Chapter 16: CH 16

The Morning of the Physical Test

On the day of the physical fitness test, everyone had to change into their gym clothes in the morning.

My class, Class A, was where the girls changed, and the boys changed in class B. I was a little nervous as it was my first time in this classroom. I started to change my clothes and after a while, Takadera and Ogishima arrived.

“Morning. It was a sweaty affair yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“Ah, you’re talking about the drama?”

“It was quite the hot topic, wasn’t it? The name ‘Kiritani Noa’ was even trending.”

“If Asatani-san were to do an ego search on her own and find that people were searching for ‘Kiritani Noa attempted kiss’, would she be embarrassed?”

–It was a little embarrassing. However, once I turn on my celebrity persona, I don’t care about it too much.

–But if I don’t switch it off properly, I’ll get tired before I know it.

–This way, I get to be with everyone when I turn it off. I sometimes wonder if that’s fair.

Asatani-san’s words passed through my mind. She said that playing a role as an actress, she needed to switch to her celebrity persona.

“But Noarin’s role as the sister-in-law is just too destructive… There’s no way she’d be sent down the slippery slope with that.”

It was said that a heroine who lost love in a story was called ‘sent down the slippery slope’, and Asatani-san seemed to be playing such a role in this drama.

Ryuuto Fukagawa, who plays the main character, and Asatani-san, who played the sub-heroine, were recently shown on TV together for a special announcement. It might have been partly to create a buzz, but there were speculations that the drama version would be different from the original and that the sister-in-law would fight a little harder.

“Her aura can still be felt at school, but she’s totally comfortable with it. I thought that if a celebrity was at school, there would be more security or something.”

“I’m sure they’ve already agreed not to do that. If the agency interferes with her in school, Noarin will get tired.”

“I’m surprised you thought of that, Takadera.”

“Of course, I’m actually a very attentive person… I wonder what my image is in Senda’s mind.”

“Good-natured, likes idols and secretly a fan of Asatani-san?”

“Correct. But I’m not a secret fan, I’ve been a huge fan ever since we entered the same high school.”

Apparently, Takadera had what was called a festive nature. Even when I was in junior high school, a lot of students were cheering for Asatani-san or talking about how the show she was appearing in was going.

However, not all of them were talking in a good direction. There were also people who discussed all kinds of rumors from the internet, some of them were even things Asatani-san shouldn’t hear. But Takadera wasn’t going to go that direction, so I felt relieved.

Relieved? What kind of position did I have to say I felt relieved?

Asatani-san said she was my ‘ex-girlfriend’, but she didn’t want to cut me off her life. I guess I was allowed to worry behind her back after all.

–Even though you’re a celebrity, you’re not that different from normal people.

–If you think so, then that’s a wonderful thought.

I hadn’t remembered anything like this during spring break – maybe I was just in shock and had a memory lapse. Human memory is unpredictable, and the more we try to forget, the more it comes back to us.

“–But how is it that the light music club and the band club are different club activities? They said that the light music club was for girls and the band was for the boys. I’ve been deceived, but now, I can’t turn back.”

Takadera joined the band club. It seemed that he was motivated by the desire to be popular with girls. Ogishima was in the drama club. He had been a member of the drama club since junior high school, so it seemed he would continue in high school.

“So, you used to play baseball in middle school and had a fifth-haircut, and made a debut in high school in a band club?”

( T/N : I think he’s talking about those haircut military guys have. Fifth-cut because it looks like a 5 from the side. Not so sure myself…)

“I used to take drum lessons while playing baseball. It was my dream to switch the bat for the sticks and be the center of attention at the school festival. And don’t call it a fifth-cut, I’ve had a hard time growing it out since I retired.”

“You’re thinking pretty hard about what you want to do in high school, huh?”

“No, no, not so much. I’m just an ordinary guy. I only came to this school because I heard a rumor that a girl I liked was taking the entrance exam.”

“She didn’t actually take the exam, did she? I can’t hate that part of you, Takadera.”

“What the h**l… You’re not getting anything out of me even if you say that.”

The idea of a man being a tsundere was a bit of a mystery to me, but the fact that Takadera knew what a tsundere was more interesting and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Have you decided on a club, Senda? You’ve got to join in the first year.”

“I’m thinking of joining the reading club. After school, I have other things to learn.”

“Oh, is it okay to read manga and light novels? If that’s the case, I should join the reading club too.”

“What are you learning, Senda-kun? When I was in junior high school, I studied abacus, calligraphy, and went to cram school.”

“I’m just showing up at a gym I know, working out a bit.”

“I see. I guess you don’t have the body of a bookworm. You look… strong.”

“I want to build muscle too, but I can’t seem to get it even though I’ve been training hard.”

Ogishima had a fair complexion and a well-defined face. He also had a voice that sounded as if he had no larynx. I could kind of imagine what role he’d play in the drama club.

–As we finished changing while chatting, I heard the teacher’s voice coming from the hallway.

“The girls have finished changing, so the boys should get going too.”

The boys of class B started to move. When the classroom door was opened, we could see that the girls of class A were already in their gym clothes, waiting in the hallway.

“Looks like we’ve got the gentlemen here. None of them tried to peek.”

“That doesn’t mean that they’re gentlemen or anything, that’s just normal.”

A ‘bump in the locker room’ was not something that could happen in real life.

( T/N : I’m pretty sure he’s talking about the situation when you open the door while the girls are still in the middle of changing.)

Even so, I thought everyone had at least a little bit of imagination. But when I saw a saint like Ogishima, I felt ashamed of myself.

When I thought about the lace that peeked out from Takane-san’s nightwear on the video call yesterday, I felt overwhelmed because the memory was so vivid.

As we entered our own classroom, class A, the girls who had been chatting and laughing looked over at us, but then went back to chatting.

“Whoa… Noarin’s hairstyle is different!”

I was surprised when Takadera said in a low voice that Asatani-san could not hear. High schools tend to ask students with long hair to tie it up during PE. The same was also happening here.

Asatani-san had her hair in a side tail yesterday, but today she had it down in two pigtails. It was as if hairstyles have magical power and can give a completely different impression.

But right now, in this classroom, the thing I was most interested in was–

“I’m not supposed to answer questions like ‘what is going to happen next?’. Sorry.”

“Ah, I knew it.”

“Asatani-san, your acting is amazing. Everyone says it’s just like the original.”

Asatani-san looked at me, but did not change her expression and continued talking with the girls around her.

Takadera and Ogishima went to their seats, and I went to the second row from the window, headed for my seat. From the moment I entered the classroom, I saw Takane-san talking to Watanabe, who was seated behind her, and I could see it clearly.

While Takadera was surprised by Asatani-san’s haircut, I was distracted by Takane-san’s appearance.

“Thank you, Takane-san. I’ve been meaning to tell you myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“No, me too… I’m sorry, I was going to ask you about it earlier, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to you.”

“Then, I’ll confirm it with the teacher later and we’ll switch seats.”

“Yes. Let’s go tell the teacher together.”

Watanabe-san, who was seated next to me, and Takane-san were discussing switching seats. In other words, I would be sitting next to Takane-san at some point today.

We just started dating, and now she was going to sit next to me. I felt really happy knowing that we’d be able to have a lot of time together.

“Good morning, Nagi- Senda-kun…”

“Good morning.”

Takane-san styled her hair in a ponytail for PE. With her long, silky hair tied up, she looked much more lively than when she had it down.

–That was just a comment that came out of my mouth as I tried to stay as calm as possible.

To say she was cute was an understatement. After Takane-san greeted me, I took my seat. I followed her every move with my eyes, even though I knew I had to restrain myself.

Then, Takane-san casually glanced at me.

Our eyes met. She smiled and then looked forward. I couldn’t help but stare at her back while I was distracted by her swaying ponytail, but I finally turned my gaze to the front.

The teacher should be here soon. It was just as I was thinking of such bland things- when,

–A girl walked right in front of me.

It was Asatani-san. She was definitely looking at me.

But I wasn’t the one she wanted. She stood next to Takane-san’s desk and lightly tapped her shoulder.

“Good morning, Takane-san. That hair, it’s very cute.”

“Thank you very much. Asatani-san too, you look wonderful today.”

Takane-san answered in a way that showed no slightest hesitation. It was as if she knew that Asatani-san was going to talk to her.

Basically, we kept the fact that we started dating a secret from everyone. That’s why Takane-san chose to call me ‘Senda-kun’.

However, Asatani-san knew about me and Takane-san. Whether or not we could keep our relationship a secret, it depended on her. We had nothing else to say to her.

“I heard about it. You’re very athletic aren’t you, Takane-san?”

“That is… I’m just good at sports…”

“Again, you’re being modest. One of the kids who went to school with Takane-san said that you were great at everything.”

If Takane-san was a celebrity, such a rumor being spread would make sense.

However, if Asatani-san was so interested and even asked a student from the same junior high school about Takane-san, then things started to look a little suspicious.

“I’m not much of a student, but I’m pretty confident in my physical strength.”

“Let’s work hard together. If we all work hard, I think we can get a good score.”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best. It’s going to be a fun day.”

It was just an ordinary conversation, like a talk between friends. Since we had only been in the same class for a short time, there was still some awkwardness, but the discomfort was not definitive.

So why was I so nervous? I was sure I wasn’t trapped or anything like that at all.

Asatani-san walked back to her seat, she didn’t look at me this time.

What she talked about with Takane-san was about the physical fitness test. If I was going to go through the trouble of measuring, I wanted to get a good record.

“I didn’t know Kiri-chan and Takane-san were so close.”

Watanabe-san next to me said to herself. From the outside, they seemed to be getting along well, so maybe I was just overthinking things.

However, even though I was curious about them, we were separated by gender, so I wasn’t going to take the physical test with Takane-san and Asatani-san’s group.

We’d only see their group in the gym after completing the standing long jump and handball throw outside.