I was at a loss for what to do from the opening ceremony until the afternoon.
Other students from my class were participating in morning events like the ball toss and tug of war, but I was only entered in the afternoon borrowing race and mixed relay, so I had nothing particular to do during this time.
Since there’s no rule that says we have to stay in the cheering section while waiting, I thought about returning to the school building.
Besides, the main characters this time are the cheerleaders, not me, so it shouldn’t be a problem if the class representative isn’t around, right…?
Fortunately, I’m not the one in the spotlight.
In other words, I don’t need to appear in front of people or perform my usual act.
All my close friends are in the morning events, so I had relatively more freedom.
What to do… Maybe I could go see him…
A classmate comes to mind.
By “him” I mean Yamanaga Takumi, who has been coming to my house three times a week as a housekeeping service since this school year.
Taking advantage of being assigned only to my requests, he had the audacity to join a club.
He says it’s because he can’t get a part-time job and it’s mostly to kill time…
If he has that much time, why doesn’t he just come to my house instead of going to club activities…
…! T-This, um… I-It’s not like I want him to come or anything, but if he does, I won’t have to do the chores that day, so it would make things easier for me! Don’t get the wrong idea, me!
I correct my thoughts that had run wild on their own.
I’ve done this several times already.
Haa… What’s wrong with me… thinking about these things…
To have my heart stirred up like this…
I mean, what’s with that!
Doing the club stall just the two of them!
It seems to be Eri-san’s idea, but there’s no reason for it other than wanting to show off that they’re running a shop together.
And he just goes along with it, like “if Eri-san says so, then okay”!
Geez… it’s not fair…
I don’t know why, but… it frustrates me.
It’s a feeling of my chest being tightly squeezed.
If I were to see them preparing together like this…
I’m not confident I could maintain my school persona.
A-Anyway, I don’t need to go right now.
I might just get in the way of their preparations.
Y-Yeah. This isn’t about me needing time to sort out my feelings, it’s about being considerate of them!
Having to deceive myself like this…
I’ve led such a perfect school life until now, and yet one thing like this threatens to destroy my character.
And it’s all his fault.
「After the sports festival is over, you better remember… I’m definitely going to make you work hard.」
I glare at the club building where he’s at.
Certain emotions were swirling inside me.
〇
「Honestly, I didn’t expect you to come. I thought you’d be at the cafeteria stall.」
「I-It’s just that I was a bit interested after hearing about it from you. And the cafeteria is too crowded for my liking…」
After Hoshino finished shopping at our stall, we walked part of the way together, me heading out to advertise the shop and her returning to her classroom.
It seems Hoshino came to our stall purely out of curiosity.
Proof of that is both her hands are holding chilled fruit and a sports drink she just bought from us.
「So? Our shop was pretty good, right?」
「Yeah, I guess. Well, the products were decent…」
「Just decent? Even though you bought more fruit for seconds??」
「…! T-This is for my friends! I-I can’t eat all this by myself, can I!?」
We’re selling them for 200 yen each, with fruit packed into containers like the cut fruit sold at supermarkets.
We designed it so one would be satisfying enough, but when she asked for two more after eating one on the spot, I thought she was some kind of gluttonous monster, but it seems it was my misunderstanding.
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「I see, then it would help if you could advertise to your friends. Honestly, having your endorsement makes a world of difference.」
Her being known as the soothing Hoshino, her advertising would have an enormous effect given her high profile at school.
But from her perspective, it must be a hassle…
There’s no benefit for Hoshino to go out of her way to do it.
I was thinking that, but her response was unexpected.
「I-It’s fine, though…」
Honestly, I thought she’d say something like “Why should I…?” and be annoyed, so I was surprised to see her agree so readily.
「Really?」
「W-What!? Isn’t it obvious?? I’m offended that you look at me like “What’s up with her?”, though.」
「No, it’s just unexpected… you’re usually so defiant.」
「Listen… it’s not like I enjoy being contrary! I only speak up when I disagree! It’s offensive to call me defiant!」
Whether it was my misunderstanding or her lack of self-awareness, I couldn’t judge because there were no third parties watching.
The only thing I could say was that Hoshino looked dissatisfied.
「Don’t get mad… I’m sorry.」
「I-I’m not mad…」
「Liar. You’re making the same face as that time.」
「S-Shut up…」
「I said I’m sorry… please cheer up.」
「I’m not mad… about what you just said…」
Hoshino mutters while looking away.
「Then, what are you mad about?」
「You should know…」
「Impossible. If I were that perceptive, I wouldn’t be making you make that face right now.」
Lately, I’ve been spending more time with Eri-san, and the only time I have with Hoshino is during the housekeeping service.
That’s how it should be, the typical relationship between a housekeeping service and a client, but before the sports festival preparations started, I used to stay for dinner and we talked about various things.
However, recently, due to the sports festival preparations, we’ve both been short on time, and it hasn’t been uncommon for me to just do the bare minimum of chores and leave.
「M-Maybe… you were lonely because we didn’t talk much…?」
「T-T-T-That’s not it at all! D-Don’t get so full of yourself!!」
「No, that flustered reaction means I hit the mark, right…?」
「I-It’s not that, i-it’s different. T-This is because you suddenly said something embarrassing.」
「I mean, I can’t think of any other reason. See? You realize now how bad I am at reading the situation?」
I can’t think of any other reason why Hoshino would be in a bad mood.
Well, if she had heard about that, there might be one thing, but… surely not.
After taking a deep breath, she looked at me straight in the eye.
「Hey… don’t you have something to say to me right now…?」
A silence fell between us.
If this were a game of catch, it’s my turn.
But I didn’t know what to say.
Because if I say it, it means taking away her precious time.
Is it okay to prioritize my own wishes?
As I ponder, time continues to tick away.
「…Nothing? …If not, I’m going.」
Just as she started to walk away, I instinctively grabbed her hand.
「W-What?」
Hoshino just stares straight at me.
Now, is this the right thing to do?
I don’t know the answer myself.
Without checking if I was right, I opened my mouth, driven only by the emotions of the moment.