9 - Let's break some legs

Her pink hair swayed in her stride. She smelled just as good as she looked, though I didn’t want to linger in it for too long—the last thing I wanted was creeping her out again.

“Suzumi-chan.”

Swirling around along with a startled look on her face, “Komiya-kun…”

“I saw you walking just now and thought, ‘Why don’t I go and say hi?’ or something like that.”

“Well, hi,” she giggled.

“Hi…” Scratching my head, I let out the truth, “I didn’t think much further than this…”

“Oh, right! How did your sports festival organisation turn out? Need any help?”

I wished it showed less on my face how troubled I was, “Everyone is motivated, that’s for sure.”

“I heard rumours doing the rounds that the class captain of Class D motivated even the least interested students to go all out. Who is—”

“Creepy-kun!!” A voice suddenly yelled from the other side of the hallway.

Turning toward it, I saw a girl with jets for legs sprinting our way—a girl I had never seen before.

“Heya, Suzumi-chan! Why are you talking to creepy-kun?”

…It was going pretty well up until now.

“Satou? Why are you so energetic all of a sudden?”

She held her fists above her shoulders in some sort of trademark bodybuilder pose. “I asked some friends who the Class D captain is.” She pointed her finger against my nose, “Turns out it’s creepy-kun! So I believe your class rep talk is over and it’s my turn to chat with him, right?”

Like a puzzled pet, Suzumi-chan slightly tilted her head, “I’m not sure I follow…”

“As fellow class captains, we have to discuss winning strategies with each other. Right, creepy-kun?”

A high pitched, defeated voice left the ends of my lips, “Please call me Komiya.”

“Right, creepy Komiya?”

Even more defeated this time, “I’m begging you, drop the creepy.”

“Hm… Somehow I’m not surprised,” Suzumi-chan said, “That you’re the class captain, I mean. I do wonder how you managed to motivate everyone, though.”

“Same here!”

I didn’t want to tell them about the punishments for several reasons; my pride being one, the hopes of none being served, too, and to honour my class in a way. The motivation surely would drop if everyone knew beforehand what I would be doing if we manage to win.

“It’s Class D’s top secret. Think you’ll get your class motivated to our level?”

“Don’t you worry!” Satou screamed. “It will be the best day of the school year, I’m sure everyone will feel the same! Which sports and events are you in, Class D captain?”

“Komiya is fine. I’m in tug of war, one of the referees in basketball and a runner in the three-legged race. Oh, and the anchor in the relay race.”

“Fellow anchor!” She held her hand up for a high five. “If we take first and second place, team blue’s got a sure-fire win, right, Suzumi-chan?”

She happily nodded.

“Which sports are you in?”

Her cheeks turned a little red, “The scavenger hunt and extreme tag… referee. I’m mainly part of the cheer squad.”

My nerves had dropped significantly ever since Satou joined the conversation, but now that I wanted to compliment Suzumi-chan, my heart began racing again.

“I’m sure I will perform at my best if you’re—”

My voice drowned out all of a sudden.

“What an unusual group of people,” Yuma said as he approached us. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he placed his hand on my far shoulder, “Been a minute,” he smiled.

“Eh?! You two are friends?” Satou squealed in disbelief.

“Are we?” He squeezed and then slapped my shoulder, “I guess we’re getting there. I first thought he was my rival, but then it turned out we’re not going after the same girl after all. Ain’t that right?”

Satou, biting her nails, mumbled aloud, “Love talk! Out of the blue!”

Popular people tend to speak at altitudes beyond my reach, this was a conversation I couldn’t get a grasp on, especially with Suzumi-chan in the midst of this storm.

I had to say something to keep this moment from turning even more awkward, “Who’s to say…”

“Satou—? Satou—?”

The meddlesome people spawner must be nearby since yet another girl appeared, looking for Satou.

“Oh, Watanabe, over here!”

Ever since Yuma joined the conversation, Suzumi-chan’s piercing gaze has been ever present on my side-profile. Unable to gather the courage to meet her eyes and attempt to decipher what she was thinking, my gaze simply followed the incoming Watanabe.

“Hello, Yuma-kun,” her expression came straight out of a shoujo manga. I’m sure the most oblivious guy on the planet could figure out she liked him.

After greeting him, she took in the larger picture.

“What an odd gathering…” She looked me up and down and cackled, “Even the creep is here! Should we make a shield around Suzumi-chan?”

Only I laughed, out of pity. Caught off guard by the lack of reaction from the others, she made one more attempt at livening up the crowd.

She placed her arms around Satou. “Don’t tell me you’ve changed targets… Hands off my precious Satou.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Satou wiggled her finger, “We became friends just now, right, Captain K?”

“At least stick to one nickname,” I whined.

Both Satou and Suzumi-chan chuckled at the remark.

Wanting to seize control of the conversation again, Yuma placed his arm around me once more, “I can tell you it’s not Satou he’s after. I saw a girl cuddled up with him on his bike a while ag—”

“—Is that true?” Suzumi-chan asked.

To avoid the question, I said, “Now that we’re on the topic of bikes, I think I’m going to get mine and go home.”

On my way out, I considered leaving my bike at school and running home, but on second thought, I had been running way too much as of late and my bag would be a hassle. A short-lived thought, yet for a moment, I could stand still and appreciate the effort I was putting in.

* * *

I had much to tell Noriko in the library the next day. I repeated everything I was about to relay in my own head, only to enter an empty library. Odd. I didn’t think she forgot, I assumed she was held up elsewhere. I began eating lunch on my own, finished and returned to the classroom right before the bell. All without seeing her.

Letting my eyes wander around, I didn’t see anyone I had ever seen her with. My best bet of figuring out where she’s been would be asking her classmates. The safest option was Satou, I figured.

After school, I forced a chance encounter by pacing near her classroom, hoping I wouldn’t run into Suzumi-chan first.

“Fellow blue captain spotted!”

Hook, line, sink her.

I feigned to be bewildered, “What a coincidence, I was just thinking that I had something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh? What’s up?”

“The sports festival is coming up soon and I was worried if there were any absentees today in your class. Are there any?”

She ruffled both of her hands through her hair, “Yeah, Nori-chan didn’t show up today! I hope she feels better tomorrow…”

Perfect, that was all I needed to hear. Now I had to find a way to end the conversation in a smooth manner.

“That is worrisome…” I backed off and held my hand up, “I’ll come up with a solution if she’s still below the weather on sports day.”

“Thanks, Captain Blue!” She waved, her arms swinging wide.

* * *

At home, I stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

“Hey mom, when you’re sick… what do you like to eat and drink?”

Without losing her concentration on cooking she replied, “It depends, really. Next time I’m sick, I’ll let you know.”

I scratched my cheek, “Do you think you’ll get sick within the next five to ten minutes?”

This time her hands stopped moving and she looked my way, “No?”

“Yeah… I think I need to know in advance then.”

“I don’t really trust you in the kitchen, dear.” Harsh. “I think you can’t go wrong with a nice box of chocolates. As far as drinks are concerned… I would say a nice cup of tea, but I don’t really trust you in the kitchen, dear,” she repeated.

“Even tea? I’ve made plenty of tea,” I stood up for myself.

“Well then, go ahead.”

I properly entered the kitchen and looked at two similar utensils side to side on the counter.

“Which one is the kettle again?”

Mom followed my gaze and laughed, “Well, one of those is a pressure cooker.”

“Anything besides tea?”

Mom snickered again, “You’ve been really funny lately, you know?”

Strangely enough I appreciated the compliment, but it didn’t really help me reach my current goal.

“Forget I asked, I’ll be out for a while, see you.”

“Later, dear.”

In a plastic bag, hung around my bike’s handlebars, I brought part of the cure with me. At a convenience store on the way, I bought a box of chocolates and a tea flavoured energy drink. With those added to the bag, my cure was complete. At my tempo, it didn’t take long before I reached my destination.

A long pause lingered in the air after I rang the doorbell. Then I was caught in a mind of two, ring again or leave? Before I made a decision, she opened the door all sleepy-eyed.

“Where can I leave my bike?”

Her eyelids seemingly disappeared as her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, “Komiya-kun—?!”

“I heard you were sick, so I brought a few things that’ll surely cure you.”

She rubbed her eyes, opened them, closed and rubbed them again. “…He’s still here.”

“Sure am.

“You can leave your bicycle next to the door,” she said as she gestured to me to come in.

Once the two of us sat down on the sofa, I showed her the items I brought.

“When women are sick, they want chocolates and tea… or so I heard.”

“Thanks a bunch, I’ve been craving something sweet.”

“Mhmm, anytime.”

With swift motions, she ploughed through the entire box. It appeared she realised the kind of glutton she turned into for a minute when she shyly offered me the last one.

“Thanks!”

It was on its way to my mouth, hers was also opened, basically drooling while her big eyes were begging for it. I closed my mouth and placed the chocolate in hers instead, only realising how weirdly intimate that was after I’d done it.

“Uh… Don’t forget the tea,” I handed it to her.

She accepted it with a puzzled stare, “Does this even count as tea?”

“It’s the thought that counts… as tea…” getting a saying right for once tripped my brain into getting it wrong.

Still, I managed to make her laugh, a win in my book.

“Right, there’s more left to the cure.” I opened the bag again and took two handheld gaming consoles out. “Want to play?”

An intrigued look painted over her face, “Sure… If you don’t mind me asking, why do you have two identical ones?”

“To play games that require multiplayer by myself. Laugh if you want, this won’t be a concern anymore once I’m Boushi’s most popular guy.”

“I wouldn’t make fun of you for that,” she assured. “I used to play chess against myself as practice.”

“Now that’s weird.”

“Jerk.” She flicked my forehead.

Out of the game options I presented her, she chose the kart racer. After I explained the controls, we got our first grand prix going.

“So, I was wondering… Have you thought about your creative project for the school festival?”

Concentrating on the game, she gave me a delayed reply, “Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the sports festival?”

“Both are perfect opportunities for me to reach my goal. That’s why I’m wondering whether or not what you’re planning aligns with my goal, if so, I’ll be sure to go all out helping you.”

I played this game all throughout my childhood, so racing and talking was like being in a park and walking. Noriko, on the other hand, struggled to speak when the game got intense—even letting her tongue slip beyond her lips.

As she finished second, she said, “Maybe I’ll turn you into my documentary subject.”

That sounded too good to be true.

“Are you for real? I don’t even know how I would return the favour.”

She smiled at her screen as the next race was about to begin. “Reading a book I recommended, giving me my favourite sticker before giving me a ride home—”

Distracted by her words, I missed the cue to accelerate.

“—Saving me during the speech, siding with me in the film club and visiting me when I’m sick at home. Making you the subject would be me returning the favour, right? I’ll have to bring one of my cameras tomorrow to record some footage.”

I finally realised the race had begun, doing my best to catch up.

“Even though you started on the wrong foot, you still managed to win in the end. Impressive.”

* * *

The day finally dawned upon us, Boushi’s sports festival day. My busy parents were luckily not in attendance, not many were to begin with, which spread my options thin for punishment number three. I had written them down in my notes app, taking my phone out, I reread it, hoping it magically changed to something less humiliating than, ‘Score a mother’s number’.

I put my phone away and shook the thought off, the punishments themselves were a gift from the heavens, allowing me to properly compete again to become the school’s most popular guy.

My eyes wandered from group to group, scanning my opposition as I made a shortlist in my head. First year, Class A, Yuma. First year, Class C, Suzuki. Second year, Class E, Yamada. Third year, Class A and student council president, Nakamura. Those are the contenders, outside of team blue, for most popular guy. Today would surely be an opportunity to get ahead of my competition.

“Excited?” A hyper Satou suddenly appeared. “You’re excited, right, captain?”

“Aren’t you a captain as well?”

“Hm-hm,” she proudly placed her hands on her hips, “Be sure to call me captain, okay?”

“…Even though you’re not my captain?”

“Satou!” Her class called.

“Let’s break a leg!” were her parting words.

I figured I should readjust my attention toward my class instead of being stuck in my own mind, drooling over popularity.

“Class D!”

We surely were the most unruly class of the six in our year, yet everyone gathered at the first call, excited for what was dubbed the most exciting day of the school year.

“Our first contribution to team blue is the tug of war. If we manage to win, I will howl like a wolf during the three-legged race.”

They cheered so loud, other classes were looking. As conflicted as I was about the punishments, I did properly research our sports to make myself look as good as possible.

“The most important thing in tug of war is leaning back with planted feet while pulling in sync. Then comes the positions, alternate between both sides of the rope. No one is as motivated as we are, and no one is as prepared either. Ready? Let’s break some legs!”

Current status: Motivational captain