“Satsuki-san, are you lonely because I have less time to hang out with you now that I’ve started dating Mai?” I asked, stupidly.
“Amaori-san,” Satsuki-san said through the stall door. “Would you like to find out if imbeciles can recover from death?”
My answer whizzed back as fast as the wind: “I’ll pass!”
Once again, there was a crowd of people in the hall in front of my classroom. Uh-oh. I’d seen this before. I had a bad feeling about it as I sneakily peeked into the middle of the group. There stood Godzilla and King Ghidorah, aka Mai standing off against Takada-san. Oh god. The top of the pack for both Class A and Class B.
“My sincerest apologies,” Takada-san said. “Here I thought we’d settle things later. But you leave me no choice. I shall simply have to crush your friends and show the world which of us is the superior!”
Takada-san steamrollered on with her usual scream of laughter, as would befit the top student of Ashigaya High. Mai, I assumed, would simply brush it off like normal.
But Mai said, “Goodness, how I tire of your yammering.”
Tension filled the air at that dangerous statement.
“I beg your pardon?” Takada-san said. All her mirth had vanished.
Mai smirked, a clever look in her eyes. “I meant,” she said, “that I am not the sort to sit idly by and let my friends get hurt.”
There was a storm brewing between them!
“H-hmmph,” Takada-san scoffed. “Say what you like, but nothing can shake the foundations of the 5déesses’ victory! I cannot wait to see your vexation later.”
“We’ll see about that,” Mai said.
You normally never saw Mai lose that gentle smile of hers, but this was the one exception. She put herself right in Takada-san’s personal space with uncharacteristic boldness. Oh god, what a classic pretty girl move… Boys and girls from both our classes shrieked. Even Takada-san took a step back.
I thought she would whisper, but Mai spoke as loud as if she was making an announcement. “Those who stand in the right are the ones who claim victory. You should have employed unflagging effort and sincerity. Instead, your methods will never measure up against those of my friends and I. Would you like me to demonstrate that to you?”
Takada-san hissed and reeled back like she’d been repelled. She blushed, probably from the sheer humiliation.
“Well, you’re the one who—” Takada-san began hysterically, but then she broke off and glowered at Mai. “Fine, by all means! Either way, we shall soon know the results! Be ready to taste defeat, Oduka Mai.”
As Takada-san raised a hand, as if to shower rose petals, Mai gave her a ferocious grin. “Likewise, what a shame it will be for you to get your long, pretty hair filthy.”
“What are you talking about?” Takada-san asked, half-angry and half-puzzled.
Mai shot back, “For when you lose, you shall have to grovel on the dirty floor and apologize to your classmates.”
Takada-san’s mouth fell open in a wordless scream. Everyone who saw her would go on to talk about it later like, “Yeah, uh-huh. She exploded like an oil rig.”
Just as she started to scream in fury, the bell rang for class. We watched her sprint away with wrath written on her face, and then Kaho-chan popped out of the pack and exclaimed, “That was awesome, Mai-Mai! You sure told her! I’ve never seen you like this before.”
At her cue, all the Class A kids followed suit. “What a relief that’s over,” one said.
“Oduka-san, you’re so cool!” said another.
“Now all we’ve gotta do is win this thing!” said a third.
“Yeah, but we’ve as good as won in terms of class!”
They all spoke over one another, getting more and more hyped. One of the boys fist pumped and called, “Let’s win this thing! Justice for Sena!”
Ajisai-san, standing near the edge of the circle, yelled, “I’m still alive, you know!” which made us all burst into laughter.
I caught her eye and gave her a big nod. She was telling me she chose me over the rest of the class; she didn’t want revenge more than she wanted me to be okay. I was thrilled about that, but at the same time…that was really because the role of being a universally loved figure suited her so well.
Ajisai-san smiled charmingly. She cupped her hands around her mouth and mouthed “Good luck,” at me. God, she was so cute! I thanked my lucky stars I’d come to school today.
Just then, Mai noticed me and pulled me into the center of the circle. “Renako.”
“Wh-whoa!” I spluttered.
“This means we’re counting on you,” she said. She took my hand almost as if we were ballroom dancing and beamed at me. I could feel all of our classmates’ eyes boring into me. I didn’t want to stand out! I really didn’t want to stand out—however! I gotta say, this was worlds better than being ogled by a crowd while I stood on stage and made hopping noises.
I turned to look at the group. “L-leave it to me!” I said. I raised my fist in the air. I couldn’t think of anything that great to say, but I decided that I might as well say something loud and assertive anyway! “I, Amaori Renako, will lead Class 1-A straight to victory!”
Everyone cheered. Before this, I’d been a member of Mai’s friend group and the top of the school social pyramid, which had been pretty thrilling. But at the same time, it was also kinda just starting to sink in. Everyone listened to me, and I could rally a group with a couple of sentences. With one fist pump, I could make my mark on the class. This was it! This was being an extroverted people person, the most powerful force in school! Now it was time to do my damnedest to not damage the borrowed reputation of the queen who’d brought me here.