Rivals and Resentment

Takahashi's worries about Yada's changes affecting the rehearsal turned out to be completely unfounded. Once again, the students managed to pull off a perfect performance of the play, even with Yada's last minute changes to her character. In fact, some students seemed to think that it was even better than before, and Takahashi was inclined to agree.

With the rehearsal now finished, the students went about cleaning up the room before they left for the day. It was the week of the festival, and there were only a few days left for the students to prepare for the real deal. The students, to Takahashi's relief, seemed positive about the play, and were chatting excitably about it as they cleaned.

“This play is shaping up pretty well,” Ooe said excitedly. “You think we'll win the prize for best class?”

“Maybe,” Oda replied. “I was doubtful at first, but this play ended up looking a lot better than I thought.”

“Same here! I was pretty surprised to see Izumi working so hard too. I guess he did write the script, so maybe it isn't so strange...”

“That's a surprise in itself. Never figured Izumi for a writer.”

“I've heard that said a couple times now,” Takahashi piped up. “It's a little strange. From what I've seen of Izumi, he seems like a pretty earnest guy. Why does everyone seem to think of him as some kind of thug?”

“Well, you know how it is,” Kuroda replied awkwardly. “Izumi's got a pretty tough and rugged appearance, right? So when rumors of him being a delinquent went around, it was pretty easily to believe.”

“It's not good to just believe rumors blindly, you know.”

“I-I know.”

Takahashi was fairly curious about the rumor, though. Rough-looking or not, people didn't just spread rumors about others on a whim. Something must have happened beforehand to give birth to the rumor. He turned to Fukuda, who was putting away her things as she prepared to leave.

“Fukuda-san, do you know anything about this?” Takahashi asked under his breath. Fukuda and Izumi were classmates once, so he thought she might know something.

However, Fukuda only shook her head. “I don't know anything.”

Takahashi was dissatisfied, but he didn't push it. The history between Fukuda and Izumi seemed complicated, and he didn't want to broach any delicate subjects.

Takahashi's attention turned back to the other students, who seemed to have started talking about something else.

“Oh yeah, Sensei, did you know about this?” Ooe asked. “Apparently Kondo-sensei's class is also doing a play for the school festival.”

“Is that right?” Takahashi actually did know, since the vice principal had mentioned it when he finally turned in his proposal. However, since he was cutting it so closely, he simply accepted it without much of a fuss. After all, it wasn't unusual for classes to end up doing the same thing sometimes.

“You worried about being shown up?” Takahashi teased.

“No way! We've been working hard too!”

Before the conversation could continue, Nagasaki suddenly rushed into the room, panting and heaving. “There's trouble!” he shouted out suddenly.

“What's the matter?” Takahashi asked as he got up from the desk he was sitting at.

“It's Izumi-kun!” Nagasaki answered. “Some delinquents from another school showed up and cornered him outside the gates!”

“Take me there!” Takahashi followed Nagasaki out of the classroom and out to the school gates. Though it was technically against the rules to run in the halls, Takahashi decided that this merited an exception.

They made it to the school gates in only a few minutes. Takahashi looked around for Izumi and found him surrounded by three tough-looking men in casual clothes. They looked like stereotypical delinquents, and just like stereotypical delinquents, they were trying to pick a fight.

“Come on, Izumi!” One of the delinquents called out sarcastically. “Don't wanna hang out with an old buddy?”

“Hey!” Takahashi called out, walking towards the three of them while trying to look as authoritative as possible. “Do you have any business here with my student?!”

The delinquent clicked his tongue and nodded to his friends. “See you later, Izumi.” They walked off, laughing as they did. Izumi straightened out his uniform as Takahashi and Nagasaki walked up to him.

“Are you alright, Izumi-kun?” Takahashi asked worriedly. “What was all that about?”

“Just some punks with too much time on their hands,”Izumi replied. “It's no big deal. It happens every now and then.”

“What does that mean?” Takahashi's worry only increased. “Are you being bullied?”

“Don't worry about it.” Izumi turned away and walked off. “I'm going home now.”

Takahashi sighed as he watched him walk off. Izumi had been much more of an open book recently, but some things were still a sore subject, it seemed.

*****

The next day, Izumi seemed quieter than he usually was. What was more concerning to Takahashi was everyone else, who seemed to have heard all about what had occurred yesterday. Recently, most of the class had forgotten about those delinquent rumors surrounding Izumi, but it looked like they were back in full force now.

Takahashi was worried, so during lunchtime he decided to try talking to Izumi once more. After wandering the school for a while, he eventually found Izumi with some bread in his hands. Izumi sighed the moment he saw Takahashi walking down the hall.

“What? You not happy to see me?”

“No. I can just guess why you're here.”

“I don't want to pry. I'm just worried about those delinquents coming back and causing trouble.”

Izumi sighed. “Look, I can deal with this stuff by myself, okay? Don't concern yourself with it.”

Takahashi relented, since it was clear Izumi wasn't going to talk about it. He changed the subject to the play, and they chatted idly as they walked back to the classroom.

On their way, however, the two of them ended up crossing paths with some other students. Takahashi recognized them as students from Kondo's class. Izumi, however, seemed to especially recognize the girl in front. She was a rather elegant-looking girl with long brown hair who seemed to have an air of authority. The girl had a rather sharp expression, and for some reason, she was glaring angrily at Izumi.

“Did you do something to her, Izumi-kun?” Takahashi whispered to Izumi in a joking manner. “Stand her up for a date, maybe?”

“Don't be stupid,” Izumi grumbled back. “I don't know who she is.”

“Hello there,” Takahashi said nervously. “Did you need me for something?”

The girl in front humphed. “Not really. I simply heard that your class was doing a play like us... and that he's writing it. Is that true?”

“Er, yes it is.” Was it really such a surprise? They'd been doing rehearsals for quite a while now.

“Hmph! Well, let me make one thing clear! Our class's play will be leagues better than yours, especially one written by a ruffian like you!”

“Hey, Kitamura-san!” one of her classmates blurted out nervously. “Don't pick fights in front of a teacher!”

Kitamura spun around without another word and stormed off, leaving behind a dumbstruck Takahashi and Izumi. Her classmates followed after her worriedly as they nervously bid farewell.

“Izumi-kun, are you sure you did nothing to that girl?”

“I'm sure.”

“Anyway, I'm pretty sure that was the class rep for Kondo-sensei's class. She's usually more reserved and put together. I didn't expect her to be so competitive... What was her name again?”

“Ayano Kitamura.”

“That's right.” Takahashi paused for a moment. “Odd... I don't remember anyone saying her full name.”

Izumi didn't say a word in response.

*****

Takahashi sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Izumi ended up avoiding him and left school before he could have a chance to talk to him. Still, these delinquents were a serious problem. He didn't want to leave it until they actually caused some trouble, so it was probably a good idea to nip things in the bud before it became a real issue.

Takahashi got up to leave when he was suddenly stopped by Yada and Ooe, as well as several other students from his class.

“And just where do you think you're going, Sensei?”

“Huh? What's all this about?”

“Don't you remember your promise?” Yada replied disapprovingly. “You said that if we pulled off a perfect rehearsal, you'd treat us all to a meal. Well, yesterday we pulled it off, which means you have a promise to fulfill.”

Takahashi clicked his tongue in annoyance. Yada's memory only kicked into full gear when it was about things like this. “Does it have to be today?”

“Always pay your debts as soon as you can. It's a rule everyone should follow.”

Takahashi glumly thought about the poor state of his bank account. Maybe using this method of motivation wasn't exactly the healthiest, especially for his wallet. Still, he could end up killing two birds with one stone.

“All right,” Takahashi declared as he clapped his hands together. “You want to get something to eat? Then follow me.”

*****

Izumi sat in his room glancing over the script one more time. He was just the script writer, and he wouldn't have much of a role during the real performance, but he wanted to make sure he had the play's scenes down by heart.

This wasn't because of the sudden challenge he had received earlier today. He had always been working hard to make sure this play was a success. Still, he couldn't deny that it certainly boosted his motivation quite a bit.

“Kentaro! Kentarooo!”

His mother was calling him from the shop downstairs. Did she need help? He got up from his seat and descended the stairs leading to the restaurant.

There, he was surprised to see his entire class sitting down in tables waiting to be served. As he stood in shock, his mother came and threw an apron over him. “Sorry, but could you help us out for a bit? It's a little too much for me to take everyone's orders by myself.”

Izumi took a pen and notepad and glanced around. Sure enough, pretty much everyone here was from his class. He didn't know what was happening, but he did know who to blame.

“Yo!” Takahashi called out casually as Izumi approached his table. Izumi could only sigh in exasperation. Of course it was him. Who else could it be but him?

Izumi quickly took everyone's orders, doing a much poorer job of hiding his irritation than he usually did. The students were surprised to see Izumi working, but were more excited to be visiting his place. His mother was also grinning from ear to ear. “It's so nice to see all of Kentaro's classmates come visit!” she said brightly.

As Izumi continued to take orders and serve students, Takahashi turned to the students sitting at the table with him: Fukuda, Yada, and Nagasaki. “Say, do any of you know Kitamura-san from Kondo-sensei's class?”

“I know who she is,” Yada responded. “I see her a lot during class rep meetings.”

Takahashi was more surprised to hear that Yada actually went to the class rep meetings.

“What is she like?” Takahashi asked. “I've seen her in class, but I don't know much about her.”

“Well, she's a pretty big stickler for the rules,” Yada remarked. “Every time I went to a meeting she would make some comment about my uniform.”

“That doesn't sound too far from what I know of her,” Takahashi remarked. “Anything else?”

“Sorry, no. I didn't really talk to her much.”

“Are you talking about Ayano Kitamura?” Izumi's mother came by carrying a tray with their orders on it.

“Oh!” Takahashi was surprised. “Do you know who Kitamura-san is, ma'am?”

“I do. She and Kentaro used to go to middle school together.”

“Really? Izumi-kun said he didn't know her, though...”

“Oh, they got into a fight or something like that back then. I suppose they still haven't mended bridges.”

Takahashi glanced wryly at Fukuda, who also had a complicated history with Izumi. Izumi was just the type to cause misunderstandings wherever he went.

Once all of the bowls were placed on the table, Izumi's mother left them to enjoy their meal, which they dug into heartily.

“I'm still annoyed,” Yada said with a huff. “I should have specified sushi from the beginning!”

“Don't underestimate the cunning of an adult,” Takahashi cackled. “It's not the first time I've had to pay for someone else's meal.”

As the chatter continued, Takahashi suddenly heard the sound of shouting coming from outside the store. The commotion disturbed the students who were eating, and Izumi's mother worriedly glanced outside from the doorway.

“What's the matter, ma'am?” Takahashi asked, getting up from his table.

“I'm not sure. But Kentaro went out to throw out the garbage and he hasn't come back yet...”

“Okay, just wait here. I'll go take a look.”

Takahashi exited the store and followed the sounds of the voices to the left side of the shop, where Izumi was once again being accosted by the delinquents from earlier that day.

“What's that look for? You mad cause we found out where you live?”

“Too bad, sucker! We haven't forgotten about how you butted in on our business with that Kitamura girl!”

Takahashi emerged from the corner with his phone in his hand. “What's going on? I'm going to call the police!”

“Tch!” The delinquents ran off, leaving Izumi behind. Takahashi breathed a sigh of relief. For delinquents, they sure were pretty quick to run.

Izumi started to walk back into the restaurant, but Takahashi stopped him by putting hand on his shoulder. “Hold on now. That's the second time I've seen you get into trouble with those delinquents. You can't get away without an explanation this time.”

Izumi sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Fine then. It's not really all that important, though.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“It's not really much of a story. Basically, Kitamura and I met in middle school as classmates. We sat next to each other, and we just naturally started talking to each other. Eventually we started hanging out and studying together, but I wouldn't say we were close friends.”

“That sounds pretty close to me.”

“Anyway, Kitamura was a pretty reserved girl, but she was pretty hardcore when it came to the rules. Guess it's just what happens when your mother's a lawyer. Anyway, she would always speak up if she saw someone breaking or even about to break the rules. It wasn't a problem most of the time... but then one day she called out some delinquents for shoplifting from a store. She got them expelled from their high school immediately.”

“Those were the delinquents from before? Well, I guess they're just thugs, technically.”

“Does it matter? In any case, those guys obviously weren't the type to take things lying down. They wanted revenge on Kitamura, to the point where they even came to the school to look for her.”

“Really? What happened?”

“I stopped them. But naturally, they weren't the kind of people you could just ask to leave. So I sent them running with my fists instead.”

“Wow!” Takahashi raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Somehow that doesn't really surprise me.”

“Well, naturally I got in trouble for fighting on school grounds. But I didn't want them to bother Kitamura, so I told the teachers that they came to the school because they wanted to call me out.”

“I see.” Suddenly, the rumors about Izumi being a delinquent made more sense. “What happened after?”

“Well, people started talking a lot about what happened. I started to worry that Kitamura would get caught up in the rumors if she associated with me, so I kept my distance from her.” Izumi sighed. “I guess she probably hates me now.”

“Is that so?” Takahashi was doubtful. After all, they never really spoke afterwards.

“In any case, I don't want to find out that you've told anyone about this, especially Kitamura!”

“What about those thugs? Shouldn't we do something about them?”

“They're small-time. They're too scared to actually do anything harmful, so don't worry about them.”

That didn't stop Takahashi from feeling worried over Izumi. Still, what else could he really do? Izumi made it pretty clear that he was not to interfere. Even so, he wanted to resolve this misunderstanding between the two of them somehow.

*****

Takahashi continued to worry until next morning, when he was called into a meeting with the vice principal. As he entered his office, he noticed Kondo-sensei standing with him. He was dressed rather like a stereotypical middle-aged man in a vest and slacks, and he pushed his wide-rimmed glasses up in a sort of greeting as Takahashi walked up to the desk.

“You wanted to see me?” Takahashi ventured cautiously. He hoped the vice principal hadn't changed his mind on allowing two classes to put on plays.

Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case. The vice principal only wanted to clarify the scheduling plans for their classes' plays, since they would both be held in the school's auditorium. They quickly settled on a simple alternating pattern, where one class's play would go right after the other.

“I'm glad we've settled on that,” the vice principal remarked as he entered the plays into a spreadsheet on his computer. “Unfortunately, this next subject is a little more complicated.”

“What subject?”

“The matter of the big stage,” Kondo explained.

“The big stage?”

“Yes,” the vice principal confirmed. “You see, on Sunday we're going to set up a big stage in the courtyard and hold a bunch of big events for all the vistors to partake in. We wanted your classes to be able to perform your plays on the big stage as well.”

“I see.” That would be nice. The courtyard was much bigger, after all.

“There is, however, one issue. The event scheduling was a bit more hectic than expected, and it turns out that we'll only be able to have room for only one of the plays.”

That was a complicated issue. The big stage was an opportunity to show off the play the students had worked hard on to as many people as possible, so the vice principal was probably certain that both classes would want to aim for the big stage. Of course, that was a pretty bold assumption on his part; Takahashi doubted his students really cared about the big stage either way.

“I've thought about it, and I've decided that it would be better to leave that decision to the two of you,” the vice principal explained. “As teachers who have supervised your students as they've worked for the festival, I'm sure the both of you want to see their efforts bear fruit. Feel free to discuss for as long as you'd like.”

With that, the two of them were dismissed. As they walked back to their classrooms on the second floor. Takahashi considered how he felt about the big stage. It would definitely be nice to let the students show off the play they worked so hard to pull off in front of as many people as possible. But he was content with just seeing them enjoy the school festival. Even when considering Fukuda, he only wanted her to embrace her love of acting, and she didn't need the big stage to do that.

“We don't need to make this complicated,” Takahashi finally said to Kondo, who seemed to be deep in thought himself. “I'll cede use of the big stage to your class, Kondo-sensei. I'm sure my students won't mind.”

He expected Kondo to accept immediately, but the answer he got in return was quite surprising. “Now, now, Takahashi-sensei. There's no need to be considerate towards me. Besides, it wouldn't do to rid ourselves of a chance to have some fun, is there?”

“Oh?” Takahashi was nervous. He didn't interact with Kondo much, but he knew that he had quite a competitive streak. He was the advisor for the basketball club, and he was known for being especially surly whenever the team lost a game.

“How about this?” Kondo suggested. “Let's have a little contest to decide. After all, we want the students with the best performance to be the ones on the big stage, right?”

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Takahashi replied warily. “There's only a few more days until the festival begins, and the contest might cut into rehearsal time.”

“No need to be a spoilsport. Besides, I'm not saying to pit the plays against each other.”

“Then what kind of contest were you thinking of having?”

“Have you heard of improv, Takahashi-sensei?”

He had. It was a style of performance that relied on quick reflexes and clever wits to tell a comedic story. When he was studying abroad, he'd seen several improv performances while working as a bartender in a comedy club.

“We'll have five of our students put on a short skit, maybe five to ten minutes in length. For the judges, we'll ask some of the other teachers to serve as an impartial third party. It'll be a quick little contest and then we'll get back to preparing for the festival. Doesn't sound too bad, right?”

Takahashi didn't know what to say in response. Kondo was seriously pushing for a competition between his two classes, but he didn't really want to have that kind of energy going into the festival. If it was handled badly, it could lead into some negative feelings once the school festival was actually underway.

“Would it be alright if I thought about it for a bit?” Takahashi asked.

“We don't have that much time, Takahashi-sensei,” Kondo said pointedly.

That was the point. Takahashi hoped that the lack of time would convince Kondo not to push too hard for the contest. If he was really pressed for an answer, then at least he'd be able to talk to the students and see how they felt about it.

“I think it's important to get the students' viewpoints,” Takahashi declared. “They're the ones who are going to be competing, after all.”

Kondo nodded. “I see. Then perhaps we should make the announcement to them first.”

“Huh?”

Takahashi then realized that they were standing in front of their classrooms. Homeroom had yet to begin, and the students were quietly waiting for their teachers to arrive. Takahashi tacitly understood what Kondo was trying to imply.

“Very well,” Takahashi conceded. “I'll talk to them right now.”

“I'll do the same.”

The two teachers parted and headed to their respective classrooms. Takahashi stood in front of the room and addressed the class once the normal morning business had been concluded.

“Alright, let's talk about the festival for a bit. According to the vice principal, there's going to be a slot on the big stage on Sunday for a play.”

A wave of oohs and ahhs ran through the classroom.

“Still, there's a problem. Some of you already know that Kondo-sensei's class is also doing a play. There's not enough room for both classes to perform, so we need to decide which class will get the big stage on Sunday.”

The classroom become alive with whispers as the students started chattering about the big stage.

“I'm not done,” Takahashi declared, silencing the class. “Kondo-sensei is suggesting a little competition to decide which class should get the slot. It'll be a short improv contest, and the judges will be some of the other teachers. What do you guys want to do?”

The answers were, as expected, fairly divided.

“Uh, we don't have to get the big stage, right? I don't really wanna go to the trouble...”

“No way! We should go for the big stage and show off to the whole school!”

“Shut up, Nagasaki! Just last week you were still fumbling your lines!”

“The big stage is nice, but an improv contest sounds like a pain.”

Takahashi sighed. This was about what he expected. Should he put it to a vote again and settle it once and for all?

“You'll accept the challenge, won't you?!”

Takahashi spun around to see Kitamura standing in front of the doorway, panting and heaving. She glared at Izumi and repeated herself. “Accept the challenge! I won't accept the big stage otherwise!”

Several students from Kondo's class appeared from behind Kitamura and pulled her away. “Kitamura-san, what are you doing? This isn't like you!”

Kitamura shook off her classmates and pointed at Izumi. “Kentaro Izumi! I won't let you ignore me any longer!”

Izumi, who had been trying not to draw too much attention to himself, sighed and stood up from his seat. “What's the matter with you, Kitamura-san? Isn't leaving the classroom like this against the rules?”

“Hmph!” Kitamura threw her long hair over her shoulder. “I won't let you run away from this challenge, that's all. I heard Takahashi-sensei was planning on giving up the contest, so I came here to make sure you accepted it instead.”

“For real?” Yada glanced at Takahashi.

“I was going to leave it up to you guys,” Takahashi explained anxiously. Kondo must have said something to rile Kitamura up. The old man could sure be troublesome when he wanted to be.

“Well? Do you accept the challenge?” Kitamura snarled as her classmates continued to try to pull her back to their class.

“I accept,” Izumi said with an exasperated sigh.

“And you're going to be part of the performing students?”

“Fine!” Izumi said impatiently. “Where are you even going with this?”

“If I win the contest, then I have the right to demand something from you!” Kitamura declared.

“What?” Izumi was bewildered. “Why would I agree to that?”

“I'll give you the same right if you win,” Kitamura shot back. “Not that you will.”

“Fine,” Izumi said irritably. “Whatever you want.”

Satisfied, Kitamura finally allowed her classmates to drag her back to their classroom as Takahashi let out an exhausted sigh. All this trouble for a slot on the big stage, and with the festival only days away. It seemed like trouble was never too far away.