"......"
The silence was heavy. Because of Kuroki’s sudden use of "Ryouta-kun," icy glares from Miyama in the front seat and Yuria to my left pierced right through me.
It was inevitable that their stares would be painful.
I had managed to establish a connection with all three members of this top-tier beauty trio by becoming privy to their individual secrets, but I wasn't allowed to reveal those secrets to the other two. Consequently, none of them knew I shared a private bond with the others or that we had become somewhat close.
To them, the fact that Kuroki was suddenly calling me by my first name so casually was an utterly baffling phenomenon. The atmosphere had turned just as frigid back when Miyama accidentally slipped and called me "Ryouta."
(It’s only natural they’re suspicious... This situation is a total disaster.)
"Hey, Rui-chan, why are you calling him Ryouta too? You and Ryouta never even spoke to each other in junior high, right?"
"Well, yes, but since Airi calls him Ryouta, I just felt like trying it out myself. Besides, if everyone sitting nearby uses different names, it might get confusing for Ryouta-kun. I figured this would be better."
As expected of the school’s resident genius... the excuses flowed out of her without a second of hesitation. Her face was so devoid of any agitation that I almost would have believed her—except I was the only one who knew she had done it on purpose.
(She probably made her move because she wanted to be able to call me by my first name in public.)
This kind of calculation was what made Kuroki so formidable. As a perfectionist, she never left anything to chance.
"Oh, I know. Yuria, you should call Ryouta-kun 'Ryouta' too."
"Eh? M-me?"
"Go on, don't be shy."
At Kuroki’s prompting, Yuria turned toward me.
"Then... Ryo... Ryouta."
Yuria pouted her lips slightly as she said it. Seeing how she was feigning being unaccustomed to the name, I couldn't help but think Yuria had a bit of a devious side to her as well.
And just like that, I was now officially "Ryouta" to all three of them in our daily lives, not just in private.
"Anyway, back to the topic. Which one are you voting for, Ryouta-kun? The drama or the cafe?"
"Eh? I... well..."
Kuroki naturally continued to pull me into the conversation of the class’s most elite social circle.
"I was thinking of voting for the cafe, since Miyama asked me to."
"Heh, a cafe. So you really were talking about the cultural festival earlier, Airi."
"I told you we were! Jeez, Rui-chan, stop being so suspicious!"
It seemed Kuroki was onto us. (Well, to be fair, Miyama and I have been seen together at the school cafeteria and even on Snoto, so it’s no wonder people are getting suspicious...)
"So Airi and Ryouta-kun are both for the cafe. Yuria, you're an executive committee member, but didn't you say before that you preferred a drama?"
"W-well... yeah. If we do a cafe, all the food service procedures are such a pain... and more than anything, the inspections are, like, gross."
Inspections... she meant that, right? Thinking of anything inappropriate here was strictly off-limits, so I’ll refrain, but collecting those samples was indeed the job of the executive committee members. I could see why Yuria would hate it.
"Anyway, what about you, Rui?"
"Me? Hmm, I'm still torn."
Kuroki said that while glancing at me sideways.
(Wh-what’s with that look?)
When I glared back, she simply beamed at me before turning back to Yuria.
"I think I'll vote for the drama for Yuria’s sake."
"Whaaat! Rui-chan, vote for the cafe too! Let's be maids together!"
"Hmm? But I'm not cute like you or Airi~"
Kuroki said this while staring directly at me. Did she figure out I’d been having inappropriate thoughts about Miyama’s massive chest and Yuria’s thighs? Besides, hearing a beauty of Kuroki's caliber claim she wasn't cute sounded like nothing but pure irony.
"No way. If you're not cute, Rui, then the rest of us girls are basically background characters."
"Fufu, why Yuria, are you complimenting me?"
Kuroki stepped closer to Yuria, reaching out with her elegant left hand to give her a chin lift.
"Getting praised by a stylish gyaru like Yuria makes me quite shy."
"N-no! I was just stating a fact!"
A-And there's the yuri!! Wait, no!
That damn Kuroki... she was doing this on purpose.
(And Yuria, don't just stand there blushing like you're actually enjoying it!)
"Hey, Ryouta, Ryouta? Want to switch to the drama after all?"
"What, Miyama? You're okay with giving up on the busty caf... I mean, the cafe?"
"Well, if Yuria says the drama is easier for her as a committee member, I think I'll support her. I don't really mind either way."
"......Yeah, I guess. I'll do the same."
A drama, huh?
Kuroki would inevitably be cast as the heroine, while a loner like me would be relegated to chore duty.
Kuroki as the heroine...
I had a bad feeling about this. Was I just overthinking things?