Chapter 38 - Class Shuffle
(1)
The opening ceremony.
It's been a while since I've been to school.
"Good morning, Toya-kun."
Naturally, I'm sleepy.
I don't know what Airi was thinking, but she brought her face close to my ear and blew breath against the back of it.
"○▼※△☆▲※◎★●!?"
I jump awake.
"Ah, so you actually wake up to this?"
She keeps trying different things.
"I'll be waiting downstairs."
Have I already gotten used to it? I leave the room immediately.
Waking up with bleary eyes, I begin to change clothes.
Once I'm finished changing, I go downstairs.
Kanna was already dressed.
As for Makoto... morning practice, I guess.
"Oss!"
"...Morning."
Kanna greets me.
She's so energetic from the morning.
Me yawning.
"What's with you! We're third-years starting today! Get it together!"
Kanna sure is energetic.
"Nothing really changes."
"For now, shouldn't you get ready?"
Airi says, pointing to the clock.
Crap!
Really, nothing has changed.
I hurry to get ready and leave the house.
Third year. The final year of middle school.
Even so, nothing changes.
I've just aged one year.
Other than that... I guess I have to seriously prepare for entrance exams.
It's depressing.
However, the two of them don't seem to mind such things at all.
They are chatting happily.
Ah, there is something that's changed.
The fact that we're walking with our arms linked normally.
Compared to last year's me, it's a world of difference.
Airi also clings to me without any shame.
Nothing happened during spring break.
The usual days of studying.
Unusually, Airi didn't start saying, "I want to go somewhere~."
Kanna was also unusually desperate with her studies.
I wonder if they're conscious of the exams after all?
"...Right?"
"Eh?"
"I said, it would be nice if we're in the same class again!?"
"You're spacing out as usual~," Airi says, puffing out her cheeks.
"Y-yeah, I guess."
That was it.
The class shuffle.
In first and second year, Airi and I were in the same class.
If we're together through third year, that would be too good to be true.
...God, please.
It seems my faith was lacking.
I'll tell you the result.
Kanna, Makoto, and I were in the same class.
Only Airi... was in Class 1.
We were in Class 2.
Airi's expression darkens.
"Well, it can't be helped. This is just how it is. So, who else is with us?"
It seems Airi's worries weren't just about that.
Nakama and Saeki were in the same class.
"It seems they divided the classes by academic ability."
Nakama apparently spotted us and came over.
Neither Kanna nor I don't have a very good impression of him.
The opponent I punched in second year.
Airi doesn't answer.
"As I thought, the world you people live in is different from Tosaka-san's."
"You bastard..."
Restraining Kanna, who was about to grab him, Airi speaks.
"I believe I told you not to involve yourself with us. For someone so smart, you're quite slow to learn."
That's the voice she uses when she's really angry.
It seems Airi also hates this man.
"Tosaka-san will eventually realize it too—the meaninglessness of staying with these people."
"Do you need to be hit again to understand?"
Airi's words are cold to the core.
Perhaps overwhelmed, Nakama leaves.
"You're with a guy like that. That's rough, Airi."
"That's true, but..."
Saying that, Airi looks at us.
Hm?
"...You won't go home and leave me behind, right?"
I see, she hates the idea of being alone with Kanna.
"I'll make sure to wait for you in the hallway."
I say this and give Airi's shoulder a light pat.
"Really?"
Airi's expression brightens.
"It's just that our classes are different, right? My feelings are always by your side."
When I say that, Airi hugs me.
I'll mention this for the record.
We are in front of the school entrance, and a crowd of students is pressing in to see the class lists.
Naturally, students who noticed us start calling out teasingly.
But I've stopped caring about that.
If I try to hide it poorly, the one who will suffer is Airi.
In that case, it's better for everyone around us to know.
That way, I feel more at ease too.
Of course, there's no need to go out of my way to show off.
From that day on, when school ended, we would peek into each other's classrooms to see if they were finished and wait.
During lunch break, after eating school lunch, we would talk in the courtyard or somewhere similar.
Makoto was with us then, too.
During the breaks between classes, I naturally talked with my classmates.
Though, that mostly meant Kanna and Makoto.
That kind of life continued for a week.
And it ended in just one week.
A single piece of paper posted on the board.
Student Council President: Nakama Shuji
Vice President: Tosaka Airi
.........
......
...
Airi's face was pale.
"Are you okay, Airi?"
"Y-yeah... but..."
We won't be able to go home together.
It seems that's what she was anxious about.
"Don't worry about that. We can be together once we get home."
"Don't worry about that? Kanna and Toya-kun will be all alone together!"
Ah, so that's it.
"You don't have to worry, there's no mistake."
I stated it definitively.
Though I lack confidence...
"Kanna has Makoto, right?"
"I heard it from Kanna. That they aren't officially dating yet."
That Kanna, saying unnecessary things...
"You said it yourself, didn't you? 'Thank you for choosing me.' I chose Airi. Please believe me."
"Y-yeah..."
To be honest, I was anxious.
There was the anxiety of being separated by classes, but also the fear that her intentions might change from being around Nakama and the others...
I hope it's just unnecessary worry...
(2)
From that day on, I went home with Kanna.
It was a pattern where the two of us would go to my house, eat, and study, and then Airi would come over.
One day, I asked Kanna.
"Hey, Kanna?"
"What?"
"Is Makoto... okay with just the two of us?"
At that moment, Kanna's pen stopped dead.
"...You think something might happen between me and Toya?"
"Yeah."
"No way."
Huh?
"Makoto isn't the kind of guy with such a narrow mind. Did Airi tell you that?"
"Well, I was worried..."
"Ah, I see. I guess I was misunderstood."
Saying that, Kanna lightly tapped her own head.
"I was asked before. Just like you. 'Why did you get back together with Makoto-kun?' I answered the same way I did for Toya. That we aren't dating, just that he's waiting until I forget Toya. Airi probably misunderstood that."
"Kanna, you..."
"I'm making an effort to forget. I don't think I could compete with you guys now anyway."
"I see..."
"By the way, what about you, Toya?"
"Eh?"
"Being in a different class from Airi, her becoming Vice President and not being able to go home together. Are you anxious?"
"N-no, not really."
"Listen. I'll say it again, don't waver! You can be certain! Airi is unmistakably yours. Airi thinks so too! There's nothing to worry about!"
"I-I get it."
If it looks that way to Kanna, it's probably fine.
Believe.
Those were words I had been told for a long time.
But I end up forgetting the most important thing.
"Good evening~"
It's Airi's voice.
Soon, the sound of footsteps on the stairs can be heard.
And then...
(3)
It's a nightmare.
Why am I with Nakama-kun?
Other people are here too.
Honestly, I'm bad at this kind of thing.
That's why I gave my speech perfunctorily.
But the people who vote only choose based on looks or popularity.
If they chose based on popularity, then why Nakama-kun?
People are incomprehensible.
When evening comes, I'm with Nakama-kun and the others.
We talk about trivial things endlessly.
Maybe it's better if I don't talk about Student Council topics with Toya-kun too much?
Toya-kun would probably worry.
I wonder if he'll worry for me?
I wonder if he'll feel anxious?
If he just says "Hmm," that would be sad in its own way.
On the way home.
Nakama-kun says he'll walk me.
I refused.
Even so, he followed.
I run.
Even so, he keeps following.
I don't want him to know where I live.
I'll go directly to Toya-kun's house.
That was a mistake.
It got late that day.
That's why Nakama-kun started insisting on walking me.
Nakama-kun, following me everywhere.
And of all days, Toya-kun had come out to the front of the entrance.
"Toya-kun!"
The second mistake of the day.
God did not overlook it a third time.
"Why is Nakama with you?"
Toya-kun has a grim expression.
"I told you, for Tosaka-san, I..."
"Go home!!"
I rush to Toya-kun and grab his arm.
"Just go home already. How many times do I have to tell you not to involve yourself with us!"
"...You're already third-years. It's about time you seriously thought about your own future! If you used your talent..."
"Don't talk like a teacher. I'll choose my own future! I choose a future together with Toya-kun!"
"It'll be too late even if you regret it."
"I won't regret it."
"...What do you think, Katagiri-kun? Do you think Toya-san's path is fine as it is?"
Why is he throwing the conversation to Toya-kun?
"...That's none of your business."
Toya-kun seemed to be in a slightly bad mood.
After that, Nakama-kun left without saying anything.
(4)
In reality, I was troubled.
Airi is smart.
She can do anything.
And she's cute.
Honor students like her are rare.
Is it really okay for such an honor student to be with me forever?
That honor student tells me that she likes an underachiever like me.
But is it okay to rely on those words?
It's something I've thought about many times since we started dating.
Nakama's words pierce through.
Do you think it's fine as it is?
I can't definitively say "It's fine!"
I lack confidence.
Airi's future is for Airi to choose.
But wouldn't a path other than being with me be better?
Going to an ordinary high school like me, graduating from an ordinary university, and living an ordinary life.
She has the ability to choose options other than that.
I wondered if pushing her away would be a form of kindness.
Why did I have such a lapse in judgment today of all days?
"What are you doing? Stay inside the house."
Airi speaks to me.
I wonder how much longer I'll be able to hear this cute voice?
Thinking that, I entered the house.