“Merry Christmas! Man, it’s nice to spend Christmas with the whole gang!” exclaimed Aoki Yoshifumi, wearing a party hat, with his arm around Yaegashi Taichi’s shoulders.
“Technically it’s just Christmas Eve. Actual Christmas is tomorrow.”
“Seriously, bro, don’t sweat the details! Oh, hey there, Iori-chan!”
“Nagase! Thanks for getting all this set up. I know it must’ve been hell.”
“Dude, what did I just say?! Details! Forget ’em!”
“Uh, Aoki?! Did someone spike your orange juice or what?!”
Naturally, there was no alcohol at this party, so he was probably just drunk off the atmosphere. And he wasn’t the only one.
It was the 24th, and there were just under 300 people in attendance at the Yamaboshi Third-Years’ Christmas Bash. Nearly every third-year was present. I hadn’t expected this many people to show up, and the multipurpose classroom we’d reserved was clearly not enough to accommodate everyone. Thus, we ended up moving the party to one of the rarely-used lecture halls.
The room was a sea of vibrant colors.
“Taichi, we gotta keep drinkin’! Let’s grab some more!”
“Alright, alright! Just get off me already! Seriously, they haven’t spiked the drinks, have they?!”
“Have funnnn! But try not to say anything that’ll get us in trouble!”
With that warning, I waved goodbye.
Along the walls we’d set up tables covered in all kinds of drinks (both juice and soda), plus some cookies, little pastries, and even some appetizers like popcorn chicken and cocktail sausages. (There was also a full-sized cake, but the girls demolished it before most people had the chance to even see it.)
The center of the room was packed and buzzing with conversation, their voices mingling together to create a chaotic din. Laughter reverberated off the walls, and I could hear people clapping. It was so warm in here, you’d never know it was winter outside. Honestly, I half-expected some of these people to start dancing.
But oddly enough, I could feel a sense of unity throughout the whole room. Even though I was walking by myself, I didn’t feel alone. I was just happy to be near them.
As I weaved my way through the crowd, I scanned the room and spotted Nakayama Mariko snacking with her boyfriend, Ishikawa Daiki.
“Here, Nakayama, eat this.”
“Thanks, Ishikawa-kun. But this piece of chicken is a little too big for me...”
“Oh, quit trying to pretend you have table manners, Nakayama! I’ve seen the way you horf down cafeteria food!” Watase Shingo teased.
“Cram it, Watase-kun!”
“Sorry about that. In that case, how about this cocktail sausage?”
“S-Sausage?! W-Well... um...”
“You don’t like sausage?”
“N-No, it’s not that! If anything, I love sausage... but... well...!”
“Hahaha, your mind’s totally in the gutter! Nakayama’s a closet pervert!”
“W-Watase-kun, if you don’t shut your mouth, I’m gonna beat you to death with my pigtails!”
“Oh god, please, no! Anything but that!”
Ever since he started dating Fujishima, Watase had gotten a little full of himself, and the party vibes were only exacerbating the problem.
I could see people peering through the glass door at us. I thought maybe it was some latecomers, but in fact, it was Uwa Chihiro, Enjouji Shino, and a handful of first-years. Apparently the entire Cultural Research Club had come to check out the party.
I tried to wave at them, but they couldn’t see me through the crowds of people. Then Chihiro pointed in the direction of the Rec Hall, and off they went. It was the last day of the semester, so perhaps the CRC was about to have a Christmas party of their own... Maybe I’ll go drop in on them a little later.
“Now then, it’s the final stretch of the Christmas Costume Competition!” a voice rang out over the speaker system.
You see, an informal event was currently being held onstage...
“Guys, c’mon, all eyes over here! I promise, no more crossdressing!”
Apparently the opening gag had turned a lot of people off.
“Look, I swear to you, the rest of the entrants are girls!”
“Finally! Thank you!”
“Now hurry it up!”
“We wanna see!”
Slowly, the students all moved forward to the stage. Caught in the flow of the crowd, I ended up near the front.
“Great party, Iori!” said one of my female classmates in passing.
“Wait, so you’re not competing?” asked another.
“Not this time, haha... Wouldn’t want to steal the show, y’know!”
Just kidding.
“Ugh, you’re such a diva!”
“But the worst part is, she’s not wrong!”
“Now then, Entry #7: Kurihara Yukina-san! Come on down!”
Yukina sprang out onstage, wearing a sexy Santa costume featuring a sleeveless crop top. “Can’t have Christmas without Santa Claus!”
“Oooh, how bold! How daring! Why, she’s practically a swimsuit model!”
“I know, right? Check me out!” She struck a playful pose. I bet she’d do great as a promo girl.
“Yes! I was waiting for this!”
“She looks so gorgeous!”
“I wanna take a selfie with her!”
Most of the crowd cheered... but not everyone was of the same opinion.
Take, for example, Sone Takuya: “Hmmm... I mean, it’s not bad, but...”
Or Miyagami Keisuke: “It’s missing something.”
“It shows a lot of skin, and not in a good way.”
“It’s like she doesn’t love herself.”
“Or like she’s used to wearing it for her job or something, so she’s not even slightly embarrassed.”
“Like a booth babe at a trade show...”
“It’s just missing something,” they chorused together.
“Hey, peanut gallery, I can hear you!” Yukina snapped from onstage. The crowd laughed.
“Next, Entry #8: Kiriyama Yui-san!”
The emcee gestured offstage... but no one walked out.
“...Huh? Okay, let me try again. Kiriyama Yui-san!”
Like a ferret from its nest, a little round face peeked out from the curtains, then swiftly disappeared. But a few moments later, the shy Santa Claus finally walked onstage, her shoulders hunched like she was trying to hide.
Unlike Yukina, Yui was wearing a long-sleeved top that covered her tummy, but the skirt was still super-short. Her oversized hat threatened to fall over her eyes. It was all so mismatched, it looked like she’d thrown her outfit together at the last minute... and it was totally...
“CUUUUTE!!!” the crowd roared.
“Wh-What are you all screaming about?!” Yui stammered, her face as red as the fabric of her Santa costume.
“Eeeeee! She’s ADORABLE!”
“I wanna take her home wif me!”
“I wanna decorate my room with her!”
The audience was loving it.
“YUIIII! YOU’RE SUPER CUTE!!!” Aoki shouted from the back, louder than anyone else in the room.
“Rrrrgh...!” Yui whimpered, flailing her limbs.
“Yes! That! Exactly!”
“Now that’s cosplay!”
“Where was this enthusiasm when it was MY turn?!” Yukina snapped at Sone and Miyagami, and the audience laughed all over again.
“Now, while we’re all having a good time, let’s bring out Entry #9! It’s the girl you’d least expect... Inaba Himeko-san!”
“Ooooooh!” the crowd murmured.
“Seriously? Inaba-san in costume?!”
“Doesn’t she hate this kind of thing...?”
“What’s gotten into her?”
As the crowd whispered nervously, Inaban walked out, wearing a bright red skin-tight dress with a black belt worn snugly around her waist, emphasizing her slender build. Her attitude was neither enthusiastic nor shy. Instead, she oozed sex appeal, seducing the crowd like a succubus.