Chapter 77: The World Explodes (And School)

My dad is right. We are folk heroes.

My phone does not have enough battery to handle the notifications.

Daiki, the "cameraman," apparently "tripped" on his way out of the security office, and his camera's memory card "fell" right into the pocket of a waiting reporter.

The footage is... perfect.

It is high-definition. Daiki captured everything. Hiroto's dramatic speech. Toujo's entire, horrible dance routine. My sprint. My shout. "YOU HEAR ME, YOU PENGUIN-APRON JERK?"

And most importantly...

Daiki had zoomed in.

He captured Fuji's laugh.

The world has seen the Ice Prince, the perfect doll, throw his head back and laugh. A real, honest, messy laugh.

He captured Fuji's grin at the end. The "war is on" grin.

The internet is broken.

#PenguinApronJerk is the number one hashtag. #ImperialDanceOff is number two. #FreePrinceFuji is number three.

My Instagram, which had 400 followers, now has 4 million.

This is not a "normal life."

I walk to school on Monday.

It is a nightmare.

The gates are blocked. By reporters.

"ISUZU-SAN! ISUZU-SAN! IS IT TRUE ABOUT THE PENGUIN APRON?"

"ARE YOU OFFICIALLY AT WAR WITH THE CROWN PRINCE?"

"WHAT ARE YOUR DEMANDS?"

How am I supposed to get to Math class?

Suddenly, a path clears.

That bully from the soccer team. The one who bowed to me.

He is here. With his entire team.

They are forming a human wall.

"Make way! Make way for Isuzu-sama!" he roars. "She has Royal business! Do not block her path!"

He is... my bodyguard?

He and his team shove the reporters aside. I just walk through the path they clear.

"Thank... you...?" I mutter.

"We serve the future Queen!" he shouts, bowing.

I am going to be sick.

I get to class.

My desk... is covered in gifts.

And... penguins.

Stuffed penguins. Penguin keychains. Penguin-shaped cookies.

Toujo is already there. He is signing autographs.

"Yes, that is right," he is telling a group of first-years. "I developed the dance move myself. It is called the 'Imperial Worm'."

Rika is just hiding under her desk.

This is my life.

I sit down. I try to ignore the penguins.

I look at Fuji's empty desk.

The shrine of flowers is gone.

It has been replaced.

With a single, perfect, penguin stuffed animal.

The Fuji Fan Club... has switched sides. They are on my side now.

Mika-chan, the club president, walks over. She is not crying. She is resolute.

"Isuzu-sama," she says, bowing.

"Please stop calling me that."

"We understand the mission," she says, ignoring me. "We saw his laugh. He is trapped. And you are his only hope. The Fuji Kenji Fan Club is hereby renamed. We are... the 'Penguin Apron Brigade'."

"The... what?"

"We will support your war," she says. "Whatever you need. We are your army."

An army. Of high school girls.

This is the stupidest, most powerful thing I have ever heard.

I look at Fuji's empty desk.

They think I am going to save him.

The whole world thinks I am going to save him.

But I am locked out. We are banned.

How do I fight a war when I cannot even get past the front gate?