Chapter 6: My Boyfriend’s Friend
After recovering from illness, my first day back at school.
I entered the classroom a little earlier than usual, and after confirming that Hanazono was there, I quickly moved to Remi’s seat without her noticing.
“Good morning. I’ve made a full recovery.”
“……I see, congratulations.”
Remi replied curtly while widening her eyes in surprise.
“The porridge worked wonders. Getting completely cured in three days is seriously amazing.”
“It’s because you slept properly. I get it, so please move away.”
Though Remi spoke in a small voice, she responded normally.
Even though I was also speaking quietly in the latter half, this was a private conversation that no one else knew about. Given how Remi was the other day, she might have completely ignored me.
“Yeah, thanks. Anyway, here’s this.”
I took out a sweet bread from my bag and put it inside Remi’s desk.
“Wait, what are you doing… What’s this, bread? It’s not past its expiration date, is it?”
“How little do you trust me? No, it’s a thank-you gift for taking care of me.”
“Oh, is that what this is? You didn’t have to go out of your way.”
After showing an embarrassed smile, Remi slightly parted her lips.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah.”
I replied briefly and immediately headed to my own seat.
I placed my bag beside my desk and sat down, still feeling someone’s gaze on me.
In the corner of my vision, I could sense Remi looking this way.
While being aware of this, I began preparing for homeroom.
Nikaido Remi is special.
That’s an unchanging fact in my life.
She’s been my childhood friend until now and will continue to be.
It would be wrong to neglect other friends just because I got a girlfriend.
But—I need to be considerate of Hanazono.
That was my conclusion.
“Ah! Yoshiki-! Good morning!!”
“Ugh.”
The gal came running at full speed from the hallway.
I still had no idea what to do in situations like this.
“Provisional club membership?”
I let out a bewildered voice.
The homeroom teacher for Class 1-2, Hasegawa-sensei.
There were quite a few teachers in their twenties at this school, but perhaps because he was the grade supervisor, he was among the more composed ones.
I thought I’d been called to the faculty office to be given some menial tasks, but the content was actually much worse.
“That’s right. Join a club, even if it’s just provisional membership. I can’t keep covering for Yoshiki anymore. You know our school doesn’t officially recognize going straight home as a principle, right?”
“You’ve been covering for me…”
“Just a little. Really, just a little.”
Hasegawa-sensei appeared cold at first glance, but he had a reputation for surprisingly taking the students’ perspective.
But he really did seem to mean “just a little.”
“I’m sorry for taking advantage of your kindness, but there’s something I want to confirm first.”
“Hmm. What is it?”
Hasegawa-sensei’s expression became slightly more serious.
“Both Nikaido and Hanazono are technically in the ‘going home club,’ right? But they’re probably allowed.”
“Hanazono is in the student council. Nikaido was just exempted because she’s a transfer student, but I was planning to pressure her soon too.”
“Damn… Then is it okay if I join the club that Yuzuha is in?”
“The Fashion Club? No way, we’re planning to crack down on that place too.”
“It’s over!”
With all my options exhausted, I clutched my head with an “Ugah.”
Then I put my hands together impulsively.
“Sensei, please! Isn’t there any loophole that would let me stay in the going home club?”
“The only thing would be to actually create a ‘Going Home Club.’ Though the activities would be subject to review.”
“That’s ridiculous…”
“In the first place, what club were you in during middle school, Yoshiki? You should look into that.”
“Well, I wasn’t really in anything.”
“The handball club, right?”
“If you already knew, why did you ask!”
Where did the information leak from? Yuzuha. It was definitely Yuzuha.
“We have a handball club here too, don’t we? Why don’t you join? There aren’t many people who played handball in middle school, so becoming a regular from your first year isn’t just a dream.”
After asking this, Hasegawa-sensei let out a big yawn.
There was just a bit of stubble around his neck. So adults grow hair from places like that too—scary.
“Either way, try provisional membership once and do it for three weeks. If you end up quitting the official membership, this conversation will happen again in another three months. There’s that kind of unspoken agreement in the faculty office.”
“So there is a backdoor…”
“There are voices of doubt about school rules that lack fairness. However, if you do that, it’ll be troublesome for me.”
“Please overlook it.”
“Hmm.”
The fact that he didn’t immediately reject me outright probably shows that Hasegawa-sensei is as kind as his reputation suggests.
A teacher who has non-superficial conversations with students is certainly valuable.
“Well, I understand. I’ll cover for you as long as I don’t get pressured.”
“Thanks!”
“However, today I got pressured by Kagami-sensei. I really need you to at least provisionally join somewhere.”
“Got it. But during that period, can’t I join Yuzuha’s place?”
“That’s technically a hobby circle, so it wouldn’t count as provisional club membership.”
Still no good, huh.
On the other hand, the student council has too high a barrier.
…It can’t be helped.
“Next week, I’ll show my face at the handball club. I don’t have indoor shoes today, so I can’t participate.”
“Well, that level of escape is fine. Try your best in the handball club if possible—club activities are surprisingly good.”
“…Is that so? Did you do something too, sensei?”
“I played basketball. It was fun, even though I was at a level where I’d lose to girls.”
“Eh…”
“Well, she was just too strong.”
Hasegawa-sensei smiled happily.
It was a type of smile I’d never seen in the classroom.
…So even adults smile when reminiscing about their youth.
No, this high school life is probably what will remain deep in the brain even ten or twenty years from now.
For the sake of those memories, provisional club membership wouldn’t be so bad.
If only I hadn’t come to hate handball.
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There were still quite a few students remaining in the hallway after school.
The number of people would probably decrease when club activities started.
When I reached the corner connecting to the hallway in front of the classroom,
“Fashion Club IS definitely a club! Not a hobby circle!”
The gal’s voice echoed through the hallway.
Following that, I could hear Hasegawa-sensei’s reproachful voice.
“Don’t be selfish. I can’t cover for you anymore. Everyone’s saying to get rid of that grotesque-named group before underclassmen join.”
“Grotesque!? Stupid, sensei’s stupid! Fashion is the life of students!?”
A greatly shocked tone in response to the calm statement.
When I peeked around the corner, negative energy was radiating from Yuzuha’s back.
“Sorry, calling it grotesque was going too far. We’re just behind the times—I’ll put in a good word.”
“That’s totally right, you stupid bald teacher!”
“I’m not bald!”
So “stupid” was fine as is.
Hasegawa-sensei apologized with “Sorry, sorry, I passed on too much as-is” and left.
I felt like I saw the reason why he’s described as the polar opposite of Kagami-sensei.
After hesitating, I walked toward Yuzuha.
“Hey. How should I put it… that was rough.”
When I called out to her, Yuzuha suddenly looked up.
“Wah, Yoshiki! Gal fashion isn’t grotesque, right!? It’s the coolest, right!?”
“I don’t think it’s grotesque, but I don’t think cool gals ask questions like that.”
“I want comfort or affirmation right now, but why don’t you get it!? Loner! Virgin! Dunce!”
“Too powerful!”
Especially the first two could deal many times more damage than “dunce.”
Normally I would talk back, but I held back since the other party seemed to be feeling down.
Yuzuha looked up at the ceiling and wailed.
“Argh, I don’t have any other clubs I want to join! It’s so unfair that there are people like Yoshiki who vaguely get by in the going home club! Why is it only me!”
“I do feel bad about that. I’m going to provisionally join the handball club, so I won’t be in the going home club much longer.”
Yuzuha’s movement stopped abruptly.
By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late.
“Eh, what’s that? I want to go too. What are you trying to pull ahead for?”
“Why would you? You’re not interested in handball anyway.”
“I’m not interested in handball, but I am interested in being a manager!”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about!”
However, I had circumstances that I couldn’t completely refuse.
Since most of the handball club members were in multiple clubs, not everyone was necessarily interested in handball.
Therefore, there was a strong possibility that Yuzuha’s motivation was the club’s standard.
“Hey, can I go too? Preferably with Yoko-chan and Maki-chan too.”
“Hmm, that’s a delicate matter. How should I put it—I don’t know if it’s the right atmosphere for first-years to go in such a crowd.”
“Aww, I want to go too! Let me in, let me in, let me in!”
“Are you a big kid!”
When I inadvertently cursed, Yuzuha made a sulky face.
“A kid? Me?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Heh. Can you still say that after this?”
“Wha—”
Yuzuha hugged my arm and pulled me to her chest.
Before my arm could resist, I was about to be absorbed by her—
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