"Um... Natsukawa-san, right? I'm sorry."
"Ah, no..."
As I sat there, still berating myself for my earlier slip of the tongue, a second-year student—the same grade as Inoue-senpai—approached me. They looked genuinely apologetic as they picked up one of the document files I had organized. A remorseful, reflective expression flickered across their face. I could have sworn they were wearing the same defiant look as Inoue-senpai just a few minutes ago.
"I mean, as you'd expect... well..."
Perhaps reading my thoughts, they let out a small, quiet mutter while averting their eyes. They probably didn't even care if I heard them. After gathering up the majority of the stacked files, they returned to their seat. Takeuchi-senpai—since they sat far away, we’d never had any real interaction, but I made sure to memorize the name on their chest plate.
It was a bleak situation... one that reminded me of how my own home used to be. Just as that unpleasant sense of nostalgia began to settle in, the door behind me—the one I assumed would stay shut for the rest of the day—slid open with a rhythmic rattle.
"...Ah... Sasaki-kun?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Sasaki-kun stood there, looking incomparably awkward. I had been certain he’d followed Inoue-senpai and the others to the soccer club. He set his bag down in its usual spot, glanced at the mountain of paperwork piled in front of me, and then scanned the room. Finally, he walked over to Takeuchi-senpai, bowed, and took his share of the work.
"Um... what about your club?"
"......I quit."
"Wait, what...?! 'Quit'?!"
"N-No... I didn't mean it like that—"
"Oh... right."
"Quit." He didn't mean he had resigned from the club; he meant he’d decided to stop following Inoue-senpai’s lead and skipping the committee. He looked miserable as he explained. While I was disappointed that the seniors clearly weren't coming back, I felt a small wave of relief that Sasaki-kun was still the person I thought he was.
"Hey, Natsukawa. What do you think of Sajou?"
"Huh...?!"
The question came out of nowhere. Despite his dejected state, he was keeping his hands moving, and I’d assumed we wouldn't be doing much talking for the rest of the day. Then he dropped that sudden bombshell. I ended up yelping a bit too loudly and had to bow my head in apology to the others who turned to stare.
W-Wait a minute... Why was Sasaki-kun asking me that?
"Um............ what?"
"...Sorry... forget it. Never mind."
"Eh..."
Without another glance in my direction, Sasaki-kun buried his face even deeper into the documents and threw himself into the work. I didn't quite understand what was happening, but he looked profoundly depressed. It seemed best to leave him be for today. I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"—...Sajou was right outside just now."
"What?!"
This time, my voice was even more shrill. More eyes turned toward me. I couldn't even bring myself to apologize again; I just wanted to crawl into a hole. I started to turn a sharp glare toward Sasaki-kun, wondering why he was doing this to me, but I stopped myself. There was no way he could know about the awkward tension between Wataru and me.
No, but... why?
Even when I looked at him, searching for an explanation, Sasaki-kun kept his eyes glued to the paperwork. He didn't say another word. It felt like a total rejection, as if he were signaling that he had no intention of continuing the conversation. That sense of finality was palpable in his hunched posture.
"......!"
For some reason, a sudden heat of anger flared up inside me. When Inoue-senpai and the others had dumped their work on me and abandoned the room, I’d felt nothing but a hollow sense of resignation... but now, this was different. Something about this didn't sit right with me, and it left me with a gnawing sense of frustration.
"Did Wataru... did that guy say something to you?"
"Eh...? Well, it’s not like he didn't say anything, but............ uh, Natsukawa-san?"
"..."
Sasaki-kun, who had been so determined to ignore me, looked up in genuine surprise. I thought I was keeping my face and posture neutral, but even I was startled by how low and cold my voice sounded. Knowing I was being petty, I stayed silent, giving him the same cold shoulder he’d just given me.
—Why just Sasaki-kun...?
Even if things were awkward between us, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that he’d come all the way to the classroom door and just walked on by. Especially since he’d clearly taken the time to talk to Sasaki-kun... If he was going to do that, he could have at least poked his head in to say hello... even though he used to sit right next to me and help...
"Na-Natsukawa...?"
"Hah..."
His tentative, searching voice snapped me back to reality. Apparently, I had been scowling at nothing, my hands completely still. To make matters worse, I had been staring directly at Sasaki-kun the whole time. To him, it must have looked like I was burning a hole through his head. I started to apologize, but realized that would be even weirder, so I just looked away.
I paused to check myself. Was this really something worth getting so worked up about? Wataru had nothing to do with this committee... there was nothing strange about him passing by the room. It was arrogant of me to feel slighted just because he hadn't stayed to help. No, that wasn't it. I didn't care about the help.
But if he was going to pass by, he should have just kept walking without talking to Sasaki-kun either. Instead, he’d only shared a friendly chat with him—
"Nn...!"
I let out an involuntary groan of irritation. If he’d come that far, he could have at least said a single word to me. After all, I’d known him since middle school. That’s much longer than his friendship with Sasaki-kun, which only started this year. Yes, seniority should count for something.
I went to shake my head, then realized how much I’d stand out, so I just pressed my palms against my cheeks to calm myself. In a situation like this, the only way to vent my mounting frustration was to focus every ounce of my energy on the pen in my hand.
◇
"I announced this at the end of last week, but we’re going to pause our work for a bit today to hold a meeting."
On Monday, the same day our own class began preparations for the Cultural Festival, the atmosphere in the Cultural Festival Executive Committee room was markedly different.
The committee president, Hasegawa-senpai, stood at the front to take charge. The workload had clearly reached a breaking point, and I’d known a day of reckoning like this was coming, but looking around the room, I got the distinct impression that this wasn't going to be a normal meeting.
To my left sat Inoue-senpai and Ogawa-senpai. I’d worried they wouldn't show up at all after my blunder the other day, but it seemed my fears were unfounded. I felt a small sense of relief, choosing to believe they were decent people at heart.
—Of course, that composure lasted only for the first few seconds.
"The Student Council has a few things to say regarding the future structure of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee. Please, go ahead."
"I'm Ishiguro, a second-year and Temporary Assistant to the Student Council Executive Committee. It's a pleasure to be here."
Two boys stood beside Hasegawa-senpai. Their tie colors marked them as a second-year and a first-year. The senior introduced himself as Ishiguro. It was a very distinct name, though that was the least of my concerns. My eyes were locked onto the boy from my grade standing right next to him.
"And I'm the Assistant to the Assistant—also from the Student Council Executive Committee. Sajou, first year. Nice to meet you."
The boy I knew so well gave a polite bow. I had spent the last several periods doing nothing but staring at the back of his head. I’d been mesmerized by the way his hair turned a surprisingly bright brown whenever the sunlight caught it.
At the sight of Wataru, I instinctively locked eyes with Sasaki-kun.
"You're an assistant, too... What is this 'Assistant to the Assistant' business?"
"It would be presumptuous of me to claim equal standing. This humble one tends to get a nervous stomach the moment he’s put in a position of responsibility."
"...I’m not giving you an easy out."
"...Yessir."
They were engaged in a conversation that was hard to classify as either intellectual or nonsensical. It felt like forever since I'd seen him acting so much like his usual self. Having a "familiar face" in the room made me feel genuinely happy. However, I also had far too many questions I wanted to ask him.
"—Now then. As you can see from what we’ve set up in the classroom, all work from this point forward will be handled on these laptops. Today, we will cover the background of this structural change, the committee's current status, and the new organizational map moving forward."
I’ve always been a good listener. While I processed everything Hasegawa-senpai was saying, I narrowed my eyes at the boy standing two spots away from her—the one who was very pointedly avoiding eye contact with me.
—You could have at least told me beforehand...
I held that single complaint close to my heart.