“Although this has nothing to do with the topic… speaking of Sports Day—”
Following the conversation, Koharu Miura just happened to want to ask more about Sports Day, but she didn’t want to seem too interested because of Kanzaki Sou, so before speaking, she tried to steer the dialogue toward what she needed.
“I’ve never been good at sports since I was little, so I rarely participated…”
“But after entering high school, I felt like I should make some changes.”
Ever since Koharu Miura started talking, Yui Hori and the others had stopped their conversation, looking at the long-haired girl with draped shoulders—so now, they were all quietly waiting for her to finish, letting her speak.
“I do want to join the Sports Day…”
“Do you guys… know much about Sports Day? Like, are there any unique events or anything?”
Koharu Miura’s tone sounded like that of an ordinary girl, simply curious about the upcoming school event.
“Sports Day?”
As expected, Yui Hori followed Koharu Miura’s words.
“Hmm…”
She rubbed her chin, her brows tightly knit, looking every bit like she was racking her brain.
“Eh~ Now that you mention it, I don’t really know about the specific events either.”
The short-haired girl looked at the friends on her left and right; the naturally quiet Yuzuki Yasuda and the more reliable Mio Sato both shook their heads.
“Eh, I don’t know.”
“It’s not something we usually care about anyway…”
Their responses echoed one after another, but their tones sounded a bit hesitant.
Koharu Miura’s eyebrows twitched.
This felt as if there was still room for the topic to take a new turn.
“But…”
Sure enough, Yuzuki Yasuda drew out the last syllable into a new sentence; she exchanged a glance with Yui Hori, and as if they silently understood each other’s thoughts, both of them suddenly smiled in sync.
Those two pairs of eyes, facing each other, suddenly sparkled as if filled with excitement.
“But you know~”
“Yeah, right——”
“——I heard things have been really lively in the Athletics Committee lately!”
Yuzuki Yasuda said excitedly.
“Oh oh! I know about that!”
Yui Hori immediately perked up, even putting down her crepe on the paper plate the shop provided.
“Hey, hey, Koharu, listen up~”
She leaned forward, lowered her voice, and acted like she was sharing top-secret information with Koharu Miura.
“Just to choose this year’s Sports Day executive committee chairperson, and which fun events to include, the Athletics Committee Chairperson and Vice Chairperson almost got into a fight!”
“Yeah yeah!”
Yuzuki Yasuda’s voice grew excited too.
“Also, apparently the Vice Chairperson—that handsome but a little frivolous guy!—he thinks they should add more entertainment events, like ‘Bread-Eating Race’ or ‘Borrowed Item Relay’, so everyone who isn’t good at sports can have fun too!”
“What do you mean ‘so everyone can have fun’… those events are obviously just for the benefit of school couples~”
Even Mio Sato couldn’t help but chime in.
“And there’s more~”
Yui Hori shared more rumors.
“From what I know, the Vice Chairperson actually likes the President of the Literature Club—the senior who won a prize for her novel!”
“He wanted to use Sports Day as a chance to hold events for pairs, so he could openly invite the Literature Club President to participate! So obvious!”
“Wow—! Really? That’s so romantic! …Wait, no, that’s so sneaky!”
Yuzuki Yasuda exclaimed, her attitude doing a one-eighty.
“It’s not over yet~! The Chairperson who fought with the Vice Chairperson is the Athletics Star Upperclassman from the school’s Athletics Department. He said no way!”
Yui Hori continued, skillfully mimicking a sports-type upperclassman’s straightforward tone.
“He insists Sports Day should embody the true spirit of sports, and wants more proper competitive events, like the Obstacle Relay or Shot Put! He said the Vice Chairperson’s events are just nonsense.”
“But honestly, he’s just jealous!”
Yuzuki Yasuda added.
“Yeah yeah yeah! Hahaha!”
Yui Hori was almost giddy.
“A girl in the committee likes the Vice Chairperson, but the Chairperson likes her, so he picks fights with the Vice Chairperson every day! It’s hilarious!”
“Sigh, the committee… it’s like hell.”
Yuzuki Yasuda put her hands together in an exaggerated prayer pose.
Yui Hori followed suit.
“……”
“……”
Then, aside from the two with hands pressed in prayer, the other two girls could only exchange helpless glances at each other, unsure how to comment on what had just happened.
***
The girls’ conversation shot off in a completely unexpected direction for Koharu Miura.
These high school girls might not have any sources for information about actual events, but when it came to talking about the Athletics Committee’s internal relationships and romantic gossip, they were absolute experts—and they delighted in sharing every little rumor.
At first, Koharu Miura tried hard to steer the conversation back on track, but soon she gave up.
After all, as Mio Sato had said earlier, these things probably weren’t what energetic high school girls should be focused on in the first place.
Besides, there was an uncomfortable truth: these girls, just like herself, had only recently started as first-year students at this school.
They wouldn’t know much about Sports Day, either… Reaching this level was impressive enough.
But that also meant it was nearly impossible to get any real information about things like the “Borrowed Item Relay” from them.
And now, they just wanted to talk about topics overflowing with youthful energy.
——Which was of no help to Koharu Miura at all.
The girl decided to just enjoy the rest of her crepe in peace.
***
After finishing their snacks, the group parted ways reluctantly at a fork in the Shopping Street.
“Koharu, see you tomorrow!”
“Take care on your way home!”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
Yuzuki Yasuda was headed to catch her ride alone, while Yui Hori and Mio Sato walked home in the same direction; the three groups were all going different ways, so they simply said goodbye at the crossroads.
Koharu Miura waved to each of them; only when their figures disappeared around the corner or into the crowd did she turn and start walking home alone.
The sky had already grown quite dark. The streetlights cast an orange glow, stretching her shadow long and short across the pavement. The warmth she had felt from the girls’ laughter faded bit by bit in the silence.
She didn’t go straight home, but sat down alone on a bench in a deserted Park.
The cool evening breeze lifted her long hair, and gradually cleared the confusion from her mind.
Thinking about strategies for Sports Day, the scene from noon in the Library replayed uncontrollably in Koharu Miura’s head.
That ridiculous, tear-inducing misunderstanding—and what happened afterward with Kanzaki Sou.