Yuta Takes the Lead

“Just cookies?” Yuta scratched his head. He expected a group project to be more challenging. Cookies are simple to make.

“You will be required to bake a batch of four different types of cookies. The recipes you use are up to you. Work with your team to prepare each batch. As long as they aren’t coal or poisonous, there’s nothing to worry about. You may use the rest of class to decide on what you are going to make. Remember, each member of your group must participate in the process. I look forward to your results.” Mr. Harada took a seat behind his desk in the corner of the room.

The sound of chatter filled the room, each group discussing what to do. Yuta turned to his group. “This will be a simple task. Just follow my directions, and the cookies will turn out well.”

“It’s not like baking cookies is hard. All you have to do is mix the ingredients and put it in the oven.”

“Have you ever baked before, Kurosawa? Other than at school, I mean.”

“No. But how hard can it be?”

“...You might regret those words.”

Hitomura slapped Kurosawa’s back, earning him a death stare. “It’s okay if you don’t know how to bake. Yuta and I can carry the group. I’m not sure if Ozaki can bake or not.”

“I’ve… never tried it before…”

“Don’t worry, fair maidens!” He got on one knee and placed an arm over his chest while the other stretched into the air with his palm up. “Let the men take care of you this time!”

Kurosawa smashed Hitomura’s head into the ground using her leg. “This is why I can’t stand boys!”

Yuta facepalmed, unimpressed with Hitomura’s eccentric behavior. “You know how to bake, Hitomura?”

Without even lifting his face off the floor, he gave a thumbs up.

“Where did you learn how to do it?”

Hitomura jumped up, his eyes shining. “There’s a girl in the first School Spirit that loves baking, so not only did she teach me a little, but I also learned all I could about baking on my own so I could conquer her heart!” He whirled around and fanboyed. “Oh, Rin! You’ll always be on the top of my waifu list!”

“I shouldn’t have asked…”

“W-What cookies… should we make?”

Yuta thought for a moment. “We could do matcha. That’s a popular flavor.”

“And chocolate chip. That’s one of the most popular flavors in the world.” Kurosawa chimed in.

“That could work. Shiori, is there a specific flavor you want?”

“Um… w-we could make sugar cookies…”

“Hitomura, how about you?”

“Huh?” He faced the group. “I want lemon cookies.”

“So matcha, chocolate chip, sugar, and lemon… A good variety of flavors. Alright, that’s what we’ll go with. Everyone is responsible for bringing the ingredients that are only in the cookie they suggested. I can easily get the common ingredients.”

…

Yuta waited outside the student council room for Shiori to finish helping the student council for the day. He sat with his back against the wall and his knees up. Using his legs as a stand, he read through his math textbook, going through each problem in his head.

The student council presidency was nice to Shiori and respected her boundaries. As Yuta reflected on this, a thought hit him. ‘Why is no one from the student council other than the presidency preparing for the culture festival? They should have at least a few more people staying after school to help.’

The door opened and Shiori walked out, holding her bag. “I’m ready to leave, Yuta…”

He set his book in his bag and stood up. “First I need to ask the president something.” Yuta moved past Shiori.

The student council president looked up when Yuta entered. “What can I do for you, Ichikawa?”

“I want to know why you three are the only ones from the student council staying after school to prepare for the culture festival.”

“Oh, that? Well, some members of the student council have clubs they have to attend, others have jobs. And the others don’t want to put in the effort.” He took a deep breath. “It truly is frustrating sometimes. When I ran for office, I didn’t expect this much work to be dumped onto my shoulders… Of course, I knew it would be stressful. Just not this stressful.”

“Is that so?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I’m sorry for having dragged Ozaki into this. I told Minori to find some help outside of the student council. Ozaki has a good heart, and she’s a hard worker, but… I can tell she’s not very comfortable with us around.”

“Don’t take it personally. She’s uncomfortable around everyone.”

“Except you, it seems.”

“She’s warming up to a couple others as well.”

“Anyway, if she would like to stop helping, I won’t be upset. I’ll tell Minori to recruit people that can freely communicate.”

“I doubt she’ll quit on her own. She’s not the kind of person to back out once she’s agreed to something.”

“Regardless of whether or not Ozaki continues to give us her aid, we definitely need more people to assist us.”

“Why don’t you make some of your student council members help before you recruit random students?”

“Like I said, only some of them are available and the ones that are don’t want to help.”

“If this is one of the student council’s biggest tasks of the year, they should be helping. Otherwise, they shouldn’t be on the council.”

The president thoughtfully stared at the desk in front of him. “You make a good point…”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave. There’s a lot of studying I need to do.” Yuta stepped out of the room.

“T-Thanks for looking out for me…” Shiori lowered her head in embarrassment.

“You heard all that?”

She nodded. “I don’t want to stop helping them… There’s too much for only three people to do…”

“I figured you’d say that.” Yuta put his hand on Shiori’s head and smiled. “Come on, let’s get you home.”