I skimmed through the webpage Akari had found and shared with me.
According to the article, the general flow of a speech went something like this...
First, introduce yourself. Next, share an anecdote to praise the bride. Finally, offer congratulations on the couple’s new journey. The whole thing should be summarized concisely into roughly three to five minutes. That seemed to be the gist of it.
On the computer screen, the other two were already deep in their own lively conversation. Leaving them to it, Akari and I sat there, clutching our heads in frustration.
"The intro and the closing wishes are fine, I guess. It’s the anecdote..."
Even with a template to follow, it didn't mean everything was just going to fall into place. What kind of story was I even supposed to tell?
An I-chan anecdote.
Searching my memories...
There was the time she tutored me. Or the times she gave me romance advice. And then there were her feelings for Yamamoto, which I’d only recently discovered.
"Megu, any good stories come to mind?"
"Maybe something about her helping me with my studies?"
"That might make I-chan sound like a total grindette, though."
"Yeah, she never really had that vibe, did she?"
I-chan always aced her exams, but she wasn't the type to spend every second of class, lunch, and after-school hours buried in a textbook. Far from it. In fact, even right before a big test, she’d always tag along if we invited her out. She was probably just efficient, which was how she kept her grades up.
"Should I talk about how capable and efficient she is?"
"Well... I’d certainly be curious to see how the room reacts to that."
Akari gave a wry smile. I felt the same way, despite being the one who suggested it. I was curious to see the fallout, but I knew deep down it was a terrible idea.
But that left me with... nothing. It was surprising how hard it was to find a specific story about her.
We’d been close in our first and third years, and even in our second year, we were in adjacent classes and hung out all the time. After two-plus years of memories, how could I not come up with a single decent idea?
"Did I... not actually care about her as a friend?"
Tears began to prick at my eyes. I-chan had been so good to me, yet here I was, unable to think of a single thing to say. The guilt of not being able to summon a worthy memory weighed heavy on me.
"It’s okay. This is your first time doing something like this," Akari said, trying to soothe me.
"But still..."
"Listen. Megu, do you have any idea why I-chan asked you of all people to give the speech?"
I nodded silently, my head low.
"You really are hopeless, Megu."
"...What is it?"
"It's because she loves you." Akari reached out and gently stroked my hair. "That’s why I-chan chose you to be the representative friend."
"But..."
"I don't think I-chan asked you for this because she wanted to make you miserable, okay?"
I doubted Akari knew exactly what was going through I-chan’s mind, but her words still resonated with me. She definitely hadn't asked me to do this just to see me cry. On that point, I knew Akari was right.
I wiped my eyes. As I did, I noticed the two girls on the computer screen had gone quiet, staring at me with startled expressions. Now that I thought about it, this might have been the very first time I’d ever let them see me cry.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to make a scene."
"Wait, no, don't worry about it... right?"
"Yeah. If anything, we should be sorry. We were just goofing off instead of taking this seriously."
"No, it’s fine... but I’m sorry anyway. I know I’m being a pain, but I’d really appreciate the help."
"O-Of course!"
"Absolutely!"
After that, the four of us buckled down and got to work on the speech.