Addressing THE ELEPHANT in the Room.

While Agatta and Sume were talking on the roof I went to practice, and things happened exactly like the day before. The dressing room was full of voices and laughter before I entered, and once I did it got extremely quiet. Since the captain told me not to pay too much attention to it I did exactly that, I just started changing and minding my own business.

Suddenly, one of the third graders just yelled:

"Screw it, we need to talk about it and we need to do it now!" Then he approached me, I was still not done changing, I just didn't have my shirt and my shoes anymore, I was still in my pants, but half naked nonetheless. "Impo-kun, the blue-pill prank has been an honored tradition of our club ever since it was founded! I think."

He sounded so convinced about it, but the last words indicated he lacked enough information to prove that statement correct.

"Yeah, it's what this club is all about!" Replied someone else.

Isn't this club about swimming?

"The amount of students that have gone through the embarrassment of trying to hide an assisted pinched tent has always been numerous." Continued the first one. "And at the end of the day all of us shared that experience as a beautiful memory of our club. Because we all have been made fun of for it, we all had to bear with that uncomfortable situation when we joined the team as freshmen. It is… it is beautiful!" He said, wiping a single tear that came out his eye.

Why is he so emotional about having to go through that sort of stuff? Is it really that meanful for him?

"YEAH!" Yelled the rest of the changing room.

Ok, it's not only him who finds it meanful apparently.

"I remember that I didn't move from my seat the entire day when it happened to me, but I still had to come to practice, and I couldn't even change because of it." Spoke the third grader again.

"Yeah! I had to do a class presentation on that very day!" Said another guy.

"I had to visit my grandparents that evening!" Intervened other.

"I went to a doctor's appointment!"

I don't know why all of them were sharing those experiences as if they just weren't everyday things that got worse because of the prank the club members played on them, but somehow, every time somebody said something the room was filled with cheers and clapping, they all seemed to agree that those things were truly good memories.

I was hoping the captain would come and help me, or at the very least to not side with them like he immediately did.

"Yeah, it's not fair we were the only ones suffering!" Said the captain, in his eyes you could see that he was being honest, he wasn't just playing around with me or siding with the other members because it would be fun. No, he really agreed with them.

“YEAH!” Screamed the room in unison.

“He must be embarrassed in public too!”

“He won’t be one of us unless he goes through a humiliating experience!”

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE GUYS? I CAN’T BE ONE OF THEM UNLESS I GO THROUGH HARDSHIP?

Well, I got great news for them if that’s the case: I don’t want to be part of them.

“I agree.” Said the club’s advisor standing in the door.

If there was one last person whom I was hoping would not side with all of them then that person would have been him. But every worst scenario has come true, so even if it was highly improbable it doesn’t surprise me anymore.

“Yeah, let’s have him go to the women’s changing room in nothing but underwear!” Suggested one guy.

"We can't do that." Replied the teacher.

"He's right." Intervened someone. "Some of the girls over there are starting. If we send him there he won't be punished, he'll be rewarded."

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

"Then…" Said another one. "How about he has to run all over the school in his underwear?"

"Yeah, let's have him do that!" Replied some.

"No, we can't do that either." Said the teacher.

"Why not?"

"Because that would get him into trouble with the school, and the point is to create an embarrassing memory. Not getting him kicked out."

"Then what?"

The room was suddenly filled with hums and a bunch of half naked men thinking how they could make me live an embarrassing experience.

Suddenly the captain said:

"I know, let's use the girl from the swimming club that he's always hanging out with. How about you have to confess to her while dancing like a bird in your swimsuit?"

"Yeah! You will have to dance in front of everyone and then confess your love!"

I couldn't understand what they were talking about. I mean, I understand that it would be embarrassing to do a mating dance in front of the entire club, but there was a major problem: Agatta and I were already dating.

"That's a good idea." Said the teacher. "You two aren't dating but clearly like each other, so it's going to be a good show."

"Yeah, let me look for some dances he could do!" A guy shouted.

"I'll search for some too!" Responded another one.

Suddenly many of them are looking for videos of birds doing mating dances and laughing while they look at them.

I wanted to interrupt and tell them that I was already dating Agatta, but when I looked where the instructor and the captain were sitting they gave me a sign asking to wait a little bit longer before I speak. Once they told me it was ok to speak I tell everyone:

"Ah, guys, I'm already dating that girl, so… maybe you should think of another idea."

“Oh, come on!” Yelled the guy who first started to look for bird dances.

Many of them were also mad about it, one even hit a locker with his head because of the frustration. And the teacher interrupted before they actually suggested anything else.

“You are joking right? She came to practice yesterday running away from you.”

“No, that was because…” Then the memory of her breaking up with me came back to my mind, so I got a bit sad and lowered my head before continuing: “Because after what happened she wanted to break up with me. She told me just yesterday morning that we couldn’t date anymore… so I spent the entire day trying to come back with her or at least understand exactly why she wanted to break up… that’s what happened.”

Before I spoke everybody was staring at me with blood-thirsty eyes, they all were looking for a way to make me go through an embarrassing situation. But now, their eyes were different, the ones looking at me had a sad look, others were not even facing towards me, they were looking at the ground or at the ceiling, but the sadness was also visible in their faces.

“Damn… that’s tough…” Said the third-grader that started everything.

Then one of the guys that were closer to me came right next to my side and pat my shoulder for a little, then he said:

“I’m sorry bro, I didn’t know you had such a difficult time.”

“Yeah man, that’s truly awful.” Said another one.

“Yesterday must have been horrible for you…” Interrupted a third one.

Then the silence took over the room, everyone was immersed in their own thoughts, then someone said:

“You know, if you guys want to still make him do something then that’s on you, I’m not going to make him go through another hard time. I think he has had enough.”

“Yeah, I’m not going to get involved in that either.” Continued another one.

“They are right.”

“Yeah, we might not be good guys, but we ain’t monsters!”

“YEAH!” Yelled the entire room.

The guy next to me bowed his head and apologized for everything, then the guys next to him did the same. In the end I got an apology from all the members of the club, including the captain and the instructor. Lastly, the guy who started everything came to me and he gave me his shirt.

“What I’ve done is completely unacceptable, I have spoken without knowledge of anything that happened in your life, and although your kind heart might forgive me for it my conscience will never, so I’ll try to atone for what I did by exposing my guiltiness to the world!”

I understood roughly a third of what he said, but I didn’t understand why he was giving me his shirt.

“I shall go home without my shirt and face whatever consequences it may bring!” He continued.

Boy, that escalated quickly!

I did not expect him to say that, and I tried to convince him to not do it.

“No, no, no there is no need for that!”

“There is all the need for it!”

“No, you can end up in prison!”

“If I don’t do it I will be a prisoner of my guiltiness for all eternity!”

STOP SAYING NONSENSE DAMN IT!

“You are wrong, there are other ways you can get rid of that guiltnes!”

“And what would that way be?”

I opened my mouth but no words came out of it. I wasn’t expecting him to ask me directly, I was hoping he would suggest other ways himself and I could choose the least crazy of them.

“I don’t know. But if you give me a little time I will tell you.”

“So I should put my body to your service until you figure it out?”

Pause. That’s a mad statement!

“No, that’s not what I mean!”

“But it is indeed a great idea, only if I serve you I can really gain your forgiveness. Then I shall be your butler! I will work extremely hard for your sake my lord! Please remember that Shi Tsuji is at your service at any time.” And he bowed his head.

“That is such an honorable decision Shi-kun!” Intervene the instructor before I could reject his idea. “I’m sure that way your mind will find the forgiveness it needs.”

“Precisely, so it is already decided, master. Please allow me to look out for every single one of your needs.”

“HURRAY!” Yelled the room, as if they were the congress approving a new law.

All of them are out of their damn minds, and since I’m part of the club then I might as well be, but I don't feel the same excitement they feel of getting a butler.

But again, apparently they all voted in favor, and the wishes of the many outweighs the wishes of the few.