Cultural Festival (Part 1)

Fall arrived, and the weather slowly turned colder. The students of MA High began switching back to their winter uniforms.

In Mizuha's classroom, Class 1F, they were eager to discuss the activities for the upcoming cultural festival.

At the front stood Shimizu and Zul, who had volunteered themselves to become representatives for the classroom committee for the cultural festival earlier.

Shimizu said excitedly, "Okay, you guys, listen—after meeting with a student council member earlier, they told us the first-year students will be doing a class exhibit. So give me your best ideas, okay."

Meanwhile, Zul stood beside her, ready to write down ideas coming from their classmates.

The classroom turned lively as everyone was discussing ideas with each other. Then one of their classmates raised their hand. Shimizu turned to him and said, "Yes, Yusuke-kun."

Yusuke gave his own suggestion. "How about we turn our class into a fortune teller?"

"Oh, fortune teller—that’s a good idea…,” said another classmate.

"That’s a nice idea, Zul—please…" Shimizu said, asking Zul to write it on the board. Zul nodded and wrote it down.

"Any other ideas?" Shimizu asked. Then another classmate raised their hand.

"Yes, Sora-san."

"How about we do a haunted house?" Sora suggested.

Shimizu’s face changed. "Geh, a haunted house?"

"What’s that face, Shimizu? Are you scared?" one of the classmates teased her, and the classmates laughed.

Shimizu’s face turned red. "Ah, shut up, you guys, I’m not scared at all."

"Anyway, Zul, write it down…" Shimizu said, giving Zul instructions while waving her hands.

She then looked at Mizuha, who was smirking and giggling at her, and thought, I’m sure that girl really likes this idea. She really is into this kind of thing.

Shimizu sighed before asking another suggestion. "Okay, another idea, please?"

Nobody came up with another idea. Then Eri was about to raise her hand, but she felt embarrassed to do so.

Eri was thinking, "Is it okay if I give my idea? I'm worried everyone won't like my suggestion?"

Zul noticed it and called her from the front. "Eri, did you want to give a suggestion too?"

Eri's face turned red as everyone was looking at her. "No, this, this… actually I…" She was hesitating to tell everyone her suggestion.

"It's okay, Sakamoto-san."

"Yeah, don’t worry about it… just give your suggestion." The classmates gave her support.

Eri then turned to Shimizu and Zul at the front, and they nodded at her. "It's okay, Eri…,” said Shimizu.

Eri then spoke hesitantly, "Well, how about we do a maid café?"

The class suddenly fell silent, and Eri thought, "I knew it, they wouldn't like it."

Then the class suddenly turned lively.

"Oh, that's a very good idea!" "I like it!" "Not bad, Sakamoto-san," said another classmate.

"Wait, did they like it?" Eri thought.

"Oh, that's a good idea too. Okay, Zul, write it down."

Shimizu then looked at the board behind her. "Okay, we’ve got three good suggestions here. Any other ideas, guys? If not, we’ll proceed to voting now."

The classmates replied, "It’s okay, you two—just proceed with the voting."

"Yeah, that was more than enough."

"Alright, we’ll proceed with the votes right now."

The class began voting and chose one from these three suggestions. After the votes were counted, Eri's suggestion—Maid Café—received the most votes and was chosen for their class exhibition.

"Okay, we’re proceeding with Maid Café, okay," Shimizu announced before she filled out the form on the podium.

After that, Shimizu then shouted, "Okay, you guys, let’s do our best for our class!!!"

The classmates turned motivated and replied to Shimizu with "Oh….!!" before getting excited about their plan to do a maid café for the classroom. Most of them began to form groups and divide tasks among themselves.

Meanwhile, some male classmates started imagining their female classmates in maid uniforms.

"Wah, Sakamoto-san in a maid uniform." "It must look nice on her."

"But don’t forget Shimizu in a maid uniform too."

"She’d look very good in it too—if she acted like her cute, feminine self like back then, right?"

"Yes, you’re correct about that." The male classmates chatted with each other.

Shimizu passed by their group, overheard the conversation, turned to them, and gave them an uneasy look. "Urgh, you guys, so disgusting…!!"

"Wait, did she hear our conversation?" they thought.

Shimizu tilted her neck and looked at them smirking before she said, "Ah, I forgot to say—the male students will have to wear it too and promote our class maid café outside, okay?"

"Wait, what? No way we’re wearing that…" they protested.

Shimizu knocked her knuckles together and gave them a scary glare. "Huh!? Did you guys say something?" They fell silent and didn’t protest anymore.

Shimizu left their group while waving her hand. "Then, I’m counting on you guys… okay," Shimizu said bluntly.

"Damn it… why do we have to wear it too…" The guys said, feeling defeated by Shimizu.

Mizuha smiled and chuckled, watching Shimizu act toward those guys, and thought, "So it's beginning, huh—cultural festival. I wonder how lively it will become. Is there something I can do for my class…?"

Is there something I can do for my class…?"

Then, suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by some classmates approaching her.

"Yuki-san…."

Mizuha turned to them and replied, "Yes, can I help you guys…"

"Yuki-san, you’re great at drawing, right? Can you help us with designing our classroom banner and flyers, please…"

Mizuha smiled at them. "Sure, why not? I’m glad to help you guys…"

"Really!? Yeah, thanks, Yuki-san…" They got excited to have Mizuha with them.

Meanwhile, at another group, classmates discussed among themselves, "Hmm, we still lack people in charge of the kitchen... Is there someone else who’s great at cooking here…?"

Eri approached them, "Um…"

They all turned to Eri. "Yes, Sakamoto-san. Can we help you?"

"Can… can I join you guys at the kitchen? I can help a little…"

They were shocked. "Really!? You want to join us…?"

Eri nodded. They turned excited. "Sure, why not? Actually, we need more people for the kitchen."

Shimizu approached them and put her hand on Eri’s shoulder and push her forward.

"You guys better take her in, you know. Eri is actually good at cooking—everything she cooks is really delicious."

Eri’s face turned red. "Stop it, Shimizu-chan, it's so embarrassing."

They turned excited. "Really, Shimizu-san!? We didn’t know about that. This must be great for us."

They gave their hands to Eri. "Let’s do our best, Sakamoto-san."

Eri took their hand and smiled, "Yes!! I will try my best."

Suddenly, Zul approached them. "Ah, please count me in too—for the kitchen."

They turned to him and looked shocked, "Zul, you want too?"

Zul asked them, "Yeah, is that a problem? Did you guys have enough people already?"

They replied, "Oh, not actually—we’re still lacking one more person. If you want to join us, then we’ll have enough people."

"Okay, just count me in."

"Understood. With Zul joining us, we have enough people for the kitchen too."

Shimizu looked at him and mumbled, "Here they are—her prince is coming to be by her side… as usual."

Zul turned to her. "Did you say something, Shimizu?"

"Ah, it's nothing—you just misheard something, haha."

Zul then looked at Eri. "Let’s do our best, Eri." Eri nodded and smiled at him.

Shimizu looked around inside the classroom and saw her classmates beginning to work with each other, then thought, "Good, looks like everyone is working hard for the festival."

Then Kurumi and her friends came up to her. "Hey, Shimizu…" Kurumi said.

Shimizu looked at them with an uneasy expression, despite what they had done to Mizuha a few weeks ago. "What, do you want something from me!? Want to fight?"

Kurumi protested. "It’s not like that, you jerk."

"Then what? Make it quick, don’t waste my time…"

"Well, actually, is there something else we can do to help? We want to get involved in this too."

"Wait, you guys what…?"

"Yes, I know we did bad things to Yuki and you guys back then, but it’s already in the past, right? Can we forget that already? So please, let us help too."

Shimizu sighed while rubbing her head. "Ah, okay, okay, fine. Even though I’m still upset about what happened back then, Mizuha has already forgiven you guys, so there’s no need to argue with you anymore."

Then Shimizu shouted to her classmates, "Hey, you guys, does anyone still need help with preparations yet?"

Then one classmate raised their hand. "Ah, over here—we need people to help with making our costumes."

Shimizu turned to Kurumi and her friends. "You heard them, right? Go help them."

Kurumi’s friends said while dragging her to them. "Let’s go, Kurumi-chan."

"I know, please don’t drag my hands like this."

She turned back to Shimizu and said, "Well, thank you…"

"No problem, let’s do our best."

Kurumi then left Shimizu and joined the costume-making group.

Shimizu then looked at Mizuha and Eri. " Both Mizuha and Eri are also giving their best to help the class."

"Well, I'd better join them too," Shimizu said before joining Kurumi and the group who were making the costume.

________________________________________

Then break time arrived, and Mizuha and the others went to eat together on the rooftop as usual.

"I see, so you guys are doing a maid café. It seems interesting," Hikaru said while starting to eat his bento.

"That’s right—this was all Eri’s idea. She was the one who suggested it, actually, you know," Shimizu replied.

Mizuha smiled at Eri. "Yeah, that’s right—it’s rare for you to suggest something like this. Not bad, Eri-chan."

Eri’s face turned red. "Stop it, you two—this is so embarrassing…"

Zul smiled at her, and they all laughed after that.

Then Mizuha turned to Hikaru. "By the way, what’s your class doing, Hikaru?"

"Oh, we’re doing a mini planetarium."

"Planetarium!? Wow, so cool—it must look nice, right?"

"Haha, we can see it later after we finish it. Please come to visit us during the festival day, okay?"

Shimizu interrupted them. "Of course we’ll come—then you come to our café too."

"Yes, I know, I know—I’ll come to your class," Hikaru said bluntly to Shimizu.

"If you don’t, you’ll miss the chance to see Mizuha in a maid uniform," Shimizu teased Hikaru.

Mizuha’s face turned red. "Hey, Shimizu, please stop it."

Shimizu continued teasing him. "See, you started imagining her in that dress, right? Haha, you're just like those guys from my class earlier."

Hikaru turned upset. "Ah, you’re so lousy and annoying, Shimizu—could you shut up, you tomboyish girl?"

"What did you say? Say it again!"

Both of them exchanged angry glares with each other.

"Here they are, arguing again over a little thing," Zul said while sipping his water.

Eri chuckled. "Yes, you’re right—those two seem really close."

Mizuha sighed. "Ah, those two are really hopeless."

"Okay, you guys, enough with this already," Mizuha said, calming them down like a kindergarten teacher managing children who fight.________________________________________

Then someone opened the rooftop door and approached them.

"Sorry, you guys—we're late...!!"

It was Akemi and Takeru who came up to them before joining their circle.

Shimizu teased them while elbowing Hikaru. "See who finally arrived—this late couple… hehe."

Takeru punched Shimizu’s shoulder. "Ah, shut up, Shimizu."

"What are you guys doing? We’re almost finished eating already."

"Ah, come on—unlike you guys, we had a lot of work, you know," Takeru replied.

Zul said, "That’s right—both of you became student council members, didn’t you?"

"Oh, I totally forgot about that. Sorry, sorry," Shimizu replied.

"Never mind, it's not a big deal. More importantly, let’s dig into this bento first."

"Bon appétit." Takeru then opened his bento and quickly ate it.

"Ah, so delicious—eating a bento after being tired feels so great."

"Of course it's delicious—a bento from Akemi, isn’t it?" Hikaru teased him.

"Come on, not you too, Hikaru-kun!" They all laughed together, teasing Takeru.

Meanwhile, Akemi, who sat beside Mizuha, smiled as she looked at them and began opening her bento box.

Mizuha turned to her and said, "Good work out there. How is it, student council?"

Akemi sighed. “You bet it. Too tired. Especially with the upcoming cultural festival—there’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be done.”

"But even though it’s tiring, I’ve learned many things from them, and they were good people. It gave me experience too, haha."

Mizuha smiled at her. "I see, then that’s good for you, Akemi-chan. You’ve changed too."

Akemi was confused as she started eating her own bento. "What do you mean by that, Mizuha-chan?"

"You seem calmer, more confident, and more cheerful than before."

Akemi blushed. "Well, it’s actually… all thanks to Takeru-kun. If it weren’t for him chasing me back then, I might have given up by now. Especially after Hikaru-kun rejected me earlier—I felt like I’d lost my way."

"But it’s okay—now. I no longer hold a grudge against you, and I’ve stopped chasing after Hikaru-kun. I finally feel free and can be honest with my feelings, and I’m glad I found someone like Takeru-kun—who really cares about me."

"I see, I’m glad to hear it. Then do your best, Akemi-chan!"

"Also, about the bad things I did to you back then—once again, I'm really sorry… It was my fault. I caused you trouble because of my jealousy. I'm truly sorry."

"Stop it, Akemi-chan—you've already apologized too much back then. No need to apologize again, okay? We're already done with it. Let's forget about that, okay."

"Really? Thank you, Mizuha-chan. You're really a kind person."

"By the way, how’s your relationship with Hikaru-kun lately?"

"Wh… What are you talking about, Akemi-chan? Bringing that up out of nowhere..."

"Haha, I already told you my feelings earlier—now it’s your turn. How is it? Any progress?"

"Well, actually…" Mizuha told Akemi her relationship hadn’t changed much and hadn’t made any progress—it was still the same as before.

Akemi was shocked. "Eh, what do you mean? Nothing has changed since then…?"

"Yes, we just talk, eat during breaks, and walk home together—that’s all. We haven’t even gone out yet."

"Seriously, I thought you were already going out after he rejected me."

Akemi thought, "Geez, what is Hikaru-kun doing actually…?"

Then Takeru leaned between them and asked, "What are you two talking about? Seems interesting—mind sharing with me?"

"Oh, shut up—it's nothing special and you don't need to hear about it. Here, eat this," Akemi said, picking up food with her chopsticks and feeding Takeru.

"Ah, got fed by Akemi-chan—feels so good!"

Akemi’s face turned red. "Wait, that’s my chopstick? Was that an indirect kiss?"

Takeru laughed. "I think so, haha."

Mizuha chuckled. "Haha, you two are really getting close now."

To be continue…Part 2