Chapter 139Gaffe
What should I do?
Those kinds of thoughts kept filling my head. It's not that I'm worried about anything. It's just that I was bothered by the standoff between Wataru and me.
'—So, we're done with that kind of thing.'
Since then. Something went wrong from then on. As soon as I relaxed, those words became Wataru's voice and made me reflect on them. I was sure that I understood what he meant clearly, but why couldn't I just let it flow?
I think Wataru himself also felt awkward. But still, it was me who had changed since then. Wataru's face "then" and the wry smile on his face as he tried to endure the awkwardness were the same... ...As I faced his face, I felt a cold sensation all over my body, my head felt like it was frozen, and all I could see was completely white.
Due to the current situation in the classroom, we did switch seat positions and sat in front of and behind each other. However, I wasn't able to talk to him very well yet. But, whenever Wataru left his seat to go somewhere when he came back, our eyes met, and I was finally able to look at his face again.
It was me who made him look at me with that face.
I just wanted to "get along" with him. But, no one but myself got in the way of that. I wonder if we can't go back to the way we were before. I wonder if I'll never be able to hear Wataru's self-deprecating jokes, bragging about Airi, making him say that I'm cute again, and pretending to be Wataru's big sis? I felt an anxiety that I couldn't express at the fact that we wouldn't be able to laugh at each other like we used to.
Three days ago, when I tried to stop Wataru who was walking fast, I forgot how to control myself, and in the end, I ran away under the pretense of going shopping. For some reason, I couldn't help it. I could only hide my heated face. Anyway, I was filled with a sense of sadness.
Then, that uncomfortable feeling appeared as a manifestation of the "disorder" in my daily life.
♦
"Oh..."
I wrote it wrong again. I used correction tape over correction tape and rewrote it. I've had a similar accident three times on just one document. I must say that I wasn't concentrating enough.
Three times in one week. The time we had promised to have after school had lost all meaning. Why were we working so hard during lunch break and after school, when we could be relaxing? It wasn't Sasaki-kun and his senpai-s' fault, but I couldn't help but think so.
"...Um, it should be over here."
"Oh, yeah. Right here—"
The third-year senpai-s were very careful in answering every question I asked them. However, their posture and tone of voice were filled with regret, and somehow it sounded painful to me.
(How could it be like this...?)
They were kind-hearted senpai-s. In my opinion, they are not the type of people who would force their kouhai-s to do their work. Even so, everyone here can also clearly sense that something is not right with the Cultural Festival Executive Committee. I couldn't help but feel that something untoward was happening without me knowing about it. As a first-year student, my position was too low to try to investigate, and inevitably I could only fulfill my role quietly.
This was the extent of my dissatisfaction in such a situation. This was especially true for the second-year students, who had limited freedom as senpai-s and had to do their work while also taking care of the first-year students. Dark confrontations, stabbing, and pushing between the second-year students and the third-year students.
'♪~'
"!"
A notification sound that you can't believe was understated. As if she had been waiting for it, Inoue-senpai took out her smartphone pressed her long nails against the screen, and played with it while making a clicking sound.
"Nakazono-kun, huh? What's wrong?"
"He said "Let's go"."
"I knew it." It wasn't just me, I think everyone around me was thinking the same thing. The Soccer Club's Managers, Inoue-senpai and Ogawa-senpai, have decided to quit their duties as members of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee since the progress of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee is not going smoothly. The reason why the two of them can get away with a calm and unconcerned face is that the Soccer Club itself has no trust in this Cultural Festival Executive Committee. It seems that the reality of the situation here has been leaked and is apparent to the Soccer Club.
The two girls who led the collapse of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee are no longer in the realm of being fed up with their never-ending tasks. They don't have any feelings towards this Cultural Festival Executive Committee and even seem to think that they are being inconvenienced by the Cultural Festival Executive Committee.
As if attracted by this action, the "disgust" of the other senpai-s also began to grow. As a first-year student, all I could do was keep working with fear and feel the tense atmosphere.
"Taka's coming too."
"Y-Yeah."
Inoue-senpai was the Soccer Club Captain's girlfriend. I don't know how much influence those senpai-s have in the Soccer Club, but at least Sasaki-kun doesn't seem to be able to against them. I knew what would happen next. I let out a small sigh as I rubbed the tip of my pen against the documents.
But still, the reason I can't think of the senpai-s as completely mean girls is because I've seen how kind they were to me right after this Cultural Festival Executive Committee started. That was one of the reasons why I hadn't slacked off from the start, but I still came here now and then, just in case. I can see at a glance that there's still a glimmer of conscience. If only this Cultural Festival Executive Committee was functioning "properly", I'm sure it would have been by now.—
"Oh, that's right. Natsukawa-san, you come too, okay!"
"Eh...!?"
What a sudden invitation. I didn't expect that they would call out to me, so I raised my voice rather abruptly. I felt so many eyes on me that I couldn't help but step back.
"Of course. Natsukawa-san is very cute, though, and I think the boys would be happy about it."
"You said that you haven't joined any club activities. How about you go on a tour with us? Or you could join us too?"
"Don't do that~, all the boys would be on her."
"No, I already have Taito, though."
"U-Um..."
Inoue-senpai and Ogawa-senpai are getting excited. I don't like it when someone tells me something like that out of the blue. I felt scared when I heard that boys I didn't know would look at me and make them happy. I didn't know what to do, so I turned to Sasaki-kun and he looked at me as if expecting something, even though he felt awkward.
"Well... ...Natsukawa, what do you think?"
What do I think? Your a*s.
I wonder if Sasaki-kun understands what kind of situation is going on right now. First, I don't want the Cultural Festival Executive Committee's works to be abandoned halfway through. I completely understand the reason they're bored is because they're forced to do the works without a clear purpose. Even so, I don't think there's any point in just ignoring the works because they can't do it. If I did that kind of thing, I wouldn't be able to be proud of being Airi's big sister.
"W-Well... ...I'm sorry."
"Hmm? Why?"
"Um..."
I had run out of words. However, if I didn't reject them properly, we would be faced with a scary situation and I wouldn't be able to come face to face with my precious little sis. What scared me the most was that I wouldn't be a big sis that Airi could be proud of.
I was so rushed that I couldn't even choose my words properly.
"—You guys can't let me, your kouhai, neglect her works..."
"..."
I thought it sounded very cold.
At the very least, those aren't words I should be saying to Inoue-senpai, Ogawa-senpai, and Sasaki-kun. Those words must have sounded cynical to the three of them, who routinely neglected their daily works and sneaked out of the classroom. I didn't realize this until the senpai-s looked back at me with piercing gazes.
"U-Um... ...Natsuka-"
"Whoa, your words sound like we forced a first-year kouhai to do that work and ignored it. Well, you're not wrong. It's our fault for being so clever and I'm if we suddenly invited you."
"I see. This girl is different from "the two of us". After all, the two of us are different from them, serious girls who don't want to join any club activities and study all the time. What do you mean it frustrates you? I feel like a fool for dealing with you and taking care of you kindly."
Oh...
Come to think of it, it's already too late. Even if I fix it right away, I can't undo what's already happened. It sounds obvious. Because I just said such precise words that everyone here nodded in agreement.
My good argument was indeed correct. However, pushing the three of them was not the right course of action. Now, I had destroyed what I called the little "conscience" the senpai-s had left for the Cultural Festival Executive Committee and turned this room into a "troublesome and disgusting room" for them.
If only I had chosen better words, I'm sure it wouldn't have turned out like this.
"If you want to work that hard, then you have to do these too."
"...Oh..."
Ogawa-senpai piled up some documents and files in front of me, who was dazed after failing. Not only did she pile up hers, but also Inoue-senpai's and Sasaki-kun's, as if to say that the order of the documents and files was not important.
"...They're all idiots."
The moment I heard that line, I understood that I was hated by them.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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