On the very first day of the filing period, Rui submitted her candidacy form to our homeroom teacher during afternoon HR, drawing a thunderous round of applause from the entire class.
Three days to go.
If no other candidates stepped forward by then, the election would shift to a simple vote of confidence to decide if Rui was fit to be Student Council President.
I couldn't stop thinking about it as I stopped by Starbucks with Airi after school.
"Rui-chan is going to have her hands full. We definitely need to help her out with the campaign!"
"O-oh, yeah. For sure."
Campaigning, huh?
The real concern on my mind was Himesaki. If she ended up getting egged on by the people around her and decided to run, she’d need to find a recommender and start her own campaign.
But I was the only friend she had...
If it actually came to that, what was I supposed to do?
"I..."
"Hmm? What is it, Airi?"
As we sat across from each other at a small table sipping our frappes, Airi let out a quiet murmur.
"I was just wondering... if I had decided to run for Student Council President, would Ryouta-kun have been my recommender?"
"...Airi, that's..."
"No, wait! It was just a hypothetical! There’s no way I could ever beat Rui-chan, anyway! You wouldn’t have done it, right?"
Airi spoke hurriedly, her face clouding over. It was rare to see her like this.
But if she were truly serious about running...
"You're wrong, Airi. Winning or losing wouldn't matter. If you told me you were seriously aiming for it, I’d be your recommender in a heartbeat."
"Ry-Ryouta-kun..."
"I owe you a lot, after all. Besides, since I'm not Rui’s official recommender, if you were okay with someone like me, I’d do it."
"Hehe, thanks, Ryouta-kun. But... actually, could you just forget I said anything?"
"Eh? O-oh, sure."
I was a little taken aback by how refreshed she suddenly looked.
"Because... even for someone like me, if I'm going to do something, I want to win against Rui-chan. I know the election is out of the question, but... when it comes to Ryouta-kun, I..."
"Me? Wait, are we still talking about the recommender thing?"
"Nooo! Anyway! We’re going to support Rui-chan for Student Council President!"
"Yeah... I mean, that was the plan from the start."
Airi seemed different today. There was a strange, heated intensity behind her words.
☆☆
After parting ways with Airi at Starbucks, I headed straight home without making any stops.
I didn't quite understand it, but Airi had been unusually fired up today—almost overexcited. I wondered why. Did having a friend run for office really affect the people around them that much?
In Rui's case, her victory was already such a sure thing that it felt like the election was just going to be a formality. Of course, I wanted her to do her best, but... I couldn't quite share that same level of heat.
Maybe it was because her victory was guaranteed, but as I calmly analyzed my feelings, I realized I was still hung up on the fact that I wasn't her recommender.
Rui had told me back during the Cultural Festival that she wanted me to be her Vice President. She’d always shown a weirdly possessive obsession with me, so I’d naturally assumed she would pick me.
Granted, the Student Council members are chosen by the President and the supervising teacher after the election, so she’d likely nominate me then. But if that was the case, there was no reason she couldn't have picked me as her recommender now.
Since she was basically guaranteed to win, the choice of recommender shouldn't have been that critical...
Maybe it was presumptuous for a loner like me to feel this way, but even if I was just a loner now, I was supposed to be her Vice President once she won.
Was Rui... not actually serious about making me Vice President?
"Sigh... To think I'd spiral into such heavy, almost yandere-like thoughts just because I wasn't chosen... It isn't like me at all."
I’d never felt this way before. Was it because I was a loner who had never existed in a competitive environment until now?
Whatever. I just wanted to get home, look through my digital folder of Rui's selfies, and calm my nerves.
With my head full of nothing but Rui, I finally reached my house.
Suddenly, near the front door, someone gave my back a sharp poke.
"Hehe... What a coincidence, Ryouta-kun."
"Eek! R-Rui...?"