Chapter 22:

Chapter 20 – “The Curtain and the Carnival”

Dear Diary : She’s crazy

The school was full of noise heard before I even stepped inside.

Festival day.

The hallway was full of handmade signs, smell of fried food, and the sound of five different songs clashing through different classroom speakers.

Some students were still finishing decorations, Some were already in cosplay.

Kenta was wearing a mustache that didn’t match his costume and wouldn’t stop yelling "Get your drama on!" to strangers.

I tried to stay calm, I really did.

But my heart kept skipping for one reason:

The play was in less than two hours.

Mr. Kumagai looked like he hadn’t slept, He’d tied his scarf around his head like a bandana and kept whispering Shakespeare quotes like incantations. Our class had the third slot in the auditorium, right after Class 1-A's Romeo and Juliet and a jazz performance from 2-C.

Backstage, everything was chaos.

Props being glued, Capes being ironed. Kenta trying to eat yakisoba while doing sword stretches. Mika almost had a breakdown because someone swapped her lace ribbon with a regular one. Daiki was the only one calm, but even he had that serious look he gets before a test.

And then Airi walked in.

Costume? perfect. Hair pinned back, And a posture that screams confidence.

She didn’t say anything. Just took her script, sat in the corner, and waited.

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The lights dimmed, The curtains opened.
And so the story began.

It was a romantic fantasy, Written by Usagi? I think.
A tale of a prince and a villainess who was never truly evil, only misunderstood.

I remembered the scene, I remembered my lines. But I'll never be prepared for how real it felt.

Every time Airi stepped on stage, the room went quite. Her voice wasn't lound, but it was clear, like she meant every word.

Especially in Scene Three.

She didn’t say the mask line the same way. This time, she said :

"You’re the only one who sees me… even when I forget who I am."

Still hit me like a truck, No matter how many time I've listened to it.

I delivered my line late, Not because I forgot. Because I couldn’t breathe for a second.

She never looked directly at me until Scene Five, That was the confession scene. The part where the prince chooses her, not the princess.

“I don’t want the perfect ending,” I said, hand outstretched. “Just… stay.”

Airi looked at me, Eyes watery.
her smile small, almost invisible but it felt honest.

“…I’ll try,” she whispered.

The lights faded, Applause erupted from the crowd.

And just like that, it was over.

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Backstage was chaos again, Everyone cheering.
Mr. Kumagai wiping away tears. Mika hugging everyone. Kenta yelling, "We did it!" and lifting Daiki like a trophy.

I turned to look for Airi.

She was slumped in a chair, head resting against the wall.

Eyes closed, Breathing softly.

Asleep.

I didn’t wake her up.

She looked… peaceful. Like someone who had just finished a long journey.

I grabbed my jacket put it over her and headed outside. The festival was in full swing now. Lanterns hanged up. Students laughing, Music playing near the courtyard. Somewhere a haunted house was making people scream.

I stood by the drink stall, wondering what to do when-

“Hey,” a voice said behind me.

I turned.

She was there.

Same height, Same face, Different smile.

Usagi.

“Did I miss the curtain call?” she asked.

I stared, Then shook my head. “You made it.”

She looked up at the festival lights. “It’s pretty.”

“It is."

“Want to walk a bit?”

“…Yeah.”

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We walked past the food stalls, She bought cotton candy the size of her head and got powdered sugar all over her sleeve, I tried winning her a keychain from the ring toss and missed every shot. She laughed the whole time.

At the goldfish scooping booth, she didn’t even try to win. She just crouched beside the tank and watched the fish swim.

“You know,” she said. “I really like it here.”

“At the festival?”

“With you.”

I looked down.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “For switching like that.”

“It’s not your fault.”

She shrugged. “Still. I always think… what if I ruin everything before I can fix anything?”

“You haven’t ruined anything, never will.” I said.

She smiled again.

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Later, we sat on the grass near the back of the school building. Far from the noise, The sky above us starting to darken.

“I liked your performance,” she said.

“But I messed up my line?”

“Especially then.”

She pulled something from her pocket.

A copy of the script, Folded. A little crumpled, But with a different title page.

"Final Draft."

I opened it.

The ending had changed, The villainess didn’t disappear anymore.
She stayed, Not because she was forgiven. But because someone asked her to.

“I rewrote it last night,” she said.

“You knew she’d fall asleep?”

“I hoped she would.”

“…Is that mean?”

She leaned back on her hands. “No? She’s the one who wanted today to happen.”

I looked at her, Really looked.

She wasn’t wearing her usual smile.

She was just here.

Something felt off, But I didn't ask her.

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The fireworks started as we walked back toward the main building. Students gathered in the courtyard, shouting and cheering. Bright colors lit up the night sky.

She stood beside me, face glowing with orange light.

“I want to remember this,” she said.

“I think I will.”

She looked at me.

Then handed me something small.

A keychain, The one I failed to win.

“I got it after you left,” she said.

“Thanks.”

“One more thing,” she said.

I turned.

She kissed my cheek.

“Goodnight, Yuuji kun!!”