Chapter 34 – Gifted Trouble

There are few things scarier than a group of teenagers given full creative freedom.
Especially when one of them is Kenta Nishiyama.

“BEHOLD!” he shouted, slamming a red box onto the teacher’s desk, Sparkly pink glitter flew out of it.

The box had a poorly drawn heart and the words
🎄 ROMANCE ROULETTE 🎄
across it in two different colors of permanent marker. The ‘E’ in ‘Roulette’ was somehow backwards.

“This,” Kenta declared proudly, “is our totally fair, not-at-all rigged Christmas Mystery Gift Draw!”

“Totally fair,” Daiki repeated, deadpan.

“Why is there glitter on my face?” Someone asked.

“No time for questions!” Kenta clapped his hands. “You draw a name, you buy them a gift. Romantic tension not included... unless you want it to be. No trading, no takebacks, no crying!”

“Is this legal?” Mika whispered.

Hina blinked slowly. “Kenta said if we didn’t do it, the Christmas Curse would get us.”

“There is no curse,” I said.

Kenta raised a single finger. “That’s what I thought last year when I gave Daiki a heartfelt mug and three days later, I fell down the stairs.”

“Because you slipped on a banana,” Daiki said. “That you threw there yourself.”

“That’s... debatable?”

“I literally have the video.”

Anyway.

Somehow, the class agreed.

Mr. Kumagai just muttered something about “youth” and continued grading our kanji tests.
Probably gave Kenta extra credit for artistic vision.

We all lined up to draw a slip from the glitter-infested box. One by one, names were pulled, gasps were made, and Kenta yelled “FATE!!!” like he was possessed by a obsessed game show host.

When it was my turn, I hesitated.

The box looked like it might bite me.

I reached in.

Pulled a folded slip.

Opened it.

Paused.

Read it again.

It said:
Fujimoto Airi.

I blinked.
Then blinked again.
Then looked around for hidden cameras.

“No way,” I whispered.

No way the universe was this cruel twice.

Across the room, Airi was unfolding her slip.

She didn’t react.

Didn’t smile.

Didn’t scoff.

She just stared at it with an unreadable expression.

Then slowly tucked it into her pocket.

Hina, standing behind her, looked extremely pleased for some reason.

Daiki patted my shoulder.

“Congrats, buddy. Better start shopping for that fire extinguisher.”

“…What.”

“Girls love practical gifts.”

“No one loves fire extinguishers.”

“Then go with a feather quill pen.”

I wanted to cry.

The rest of the day was a blur.

Between math class, group rehearsal for the café event, and Kenta loudly declaring himself the “Santa of Romance,” I couldn’t focus on anything.

My thoughts kept drifting back to Airi.

She’d been… different lately.

Not in the usual “surprise slap to the back of the head” kind of way. No, she’d been quieter. More serious. She’d started saying things that stuck in my head too long. Giving me this weird, soft look that made my brain crash like a bad update.

Was she planning something?

Was I involved?

Should I?

Could I?

My brain was a maze and I was the lost rat with a gift bag.

After school, I stayed back to help clean up glitter from the desks. (Spoiler : it never leaves.)
When I left, I passed the window by the stairwell.

Daiki and Hina were standing there, looking out toward the front gate.

I paused.

Daiki: “So. You swapped the names, right?”

Hina: “Maybe.”

Daiki: “You’re scary sometimes.”

Hina: “She needs one more push.”

Daiki sighed. “Yuuji’s gonna panic all weekend.”

Hina smiled faintly. “He’ll be fine.”

I quietly tiptoed away.

I knew it.

I knew this whole thing was rigged.

And yet…
Some part of me wasn’t mad about it.

Yuuji’s Mental Diary - Day 34

Airi Status: Calm, Too calm. Probably plotting something.
Gift Draw Result: Her.
Mental State: Melting down, thanks for asking.
Daiki's Advice: Useless but enthusiastic.
Suspicion Level: 100%. Hina definitely did something.
Game Plan: Don’t overthink. Buy a gift. Beat her to the...
Kenta Rating: Sparkly Chaos Goblin / 10
Next Mission: Operation Christmas Shopping (with zero clue what girls like)