Chapter 71After Work
"Thank you for today, Sajou-kun."
"No, no, Inatomi-senpai is also very cute today."
"Ehehe, come on. Don't tease me."
"You. If you tease her, I'll kill you."
"If you want to beat me, you have to beat Big Sis first."
"Guhh... ...coward!"
Am I a coward...?
I quickly cleaned up my personal belongings while Mita-senpai hated me. It was supposed to be the end of my duty today, but Shinomiya-senpai hadn't returned yet, probably because of her position. I chatted with the senpai-s to wait for a while, but honestly, there was nothing else I could do... ...Should I just go home now?
"...Eh?"
Ugh.
Just when Mita-senpai and co. thought it was the end of the world, they got a surprise. Surprisingly, all the members of the Disciplinary Committee, especially the third-year students, started to distribute their documents. I was rather amazed by their unexpected work ethic.
"No, are we still going to do this?"
"Yeah. From now on, we'll start with visitor counts, questionnaires, and reports. We'll collect them, submit them, and be done."
Wow, I don't want to be a member of the Disciplinary Committee...
I think it was plastered on my face, Mita-senpai stabbing my collarbone. It was painful, but I'm sorry about that.
But isn't it hard to collect them...? It seems that they have computers, so I could do that myself...?
"...If you guys have computers, I'll do something."
"W-What? No need, you've already done this much for us."
"Do you have the template from last year? I can put the calculations into a file for you."
"If you insist on going that far, I'll leave him and this task to you, Yuyu."
"Y-Yeah..."
Many members of the Disciplinary Committee compile documents manually, yet here there are many additional computers... ...Is that the case, or are there only a handful of people who can operate them? I never thought that there would come a time when I could utilize my part-time work experience that I secretly did when I was in middle school.
"Are these the documents?"
"Eh, this is the transportation part, but are you going to do it?"
"It'll get done faster, won't it?"
"Th-That's true, but..."
Sitting next to a second-year senpai with her computer sorting through the handwritten documents for each middle school. I opened similar composite data files from the corresponding folders on the desktop and took a quick look at how the data was put together. I pressed the crackling keyboard to equalize the format. It's like nostalgia because... it's been a long time since I've touched a computer in such a professional manner.
"Hmm... ...Eh, 13 middle schools are coming, huh? Are there that many middle schools around here?"
"We're a preparatory high school around here, and from my cram school when I was in middle school, we always came in second or third place in the deviation rankings... ...Ehehe."
As I was surprised by the number of visitors to this high school, I couldn't help but shout, a second-year senpai cheerfully replied. She's very friendly. I like people like this. She's cute in an innocent way.
We talked and laughed as we worked. It was more than I thought it would be, so I had a bit of a hard time, but compared to the amount of work I do at my part-time job, it could only be completed in the blink of an eye. I put the summary of what had been said into a table, then made a graphic according to the previous format and pasted it on a separate sheet. I wouldn't have known about these kinds of useful functions either... if I hadn't practiced earning an hourly wage which was very difficult at the time. I should compliment myself for never giving up.
About an hour and a half. We continued with our tasks, occasionally interspersed with chitchat, and ended with each other checking the completed files that had been confirmed and finalized together. Everyone was lying on the spot, despite their enthusiasm, saying, "It's okay, there's nothing to worry about anymore". I think they were probably feeling the emotion of having completed their tasks.
"That's it... ...I'm going to eat something sweet..."
"Ichinose-kuun..."
"Well, hmm, um... Yuri-chan...?"
The desire that came out of their mouths sounded very serious. There's a sight that's very toxic to my eyes in the corner of my eye and it's damaging the environment more and more, so can't you stop? That made me want to take off on my stolen bicycle.
"...In the end, Shinomiya-senpai didn't come back."
"It was probably even more difficult there. She met with teachers from all the middle schools, including our Principal."
"Won't Senpai's head get gray hair?"
"She won't get gray hair."
When I hear that, I feel blessed because all I have to do to get my work done is type on the computer. It's not very exciting if I have to talk to big people all the time... ...It's time for me to think about my work in the future.
"Do we have anything else to do...?"
"There aren't anymore. Our allotted work days are over. All we have to do now is go our separate ways, and I wonder if Rin-san will also return soon as we expected?"
"Then we should give her these nutritional jellies as a gift."
"You still have them, huh... yours don't feel cold or hot anymore, so don't you dare to do that, okay!"
I just witnessed a scene that made me reluctant to drink again. I can't drink it unless it's chilled in the refrigerator. I'll take it home.
Behind Mita-senpai who was talking, there was Inatomi-senpai exhausted in front of the computer, resting her upper body on the table. As she turned her face forward, she started moaning with a bent face and said "Uh~". She sounded very... ...exact, with a very childish and innocent voice.
"..."
"You were just thinking, "I'm going to make her seats on my lap", weren't you?"
"! N-No? Wh-What the heck are you talking about?"
"You're too upset."
H-How did you know...? I didn't do it, I just thought of it, so it doesn't matter, right? Please don't look at me with those accusing eyes! Ah...!? This senpai put Inatomi-senpai on her lap! Damn! I'm so happy!
"Hey, you know... I underestimated you, Sajou."
"Eh?"
Just as I was getting annoyed because I was getting stimulated, Mita-senpai suddenly interrupted as if muttering. What the hell am I doing today? A souvenir from the underworld given by God? You're going to say something embarrassing now, right?
"No, I'm just a bit jealous as a fellow kouhai because Sajou is favored by Rin-san because you're Kaede-san's little bro. But you turned out to be different."
"Eh... ...I see, huh."
"Yeah, how do I say it... ...You're kind of funny, aren't you? If you were there, I feel like I'd be talking to you. The way you worked today was completely different from what I imagined, and it convinced me."
"I-Is that so? Senpai too, the way you guided the activities at the end of the event was cool."
"Fufu, is that a compliment suitable for a girl?"
"Ah, no... that, right, really..."
Um, I can't concentrate on the conversation, so can I ask you to stop pressing your chest on Inatomi-senpai's shoulder?
♦
In the end, I didn't see Shinomiya-senpai again, and the place was disbanded except for the Vice President. Mita-senpai and the other female members of the Disciplinary Committee seemed to have other plans and left school early. I, on the other hand, go home alone, quietly carrying my bag. Normally I would feel cold, but today, the whole day, it felt very... stimulating. Too much stimulation. On the contrary, the hot and humid corridor was a relief. It felt like my daily life had returned to normal.
On the way to the entrance, I passed the Conference Room of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee next to the Disciplinary Committee Headquarters. The door at the back was open so I could take a quick peek inside.
Everyone was working in silence. I was struck by the fact that they seemed more serious than I had imagined. My gaze naturally turned to my acquaintances.
"..."
The two of them sat next to each other, exchanging eye contact as they worked on their tasks. In the quiet Classroom, they occasionally whispered to each other and cooperated on their tasks in a friendly manner.
—Ah..., that's amazing.
I felt more admiration than jealousy because that picture if photographed could have been the cover of any magazine. That heartbreaking feeling in my chest..., I was lucky that I realized it immediately. Somehow, I managed to pull it back with self-control and let it melt away in the summer. Eh, I can do it, right?
"...It was a luxury."
As I looked back at my recent life, my voice leaked. If anything, this was the summer vacation when it was hard to meet people, but it seemed to be quite fulfilling. No matter how I look at it, not only my senpai-s, but also the Onee-san-type college girl love me, and I'm a lucky person. So, it's not good to put my desires first. It's just painful to look at if I were to look closely.
My "today" is over. So let's just say that I didn't see anything before I went to bed. That way, I'm sure that I'll have more nice dreams.
♦
As the tide attacked, self-hatred and a heavy workload after a long time made me lose the desire to go home. I sat on a bench in the shady courtyard in a dumbfounded state. The south wind was usually hot, but this time it was cool and soothing as the parts of my body that I wiped with the body sheet felt tense. I thought I would fall asleep like this. No, no, no.
I looked around me, I found middle school students wandering around, chatting with each other and observing club activities. I was a bit embarrassed that I seemed to be alone, so I thought I'd better go home.
"Ah~, my butt is sweating──Ah?"
I stood up and touched my wet butt, and the tension decreased. At one of my most vulnerable moments recently, when I raised my face, I saw a strange sight.
A very pretty girl ran out of the entrance. Her slightly wavy reddish-brown hair swayed, and she looked around uneasily as she stepped out. Just by herself. Normally I would have gone over and talked to her while raising my hand. However, for some reason I thought I "didn't want" to meet her, so I stayed where I was, though not hiding, as if hiding to breathe.
Naturally, the glancing eyes eventually turned to me, here.
"Eh-?"
Eh, wait, she came this way. She had a very serious face. She's so cool, I'm going to fall in love with her. Yeah, I've been in love with her for a long time.
I must have shown my stupid side at this time, she walked towards me, stopped a little distance away, and talked to me in amazement.
"—What are you doing here?"
"...S-Stretching my waist?"
In the summer of my first-year of high school days, I felt I was living in youth, and the first words I spoke, with agitation, were entirely those of old men.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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