“Utterly ridiculous! This is me we’re talking about, and I only received five chocolates?!” Reita had his head in his hands again after school. Apparently, he’d maxed out with the batch he’d gotten this morning.
“How many did you get last year?” I asked.
“Didn’t you get like twenty?” Tatsuya answered. “Rubberneckers would pass by and give him one on the spur of the moment. It was like a fad where all girls wanted was to give chocolates to a popular guy. You know what I mean?”
“And this year he got five, huh?” I remarked. “Well, high school is a different stomping ground.”
“Isn’t it because your reputation took a hit on account of your suspension?” Tatsuya pointed out. “You might’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, but that doesn’t change the fact that you threw a punch. Maybe there are a lot of girls who care about that.”
“But didn’t he hang out with a gang in middle school?” I asked.
“Having a history of hanging out with a gang and getting suspended because of a fight are different. If anything, being a former bad boy would actually be popular with the fangirls. You know, the ones into guys with a dark past.” Tatsuya’s reasoning was strangely convincing.
Reita remained despondent all the while, but I thought five chocolates was already a lot.
“Look at our classmates. A good number of guys went home without getting anything,” I said.
“Could you not liken me to those plebeians?”
“Yikes, nasty personality you’ve got there.”
He must’ve been joking, though, because he lifted his head and shrugged.
“Boys are sooo dumb.” Uta shot us an exasperated look.
Nothing I said was particularly weird! Don’t lump all boys together! “Anyway, don’t you guys have practice today?” I asked. None of them seemed in a hurry to attend their clubs.
“Nope, the soccer team is resting today,” Reita said.
“We can’t use the gym today, so the boys’ basketball team is off,” Tatsuya said.
“Same for the girls’ team! Apparently, the city is hosting some event there tomorrow!” Uta exclaimed.
“Huh? Then what about your weekend practice?” I asked.
“We’ve got a practice game elsewhere. The girls’ team is going to the same place,” Tatsuya answered.
“The volleyball club is probably coming too, I think,” Uta added.
Now that they mention it, I think our teacher brought this up during homeroom at some point. The city’s using the gym over the weekend for an event, which is why it’s unavailable today while they’re setting up.
“Since we’ve all got time for once, let’s go home together!” Uta suggested, excited.
“The literature club doesn’t meet on Fridays, so that’s fine with me!” Hikari said.
“I’m not in a club, but I don’t have any prior engagements today,” Nanase added.
“I don’t have band practice or work today either.”
It was a rare occasion for all six of our schedules to line up. Usually we all had different things going on after school, so it had been a long time since we’d walked home together as a group. We streamed out of the school building and headed to the gate.
In the middle of our lively chatter, Hikari brought up a new topic. “By the way, the deadline’s passed for handing in our future-track form. What did you all choose?”
“I chose humanities!” Uta exclaimed.
“Me too. I also chose the humanities track,” Nanase said. Her future had diverged from my first round.
“Yuino-chan, you settled on humanities?”
“STEM would’ve been a safer choice, but I want to attend a music conservatory. Most of them focus on Japanese language and English for their entrance exams, so the humanities track will suffice, no?”
“A music conservatory?! So cool! You’re going to join a piano program, right?!” Uta asked.
“Yes,” Nanase replied hesitantly. “It’s a dream I’d cast aside once, but I want to give it another attempt. I hope to be a pianist.” There was light in her eyes, no sign of the resignation I’d seen on that day to be found.
Your onii-chan is so happy for you.
“What about you, Hikarin?” Uta asked.
“I chose humanities, of course. I’m not good at STEM subjects anyway.”
“Heck yeah! Then all three of us are on the same track!” Uta slid between Hikari and Nanase, grabbed their hands, and swung them back and forth.
Nanase giggled. “Yes. We might be in the same class again come April.”
“There are three humanities classes, right? A one in three chance is a little scary,” Hikari said.
“I’ll menace the teachers!”
“Uta, cut that out. They’ll only reprimand you,” Nanase scolded.
I figured Hikari would make a different choice from my previous life. Looks like she really has gone for humanities. “You’re set on humanities, huh.” I bet Sei-san hoped she’d pick the STEM track, but she followed her heart.
“I want to study things that will help me as a writer, so I can make it my career.” There was not a trace of hesitation to be seen. Hikari hadn’t consulted me for advice either. She’d likely had a serious discussion with her parents about which track she would take too. Every decision had been made on her own, without relying on me.
“It’s impressive that both of you have a clear goal for the future. It’s kind of dazzling,” Reita said. His tone sounded a little forlorn, which I found surprising.
“Reita-kun, did you choose STEM?” Hikari asked.
“Yeah. I don’t know what I want to be in the future yet. I figured STEM would keep more options open. Tatsuya, you picked it for the same reason, right?”
“Pretty much. Plus, these days I feel like I’m better at STEM subjects anyway.”
“Whaaat? Tatsu, you’re not going to become a pro basketball player?” Uta said.
“I’m not that good... Guys good enough to go pro are already playing for powerhouse high schools.” Tatsuya’s opinion was very realistic.
It’s a fact. The best boys’ team at Ryomei made it to the top eight in the prefecture. We’re not weak, but we’re not super strong either. Also, the top four schools are powerhouses on an entirely different level.
Still, Tatsuya is going to become Ryomei’s ace player who’ll take down those powerhouses. He’s a diamond in the rough now, but he definitely has the talent to surpass his peers. He’s still growing, and he has a great build. Maybe I’m biased because he’s my friend, but I think he could make it as a pro.
“But you used to say you’d become a pro!” Uta pouted.
Tatsuya scratched his head, uneager to say his next words. “It’s not like I’m not trying to become one. I just want a backup in case I can’t. That’s why I chose the STEM track, because it’s useful for job searching, and why I’ve been trying to get good grades. I’m going to a college that’s good academically and has a strong basketball team. That’s the most optimal, right?” Tatsuya explained pragmatically.
“So you are aiming to become a pro?”
Tatsuya frowned. “It’d be embarrassing if I failed when I hope to be one. That’s why I didn’t want to say it out loud.”
Uta gave him a hard look, and then her lips curled up into a satisfied smile.
“Nagiura-kun, that’s quite a coolheaded choice, coming from you,” Nanase remarked.
“What kinda guy do you think I am?”
“It’s a compliment. You’ve matured. You never would have thought this way at the beginning of the school year.”
Despite Nanase’s teasing tone, Tatsuya’s eyes softened almost imperceptibly. “Yeah, guess you’re right.”
Tatsuya is another person whose decision differs from the first time—another person affected by my time leap. I just need to make sure it’s a good change. At the very least, judging by the way he looks now, it doesn’t seem like a bad one.
Everyone’s gaze turned to me.
“Natsu, what about you?” Uta asked.
Oh yeah, I’ve been thinking so much about everyone else that I haven’t talked about myself. “I chose STEM.”
After the school music festival, I had stewed over the form. Ultimately, I made the same decision as my first round.
“That means all the boys are in STEM and the girls are in humanities,” Hikari said.
“That’s a pretty clear divide. We’ll all be split up next year,” I said.
“Waaah! I feel sad all of a sudden! I like our group of six!”
Uta’s cry was followed by silence, but that silence wasn’t uncomfortable by any means. Everyone felt the same. We didn’t need to put it into words to know that.
“Natsuki-kun, you were waffling about which one to choose, weren’t you?” Hikari remarked.
“Yeah.”
“Was there a reason you chose STEM?”
“Pretty much the same reason as Tatsuya.”
“Um...” Hikari gave me a puzzled look. “What do you mean by that?”
“I want to be more serious about my band,” I told her. Of course, that doesn’t mean I can drop everything for it. I need to make Hikari happy. No, not out of duty, but because I want to. That’s why I should reduce risk as much as possible while pursuing my desired ends.