone said whatever they wanted, and then more people joined in until it was beyond control. The meeting room became a crucible of complaints and grievances until a loud clap rang out.
"Okay, attention!"
I looked over to see that Meguri was standing. "We understand all your doubts. We'll be sure to think up a plan to deal with them," she declared, and she quickly ended the discussion.
As expected of someone with her experience, she was quick to handle the situation. It would be best to end the meeting now and beat out the sparks before they spread. Cutting it off a little earlier would have been better, but Meguri had the tendency to keep her silence to test Sagami. But, well, since we were doing something similar, I couldn't complain.
"For now, let's get the other tasks going," Meguri said to keep this conversation from dragging on any further.
But the people in the crew shared looks and whispered to each other. They weren't going to let the discussion end here, were they?
Many of them were eyeing her with doubt.
Though it was quite clear from the beginning that Haruka and Yukko's protests were just quibbles from a couple of particularly brazen girls, I couldn't say for certain that their concerns were unmerited. It was true that we, as the executives, should have been considering safety measures. I could understand that they'd get a bit sensitive with the clubs' tournaments so close.
But if you're gonna make that argument, then you shouldn't be in regular gym classes, either…
You can bump into things while you're walking, and running will lead to falls. People will always get hurt. Just by being alive, you'll be hurt and hurt others—that's how it goes.
But still, there was no point in my proclaiming such ideals or principles now. We had to present something that could make them back down right that moment, or they weren't going to let us drop it.
The crew were putting the pressure on with their looks—scornful and unhappy. They'd just been taking orders all this time; the way they saw it, the incompetent executives couldn't give clear guidelines to address this important problem. Griping about trivial things but then not showing leadership when it counts most is what a useless boss would do.
But if they didn't take us seriously enough, they might run into trouble.
We had a natural-born competitive type here who would respond if someone threw down the gauntlet so hard. What's more, she was ridiculously capable.
Until then, Yukino Yukinoshita had remained silent with crossed arms, but then she unfolded them and quietly raised her hand.
"Go ahead, Yukinoshita," Meguri said.
Yukinoshita silently rose to her feet, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker. "To deal with this, given the current situation, there are a number of plans that will work."
Realizing something was beginning, the whole meeting room focused its attention on her as Yukinoshita started writing in smooth strokes across the board. "A first aid team will be on hand, for one, and we'll be cooperating with the local fire department. There will be strict adherence to the rules, more severe punishments for infractions, and tighter monitoring. Of course, this will require some personnel…" As she spoke, she continued to write. Maybe it was her calmness that left everyone with their mouths hanging open.
And then after writing a little more, she spun around to face us. "We'll establish the first aid team ourselves after a consultation with the school nurse, and I believe the school can contact the local fire department to formally propose the plan." She shot a look over at Meguri, who nodded back at her.
"I don't think that'll be a problem. The student council will make a request to the school."
After swiftly acquiring her assent, Yukinoshita moved on without giving the others time to slip in any questions. "Students will be made aware of the rules in writing beforehand, and we'll also have the teachers help with supervision. This should curtail any dangerous behavior…"
This well-reasoned explanation was so like Yukinoshita.
The crew all reflected carefully on every item mentioned. I could see some of them consulting with each other in murmurs and hushed voices.
"What do we do?"
"Well, if that's the plan…"
"But you know…"
"Right?"
This wasn't really an exchange of opinions—more like a confirmation of feelings. They were reading the implications while also turning the atmosphere in their favor.
This high-context conversation went on, and eventually, it converged on our firebrands, Haruka and Yukko.
The two of them made a firm eye signal, and this time, Yukko timidly raised her hand. "But you can't be certain about that…" She seemed frightened, struggling to look up from the floor. She occasionally glanced over at Yukinoshita, as if she was trying to see how she was doing.
Yukinoshita met her gaze, never breaking eye contact, cold and clear. Yukko's voice gradually withered away. But she didn't retract any of it; she just ended with a quiet "Ahhh."
It seemed this was no longer a matter simple enough to be settled with logic. Even when you try undoing tangled thread, once it's got kinks in it, it'll just curl into knots again.
Plus, the executives were only pushing themselves to find a way to compromise with what the crew wanted, and that was all this was. Just one cog slipping out of place would make it all easily fall apart.
The silence continued for a long time. No—it was probably only a few seconds. But the air was so still, it sure felt like ages.
Though I doubt she had ever really been looking at the clock, Haruka slowly said, "We're about out of time…"
That remark prompted the others to look at the clock, too.
"A-anyway, since we have a plan to deal with this, for today…" Yuigahama reached up and lightly tugged on Yukinoshita's sleeve.
"…Yes. Let's work this out and organize a foolproof plan."
"Then let's call it a day. Great work, everyone! Oh, those who have tasks, do stay behind," Meguri said, after Yukinoshita was done speaking. The gentleness of her tone undid the unease all at once, and after that, the room felt less suffocating.
There was a sluggish, stagnating air among those who stayed behind to work, but Haruka and Yukko immediately left. A few more followed. Since we'd promised to keep from overburdening the clubs, we couldn't criticize them for it.
Those remaining here watched them go. The executives breathed short sighs.
But these were not at all sighs of relief. In fact, I'd call them sighs of resignation.
The problem was more deeply rooted than I had thought.
After time ran out on the meeting and then our time for tasks was over, we were thoroughly reminded that we hadn't resolved a single thing.
In the end, the executives would be stuck working at full force that day, too. With the time and people we had left, and the new safety measures sprouting up on top of that, it really didn't feel like we'd make it.
Since so many of us were gone, the cool fall wind breezed right through from the open window.
An "open office" clearly means one with few people, I thought as I considered the exploitative labor environment I was stuck in.