Arai-sensei finished her long list of announcements with one last, way too cheerful, "And remember—our committee training starts this weekend! Don't back out!"
The class chuckled half-heartedly. I could swear Yuuto's soul left his body for a second.
As soon as she left, silence circled back in. Papers rustled faintly. Chairs scraped against the floor. Even the sunlight felt quiet, pooling softly on the desks.
Yuuto leaned back, arms crossed behind his head. "Weekend training, huh? Sounds like a scam."
I turned to him. "You say that about everything that requires effort."
"Because I'm usually right," he said. His tone was calm, but that smirk told me he was kind of enjoying annoying me.
"You're still the vice president," I reminded him. "You can't back off now."
He gave a small shrug, lips curving into that sly, almost sleepy grin. "Didn't plan to. Just saying, if I collapse from boredom, I'm blaming you."
"Fine," I said. "I'll put that in the report."
That made Aina giggle quietly from her seat in front. She turned halfway in her chair. "You two sound like an old married couple."
For once, I didn't even get the chance to reply—Haruki jumped in from the back. "They do! Right, Naruse?"
Naruse didn't look up from her book. "If you have the energy to comment, maybe use it to study."
"Wow, cold as ever," Haruki said, clutching his chest dramatically.
Yuuto muttered, "You walked right into that."
"Guess I'm built for rejection," Haruki said with a sigh, and I couldn't help but laugh. The rhythm between them—the serious one, the tired cynic, the chaotic loudmouth—it already felt like a sitcom forming.
Aina turned back to us again, her eyes bright. "I wonder what kind of training it is…"
I shrugged, tapping my desk. "Probably some boring leadership thing. Team building or whatever."
"Like those trust fall games?"
"Yeah, except I probably wouldn't trust anyone here to catch me."
"Understandable," Yuuto said softly, almost like a reflex.
Aina laughed, covering her mouth. "You're too honest!"
I tilted my head toward Yuuto. "See? Even she agrees you've got no filter."
He just smirked. "And you talk too much for a president."
I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could, the lunch bell rang.
The classroom burst back to life—bags opened, desks rearranged, everyone swapping snacks like some underground trade. I stayed in my seat, spreading out my bento, while Yuuto sat nearby scrolling through his phone.
"You still thinking about the weekend thing?" I asked between bites.
He didn't look up. "Not really. Just mentally preparing for disappointment."
"Wow," I said flatly. "You sound like a motivational speaker."
He smiled faintly—that tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it smile. "Maybe I should start charging."
I rolled my eyes and went back to eating. Across the room, Aina was sitting with Naruse and Haruki. The three of them—the quiet one, the unreadable, and the loud—together looked like the weirdest combo ever, but somehow it worked. Aina was trying to keep them balanced, Naruse occasionally replying with one-sentence observations, and Haruki… just being Haruki.
Watching them, I felt something click in my chest. Not exactly excitement, but something close. Curiosity, maybe. I didn't really know why, but this group—random as it was—felt like it could lead somewhere interesting.
After lunch, Arai-sensei popped her head back into the classroom again. "Okay, committee people—don't forget your consent forms today. The training starts Saturday morning sharp, so don't oversleep!"
Her tone had that exact energy of someone who knew half her students would oversleep.
Yuuto stared blankly at her retreating figure. "She means me, doesn't she?"
"Yeah," I said. "One hundred percent."
He sighed. "Figures."
We didn't talk much after that—just drifted through the rest of the afternoon as the class switched to math and then literature. The hours went by in quiet rhythm: pencils scratching, someone dropping a pen, the ticking clock.
When the final bell rang, everyone packed up in that half-hurry mode like freedom was a limited-time offer.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and glanced at Yuuto. "Guess the next time we'll all meet like this is Saturday."
He nodded, sliding his notebook in with one smooth motion. "Try not to miss the train this time."
"Ha-ha. Very funny," I said.
He gave a tiny wave, eyes still calm but sharp enough to feel like a hidden smirk. "See you, Idiot."
"You stupid. We take the same route home. You're getting old, forgetting things."
It came out casually.
As he walked out, Aina waved on her way past me. Naruse followed without saying much, and Haruki gave me a thumbs-up for no particular reason. I stood at the doorway for a second, watching all of them leave—four different paces, four different vibes.
And somehow, in that quiet moment, I realized: this committee might be the most random bunch ever—but we'd probably end up making it work.
Somehow.
"Wait for me, stupid."
Like this, my day ended, and now a new day has started. It's 8:30 in the morning, and today I'm running—not because I want to go early, but because I'm late. Today is the day of our eco-renewal camp and leadership training. Instead of that formal name, I prefer to call it "weekend training." It sounds easy and short, like something casual. But there's someone I need to pick up on my way, and that person is in this house. I pressed the bell continuously, spamming it without mercy, until he finally came out.
The door opened in a slow, lazy motion. He stood in the doorway, his dark unruly hair falling across his face, obscuring his eyes completely. He wore grey pants and a simple maroon T-shirt that was sliding off one side, exposing his shoulder. His other hand was tucked under his T-shirt, scratching his belly.
"How can you ring the bell non-stop? And what are you doing here?" he snapped, throwing his two questions at me.
Huh? How can someone snap while looking so sleepy a second ago? "It should be me asking that. How can you talk like that after I called you so many times? Did you forget today is Saturday—we have to go to training?"
"First, I didn't forget the training camp. Second, I answered your last call, and we talked plenty. You didn't have to come all the way here."
"Well, you sounded groggy when we hung up. I thought you might've fallen back asleep."
Aaaah.
His eyes were watering, adjusting to the harsh morning light. He yawned wide, deep pillow marks pressed into his cheek. And those rumpled hairs confirmed it—he had just woken up.
"Aha! You did go back to sleep!" I exclaimed with a joyous expression, like when a kid wins candy in a bet or after surviving a hell of a day, I get my favorite dinner. Such coincidences happen rarely. "I just woke you up, didn't I?!"
"Alright. Calm down, don't get so worked up. It's early to yell."
"I knew this would happen." I sighed, a nervous flutter starting in my chest. "Good thing Makabe-sensei gave me your address last time. Well done, me." A small, self-satisfied smile played on my lips.
"Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much." He muttered it, though he truly didn't mean it.
"I'll wait here, so hurry up and get ready."
"Okay. I'll be back."
He turned, closing the door as he went in. The door was just about to click shut when I exploded, grabbing the back of his clothes and yanking him toward me, yelling as I leaned aggressively forward. "Are you seriously going to make me wait outside? I only said that to show good etiquette!" I blurted, face flushed and indignant.
"Just tell me, what good etiquette are you showing?!"
"Huh. How can you leave a girl who came to pick you up alone outside?"
"Just come in already."
With that, I let him go. The instant I did, he rolled inside, stumbling with the momentum. Was he really using that much power to pull away? Or am I getting stronger?
Now I'm inside Yuuto's house. A boy's house. It's my first time in one, and the air feels thicker—yesterday's laundry in the entryway, shoes jumbled by the genkan.