Not only was she rather feminine in appearance, but her mannerisms were cute and girly, too. So she was dating that guy? Was half of this club paired up with the other half? The other first-years reacted similarly.
“For reals?”
“Whoa...”
“Aw, c’mon, Yui! It’s the truth!”
“Hmmmm...”
“...Uh, Inaba? Why are you staring at me? We don’t have to make a big deal of it, you know...”
Was there something going on between Inaba and Yaegashi, too? What kind of club was this, anyway? That said, the guy-to-girl ratio seemed pretty balanced here. Maybe I could score, too. Not that I cared about losing my virginity that much. I did want a girlfriend, though.
“Okay, let’s keep this ball rolling! Kiriyama Yui, third-year. I stopped attending as much as I used to because karate was eating into my time, but my favorite activities were arts and crafts and all things cute!”
Her vibrant smile and toned figure did suggest she was involved in some kind of sport, but I wasn’t expecting karate of all things. With her looks, she’d probably be hailed as a prodigy — assuming she was any good at it, anyway.
“Alright! That just leaves one last third-year: me, Nagase Iori, former president! My usual club activities were: reading manga, eating snacks, hanging out with friends...”
“So in other words, the same things you do on the weekends?”
“Inaban! Don’t you dare besmirch the honor of our esteemed club!”
Nagase Iori was the one name I recognized. After all, everyone was always saying how she was the prettiest third-year, or maybe the prettiest girl at Yamaboshi, period. And now that I was looking at her, I could see it. She sparkled like a teen idol.
Somehow these five third-years all seemed too perfect to be ordinary people — more like movie stars. They radiated an aura of confidence and a sense of unity that anyone would aspire to. They seemed to have it all.
Meanwhile, the other first-years whispered amongst themselves:
“Man, they’re kinda intimidating...”
“But they’re so cool...”
“And the girls are incredible...”
“But they’re taken...”
I didn’t join in. After all, I wasn’t really one of them.
“So why were you guys all speaking in past tense? Are you all retired from the club now?” one asked.
“Well, we already passed on our leadership titles, but we’re not officially retired, I don’t think,” Nagase answered. “Basically, the second-years are in charge of the daily activities, including recruitment, and we just pop in every now and then to help hand out flyers and do club orientation and stuff like that. We like to check in on them once or twice a week, like, ‘Are you winning, kids?’ That kinda thing.”
“Or so you say, except you’re seemingly always here.”
“Our kouhai must be sick to death of you by now.”
“Taichi! Inaban! Quit ganging up on me!”
These third-years seemed really, really close.
“Anyway, moving on to the current members. I’m the current club president, Uwa Chihiro, second-year.”
It was the guy I saw handing out flyers. He had a perfectly symmetrical, almost androgynous face, which meant he was probably super popular with the girls. Not only that, but he had a well-toned body that suggested he was good at sports. Man, some people have all the luck.
“My CRC activities include... well, studying, mostly.”
“Don’t tell them that! Make something up if you have to!” Inaba retorted. Apparently she was the wise-cracking snarker of the group.
“A-And last but not least, I’m Enjouji Shino, vice president, second-year. Nice to meet you!”
She was older than me, and yet the way she bowed was just so precious. She didn’t really seem like a vice president, though — if anything, she triggered a... what’s the term... a protective instinct that made me want to help her.
Though these second-years were decidedly different from the third-years, they were still far beyond my level. They seemed to be gifted in their own ways, and they probably lived happy lives — I could tell from the general vibes they gave off.
“My hobbies include... following in my senpai’s footsteps... Self-improvement, I guess you could say...?”
That’s your HOBBY?
“Anyway, that’s it for our side of things! Now it’s your turn!” said former president Nagase, gesturing to us.
“Nagase, we’re supposed to be letting them handle it,” Yaegashi muttered.
“Oh, you’re right! I was so excited, I forgot!”
They seemed like an excitable bunch, but at least they had the self-awareness to defer to the second-years.
The first-years all exchanged a glance, myself included. But I was conscious of the gulf between me and them. I wasn’t part of their group, so I was in no position to go first. I didn’t have a firm grasp of their rapport with each other.
“...Okay then, I’ll start. Takeda, from Class 1-D. Real talk, I’m serious about joining a sports team, but you guys have a cool vibe, so I decided to visit.”
“Did you hear that?! I have a ‘cool vibe’!”
“Nagase, will you settle down already?”
“She’s right, though! You’re incredible, Nagase-senpai!”
“And you clearly have good taste, my dear Takeda-kun!”
It was an impressive start, especially since he was speaking to a student two full years older than him.
“Alright, my turn. I’m Okamoto, same class. I heard Kiriyama-san is super good at karate, so I got curious. See, I’m thinking about joining the karate club.”
“Oh, cool,” said Kiriyama.
“You are allowed to be in two clubs, for the record,” Uwa added.
“I can’t believe someone as cute as you is a karate master!”
As for me, I couldn’t believe he went there! He told a girl two years older than him — a girl with a boyfriend, no less — that she was cute! Was that the kind of conversation we were having?
“C-C-Cute...?! Karate master?! Heeheeheeheehee... You think so...?”
“Yui?! What are you so happy about?! I tell you that stuff all the time!”
“It doesn’t mean anything coming from you!”
“Yes, whenever I look at Aoki-san, I’m reminded of what truly matters in life...”
“Shino-chan, what does that even mean?!”
Both the first-years and the CRC were so absurdly casual with each other, you’d never think they had only just met. Was this what was expected of me, too? If so, maybe I wouldn’t be able to handle it after all. But if I couldn’t manage it, then maybe my aspiration to join the popular crowd was just a pipe dream. Here I was, trying to be respectful of everyone, but no one seemed to give a damn about me in return.
“And you?”
Even after the other four had finished their introductions, I didn’t want to derail the flow of conversation, so I stayed quiet. But then Inaba looked at me from across the table and prompted me to speak.
This was the aloof, cynical girl. Her perfectly straight posture and narrowed eyes made me shrink into myself. There was a pause.
My throat was so dry, I wasn’t sure I could actually speak. I couldn’t think straight — everything I’d thought of saying while the others were talking had flown out the window. But the longer this pause went on, the weirder I would look, so I had to say something.
First, I introduced myself, then mentioned my club in middle school.
“I, uh... I wasn’t interested in coming here, but things just kinda happened.”
Sure enough, I killed the mood. Why would I say that? Sure, it was true, but I didn’t need to tell them. Now everything was awkward.
I should have said something flattering... I should have lied and said I was excited to be here... But I wasn’t a good actor, so...
Ugh, I screwed up. I want to go home. The other guys are all looking at me funny... I’ll never be able to join them now.
“W-Well, it doesn’t matter how you got here! We’re just happy you’re here at all!” Enjouji exclaimed brightly, before the mood could sour completely. Everyone’s attention diverted from me.
Good, good. Now to slink into the shadows.
“Anyway, that’s it from us first-years. Oh, but I had a question...”
“A question, eh? Bring it on!”
“Seriously, Iori, let them handle it!”
“What exactly does the CRC do?”
It was a pretty basic question. Come to think of it, I didn’t know the answer, either.
For a moment I was scared they would yell at us, like, “How dare you not know about our club beforehand!” But instead, the club members all fell perfectly silent.
I looked at each of them in turn, wondering who would answer. Likewise, the other first-years followed suit. Then the CRC members started trading looks. But eventually, all eyes settled on a single point: club president Uwa Chihiro.
Sensing our gazes, Uwa thrust out his chest and declared:
“What do we do? Whatever we want!”