#173

 

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Shizuku said.

“Let’s compete in the three-legged race in the sports festival.”

In response, I replied, “…Well, if someone’s available.”

 

However, there’s no way that’s going to happen.
After all, they and I are different.

Their demand and value is fundamentally different from mine.

 

So this is inevitable.
It was only natural for them to look at me sadly as I left the place where the conversations were still going on.

 

 

 

The campus is buzzing because of the student council elections.
However, the normal routine of the students never stopped, and at the same time, there is something else going on in parallel.

The main attraction of the second term, the Sports festival and the Cultural festival.

 

Each grade and classes were holding their discussions.
Once the student council elections were over, the next event would be the Sports Festival, which was just around the corner, and the Cultural Festival would be held after the second-year students’ school trip.

 

The official appointment of committee members would be made after the elections, but the school was so impatient that they had already decided on the sports events for the gymnastic festival.

 

A boy and a girl stand willingly in front of the teacher’s table, not having been nominated by anyone.
If I remember correctly, they were from the basketball team.

 

The boy acted as the host and the girl as the secretary, writing on the blackboard the events for the sports festival and the tentative date and time for the cultural festival and the rules, etc., and then the verbal explanations began.

 

Having experienced this last year, it was not something that I listened to that intently, but I watched the flow of the conversation with my elbows on the desk and my cheeks upon it.
The events explained to us were simple, and all of them were the same as those held at elementary and junior highs.

 

There’s not much that’s new.
I realized that the sports festival was nothing more than a meaningless event in my mind when I was looking for something new.

 

“The sports events should have been decided much later, shouldn’t it?”

 

“…Committee members also have substantial work to do at the sports festival, since their work is to set up and run the festival. …And the real work comes in at the cultural festival.”

 
I gave a prepared response to Kirasaka, who shared a similar sentiment to mine.

What came back instead of a response from her was a sigh.

 

 

I could understand her feelings.
Anyone would have done so if they saw the situation written on the blackboard in front of them.

 

Next to the names of the competitions were written the surnames of the contestants, and everywhere there were the names of Kanazaki, Ogiwara, and Kirasaka.
Taking advantage of the fact that there is no limit to the number of times they can compete, they take advantage of it here and there.

 

Being popular surely is tough…
I’m not sure if my classmates intended it that way, but that’s the way it looked to me.

 

“I never said I was going to participate…”

 

“That’s to be expected, if you ask me.”

 

We are the third class of the second year with Yuuto, Shizuku, and Kirasaka. All of the second-year stars were present here, and we also have a good number of athletes in our sports club.

If there is a grade-wise championship at the sports festival, our class is sure to win.

 

However, there is no system here in which each class participated to aim for the top of the grade.
Instead, each class is divided into different colors, and the three grades compete as teams according to their colors…

 

If that were all there was to it, the competition itself would end up being an ordinary, uninteresting athletic festival.

But if you recall the previous ball game, you’ll understand.

 

In order to motivate students to participate, our school has set some prizes.
Even at the ball game, which was just a grade event, students received meal coupons for their classes, so naturally, this year’s sports festival will also have such prizes.

 

Discussions for this purpose were held by the student council during the summer vacation, and the budget meeting has already been done with Miura taking the lead.

Of course, the student council alone cannot make the decisions.

No matter how much authority Hiiragi Akane has, there’s no exception.

However, the student council can have a good influence in the decision-making since it is their duty to summarize the proposal and the general budget and submit it to the staff meeting as the opinion of the students.

As a result, the school must be pleased with the fact that the students are eagerly holding class discussions even after the classes are over.

 

Still, this kind of group activity and competition is an area in which I am truly weak.

I am not good at conversation and this kind of atmosphere, and to be honest, I would like to take a temporary sick leave.

 

However, I heard that the student council also has work to do on the day, and I don’t think Shizuku and Yuuto will allow me to get sick.
So, I kept silent and did not interfere in the discussions.

I was relieved every time my name was not written in the event list, which was filled in one after another.

However, it was not the same with my brain.

Not because my name is not mentioned, but because of the selfish proceedings of the class…

The atmosphere, their mood, is a terrible thing.
Against the young atmosphere, there’s no point arguing.

It’s better to keep a check at the expressions of the people around you, and the one who doesn’t, is in line is wrong.

Even if they are right, they are said to be disturbing the group.

That is the situation before us.

 

 

In the corner of my eye, I saw Shizuku and Yuuto being asked by many students to participate in a competition.
It is not a strange sight.

 

In fact, I thought, ‘If these three were to participate, they would be unbeatable.’

I thought that, but I also thought that I should not say it.

 

The reason is simple.

It would force them to do something they did not want to.

 

These people don’t understand this.
They are the people who can’t do anything you ask them to do.

 

‘They can do anything, they can do it’ are the things that occupy their minds, so they take it for granted.

They can do it, so it is natural to rely on them.

 

They rely on them without thinking twice about doing their best on their own.

It is neither trust nor friendship.

It’s …just a relationship that seems to have been put together somehow.

In this modern age, where everyone’s will is the class decision. And even if they are not willing to be a part of it, they are pushed aside because their classmates want them to be.

 

Humans are selfish creatures, and they are very loyal to their desires.
But since even high school students in their mid-teens are becoming increasingly self-centered, the future would be even more scarier.

They are fixated on the outcome and distracted from the process.

Moreover, it’s even worse because they replace it with pretty words like youth, friendship, and trust.

Most people love it, people like me hate it, it’s the normal perception of students.

 

“If the three of you go out, I can bet that we’re going to win!”

 

“Even the seniors want the three of you out, so what do you think?”

 

As classmates, both male and female, flocked to the three of them, Yuuto smiled bitterly and pretended to be lost before Shizuku expressed her negative opinion.

 

“Ahaha, …won’t it be a bit too much?”

 

“…Since it’s an event, I think we should have a good number of events for everyone to participate in so that everyone can enjoy themselves.”

 

It seems to be a grueling task, even for the prince of the school.
The actual number of events is going to be the most important.

 

At Shizuku’s words, several students look at each other.

But they are not convinced, and one of the boys takes one look at the students standing at the corner of the class and tells them.

 

“But we’re not even in the discussion, and some of you don’t want to be in it, right?”

 

“Yeah, and everyone wants to win.”

 

The girls added their own words to the boy’s opinion, as if in agreement with him.

No, we’re not participating, though, aren’t we?

If not speaking up means you are not participating, then most of us are not participating.

 

 

But, well, …they’re not entirely wrong, either.　
They probably don’t even want to participate in these discussions.

When you get right down to it, they may not even want to participate even in the sports festival altogether.

 

Even if they claim to be united, in the end, they will not be given a chance to play an active role.

So, they don’t even speak up in the discussions that the high ranking students in the class are having without any intention of having their opinions taken into consideration.

 

However, I am sure that they are screaming complaints in their hearts right now.
But that’s because I have similar feelings, and Shizuku herself was just expressing her honest opinion.

So, it’s not a mistake, and from an objective point of view, it’s a good argument.
However, the reason why they cannot admit it is probably because today’s students are trying their best, trying to fit in with the surroundings.

 

Only one-sided progress is made, and the talks proceed with the majority opinion.

At the point when the three students were not willing to go along, their classmates could have just assigned them to a normal event.

 

This development was predictable as soon as we were in the same class as them.
I thought that the three of them would play a central role in future events.

 

I really hate it.
It’s amazing that I can even think of enjoying my days with this.

 

I silently grabbed my luggage and stood up from the spot.
Naturally, this action drew a lot of attention from my classmates.

 

However, without telling them anything, I headed for the classroom doorway.

It was a voluntary after-school gathering, not mandatory.

 

So, even if the event one was competing in was no longer their choice, shouldn’t they be free to go home?

Staying here and waiting for the results would be nothing but meaningless time.

 

“…Ah, Minato, Student Council?”

 

“…”

 

Yuuto asked me standing at the center of the class.

Our gazes crossed and I felt like he realized what I was thinking leaving the room like that.

 

The first thing he did was to ask me if I was going to the student’s council.
If a person is going to leave without a reason, he or she will naturally be antagonized.

 

“Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be any events that I’m going to attend.”

 

I said, pointing to the almost filled blackboard.

 

“Besides, …if the goal is to win, you don’t need any of us.”

 

I told him that meant including the students who looked uncomfortable besides me.

 

 

In this kind of group discussion, people of lower ranking have less power to speak.

 

However, it would be effective for these guys, who instantly see unity and friendship as special when it comes to these events.

Even if we are not friends, they all love to say that we are classmates…

 

Even if they said those words because they wanted Yuuto and the others to participate, they would be less likely to say terrible things if they created an atmosphere that hurt their classmates…

 

 

What a calculating, twisted tactic.
I could almost admire myself.

 

However, at the same time, I thought.
I had become too accustomed to the same environment that I hated so much.

 

I had only conveniently thought that it to meant that I had adapted to the change in environment, but the essence hadn’t changed at all.

I knew I couldn’t be as carefree as Yuuto and his friends and be harmonious …with everyone in the class.

 

If this is what you call friendship and communication skills, I don’t need such skills, and I don’t need more friendship.

 

“If you want to …do it, go ahead and do it yourself.”

 

My true feelings, which no one could hear, were spilled out unconsciously.

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